Collaborative Research: Teacher Leadership: Investigating the Persistence and Trajectories of Noyce Master Teaching Fellows

该合作Noyce Track 4研究项目的总体目标是通过研究教师领导力发展对Noyce教学硕士研究员（mtf）的持久性和专业轨迹的影响，为目前有限的STEM教师领导力理解做出贡献。教师领导（T-Lead）项目计划收集与七个目前活跃的Noyce教师领导项目的性质和结构、参与教师领导项目的专业轨迹、教师领导教学的学校背景以及他们参与的领导活动有关的数据。该数据集将使项目团队能够解决两个主要的研究目标。首先是确定各种Noyce项目中使用的专业学习模型对参与mtf的专业身份和轨迹的影响，并在这些模型的特征中寻找可能与教师坚持相关的模式。第二个是探索不同的背景因素（如STEM教学责任、学校文化）、专业网络和领导机会如何影响mtf在Noyce项目期间和/或之后继续担任课堂角色的决定。此外，这些数据可能支持围绕K-12系统中课堂教师作为领导者的机会的初步对话。这种与教师持久性相关的数据支持讨论可以着眼于哪些是可持续的、可扩展的模型，这些模型已经或可能存在，以积极影响教师持久性的方式提供这种机会。总而言之，这项Noyce Track 4研究资助可以通过确定STEM教师领导努力的结构和机制来支持教师在高需求学区的坚持，从而进一步实现Noyce项目的总体目标。T-Lead项目将研究来自全国各地的7个Noyce MTF项目，包括正在进行和已完成的专业学习经验，致力于培养STEM教师领导者。这些项目涉及来自K-12年级的159名mtf，他们都有STEM教学职责。收集的数据将包括对mtf、学校管理人员和同行教师以及Noyce项目的pi进行调查和访谈；项目设计特点分析；以及来自项目和教师领导活动的工件。将进行定性（例如对访谈数据进行编码）和定量分析，以确定项目结构、领导机会和学校文化的模式，这些模式可能会影响mtf在该专业的持久性。定量数据分析将使用结构方程模型和层次线性模型的调查数据。数据收集和分析将从对项目和参与者的全面检查集中到精心挑选的案例研究，旨在帮助绘制典型的硕士教学同伴轨迹。该项目的成果将通过许多地方、州和区域渠道传播（例如，当地教师领导努力、州会议和会议以及国家研究和STEM教师教育会议）。研究结果旨在帮助未来的Noyce和相关项目更好地为教师领导者设计专业学习，并更好地了解STEM教师可能会影响其持久性的独特挑战。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The overarching goal of this collaborative Noyce Track 4 Research project is to contribute to the currently-limited understanding of STEM teacher leadership by examining the influences of teacher leadership development on the persistence and professional trajectories of Noyce Master Teaching Fellows (MTFs). The Teacher Leadership (T-Lead) project plans to gather data related to the nature and structure of seven currently active Noyce MTF projects, the professional trajectories of participating MTFs, the school contexts in which the MTFs teach, and the leadership activities in which they engage. This data set will allow the project team to address two main research objectives. The first is to determine the impact of the professional learning models used in the various Noyce projects on the professional identities and trajectories of participating MTFs, and look for patterns in the features of those models that may be correlated with teacher persistence. The second is to explore how different contextual factors (e.g. STEM teaching responsibilities, school culture), professional networks, and leadership opportunities shape the decisions of MTFs to remain in classroom roles during and/or after the Noyce program. Additionally, the data may support initial conversations around the opportunities in K-12 systems that engage classroom teachers as leaders. Such data-supported discussions related to teacher persistence could look at what are sustainable, scalable models that do or could exist to provide such opportunities in ways that positively affect teacher persistence. In summary, this Noyce Track 4 Research grant could further the overarching goal of the Noyce program by determining what the structure and mechanisms of STEM teacher leader efforts are that support teacher persistence in high-need school districts.The T-Lead project will study seven Noyce MTF projects from across the country that include both in-progress and completed professional learning experiences dedicated to the development of STEM teacher leaders. These projects involve 159 MTFs from across the K-12 spectrum, all of whom have STEM teaching responsibilities. Data collected will include surveys and interviews with MTFs, administrators and peer teachers at their schools, and PIs of the Noyce projects; analysis of project design features; and artifacts from project and teacher leadership activities. Both qualitative (e.g. coding of interview data) and quantitative analysis will be conducted to determine patterns of project structure, leadership opportunities, and school culture, which may impinge on MTFs' persistence in the profession. Quantitative data analysis will use Structural Equation Modeling and Hierarchical Linear Modeling of survey data. Data collection and analysis will converge from a comprehensive examination of the projects and participants to carefully-selected case studies that are intended to help map typical master teaching fellow trajectories. The results of this project will be disseminated through numerous local, state and regional outlets (e.g. local teacher leadership efforts, state meetings and conferences and national research and STEM teacher educator conferences). The findings are intended to help future Noyce and related projects better design professional learning for teacher leaders and better understand the unique challenges of STEM teachers that may impact their persistence.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.