Collaborative Research: Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development Focused on Implementation of Evidence-based Teaching Practices

该项目旨在通过培养数学研究生助教(MGTA)来服务于国家利益，以实施旨在提高学生在本科数学课程中的成功程度的教学实践。为此，该项目将为MGTA提供多年专业发展计划，以帮助他们实施循证教学实践，包括主动学习。专业发展计划将包括一次密集的教学研讨会和两门专注于主动学习和包容性教学的课程。这种方法为MGTA提供了多年的长期专业发展，与仅在研究生第一年提供MGTA培训的传统做法形成了鲜明对比。为了帮助发展他们的领导技能，有经验的MGTA将有机会担任新同事的教学导师。在该项目的五年时间里，超过35,000名本科生将由接受过多年专业发展的MGTA授课。预计在接下来的几年里，随着许多MGTA进入学术生涯，还将有数千名学生获得服务。该项目将在俄勒冈州立大学、弗吉尼亚联邦大学和圣地亚哥州立大学实施。因此，该项目将有多种背景来考察专业发展对MGTA教学态度和实践的影响，以及对MGTA班级本科生成功的影响。该项目将比较三个机构的成果，以产生关于MGTA专业发展的新知识，探索什么在哪些情况下有效，并制定与MGTA的教学实践相关的明确的变革理论。这个项目的目标是通过一个专业发展计划，使MGTA掌握循证教学实践，例如使用多重表征、小组管理和反思性教学，该计划建立在对本科生数学教育和MGTA专业发展的研究结果的基础上。该项目将通过调查、课堂观察和对受影响部门的MGTA及其学生和教职员工的采访收集数据，研究这种方法的有效性。这些数据将使项目团队能够探索MGTA教学实践的变化及其对循证教学实践的承诺，了解本科生如何体验参与MGTA的课堂，并检查专业发展计划是否以及如何在系内正式和持续。利用个人和组织的变革理论，这个项目将产生关于专业发展计划是否、如何以及为什么会导致教学变革的新知识。这项工作将包括确定影响MGTA转变其教学的个别因素，并探索阻碍或支持可持续变化的部门和机构特征。对来自多个机构的数据进行多层次混合方法分析将允许进行丰富的比较，以更广泛地为MGTA的专业发展提供信息。该项目得到了NSF IUSE：EHR和IUSE：HSI计划的支持。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过机构和社区转型轨道，该计划支持高等教育机构和学科社区转变和改善STEM教育的努力。IUSE：西班牙裔服务机构计划(HSI计划)旨在加强HSIS的本科生STEM教育和能力建设。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 aims to serve the national interest by preparing mathematics graduate teaching assistants (MGTAs) to implement teaching practices designed to improve the success of students in undergraduate mathematics courses. To this end, the project will provide MGTAs with a multi-year professional development program to help them implement evidence based teaching practices, including active learning. The professional development program will include an intensive teaching seminar and two courses focused on active learning and inclusive teaching. This approach, which provides MGTAs with extended professional development over multiple years, contrasts with the conventional practice of providing MGTA training only in their first year of graduate school. To help develop their leadership skills, experienced MGTAs will have the opportunity to serve as teaching mentors for newer peers. Over the five-year span of the project, more than 35,000 undergraduates will be taught by MGTAs who have received this multi-year professional development. It is expected that thousands more students will be served in the years that follow, as many of the MGTAs move into academic careers. The project will be implemented at Oregon State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and San Diego State University. As a result, the project will have multiple contexts for examining the impact of the professional development on MGTA teaching attitudes and practices, as well as on the success of the undergraduates in the MGTAs’ classes. The project will compare outcomes at the three institutions to generate new knowledge about MGTA professional development, to explore what works in which contexts, and to develop an explicit theory of change related to MGTAs’ teaching practices. The goal of this project is to equip MGTAs with evidence-based teaching practices, such as the use of multiple representations, small group management, and reflective teaching, through a professional development program built on findings from research about both undergraduate mathematics education and MGTA professional development. The project will study the efficacy of this approach through data collected from surveys, classroom observations, and interviews with MGTAs, their students, and faculty in the impacted departments. These data will enable the project team to explore changes in MGTAs’ teaching practices and their commitment to evidence-based teaching practices, to understand how undergraduate students experience the participating MGTA’s classrooms, and to examine if and how the professional development program becomes formalized and sustained within the departments. Using individual and organizational theories of change, this project will generate new knowledge about whether, how, and why the professional development program results in instructional change. This work will include determining individual factors that impact MGTAs as they transform their teaching and exploring departmental and institutional characteristics that inhibit or support sustainable change. A multi-level mixed methods analysis of data from multiple institutions will allow for rich comparisons to inform MGTA professional development more broadly. This project was supported by the NSF IUSE:EHR and IUSE:HSI programs. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities. The IUSE: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program (HSI Program) aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs.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.