More Like this

1. Conceptualizing the Institutional Transformation Approach to STEM Ethics Education: An Exploratory Study of NSF-Funded Institutional Transformation Projects

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--48490  

   Zhu, Qin; Clancy, Rockwell; Lee, Lisa (June 2024, ASEE Conferences)

   There is consensus that the integration of ethics into STEM curricula is critical for cultivating cultures for ethical practices in STEM research. We argue that the establishment of the Ethics and Responsible Research (ER2) program, previously known as Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE-STEM), at NSF was driven by a cultural perspective on ethics education. According to the most recent version of its solicitation, A comprehensive approach to ethical STEM not only influences individual behavior, but it also maintains and fosters an ethical, equitable and just culture within an organization or research field. Thus, investigators submitting to the program are encouraged to examine organizational and cultural factors that influence ethical and responsible research practice (NSF, 2023). Such a cultural approach to STEM ethics education is primarily essentially holistic and pragmatic. It adopts a holistic approach by recognizing that ethics education occurs within a cultural context, and that an individual's ethical conduct can be both influenced and constrained by their research or workplace contexts. Additionally, it adopts a pragmatic perspective by viewing the objective of ethics education not merely as influencing individual ethical reasoning (as is commonly anticipated in most STEM ethics initiatives) but as an endeavor to engender more systematic, institutional-level transformations in the ethical climate in which individual scientists and engineers work. Moreover, the cultivation of an ethical research/workplace culture is considered imperative for fostering sustainable ethical transformation at both the individual and organizational levels within the campus community. Based on our initial search, while there have been seven institutional transformation projects funded through NSF's CCE STEM or ER2 program, there has been a scarcity of research that systematically compares these funded projects and seeks to derive broader theoretical insights regarding the institutional transformation approach to STEM ethics education. The purpose of this paper is to offer initial insights into the lessons that can be drawn from these funded projects, with the aim of contributing to the theoretical understanding of the institutional transformation approach to STEM ethics education. In particular, this paper seeks to investigate the following research questions: (1) What motivates researchers to opt for an institutional approach over an individualistic one? (2) What theoretical frameworks do researchers employ to tackle institutional transformation? Finally, this paper will outline how our recently awarded institutional transformation grant can benefit from these results. We intend to gather data using three major methods: (1) public summaries of these projects published on NSF’s website; (2) publications listed on each project’s dedicated webpage on NSF’s website as well as additional searches in Google Scholar; and (3) news articles and related commentaries available on the internet pertaining to these projects. We anticipate that the initial findings of this study can offer valuable insights for engineering education researchers, higher education administrators, and policymakers. These insights can aid in the development and implementation of more efficient models for fostering institutional transformation of ethical STEM cultures within and beyond their campuses. 

   more » « less
2. Improving Prekindergarten and Elementary Science Teaching: A Synthesis of Recent DRK-12 Program Investment in This Field

   Ferguson, D.; Pinerua, I.; Gerdeman, D. (August 2022, American Institutes for Research)

   Early science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education sets the stage for future STEM learning. The purpose of this synthesis is to understand the findings from investments to improve prekindergarten (preK) and elementary science teaching from projects funded by the National Science Foundation’s Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) program. In the 5 years spanning 2011–15, the DRK-12 program funded or cofunded 25 projects, totaling more than $60 million, related to improving preK and elementary science teaching. Our review identified 25 DRK-12 projects related to improving preK and elementary science teaching funded in 2011–15. We synthesized findings from 25 of those projects that produced products (e.g., peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers) that described the project and outcomes. We synthesized the empirical findings from interventions in four common areas of investment: (a) preservice preK and elementary preparation programs, (b) in-service teacher professional development (PD), (c) instructional materials for preK and elementary teachers, and (d) strategies for diverse learners. Link to PDF: https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/Improving-Prek-and-Elementary-Science-Teaching--DRK-12-STEM-August-2022.pdf 

   more » « less
3. Modeling in Science Education: A Synthesis of Recent Discovery Research PreK-12 Projects

   Margolin, J.; Pinerua, I.; Gerdeman, D. (April 2022, American Institutes for Research)

