RCN: Incubating Infrastructure for Experimentation on Inclusive STEM Teaching Practices

K-12教师是促进公平STEM成就和成就的关键资源。然而，实验研究很少确定具体的，可转移的STEM教学实践，因为STEM教育研究通常实施学生级随机化远远超过实施教师级随机化。限制科学进步的一个主要障碍是缺乏一个大规模的试验基础设施，可以支持教师级的随机化和实验，考虑到招募多个地点和成功地在教师或教室级随机化的后勤限制。在建立这样一个教师级的试验基础设施之前，需要解决三个主要领域的挑战。这些措施是：（1）保持长期研究协议的最佳研究实践伙伴关系;（2）研究设计问题，如统计能力和污染;（3）在参与学校和教师的大型网络中共享，合并，分析和报告数据。与所有三个领域相关的一系列跨领域挑战涉及培训实验人员进行相关和道德的实地实验，解决研究人员和参与者的多样性和包容性问题，以及维护公平和公正的治理结构。这个中型研究基础设施孵化器将启动一个为期两年的加速过程，以应对这些挑战，并为以STEM教师为中心的试验平台制定共识计划。利益相关者将来自不同的社区，包括STEM教育工作者和管理人员;教师专业学习组织;职前教师培训计划;统计和数据科学;以及社会和行为科学。通过大型小组会议和重点工作队，将通过处理三个主要领域中的每一个领域以及交叉问题来制定基础设施计划。该项目的产出将包括工作文件和原型，可以作为一个大型的，开放的试验基础设施的“蓝图”。该基础设施旨在大大加快STEM教学实践的研究和创新步伐，从而为不同的学生群体带来更好的学习。这个项目是通过与比尔梅林达盖茨基金会，施密特期货，沃尔顿家族基金会的合作伙伴关系支持。该奖项反映了NSF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。

K-12 teachers are a critical resource for promoting equitable STEM achievement and attainment. Experimental research, however, rarely identifies specific, transferable STEM instructional practices, because STEM education research has typically implemented student-level randomization far more than it has implemented teacher-level randomization. A major barrier limiting scientific progress is the lack of a large-scale trialing infrastructure that can support teacher-level randomization and experimentation, given the logistical constraints of recruiting multiple sites and successfully randomizing at the teacher or classroom level. Challenges in three major areas need to be addressed before such a teacher-level trialing infrastructure could be built. These are: (1) optimal research-practice partnerships that maintain standing research agreements; (2) research design issues such as statistical power and contamination; and (3) data sharing, merging, analysis, and reporting in a large network of participating schools and teachers. A cross-cutting set of challenges, relevant to all three areas, involves training of experimenters to conduct relevant and ethical field experiments, addressing diversity and inclusion in the researchers and participants, and maintaining a fair and equitable governance structure. This Midscale Research Infrastructure Incubator will launch a two-year, accelerated process to address these challenges and develop a consensus plan for a STEM-teacher-focused trialing platform. Stakeholders will be from diverse communities, including STEM educators and administrators; teacher professional learning organizations; pre-service teacher training programs; statistics and data science; and the social and behavioral sciences. Through large-group meetings and focused task forces, plans for an infrastructure will be developed by addressing each of the three major areas, as well as the cross-cutting issues. The project output will include working papers and prototypes that can serve as a “blueprint” for a large, open trialing infrastructure. This infrastructure aims to dramatically accelerate the pace of research and innovation for STEM instructional practices that lead to greater learning for diverse student groups. This project is supported through a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and the Walton Family Foundation. Funding is also provided by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Program at NSF.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.