Project Accelerate: University - High School AP Physics Partnerships

探索研究K-12计划（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源，模型和工具（RMT），显着提高学前班学生和教师的科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，这些研究和开发工作为拟议项目提供了理论和经验依据。项目加速带来AP物理1，并最终，AP物理2参加学校不提供AP物理的学生。该项目将使249名学生（大多数是服务不足的学生，经济上处于不利地位，少数民族和少数种族）报名参加AP物理-学生否则将无法获得。这些学生要么通过完成高度互动，概念丰富，严格的在线课程来准备AP物理1考试，完成虚拟实验室实验，或者参加经过认证的AP课程，其中还包括每周动手实验。在这个项目中，该模型将与更多的学生进行测试和完善，并扩展到AP物理2。此外，将在两个试点地点之外的另一个地点测试模式复制。在波士顿大学马萨诸塞州的第一个试点年，结果表明，完全参与Project Accelerate的学生（1）至少与传统教室中的同龄人一样做好了准备，以在AP物理1考试中取得成功，（2）更倾向于参与额外的STEM项目，并比参与之前更倾向于追求STEM领域和项目。在试点研究的第二年，Project Accelerate的规模翻了一番，并与西弗吉尼亚大学合作扩大。根据试点年的经验教训，目前正在进行重大改革，预计这些改革将提高成功率。 Project Accelerate为一个重要的全国性问题提供了潜在的解决方案，这个问题是获得高质量物理教育的服务不足的年轻人太少，往往导致这些学生准备不足，无法进入大学的STEM职业和课程。项目加速是一个可扩展的模型，使这些学生能够实现STEM成功，在全国各地的网站复制（不仅在物理，但可能在14个AP科目）。该项目可能会导致成千上万的积极性，但服务不足的学生谁参加学校的机会，从事严格的STEM课程是不可用的成功。Project Accelerate融合了学生家庭学校的支持结构，一个专门为服务不足的人群设计的私人在线课程，以及实践实验室经验，使AP物理学能够为服务不足的学生所用。该项目的目标是：1）有额外的249名学生，在三年内，完成大学理事会认证的AP物理1课程或AP物理1预备课程; 2）增加一个额外的复制网站，在项目结束时共有三所大学参与; 3）制定正式的协议，以便Project Accelerate可以在全国各地轻松复制并保持保真度; 4）制定正式的协议，使项目能够以合理的成本自我维持（每名学生约五百元）; 5）建立AP物理2课程，为通过AP物理1的学生提供第二年的严格经验，以帮助他们为大学和职业成功做好进一步的准备; 6）创建额外的丰富的互动内容，如模拟和基于视频的实验，以添加到AP物理1预科课程中已有的内容，并构建AP物理2预科课程-关键是积极让学生参与材料，并包括脚手架来支持目标人群; 7）进行定性和定量的教育研究，确定方案对目标人群有效的特点，并确定需要改进的领域。该项目将支持越来越多的关于在线和混合（结合在线和面对面的组件）课程的有效性的研究，并调查代表性不足的高中学生使用这些课程的情况。

The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. Project Accelerate brings AP Physics 1 and, eventually, AP Physics 2 to students attending schools that do not offer AP Physics. The project will enable 249 students (mostly under-served, i.e., economically disadvantaged, ethnic minorities and racial minorities) to enroll in AP Physics - the students would otherwise not have access. These students either prepare for the AP Physics 1 exam by completing a highly interactive, conceptually rich, rigorous online course, complete with virtual lab experiments, or participate in an accredited AP course that also includes weekly hands-on labs. In this project, the model will be tested and perfected with more students and expanded to AP Physics 2. Further, model replication will be tested at an additional site, beyond the two pilot sites. In the first pilot year in Massachusetts at Boston University, results indicated that students fully engaged in Project Accelerate are (1) at least as well prepared as peer groups in traditional classrooms to succeed on the AP Physics 1 exam and (2) more inclined to engage in additional STEM programs and to pursue STEM fields and programs than they were prior to participating. In the second year of the pilot study, Project Accelerate doubled in size and expanded in partnership with West Virginia University. From lessons learned in the pilot years, key changes are being made, which are expected to increase success. Project Accelerate provides a potential solution to a significant national problem of too few under-served young people having access to high quality physics education, often resulting in these students being ill prepared to enter STEM careers and programs in college. Project Accelerate is a scalable model to empower these students to achieve STEM success, replicable at sites across the country (not only in physics, but potentially across fourteen AP subjects). The project could potentially lead to the success of tens of thousands of motivated but under-served students who attend schools where the opportunity to engage in a rigorous STEM curriculum is not available. Project Accelerate blends the supportive structures of a student's home school, a private online course designed specifically with the needs of under-served populations in mind, and hands-on laboratory experiences, to make AP Physics accessible to under-served students. The goals of the project are: 1) have an additional 249 students, over three years, complete the College Board-accredited AP Physics 1 course or the AP Physics 1 Preparatory course; 2) add an additional replication site, with a total of three universities participating by the end of the project; 3) develop formal protocols so Project Accelerate can be replicated easily and with fidelity at sites across the nation; 4) develop formal protocols so the project can be self-sustaining at a reasonable cost (about $500 per student participant); 5) build an AP Physics 2 course, giving students who come through AP Physics 1 a second year of rigorous experience to help further prepare them for college and career success; 6) create additional rich interactive content, such as simulations and video-based experiments, to add to what is already in the AP Physics 1 prep course and to build the AP Physics 2 prep course - the key is to actively engage students with the material and include scaffolding to support the targeted population; 7) carry out qualitative and quantitative education research, identifying features of the program that work for the target population, as well as identifying areas for improvement. This project will support the growing body of research on the effectiveness of online and blended (combining online and in-person components) courses, and investigate the use of such courses with under-represented high school students.