RDE-FRI: The Effects of Simulation Enhanced Training for Teachers on the Science Achievement of Third and Fourth Grade

RDE-FRI项目：模拟增强培训对三年级和四年级教师科学成就的影响，由残疾教育研究(RDE)计划的重点研究倡议(FRI)项目资助，为期36个月，价值299942美元。该项目的主要目标是培训小学教师掌握有效的教学策略，使三年级和四年级的残疾学生能够接受有效的科学教育，提高他们的科学成绩。使用模拟课堂环境--基于网络的模拟学校系统--向小学教师传授有效的教学策略，该系统包括不同的残疾和非残疾学习者群体。研究小组正在进行一个四(4)阶段的项目，首先为一个环境科学单元的池塘生活编写科学课堂化身的独特学习者特征。该项目的第二阶段包括与也是研究生的小学教师一起实地测试SimSchool单元。在项目的第三阶段，研究小组从小学教师那里收集干预前和干预后的数据，以比较模拟学校方法和面对面方法的有效性。该项目的第四阶段包括通过基于课程的评估以及在爱荷华州基本技能测试和威斯康星州环境调查中的成绩增长分数来衡量SIMSchool方法对残疾和非残疾三年级和四年级学生科学成绩的影响。这个项目建立在国家科学基金会资助的教师专业发展(DRL-0322847)和使用SIMSchool方法对女孩进行科学教育(GSE-0114917)的先前成功的基础上，以及教育部对使用SIMSchool进行职前初级教师培训的资助(P116B060398)。这个经验丰富的团队由一名具有特殊教育背景的研究人员领导，受益于与SIMSchool系统的开发商David Gibson的合作，以及与缅因法明顿大学、内华达大学里诺分校、东南路易斯安那大学的教师教育教师的合作伙伴关系。以及佛罗里达大学盖恩斯维尔分校。十(10)名北德克萨斯大学(UNT)的研究生教师将参与这一项目，他们的培训对80名K-12残疾学生和420名非残疾学生的影响正在评估中。另有20名三、四年级残疾学生和30名非残疾三、四年级学生，来自UNT的榆树分叉教育计划，正在参与这一项目的有效性测试阶段。该项目旨在通过衡量教师培训对三、四年级残疾学生科学教育的影响，来实现RDE-Firi Track的目标，即通过衡量教师培训对三、四年级残疾学生科学教育的影响，来调查STEM中残疾人士的有效教学方法和实践。外部评估员Leslie Leach正在执行一项形成性和总结性的项目评估计划。其他形成项目的意见由一个专家顾问团队提供，其中包括夏威夷大学的John Southworth、西乔治亚大学的Barbara McKenzie、缅因州大学的Theresa Total和北卡罗来纳州立大学的John Park。还有一项广泛的传播计划，其中包括在同行评议的专业期刊上发表研究结果，在特殊教育、科学、技术和教育研究会议上介绍项目材料和成果，并与残疾教育和发展教育社区以及广大SIMSchool用户交流项目方法和成果。

The project RDE-FRI: The Effects of Simulation Enhanced Training for Teachers on the Science Achievement of Third and Fourth Graders is a 36 month, $299,942 dollar award funded by the Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program's Focused Research Initiatives (FRI) track. The primary goal of the project is to train elementary school teachers in effective teaching strategies so that third and fourth grade students with disabilities will experience effective science education and improve their science achievement. Effective teaching strategies are taught to elementary school teachers using a simulated classroom setting, the web-based simSchool system, which includes a diverse group of learners with and without disabilities. The research team is conducting a four (4) phase project which begins with programming the unique learner characteristics of the science classroom Avatars for an environmental science unit on the life in a pond. Phase two of the project includes field testing the simSchool unit with elementary school teachers who are also graduate students. During the third phase of the project the research team collects pre- and post-intervention data from elementary school teachers to compare the effectiveness of the simSchool approach to a face-to-face approach. Phase four of the project includes an investigation of the impact of the simSchool approach on the science achievement of third and fourth graders with and without disabilities as measured by curriculum based assessments and achievement gain scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Wisconsin Environmental Inventory. This project builds on the prior success of the team's NSF-funded work on the teacher professional development (DRL-0322847) and on the use of the simSchool approach to educating girls in science (GSE-0114917), as well as Education Department funding for the use of simSchool for pre-service elementary teacher training (P116B060398).This highly experienced team, which is lead by a researcher with a special education background, benefits from collaborations with the David Gibson, the developer of the simSchool system, as well as partnerships with teacher education faculty from the University of Maine-Farmington, the University of Nevada-Reno, Southeastern Louisiana University, and the University of Florida-Gainesville. Ten (10) teachers who are graduate students at the University of North Texas (UNT) will participate in this project and the impact of their training is being assessed on 80 K-12 student with disabilities and 420 without disabilities. An additional 20 third and fourth grade students with disabilities and 30 third and fourth grade students without disabilities, from the Elm Fork Educational Program sponsored at the UNT, are participating in the validity testing phase of this project.This project addresses the RDE-FRI track goal of investigating effective instructional methods and practices for people with disabilities in STEM by measuring the impact of teacher training on science education for third and fourth graders with disabilities. There is a formative and summative project evaluation plan being conducted by Leslie Leach an external evaluator. Additional formative project input is provided by a team of expert advisors that includes John Southworth from the University of Hawaii; Barbara McKenzie from the University of West Georgia; Theresa Overall from the University of Maine, and John Park from North Carolina State. There is also an extensive dissemination plan which includes publishing findings in peer-reviewed professional journals, presenting project materials and results at special education, science, technology and education research conferences, and communicating project methods and outcomes with the RDE community as well as the broad community of simSchool users.