Building professional capital in elementary science teaching through a district-wide networked improvement community model

该项目将重点放在专业学习的网络改进社区(NIC)模式上，该模式将K-5科学教学从传统方法转变为下一代科学标准中概述的三维设计。之所以需要进行这一转变，是因为学区决定解决科学方面的不平等问题，因为一些学校在小学期间只提供很少的科学指导，甚至根本没有提供科学指导。NIC模式将利用学校人员和大学合作伙伴的专业知识，以确保学生在早期年级每天都能接触到真实的基于模型的调查并从中受益。这种模式着眼于专业学习的设计和实质及其在地区内的组织，平衡与现有系统基础设施的集成，并根据理论驱动的实践改变系统，从而应对规模和可持续性方面的挑战。为了使教师为这一重大变革做好准备，专业发展将从(1)基于工具包的课程材料的使用培训转向以NGSS启发的一套实践和工具为基础的专业学习；(2)以个人从业者的身份开展教学，作为协作调查进行教学；(3)集中力量分散知识建设和领导；(4)将科学作为去上下文的事实来学习，深入参与现实世界现象；以及(5)按照课程的规定授课，侧重于回应教学和建立学生的知识财富。NIC模式将提供一条途径，通过一个多层次的知识构建和问题解决系统整合和实施这些转变。这一系统将超越单一的重点，提高学生对科学内容的理解，并结合教学实践，提高学生的书面和口头科学语言知识，并使用解释和论点。通过NIC模式，该学区的所有K-5小学生都将受益于严格和公平的科学学习方法。该项目将以多层次模式为特色，包括大学教育工作者和研究人员以及学区从业人员，以努力共同界定对双方都有价值的实践问题。混合方法研究设计将考察NIC模型如何通过多次迭代中的实施更改来发展专业资本。这些变化将通过短期和长期工具来捕捉。就短期而言，对变化敏感并直接与小的、可管理的短期目标挂钩的实际措施将为日常实时问题提供快速答复。这些措施将有助于使用与研究人员和从业者相关和有意义的语言来评估具体的改进目标。对于更长期的目标，深入的案例研究、访谈、观察、前后测、调查和问卷将收集关于几个变量的数据，这些变量对于记录教师和学生层面的改进至关重要。这两组数据都将产生关于雄心勃勃和公平的科学教学实践的知识，重点是学生的文化和语言资源和经验。通过这些途径，将产生关于教师和学生成长的知识，作为改进学习和经验发展的积极建设者和合作者。结果将确定支持进步和可持续发展的关键方面，以阐明地区内的差异，以更好地了解什么是有效的，对谁有效，在什么条件下。研究结果还将被用来为小学年级的科学教学决策提供信息，并进一步完善基于公平的做法、资源和工具，以建立在学生知识基金的基础上，这对支持、维持和扩大学区内外所有学生的教育成果至关重要。探索研究K-12计划(DRK-12)旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具，显著提高K-12学龄前学生和教师在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)方面的学习和教学。该计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，这些研究和开发工作为拟议的项目提供了理论和经验证明。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will focus on a networked improvement community (NIC) model of professional learning that shifts K-5 science instruction from traditional approaches to a three-dimensional design as outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards. The need to make this shift stems from the school district's decision to address inequities in science as some schools offer minimal to no science instruction during the elementary years. The NIC model will draw on expertise from school personnel and university partners to ensure that students will have access to and benefit from authentic model-based inquiry daily in the early grades. This model embraces the challenges of scale and sustainability by targeting the design and substance of professional learning and its organization within the district, balancing integration with existing system infrastructure, and shifting the system based on theory-driven practices. To prepare teachers for this major change, professional development will shift from: (1) training on the use of kit-based curricular materials to professional learning grounded in NGSS-inspired sets of practices and tools; (2) working as individual practitioners to teaching as collaborative investigations; (3) using centralized efforts to distributed knowledge-building and leadership; (4) learning science as decontextualized facts to deep engagement with real-world phenomena; and (5) teaching lessons as prescribed by curriculum to a focus on responsive teaching and building on students' funds of knowledge. The NIC model will provide a pathway for integrating and implementing these shifts via a multilevel, knowledge-building, problem-solving system. This system will go beyond a single focus on improving students' understanding of science content to incorporating teaching practices that advances knowledge about student's written and spoken scientific language and use of explanations and arguments. Through the NIC model all K-5 elementary students in the district will benefit from a rigorous and equitable approach to science learning. This project will feature a multi-level model involving university educators and researchers and school district practitioners in an effort to co-defined problems of practice valuable to both parties. A mixed methods research design will examine how the NIC model develops professional capital through changes in implementation over multiple iterations. These changes will be captured through short and long-term instruments. Regarding the shorter term, practical measures sensitive to change and directly tied to small manageable, short-term goals will provide quick responses to everyday real-time questions. These measures will help assess specific improvement goals using language relevant and meaningful to researchers and practitioners. For longer term goals, in-depth case studies, interviews, observations, pre-posttests, surveys, and questionnaires will collect data on several variables critical to documenting improvements at the teacher and student levels. Both sets of data will generate knowledge about ambitious and equitable science teaching practices with a focus on students' cultural and linguistic resources and experiences. Through such pathways, knowledge will be generated on teachers' and students' growth as active builders and collaborators in the development of improved learning and experiences. The outcomes will identify critical facets that support advances and sustainability that illuminate variations within the district to better understand what works, for whom, and under what conditions. the research findings will also be used to inform decision making about teaching science at the elementary grades and to further refine equity-based practices, resources, and tools for building on students' funds of knowledge vital to supporting, sustaining, and scaling educational outcomes for all students in the district and beyond. The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in this program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justifications for proposed projects.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.