Julie Luft - US grants

This five-year research study will focus on the impact of different teacher preparation and induction models, as well as on the quality and persistence of secondary science teachers. Combining the strengths of case-based research with a quasi-experimental design this study will follow 120 secondary science teachers for three years from four different and well characterized preservice - induction programs. Many of the "newly" inducted teachers will be assigned in multicultural, diverse or urban settings and the broader impact will include not only the teachers in the study but the potential impact on their students. The rationale for this project is well developed from the literature on the STEM teaching workforce as well as reports from the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. The rationale for the induction program approaches are also well supported in the literature and is extended through the literature on early STEM teacher development.

This SGER proposal, a response to current national initiatives focused on secondary science instruction, would collate, examine and broadly disseminate current scholarly research in three critical areas of secondary science education: Inquiry; Reforming Instructional Practices; and Roles of Technology in Instruction. The goals of this proposal include (1) informing practitioners of existing studies; (2) sharing knowledge across the science teacher education community and (3) providing the science education research community with an overview of existing studies and an agenda for future work. The proposed secondary science study would be rapidly and broadly disseminated at professional meetings and through three books, one in each of the critical areas, to be published as part of the NSF/ESIE Foundations series.

In the Phoenix metropolitan area, high-need schools often experience on-going vacancies in the teaching staff and a high turnover rate of qualified teachers. This project attempts to identify and support up to 60 qualified secondary science teachers who will persist in high-need environments. Using different methods of recruitment, in conjunction with a marketing plan, science students are being identified and recruited to participate in undergraduate or post-baccalaureate programs that have extensive field experiences with diverse students, strong content knowledge requirements, and on-going opportunities to build their understanding of science as inquiry instruction. While students are completing their initial certification course work, field placements are being arranged in high need settings that consist of students who are Native American, Latina/o, or African American. Upon graduation, STARR Noyce teachers participate in science-focused induction programs, which specifically support their use of science as inquiry in diverse classrooms, their development as science teachers, and their socialization into the school community.
Ultimately, the dissemination of these findings is expected to direct future recruitment endeavors in this area.

This project examines the effect of four different types of induction programs on 100 5th year teachers of secondary science. The teachers involved in the study have participated in a previous study during their first three years of teaching.
The four types of induction programs are described as follows.
1. General induction programs offered by school districts/regional centers,
2. Science-specific e-mentoring programs offered by higher education or science organizations,
3. Science-specific programs offered by higher education institutions, and
4. Intern programs that allow teachers to earn their teaching credential while they complete their first year of teaching.

Dr. Luft's research concentrates on providing the details that give insights into why newly qualified science teachers are leaving or persisting in the profession and how induction programs affect their beliefs and practices. The research questions for this study are:
1. Do induction programs make a difference in the retention of secondary science teachers during their fourth and fifth year?
2. What characterizations can be made about teachers who persist, their performance, and the assistance they receive?
3. How do beginning science teachers develop over their first five years? How do induction programs contribute to this development?

Data collection includes 8 interviews and 2 classroom observations of each teacher. The CETP-COP and Oregon Teacher Observation Protocol are used for classroom observations. Quantitative data analysis utilizes ANOVAs and HLM, to be followed by a qualitative analysis exploring the findings.

The research team is based at Arizona State University and includes Dr. Luft, Dr. Marilyn Thompson, five graduate students and one undergraduate student. The products will include papers submitted to professional journals, postings to the Arizona Science Coordinators Association listserv, and direct dissemination to school administrators and local meetings.

The impacts will be increased understanding of induction programs, what they achieve and what characteristics are effective. This will help policy makers and administrators modify the programs for increased effectiveness. Given the high rate of teachers leaving the profession during the first five years and the popularity of induction programs, the primary impact would be increased retention of quality teachers.

