Preparing Highly-Qualified STEM Teachers: Supporting Student-Centered Instruction

克里斯托弗·纽波特大学（CNU）的罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金项目旨在帮助解决国家对高效STEM教师的需求。该项目的总体目标是招募和培训24名STEM专业的高素质教师，他们坚持自己的专业，并为在高需求学校教学的挑战做好准备。除了课程作业，准备项目还将包括在当地STEM学院的早期实地体验和实习。为期一年的指导经验将与每周一次的研讨会相结合，为第一年的教师提供指导和支持。项目团队的目标是通过在诺伊斯学者、他们的导师和他们的大学导师之间建立一个三角支持网络来解决教师留任问题。该项目建立在CNU和纽波特纽斯公立学校之间现有的合作伙伴关系的基础上，准备24名获得STEM学科许可的新教师。作为本科生招收的学生将完成4 + 1的硕士课程，以获得执照。STEM领域合格的学士后毕业生将完成一年的教育硕士学位。项目团队旨在培养未来的教师，通过对学生思维和学习的研究以及对他们经验的反思来开发和完善有效的以学生为中心的课程。项目团队希望这次培训能够鼓励学者们在进入教学行业后不断改进他们的教学实践。该项目旨在通过调查准备计划的独特方面（例如，指导活动和重点培养对学生思维和学习的理解）如何影响学者的准备来产生新的知识。该项目的调查结果将通过期刊出版物和在专业组织的报告加以传播。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Track 1 project at Christopher Newport University (CNU) aims to help address the national need for effective STEM teachers. The overall goal of the project is to recruit and train twenty-four STEM majors to be highly-qualified teachers who persist in their profession and who are prepared for the challenges of teaching in high-need schools. In addition to coursework, the preparation program will include early field experiences and internships at local STEM academies. A yearlong mentoring experience will be paired with a weekly seminar to provide guidance and support to teachers in their first year. The project team aims to address teacher retention by creating a triangular support network between the Noyce Scholars, their mentor teachers, and their university mentors.This project builds on an existing partnership between CNU and Newport News Public Schools to prepare twenty-four new teachers who are licensed in STEM disciplines. Students who are recruited as undergraduates will complete a 4 + 1 master's program to gain licensure. Well-qualified post-baccalaureates in STEM fields will complete a one-year Master in Education degree. The project team intends to train the future teachers to use research on student thinking and learning and reflections on their experiences to develop and refine effective student-centered lessons. The project team anticipates that this training will encourage the Scholars to continually improve their instructional practices after they enter the teaching profession. The project intends to generate new knowledge by investigating how the unique aspects of the preparation program (e.g., the mentoring activities and the focus on developing an understanding of student thinking and learning) affect the preparedness of the Scholars. The findings from the project will be disseminated via journal publications and presentations at professional organizations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.