Collaborative Research: Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development Focused on Implementation of Evidence-based Teaching Practices

协作研究：数学研究生助教专业发展注重实施循证教学实践

基本信息

批准号：
2013590
负责人：
Mary Pilgrim
金额：
$ 55.74万
依托单位：
San Diego State University Foundation
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Continuing Grant
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2020-10-01 至 2025-09-30
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2013590&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research Mathematics Graduate Teaching

项目摘要

This project aims to serve the national interest by preparing mathematics graduate teaching assistants (MGTAs) to implement teaching practices designed to improve the success of students in undergraduate mathematics courses. To this end, the project will provide MGTAs with a multi-year professional development program to help them implement evidence based teaching practices, including active learning. The professional development program will include an intensive teaching seminar and two courses focused on active learning and inclusive teaching. This approach, which provides MGTAs with extended professional development over multiple years, contrasts with the conventional practice of providing MGTA training only in their first year of graduate school. To help develop their leadership skills, experienced MGTAs will have the opportunity to serve as teaching mentors for newer peers. Over the five-year span of the project, more than 35,000 undergraduates will be taught by MGTAs who have received this multi-year professional development. It is expected that thousands more students will be served in the years that follow, as many of the MGTAs move into academic careers. The project will be implemented at Oregon State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and San Diego State University. As a result, the project will have multiple contexts for examining the impact of the professional development on MGTA teaching attitudes and practices, as well as on the success of the undergraduates in the MGTAs’ classes. The project will compare outcomes at the three institutions to generate new knowledge about MGTA professional development, to explore what works in which contexts, and to develop an explicit theory of change related to MGTAs’ teaching practices. The goal of this project is to equip MGTAs with evidence-based teaching practices, such as the use of multiple representations, small group management, and reflective teaching, through a professional development program built on findings from research about both undergraduate mathematics education and MGTA professional development. The project will study the efficacy of this approach through data collected from surveys, classroom observations, and interviews with MGTAs, their students, and faculty in the impacted departments. These data will enable the project team to explore changes in MGTAs’ teaching practices and their commitment to evidence-based teaching practices, to understand how undergraduate students experience the participating MGTA’s classrooms, and to examine if and how the professional development program becomes formalized and sustained within the departments. Using individual and organizational theories of change, this project will generate new knowledge about whether, how, and why the professional development program results in instructional change. This work will include determining individual factors that impact MGTAs as they transform their teaching and exploring departmental and institutional characteristics that inhibit or support sustainable change. A multi-level mixed methods analysis of data from multiple institutions will allow for rich comparisons to inform MGTA professional development more broadly. This project was supported by the NSF IUSE:EHR and IUSE:HSI programs. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities. The IUSE: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program (HSI Program) aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs.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.

该项目旨在通过准备数学研究生教学助理（MGTA）来实施旨在提高学生在本科数学课程中的成功的教学实践来实现国家利益。为此，该项目将为MGTA提供多年的专业发展计划，以帮助他们实施基于证据的教学实践，包括活跃的学习。专业发展计划将包括一门密集的教学中心和两个专注于积极学习和包容性教学的课程。这种方法为MGTA提供了多年的扩展专业发展，与仅在研究生院的第一年提供MGTA培训的常规实践形成鲜明对比。为了帮助发展他们的领导能力，经验丰富的MGTA将有机会担任新同龄人的教学导师。在该项目的五个项目中，MGTA将教授这一多年专业发展的MGTA教授35,000多名本科生。预计随后的几年，随着许多MGTA进入学术职业，将会有成千上万的学生。该项目将在俄勒冈州立大学，弗吉尼亚州英联邦大学和圣地亚哥州立大学实施。结果，该项目将具有多种背景，用于检查专业发展对MGTA教学态度和实践的影响，以及在MGTAS课程中的大学生的成功。该项目将比较三个机构的成果，以产生有关MGTA专业发展的新知识，探索在哪些背景下有效的方法，并开发与MGTAS教学实践相关的明确变更理论。该项目的目的是通过一项专业发展计划，构建了有关本科数学教育和MGTA专业发展的研究结果，将MGTA配备基于证据的教学实践，例如使用多种表示，小组管理和反思性教学。该项目将通过从受影响部门的调查，课堂观察结果和对MGTA，学生和教职员工的调查，课堂观察和访谈中收集的数据来研究这种方法的效率。这些数据将使项目团队能够探索MGTA的教学实践的变化及其对循证教学实践的承诺，了解本科生如何体验MGTA教室的参与，并检查专业发展计划是否以及如何在部门内形式化和维持。使用个人和组织的变更理论，该项目将产生有关是否，如何以及为什么专业发展计划导致教学变更的新知识。这项工作将包括确定影响MGTA的个体因素，因为它们改变了他们的教学并探索抑制或支持可持续变化的部门和机构特征。多个机构数据的多层混合方法分析将使丰富的比较能够更广泛地为MGTA专业发展提供信息。该项目得到了NSF IUSE：EHR和IUSE：HSI程序的支持。 NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过机构和社区转型的轨道，该计划支持在高等教育和学科社区的机构中转变和改善STEM教育的努力。 IUSE：西班牙裔服务机构计划（HSI计划）旨在增强HSIS的本科STEM教育和建立能力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的评估标准通过评估来获得支持的。