CAREER: Fostering Early STEM Exploration with Gifted and High Ability Black Girls and Their Elementary Teachers through Culturally Relevant Experiential Learning Activities

关于有天赋的黑人女孩在STEM教育中的经历的学术研究有限。黑人女孩在天赋项目中的比例不足近40%，在高级课程作业中的比例也较低，例如以STEM为重点的高级选修课程和其他课程。这一拟议的职业项目填补了与资优教育、城市教育和教师教育中种族、性别、阶级和认知能力交叉相关的理论空白。这位研究人员将开发和研究共同学习、社区参与的教育项目，为有天赋的黑人女孩提供STEM教育渠道和途径。这一拟议项目的中心目标是在初级一级提出可行的变革理论，通过批判性和与文化相关的体验式学习，培养STEM的归属感、早期STEM的探索和开发，并培养STEM的认同感。作为教育融合计划的一部分，该项目还将为有天赋的黑人女孩及其家庭编写课程材料(见STEM中的我)，以及为教师编写专业发展材料(教师作为人才催化剂)。该职业奖由发现研究PREK-12项目(DRK-12)资助，该项目旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具，显著提高Pre-K-12学生和教师的科学、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，这些研究和开发工作为拟议的项目提供了理论和实证证明。研究人员将根据相关文献和STEM中有天赋的黑人女孩表达的需求，利用社区和家庭投入，为20名小学教师提供专业学习。教师参与者将沉浸在与文化相关的体验式STEM教学过程中，以提高他们的教育学水平。混合方法的研究设计将为该项目的两个组成部分的制定和实施提供信息，教师发展计划，教师作为人才催化剂，以及为40名被确认为天才的黑人女孩及其家人开发的课程，在STEM见我。预期的研究成果包括：(1)通过体验式学习增加对初级天赋黑人女孩在STEM身份认同方面的经历的理解；(2)发展一种理论，将天赋黑人女孩的声音、历史遗产和兴趣、她们的社区利益和家庭作为合作伙伴；(3)共同开发的伙伴关系发展模式，支持天赋黑人女孩在初级STEM中人才识别和发展的共同愿景；以及(4)加深对共同学习模式和合作方法如何为STEM人才识别和天才黑人女孩的发展提供信息的理解。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。

There is limited scholarship on the experiences of gifted Black girls in STEM Education. Black girls are underrepresented by almost 40% in gifted programs, and under-referred for advanced course work, such as STEM-focused Advanced Placement and other courses. This proposed CAREER project fills a theoretical gap related to the intersections of race, gender, class, and cognitive ability in gifted, urban, and teacher education. The researcher will develop and study co-learning, community-engaged educational programs that center STEM education pipelines and pathways for gifted Black girls. The central aim of this proposed project is to bring about an actionable theory of change at the elementary level to foster a sense of belonging in STEM, early STEM exploration and development, and nurturing a STEM identity, through critical and culturally relevant experiential learning. The project will also develop curricular materials for gifted Black girls and their families (See Me in STEM) as well as professional development materials for teachers (Teachers as Talent Catalysts) as part of the educational integration plan. This CAREER award is funded by the Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) which 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.The researcher will provide 20 elementary teachers with professional learning based on relevant literature and the expressed needs of gifted Black girls in STEM using community and familial input. Teacher participants will be immersed in culturally relevant experiential STEM teaching processes to enhance their pedagogy. A mixed-methods research design will inform the development and implementation of two components of the project, the teacher development program, Teachers as Talent Catalysts, and the curriculum developed for use with 40 Black girls identified as gifted and their families, See Me in STEM. The intended research outcomes include: (1) increased understanding of the experiences of elementary-aged gifted Black girls with respect to STEM identity via experiential learning; (2) development of a theory that centers the voices, historical legacies, and interests of gifted Black girls, their community interests, and families as partners; (3) a co-developed model for partnership development that supports a shared vision for talent identification and development in elementary STEM for gifted Black girls; and (4) increased understanding of how the co-learning model and collaborative approach informs the STEM talent identification and development of gifted Black girls.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.