skip to main content


Title: Antecedents, Processes, and Outcomes of an Interdisciplinary, Conference/Collaboration: A comparative Study of Three Interdisciplinary Working Groups
There is a growing recognition of the need for interdisciplinarity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The purpose of the present study is to identify antecedents, processes, and outcomes of an interdisciplinary, collaborative conference and ongoing collaboration. The Breaking Boundaries in STEM education conference was developed with multiple goals, including fostering collaborative interdisciplinary scientific writing for publication among teacher-scholars who participated in one of three interdisciplinary working groups. One hundred teacher-scholars with interest in STEM education participated in the conference. A comparative study of three working groups from the conference was conducted using a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods. Surveys and behavioral observations were completed at the conference, and phone interviews with attendees were conducted 3-4 months later. Groups varied in their readiness to collaborate. Several themes emerged that might explain why one group was highly productive, one group was moderately productive, and one group was not productive at completing publications after the conference. Groups with a narrower disciplinary span, stronger leadership presence, a paper champion, motivated leader, and a leader with a strong recent history of publishing on the topic, were more ready to collaborate, and they experienced faster, smoother completion of publications. Further research and more passage of time, such as a few years, is needed to determine the quantity, quality, span of disciplinarity, novelty, and generativity of the publications over time. The generalizability of these themes to other interdisciplinary collaborative studies is briefly discussed.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1644470
PAR ID:
10123065
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of research in stem education
Volume:
4
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2149-8504
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Kirgiz, Mehmet Serkan (Ed.)
    Interdisciplinary research is the synergistic combination of two or more disciplines to achieve one research objective. Current research highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research in science education, particularly between educational experts within a particular science discipline (discipline-based education researchers) and those who study human learning in a more general sense (learning scientists). However, this type of interdisciplinary research is not common and little empirical evidence exists that identifies barriers and possible solutions. We hosted a pre-conference workshop for Discipline-Based Educational Researchers and Learning Scientists designed to support interdisciplinary collaborations. We collected evidence during our workshop regarding barriers to interdisciplinary collaborations in science education, perceptions of perceived cohesion in participants’ home university departments and professional communities, and the impact of our workshop on fostering new connections. Based on participants’ responses, we identified three categories of barriers, Disciplinary Differences , Professional Integration , and Collaborative Practice . Using a post-conference survey, we found an inverse pattern in perceived cohesion to home departments compared to self-identified professional communities. Additionally, we found that after the workshop participants reported increased connections across disciplines. Our results provide empirical evidence regarding challenges to interdisciplinary research in science education and suggest that small professional development workshops have the potential for facilitating durable interdisciplinary networks where participants feel a sense of belonging not always available in their home departments. 
    more » « less
  2. Eastern Mennonite University received a 5-year S-STEM award for their STEM Scholars Engaging in Local Problems (SSELP) program. The goal of this place-based, interdisciplinary scholarship program is to increase the number of academically talented, low-income students who graduate in STEM fields and either pursue immediate employment in STEM careers or STEM-related service or continue their STEM education in graduate school. In 2018 and 2019, two cohorts of seven students were recruited to major in biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science, mathematics, or environmental science. A key part of recruitment involved on-campus interviews, during a February Scholarship Day, between STEM faculty and potential scholars. As the yield rate for the event is high (54-66%), the university has continued this practice, funding additional STEM scholarships. In order to retain and graduate the scholars in STEM fields, the SSELP faculty designed and carried out various projects and activities to support the students. The SSELP Scholars participated in a first-year STEM Career Practicum class, a one-credit course that connected students with regional STEM practitioners across a variety of fields. The scholars were supported by peer tutors embedded in STEM classes, and now many are tutors themselves. They participated in collaborative projects where the cohorts worked to identify and solve a problem or need in their community. The SSELP scholars were supported by both faculty and peer mentors. Each scholarship recipient was matched with a faculty mentor in addition to an academic advisor. A faculty mentor was in a related STEM field but typically not teaching the student. Each scholar was matched with a peer mentor (junior or senior) in their intended major of study. In addition, community building activities were implemented to provide a significant framework for interaction within the cohort. To evaluate the progress of the SSELP program, multiple surveys were conducted. HERI/CIRP Freshman Survey was used in the fall of 2018 for the first cohort and 2019 for the second cohort. The survey indicated an upward shift in students’ perception of science and in making collaborative effort towards positive change. Preliminary data on the Science Motivation Questionnaire showed that the SSELP scholars began their university studies with lower averages than their non-SSELP STEM peers in almost every area of science motivation. After over three years of implementation of the NSF-funded STEM Scholars Engaging in Local Problems program, the recruitment effort has grown significantly in STEM fields in the university. Within the two cohorts, the most common majors were environmental science and engineering. While 100% of Cohorts 1 and 2 students were retained into the Fall semester of the second year, two students from Cohort 1 left the program between the third and fourth semesters of their studies. While one student from Cohort 2 had a leave of absence, they have returned to continue their studies. The support system formed among the SSELP scholars and between the scholars and faculty has benefited the students in both their academic achievement as well as their personal growth. 
    more » « less
  3. The purpose of this working group is to continue to bring together scholars with an interest in examining the use of and access to large-scale quantitative tools used to measure student- and teacher-related outcomes in mathematics education. The working group session will focus on (1) updating the workgroup on the progress made since the first working group at PME-NA in Tucson, Arizona, specifically focusing on the outcomes of the Validity Evidence for Measurement in Mathematics Education conference that took place in April, 2017, in San Antonio, (2) continued development of a document of available tools and their associated validity evidence, and (3) identification of potential follow-up activities to continue this work. The efforts of the group will be summarized and extended through both social media tools and online collaboration tools to further promote this work. 
    more » « less
  4. The researchers conducted a qualitative case study to describe the experiences (over the course of a semester) of an inter-disciplinary team of three special education and three psychology undergraduates who participated in a relational learning community and a graduate student who designed and facilitated this learning community. An associate professor and special education researcher oversaw and co-facilitated the project. The design of the learning community promoted the building of rapport and trust among the group members and the progress of the group toward a common goal of incorporating principles from psychology to develop teaching strategies for students who are struggling in math and experiencing severe math anxiety. Gathering more frequent and individualized feedback would have helped the learning community facilitator make some key adjustments earlier in the project, but the incorporation of rapport building activities that supported trust and collaboration among the group was supportive of group progress toward a common goal. We learned key lessons about how to design and implement a learning community that can be applied to the field of education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and other contexts. 
    more » « less
  5. The Common Problems Project (CP2) is an interdisciplinary, problem-based pedagogy that was launched in 2015 by four partner colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system (Cortland, Oneonta, Oswego, and Plattsburgh). Since its inception, 100 faculty have participated in CP2 and integrated the pedagogy into 134 courses to implement 47 collaborative projects. CP2 is based on a simple but innovative approach in which instructors from different disciplines identify a real-world problem they have in common. They pair their relevant existing classes so that students can work in interdisciplinary teams to propose solutions to the problem. This paper describes CP2 and its theoretical underpinnings, provides the results of a three-pronged approach to assessment, and outlines recommendations for faculty and institutions who may be interested in replicating CP2 on their campuses. CP2 model holds promise for a future of collaborative problem solving as a pedagogical approach, and, as such, this article will be of interest to a wide range of scholars, practitioners, educators, and administrators. 
    more » « less