| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 12, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | May 12, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1950332 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Kathleen Bergin
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | May 15, 2020 |
| End Date: | April 30, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $74,984.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $74,984.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
400 E UNIVERSITY WAY ELLENSBURG WA US 98926-7500 (509)963-2118 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
400 E. University Way Ellensburg, WA 98926 WA US 98926-7540 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Robert Noyce Scholarship Pgm |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project aims to serve the national need of building capacity to support and retain effective STEM teachers. It seeks to build curriculum and experiences that prepare emerging STEM leaders by developing a Master Teacher specialization in STEM Leadership. These leaders will promote innovative STEM curriculum in high-need K-12 schools, which in turn can motivate K-12 students from diverse backgrounds to choose STEM careers, and especially STEM teaching careers. Moreover, the STEM leaders will establish community partnerships to promote STEM literacy and relevance to everyday life. This specialization, the first of its kind in Washington state, will build upon existing community partnerships with STEM Networks organized by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Washington STEM to improve STEM education both locally and statewide.
This project at Central Washington University includes partnerships with: the Wahluke School District, Educational School District 105, partnered with South Central Washington STEM Network; and Educational School District 171, partnered with the Apple STEM Network. Project goals include to: (1) survey a diverse range of high-need local educational agencies and other STEM education stakeholders to determine needs related to developing a Master Teacher specialization in STEM Leadership; and (2) design a novel, research-informed and National Boards aligned program to provide in-service teachers with a Master Teacher specialization in STEM Leadership responsive to Washington state needs. This work is grounded in literature outlining characteristics of effective teacher leaders who can act as agents for change within their local communities of practice, transforming the conditions for STEM teaching and learning. First, the team will develop, implement, and analyze survey and focus group input from community STEM stakeholders to determine desired attributes of a STEM leader. This input will inform program curriculum and infrastructure for the Master Teacher specialization. The project endeavors to build upon the successes of Central Washington University?s Teach STEM and Noyce Scholarship programs to recruit and prepare STEM teacher leaders. By completing the STEM Leadership program, STEM leaders will improve their own teaching practice, develop knowledge and skills needed to mentor other teachers in best teaching practices, and be prepared to successfully complete National Board Certification if so desired. An external evaluator will provide formative and summative feedback with respect to design processes surrounding the two programmatic goals. This evaluation serves to engender continual improvement and to ensure the success of the development of, and capacity building for, the Master Teacher Specialization in STEM Leadership. Survey results, curriculum-related products, and key findings from the design process will be shared regionally and nationally through regional STEM Networks, presentations at professional meetings, and peer-reviewed journal publications. This Capacity Building 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 STEM teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the persistence, retention, and effectiveness 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.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Building Capacity for Master Teacher Specialization in STEM Leadership project was a collaboration between STEM, STEM Education, and Education faculty at Central Washington University in conjunction with: the Wahluke School District, Educational School District 105, partnered with South Central Washington STEM Network; and Educational School District 171, partnered with the Apple STEM Network. We leveraged these partnerships with the intent to subsequently prepare and submit a proposal to the Robert Noyce Scholarship Track 3 program delineating a sustainable teacher leader program serving a diverse group of Washington state STEM stakeholders. Our project team has built capacity for a novel, research-informed M.Ed. specialization in STEM Leadership that builds upon the successes of the undergraduate CWU TEACH STEM program to, in turn, recruit and prepare STEM teacher leaders across Washington state.
In order to identify the key concepts, skills, and performances our program should require, our research team surveyed 290 STEM stakeholders statewide, including administrators, STEM support specialists, STEM teachers, and other industry partners. Additional follow-up phone calls, emails, and a focus group corroborated and clarified the initial survey data. We used this feedback to design a program that will both improve the effectiveness of STEM teachers and serve as a regional STEM network hub connecting teachers, students, and community and industry partners.
Surveyed stakeholders expressed the need for a program with integrated, project-based learning at its center. They also articulated a requirement that assessment must be authentic to real life experience. Finally, according to stakeholder participants, teaching practices should be culturally responsive to address an essential need to promote diversity and equity in STEM education.
The above feedback was then collated into a framework which informed curriculum design and program development for the STEM Leadership specialization. The resulting program is comprised of project-based and inquiry-oriented STEM content courses, STEM leadership courses and seminars tailored to leverage community partnerships, as well as pedagogy courses that will promote inclusive and culturally responsive STEM teaching practices at high-need school districts statewide. This capacity building project also allowed the PI team to develop and implement a recruitment plan and website for the STEM Leadership graduate program at CWU.
Last Modified: 07/05/2021
Modified by: Brent Hancock
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