Utilizing Wrap Around Mentorship and Virtual Reality to Prepare and Sustain STEM Teachers in Rural High-Need Schools

该项目旨在满足国家增加和留住STEM教师的需求，这些教师拥有尖端的教学技能、内容知识和在农村高需求教室任教所需的素质。西弗吉尼亚州的学校很难填补STEM领域的教学空缺。拟议的项目将深入了解选择从事STEM教育事业的STEM专业人员的成功招聘，准备和保留。WV三分之一的教师在工作的头四年就离开了这个领域。这些挑战影响了学生的表现，导致数学和科学能力得分极低。据估计，在整个项目期间，约有9,600名农村小学一二年级学生将直接受到影响。为了实现该项目的目标，康科德大学（CU）将提供一个在线教学硕士（MAT）课程，实施一个全面的围绕导师计划，利用虚拟平台将多学科导师团队与助教联系起来，开发和维护一个专业学习社区（PLC），并将虚拟现实（VR）技术的使用纳入MAT课程。此外，科罗拉多大学将利用虚拟平台和数据管理软件，在助教填补农村高需求P-12学校的STEM教学职位时，对他们进行持续的指导和跟踪。康科德大学的这个项目包括与美世、麦克道尔和萨默斯县学校、SIBME和西弗吉尼亚州科学教师协会的合作。项目目标包括：(1)招募和提升16名STEM专业人士作为教学研究员（TFs），成为农村高需求学校的STEM教育工作者；(2)为TFs提供全面的指导和支持，以确保他们通过MAT项目和入职来坚持和保留。该项目将为农村高需求学校的tf和P-12学生提供尖端技术，并建立有效的方法来支持tf受雇于STEM教学岗位。这项工作将由布罗克波特研究所进行评估。评估将包括从调查、访谈、现存数据和文件审查中收集的数据的混合方法定量和定性分析。项目小组将在项目网站上以及在区域和国家会议上传播项目成果和调查结果。重点将放在分享重要的经验教训，将虚拟现实技术应用于课堂，以及分享计划蓝图，以协助其他地区应对类似的挑战。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 increasing and retaining STEM teachers who have cutting-edge pedagogical skills, content knowledge, and dispositions required to teach in rural, high-need classrooms. West Virginia schools have difficulty filling teaching vacancies in STEM fields. The proposed project will provide insight into the successful recruitment, preparation, and retention of STEM professionals who have chosen to pursue a career in STEM education. One-third of teachers in WV leave the field within their first four years on the job. Such challenges have impacted student performance resulting in extremely low math and science proficiency scores. It is estimated ~9,600 rural P-12 students could be directly impacted through the duration of this project. To achieve the project’s objectives, Concord University (CU) will deliver an online Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) curriculum, implement a comprehensive wrap around mentorship program utilizing a virtual platform to connect a multidisciplinary team of mentors with the TFs, develop and maintain a Professional Learning Community (PLC), and incorporate the use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology within the MAT curriculum. Furthermore, CU will utilize the virtual platform as well as data management software for ongoing mentoring and tracking of TFs as they fill STEM teaching positions in rural high-need P-12 schools.This project at Concord University includes partnerships with Mercer, McDowell, and Summers County Schools, SIBME, and the West Virginia Science Teachers Association. Project goals include (1) recruit and advance 16 STEM professionals as Teaching Fellows (TFs) to become STEM educators within rural, high-need schools and (2) provide comprehensive mentoring and supports to TFs to ensure persistence and retention through their MAT program and induction. The project will incorporate cutting-edge technology for TFs and P-12 student in rural high-need schools and establish effective methods for supporting TFs hired in STEM teaching positions. The work will be evaluated by Brockport Research Institute. The evaluation will include mixed method quantitative and qualitative analyses of data collected from surveys, interviews, extant data, and document review. The project team will disseminate project outcomes and findings on a project website and at regional and national conferences. An emphasis will be placed on sharing key lessons learned, incorporating the use of VR in the classroom, and sharing the project blueprint to assist other districts dealing with similar challenges. 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.