STEM Inquiry Research Summer Enrichment Program

该项目旨在通过建立可持续的实践来服务于国家利益，以提高本科生在科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)方面的参与度和毅力。国际教育、科学及文化组织EHR参与的学生学习1级项目-STEM研究性探究暑期体验(STEM RISE)旨在更好地培养和留住STEM专业的合格STEM教师和专业人员，他们配备了为城市青年服务的工具和资源。这是休斯顿大学中级STEM教师培训项目TeachHOUSTON的教员与医学院以及休斯顿大学所在历史悠久的第三区的杰克·耶茨高中的合作项目。STEM学科的高质量教师培训对学生的成功至关重要，特别是在资金不足和与赤字思维的氛围作斗争的学校。因此，STEM Rise承担起责任，实施有针对性的专业发展，修订课程以整合响应文化的教学方法，并在内容专家和同行的指导下提供学习经验。STEM RISE项目是TeachHOUSTON朝着成为中等STEM教师教育项目全国领先者的方向发展的下一步。该项目旨在让来自黑人为主社区的城市高中青年参加暑期研究体验，以加强学习并向他们介绍STEM职业道路。预计高中生将学习宝贵的科学技能和经验，这些技能和经验将为他们提供追求STEM职业生涯所需的知识、动力、指导和社会资本。支持这一活动的是一个导师结构，其中将包括本科生STEM学生实验室导师以及教职员工(他们也指导本科生)和职前教师。STEM Rise为正在攻读STEM教师认证的本科STEM专业学生提供了新的和有意义的机会，通过修订STEM课程的研究方法和专注于社会正义主题的专业发展机构，将文化响应性教学(CRT)嵌入他们的教学中。此外，专业发展学院支持STEM本科生学习STEM CRT方法，并在课程设计和实施中进行有组织的实践。该项目的发现预计将有助于建立关于指导本科生STEM专业、职前教师专业发展的知识库，以及关于文化响应型和探究式STEM教育中理论-实践差距的文献，包括对代表性不足的学生群体的研究经验。因此，该项目有可能有助于更好地培训STEM教师，指导本科生STEM专业，并对不同的学生群体进行体验式学习，特别是在STEM领域历来服务不足和代表性不足的有色人种学生。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。通过参与式学生学习路径，该计划支持创建、探索和实施有前途的实践和工具。罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金(Noyce)计划为IUSE：EHR项目提供共同资金，以支持该项目的职前教师培养目标，这些目标与诺伊斯计划的目标非常一致。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 by establishing sustainable practices to improve undergraduate engagement and persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This IUSE EHR Engaged Student Learning Level 1 project, STEM Research Inquiry Summer Experience (STEM RISE), seeks to better prepare and retain STEM majors as qualified STEM teachers and professionals equipped with tools and resources to serve urban youth. It is a collaboration at the University of Houston between faculty from the secondary STEM teacher preparation program, teachHOUSTON, and the College of Medicine, along with Jack Yates High School in the Historic Third Ward in which the University resides. High quality teacher preparation in the STEM disciplines is critical to student success especially in schools that are underfunded and combatting atmospheres of deficit thinking. Consequently, STEM RISE takes up the charge by implementing targeted professional development, revising curriculum to integrate culturally responsive pedagogy, and providing learning experiences with mentorship facilitated by content experts and peers. The STEM RISE project is the next step in teachHOUSTON’s evolving trajectory towards being a national leader in secondary STEM teacher education programs. The project intends to engage urban high school youth from a predominantly Black community in summer research experiences to enhance learning and introduce them to STEM career pathways. It is expected that the high school students will learn valuable science skills and experiences that will equip them with the knowledge, motivation, mentorship, and social capital to pursue a STEM career. Supporting this activity is a mentorship structure that will include undergraduate STEM student lab mentors as well as faculty (who also mentor the undergraduates) and pre-service teachers. STEM RISE provides undergraduate STEM majors, pursuing STEM teacher certification, with novel and meaningful opportunities to embed culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in their instruction through a revised Research Methodology in STEM Course and a professional development institute focused on social justice topics. Additionally, the professional development institute supports STEM undergraduates in learning STEM CRT methods with structured practice in lesson design and implementation. The findings from the project are expected to contribute to the knowledge base about mentoring undergraduate STEM majors, preservice teacher professional development, and literature about theory-practice gaps in culturally responsive and inquiry-based STEM education, including research experiences with underrepresented student populations. Thus, the project has the potential to contribute to better STEM teacher preparation, mentoring of undergraduate STEM majors and experiential learning of varying student bodies, especially students of color who are historically underserved and underrepresented in STEM fields. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship (Noyce) Program is providing co-funding for this IUSE: EHR project to support the project's preservice teacher preparation goals, which are well-aligned with Noyce Program goals.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.