Improving STEM Education through a Teacher Residency Program

该项目旨在满足国家培养高效中学科学和数学教师的需要。两组六名教师研究员将分别通过一个新颖的住院医师计划。然后，他们将进入劳动力市场，获得中等教育硕士学位，并将成为农村和城市学校中准备充分的STEM教师领导者。作为教师，这些研究员将有机会获得研究经验以及与合作行业和组织的学习机会。通过这些经历和他们的研究生项目，研究员将获得对宾夕法尼亚“STEM生态系统”的理解，并将扩大他们的网络。宾夕法尼亚州西切斯特大学的这个项目包括与牛津地区学区和奇切斯特学区，以及朗伍德花园，Fluxspace和德州仪器的合作。在这个为期六年的项目中，将支持两组12名教师获得硕士学位，并坚持四年的教学。项目目标包括：招募不同的团队，并为这些团队做好准备，以便用与文化相关的教学法来教授不同的人群；通过以住院医师模式为中心的严格和创新的硕士项目来支持研究员，并提供入职机会，以增强和扩展研究员的STEM知识和网络。通过他们的实习，研究员在一个教室和导师的指导下获得了一年的稳定教学经验。与朗伍德花园的合作伙伴关系预计将使研究员和组织受益，因为他们共同努力使花园外展活动与K-12下一代科学标准保持一致。其他非正式和正式的学习可以通过Fluxspace的暑期活动和德州仪器的技术培训进行，以及与宾夕法尼亚州立大学合作的潜在研究经验。通过对实习模式的评估和多方面的入职机会，本项目将增加如何培养新教师成为教师领导的知识。所涉及的伙伴关系还可能导致更强大的区域STEM生态系统，并为其他州提供榜样，说明行业和非正式STEM机构如何支持教师教育和提高公众科学素养。本项目由Robert Noyce教师奖学金项目（Noyce）资助。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 developing highly effective secondary science and mathematics teachers. Two cohorts of six Teacher Fellows each will progress through a novel residency program. They will then enter the workforce with a Masters in Secondary Education and will become well-prepared STEM teachers leaders in both rural and urban schools. As teachers, these Fellows will have access to research experiences as well as learning opportunities with partnering industries and organizations. Through these experiences and their graduate program, it is intended that Fellows will gain understanding of the Pennsylvania "STEM ecosystem" and will broaden their networks. This project at West Chester University in Pennsylvania includes partnerships with the Oxford Area School District and the Chichester School District, as well as Longwood Gardens, Fluxspace, and Texas Instruments. Twelve teachers, in two cohorts, will be supported in attaining their Master's degree and persisting through four years of teaching in this six-year project. Project goals include: recruiting diverse cohorts and preparing those cohorts for teaching diverse populations with culturally-relevant pedagogy, supporting Fellows through a rigorous and innovative Master's program that centers on a residency model, and providing induction opportunities that enhance and extend Fellows' STEM knowledge and networks. Through their residency, Fellows progress through a stable year-long teaching experience with a single classroom and mentor. The partnership with Longwood Gardens is expected to benefit both Fellows and the organization as they work together to align garden outreach activities with K-12 Next Generation Science Standards. Other informal and formal learning can occur through summer activities with Fluxspace and technology training through Texas Instruments, as well as potential research experiences in collaboration with Penn State University. Through an assessment of the residency model and the multi-faceted induction opportunities, this project will add to the knowledge of how to prepare novice teachers to become teacher leaders. The partnerships involved may also lead to a more robust regional STEM ecosystem and serve as models for other states as to how industry and informal STEM institutions can support teacher education and increased public scientific literacy. This Track 2: Teaching Fellowships 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.