Collaborative Research: Institute in Research Methods for Professional Development for Emerging Education Researchers (PEER) Field Schools

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This Institute in Research Methods project extends the impact of the Professional Development for Emerging Education Researchers (PEER) field school model to emerging education researchers through a multi-faceted approach, building individual and community capacity for high-quality STEM education research. The institute advances understanding of the effectiveness of professional development for research. Evaluation activities will identify characteristics of successful field schools in STEM education research and compare these with current understanding of professional development in a pedagogical context. In addition to training the institute will contribute to generalized knowledge of how to help emerging researchers generate high quality STEM education research. This project consists of gateway workshops to attract and motivate participants, 5-day introductory field schools across the country, and advanced activities that explore quantitative and qualitative methodologies in depth. Curated web repositories of research tools and "Expert How To" articles will be developed with user-design research to ensure usability. These products will be hosted on the nationally established PhysPort repository for physics pedagogical resources. The project also develops a strategic partnership with the University of Virgin Islands, a public, Historically Black College, and its Institute for STEM Education Research and Practice. The final project outcome will be a growing community of discipline-based STEM education researchers trained to address critical issues in the education system, including broadening participation, addressing gaps in STEM learning, and developing the next-generation of pedagogical materials that increase student learning.This research institute is funded by ECR (the core research program of the Education and Human Resources directorate) and attends specifically to critical aspects in research capacity building.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.