Developing Computer Science Master Teachers for Georgia Rural Schools

该项目旨在服务于培养高效的计算机科学(CS)教师领导的国家需求。这些教师领导人将准备加强农村学校系统的能力，为所有学生提供高质量的CS教学。在培养CS教师领袖的过程中，该项目力求解决农村学校CS教学水平不足的问题，这是STEM知识管道中的一个重大缺口。该项目将在佐治亚州南部的学校培养16名模范和认证的6-12年级STEM教师领袖。CS教师带头人的培训将鼓励合作学区继续开展CS教育，并为当前和未来的学生提供CS学习体验。项目努力与佐治亚州教育部的CS职业道路和机会保持一致，以在申请者短缺的高薪行业追求职业生涯。与农业、医疗保健和军队的伙伴关系将为参与的教师提供机会，让他们了解学生从事CS职业的途径。为学生提供CS教育经验，可以带来报酬丰厚的工作，将为整个地区的农村社区带来经济利益。美世大学的这个项目包括与Wiregrass佐治亚技术学院、佐治亚州计算机科学学术合作伙伴网络以及克林奇县、咖啡县、都柏林、埃文斯县、杰夫·戴维斯县、塔特纳尔县、特劳特伦县和惠勒县的佐治亚州高中需要的学区建立的合作伙伴关系。拟议项目的独特之处在于，CS是为有经验的STEM教师提供的新教学领域。该项目将实施和调查一种专业发展方法，以增加格鲁吉亚南部农村高需求学校系统中CS教师领导的数量和多样性。指导该项目的方法和评估的是一个基于研究的框架，该框架通过南卡罗来纳州科学和数学教师领袖计划扩展发展中的硕士教师的工作，该计划突出了农村学校系统及其教师的需求领域，特别是CS教学和领导能力。项目小组将采用以研究为基础的战略，发展一个教师领导网络，包括计算机科学内容和教学知识、对教学指导的理解以及对具体教学内容的教师领导的认识。这些战略将通过为期14个月的教师领导力在线教育专家硕士学位课程实施，随后是在线CS迷你课程、面对面CS领导力会议和CS系统级规划活动。评估和评估数据将被用来调查项目方法如何影响主要教学研究员(MTF)的学习、行动和性格，以及学校和系统层面的因素如何影响MTF作为CS教师领导的成功。非营利组织和行业合作伙伴将为MTF提供农村社区内以CS职业为重点的链接。项目成果将在专业会议上展示，并提交发表。这个Track 3：大师教学奖学金项目得到了罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划(Noyce)的支持。Noyce计划支持有才华的STEM本科专业和专业人员成为高需求学区的STEM硕士教师。它还支持对高需求学区K-12教师的留任和有效性的研究。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。

The project aims to serve the national need of developing highly effective computer science (CS) teacher leaders. These teacher leaders will be prepared to strengthen the ability of rural school systems to provide access to high-quality CS instruction for all students. In preparing CS teacher leaders, the project seeks to address the insufficient level of CS instruction in rural schools, a significant gap in the STEM knowledge pipeline. The project will prepare 16 exemplary and certified grades 6-12 STEM teacher leaders in southern Georgia schools. The preparation of CS teacher leaders will encourage continuing CS education in partnering school districts and provide CS learning experiences for current and future students. Project efforts are aligned with the Georgia Department of Education's CS Career Pathways and opportunities to pursue careers in a well-paying industry with a shortage of applicants. Partnerships with agriculture, health care, and the military will provide participating teachers with exposure to paths for students to pursue CS careers. Providing students with CS educational experiences that can lead to well-compensated jobs will provide economic benefits to rural communities across the entire region. This project at Mercer University includes partnerships with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, the Computer Science for Georgia Academic Partners Network, and Georgia high-need school districts in Clinch County, Coffee County, Dublin City, Evans County, Jeff Davis County, Tattnall County, Treutlen County, and Wheeler County. Unique to the proposed project is CS as a new teaching area for experienced STEM teachers. The project will implement and investigate a professional development approach to increase the number and diversity of CS teacher leaders in rural, high-need school systems in southern Georgia. Guiding the project's approach and evaluation is a research-based framework that extends the work of the Developing Master Teachers through the South Carolina Science and Mathematics Teacher Leaders program, which highlights areas of need for rural school systems and their teachers, specific to CS teaching and leadership. The project team will employ research-based strategies to develop a network of teacher leaders with CS content and pedagogical knowledge, understandings of instructional coaching, and awareness of content-specific teacher leadership. The strategies will be implemented through a 14-month online Educational Specialist in Teacher Leadership master’s degree program, followed by online CS mini-courses, in-person CS Leadership Assemblies, and CS system-level planning events. Evaluation and assessment data will be used to investigate how the project approach affects the learning, actions, and dispositions of the Master Teaching Fellows (MTFs) and school and system-level factors impacting the MTFs' success as CS teacher leaders. Nonprofit and industry partners will provide the MTFs with CS career-focused links within rural communities. Project results will be presented at professional conferences and submitted for publication. This Track 3: Master Teaching Fellowship project is supported by the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the retention and effectiveness of K-12 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.