REU Site: Engaging Student Teachers in STEM Education Research

肯塔基大学本科生研究经验（REU）网站将为职前STEM教师提供一学年的本科研究经验。在三年的奖励期内，它将接待三组八名学生，共24名学生。该项目的长期目标是提高K-12学生的STEM知识、理解和技能。为实现这一目标，该项目的核心战略是培养更多、准备更充分的K-12 STEM教师。现场活动将采用基于证据的教育实践，重点是培养更高层次的思维技能和对STEM概念的深刻理解。该项目将聘请职前教师担任本科研究员，他们将从事STEM教育研究，重点关注具有国家和国际影响的当地教育问题。在这项工作中，研究员将由肯塔基大学STEM教育系的八位经验丰富的教师指导。这个REU网站旨在增加研究员对社会，教育和研究之间相互作用的了解，特别是在不同学习者群体中实现STEM素养的多种变革方式。另一个预期的结果是增加来自不同人群的学生对STEM教育研究的兴趣。为此，REU将从蓝草社区和技术学院以及针对特定学生群体的专业课程中招收学生。这个为期三年的项目每年将有8名本科生研究人员参与到真正的STEM教育研究的设计、执行、分析和交流中。这些研究员将为集体理解影响城市、农村和郊区K-12 STEM教育的教学实践和后果贡献新的知识。因此，该项目将为研究员提供一个机会，进行与现代K-12 STEM教育实践最相关的研究。通过这些活动，本科生将学习如何查阅研究文献，了解与STEM教育问题相关的背景理论和方法，培养技术专业知识和细致的数据收集和记录习惯，提高定性和定量数据分析的熟练程度，提高写作和演讲技能，并获得与积极而成功的教育研究团队合作的宝贵经验。该REU因其学年（8月至5月）实施期而脱颖而出。研究员的经历将在全国本科研究会议上发表。预计这项工作将由课题组发展成期刊文章并提交发表。罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划共同资助了这个项目，以表彰它与诺伊斯努力的更广泛的教师培养目标相一致。先进技术教育计划共同资助该项目，以表彰其与为社区大学STEM学生提供研究经验的更广泛目标的一致性。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 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of Kentucky will provide an academic year undergraduate research experience for preservice STEM teachers. It will host three cohorts of eight students, engaging a total of 24 students over the three-year award period. The long-term goal of the project is to improve K-12 students’ STEM knowledge, understanding, and skills. The project’s core strategy to achieve that goal is to develop a larger and better-prepared K-12 STEM teacher population. Site activities will use evidence-based educational practices and focus on developing higher order thinking skills and deep conceptual STEM understanding. The project will engage pre-service teachers as undergraduate research fellows, who will pursue STEM education research focused on local educational issues with national and international implications. In this work, the fellows will be mentored by eight experienced faculty in the University of Kentucky's STEM Education Department. This REU site intends to increase the fellows’ knowledge of the interplay between society, education, and research, especially the multiple transformative ways that STEM literacy can be attained across diverse learner populations. Another intended outcome is increased interest of students from diverse populations in STEM education research. Towards this end, the REU will recruit students from Bluegrass Community and Technical College and from specialized programs for specific student populations. This three-year project will immerse eight undergraduate research fellows each year in the design, execution, analysis, and communication of authentic STEM education research. The fellows will contribute new knowledge to the collective understanding of pedagogical practices and consequences influencing urban, rural, and suburban K-12 STEM education. Thus, this project will offer fellows an opportunity to do research most pertinent to modern K-12 STEM educator practice. Through these activities, undergraduates will learn how to consult the research literature for relevant background theory and methods pertaining to STEM education problems, cultivate technical expertise and meticulous habits of data collection and record-keeping, develop proficiency with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, improve writing and presentation skills, and earn valuable experience working with an active and successful team of educator-researchers. This REU stands out due to its academic-year (August through May) implementation period. The fellows’ experience will culminate with a presentation at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research. It is expected that this work will be developed into a journal article by the research team and submitted for publication. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program is cofunding this project in recognition of its alignment with the broader teacher preparation goals of the Noyce effort. The Advanced Technological Education program is cofunding this project in recognition of its alignment with the broader goals of providing research experiences to community college STEM students.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.