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

利用环绕式指导和虚拟现实来培养和维持农村高需求学校的 STEM 教师

• 批准号: 2344941
• 负责人: Andrea Campbell
• 金额: $ 231.77万
• 依托单位: Concord University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-04-01 至 2030-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2344941&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Utilizing; Wrap; Around; Mentorship; Virtual

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.

该项目旨在满足国家需求，以增加和保留具有尖端教学技能，内容知识和倾向的STEM教师，以在粗糙的高需求教室中进行教学。西弗吉尼亚州的学校很难填补STEM领域的教学空缺。拟议的项目将洞悉选择从事STEM教育职业的STEM专业人员的成功招聘，准备和保留。 WV中有三分之一的教师在工作的头四年内离开了该领域。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。估计在该项目期间，可能会直接影响9,600名农村P-12学生。为了实现该项目的目标，Concord University（CU）将提供在线教学（MAT）课程中的在线艺术硕士学位，通过使用虚拟平台将多学科的心态团队与TFS，开发和维持专业学习社区（PLC）联系起来，实施围绕心理计划的全面包裹，并将虚拟现实（VR）的使用（VR）融合在一起。此外，CU将利用虚拟平台以及数据管理软件来进行TFS的持续心理和跟踪，因为它们填补了康科德大学（Concord University）的粗糙高需求的P-12学校中的STEM教学职位。该项目包括与Mercer，McDowell，McDowell，McDowell和Summers County Schools，Sibme，Sibme，Sibme，Sibme，以及西弗吉尼亚州科学教师协会的合作伙伴关系。项目目标包括（1）招募和促进16位STEM专业人员作为教学研究员（TFS）成为艰难，高必要的学校中的STEM教育者，（2）（2）为TFS提供全面的心理和支持，以确保通过其MAT计划和归纳来确保持久和保留。该项目将在粗糙的高需求学校中为TFS和P-12学生提供尖端技术，并建立支持在STEM教学职位上雇用的TFS的有效方法。这项工作将由布罗克波特研究所评估。评估将包括对从调查，访谈，现有数据和文档审查收集的数据的混合方法定量和定性分析。项目团队将在项目网站以及区域和国家会议上传播项目成果和调查结果。将重点放在分享学习的关键课程，将VR的使用纳入课堂上，并分享该项目蓝图，以帮助其他地区的其他地区。这首歌2：通过罗伯特·诺伊斯（Robert Noyce）教师奖学金计划（NOYCE）支持教学奖学金项目。 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老师，并经验丰富的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教师的有效性和保留的研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估标准来评估值得支持。