CAREER: Expanding Latinxs' Opportunities to Develop Complex Thinking in Secondary Science Classrooms through a Research-Practice Partnership

这是一项教师早期职业发展计划（Career）提案，响应计划征求NSF 17-537，由发现研究PreK-12计划资助，旨在通过研究和开发STEM教育创新和方法，显着提高PreK-12学生和教师对科学，技术，工程，数学和计算机科学（STEM）的学习和教学。该项目将教育教师和学生参与提问，收集和解释数据，提出主张，并构建对他们重要的现实问题的解释。科学教育工作者普遍认为，科学课堂应该为学生提供机会，让他们作为有能力的意义创造者，通过与彼此进行批判性对话来促进他们的思维。尽管经过几十年的改革努力和在科学教学中使用体验活动，但研究表明，学生的课堂学习在很大程度上仍然是程序性的，要求不高，与实质性科学思想的发展脱节。此外，对于具有不同文化和语言背景的学生来说，获得促进这种复杂思维的高质量科学教学是稀缺的。项目目标将是：(1)设计一个为期一年的教师专业发展计划；(2)研究专业发展模式对教师规划和实施包容性科学课程能力的提升程度。本研究将探讨如何在研究人员和实践者之间建立可持续的伙伴关系，以提高青少年在中学教室（6-12年级）的学习体验。这项工作将建立在之前在一所当地高中开展的类似活动的基础上；计划在五年内将现有的研究扩展到整个学区。建议的工作将分三个阶段进行。在第一阶段，研究将制定一个以包容性科学课程为重点的概念框架，并在3所拥有15名科学教师的高中实施新的教师专业发展计划。第二阶段将扩展到学区的6所中学，拥有24名教师，旨在在学区建立持续和可持续的研究实践伙伴关系。第三阶段将侧重于数据分析、伙伴关系活动评估、传播和规划近期的研究议程。本研究将探讨三个研究问题：(1)参与课程的教师规划和实施课程的能力是否随着时间的推移而提高，以及在多大程度上提高；(2)教师个人和集体如何以及为什么表现出不同的进步？(3)学校和学区内的哪些机会和制约因素影响教师设计和实施课程的能力发展？为了解决研究问题，该项目将使用定性和定量数据收集有关计划和实施课程质量的信息。主要项目成果将是：(1)指导教师参与规划和实施包容性科学课程的框架；(2)增加了教师学习的知识库。一个顾问委员会将监督正在进行的工作。外部评估人员将提供形成性和总结性反馈。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 is a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) proposal responsive to Program Solicitation NSF 17-537 and funded by the Discovery Research PreK-12 program, which seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of STEM education innovations and approaches. This project will address the need to educate teachers and students to engage in asking questions, collecting and interpreting data, making claims, and constructing explanations about real-world problems that matter to them. Science educators generally agree that science classrooms should provide opportunities for students to advance their thinking by engaging in critical conversations with each other as capable sense-makers. Despite decades of reform efforts and the use of experiential activities in science instruction, research indicates that classroom learning for students remains largely procedural, undemanding, and disconnected from the development of substantive scientific ideas. Furthermore, access to high-quality science instruction that promotes such complex thinking is scarce for students with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The project goals will be: (1) To design a year-long teacher professional development program; and (2) To study the extent to which the professional development model improves teachers' capacity to plan and implement inclusive science curricula. This study will explore ways to enhance youths' learning experiences in secondary school classrooms (grades 6-12) by building a sustainable partnership between researchers and practitioners. The work will build on a previous similar activity with one local high school; plans are to expand the existing study to an entire school district over five years. The proposed work will be conducted in three phases. During Phase I, the study will develop a conceptual framework focused on inclusive science curricula, and implement the new teacher professional development program in 3 high schools with 15 science teachers. Phase II will expand to 6 middle schools in the school district with 24 teachers aimed at creating a continuous and sustainable research-practice partnership approach at the district. Phase III will focus on data analysis, assessment of partnership activities, dissemination, and planning a research agenda for the immediate future. The study will address three research questions: (1) Whether and to what extent does participating teachers' capacity of planning and implementing the curriculum improve over time; (2) How and why do teachers show differential progress individually and collectively?; and (3) What opportunities and constraints within schools and the school district shape teachers' development of their capacity to design and implement curricula? To address the research questions, the project will gather information about the quality of planned and implemented curriculum using both qualitative and quantitative data. Main project's outcomes will be: (1) a framework that guides teachers' engagement in planning and implementing inclusive science curricula; and (2) increased knowledge base on teacher learning. An advisory board will oversee the work in progress. An external evaluator will provide formative and summative feedback.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.