This project aims to serve the national interest in high quality STEM education. To this end, it plans to improve curricula in a secondary science teacher education program. In addition to the consistently low performance of U.S. secondary students on international tests, a significant and consistent national gap exists in the science achievement of English learners versus native English-speaking students. One-third of all English learners in the U.S. are in secondary school settings. However, most secondary preservice teacher education programs do not include an explicit English learner focus in science methods courses. As a result, many teachers lack experience and coursework in the language and literacy demands of teaching science to English learners. This project proposes to focus on scientific inquiry, second language learning, and science-specific literacy to better prepare secondary (Grades 6-12) and preservice teachers to teach science to all students, including English learners. A successful new curriculum created through this project could be adapted by other science teacher preparation programs. Expected outcomes of the project include an increase in new teachers? lesson planning and teaching skills using approaches that: 1) Engage students in science and engineering practices; 2) Implement skills and strategies for scaffolding the learning of English learners; 3) Integrate science-specific literacy.
Teacher educators at the University of Central Florida aim to create a practice-based, interdisciplinary program that targets preservice teacher preparation over four undergraduate courses during two semesters. These courses will include two courses at the University and two internship courses in the local school district, the Seminole County Public Schools. Pre-service teachers will be engaged in a series of practices including focused inquiry, directed observations, and guided practice to learn how to teach science to all students. Mixed methods research will be used to explore research questions that include the impact on teacher?s lesson planning and teaching skills and learning outcomes of students who are taught by these new teachers. The pre-service teachers? performance will be compared with those who graduated from the University?s secondary science education programs before implementing this programmatic transformation. The teaching effectiveness of pre-service teachers will also be measured by comparing the learning outcomes of their students in the internship classrooms with those in the control group. Specific practices and conditions of the project that lead to improvements in the pre-service teachers? skills will also be explored. An ongoing project evaluation will be conducted throughout the three project years. The evaluation will engage all stakeholders in the assessment cycle to provide feedback and inform the research team about progress toward the objectives and potential improvements to the project design. Dissemination activities will include a project website, peer-reviewed publications, and national and international conference presentations. The resulting curriculum will be shared with practitioner audiences, including science teachers in secondary science classrooms and science methods course instructors in diverse undergraduate teacher education programs across the nation. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.
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.
