Building Culturally Competent STEM Teacher Leaders for Rural, High-need Schools Near the U.S. Border with Mexico

该项目旨在解决美国学校STEM中学教师严重短缺和保留率低的问题，从而帮助解决一项重要的国家需求。此外，该项目旨在帮助克服目前在亚利桑那州和墨西哥边境的STEM经验方面的机会差距。该计划将支持经验丰富、技术熟练的STEM教师与科学家和科学教育者合作，在环境填海工地建立教育实地站。这些实地站可望提供实地考察和经验学习的机会。因此，他们有可能在大多数拉丁裔边境社区点燃STEM火花，并增加公众对科学的了解。当地的一个科学中心将与该项目合作，设计和开发野外观测站。该项目的社会效益包括提高该地区学生的潜力，该地区贫困、英语学习者人数众多、教育成就水平低、校外缺乏STEM机会。亚利桑那大学的这个项目将包括农村激活和创新网络（nsf# 1612555）、科奇斯县学区、比斯比科学探索和研究中心、自由港麦克莫兰工业和科奇斯县工程、自然资源部门之间的战略合作伙伴关系。项目目标是为有经验的、模范的STEM教师提供机会，在三个核心领域培养他们的领导技能：基于实地的教学材料设计、指导和协作。在这个为期六年的项目中，将选出14名杰出的STEM多学科教师作为硕士教学研究员。该项目解决了农村社区非正规STEM领域的知识缺口，并以教师合作的知识库为基础。该项目通过开发和使用教师设计的实地站作为STEM学科的教学场所，来测试改善STEM教育的潜力。它侧重于缺乏非正式STEM学习机会的农村边境地区。此外，它还为教学硕士研究员提供培训和支持，使他们成为课堂教练，并领导一个专业学习社区，为教师提供机会，在服务不足的边境地区设计和领导教师发展工作。项目评估将使用混合方法，包括前端、形成性和总结性评估阶段。传播计划包括研究出版物和会议报告，由教学硕士研究员设计和维护的“前线之罪”网站，以及当地媒体报道。这个Track 3：硕士教学奖学金项目是由Robert Noyce教师奖学金计划（Noyce）支持的。Noyce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，并支持经验丰富的模范K-12 STEM教师成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。它还支持对高需求学区K-12 STEM教师的持久性、留任性和有效性的研究。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。

This project aims to address the critical shortage and low retention of STEM secondary teachers in U.S. schools, thus helping to address an important national need. Additionally, the project aims to help overcome current opportunity gaps in STEM experiences on the Arizona-Mexico border. The project will support the collaboration of experienced, skilled STEM teachers with scientists and science educators to develop educational field stations at environmental reclamation sites. These field stations are expected to provide opportunities for field trips and experiential learning. Thus, they have the potential to ignite a STEM spark in the majority Latino border communities and increase public knowledge about science. A local science center will collaborate with the project to design and develop the field stations. Societal benefits of this project include advancing student potential in a region characterized by poverty, English language learner populations, low educational achievement levels, and a lack of STEM opportunities outside of school.This project at the University of Arizona will include strategic partnerships between the Rural Activation and Innovation Network (NSF #1612555), Cochise County School District, Bisbee Science Exploration and Research Center, Freeport McMoRan Industries, and Cochise County Engineering, Natural Resources Division. Project goals are to provide experienced, exemplary STEM teachers with opportunities to build their leadership skills in three core areas: field-based instructional materials design, coaching, and collaboration. A total of 14 exemplary multi-disciplinary STEM teachers will be selected as Master Teaching Fellows for this six-year project. The project addresses knowledge gaps in informal STEM for rural communities and builds on the knowledge base about teacher collaboration. The project tests the potential for improving STEM education through development and use of teacher-designed field stations as teaching sites for STEM subjects. It focuses on rural border areas that lack opportunities for informal STEM learning. In addition, it gives Master Teaching Fellows the training and support to become classroom coaches and to lead a professional learning community, providing teachers the opportunity to design and lead teacher development efforts in an underserved border area. Project evaluation will use a mixed-methods approach including front-end, formative, and summative evaluation phases. Dissemination plans include research publications and conference presentations, a Sin Fronteras website that Master Teaching Fellows will design and maintain, and local media coverage. This Track 3: Master Teaching Fellowships 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 district.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.