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1. International Research Experiences in the Development of Minority Scientists

   Davis, Raeshan D; Wilson-Kennedy, Zakiya S.; Spivak, David (July 2021, Frontiers in education)

   null (Ed.)

   Undergraduate research and international experiences are often described as high-impact educational practices beneficial for undergraduate student success and for supporting the development of science identity and intercultural competencies. While several studies have investigated the impact of undergraduate research on students from minoritized groups, fewer studies have focused on their engagement in global experiences, and fewer still have explored their engagement in international research experiences. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Science Identity, Social Cognitive Career Theory, and the Intercultural Competence Model, this present study explores the benefits of participating in an international research experience for minority undergraduate scientists. Using a qualitative case study methodology, we examined the evolution of students’ science identity, research competencies, and intercultural competence after engaging in a three-month international research opportunity in France and Belgium. We found that after participating in international research, minority undergraduate scientists had: 1) Increased confidence in their science identity and abilities; 2) Gained and strengthened skills necessary to be a successful researcher, 3) Recognized the influence of international exposure on their growth personally and professionally, 4) Expressed how monumental this research opportunity is for all minority students to experience. Our findings suggest substantial benefits from an international research experience on the development of minority undergraduate scientists. 

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2. Framework to Assess the Impact of International Research Experiences in Civil Engineering on Graduate Students

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090950  

   Mehrabi, Daniel; Grau, David; Ariaratnam, Samuel T; Schneider, Verena (September 2023, Education Sciences)

   With globalization, the demand for competent engineering graduates with international acumen increases. In order to respond to this rising demand, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the International Research Experiences in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (IRECCEE) program to understand the impact of international research experiences on students through a multidisciplinary lens. The program provides Ph.D. students in civil engineering disciplines the opportunity to gain valuable international research experience and establish long-lasting collaborations with international researchers. The program funds students to travel and perform research work at an international research institution. For every student, such research experience becomes the intervention. This paper discusses the program and the corresponding research framework with the aim that the research community can leverage such framework. The mixed-method research framework was designed to comprehensively capture the immediate and sustained impact of the program on the students’ competencies. With a multidisciplinary approach, the framework captures impacts on students’ intercultural competence, professional development, intellectual growth, personal development, and academic development. The data collection includes survey designs and interviews. In order to capture immediate and sustained impacts, data is collected before and multiple times after the intervention. 

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3. Designing an international research experience for graduate students

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1154786  

   Schneider, Verena; Grau, David; Ariaratnam, Samuel T. (June 2023, Frontiers in Education)

   As a result of the ongoing globalization, international student experiences are becoming fundamental to advance students’ development and knowledge. Even though such growing importance, the body of knowledge regarding international interventions is dominated by subjective accounts and lacks contrasted results. In order to design an international research experience for graduate students, recommendations on the design and content of such experiences based on the review of literature were explored. A qualitative and bibliographical analysis of 40 studies evaluating the influence of international student interventions informed about the variables that such interventions should measure and the impact of such experiences on student development. Researchers especially measured the competencies intercultural development (83%), intellectual growth (58%), personal development (58%), professional development (50%), and academic development (15%). However, most of the studies failed to develop an appropriate research design that enables researchers to capture the breadth and depth of an international intervention. Results include addressing various competencies that students can gain during their experience abroad, using mixed methods to collect the data, whereby data should be collected at different time points including before, and multiple times after the international experience by different means. 

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4. Building a more engaged scientist from the bottom up: The impact of public engagement training on undergraduate students

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0302671  

   Patson, Nikole D; Wagner, Laura (April 2024, PLOS ONE)

   Vasconcelos, Sonia (Ed.)

   Engaging with the public is increasingly seen as an important role of scientists. Despite that, few opportunities exist for undergraduate students to receive training in engaging with the public about science. Thus, little is known about the impact of such training on students. The goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of public engagement training on participants in a summer program for undergraduates that provides training in both research and engagement activities. The results of our interviews suggest that providing opportunities for undergraduates to engage with the public (1) has many personal, academic, and career benefits for students; (2) increases participants’ interest in public engagement; and (3) may contribute to helping students develop and maintain an identity as scientists. Importantly, students from minoritized racial groups may be even more impacted by this experience. These data suggest that early experiences with public engagement may not only be an important way to increase the number of publicly engaged scientists but may also broaden participation in science. 

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5. Enhancing the Cultural Competence of K-12 STEM Teachers through a Global Research Experience

   Pinnell, M; Petry, L; Bohrer, K; Schneider, K; Langston, M; Generas, E (February 2024, 2024 Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity (CoNECD))

   Intercultural competence has become a critical skill for most professions, but particularly for those that involve working with people from diverse backgrounds. Teachers at all levels need intercultural competence to ensure that every student in their classroom has equitable access to learning and to effectively prepare their students to engage in an increasingly diverse and multicultural world. The United States Department of Education has made broader global skills for students a priority and has charged colleges and schools with providing new learning opportunities and course work to successfully develop these skills in teachers. Similarly, some argue that international travel is integral to teacher preparation, encouraging a sense of “otherness” and developing an appreciation for the role of human difference, addressing misconceptions and stereotypes, and challenging teachers’ understanding of their “professional self.” Additionally, it is well established that the US has a need for enhanced participation and increased racial and gender diversity in the STEM fields, particularly engineering. Teachers are critical to inspire and motivate students to consider pursuing STEM. However, stereotypes and bias can impact how teachers engage with students, and who teachers believe “has what it takes to be an engineer” leading to differentiated support and encouragement to excluded identities. Enhancing the cultural competence of teachers can help mitigate the bias and stereotypes, and help ensure more equitable access for students to being inspired to pursue STEM. To address these issues, two universities collaborated on a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Teachers grant to provide transformative international and intercultural experiences for teachers focused on human-centered design and appropriate technology for developing countries. Integrated throughout this experience was professional learning aimed at developing the cultural competence of the teachers, and coaching to help the teachers integrate this learning, as well as their engineering experiences, into their classrooms. This paper will summarize key findings from the second cohort participants with a focus on how this experience impacted the cultural competence of the participants. 

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