Developing the Pedagogical Skills and Science Expertise of Teachers in Underserved Rural Settings

农村科学教师往往是孤立的，很少有机会与其他教师进行有意义的合作，而这是专业学习的重要来源。本项目将开发和研究一种基于技术中介课程研究（TMLS）的农村科学教师专业发展创新模式。该方法通过在农村教师中开发以技术为基础的社会支持系统，支持将专业学习转化为课堂实践。该项目将为来自犹他州四个农村地区的高中生物和化学教师举办暑期讲习班，以学习3D科学教学。（3D科学教学融合了科学学科的核心思想、科学研究实践和跨学科的概念，帮助学生通过参与真实的科学现象来达到表现期望。）在研讨会上，参与者将与项目团队和来自该州同一地区的同一学科的教师合作，共同设计符合州和国家教育标准的3D科学课程。在研讨会期间建立的关系的基础上，区域教师团队将参与一种新的专业学习形式：以技术为媒介的课程研究。（课程研究是一种教学探究模式，教师在小型协作小组中面对面工作，以设计、交付、观察和完善教学实践。）该项目将为该州四个地区的88名农村科学教师发展科学教学能力，他们每年将为大约1万名犹他州农村学生提供科学教学服务。许多学生是尤特族、派尤特族、戈休特族、纳瓦霍族和肖肖尼族的成员。参与者设计的科学课程计划将提供给犹他州的所有教师，并通过一个分享同行评议科学课程计划的网站与全国观众分享。项目研究和资源将通过会议发言和同行评议期刊和从业人员期刊的出版物进一步传播。该项目将研究TMLS如何在教师将专业知识转化为实践的过程中为教师提供支持，并调查将其他农村学校的同一学科教师纳入教师社会支持网络的影响。本项目将采用混合方法研究协同设计活动和TMLS周期对教师变化能力、实践和社会支持系统的影响。能力和实践的变化将通过访谈、课堂教学视频观察和TMLS会议进行定性检查。运用社会网络分析方法，定量分析TMLS对教师社会支持系统的影响，以确定作为三维科学教学信息枢纽的个体。这些教师将接受采访，以更好地了解他们的社会互动。采用基于设计的实施研究，本项目将与参与本项目的科学教师领导合作，迭代地改善专业学习体验。探索研究preK-12项目（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具，显著提高preK-12学生和教师对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，为拟议的项目提供了理论和实证依据。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。

Rural science teachers are often isolated and have few opportunities for meaningful collaboration with fellow teachers, an important source of professional learning. The project will develop and research an innovative model for rural science teacher professional development via technology-mediated lesson study (TMLS). This approach supports translating professional learning into classroom practice by developing a technology-based, social support system among rural teachers. The project will host summer workshops for high school biology and chemistry teachers from four rural Utah regions to learn about 3D science teaching. (3D science teaching incorporates core ideas science disciplines, science research practices, and concepts cutting across disciplines to help students meet performance expectations by engaging with authentic science phenomena.) In the workshops, participants will collaborate with the project team and teachers of the same subject from the same region of the state to co-design 3D science lessons that align with state and national education standards. Building on relationships developed during the workshops, the regional teacher teams will engage in a novel form of professional learning: technology-mediated lesson study. (Lesson study is an instructional inquiry model where teachers work face-to-face in small collaborative groups to craft, deliver, observe, and refine teaching practice.) This project will develop capacity for science teaching for 88 rural science teachers in four regions of the state, who will reach approximately 10,000 rural Utah students each year. Many of the students are members of the sovereign Ute, Paiute, Goshute, Navajo (Diné), and Shoshone Nations. The science lesson plans participants design will be made available to all Utah teachers, and shared with a national audience through a website that shares peer-reviewed science lesson plans. Project research and resources will be further disseminated through conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed and practitioner journals.The project will research how TMLS supports teachers in the process of translating professional learning into practice and investigate the impact of changing teachers’ social support network to include teachers of the same subject from other rural schools. The project will study the effects of co-design activities and TMLS cycles on teachers’ changing capacity, practice, and social support system using mixed-methods research. Changes in capacity and practice will be examined qualitatively through interviews, video observations of classroom teaching, and TMLS meetings. The effects of TMLS on teachers’ social support system will be analyzed quantitatively using social network analysis to identify individuals who act as information hubs for 3D science teaching. These teachers will be interviewed to better understand their social interactions. Using design-based implementation research, the project will iteratively improve the professional learning experience collaboratively with the science teacher leaders who participate in the project. The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.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.