Science Club Summer Camp: Training Teachers and Youth in Authentic STEM Practice

 描述(由申请者提供)：本建议的目标是设计、实施和评估一个新颖的、以实践为基础的小学教师专业发展计划，该计划与最近发布的下一代科学标准(NGSS)保持一致。它力求解决小学教师科学培训方面的众所周知的差距，这些差距威胁到NGSS的有效实施，并中断了青年早期科学技能的发展。鉴于芝加哥公立学校(CPS)小学缺乏高质量的科学教学，我们提出，为未来的STEM和生物医学劳动力做准备的最佳方式是帮助改进K-5级别的NGSS对齐教学。科学俱乐部夏令营(SC2)采用综合方法对CPS教师和青年进行关于科学本质的培训。一个由科学家、高级科学教师、NGSS专家和青年发展工作人员组成的跨学科团队将合作，将NGSS学科核心思想(DCIS)、交叉概念以及科学和工程实践纳入夏令营和学年指导的校外学习。计划参与者还将通过与执业科学家的互动、访问研究实验室和调查健康现象来了解NGSS与健康和生物医学的联系。拟议的计划借鉴了教师专业发展和青年指导的最佳实践，为CPS的三年级教师和青年提供暑期和学年支持。具体地说，我们的目标是：1)设计和实施强化的小学教师专业发展计划，包括暑期和学年支持；2)在芝加哥的男孩和女孩俱乐部建立名为SC2儿童的夏令营计划；3)评估和传播在三年级课堂上实施NGSS的最佳实践。在该计划的过程中，我们将培训老师和2000多名青年真正的科学和健康实践。一个多方面的评估计划将评估我们的计划对教师信念、知识和对NGSS的理解的影响，以及他们的培训在多大程度上改变了他们的教学实践。此外，我们 将帮助教师设计与NGSS一致的关键评估工具，作为学生学习的衡量标准。这些工具将提供早期证据，说明面向NGSS的教学与更深入的学生学习之间的联系。除了满足对符合NGSS的教师专业发展战略和针对弱势青年的高质量暑期学习机会的迫切需求外，我们期望这一“两用”方法将成为未来教师专业发展方案的典范，这些方案寻求在正式和非正式环境中架起学习的桥梁，并加强学术与社区的伙伴关系。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this proposal is to design, implement, and evaluate a novel, practicum-based teacher professional development program for elementary school teachers, aligned to the recently released Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It seeks to address well-described gaps in the scientific training of elementary teachers that threaten the effective implementation of NGSS and interrupt development of early youth science skills. Given the lack of quality science instruction in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) elementary classrooms, we offer that the best way to prepare a future STEM and biomedical workforce is to help improve NGSS-aligned instruction at the K-5 level. Science Club Summer Camp (SC2) uses an integrated approach to train CPS teachers and youth in the nature of science. An interdisciplinary team of scientists, master science teachers, NGSS experts, and youth development staff will collaborate to incorporate the NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Crosscutting Concepts, and science and engineering practices into both out-of-school time learning at a summer camp and academic year instruction. Program participants will also learn about NGSS connections to health and biomedicine through interactions with practicing scientists, visits to research labs, and inquiry into health phenomena The proposed program draws on best practices for teacher professional development and youth mentoring to provide both summer and academic year support for third grade teachers and youth in CPS. Specifically, we aim to: 1) Design and implement an intensive elementary teacher professional development program, incorporating both summer and academic year support, 2) establish a summer science camp program, called SC2 Kids, at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, and 3) evaluate and disseminate best practices for implementation of NGSS in third grade classrooms Over the course of the program, we will train 64 teachers and more than 2000 youth in authentic science and health practices. A multi-faceted evaluation plan will assess the impact of our program on teacher beliefs, knowledge, and understanding of the NGSS, and the degree to which their training results in changes to their instructional practice. Additionally, we will help teachers design critical NGSS-aligned assessment tools as measures of student learning. These instruments will provide early evidence on the connections between NGSS-aligned instruction and deeper student learning. In addition to addressing the acute need for NGSS-aligned teacher professional development strategies and high quality summer learning opportunities for disadvantages youth, it is our expectation that this "dual use" approach will serve as a model for future teacher professional development programs that seek to bridge learning in formal and informal environments and strengthen academic-community partnerships.