Collaborative Research: Strengthening Pathways to Diversity through Professional Development for Minority-Serving K-12 Science Educators-Expanding GeoFORCE Texas

该项目将扩大德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校杰克逊地球科学学院(JSG)在教育方面向K-12社区拓展的努力，为整个德克萨斯州的8至12年级少数族裔和为少数族裔服务的科学教师和教师导师提供高质量的地球科学专业发展。该项目的总体目标是：(1)为德克萨斯州一门新的高中水平的顶峰地球与空间科学课程开发一项针对少数族裔和少数族裔在职教师的严格的地球科学专业发展计划，该课程可作为其他州的榜样；(2)确保所有教师参与者都获得新的顶峰课程的基本基础，帮助该课程保持为满足第四科学的核心学分的可行选择；以及(3)支持德克萨斯州西南部接受这一专业发展的JSG GeoFORCE项目教育工作者网络的教师在自己的课堂上实施改进的地球科学教学。将通过以下几项活动提供专业发展：1)与德克萨斯地区卓越科学教学合作机构(TRC)合作，建立专业发展学院(PDA‘s)，每学期培训70名教师导师，这些教师将依次为35个地区合作机构的25名教师提供培训。由70名教师组成的8个不同的PDA。2)为25名积极进取的TRC教师导师设立的暑期学院。这些研究所将包括两个为期两周的课程。他们将培训教师导师，以培训其他教师在德克萨斯州高中实施新的地球和空间科学课程。两个两年制学院，每个学院25名学生。3)GeoFORCE教育学院。与暑期学院类似，这些学院旨在帮助来自德克萨斯州西南部、属于GeoFORCE网络的教师实施新的德克萨斯州地球和空间科学课程。培训将以8个专业发展讲习班的形式进行，而不是将这些教师带到奥斯汀。4)在线学习社区，旨在教师在培训期间和培训后与促进者和同事保持联系，并分享最佳实践和新信息。该项目将直接影响140名TRC教师导师(4年内代表35个TRC教师团队的2个队列，或70名教师导师=140名教师导师)和50名GeoFORCE西南得克萨斯州教师(2个队列，25名教师，4年内=50名教师)。预计每个两人TRC教师导师小组每年将增加25名教师，总共增加3,500名受该项目直接影响的TRC教师。

The project will expand The Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin (JSG) efforts in educational outreach to the K-12 community by providing high quality geoscience professional development to 8th to 12th grade minority and minority-serving science teachers and teacher mentors throughout Texas. The overarching project goals are to (1) develop a rigorous geoscience professional development program for minority and minority-serving teachers for a new Texas high-school level capstone Earth and Space Science course that can serve as model for other states; (2) ensure that all teacher participants attain the basic foundation for the new capstone course, helping this course to remain a viable option for core credit to satisfy the fourth science; and (3) support teachers from the JSG GeoFORCE program's network of educators in southwest Texas who receive this professional development to implement improved Earth science instruction in their own classrooms. Professional development will be provided through several activities, including:1) Professional Development Academies (PDA's), with The Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science Teaching (TRC), to train 70 teacher mentors each semester, who will in turn bring the training to 25 teachers at each of the 35 Regional Collaboratives. Eight different PDA's of 70 teachers each.2) Summer Institutes for 25 highly motivated TRC teacher mentors. These institutes will comprise two 2-week sessions. They will train the teacher mentors to train other teachers to implement the new Earth and Space Science course in Texas high schools. Two 2-year institutes of 25 students each.3) GeoFORCE Education Academies. Similar to the summer institute, these academies are designed to help teachers from SW Texas who are part of the GeoFORCE network to implement the new Texas Earth and Space Science course. Rather than bring these teachers to Austin, training will be brought to them in the form of 8 professional development workshops. Two 8-unit academies will serve 25 participants each.4) On-Line Learning Communities, designed to keep the teachers in contact with facilitators and fellow teachers between and after training, and to share best practices, and new information.The project will directly impact 140 TRC teacher mentors (2 cohorts of 35 TRC teacher teams representing each of the 35 Regional Collaboratives, or 70 teacher mentors, over 4 years = 140 teacher mentors) and 50 GeoFORCE southwest Texas teachers (2 cohorts of 25 teachers over 4 years = 50 teachers). Each two-person TRC teacher-mentor team is expected to reach 25 additional teachers each year, for a total of 3,500 additional TRC teachers directly impacted by the project.