A Robert Noyce Spatial Thinking Academy for Preparing Effective K-12 STEM Teachers

该项目旨在满足国家对更多高素质STEM教师的需求。为此，它将创建罗伯特·诺伊斯空间思维学院，旨在激励有才华的STEM学生和专业人士成为高需求公立学校的成功STEM教师。在走向认证的过程中，未来的教师将提升他们的空间思维知识和技能。此外，他们还将学习使用空间思维作为改善学生STEM学习的一种方法。该项目将为纽约州教师认证提供两条途径：途径1为新近毕业的STEM毕业生，途径2为STEM劳动力专业人员。路径一和路径二的三个组合的学生将获得奖学金或津贴。通过空间思维学院，该项目将：(1)培训和留住具有不同文化背景的STEM教育人才；(2)提高未来教师对STEM学习在非正式和正规环境中发生的背景的了解；(3)提高高素质STEM教育工作者的能力，通过加强空间思维技能促进STEM概念的学习。圣约翰大学的这个项目包括与纽约市大都市区高三学区(扬克斯、纽约学区和斯塔滕岛第31学区)的伙伴关系。该项目的目标是招聘、支持和留住有才华的STEM毕业生，他们将在高需求的公立学校从事生物、化学、物理、环境科学或数学教师的职业生涯。为此，空间思维学院将支持36名有才华的STEM毕业生在这些学校服务，并将提供两条通往纽约州教师初始认证的途径。路径1是为24名圣约翰大学STEM专业的应届毕业生设计的。路径2是为12名寻求职业转换者初步教学认证的STEM专业人员设计的。路径1和路径2未来的教师都将注册一个为期一年的教育硕士学位，并将获得该年度的奖学金或津贴。通过纵向混合方法研究方法，项目调查人员将：(A)设计、测试和验证旨在可持续和适用于其他大学的STEM教学常驻模式；(B)测试和验证体制政策和最佳做法，以增加来自不同文化社区的STEM专业从事教学工作的人数；(C)审查、修改和实施体制战略，为STEM专业的学生追求STEM教育者的职业生涯提供一条职业道路；(D)设计、测试、验证和验证认识到空间思维作为21世纪STEM教育、专业和职业准备技能的重要性的课程；以及(E)设计、测试和验证STEM教师持续专业发展和教学指导的模式。测试和验证将在参与之前、计划期间以及在合作学区就业后的一年内由跟踪学者进行。本研究不仅将探讨未来教师将空间技能与STEM学科联系起来的能力，而且还将探讨他们从空间思维的角度教授STEM主题的能力。这项工作的结果可能会对将空间认知研究与全国STEM教学实践联系起来具有深远的影响。该项目由罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划(Noyce)提供支持。Noyce计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人员成为有效的K-12 STEM教师，并支持经验丰富、模范的K-12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、保留率和有效性的研究。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 need for a greater number of highly qualified STEM teachers. To do so, it will create the Robert Noyce Spatial Thinking Academy, which will be designed to motivate talented STEM students and professionals to become successful STEM teachers in high-need public schools. In the process of moving to certification, the future teachers will improve their spatial thinking knowledge and skills. In addition, they will learn to use spatial thinking as an approach to improve their students' STEM learning. The project will provide two pathways to New York State Teacher Certification: Pathway 1 for recent STEM graduates and Pathway 2 for STEM workforce professionals. Three combined cohorts of Pathway 1 and Pathway 2 students will receive scholarships or stipends. Through the Spatial Thinking Academy, the project will: (1) train and retain talented individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds in STEM education; (2) increase future teachers' understanding of the context in which STEM learning occurs in both informal and formal settings; and (3) increase the capacity of highly qualified STEM educators to advance learning of STEM concepts by reinforcing them with spatial thinking skills.This project at Saint John's University includes partnerships with New York City metropolitan area high-three need school districts (Yonkers, New York School District and School District 31 in Staten Island). The goal of the project will be to recruit, support, and retain talented STEM graduates who will pursue a career as a biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, or mathematics teacher in high-need public schools. In doing so, the Spatial Thinking Academy will support 36 talented STEM graduates to serve in these schools and will provide two pathways leading to New York State Teacher Initial Certification. Pathway 1 is designed for 24 recent Saint John's graduates with STEM majors. Pathway 2 is designed for 12 STEM professionals seeking initial teaching certification as career changers. Both Pathway 1 and 2 future teachers will enroll in a one-year master's degree in education and will receive scholarships or stipends for that year. Through a longitudinal mixed methods research approach, the project investigators will: (a) design, test, and verify a STEM teaching residency model intended to be sustainable and adaptable at other universities; (b) test and verify institutional policies and best practices to increase the number of STEM majors from culturally diverse communities who pursue careers in teaching; (c) review, modify, and implement institutional strategies that provide a career pathway for STEM majors to pursue careers as STEM educators; (d) design, test, verify, and validate curricula that recognize the importance of spatial thinking as a 21st-century STEM educational, professional, and career-readiness skill; and (e) design, test, and validate a model for ongoing professional development and instructional coaching for STEM teachers. Testing and validation will be conducted by tracking scholars prior to participation, during the program period, and for one year following employment in the partner school districts. The study will explore not only future teachers' abilities to connect spatial skills and STEM subjects, but also their ability to teach STEM topics from the perspective of spatial thinking. The results of this work may have far-reaching implications for connecting spatial cognition research with STEM teaching practice throughout the country. This Track 1—Scholarships and Stipends—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.