Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining STEM Pedagogies Using Mixed-Reality Simulations

University Of West Florida, Pensacola FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing undergraduate STEM education students’ ability to teach in a way that is culturally and linguistically sustaining through a learning model that includes practicing teaching with virtual avatars. While the number of students who speak a language other than English at home continues to grow, English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students have persistently floundered in K-12 schools and are underrepresented particularly in STEM fields in both college and the workforce. Most STEM teachers in the United States have received only limited preparation in ESOL instruction. Therefore, it is critical to prepare STEM pre-service teachers to better serve students who do not speak English as their primary language. This project provides online modules to develop culturally and linguistically sustaining STEM pedagogies with focused mentor feedback and high-quality mixed-reality simulation practices throughout the learning sequence. Anticipated outcomes of this project are the improvement of undergraduate students’ ability to enact culturally and linguistically sustaining STEM pedagogies as they support learning of students who speak another language than English at home, as well as the development of effective practice-based teacher education learning experiences including replicable online instructional activities. Project goals include 1) developing undergraduate STEM education students’ culturally and linguistically sustaining STEM teaching practices and 2) understanding effects of an online learning model with mixed-reality simulations on their improvement of culturally and linguistically sustaining STEM teaching. This project uses a mixed-methods research design. Developing instructional expertise requires not only learning knowledge and observing exemplary teaching but also purposeful practices with critical reflection and focused feedback. Compared to a typical teacher education program in which pre-service teachers learn the knowledge and concepts in their coursework and experience actual teaching toward exiting the program, the experiential learning model provides "experience" in the very beginning so that STEM pre-service teachers can recognize their existing practices, proceed through purposeful learning, and develop more effective concept building. Multilingual avatars are included in the mathematics and science simulations developed through this project. In addition, embedding multiple mixed-reality simulation opportunities with focused mentor feedback provides high-quality practice opportunities purposefully distributed throughout the pre-service teachers program of study. The mixed-reality simulations with mentoring are designed to provide the pre-service STEM teachers with opportunities to practice pedagogies that attend to the multi-layered conceptualization of language demands in STEM and learners' buy-in regarding incorporation of culture as well as complex implementation skill development. Results of this project are to be disseminated through professional avenues (i.e., national and local conferences and peer-reviewed journals), the NSF STEM for All video showcase, and a program website. The project has the potential to benefit the STEM education community by preparing STEM teachers for multicultural and multilingual classrooms, which will eventually improve educational equity for all students. 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. Partial funding is from the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program. 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.