Preparing Successful STEM Teachers to Serve Students in High-Need Schools through Pathways, Pipelines, and Partnerships

该项目旨在满足国家对高素质STEM教师的需求，准备让高需求学区的初中生和高中生成为下一代STEM专业人员。在为期五年的时间里，该项目将向22名有抱负的STEM教师提供奖学金，这些教师主修生物、化学、计算机科学或数学，并同时主修教育。韦伯斯特大学(WU)的这个项目包括与利特努尔学区、利特努尔高中和圣路易斯社区学院(STLCC)的合作。为了支持学生的专业和教育经验，以培养准备充分的STEM教育者，该项目还包括与圣路易斯科学院、圣路易斯城市联盟和唐纳德·丹福斯植物科学中心的社区合作伙伴关系。该项目的一个根本推动力是，通过专门课程和专门设计的项目活动，加强STEM和STEM师资培训方案相结合的途径和渠道。这将使圣路易斯地区和其他地区的高需求学校能够为他们的学生提供强有力的包容性STEM教育，这反过来将帮助这些学生中的许多人为未来的STEM教育和STEM工作人员的成功做好准备。圣路易斯韦伯斯特大学的这个项目将以四个主要目标为指导。首先是在现有数量的基础上招收更多的学生，通过有目的的途径攻读STEM学位和教学认证。该项目将遵循“自己成长”的方法，招募未来的教师，然后将他们作为认证教师安置在他们所在社区的高需求学校。其次，项目倡议将通过专业课程、促进多样性、公平和包容性的与文化相关的教学方法、加强建议、STEM师生合作研究项目、高需求学校的实地经验以及与社区合作伙伴的STEM外联计划，加强STEM教学的途径和渠道。第三个目标是与学术和社区组织建立合作伙伴关系，提供相关的专业和教育经验，培养准备更好的STEM教育工作者。第四个目标是通过辅助性指导和有意的入职机会，促进在高需求学校工作的STEM教师取得成功，以加强学生对STEM概念和技能的掌握，并提高教师保留率。定性和定量的项目评估将提供形成性和终结性的反馈和评估。收集的关于如何满足圣路易斯对高素质STEM教师需求的项目数据将与文献中的结果进行比较，以增加填补教师短缺空白的知识库，特别是在城市地区。该项目还将增加关于通过三个P(途径、管道和伙伴关系)满足教师能力需求的“培养你自己”的文献。该项目的不同之处在于，这三个P不仅利用高需求的学区，而且还利用当地社区大学和参与STEM活动的社区合作伙伴。通过在几个不同地点的出版物和介绍，调查人员将主动向区域和全国范围内的其他机构传播项目结果和成果。这个Track 1奖学金和津贴项目由罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划(Noyce)提供支持。Noyce计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人员成为有效的K-12 STEM教师，并支持经验丰富、模范的K-12教师成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。它还支持对高需求学区K-12 STEM教师的有效性和留住的研究。这一奖项反映了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。

This project aims to serve the national need for high-quality STEM teachers prepared to equip middle and high school students in high-need school districts to be the next generation of STEM professionals. Over its five-year duration, the project will provide scholarships to twenty-two (22) aspiring STEM teachers majoring in biology, chemistry, computer science, or mathematics with a double major in education. This project at Webster University (WU) includes partnerships with the Ritenour School District, Ritenour High School, and St. Louis Community College (STLCC). To support student professional and educational experiences to lead to well-prepared STEM educators, the project also includes community partnerships with the Academy of Science St. Louis, the Urban League of St. Louis, and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. A fundamental impetus of the project is to strengthen the pathways and pipelines for the combination of STEM and STEM teacher preparation programs through specialized curricula and specially designed project activities. This will enable high-need schools in the St. Louis area and beyond to provide their students a strong and inclusive STEM education, which, in turn, will help prepare many of these students for success in a future STEM education and the STEM workforce.This project at Webster University in St. Louis will be guided by four main goals. First is to recruit more students beyond current numbers to pursue both a STEM degree and teaching certification through purposeful pathways. The project will follow a "grow your own" approach by recruiting prospective teachers and, later, placing them as certified teachers in high-need schools in their home community. Second, project initiatives will strengthen the pathways and pipelines to STEM teaching through specialized curricula, culturally relevant pedagogical methodologies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, enhanced advising, collaborative faculty-student research projects in STEM, field experiences in high-need schools, and STEM outreach programs with community partners. A third goal is to enact collaborative partnerships with academic and community organizations that provide relevant professional and educational experiences leading to better-prepared STEM educators. A fourth goal is to promote success for STEM teachers working in high-need schools through supportive mentorship and intentional induction opportunities to strengthen students’ mastery of STEM concepts and skills and improve teacher retention. Qualitative and quantitative project evaluation will provide formative and summative feedback and assessment. Project data collected regarding how demand is met for high-quality STEM teachers in St. Louis will be compared to results in the literature to add to the knowledge base on filling gaps in teacher shortages, especially in urban areas. This project will also add to the "grow your own" literature on meeting teacher capacity needs through the three Ps (pathways, pipelines, and partnerships). The project will distinguish itself in that the three Ps leverage not only a high-need school district, but also local community colleges and community partners engaged in STEM activities. Through publications and presentations at several different venues, investigators will proactively disseminate project findings and outcomes to other institutions regionally and nationwide. This Track 1 Scholarships and Stipends 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 district. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention 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.