Collaborative Research: Using Networked Improvement Communities to Scale Up Program Transformation for Secondary Mathematics Teacher Preparation

该项目旨在通过研究网络改进社区（NIC）来服务于提高数学教师准备的国家利益，该网络改进社区致力于根据国家数学教师准备建议改造大学的中学数学教师课程。美国面临着准备充分的中学数学教师的严重短缺，特别是在最需要的地区。该项目有可能在四年的项目期间影响2，500多名数学教师，满足IUSE计划通过研究扩大STEM教育参与的意图。从43个中学数学教师准备项目开始，该项目打算扩大到参与和研究数学教师教育伙伴关系中的至少65个项目（MTEP 2.0）网络，包括到2025年增加11个资源不足的机构和/或少数民族服务机构，以增加准备充分的初级数学教师的数量和多样性，同时突出了公平和机会问题。招聘一批多样化的未来教师，并注入公平和正义，是该项目方案改革活动的核心。这个项目的目标包括检查如何协同结构的支持，加速和维持中学数学教师准备计划的转型努力。还将调查与个人作用、变革文化和领导决策过程有关的现有结构的变化。该项目将通过建立四类中心（行政、研究、支助和外联）来运作。PDSA（Plan-Do-Study-Act）循环迭代地建立原型，测试和改进干预措施。该项目的研究旨在确定在可持续发展的协作结构中有哪些支持使变革推动者能够有效地促进变革努力。研究方法将主要是定性的，使用Dedoose（一种用于组织和分析研究数据的网络应用程序）进行分析，以支持数据编码和分类的系统程序。访谈记录和项目文档数据将使用一种方法进行分析，该方法密切遵循Miles等人所阐述的方法。（定性数据分析：方法原始资料，2014年）和基于扎根理论的持续比较方法，从与主要驱动因素相关的项目变革理论开始：变革推动者、知识建设、知识共享、网络建设、应对环境和外联。由于每个NIC都有明确的目标和驱动图（代表实现目标的策略），这些维度将构成初始编码工作的框架。这些障碍分为开始、进展、维持或重建。 从这四个类别中的每一个类别中，该项目将有目的地选择具有代表性的案例，以进行年度访谈，轮流选择案例研究。这些定性数据将与定量数据相结合，如对方案完成者人数和方案在实现中期培训方案指导原则方面的进展情况的调查，以创建进展和行动的形象。从这个项目产生的知识，预计将提供一个国家模式，利用学校-大学的伙伴关系和国家信息中心的设计，以改变中学数学教师的准备，以支持更公平的数学成果。这种方法也有可能适用于教师培训或教育改进的其他领域。结果，包括案例，将与数学教师教育者协会合作，在会议和通讯中传播，并在《数学教师教育者》等期刊和《美国数学协会笔记》和《美国数学学会通知》等杂志上发表研究出版物。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过机构和社区转型轨道，该计划支持努力改造和改善高等教育机构和学科社区的STEM教育。 部分资金来自罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并且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。

This project aims to serve the national interest of improving mathematics teacher preparation by studying a networked improvement community (NIC) working to transform secondary mathematics teacher programs at universities aligned with national recommendations for mathematics teacher preparation. The U.S. faces a significant shortage of well-prepared secondary mathematics teachers, particularly in the highest-need districts. This project has the potential to impact over 2,500 preservice mathematics teachers during the four years of the project, meeting the IUSE program’s intent of broadening participation in STEM education through research. Beginning with 43 secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs, this project intends to expand to engage and study at least 65 programs in the Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership (MTEP 2.0) network, including the addition of 11 under-resourced institutions and/or minority-serving institutions, by 2025 to increase the number and diversity of well-prepared beginning mathematics teachers, while foregrounding issues of equity and access.Recruiting a diverse pool of future teachers and infusing equity and justice are core to the transformation activities of the programs in this project. The goals of this project include examination of how a collaborative structure of NICs supports, accelerates, and sustains secondary mathematics teacher preparation program transformation efforts. Variations in existing structures related to roles of individuals, the culture for change, and the decision-making processes for leadership are also to be investigated. The project will be operationalized through creation of four types of hubs (Administrative, Research, Support, and Outreach). The NICs use Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to iteratively prototype, test, and refine interventions. The project’s research is intended to identify which supports within the collaborative structure of NICs enable change agents to effectively facilitate transformation efforts. Research methodologies will be largely qualitative with analyses using Dedoose (a web-based application for organization and analysis of research data), to support systematic procedures for coding and categorizing data. Interview transcripts and project documentation data will be analyzed using an approach that closely follows methods explicated by Miles et al. (Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook, 2014) and a constant comparative approach based on grounded theory, starting with the project’s theory of change related to the primary drivers: Change Agents, Knowledge Building, Knowledge Sharing, Network Building, Responding to Context, and Outreach. Since each NIC has stated aims and driver diagrams (representing strategies toward achieving the aim), those dimensions will frame initial coding efforts. The NICs are categorized as Beginning, Progressing, Sustaining, or Re-establishing. From each of these four categories, the project will purposefully select representative cases to target for annual interviews, rotating the selection of case studies. These qualitative data will be paired with quantitative data, such as surveys of the number of program completers and program progress toward meeting the MTEP Guiding Principles, to create an image of progress and actions. The knowledge generated from this project is expected to provide a national model for use of school-university partnerships and the NIC design to transform secondary mathematics teacher preparation in support of more equitable outcomes for mathematics. The approach also has the potential to be adapted to other areas of teacher preparation or educational improvement. Results, including cases, are to be disseminated in collaboration with the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, at conferences and in newsletters, and research publications in journals such as Mathematics Teacher Educator and magazines such as Mathematical Association of America Notes and American Mathematical Society Notices. 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. Partial funding is from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program.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.