Modest Supports for Sustaining Professional Development Outcomes over the Long-Term

探索研究K-12计划(DRK-12)旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具(RMT)，显著提高K-12学龄前学生和教师在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)方面的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发努力的基础上，这些研究和开发工作为拟议的项目提供了理论和经验证明。本研究将探讨影响教师专业发展(PD)经验后教师转变持续性的因素，并将检视K-5年级对科学教学的适度支持在多大程度上长期维持PD结果。将招募50名完成位于小型农村学区的四个PD项目之一的K-12教师参加这项研究，他们将参加为期两天的暑期进修课程，在学年期间在当地学校参加两次分组会议，以及每年两次可选的网络研讨会。对参与者的电子支持将包括一个专用的电子邮件地址、一个Facebook项目页面、一份双周时事通讯，以及访问与小学科学教学有关的一系列主题的存档网络研讨会。还将为更换动手课堂活动所需的消耗品提供适度支助。该项目将考察这些微不足道的支持在多大程度上单独和共同促进了PD成果在用于科学的教学时间、教师在科学方面的自我效能以及教师使用探究式教学策略方面的可持续性。这项纵向研究将寻求三个研究问题的答案：1)适度的支持在多大程度上促进了专业发展结果的可持续性：a)科学教学时间；b)教师的科学自我效能感；c)教师使用探究式教学策略？2)哪些支持是：a)对结果的可持续性最关键的；b)最具成本效益的；以及3)哪些背景因素支持或阻碍专业发展结果的可持续性？该项目将采用混合方法的研究设计，在10至12年的时间内考察PD在小学教师中的影响，其中包括3年的PD计划，最初的PD计划后的4-6年，以及为期3年的适度支持干预。将从多个来源收集定量和定性数据，包括：对参与调查的教师关于他们对科学的信念、他们的教学实践和他们在科学上的教学时间的一般调查；教师自我效能测量；干预反馈调查；与网络研讨会有关的电子数据来源；教师访谈；学校管理人员访谈；以及购买课堂用品的收据。从教师调查和自我效能感测量中获得的量化数据将使用分层模型进行分析，以检验原始PD后的增长率和提供适度支持后的增长率变化。从其他来源收集的数据将为每位教师进行跟踪、编码和分析，并与调查和自我效能数据相关联，以便按教师个人、年级、学校、地区和原始PD经验进行分析。综合起来，这些数据将使项目小组能够解决项目的研究问题，特别强调确定教师在多大程度上利用所提供的各种支助，并确定最具成本效益和最关键的支助。

The Discovery Research K-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 (RMTs). 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 study will investigate factors influencing the persistence of teacher change after professional development (PD) experiences, and will examine the extent to which modest supports for science teaching in grades K-5 sustain PD outcomes over the long term. Fifty K-12 teachers who completed one of four PD programs situated in small, rural school districts will be recruited for the study, and they will participate in summer refresher sessions for two days, cluster meetings at local schools twice during the academic year, and optional Webinar sessions two times per year. Electronic supports for participants will include a dedicated email address, a project Facebook page, a biweekly newsletter, and access to archived Webinars on a range of topics related to teaching elementary school science. Modest support for replacement of consumable supplies needed for hands-on classroom activities will also be provided. The project will examine the extent to which these modest supports individually and collectively foster the sustainability of PD outcomes in terms of the instructional time devoted to science, teacher self-efficacy in science, and teacher use of inquiry-based instructional strategies. The effects of contextual factors on sustainability of PD outcomes will also be examined.This longitudinal study will seek answers to three research questions: 1) To what extent do modest supports foster the sustainability of professional development outcomes in: a) instructional time in science; b) teachers' self-efficacy in science; and c) teachers' use of inquiry-based instructional strategies? 2) Which supports are: a) the most critical for sustainability of outcomes; and b) the most cost-effective; and 3) What contextual factors support or impede the sustainability of professional development outcomes? The project will employ a mixed-methods research design to examine the effects of PD in science among elementary schoolteachers over a 10 to 12 year period that includes a 3-year PD program, a 4-6 year span after the initial PD program, and a 3-year intervention of modest supports. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected from multiple sources, including: a general survey of participating teachers regarding their beliefs about science, their instructional practices, and their instructional time in science; a teacher self-efficacy measure; intervention feedback surveys; electronic data sources associated with Webinars; teacher interviews; school administrator interviews; and receipts for purchases of classroom supplies. Quantitative data from the teacher survey and self-efficacy measure will be analyzed using hierarchical modeling to examine growth rates after the original PD and the change in growth after the provision of modest supports. Data gathered from other sources will be tracked, coded, and analyzed for each teacher, and linked to the survey and self-efficacy data for analysis by individual teacher, by grade level, by school, by district, and by original PD experience. Together, these data will enable the project team to address the project's research questions, with particular emphasis on determining the extent to which teachers make use of the various supports offered, and identifying the most cost-effective and critical supports.