Supporting English Learners in STEM Subjects

支持 STEM 科目的英语学习者

• 批准号: 1636544
• 负责人: Heidi Schweingruber
• 金额: $ 101.26万
• 依托单位: National Academy of Sciences
• 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: 2016-09-01 至 2020-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1636544&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Supporting; English; Learners; STEM; Subjects

The expectation that all students, including English language learners (ELLs), achieve high academic standards has become even more evident and complex to date as a result of several key factors. First, as the school-aged population continues to grow more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse, ELLs can now be found in virtually every school in the nation. Second, the science and mathematics education landscape has changed significantly resulting from the new visions in these fields, and the challenges posed by the new academic standards for all students. Third, the need to integrate new knowledge and perspectives from the language arts with knowledge from science and mathematics learning, instruction, and assessment has surfaced as a critical component of the potential strategies to be employed in addressing ELLs' current science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education situation from pre-K-12 grades. The key challenges today include both enabling educators to better support this student subpopulation, as well as increasing the number and quality of research activities focused on how best to support ELLs' success in these subjects. In response to this challenge, the Board on Science Education (BOSE) of the National Academies of Sciences will conduct a consensus study focused on identifying instructional practices and professional development approaches for teachers, as well as the policies that are needed to support ELLs' accomplishments in science and mathematics education. The study will synthesize a wide range of research literatures relevant to improving ELLs' STEM learning, and provide a comprehensive understanding of how best to simultaneously support English language development and deep learning in the context of new and more challenging standards in science and mathematics. The study will also provide a framework for future research that can help to identify the most relevant and pressing questions for the field, as well as increase the number and quality of proposed research activities focused on ELLs in STEM. To conduct the consensus study, BOSE will convene a multidisciplinary committee of experts who will synthesize the most relevant research on related subjects. The committee will include professionals in the fields of science and mathematics education, curriculum development, learning and instruction, linguistics, and assessment to address key sets of research questions: (1) Based on research-informed and field-tested models, strategies, and approaches, what are promising approaches to support ELLs (including ELLs with disabilities) in learning STEM? Given the diversity within the ELLs' population, what has worked, for whom, and under what conditions? What can be learned from these models and what additional research is needed to understand what makes them effective? What commonly used approaches may be less effective?; (2) What is the role of teachers in supporting the success of ELLs in STEM? What is known about the biases teachers may bring to their classrooms with ELLs and how these can be effectively addressed? What kinds of curriculum, professional development experiences, and assessment are needed in order for STEM teachers to improve their support for ELLs in STEM?; (3) How can assessments in STEM (both formative and summative) be designed to reflect the new content standards and to be appropriate for ELLs? What assessment accommodations might need to be considered?; (4) How do policies and practices at the national, state, and local level constrain or facilitate efforts to better support ELLs in STEM (including policies related to identification of students)? What kinds of changes in policy and practice are needed?; and (5) What are the gaps in the current research base and what are the key directions for research, both short-term and long-term? The committee will work over a 30-month period to synthesize relevant research literature and prepare a final consensus report, including results, conclusions, and recommendations. The study will address an issue of national importance and will inform future research on challenges directly related to ELLs, diversity, and equity in STEM education. This issue is particularly relevant to programs such as Discovery Research K-12 that supports efforts that reflect the needs of the increasingly diverse population, and Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers, which supports strategies for recruiting and selecting participants from identified groups currently underrepresented in STEM professions, careers, and education pathways. The report will target a broad audience of stakeholders, including teachers, school district administrators, researchers, congressional staff, and federal agencies that fund educational research and set policies related to ELLs.

由于几个关键因素，所有学生，包括英语学习者（ELLs），达到高学术标准的期望变得更加明显和复杂。首先，随着学龄人口在种族、民族和语言上的多样性不断增加，现在几乎在全国的每一所学校都可以找到ELL。第二，科学和数学教育领域发生了重大变化，这是由于这些领域的新愿景以及新的学术标准对所有学生提出的挑战。第三，需要整合新的知识和观点，从语言艺术与科学和数学的学习，教学和评估的知识已经浮出水面，作为一个潜在的战略，以解决ELLs的当前科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）教育的情况下，从K-12年级的重要组成部分。今天的主要挑战包括使教育工作者能够更好地支持这一学生亚群，以及增加研究活动的数量和质量，重点是如何最好地支持ELL在这些科目中的成功。为了应对这一挑战，美国国家科学院科学教育委员会（BOSE）将进行一项共识研究，重点是确定教师的教学实践和专业发展方法，以及支持ELL在科学和数学教育方面取得成就所需的政策。该研究将综合广泛的研究文献，以改善ELLs的STEM学习，并提供如何最好地同时支持英语语言发展和深度学习在新的和更具挑战性的科学和数学标准的背景下的全面理解。该研究还将为未来的研究提供一个框架，有助于确定该领域最相关和最紧迫的问题，并增加以STEM中的ELL为重点的拟议研究活动的数量和质量。为了进行共识研究，BOSE将召集一个多学科专家委员会，他们将综合相关主题的最相关研究。该委员会将包括科学和数学教育、课程开发、学习和教学、语言学和评估领域的专业人士，以解决关键的研究问题：（1）基于研究信息和实地测试的模型、策略和方法，什么是有前途的方法来支持ELL（包括残疾ELL）学习STEM？鉴于ELL人口的多样性，什么起作用了，对谁起作用，在什么条件下起作用？从这些模型中可以学到什么，需要进行哪些额外的研究来了解是什么使它们有效？哪些常用的方法可能不太有效？(2)教师在支持STEM中的ELL成功方面的作用是什么？关于教师可能给他们的课堂带来的偏见以及如何有效地解决这些偏见，我们知道些什么？STEM教师需要什么样的课程、专业发展经验和评估，以提高他们对STEM中的ELL的支持？(3)如何设计STEM（形成性和总结性）评估以反映新的内容标准并适合ELL？可能需要考虑哪些评估调整？(4)国家、州和地方层面的政策和做法如何限制或促进更好地支持STEM领域的ELL（包括与学生身份相关的政策）？在政策和实践上需要什么样的改变？（5）目前的研究基础存在哪些差距，短期和长期的主要研究方向是什么？该委员会将在30个月的时间内综合相关研究文献，并编写一份最终共识报告，包括结果、结论和建议。该研究将解决一个具有国家重要性的问题，并将为未来与STEM教育中的ELLs，多样性和公平性直接相关的挑战的研究提供信息。这一问题与发现研究K-12等项目特别相关，这些项目支持反映日益多样化的人口需求的努力，以及学生和教师的创新技术体验，这些项目支持从目前在STEM专业，职业和教育途径中代表性不足的群体中招募和选择参与者的战略。该报告将面向广泛的利益相关者，包括教师、学区管理人员、研究人员、国会工作人员以及资助教育研究和制定与ELL相关政策的联邦机构。