Conference: Identifying Challenges for Elementary Educators: Implementing the Oklahoma Academic Science Standards

本次会议旨在解决职前教师教育计划面临的一个持续挑战，即如何使与科学相关的小学教师的准备工作与国家科学标准所规定的期望保持一致。该项目将为俄克拉何马州的利益相关者提供支持，让他们聚集在一个研讨会上，产生与改变小学教师科学准备课程有关的想法。参与者将包括中央俄克拉何马大学的科学和教育教师、俄克拉何马市大都会地区的小学教师和行政人员，以及各种州和地方非营利机构和组织，如俄克拉何马州教育部。另外，至少还有4所开设小学教师预备课程的高等教育机构（私立3所，公立1所）也将参与其中。讨论和共识结果的综合文件将被制作并传播到研讨会参与者之外的俄克拉何马科学院，俄克拉何马科学教师等，以及在数学与科学学院网站上发布。这一全州范围内的努力实现其目的的过程将被记录下来，以告知其他志同道合的州的努力。本研究旨在为影响小学理科教师的本科准备提供支持，得到了美国国家科学基金会改善本科STEM教育项目的支持。该项目将在大学、学区和非营利机构之间召开为期一天的研讨会，就小学教师实施国家科学标准所需的基本科学内容和教学方法达成共识。记录仪将用于记录研讨会产生的与准备职前科学教师有关的共同愿景，以及获得这一成果的过程。该项目将在大学内容专家、小学教育工作者和利益相关者（地方和州非营利课程开发商，如公用事业、动物园和博物馆）之间建立或加强新的伙伴关系，他们为小学教师提供资源。共同愿景文件将为开发或修订教学方法和材料提供基础，这些方法和材料可以首先引入职前教育项目，然后用于教授符合国家标准和最佳实践的必要内容和教学方法。这些材料可以被初入小学的教师在课堂上使用，因为他们支持学生在早期学习科学。本次研讨会将确定适当的基础内容知识和教学上合理的课程方法，为未来的小学教育者提供现象学自然基础教育的经验。这将使学生更好地参与科学教育，也将使科学教育者更好地了解利用自然世界实例的可用资源，并确定跨学科策略。利用共同愿景，大学教师可以开发专门针对小学教师的大学课程。这具有重要的智力价值，因为存在为全州学校提供高质量，科学素养的小学教师的潜力，同时也影响了大学科学和工程学院对地区小学需求的理解。这项工作的总体意图是，通过可实现的、可理解的“真实世界”的例子，由职前教师和他们的学生来理解科学，这有可能扩大参与，并使学生对学习科学感到兴奋。通过这次开创性的研讨会和对职前小学教师的科学准备产生共同愿景，大学科学家和小学教育工作者、小学课堂教师、管理人员和利益相关者非营利实体之间建立的伙伴关系也有可能成为未来合作的种子。

This conference seeks to address a persistent challenge for pre-service teacher education programs, that is, how to align what occurs in the preparation of elementary teachers related to science with the expectations set forth in state standards for science. The project will provide support to stakeholders across the state of Oklahoma to come together in a workshop to generate ideas related to changing the elementary teacher preparation curriculum in science. Participants will include science and education faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma City metropolitan area elementary school teachers and administrators, and various state and local non-profit agencies and organizations, such as the Oklahoma State Department of Education. At least four additional institutions of higher education (3 private and one public) with elementary teacher preparation programs, will participate as well. A synthesis document of discussions and consensus outcomes, will be produced and disseminated beyond workshop participants to the Oklahoma Academy of Science, the Oklahoma Science Teachers, and more, as well as published on the College of Mathematics and Science website. The process by which this statewide effort achieves it intents will be documented to inform other like-minded state efforts. This endeavor to provide support for influencing the undergraduate preparation of elementary teachers in science is supported by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program of the National Science Foundation.This project will convene a one-day workshop among university, school district, and non-profit entities to come to consensus on the essential science content and pedagogical approaches necessary for elementary teachers to implement the state science standards. Recorders will serve to document both the shared vision related to the preparation of pre-service teachers in science emanating from the workshop, as well as the process by which this outcome was obtained. This project will create or reinforce new partnerships among university content experts, elementary educators, and stakeholders (local and state non-profit curriculum developers such as public utilities, and zoos and museums) who provide resources to elementary teachers. The shared vision document will provide the basis for development or revision of instructional approaches and materials that can first be introduced in pre-service education programs and then used to teach the necessary content and pedagogical approaches consistent with state standards and best practices. These materials can then be used by the nascent elementary teachers in their classrooms as they support students in learning science in their early years. This workshop will identify the appropriate foundational content knowledge and pedagogically sound curriculum approaches that will provide future elementary educators with an experience of phenomenologically nature-based elementary education. This will allow for the better engagement of students in science education and will also generate a better understanding of the resources available for science educators in utilizing natural world examples, as well as identify cross-disciplinary strategies. Using the shared vision, university faculty can develop university courses specifically for elementary teachers. This has important intellectual merit as the potential exists to provide high-quality, scientifically literate elementary teachers for the schools across the state while also impacting university science and engineering faculty's understanding of the needs of area elementary schools. The overarching intent of this effort, the understanding of science through attainable, comprehensible "real world" examples by pre-service teachers and their students has the potential to broaden participation and allows students to be excited about learning science. The partnerships created among university scientists and elementary educators, as well as elementary classroom teachers, administrators and stakeholder non-profit entities, through this seminal workshop and the generation of a shared vision for the science preparation of pre-service elementary teachers, also has the potential to serve as the seed of future collaborations.