Building Capacity to Develop Elementary STEM Teacher Leaders in Iowa

该项目旨在通过建设能力，在爱荷华州发展一个小学STEM教师领导计划，满足国家对提高STEM素养的需求。许多STEM教育努力解决中学STEM教师的需求。然而，高质量的STEM教育需要从小学开始开始。北方爱荷华州大学的小学教师教育项目是该州最大的。然而，大多数小学教师在获得认证之前对综合STEM教学的经验很少。这是由于小学阶段强调英语/语言艺术和数学，而不太重视科学，特别是在高需求的学校。此外，很少有小学教师拥有科学或STEM的认可，这导致很少有高质量的小学教师能够实践和模拟最佳的STEM教学实践。该项目将建立能力，以开发一个小学STEM教师领导者计划，为小学教师提供STEM专业发展和领导力发展。反过来，这些小学STEM教师领导者将为有效的STEM教学建模，并为未来的小学教师提供高质量的STEM学生教学经验。北方爱荷华州大学的能力建设项目包括与当地高需求学校的利益相关者建立伙伴关系，包括Hoglan小学和Walter Cunningham博士卓越学校。该项目的目标是调查爱荷华州小学STEM教育的现状，然后设计一个培养小学STEM教师领导者的计划。该项目团队将向内布拉斯加大学林肯分校的教师学习，他们在该州成功地创建了一个小学STEM教师领导者项目，该项目与爱荷华州有着相似的教育特点。此外，该项目团队将调整Horizon Research的全国科学和数学教育调查，并利用该调查从管理人员和教师那里收集有关高需求小学小学STEM教学现状的证据。调查结果和后续访谈将进行分析，以建立在爱荷华州小学STEM教育工作者的优势和需求。来自调查数据分析的信息，结合内布拉斯加州计划的见解，将用于设计UNI的小学STEM教师领导计划。一个由四名成员组成的外部咨询委员会将指导和评估该项目，该委员会代表STEM教育大学教师、州级STEM教育专业发展领导人和来自爱荷华州高需求小学的管理人员。这个能力建设项目是通过罗伯特诺伊斯教师奖学金计划（诺伊斯）的支持。诺伊斯计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人士成为有效的K-12 STEM教师和经验丰富的模范K-12教师，成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。 该奖项反映了NSF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。

This project aims to serve the national need for increased STEM literacy by building capacity to develop an elementary STEM teacher leader program in Iowa. Many STEM education efforts address secondary STEM teacher needs. Yet, high-quality STEM education needs to begin for students during the elementary school years. The elementary teacher education program at the University of Northern Iowa is the largest in the state. However, most elementary school teachers have minimal experience with integrated STEM teaching prior to certification. This is due to the emphasis on English/Language Arts and Mathematics at the elementary level with less attention to science, especially in high-need schools. Further, few elementary teachers have science or STEM endorsements, which results in few high-quality elementary teachers who can practice and model best STEM teaching practices. This project will build capacity to develop an elementary STEM teacher leader program that would provide STEM professional development and leadership development for practicing elementary school teachers. In turn, these elementary STEM teacher leaders will model effective STEM teaching and support high-quality student teaching experiences in STEM for future elementary school teachers. This Capacity Building project at the University of Northern Iowa includes partnerships with stakeholders from local high-need schools, including Hoglan Elementary School and Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence. The goal of the project is to investigate the current state of elementary STEM education in Iowa and then to design a program that will develop elementary STEM teacher leaders. The project team will learn from faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who have successfully created an elementary STEM teacher leader program in their state, which shares educational similarities with Iowa. Additionally, the project team will adapt Horizon Research’s National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education and use this survey to collect evidence about the current state of elementary STEM teaching in high-need elementary schools from administrators and teachers. Survey results and follow-up interviews will be analyzed to establish the strengths and needs of elementary STEM educators in Iowa. Information from survey data analyses, combined with insights from the Nebraska program, will be used to design an elementary STEM teacher leader program at UNI. A four-member external Advisory Board representing STEM education university faculty, state-level STEM education professional development leaders, and administrators from high-need elementary schools in Iowa will guide and evaluate the project. This Capacity Building 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 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.