Examining the Role of District Science Coordinator Professional Learning in Supporting and Retaining Science Teachers

该项目旨在通过探索地区科学协调员（dsc）的专业学习（PL）如何影响（如果有的话）高需求学校新科学教师的效率和保留，以满足国家对支持和留住科学教师的需求。影响新教师去留的因素有很多；一个未被调查的因素是dsc在支持教师方面的作用。有了准备充分的dsc，新的科学教师可以得到更好的支持，在高需求的环境中与通常没有积极或严格的科学经验的学生一起教学和学习。因此，随着时间的推移，该项目可能有助于提高学生在科学方面的成功，这可能转化为STEM人才库的增加。这项研究的目的是产生新的知识，关于dsc如何为高需求学校的新教师的有效性和保留提供支持和帮助。克莱姆森大学和佐治亚大学的这个项目与国家科学教育领导协会（NSELA）和全国各地的地区合作。该项目的目标是确定dsc中不同水平的PL对新教师头五年教学的影响。本研究旨在从专业发展要求和自由选择学习两方面考察dsc的学习目标。后者是指dsc选择的PL，如阅读期刊文章、观看教育视频、参观博物馆和公园、参加专业会议等。该项目旨在收集和分析定性和定量数据，以了解DSC的PL如何有助于新科学教师的有效性和保留率。在将使用的分析方法中，有一个两周期编码过程，用于检查PL对dsc的影响以及随后对教师的影响，第一个周期使用整体编码，第二个周期使用组织或分层概述。另一种分析方法是关于变量之间关系的多元线性回归模型，以支持对观察到的方差的解释。这些只是16种分析方法中的两种，用于检查两个项目研究问题。这个项目的研究结果将有助于理解学校教学大纲的选择、数量和质量，以及是否对学校教学大纲相关的新教师有任何影响。该项目以目前全国范围内培养教师领导能力的协同效应为基础，但重点是发展中国家的发展能力，并可能提出在这一领域需要进行哪些进一步研究的建议。结果将通过传统和新颖的形式与广泛的受众分享，包括使用pi使用的成熟的社交媒体渠道，并在州和地区层面展示调查结果，以达到负责雇用和支持dsc的管理人员。这将为其他人提供机会，从这个项目的发现中受益，并在此基础上进一步改善K-12 STEM教育。本Track 4: Noyce研究项目由Robert Noyce教师奖学金计划（Noyce）支持。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教师成为高需求学区的STEM大师教师。它还支持对高需求学区K-12 STEM教师的有效性和留任率的研究。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。

The project aims to serve the national need of supporting and retaining science teachers by exploring how the professional learning (PL) of District Science Coordinators (DSCs) impacts, if at all, the effectiveness and retention of new science teachers in high-need schools. There are a variety of factors influencing why new teachers stay or leave teaching; one factor not investigated is the role of DSCs in supporting teachers. With well-prepared DSCs, new science teachers could be better supported to teach and stay in high-need settings with students who often do not have positive or rigorous experiences in science. Thus, in time, this project could contribute to improved success of students in science which could translate into an increase in the STEM talent pool. This study is designed to generate new knowledge about how DSCs provide support for and aid in the effectiveness and retention of new teachers in high-need schools. This project at Clemson University and the University of Georgia partners with the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA) and districts across the nation. The project’s goal is to determine how different levels of PL among DSCs impacts new teachers in their first five years of teaching. The study aims to examine the PL of DSCs in terms of both required professional development and free-choice learning. The latter refers to PL that is chosen by DSCs, such as reading journal articles, watching educational videos, visiting museums and parks, and attending professional conferences. The project intends to gather and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to understand how the PL of a DSC contributes to the effectiveness and retention of new science teachers. Among the analytic approaches to be used are a two-cycle coding process to examine the impact of PL on DSCs and the subsequent impact on teachers, with the first cycle using holistic coding and the second using organization or hierarchical outlining. Another analytic approach to be used is multiple linear regression modeling regarding the relationship between variables and to support explanation of observed variance. These are just two of sixteen analytic approaches to be used to examine the two project research questions. The findings from this project are expected to contribute to the understanding of the selection, quantity, and quality of PL of DSCs as well as if there is any impact on new teachers associated with the PL of the DSCs. This project builds upon current synergies across the country to cultivate teacher leadership - but with a focus on DSCs – and could suggest what additional studies are needed in this area. The results are to be shared with a wide audience, through traditional and novel formats, including usage of well-established social media outlets used by the PIs and presentation of findings at state and regional levels targeted to reach administrators with responsibility for the hiring and support to DSCs. This will provide the opportunity for others to benefit from and build upon this project’s findings to further improve K-12 STEM education. This Track 4: Noyce Research 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 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the effectiveness and retention of K-12 STEM 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.