Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science (NURTURES) Phase II: Expansion and Evaluation

托莱多大学的这个项目在之前成功工作的基础上，将城市资源与教师和大学联网，以丰富幼儿科学（声明）：研究教师专业发展和家庭参与对学前3年成绩的影响，同时针对幼儿教师和家庭/照顾者，努力建立双方的能力，以促进学生对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学习。教师参加为期两周的暑期专业发展计划，并在整个学年中以个性化辅导和参与专业学习社区的形式获得支持。家庭每年四次收到科学调查包（从学校寄回家），并全年参加社区STEM活动。调查包和社区活动鼓励科学探究，话语，并进一步探索关键的科学思想。项目参与者将包括俄亥俄州和密歇根州的120名教师、2,400名PreK-3儿童和7,200多名家庭成员。该项目由Discovery Research K-12计划（DRK-12）资助，该计划旨在通过研究和开发创新资源，模型和工具，显着提高PreK-12学生和教师的STEM学习和教学。扩展最初的项目，与NSF数学和科学合作伙伴关系的资金开发，这个后续项目的目的是：1）改变幼儿科学教学的基础上下一代科学标准（NGSS），以可衡量地提高学生的科学，识字和数学成绩，和2）从事家庭的PreK-3学生在科学探究的做法，以可衡量地提高学生的科学，识字和数学成绩。这个后续项目的一个特别重要的方面是研究工作，解析和理解每个组成部分（教师专业发展与家庭参与）如何影响学生的学习。该项目将使用随机对照组研究设计（RCT）来比较三组学生的成绩：教师接受专业发展和家庭参与活动的儿童，教师只接受专业发展的儿童和对照组。该项目将使用标准化测试（TerraNova完整测试）来衡量对K-3年级儿童在科学、数学、阅读和早期识字方面学习成果的影响。科学透镜评估将衡量学龄前儿童的科学学习。该项目将为教师和家庭制定一个以国家社会保障系统为基础的方案，该方案已经过系统测试，最终可能扩大到广泛的影响研究和传播。

Building on successful prior work, this University of Toledo project, Networking Urban Resources with Teachers and University to enRich Early Childhood Science (NURTURES): Researching the impact of teacher professional development and family engagement on PreK-3 achievement, simultaneously targets young children's teachers and families/caregivers in an effort to build both parties' capacity to promote student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning. Teachers participate in a two-week summer professional development program and receive support across the school year in the form of individualized coaching and participation in professional learning communities. Families receive science inquiry packets (sent home from school) four times a year and attend community STEM events throughout the year. Inquiry packets and community events encourage science inquiry, discourse, and further exploration of key science ideas. Project participants will include 120 teachers, 2,400 PreK-3 children and over 7,200 family members in Ohio and Michigan. The project is funded by the Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12), which seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of STEM by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Extending the initial NURTURES project, developed with NSF Math and Science Partnership funding, this follow-up project aims to: 1) Transform early childhood science teaching based upon Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to measurably increase student science, literacy, and math achievement, and 2) Engage families of PreK-3 students in science inquiry practices to measurably improve student science, literacy, and math achievement. A particularly important facet of this follow-up project is the research effort to parse and understand how each component (teacher professional development versus family engagement) impacts student learning. The project will use a randomized control group research design (RCT) to compare student achievement outcomes among three groups: Children whose teachers received professional development and family engagement activities, children whose teachers received only professional development, and a control group. The project will use standardized tests (the TerraNova Complete Battery) to measure impact on learning gains in science, mathematics, reading, and early literacy for children in grades K- 3. The Lens on Science assessment will measure science learning in preschool children. This project will result in an NGSS-based program for teachers and families that has been systematically tested and may ultimately be scaled up to an impact study and dissemination at a broad level.