   The report summarizes the results from recent research and development projects that focused on modeling and simulations in science education. The Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) program of the National Science Foundation funded these projects as part of its mission to support the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in grades PreK12 through innovative educational approaches.1 This report synthesizes findings from 33 articles produced by 18 DRK-12 grants awarded from 2011 to 2015, all of which funded development of resources or instructional practices to support student modeling in PreK-12 science education. This synthesis had two broad purposes: to describe 18 modeling-focused DRK-12 projects with respect to the resources they studied and the methods they used, and to summarize the new knowledge these projects produced related to modeling instruction. Link to PDF: https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/Modeling-in-Scientific-Education-Synthesis-April-2022.pdf 

   more » « less
4. A Professional Development Program for Emerging STEM Education Researchers

   El-Adawy, S.; Hass, C.; Vasserman, E. Y.; Kustusch, M. B.; Franklin, S.; Sayre, E. C. (July 2023, 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   In this evidence-based practice paper, we discuss design rationale, implementation and evidence from a professional development program for emerging education researchers (PEER). Many STEM faculty, trained only in disciplinary research, transition into research on the teaching and learning side of their discipline, with transitions occurring after typical formal training opportunities (e.g. grad school, postdocs) are over. There are limited opportunities for professional development when starting education research, and options are highly dependent on home institution type, department priorities, and faculty career stage. The PEER program helps faculty at any institution jumpstart their transition into discipline-based education research. Our goal is to help foster the next generation of STEM education researchers. PEER participants develop quality research projects, engage in targeted experiential work to develop their projects and skills, and collaborate and form a long-term support community of peers, mentors and collaborators. Over the last 8 years, more than 1000 participants have engaged in PEER field schools worldwide. In this paper, we lay out the guiding principles of PEER: collaboration, responsiveness, communication, and playfulness. We situate the program within existing models for faculty professional development and describe the available modalities of PEER field schools: extended introductory in-person field schools (3-5 days), online or in-person gateway workshops (1.5 hours), and the new advanced in-person field schools (5 days). Each of these modalities is built off collaborative work among participants, blending development of foundational skills in education research with individual progress in their own specific education research projects. Drawing on evidence from interviews and surveys with STEM participants, we demonstrate the impact of different module activities on their professional skills, identity, and self-efficacy. We discuss the affordances and constraints of different formats and implications for faculty professional development. We prefer to present this work through a roundtable discussion, but we are also open to a lightning talk or a poster. 

   more » « less
5. Implementing an Ecosystem to Expand Capabilities and Opportunities for STEM-Scholars

   Lopez Del Puerto, C. (June 2023, 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   The population of students in Puerto Rico that has enrolled in higher education within the last six years has been severely affected by a compound effect of the many major humanitarian crises, including a deteriorated economy since the 2006 Great Recession, Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, earthquakes in 2019 and 2020, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, and Hurricane Fiona in 2022. To ensure that students can cope with the aftermath of these natural disasters, the following programs were conceived: The Ecosystem to Expand Capabilities and Opportunities for STEM-Scholars (EECOS), the Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainability Education Undergraduate Program (RISE-UP) and The Noyce Teacher Scholars Program – (NoTeS), all three programs are funded by the National Science Foundation. EECOS developed a support ecosystem that consists of three elements: academic support, socio-emotional support, and financial support. NoTeS. provides talented Hispanic low-socioeconomic bilingual undergraduate or recently graduated STEM majors and professionals up to two years of scholarship funding as well as academic and professional support as they complete the requirements to obtain teacher certification to become K-12 math and science teachers. This program seeks to increase the number of K-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge to fill the need for teachers in high-need school districts. RISE-UP was conceptualized to educate architecture and engineering students to work in interdisciplinary teams to provide resilient and sustainable design and construction solutions to infrastructure challenges. To date, EECOS has directly impacted XX students and graduated XXX students. NoTeS has helped nineteen scholars and ten affiliates (participants of the activities without the scholarship) partake. Eight of the nine alums scholars now work as math or science teachers in a high-needs school. RISE-UP has had 127 scholars who are enrolled or have completed the RISE-UP curricular sequence. This paper provides effective practices and a baseline characterization that universities can use to help students overcome the effects of natural disasters and promote student success using ecosystems of support that expand capabilities and opportunities, particularly for STEM scholars. 

   more » « less