Mentors First: Building Capacity to Develop STEM Teachers who Can Include English as a Second Language Instruction in their STEM Classes

该项目旨在满足国家对经验丰富和有抱负的STEM教师的需求，这些教师准备将英语作为第二语言（ESL）的教学实践融入教学中。高质量的STEM课程很少提供给ESL学生，部分原因是STEM教育工作者不太可能得到认可并准备将ESL实践融入他们的STEM课程。导师第一伙伴关系旨在通过四种方式建立解决STEM课程中语言障碍的能力：1）每月的伙伴关系发展会议，包括建立社区，共享数据，规划课程顺序和赠款; 2）通过大学双语发展9年级（英文/西班牙文）STEM课程; 3）传播和使用项目结果，以确定，检查和消除障碍，以STEM课程的成功有限的英语熟练的学生; 4）设计STEM+ESL指导教师培训。这个能力建设项目在万年青州立学院包括与STEM和ESL教师在南普吉特海湾社区学院和44个高需求的学区在教育服务区113地区周围的合作伙伴学院的伙伴关系。Mentors First伙伴关系的目标是收集、分析和使用数据，以识别、理解和消除该地区高需求学校双语学生STEM课程轨迹的障碍。该项目还旨在确定高质量的STEM导师教师参加STEM+ESL导师第一研究员计划。Mentors First项目和评估旨在利用分层线性模型来研究ESL学生在有/没有ESL认可教师的教室和学校中的嵌套效应，从而提高ESL学生在STEM课程中成功的制度障碍的知识。长期目标包括开发STEM+ESL导师优先计划，并通过有抱负的STEM+ESL教师计划进行增强。如果ESL学生拥有高质量的STEM教师，并拥有欢迎和支持他们的语言策略，他们可能会为自己设想一个STEM职业。因此，该项目有可能扩大STEM领域的参与。这个能力建设项目是通过罗伯特诺伊斯教师奖学金计划（诺伊斯）的支持。诺伊斯计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人士成为有效的K-12 STEM教师和经验丰富的模范K-12 STEM教师，成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 project aims to serve the national need for experienced and aspiring STEM teachers who are prepared to integrate English as a second language (ESL) instructional practices into their teaching. High-quality STEM courses are rarely available to ESL students, in part because STEM educators are unlikely to be endorsed and prepared to integrate ESL practices in their STEM courses. Mentors First partnerships intend to build capacity to address language barriers in STEM courses in four ways: 1) monthly partnership development meetings that include building community, sharing data, planning course sequences and grants; 2) developing 9th grade through college dual language (English/Spanish) STEM courses; 3) disseminating and using project findings to identify, examine, and eliminate barriers to STEM course success for limited English proficient students; and 4) designing STEM+ESL mentor teacher training. This Capacity Building project at The Evergreen State College includes partnerships with STEM and ESL faculty at South Puget Sound Community College and the 44 high-need school districts in the Educational Service District 113 region surrounding the partner colleges. The Mentors First partnership’s goals are to collect, analyze, and use data to identify, understand, and remove barriers to STEM course trajectories for bilingual students attending high-need schools in the region. The project also aims to identify high-quality STEM mentor teachers to participate in the STEM+ESL Mentors First Fellows program. The Mentors First project and evaluation aims to advance knowledge of the institutional barriers for ESL students succeeding in STEM courses using Hierarchical Linear Modeling to examine the nested effects of ESL students in classrooms and schools with/out ESL endorsed teachers. The long-range goals include development of a STEM+ESL Mentors First program enhanced by an aspiring STEM+ESL teacher program. If ESL students have high-quality STEM teachers with language strategies that welcome and support them, it may be possible for them to imagine a STEM career for themselves. As a result, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields. This Capacity Building 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.