Developing a Multi-Disciplinary STEM Education Model for Multilingual Learners That Meets Societal Challenges

该项目通过利用STEM学科的融合，包括数据科学和计算机科学，促进STEM教育知识的发展，重点关注社会挑战，以增强少数民族学生群体-多语言中学学习者（ML）的能力。这项研究试图做出两个重大贡献。首先，该项目将为多学科STEM教育制定一个概念框架，以应对紧迫的社会挑战。其次，在四年的时间里，该项目将把这一概念框架转化为课堂上的实际实施，创造一个全面的创新：（1）利用COVID-19大流行的背景，围绕STEM教育中的社会挑战，为ML开发一个教学单元;（2）建立教师专业发展计划，以促进教学单元在课堂上的成功实施;以及（3）开发并验证一套工具，以衡量创新对学生和教师的影响，评估实施的完整性，并评估其在多样化教学环境中的潜力。该项目以一个概念框架为基础，该框架解决了紧迫的社会挑战，来解释这些挑战。其主要目标是通过承认和培养他们的资产，如跨国经验和丰富的意义创造资源，使学生公平参与STEM教育，从而增强他们在STEM学习中的能力。这项研究将在全国最大的学区纽约市公立学校进行，将在四年内分三个阶段进行。第1阶段（1年，2年和3年）将采用基于设计的研究来开发，测试和反复完善教学单元和PD计划。第二阶段（第二年和第三年）将专注于开发一套研究创新的工具，确保它们有效并适合未来更大规模的研究。第3阶段（第4年）将最终确定教学单元，PD计划和工具，使其准备实施和更广泛的使用。概念框架，创新和工具将为未来的大规模实地试验铺平道路。此外，该项目将作为扩大STEM教育的基础，以应对气候变化和可持续性等其他紧迫的社会挑战。最后，它将有助于一个研究议程，旨在解决复杂和普遍的社会问题，不成比例地影响少数群体。发现研究preK-12计划（DRK-12）旨在显着提高科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学preK-12学生和教师，通过研究和开发创新的资源，模型和工具。DRK-12项目中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究以及为拟议项目提供理论和经验依据的先前研究和开发工作的基础上。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 contributes to advancing knowledge on STEM education focusing on societal challenges by harnessing the convergence of STEM subjects, including data science and computer science, to empower a minoritized student group - multilingual middle-school learners (MLs). The research seeks to make two significant contributions. First, the project will develop a conceptual framework for multi-disciplinary STEM education with MLs to address pressing societal challenges. Second, over the course of four years, the project will translate this conceptual framework into practical implementation in classrooms, creating a comprehensive innovation to: (1) develop an instructional unit centered around a societal challenge in STEM education for MLs, utilizing the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) create a teacher professional development (PD) program to facilitate successful implementation of the instructional unit in classrooms; and (3) Develop and validate a suite of instruments to measure the impact of the innovation on both students and teachers, evaluate the integrity of implementation, and assess its potential for diverse instructional settings.The project is grounded in a conceptual framework that addresses pressing societal challenges and employs the convergence of multiple STEM subjects to explain these challenges. The primary goal is to empower MLs in STEM learning by recognizing and nurturing their assets, such as transnational experiences and rich meaning-making resources to build students' equitable participation in STEM education. The research will take place in New York City Public Schools, the largest school district in the nation, and will be conducted in three phases over four years. Phase 1 (Years 1, 2, and 3) will employ design-based research to develop, test, and refine the instructional unit and PD program iteratively. Phase 2 (Years 2 and 3) will focus on developing a suite of instruments to study the innovation, ensuring they are valid and suitable for future larger-scale studies. Phase 3 (Year 4) will finalize the instructional unit, PD program, and instruments, making them ready for implementation and broader use. The conceptual framework, innovation, and instruments will pave the way for future large-scale field trials. Furthermore, the project will serve as a foundation for extending STEM education to address other pressing societal challenges, such as climate change and sustainability. Finally, it will contribute to a research agenda that seeks to tackle complex and pervasive societal issues that disproportionately impact minoritized groups.The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) 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. 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.