Preparing, Supporting, and Retaining Elementary Mathematics Specialists in High-need Urban Schools

该项目旨在满足全国在高需求城市学校增加小学数学专家人数的需求。在教师团队中加入小学数学专家有可能系统地改善数学教育，培养学生成功的数学能力，并提高学生的数学成绩。在美国，达到高水平数学学习的学生太少了，而数学成绩的差距一直存在。该项目旨在提高小学数学教师的有效性和教师领导能力，因为许多学生有很大的经济需求，并且来自传统上在STEM领域代表性不足的群体。该项目的重点是招募、培养、支持和留住小学数学专家，这些专家提供严格的数学指导，并担任数学教师的领导。佐治亚州立大学的这个项目包括与亚特兰大大都会学区格威内特县公立学校和非营利性角落外展组织的合作。项目目标包括：(1)从服务于代表性不足的学生群体的高需求学校招募成功、有经验和多样化的小学数学教师，成为小学数学专家；(2)通过两个大学认可项目的循证准备，增加这些学校的小学数学专家数量；(3)培养高效的数学教师和教师领导型的小学数学专家；(4)支持和留住小学数学专家，让他们担任这些学校的教师领导，包括指导大学教师候选人。这个为期五年的项目将涉及26名在职小学教师，旨在促进数学公平和获得数学机会，支持高需求学校留住教师，并将教师候选人纳入招聘渠道。该项目的教师将通过完成K-5数学认证和教师支持与辅导认证，作为小学数学专家进行准备和支持。除了完成这两项认证外，教师还将参与专业学习社区和一对一的指导。涉及混合方法的评估和研究将展示有意的和持续的项目组成部分如何影响小学数学专家的数学内容、知识、教学实践、信念和教师领导技能。研究结果有可能促进对数学教师教育和专业发展领域的理解，特别是对高需求学校的小学数学专家的理解。这个Track 3：硕士教师奖学金项目是由Robert Noyce教师奖学金计划（Noyce）支持的。Noyce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，并支持经验丰富的模范K-12 STEM教师成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。它还支持对高需求学区K-12 STEM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。

The project aims to serve the national need of increasing the number of elementary mathematics specialists in high-need urban schools. Inclusion of an elementary mathematics specialist on a team of teachers has potential to systemically improve mathematics education, build students’ mathematical capacity to succeed, and increase student achievement in mathematics. Too few students in the U.S. are attaining high levels of mathematics learning, compounded by persisting gaps in mathematics achievement. This project aims to improve mathematics teacher effectiveness and teacher leadership in elementary schools in which many students have great economic needs and are from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. The project focuses on the recruitment, preparation, support, and retention of elementary mathematics specialists who deliver rigorous mathematics instruction and serve as mathematics teacher leaders. This project at Georgia State University includes partnerships with the metro Atlanta school district Gwinnett County Public Schools and the nonprofit Corners Outreach. Project goals include to: (1) recruit successful, experienced, and diverse elementary mathematics teachers from high-need schools that serve underrepresented student populations to become elementary mathematics specialists; (2) increase the number of elementary mathematics specialists in these schools through evidence-based preparation in two university endorsement programs; (3) develop elementary mathematics specialists who are highly effective mathematics teachers and teacher leaders; and (4) support and retain elementary mathematics specialists as they serve as teacher leaders, including coaching university teacher candidates, in these schools. This five-year project will involve 26 in-service elementary teachers, aiming to promote mathematics equity and access, support teacher retention in high-need schools, and situate teacher candidates in a hiring pipeline. The project's teachers will be prepared and supported as elementary mathematics specialists through completion of the K-5 Mathematics Endorsement and Teacher Support & Coaching Endorsement. In addition to completing these two endorsements, teachers will also engage in a Professional Learning Community and one-on-one mentoring. Evaluation and research involving mixed methods will demonstrate how the intentional and continuous project components affect the mathematical content knowledge, instructional practices, beliefs, and teacher leader skills of elementary mathematics specialists. Results have the potential to advance understandings in the areas of mathematics teacher education and professional development, particularly of elementary mathematics specialists in high-need schools. This Track 3: Master Teacher Fellowships project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). 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.