Building Capacity in a Rural School District to Support Teacher Development in STEM Areas Through Cycles of Continuous Improvement

Partnership development between universities and school districts requires an understanding that each organization has a distinct institutional point of view that must be considered in defining and shaping collaborative work. The goals and objectives of each organization may not always align, and at times may compete or conflict with each other. For example, school district staff may have concerns about working with researchers who are unfamiliar with their community and the goals and needs of the districts. With the understanding that successful partnerships are those where practitioners and researchers achieve high levels of trust, commitment, transparency, interdependence, and mutual benefit, this project centers on building a partnership between a university that serves a largely Hispanic student population and a rural school district that also serves a community that has long been underrepresented in STEM education and career opportunities. The partners will jointly focus on how to respond to three negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: (1) limited access to quality learning opportunities, (2) increased student learning gaps in STEM subjects, and (3) a local teacher shortage.

This project's contributions focus primarily on the development and sustainability of a research-practice partnership between a university and rural school districts serving underserved student populations. The project partners will engage in a collaborative inquiry process to identify a problem of practice in STEM teaching and learning at the high school level, research best practices to address the identified problem and develop a targeted improvement plan to strengthen STEM education. To develop an effective, authentic, and equitable research-practice partnership that will be sustainable beyond the initial planning year, the project will use inquiry and team-building strategies, developmental evaluation, and a continuous improvement process. This project’s approach in a rural context and with underrepresented communities can inform current understanding about nuances of creating research-practice partnerships, including adaptation of emerging goals and related work, changes in school leadership, and the flexibility required for sustainability. Findings can also inform researchers and practitioners about how the continuous improvement process can help identify areas of need and co-designing solutions in teaching and learning STEM related areas.