Empowering K-12 STEM Teachers Through a Bioscience Academy

 描述(由申请人提供)：通过生物科学学院为K-12 STEM教师赋权美国科学教育正处于危机之中。尽管努力通过《不让一个孩子掉队》立法让学区负责，但所采用的自上而下的方法并没有带来更好的中学教育结果。2013年，为了应对改善科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教育的挑战，一个国家委员会(CoSTEM)提出了改善STEM教学的第一个战略优先事项，重点提出“到2020年准备10万名优秀的K-12 STEM教师，并支持现有的STEM教师队伍。”这项提议直接解决了这一优先事项，特别是支持现有的STEM教师队伍。为了改进在职教师的STEM教学，我们利用社区参与程序在2010年建立了Voelcker生物科学教师学院(VBTA)，以创建一个授权的公立学校教师的学习社区。通过参与在职教师社区，VBTA正在成长为一个有效的网络，在学校和学区之间发挥作用。VBTA传播最佳实践，提供教师专业发展，建立同行指导网络，并创造一种培养独立、积极的终身学习的文化。为了完成这些使命，VBTA教师优先考虑他们所在学区的需求，自组织并建立了三个教师领导的委员会，这三个委员会构成了这项SEPA提案的具体目标：扩展深入的教师专业发展(同行辅导和助学金写作)和社区参与。我们加速VBTA发展和支持现有STEM员工队伍的具体目标是：1.通过以下方式扩展深入的生物科学教师专业发展：a.同行辅导：VBTA将通过与下一代科学标准(NGSS)和德克萨斯州基本知识与技能(TEKS)保持一致的STEM课程开发过程，通过教师主导的关于当前教学技术的讨论，以及组织和提供年度秋季和春季会议来促进同行辅导。B.助学金写作：在每月的研讨会上，教师将接受助学金写作指导(专业发展的一个新方面)，以从当地学校基金会、企业以及市和州政府获得资源，以加强STEM教育。2.社区参与：发展多学科教师团队，直接支持课堂科学之夜。当地学校的教师可以请求帮助，为他们的学生和家长组织、举办和评估科学之夜。一个多学科的VBTA教师团队将开发工具包，并与STEM教育工作者合作，在他们的学校成功地促进科学教育。在国家环保总局的支持下，我们将在2010-2015年奠定的初步基础上，评估VBTA，并将其转变为授权有效的K-12 STEM教育工作者的持续网络。这些以社区为基础的参与式TPD项目的经验和实践将提供适应性的在职教师主导模式，以改善美国的生物科学和STEM教育。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Empowering K-12 STEM Teachers through a Bioscience Academy United States science education is in crisis. In spite of efforts to make school districts accountable through the 'No Child Left Behind' legislation, the top-down approaches employed failed to yield improved secondary educational outcomes. In 2013, to address the challenges of improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, a national committee's (CoSTEM) first strategic priority to improve STEM Instruction emphatically proposes to "prepare 100,000 excellent new K-12 STEM teachers by 2020, and support the existing STEM teacher workforce." This proposal directly addresses this priority, specifically supporting the existing STEM teacher workforce. To improve in-service teacher STEM instruction, we used community engagement processes to establish the Voelcker Biosciences Teacher Academy (VBTA) in 2010 with the vision to create a learning community of empowered public school teachers. By engaging the in-service teacher community, the VBTA is growing into an effective network that works across schools and school districts. The VBTA disseminates best practices, offers teacher professional development, establishes peer-mentoring networks, and creates a culture that fosters independent, active life-long learning. To accomplish these missions, the VBTA teachers prioritized needs across their school districts, self-organized, and established three teacher-led committees that form the constructs for this SEPA proposal's Specific Aims: Extending In-depth Teacher Professional Development (Peer Mentoring and Grant Writing) and Community Engagement. Our specific aims to accelerate VBTA development and support the existing STEM workforce are: 1. Extend In-depth Bioscience Teacher Professional Development through: A. Peer Mentoring: The VBTA will promote peer mentoring through the process of STEM curriculum development aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), teacher led discussions of current pedagogical techniques, and organization and delivery of annual fall and spring Conferences. B. Grant Writing: In monthly workshops, teachers will receive grant writing instruction (a novel aspect of professional development) to obtain resources from local school foundations, businesses, and municipal and state governments to enhance STEM education. 2. Community Engagement: Develop multidisciplinary teams of teachers to directly support classroom science nights. Teachers at local schools may request help to organize, conduct, and evaluate science nights for their students and parents. A multidisciplinary VBTA teacher team will develop kits and work with STEM educators to successfully promote science education in their schools. With SEPA support, we will build on the preliminary foundations laid from 2010-2015, evaluate, and transform the VBTA into a sustained network of empowered effective K-12 STEM educators. Lessons and practices from these community-based participatory TPD programs will provide adaptive in-service teacher-led models to improve US bioscience and STEM education.