Strengthening STEM Teacher Education Pathways in Kentucky with Collaborative Partnerships

在罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金项目的支持下，这个能力建设项目旨在通过加强肯塔基州的STEM教师教育途径，帮助解决全国K-12 STEM教师短缺的问题。该项目将使贝拉明大学能够简化该机构的教学文学硕士（MAT）课程，以便STEM本科学生只需再学习一年即可完成该课程。大学还打算与附近的社区学院建立合作伙伴关系，以促进社区学院学生转到大学，并成功完成STEM学士学位和MAT学位。通过简化教师认证计划和发展合作伙伴关系来增加获得该机构MAT计划的机会，该项目有可能增加肯塔基州高需求的K-12 STEM教室中高素质STEM教师的数量。该项目涉及贝拉明大学、蓝草社区和技术学院、杰斐逊社区和技术学院、杰斐逊县公立学校（美国最大的城市学区之一）和肯塔基科学中心之间的合作。该项目旨在实现以下目标：(1)为STEM本科生开发早期MAT认证；(2)通过与合作社区学院和学区的合作协议，在贝拉明大学的STEM教师教育项目中建立招聘渠道和支持系统；(3)与学区达成合作协议，聘请后续项目培养的未来STEM教师；(4)与肯塔基州科学中心为STEM本科生和MAT学生制定STEM夏令营和实习协议；(5)制定计划，在高需求学区招募、准备和支持新的STEM教师，从而扩大和多样化新的STEM教师候选人。由于肯塔基州学生人口结构的变化、STEM行业的关键需求，以及该州采用下一代科学标准（具有强大的K-12 STEM课程），该项目正值关键时刻。除了使肯塔基州的一个高需求学区受益外，该项目还有望为全国STEM教师教育做出贡献，并成为其他有类似STEM教育需求的州的典范。Noyce计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人士成为高需求学区有效的K-12 STEM教师，并支持经验丰富的模范K-12 STEM教师成为STEM大师教师。它还支持对高需求学区K-12教师的持久性、留任性和有效性的研究。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。

With support from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, this Capacity Building project aims to help address a national shortage of K-12 STEM teachers by strengthening STEM teacher education pathways in Kentucky. This project will enable Bellarmine University to streamline the institution's Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program so that STEM undergraduate students can complete it with only one additional year of study. The University also intends to develop partnerships with nearby community colleges to facilitate transfer of community college students to the University and their successful completion of both a STEM bachelor's degree and a MAT degree. By streamlining the teacher certification program and developing partnerships to increase access to the institution's MAT program, this project has the potential to increase the number of highly-qualified STEM teachers in high-need K-12 STEM classrooms in Kentucky. This project involves collaborations between Bellarmine University, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Jefferson County Public Schools, which is one of the nation's largest urban school districts, and the Kentucky Science Center. The project aims to accomplish the following goals: (1) develop an early-start MAT certification for STEM undergraduates; (2) develop a recruitment pipeline and support system throughout Bellarmine University's STEM teacher education program via partnership agreements with the collaborating community colleges and school district; (3) develop a partnership agreement with the school district to hire future STEM teachers produced by a subsequent project; (4) develop a STEM summer camp and internship agreement with the Kentucky Science Center for STEM undergraduates and MAT students; and (5) develop a plan to recruit, prepare, and support new STEM teachers in high-need school districts, thus expanding and diversifying the pool of new STEM teacher candidates. This project comes at a critical time in Kentucky because of changing student demographics, critical industry needs in STEM, and the state's adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards, which have a strong K-12 STEM curriculum. In addition to benefitting a high-need school district in Kentucky, this project is expected to contribute to national efforts in STEM teacher education and serve as a model for other states with similar needs in STEM education. The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts and experienced, exemplary K-12 STEM teachers to become STEM master teachers. It also supports research on the persistence, retention, and effectiveness of K-12 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.