Professional Development Outcomes for Rural Teachers participating in a Research Experience for Teachers Program in Innovative Transportation Systems (Evaluation)

Susan Gallagher; Craig Woolard

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Pre-College Engineering Education Division Poster Session
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40562
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40562
Download Count: 339

Paper Authors

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Susan Gallagher Montana State University - Bozeman

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Susan Gallagher is the Education and Workforce Program Manager at the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University. She currently serves as co-PI on the NSF-funded Research Experience for Teachers in Innovative Transportation Systems site grant and Project Coordinator for the Sustainable Transformation of Environmental Engineering Education for Modern Society grant, funded by the NSF Revolutionizing Engineering Departments program.

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Craig Woolard Montana State University - Bozeman

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Abstract

The Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University completed a three-year Research Experience for Teachers Program in Innovative Transportation Systems (ITS-RET) funded by the National Science Foundation over the 2018, 2019, and 2021 summers. Middle and high school STEM teachers and community college faculty from Montana and surrounding states participated in a six-week intensive on-site research experience with experienced multidisciplinary faculty and research staff mentors. Interdisciplinary research topics focused on the development and testing of new technologies, methods, materials, and tools to improve rural transportation systems. Recruitment for the ITS-RET focused on teachers serving rural, tribal, and geographically isolated and underserved areas. The program aimed to strengthen the capacity of teachers to deliver STEM content in ways that demonstrate concrete applications to familiar real world transportation problems faced by rural communities and students, thereby enhancing rural student engagement with engineering research and design processes.

Summative assessment compared pre- and post-program survey responses about RET participants’ self-reported perceptions of engaging with the Science and Engineering Practices from the Next Generation Science Standards. Narrative evaluations additionally provided by participants at the end of the program focused on motivations for participating in the program, cohort-building with peers, professional development outcomes, and plans for sharing knowledge and tools gained through the program with their students in the classroom. Of the twenty-seven STEM teachers participating in either one or two RET summer sessions, fifteen served students in rural communities with less than ten thousand residents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with past participants working in rural and remote schools. The paper explores self-reported professional development outcomes for participants teaching specifically in frontier and remote areas with population centers under 3,000 residents and located at a distance of at least 50 miles from the nearest urban population center. Longer term impacts of the ITS-RET program on geographically isolated teachers after returning to their local contexts are highlighted.

Citation
Format

Gallagher, S., & Woolard, C. (2022, August), Professional Development Outcomes for Rural Teachers participating in a Research Experience for Teachers Program in Innovative Transportation Systems (Evaluation) Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40562

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University completed a three-year Research Experience for Teachers Program in Innovative Transportation Systems (ITS-RET) funded by the National Science Foundation over the 2018, 2019, and 2021 summers. Middle and high school STEM teachers and community college faculty from Montana and surrounding states participated in a six-week intensive on-site research experience with experienced multidisciplinary faculty and research staff mentors. Interdisciplinary research topics focused on the development and testing of new technologies, methods, materials, and tools to improve rural transportation systems. Recruitment for the ITS-RET focused on teachers serving rural, tribal, and geographically isolated and underserved areas. The program aimed to strengthen the capacity of teachers to deliver STEM content in ways that demonstrate concrete applications to familiar real world transportation problems faced by rural communities and students, thereby enhancing rural student engagement with engineering research and design processes.  

Summative assessment compared pre- and post-program survey responses about RET participants’ self-reported perceptions of engaging with the Science and Engineering Practices from the Next Generation Science Standards. Narrative evaluations additionally provided by participants at the end of the program focused on motivations for participating in the program, cohort-building with peers, professional development outcomes, and plans for sharing knowledge and tools gained through the program with their students in the classroom. Of the twenty-seven STEM teachers participating in either one or two RET summer sessions, fifteen served students in rural communities with less than ten thousand residents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with past participants working in rural and remote schools. The paper explores self-reported professional development outcomes for participants teaching specifically in frontier and remote areas with population centers under 3,000 residents and located at a distance of at least 50 miles from the nearest urban population center. Longer term impacts of the ITS-RET program on geographically isolated teachers after returning to their local contexts are highlighted. 

AU  - Susan Gallagher
AU  - Craig Woolard
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Professional Development Outcomes for Rural Teachers participating in a Research Experience for Teachers Program in Innovative Transportation Systems (Evaluation)
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/40562
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--40562
ER  -