Doing the Math with Paraeducators: Enhancing and Expanding and Sustaining a Professional Development Model in PreK to Grade 3 Math Classrooms

教育环境中的准专业人员（通常称为教师）在支持学生在课堂上学习方面发挥着关键作用，特别是在教师更普遍的小学年级。然而，很少有人知道的专业需求的准教育工作者，以及如何支持他们在学习教数学在小学低年级。该项目建立在探索性工作的基础上，从事数学专业学习，制定和研究专业的学习经验与paraeducators专注于教学和学习数学年级PreK-3。这项工作将在全国不同地区的两个不同的大城市学区进行，为期两年。该模式包括为数学教师及其合作教师提供专业发展经验，支持教师在合作支持数学学习时改善对数学教师的指导，为校本数学协调员提供专业学习支持，以及通过调查，访谈，和课堂观察。该项目首先根据先前的探索性工作修订专业发展模式，扩大模式，包括面向教师和地区的方面，本阶段的项目将开发衡量工具，以评估第帕拉的影响，和教师的学习，包括使用调查来评估的做法和信心，在实施雄心勃勃的数学教学，观察工具，以衡量帕拉教学行为，个人和焦点小组访谈，以提供学生和他们的教师导师的机会，深入描述他们的学习，和分析策略相关的专业发展工件。第二年将实施该模型与20名学生和他们的导师教师，沿着与8个地区为基础的数学辅导员。该项目的第二年将在参与该项目的两个地区各增加20名新的社区干事。最后一年将专注于数据分析和数学辅助教师导师专业发展的可推广模型的开发。这种模式的传播可能会对这一传统上支持不足的人群的专业学习机会产生有意义的影响，并将支持PreK-3学生更强大的数学成果。发现研究preK-12计划（DRK-12）旨在显着提高preK-12学生和教师的科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学，通过研究和开发创新资源、模式和工具。DRK-12项目中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究以及为拟议项目提供理论和经验依据的先前研究和开发工作的基础上。该奖项反映了NSF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。

Paraprofessionals (often referred to as paras) in educational settings have critical roles in supporting student learning in classrooms, particularly in the elementary grades where paras are much more prevalent. Yet little is known about the professional needs of paraeducators and how they can be supported in learning to teach mathematics in the early elementary grades. This project builds on exploratory work engaging in mathematics professional learning with paras to enact and study a professional learning experience with paraeducators focused on teaching and learning mathematics in grades PreK-3. This work will take place in over the course of two years in two different large urban school districts in different parts of the country. This model includes professional development experiences for paras and the teaches with which they work, support for teachers to improve their guidance for paras as they work together to support mathematics learning, professional learning support for school-based mathematics coordinators, and the study of the model's effectiveness through surveys, interviews, and classroom observations.The project begins with the revision of the professional development model based on prior exploratory work, expanding the model to include aspects geared towards teacher and district-based support as well as strengthening the professional learning opportunities for paras. This phase of the project will develop measurement tools to assess the impact of the para and teacher learning, including the use of surveys to assess the practice and confidence of paras in implementing ambitious mathematics instruction, observation tools to measure para instructional behaviors, individual and focus group interviews to provide paras and their teacher mentors opportunities to describe their learning in depth, and analytical strategies related to the professional development artifacts. The second year will implement the model with 20 paras and their mentor teachers, along with 8 district-based mathematics facilitators. The second year of the project will engage an additional 20 new paras in each of the two districts involved with the project. The final year will focus on data analysis and the development of a generalizable model for para-teacher mentor professional development in mathematics. Dissemination of such a model is likely to have a meaningful impact on professional learning opportunities for this traditionally undersupported population and will support stronger mathematics outcomes for PreK-3 students.The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.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.