Exploring the Role of Instructors' Social Networks in Undergraduate STEM Instructional Improvement

对改善本科数学和科学教育的呼吁已经产生了许多倡议，旨在通过促进本科教学实践的变化来改善学生的学习成果。尽管这些举措中有许多侧重于个别教师，但当代理论方法认为，由于知识建构的社会性质，学术部门是创造变革的高效单位。社会网络分析（SNA）工具可以有效地用于确定学术部门的现状，目标参与者参与变革倡议，并为高等教育改革工作提供信息，以支持质量教学。这个提议的两个研讨会系列的目标是通过将这些方法的早期用户的STEM教育研究人员与已建立的SNA专家聚集在一起，加速关于在研究部门级变化中使用SNA的知识发展。该项目的目标是：1)为与系级教学变革相关的SNA研究奠定理论和实践基础；2)确定关键指标和测量技术；3)在本科STEM教育研究中SNA方法的早期用户中制定连贯的研究计划；4)汇集多个数据集，开始阐明关键指标的正常值。这项工作将有助于教育和人力资源理事会（IUSE-EHR）改善本科STEM教育的意图。这两个研讨会之间穿插着虚拟会议，将汇集STEM教育研究人员，他们是这些方法的早期采用者，以及SNA使用的新手，以及公认的SNA专家。四个机构团队（俄勒冈州立大学、圣地亚哥州立大学、加州大学圣地亚哥分校和西密歇根大学）将组成核心团队，共有8名研究人员。将邀请其他机构的另外八名在国民核算体系方面不太积极的参与者参加，以便提供更多样化的观点，并扩大其能力并为这一领域的进一步研究提供动力。这些相互作用将导致对与部门变革相关的SNA理论框架、这方面的度量标准、研究重点和数据集共享达成共识。最终，预计将出现一个关于在研究部门变化中使用社会网络分析（SNA）的更强有力的研究议程。

Calls for improvement of undergraduate mathematics and science education have resulted in numerous initiatives that seek to improve student learning outcomes by promoting changes in teaching practices at the undergraduate level. Although many of these initiatives focus on individual instructors, contemporary theoretical approaches consider the academic department to be a highly productive unit for creating change because of the social nature of knowledge construction. The tools of social network analysis (SNA) can be productively used to determine the current state of academic departments, target participants for involvement in change initiatives, and inform higher education reform efforts to support quality teaching. The goal of this proposed two-workshop series is to accelerate knowledge development about the use of SNA in studying department-level change by bringing STEM education researchers who have been early users of these methods together with established SNA experts. Project aims are to: 1) develop a theoretical and practical foundation for SNA research related to department-level instructional change, 2) identify key metrics and measurement techniques, 3) develop a coherent research program among early users of SNA methods in undergraduate STEM education research and 4) pool several data sets to begin articulation of normal values for key metrics. The work will contribute to the intent of the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (IUSE-EHR).The two-workshops, punctuated by virtual meetings in between, will bring together STEM education researchers, who have been early adopters of these methods, as well as novices in SNA use, with recognized SNA experts. Four institutional teams (Oregon State University, San Diego State University, University of California-San Diego, and Western Michigan University) will comprise the core teams with a total of eight researchers. An additional eight participants from other institutions, who are less active in regard to SNA, will be invited to participate in order to provide for more diverse perspectives, as well as to expand their capacity and provide momentum for additional research in this area. These interactions will result in consensus on a theoretical framing for SNA related to departmental change, metrics for measurement in this regard, a research focus, and sharing of data sets. Ultimately, it is expected that a more robust research agenda in regard to the use of social network analysis (SNA) in studying departmental change will occur.