Improving Secondary Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Computer Science Teacher Preparation Through a Sequence of Active Teaching Experiences

该项目旨在服务于高质量中等STEM教育的国家利益。 它将通过为不同课堂的科学和数学教师做好准备来实现这一目标，其中包括有色人种学生、低收入家庭的学生、新兴的双语学生和/或有特殊需要的学生。来自这些群体的许多学生很少有机会获得与年级相适应的作业，高质量的教学，深入的参与和教师的高期望。越来越多的证据表明，积极的教学可以提高学生的学习成果，学生的参与度和学生的态度。因此，该项目旨在培养能够以公平，严格和积极的方式教授STEM主题的STEM教师。该项目的设计预计将帮助兼职教师：（一）对自己以参与和积极的方式教授大学预科STEM课程的能力建立更大的信心;（二）获得教授物理，化学，数学或计算机科学的必要内容知识;以及（三）学习如何实施创新战略，以适应文化的方式教授不同人群的学生。该项目中的职前教师将在第一年的教学中通过研讨会和持续的导师制获得支持。 预计这些活动将帮助新教师克服挑战，继续改进教学。该项目的预期成果是准备至少24名高素质的中学STEM教师，他们将在整个中西部的高需求学区任教，从而部分解决严重的教师短缺问题。随着时间的推移，该项目有可能通过解决导致STEM领域学习机会差距的因素来改善中学生的学习成果。德雷克大学的这个项目包括与得梅因公立学校的合作伙伴关系。该项目将准备，支持和毕业至少24个新的物理，数学，化学和计算机科学教师通过嵌入创新，积极的学习教学经验在他们的教师准备计划和相关的实地经验在得梅因公立学区。该项目的副教授将包括本科STEM专业和具有STEM学士学位的STEM专业人员。副教授将完成一个连贯的三个学期的积极教学经验序列，在他们的准备计划中的各种设置。在这一进程中，该项目将评估中学教师的教学内容知识和教学信心水平的变化。通过优先考虑专业内容知识在支持积极教学策略中发挥的关键作用，该项目旨在了解自我效能，教学内容知识和教学效果如何通过旨在使用现有的定量和定性数据收集工具（例如，STEBI; CoRe; RTOP）。该项目有可能提供有关教学内容知识和教学效果之间的关系，以及教学内容知识如何随着时间的推移发展的见解。该项目旨在利用项目活动提高中学和本科STEM课堂的主动学习水平，以及这些STEM课堂中代表性不足的学生的参与。这个轨道1：奖学金和津贴项目是通过罗伯特诺伊斯教师奖学金计划（诺伊斯）的支持。诺伊斯计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人士成为有效的K-12 STEM教师和经验丰富的模范K-12 STEM教师，成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest in high-quality secondary STEM education. It will do so by preparing science and mathematics teachers for diverse classrooms that include students of color, students from low-income families, emerging bilingual students, and/or students with special needs. Many students from these groups have less access to grade-appropriate assignments, quality instruction, deep engagement, and high expectations from teachers. A growing body of evidence suggests that active teaching improves student learning outcomes, student engagement, and student attitudes. Thus, this project aims to prepare STEM teachers who can teach STEM topics in equitable, rigorous, and active ways. The project design is expected to help preservice teachers: (i) develop greater confidence in their abilities to teach college preparatory STEM courses in engaging and active ways; (ii) gain the necessary content knowledge for teaching physics, chemistry, mathematics or computer science; and (iii) learn how to implement innovative strategies for teaching diverse populations of students in culturally responsive ways. Preservice teachers in the project will be supported during their first year of teaching via seminars and ongoing mentorship. It is expected that these activities will help the new teachers overcome challenges and continue to improve their instruction. The anticipated outcome of this project is to prepare at least 24 highly qualified secondary STEM teachers who will teach in high-need school districts throughout the Midwest, thus partially addressing critical teacher shortages. Over time, this project has the potential to improve secondary student learning outcomes by addressing factors that contribute to learning opportunity gaps in STEM fields.This project at Drake University includes partnerships with Des Moines Public Schools. The project will prepare, support, and graduate at least 24 new physics, mathematics, chemistry, and computer science teachers by embedding innovative, active learning teaching experiences within their teacher preparation program and associated field-experiences in Des Moines Public School district. The project's preservice teachers will include both undergraduate STEM majors and STEM professionals with a STEM baccalaureate degree. The preservice teachers will complete a coherent three-semester sequence of active teaching experiences across a variety of settings within their preparation programs. Throughout this progression, the project will assess changes in preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and confidence levels for teaching. By prioritizing the critical role that specialized content knowledge plays in supporting active teaching strategies, this project seeks to understand how self-efficacy, pedagogical content knowledge, and teaching effectiveness improve through experiences designed to target and grow new teachers’ knowledge using established quantitative and qualitative data collections tools (e.g., STEBI; CoRe; RTOP). This project has the potential to provide insight about the relationship between pedagogical content knowledge and teaching effectiveness and how pedagogical content knowledge develops over time. The project aims to use project activities to increase the level of active learning in secondary and undergraduate STEM classrooms, as well as, the engagement of underrepresented students in these STEM classrooms. This Track 1: Scholarships and Stipends project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 STEM teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the persistence, retention, and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.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.