NSF INCLUDES Planning Grant: Building Networks and Enhancing Diversity in the K-12 STEM Teaching Workforce

该NSF INCLUDES规划拨款由NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science（NSF INCLUDES）资助，这是一项全面的国家计划，旨在通过关注多样性，包容性和扩大STEM的参与来加强美国在发现和创新方面的领导地位。这项规划补助金的目标是明确侧重于扩大K-12 STEM教学队伍的参与，其行动理论是，从长远来看，K-12 STEM教学队伍的多样化将有助于更多的学生将STEM视为他们可以获得的，然后更有可能选择STEM学位或职业。目前，K-12学校的学生和教师之间存在很大的人口差异。 研究强调，多样化的教学队伍不仅有利于有色人种的学生，而且有利于所有学生。自2017年以来，史密森尼科学教育中心每年都举办STEM多样性峰会，目标是建立一个联盟，（建立在集体影响的基础上），以吸引和留住多样化的K-12 STEM教学队伍，其中代表83个学区，学校，全国各地的州分享了他们的问题，并开发了一个逻辑模型，以吸引和留住他们所在地区的多元化K-12 STEM教学队伍，并每年获得匹配导师的支持。这项规划补助金支持重新访问这些前团队，以更好地了解系统变化的动态，通过仔细检查他们的逻辑模型中概述的成功和挑战，并从文化历史活动理论（CHAT）的角度。在共同愿景和伙伴关系的协作基础设施要素下，这项规划拨款将为未来的联盟提供信息并奠定基础，该联盟专注于K-12 STEM教师队伍的多元化。在这项规划拨款中，史密森尼学会与霍华德大学合作，并与其他STEM教师教育，专业发展和多样性方面的专家合作-包括来自哈佛大学，罗格斯大学，100金10，国家专业教学标准委员会，高等教育硕士部，STEM公平联盟，国家科学教学协会和私营企业-将致力于四个主要活动。首先，将与高等教育机构（IHEs）的教职员工进行调查，其中包括约100个少数民族服务机构，这些机构为全国各地的K-12教师准备计划和STEM教育的不同人群提供服务。 调查的目的是了解IHE在组织变革管理和战略规划中发挥的作用，以使K-12 STEM教学队伍多样化。第二，将召开一个虚拟研讨会，让前STEM多样性峰会与会者及其扩展网络反思他们过去几年的进展和活动，并讨论战略性长期计划。第三，将对虚拟研讨会参与者进行调查，以更好地了解他们的做法，态度和对他们在K-12 STEM教育中创造文化多样性生态系统的作用的看法。最后，从上述活动中收集到的所有信息将用于调查增强K-12 STEM教学队伍多样性的策略和循证实践，并将根据这些调查结果开发一本迭代源书，作为未来工作的初始资源。在12个月的时间里，这笔规划拨款将在前团队之间建立一个网络，并与扩展的合作伙伴，包括NSF INCLUDES国家网络，并帮助他们成长为未来NSF INCLUDES联盟内的区域中心，专注于K-12 STEM教师队伍的多样化，史密森尼作为骨干组织。这项规划拨款也得到了NSF发现研究preK-12计划的支持，该计划旨在显着提高科学，技术，工程，数学和计算机科学（STEM）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响评审标准。

This NSF INCLUDES planning grant is funded by NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES), a comprehensive national initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in discoveries and innovations by focusing on diversity, inclusion and broadening participation in STEM at scale. The goal of this planning grant is to explicitly focus on broadening participation in the K-12 STEM teaching workforce, with the theory of action that diversifying the K-12 STEM teaching workforce would in the long term help more students see STEM as accessible to them and then be more likely to choose a STEM degree or career. Currently there is a large demographic discrepancy between students and teachers in K-12 schools. Studies have highlighted that the diverse teaching workforce benefits not only students of color but all students. Since 2017, the Smithsonian Science Education Center has conducted an annual STEM Diversity Summit, with the goal of building a coalition (built on collective impact) for attracting and retaining a diverse K-12 STEM teaching workforce, in which teams of teachers and administrators representing 83 school districts, schools, and states across the country shared their problems and developed a logic model to attract and retain a diverse K-12 STEM teaching workforce in their region with annual support from a matched mentor. This planning grant supports revisiting those former teams to better understand the dynamics of systems change through close examination of the successes and challenges outlined in their logic models with the perspective of the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Under the collaborative infrastructure elements of shared vision and partnerships, this planning grant will inform and lay the foundation for a future alliance focused on diversifying the K-12 STEM teaching workforce.In this planning grant, the Smithsonian in collaboration with Howard University, as well as in partnership with other experts in STEM teacher education, professional development, and diversity - including from Harvard University, Rutgers University, 100kin10, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, MA Department of Higher Education, STEM Equity Alliance, National Science Teaching Association, and private industry - will work on four primary activities. First, a survey will be developed and conducted with faculty members of Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), including approximately 100 Minority Serving Institutions, which serve diverse populations in K-12 teacher preparation programs and STEM education across the country. The goal of the survey is to understand what roles IHEs play in organizational change management and strategic planning to diversify the K-12 STEM teaching workforce. Second, a virtual workshop will be convened to bring former STEM Diversity Summit attendees and their extended networks to reflect on their progress and activities in past years and discuss strategic long-term plans. Third, a survey with the virtual workshop participants will be conducted to better understand their practices, attitudes, and perceptions about their roles to create culturally diverse ecosystems in K-12 STEM education. Finally, all the collected information from the above activities will be used to investigate strategies and evidence-based practices of enhancing diversity in the K-12 STEM teaching workforce, and an iterative source book will be developed based on those findings as an initial resource to ground future work. Over a 12 month period, this planning grant will build a network between the former teams and with the extended partners, including the NSF INCLUDES National Network, and help them to grow as regional hubs within a Future NSF INCLUDES Alliance focused on diversifying the K-12 STEM teacher workforce, with the Smithsonian as the backbone organization. This planning grant is also supported by the NSF Discovery Research preK-12 Program, which seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers through research and development of STEM education innovations and approaches.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.