Collaborative Research: Investigating STEM Teacher Preparation and Rural Teacher Persistence and Retention

合作研究：调查 STEM 教师准备和农村教师的坚持和保留

• 批准号: 2050071
• 负责人: Earl Blodgett
• 金额: $ 7万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-River Falls
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2050071&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Investigating; STEM; Teacher

The project aims to serve the national need of addressing STEM teacher shortages in rural communities. Staffing schools with high quality STEM teachers has been a persistent challenge for rural schools for the past century, however, to date, relatively few resources have been allocated toward the improvement of teacher education to prepare teachers to work in rural settings. Addressing STEM teacher workforce needs in rural America is critical for future student success. This project aims to address STEM teacher workforce challenges through a focus on how educator preparation programs (EPPs) address the unique contexts of rurality and teaching STEM in rural settings. Moreover, it seeks to identify the programmatic features of educator preparation programs that support rural STEM teacher recruitment, retention, and persistence. This project, led by Mississippi State University with thirteen collaborative partners (Texas A&M University, Stephen F. Austin University, University of Wisconsin River Falls, Fort Hayes State University, Clarkson University, University of Kentucky, University of Alabama Birmingham, Texas Tech University, Morehead State University, Texas A&M University- Commerce, Winthrop University, Alabama A&M University, and North Dakota State University) has three main goals. First is to investigate the impact of EPP features on program completers’ intention to teach as well as their persistence (continuing to teach at the same school) and retention (continuing to teach but at a new school) in rural STEM classrooms. Second is to engage in deep reflection leading to programmatic adjustments within collaborating partners’ educator preparation programs intended to increase equitable access to effective instruction for rural schools. Third is to share emerging knowledge about programmatic features of EPPs that support program completers’ intention to teach, their employment decisions after completing the EPP, and their persistence and retention in rural placements. The overarching hypothesis guiding this study is that EPPs that explicitly address rurality through programmatic features including context (e.g., addressing the strengths and challenges of rural teaching and stereotypes about rural places), curriculum (e.g., a focus on place-based instruction and rural field experiences), and conveyance (e.g., recruiting from rural or online delivery) will support recruitment, retention, and persistence in rural schools, which can lead to a more diverse and effective STEM teaching force for rural schools. Research is needed to understand the impact of these programmatic features in order to guide the design and delivery of educator preparation programs that serve rural schools and communities. This foundational research project uses a longitudinal, repeated-measures, mixed-methods research design in which 14 collaborating partners across the U.S. will identify programmatic features that address rurality and track program completers’ intentions to teach, persistence, and retention and thus produce evidence that will be disseminated both internally (to collaborating partners) and to broader audiences (e.g., STEM education, teacher education, and rural education communities). Data sources include curricular artifacts such as degree plans, course syllabi, field placement data, and assessment data; interviews with program faculty; and two surveys to capture demographic data, employment data, and the three outcome variables over time. The broader impact aim of this collaborative research is to create actionable knowledge to support rural STEM teacher persistence and retention. This Track 4: Noyce Research 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 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.

该项目旨在满足解决农村社区 STEM 教师短缺问题的国家需求。过去一个世纪以来，为学校配备高素质的 STEM 教师一直是农村学校面临的一个持续挑战，然而，迄今为止，用于改善教师教育、为教师在农村环境中工作做好准备的资源相对较少。解决美国农村地区 STEM 教师队伍的需求对于未来学生的成功至关重要。该项目旨在通过关注教育者准备计划 (EPP) 如何应对农村的独特背景以及在农村环境中教授 STEM 教学来解决 STEM 教师队伍的挑战。此外，它还试图确定支持农村 STEM 教师招聘、保留和坚持的教育者准备计划的计划特征。该项目由密西西比州立大学牵头，共有 13 个合作伙伴（德克萨斯农工大学、斯蒂芬奥斯汀大学、威斯康星大学河瀑布分校、海斯堡州立大学、克拉克森大学、肯塔基大学、阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校、德克萨斯理工大学、莫尔黑德州立大学、德克萨斯农工大学商业学院、温思罗普大学、阿拉巴马农工大学和北达科他州立大学） 有三个主要目标。首先是调查 EPP 功能对项目完成者的教学意向以及他们在农村 STEM 课堂中的坚持性（继续在同一所学校教书）和保留性（继续在新学校教书）的影响。其次是进行深入反思，对合作伙伴的教育者准备计划进行方案调整，旨在增加农村学校获得有效教学的公平机会。第三，分享有关 EPP 计划特征的新兴知识，这些知识支持计划完成者的教学意图、完成 EPP 后的就业决定以及他们在农村安置中的坚持和保留。指导本研究的总体假设是，通过方案特征明确解决农村问题的 EPP，包括背景（例如，解决农村教学的优势和挑战以及对农村地区的刻板印象）、课程（例如，重点关注基于地方的教学和农村实地经验）和输送（例如，从农村或在线交付中招募），将支持招聘、保留和坚持 农村学校，这可以为农村学校带来更加多样化和有效的 STEM 教师队伍。需要进行研究来了解这些计划特征的影响，以指导服务于农村学校和社区的教育者准备计划的设计和实施。该基础研究项目采用纵向、重复测量、混合方法的研究设计，其中美国各地的 14 个合作伙伴将确定解决农村问题的计划特征，并跟踪计划完成者的教学意图、坚持和保留，从而产生将在内部（向合作伙伴）和更广泛的受众（例如 STEM 教育、教师教育和农村教育社区）传播的证据。数据源包括课程工件，例如学位计划、课程大纲、实习数据和评估数据；与项目教师的访谈；两项调查旨在获取人口数据、就业数据和随时间变化的三个结果变量。这项合作研究的更广泛影响目标是创造可操作的知识，以支持农村 STEM 教师的坚持和保留。此轨道 4：诺伊斯研究项目由罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划 (Noyce) 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高效的 K-12 STEM 教师，并支持经验丰富、堪称典范的 K-12 教师成为高需求学区的 STEM 大师级教师。它还支持对高需求学区 K-12 STEM 教师的持久性、保留性和有效性的研究。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。