Advancing Physics Education Where Diversity Resides through Professional Development: Creating the Organization for Physics at Two-Year Colleges (OPTYCs)

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。这个项目将为2年制大学的物理教育者创建一个专业组织，从而为国家利益服务。全国有1000多所两年制大学，每年为21.5万多名学生提供物理课程，但在两年制大学环境中，专门为物理教育者提供学科特定专业发展的课程却很稀缺。该项目将通过针对多个职业水平的专业发展活动，为物理教师提供持续的支持，从而填补这一关键空白；领导力发展;多元化、公平和包容（DEI）培训；创造一种包括两年制大学教师和学生的物理教育研究文化。该项目提出了一套个人、合作伙伴和顾问，为专门为两年制大学教师设计的全国实践社区的发展带来了重要的专业知识。该项目最终旨在通过创建一个具有凝聚力、包容性、多样性和面向未来的组织来改变为期两年的大学物理教学社区，以响应全国范围内物理教育者不断发展的目标。该项目的总体目标是通过建立一个旨在在全国范围内提供专业发展机会的合作组织来填补物理两年制大学社区的空白。该项目有七个目标：1)建立一个可持续的实践社区；2)为所有职业水平的教师提供变革性的专业发展；3)为新加入的物理教师创建指导小组；4)为物理界提供新的和更新的数据；5)在教师中培养物理教育研究的文化；6)定义和传播研究型教学方法的最佳实践；7)成为其他STEM学科创建国家实践社区的典范。该项目旨在通过结合观察、调查、访谈和焦点小组来衡量干预措施的有效性，从而得出有关社区建设、教师参与和制度变革的结论。该项目计划使用项目可持续性评估工具对整体可持续性进行评估。在五年的资助期内，每名教师每年估计会为50名学生提供帮助，该项目旨在积极影响11万名在两年制大学学习物理课程的学生。最终，该项目有可能通过创建一个综合的实践社区，为教师成长提供基准，并通过增加学生的多样性和参与STEM劳动力，来改变两年制大学物理教学社区。美国国家科学基金会关于在两年制高等教育机构推进本科STEM教育的创新和影响的项目描述支持在两年制大学推进STEM教育计划的项目。该项目描述促进了两年制大学本科STEM教育的创新和循证实践。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). This project will serve the national interest by creating a professional organization for physics educators at two-year colleges. There are over 1,000 two-year colleges in the country that offer physics courses to more than 215,000 students per year, yet there is a scarcity of programs dedicated to discipline-specific professional development for physics educators in a two-year college setting. This project will fill this critical gap by providing sustained support to physics faculty through professional development activities aimed at multiple career levels; leadership development; diversity,equity, and inclusion (DEI) training; and creating a culture of physics education research that includes two-year college faculty and students. The project puts forth a suite of individuals, partners and advisors that bring significant expertise to the development of a national community of practice designed specifically for two-year college faculty. This project ultimately seeks to transform the two-year college physics teaching community by creating a cohesive, inclusive, diverse and future-focused organization that is responsive to the evolving goals of physics educators on a national scale. The overall goal of this project is to fill a void in the physics two-year college community by establishing a collaborative organization that aims to provide professional development opportunities across the country. The project has seven objectives: 1) institutionalize a sustainable community of practice; 2) provide transformative professional development aimed at faculty at all career levels; 3) create mentoring groups for new physics faculty; 4) empower the physics community with new and updated data; 5) instill a culture of physics education research among faculty; 6) define and disseminate best practices in research-based teaching and learning methods; and 7) become a model for other STEM disciplines to create national communities of practice. The project intends to measure efficacy of the interventions using a combination of observations, surveys, interviews, and focus groups to draw conclusions about community building, faculty participation and institutional change. The project plans to assess overall sustainability using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool. With an estimated 50 students per year per instructor, over the course of the five-year grant period the project seeks to positively impact 110,000 students taking physics classes at two-year colleges. Ultimately, the project has the potential to transform the two-year college physics-teaching community through the creation of an integrated community of practice, providing benchmarks for faculty growth, and by increasing student diversity and participation in the STEM workforce. The NSF program description on Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at Two-year Institutions of Higher Education supports projects that advance STEM education initiatives at two-year colleges. The program description promotes innovative and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges.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.