STEM for All Collaboratory: Accelerating Dissemination and Fostering Collaborations for STEM Educational Research and Development

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The STEM for All Collaboratory will advance educational research and development through the creation and facilitation of two related and interactive platforms: the STEM for All Video Showcase, and the STEM for All Multiplex. The Video Showcase provides an annual, online, week-long, interactive event where hundreds of educational researchers and developers create, share, and discuss 3-minute videos of their federally funded work to improve Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Technology and Computer Science education. Several years of successful Video Showcases have contributed to a rich database of videos showcasing innovative approaches to STEM education. To capitalize on the growing resource and extend its impact, this project will create a STEM for All Multiplex, a unique contribution to STEM education. The Multiplex will draw on past and future Video Showcase videos to create a multimedia environment for professional and public exchange, as well as to provide a way for anyone to search the growing database of videos, create thematic playlists, and re-use the content in new educational and research contexts. The Multiplex will host interactive, monthly, thematic online events related to emerging research and practices to improve STEM and Computer Science education in formal and informal environments. Each thematic event will include selected video presentations, expert panels, resources, interactive discussions and a synthesis of lessons learned. All events will be accessible and open to the public. The project will continue to host and facilitate the annual Video Showcase event which has attracted over 70,000 people from over 180 countries over the course of a year. This effort will be guided by a collaboration with NSF resource centers, learning networks, and STEM professional organizations, and will advance the STEM research and education missions of the 11 collaborating organizations. The Video Showcase and the Multiplex will foster increased dissemination of federally funded work and will effectively share NSF's investments aimed at improving STEM education. It will enable presenters to learn with and from each other, offering and receiving feedback, critique, and queries that will improve work in progress and to facilitate new collaborations for educational research. It will connect researchers with practitioners, enabling both groups to benefit from each other's knowledge and perspective. Further, it will connect seasoned investigators with aspiring investigators from diverse backgrounds, including those from Minority Serving Institutions. It will thereby enable new researchers to broaden their knowledge of currently funded efforts while also providing them with the opportunity to discuss resources, methodology and impact measures with the investigators. Hence, the project has the potential to broaden the future pool of investigators in STEM educational research. This work will further contribute to the STEM education field through its research on the ways that this multimedia environment can improve currently funded projects, catalyze new efforts and collaborations, build the capacity of emerging diverse leadership, and connect research and practice.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.