Elementary Teacher Professional Learning of Equitable Engineering Pedagogies for Multilingual Students

由于对STEM和下一代科学标准（Next Generation Science standards）等标准改革的高度关注，在美国小学教授工程学的必要性已经提高。然而，大多数小学教师在工程教学方面缺乏准备。此外，越来越多的小学教师为仍在学习英语作为附加语言的学生提供指导。然而，教师在对多语言学习者进行教学方面的准备工作参差不齐。本项目通过为多语言学习者的小学教师开发符合标准的专业学习模式来满足这些关键需求。这种跨学科的方法是创新的，因为它为教师提供了持续的时间来反思他们对语言的看法，他们对语言和种族少数学生的教学，以及他们与多语种学生围绕工程内容的互动。扫盲、语言和工程方面的专家将采用参与式和协作式的方法，与小学教师一起制定策略，帮助教师将学生的多语言能力视为工程方面的一项资产。这种基于资产的方法具有更广泛的影响，因为教师的语言信念的转变可能会导致学习环境的创造，为语言上少数民族的学生提供更多的机会，将工程视为一门学科或理解其他STEM学科的工具。这个为期三年的探索性项目将让小学教师（n = 18）在一个持续的专业学习社区中学习工程内容和教学方法，并探索工程教育中种族和语言的交叉点。通过注意语言在课堂上的定位，教师将能够制定策略，将多语种学生的语言、文化和代表性贡献重新定位为课堂上的核心智力资源。本研究采用基于设计的研究方法，通过定位和语言意识形态，强调定性数据的生成和分析，将探讨：1)教师的语言意识形态是否以及如何随着专业学习经验的特定要素而发生转变；2)教师的语言意识形态如何映射到他们的工程教学法中；3)这些教学法如何为多语种学生提供（或未能提供）用于认同工程的话语资源。对经过验证的工具以及观察、访谈和反思视频数据的结果进行三角分析，将对专业学习经验的要素进行强有力的研究，从而为语言包容性工程教学法做出贡献。该项目将为多语言学习者的教师提供符合标准的专业学习模式，为教育工作者提供多媒体课程材料，并为教师专业发展提供者提供指南。该项目有可能有助于提高教学质量和增加工程教学时间。它还将有助于对学生的语言和种族背景持积极态度，因为它将创建的专业学习模式、课程材料和策略将与其他努力向语言和种族多样化的学生教授科学和工程的小学教师共享。探索研究preK-12项目（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具，显著提高preK-12学生和教师对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，为拟议的项目提供了理论和实证依据。 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 need to teach engineering in U.S. elementary schools has been elevated due a heightened focus on STEM and standards reforms such as the Next Generation Science Standards. Yet, most elementary teachers have little preparation in teaching engineering. Additionally, elementary teachers increasingly provide instruction for students who are still learning English as an additional language. However, teachers receive uneven preparation related to instruction for multilingual learners. This project addresses these critical needs through development of a standards-aligned professional learning model for elementary teachers of multilingual learners. This interdisciplinary approach is innovative in its effort to provide teachers with sustained time to reflect on what they believe about language, their teaching of linguistically and racially minoritized students, and their interactions with multilingual students around engineering content. Using a participatory and collaborative approach, experts in literacy, language, and engineering will work with elementary teachers to develop strategies for how teachers can view students’ multilingualism as an asset to engineering. This asset-based approach has wider implications as teachers’ shifting language beliefs may result in the creation of learning environments that provide linguistically minoritized students with expanded opportunities for identifying with engineering as a discipline or tool for understanding other STEM subjects. This three-year Exploratory Project will engage elementary teachers (n = 18) in a sustained professional learning community to learn about engineering content and pedagogy and explore the intersections of race and language surrounding engineering education. By noticing how languages are positioned in their classroom, teachers will be able to develop strategies for re-positioning the linguistic, cultural, and representational contributions of multilingual students as core intellectual resources within their classrooms. Using design-based research with an emphasis on qualitative data generation and analysis through positioning and language ideologies, this study will explore: 1) whether and how teachers’ language ideologies shifted in relation to specific elements of the professional learning experience, 2) how teachers’ language ideologies mapped onto their engineering pedagogies, and 3) how these pedagogies offered (or failed to offer) multilingual students with discursive resources for identifying with engineering. Triangulated analyses of results from validated instruments, as well as observational, interview, and reflective video data, will result in robust research regarding elements of professional learning experiences that contribute to linguistically inclusive engineering pedagogies. This project will result in a standards-aligned professional learning model for teachers of multilingual learners, as well as multimedia curricular materials for educators and guides for providers of teacher professional development. The project has potential to contribute to increased quality of teaching and increased time on teaching of engineering. It will also contribute to positive stances toward students’ linguistic and racial backgrounds since the professional learning model, curricular materials, and strategies that it will create will be shared with other elementary teachers who are striving to teach science and engineering to students who are linguistically and racially diverse. 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.