SBIR Phase I: An embedded and in-context professional learning platform for math problem-solving instruction

这个SBIR第一阶段项目建议研究和开发一个基于Web的原型，为教师提供个性化、交互式和及时的支持，以提高学生？解决问题的能力和数学交流能力。尽管共同核心国家标准对数学教师寄予了期望，但他们中的大多数人都没有做好充分的准备，无法教会学生如何成为有效的问题解决者。研究表明，对教师来说，最大的困难不是学习新的教学策略，而是在课堂上实际实施这些策略。该项目通过提供嵌入和持续的专业发展来应对这一挑战，并为教育工作者发展基本的21世纪技能奠定了基础，包括批判性思维、沟通、合作和创造力。这些不仅是教育工作者的基本工作技能，也是他们培训和指导的年轻人的基本工作技能。此外，带着自信和热情解决问题的教师也会激励学生也这样做。这对将有多少学生继续寻求和注册STEM项目具有重大影响。预计在5年内，仅在K-12学校的数学和科学方面，每年的专业发展市场就将增长到18亿至20亿美元，这是该项目的一个重要目标市场。拟议中的项目将产生一个原型，可以与现有的面向学生的对等应用程序无缝地工作，该应用程序由同一家公司开发，并已在市场上使用。为了实现这种水平的嵌入式教学，该项目打算建立一个复杂的推荐引擎，不仅分析教师的用户配置文件，还分析他们使用面向学生的平台的行为，并以建议的路径响应，以改进他们的教学。这是一种独特的职业发展方法，使教育工作者能够确定如何以持续的方式介绍、指导和评估解决问题的技能。这项研究以全国数学教师委员会(NCTM)的《行动原则：确保人人都能在数学上取得成功》为基础，旨在直接讨论他们建议的八项基本做法中的三项和建议的六项具体行动。拟议的项目包括为期五个月的以评价为基础的迭代形成阶段，然后是为期一个月的试点研究，课堂教师将对功能原型进行评价。

This SBIR Phase I project proposes to research and develop a web-based prototype that provides teachers with individualized, interactive, and timely supports for improving students? problem-solving skills and math communication. Despite the expectations placed on math teachers by the Common Core State Standards, most of them are insufficiently prepared to teach students how to become effective problem solvers. Research shows that the largest struggle for teachers is not learning new strategies to teaching but actually implementing them in the classroom. This project addresses this challenge by offering professional development that is embedded and ongoing and sets the stage for educators to develop essential 21st Century skills including critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. These are essential job skills not only for educators but for the young minds they coach and mentor. Additionally, teachers who themselves approach problem solving with confidence and enthusiasm inspire students to do the same. This has great implications for how many students will continue to seek and enroll in STEM programs. The annual market for professional development is expected to grow to $1.8 to $2 billion dollars within 5 years just for math and science in K-12 schools, a significant market for this project to target.The proposed project will result in a prototype that works seamlessly with the existing student-facing peer-to-peer application, developed by the same company and already in the marketplace. In order to achieve this level of embedded instruction, the project intends to build a sophisticated recommendation engine that not only analyzes the teacher's user profile but also their actions in using the student-facing platform and responds with suggested pathways to improve their teaching. This is a unique approach to professional development, enabling educators to determine how to introduce, instruct, and assess problem-solving skills in a sustained manner. This study is anchored in National Council on Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) "Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All" and is designed to directly address three of their eight recommended essential practices and six of the specific recommended actions. The proposed project consists of a five-month iterative, formative evaluation-based development phase followed by a one-month pilot study where classroom teachers will evaluate the functional prototype.