This RAPID project will explore how different professional development programs impact faculty instruction. While studies of one program are useful, they do not result in a deeper understanding of faculty instructors learning that can be achieved through comparative studies of multiple approaches. The proposed study is better situated to discover factors that influence faculty learning and teaching behavior by examining faculty learning in four different professional development programs that have been enacted at the University of Georgia beginning in the spring, 2016. It will study these (and a control group) and measure their impact from differences in outcomes as faculty instructors implement what they are learning in real time and in the fall. These four methods are representative of the approaches being implemented nationally across a large number of universities. This project has the advantage of studying all four at the same time at the same institution.

This will be a mixed methods study, which will have quantitative and qualitative components that are mixed in the analysis. Qualitative data will be collected in the spring, and will consist of interviews, observations, and artifacts that pertain to instruction. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected in the fall. Quantitative data will examine the teaching of faculty who participated in the different programs and a group that did not participate in such a program. Qualitative data will consist of interviews about the implementation (or not) of active learning approaches.

To enhance learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), we need to better understand how students acquire and use STEM knowledge, and how instructors can facilitate learning in STEM. Biology education researchers contribute to this understanding by applying their expertise in biology to the study of undergraduate teaching and learning in the discipline. Biology education research (BER) is a relatively young field, emerging after physics and chemistry education research. Thus there are many research questions to answer in BER, and this work will require more biology education researchers. The Undergraduate Biology Education Research Version 2 (UBERV2) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at University of Georgia will address this need by contributing to the BER talent pool.

The UBERV2 REU program will select and train 24 diverse undergraduate students in biology education research over the next three years. UBERV2 fellows will develop their BER understanding and skills while adding to theory and knowledge about biology teaching and learning. UBERV2 fellows will collaborate with faculty mentors on individual research projects. They will also engage in program offerings organized around three areas: a research strand, a career strand, and a professionalism strand. After participating in UBERV2 students will be able to 1) use appropriate methods to analyze data associated with biology teaching and learning, 2) evaluate peer-reviewed papers in BER and science education research, 3) identify sound educational research questions and appropriate research designs, 4) communicate their research findings in scientific formats, and 5) outline career pathways in or related to education research. This experience will prepare UBERV2 fellows to pursue graduate work in BER. Overall, the project will contribute enhanced understandings of biology teaching and learning, and build the biology education research talent pool, which is expected to lead to improvements in undergraduate STEM education.

Current priorities in formal science education include building strong professional learning communities that foster ongoing professional growth among teachers, teacher leaders, and school administrators. This project responds to these priorities by developing and testing a professional development program designed for school district science coordinators. Though these science coordinators typically have some degree of responsibility for supporting science teachers in their school districts, most individuals appointed to these leadership positions have little or no formal preparation for the role. The range of duties assigned to science coordinators varies greatly from district to district, but duties typically include mentoring teachers, selecting curriculum materials, overseeing science supplies and classroom safety, and advocating for science program improvements. The professional development model being designed and developed by this project will be tested by examining impacts of participating science coordinators on science teachers and their students.

The goal of this four-year exploratory study is to determine if a specialized professional development program for district science coordinators can facilitate their growth as instructional leaders and the instructional practices of science teachers of their school districts. More specifically, the project will pursue answers to two research questions: 1) How, if at all, does the professional development model impact the knowledge, practices, and work of the science coordinators? and 2) How, if at all, do participating science coordinators impact the practices of science teachers who are implementing the Next Generation Science Standards? A design-based research approach will be employed to develop a two-year professional development model having 80 hours of programming during the first year, and 30 hours during the second year. Programming will include a blend of face-to-face and online meetings and modules. The mixed-methods research plan will compare teaching and learning outcomes within three groups: 1) The treatment groups consisting of science coordinators who participated in the professional development program, and the science teachers with whom they work, 2) A comparison group of science coordinators who did not participate in the professional development program and the teachers with whom they work, and 3) A comparison group consisting of science teachers who do not have direct access to a science coordinator. Quantitative data will be gathered through use of instruments that measure how science coordinators develop their knowledge and practices, and how they modify their perspectives as leaders. Observations of the classroom practices of teachers will also be documented. The qualitative research component will include interviews, examination of artifacts, and focus groups.

The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.

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.