Preparing Secondary STEM Teachers with Experiential Learning and Computational Thinking Skills for Effectiveness in High-Need School Districts

在NSF Robert Noyce教师奖学金计划的支持下，该项目旨在为培养高质量STEM教师的国家利益服务。 它将通过招募本科STEM专业和STEM专业人员并为他们成为STEM教师做好准备来实现这一目标。 与匹兹堡公立学校合作，卡洛大学旨在培养26名高效的生物、化学和数学中学教师。卡洛大学的STEM中等教育课程是一个为期五年的硕士学位课程。 因此，在他们的大三和STEM专业人员的STEM专业将被招募进入该计划。 STEM专业的学生在完成中学教育学士学位和硕士学位后将获得三年的奖学金支持。 STEM专业人员在完成中等教育硕士学位后将获得一年的支持。诺伊斯学者将有多种机会参与体验式学习，重点是发展计算思维技能。 这些学习机会包括研讨会和为期一周的课程。 他们的教学技能将通过恢复性司法做法和文化适应性教学方面的培训得到提高，使他们能够在高需求的课堂上成功教学。 诺伊斯学者成功进入教学生涯将得到一个顾问团队的支持，其中包括STEM和教育导师，来自匹兹堡公立学校的教师导师，以及从入学到前三年教学与学者合作的教练。该项目打算招募和招收12名生物，化学，和数学本科生之间的诺伊斯学者2019-21和14干专业人士之间的2019-23。 为了帮助准备诺伊斯学者在支持高需求学区的多样化学习者成功，卡洛大学计划将包括课程，包括社会正义，积极的行为支持，恢复性司法实践的问题在学校，文化上敏感的教学法，通用设计，个性化学习，创伤知情的教学实践，课堂设计和教学技巧，以支持残疾学生，和内容特定的识字实践，以支持英语学习者。 诺伊斯学者与匹兹堡公立学校完整的实习和学生教学。 该项目将开发，应用和评估体验式学习的最佳实践，重点是计算思维，这是一种在计算机科学中开发的解决问题的方法，在各学科中具有广泛的应用。 它涉及将大问题分解为较小部分的适用概念，相关部分的抽象，与已解决问题的相似性的识别以及算法的开发。 项目评估和研究活动的结果应该产生新的知识，这将有助于招聘和准备高效率的STEM教师在高需求的学校的职业生涯的最佳实践。这项研究旨在解决文献中关于计算思维培训对职前教师有效性的影响，中学教育，以及职前和在职教练是否提高教师的计算思维能力的差距。 卡洛大学是该地区大型地方教育联合会的长期成员，这将使项目的研究结果得到迅速和全面的传播。 该计划有可能帮助解决当地社区和地区急需的STEM教学短缺问题。 诺伊斯计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人士成为有效的K-12 STEM教师和经验丰富的模范K-12 STEM教师，成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, this Track 1 Scholarships and Stipends project aims to serve the national interest in preparing high-quality STEM teachers. It will do so by recruiting undergraduate STEM majors and STEM professionals and preparing them to become STEM teachers. In partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools, Carlow University seeks to prepare 26 highly effective biology, chemistry, and mathematics secondary education teachers. The secondary education program in STEM at Carlow University is a five-year, master's degree program. Consequently, STEM majors in their junior year and STEM professionals will be recruited to enter the program. The STEM majors will receive three years of scholarship support as they complete a baccalaureate degree and a master's degree in secondary education. The STEM professionals will receive one year of support as they complete a master's degree in secondary education. The Noyce Scholars will have multiple opportunities to engage in experiential learning, with an emphasis on developing computational thinking skills. These learning opportunities include workshops, and weeklong courses. Their teaching skills will be enhanced with training about restorative justice practices and culturally responsive teaching to prepare them to teach successfully in high-need classrooms. Successful passage of the Noyce Scholars into teaching careers will be supported by a team of advisors that includes STEM and education mentors, a teacher-mentor from Pittsburgh Public Schools, and a coach that works with the Scholar from enrollment through the first three years of teaching.The project intends to recruit and enroll 12 biology, chemistry, and mathematics undergraduates as Noyce Scholars between 2019-21 and 14 STEM professionals between 2019-23. To help prepare the Noyce Scholars to be successful in supporting diverse learners in high-need school districts, the Carlow University program will include coursework that includes issues of social justice, positive behavioral supports, restorative justice practices in schools, culturally responsive pedagogy, universal design, individualized learning, trauma-informed teaching practices, classroom design and instructional techniques to support students with disabilities, and content specific literacy practices to support English Language Learners. Noyce Scholars with complete practicums and student teaching in Pittsburgh Public Schools. The project will develop, apply, and assess best practices in experiential learning, with an emphasis on computational thinking, which is a method of problem solving developed in computer science that has a broad application across disciplines. It involves the applicable concepts of decomposition of large problems into smaller parts, abstraction of relevant pieces, identification of similarities to already solved problems, and development of algorithms. Results of project evaluation and research activities should generate new knowledge that will contribute to best practices in recruiting and preparing highly effective STEM teachers for careers in high-need schools. The research study intends to address gaps in the literature about the impact of computational thinking training on the effectiveness of pre-service teachers, on secondary education, and whether pre-service and in-service coaching enhances teacher proficiency in computational thinking. Carlow University is a longstanding member of large local educational consortia in the region, which will enable swift and comprehensive dissemination of project findings. The program has the potential to help address the high-need STEM teaching shortages in the local community and region. The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 STEM teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the persistence, retention, and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.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.