Integrative STEM Education for Teachers of Young Students

青年教师的综合STEM教育

• 批准号: 1611652
• 负责人: Sharon Brusic
• 金额: $ 29.95万
• 依托单位: Millersville University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-08-01 至 2020-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1611652&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Integrative; STEM; Education; Teachers; Young

Early childhood educators who are enthusiastic and confident in integrating STEM into their teaching are crucial to engaging students early and motivating them along a path to become the next generation of STEM innovators, workers, and knowledgeable citizens. This Exploration and Design for Engaged Student Learning project will target Millersville University undergraduates enrolled in a teaching integrative STEM (iSTEM) education minor as part of their Pre-kindergarten to grade 4 (PK-4) teacher preparation program. The minor will be designed to prepare them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to integrate STEM concepts across the PK-4 curriculum. The project will investigate selected research-based components of the iSTEM program and has the potential to result in data that can inform other PK-4 teacher preparation programs which want to prepare educators who are equipped with a toolkit to open the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to the early elementary students they engage. This project will establish five research-based programmatic features that are designed to enhance teacher candidates' integrative STEM skills, understandings, and perspectives. The features investigated will include: development of an iSTEM Laboratory and Resource Center, coursework that engages learners in problem-based, inquiry-based, and design-based learning experiences that build deeper understandings of STEM concepts, STEM focused practicums in elementary schools, STEM professional development opportunities, and access to STEM-related community resources. The overarching goal of this project is to determine which component(s) of the iSTEM minor at Millersville University have the greatest impact on undergraduates' ability to integrate iSTEM concepts/skills in non-iSTEM education courses, their motivation to seek out STEM opportunities in their personal and professional lives, and their STEM perspectives. Undergraduates in the iSTEM minor will be compared to PK-4 teacher preparation undergraduates who did not choose the iSTEM minor. Researchers will investigate which research-based features of MU's iSTEM program are the most significant transformational elements that may increase the likelihood that undergraduates who complete the minor will effectively integrate iSTEM techniques in their future classrooms. By evaluating which features have the maximum impact, researchers will be able to make recommendations on how to replicate these outcomes at other teacher preparation institutions, thereby contributing to an understanding of how to better prepare PK-4 teachers as competent and passionate iSTEM educators.

对将STEM融入教学充满热情和信心的幼儿教育工作者对于早期吸引学生并激励他们成为下一代STEM创新者、工作者和知识渊博的公民至关重要。这个探索和设计参与式学生学习项目将针对米勒斯维尔大学的本科生，他们参加了教学综合STEM（系统）教育辅修课程，作为他们幼儿园到四年级（PK-4）教师准备课程的一部分。辅修课程旨在为学生提供知识、技能和信心，使他们能够将STEM概念融入PK-4课程。该项目将调查系统计划中选定的以研究为基础的组成部分，并有可能产生数据，可以为其他PK-4教师准备计划提供信息，这些计划希望为教育工作者准备一个工具包，为他们所参与的早期小学生打开科学、技术、工程和数学的世界。该项目将建立五个基于研究的项目特色，旨在提高教师候选人的综合STEM技能、理解和观点。调查的特点将包括：开发一个系统实验室和资源中心，让学习者参与基于问题、基于探究和基于设计的学习体验，从而加深对STEM概念的理解，在小学开展以STEM为重点的实习，STEM专业发展机会，以及获得与STEM相关的社区资源。该项目的总体目标是确定米勒斯维尔大学系统辅修课程的哪个部分对本科生在非系统教育课程中整合系统概念/技能的能力、他们在个人和职业生活中寻求STEM机会的动机以及他们的STEM观点影响最大。系统系统辅修专业的本科生将与没有选择系统系统辅修专业的PK-4教师预备专业的本科生进行比较。研究人员将调查MU的系统系统项目中哪些基于研究的特征是最重要的变革因素，这些因素可能会增加完成辅修课程的本科生在未来课堂中有效整合系统系统技术的可能性。通过评估哪些特征具有最大的影响，研究人员将能够就如何在其他教师培训机构中复制这些结果提出建议，从而有助于理解如何更好地将PK-4教师培养成称职且充满激情的系统教育者。