Collaborative Research: Promoting Success in Undergraduate Mathematics through Graduate Teaching Assistant Training

合作研究：通过研究生助教培训促进本科数学的成功

• 批准号: 1821460
• 负责人: Melinda Lanius
• 金额: $ 36.54万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-10-01 至 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1821460&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Promoting; Success; Undergraduate

Mathematics is critical for student success in all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Furthermore, undergraduate success in mathematics courses is an increasingly critical piece of the growing national need to train the next generation of STEM professionals. Difficulty in completing mathematics courses often prevents undergraduate students from reaching their goals of obtaining a STEM degree and entering the STEM workforce. This collaborative research project at the University of Colorado Denver, Auburn University, and the University of Memphis aims to improve the completion of undergraduate mathematics courses by enhancing the instructional preparation of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) in the Mathematical Sciences. Providing an effective model of GTA training that encompasses a wide variety of evidence-based approaches has the potential to improve GTA classroom practices, which in turn may increase undergraduate learning in the classes the GTAs teach. This project will investigate this possibility by examining how improvements to GTA training affect undergraduate student learning, particularly in lower-division undergraduate mathematics courses that are often required for STEM majors. In addition, teaching undergraduates is a significant part of the professional responsibilities of mathematics faculty, regardless of their range of appointments from community colleges to large research universities. Thus, this training will also result in a cadre of mathematical sciences faculty who are better prepared to use effective practices to increase undergraduate student success in early college mathematics.The project will conduct a multi-part, three-institution research study, with the intended purpose of investigating the effects on GTAs during and after the time they complete their multi-component, enhanced instructional and pedagogical training at the University of Colorado Denver, Auburn University, and the University of Memphis. The project will use and refine several components initially developed by the CU Denver Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences GTA preparation program. These components include providing participating GTAs with: (1) a deep understanding, grounded in relevant literature, of pertinent issues in undergraduate mathematical sciences instruction; (2) opportunities to be mentored by peers and faculty; (3) opportunities to provide peer-mentoring of other GTAs; (4) outreach opportunities to local K-12 students in order to gain a broader understanding of their future students' academic trajectories; and (5) participation in a cross-institutional "Critical Issues in STEM Education" seminar. Research will include the analysis of data on undergraduate student performance and success, retention and satisfaction, a longitudinal qualitative and quantitative analysis of observations of GTA classrooms, an examination of how the training program impacts GTA perceptions of mathematics teaching and learning, and a qualitative analysis on the ways the peer-mentor relationship affects inexperienced and experienced GTAs, both in and out of their classrooms. The diverse contexts of the participating institutions will provide the opportunity for rich comparisons and greater insight into mechanisms that can facilitate broader adoption of project components at other institutions around the country.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.

数学对于学生在所有科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）学科方面的成功至关重要。此外，数学课程的本科生成功是培训下一代STEM专业人员的日益关键的国家需求。完成数学课程的困难通常会阻止本科生达到获得STEM学位并进入STEM劳动力的目标。科罗拉多大学丹佛大学，奥本大学和孟菲斯大学的合作研究项目旨在通过增强数学科学研究生助教（GTA）的教学准备，以改善本科数学课程的完成。提供了涵盖各种基于证据的方法的GTA培训的有效模型，有可能改善GTA课堂实践，这反过来又可能会增加GTAS教学课程中的本科学习。 该项目将通过研究GTA培训的改进如何影响本科生学习，特别是在STEM专业经常需要的低年级本科数学课程中，调查了这种可能性。此外，无论他们从社区学院到大型研究，教学本科生都是数学教师专业职责的重要组成部分。 因此，这项培训还将导致数学科学教师的加德教师，他们准备更好地使用有效的实践来增加大学生在大学早期数学方面的成功。该项目将进行多部分，三个机构的研究，并具有预期的目的，目的是在他们完成多个大学的培训和ded demag的培训和ded训练后，并培训了对GTA的效果孟菲斯大学。该项目将使用并完善由CU丹佛数学和统计科学系GTA准备计划最初开发的几个组件。 这些组成部分包括提供参与的GTA：（1）在相关文献中深入了解本科数学科学教学中相关问题的深刻理解； （2）由同龄人和教师指导的机会； （3）提供其他GTA的同伴进行的机会； （4）向当地K-12学生提供推广机会，以便对未来学生的学术轨迹有更广泛的了解； （5）参加跨机构的“ STEM教育中的关键问题”研讨会。研究将包括分析有关本科生绩效和成功的数据，保留和满意度，对GTA教室观察的纵向定性和定量分析，对培训计划如何影响GTA对数学教学教学和学习的看法的检查，以及对Peer-Mentortor的质量分析以及对Peer-Mentortor的关系的定性分析，以及与经验丰富的GTAS和经验丰富的gtas，以及经验丰富的杂物，以及他们的经验及其经验丰富。参与机构的各种环境将为丰富的比较提供机会，并更深入地了解可以促进全国其他机构中更广泛采用项目组件的机制。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响来评估的支持，并被认为是值得的。