Aligning the Science Teacher Education Pathway. A Networked Improvement Community

加州州立大学将研究网络改进社区（NIC）的活动，作为一种工具，在8所参与大学（NIC站点）的当地背景下，沿着科学教师培训和发展途径的四个确定步骤弥合差距。网络改进社区（NIC）将在大学研究人员、科学教育者和学区实践者之间共同创建一个共同的愿景和共同定义的研究议程，共同努力在各种地方背景下改革教师教育。通过研究在科学教师教育路径的多个步骤中使用的共享支持和教师工具的结果，研究人员将绘制系统中存在的变化，并在科学教师教育路径中协调努力。这一过程将整合地方背景下教育变化的迭代性质，影响大学教师准备计划和学区专业培训活动和课堂中NGSS的制定。该项目的总体目标是加强大学和学区可靠地培养科学教师的能力，这些教师了解并能够有效地制定下一代科学标准（NGSS），尽管是在不同的组织环境中准备的。该项目将实现以下目标：1)利用已建立的网络改进社区，该社区由来自8所大学校园的科学教育教师组成；2)在这些大学和学区内部和之间改善和研究科学教师教育途径各步骤的一致性。该项目将采用混合方法进行数据收集和分析。与改进科学理论一致，研究问题将由所有利益相关者共同定义。探索研究K-12项目（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具，显著提高pre -12学生和教师对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12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，为拟议的项目提供了理论和实证依据。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。

California State University will study the activities of a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) as a vehicle to bridge gaps across four identified steps along the science teacher training and development pathways within local contexts of 8 participating universities (NIC sites). Networked Improvement Community (NIC) will co-create a shared vision and co-defined research agenda between university researchers, science educators and school district practitioners working together to reform teacher education across a variety of local contexts. By studying outcomes of shared supports and teacher tools for use in multiple steps along the science teacher education pathway, researchers will map variation existing in the system and align efforts across the science teacher education pathway. This process will integrate an iterative nature of educational change in local contexts impacting enactment of the NGSS in both university teacher preparation programs and in school district professional training activities and classrooms.The overarching goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of universities and school districts to reliably produce teachers of science who are knowledgeable about and can effectively enact the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), although prepared in varied organizational contexts. The project will accomplish this goal 1) leveraging the use of an established Networked Improvement Community, composed of science education faculty from eight university campuses and by 2) improving and studying coherence in the steps along the science teacher education pathway within and across these universities and school districts. The project will use a mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis. Consistent with Improvement Science Theory, research questions will be co-defined by all stakeholders.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 the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification 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.