BCSER: Expanding the Pool of Discipline-Based STEM Education Researchers

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The proposed workshop will convene experts in discipline-based education research (DBER) to introduce novice DBER scholars to interdisciplinary educational theories and research methodologies and to support their scholarship through ongoing mentoring. The event aims to unite mathematics and physics researchers with discipline-based education researchers to share knowledge, develop new understandings, and create new networks. Participants will develop research questions around their interests, with close attention to functional research design, including data collection and analysis, methodology, and theoretical frameworks. The workshop sessions will integrate issues related to project development and dissemination. The project is expected to bridge the gap between discipline-based scholars and STEM education researchers while expanding the contribution to scholarship about STEM education.The three-day workshop curriculum is divided into three primary strands: research design and generativity; theory and methods; and communication and ethics. Each strand has associated modules and combined individual and group activities and learning objectives. A diverse group of 20 participants will be selected to complete the modules and receive mentoring that is tailored to their needs. Mechanisms will be established for ongoing networking and communication among the participants and between the participants and the project team. The workshop is expected to help establish interdisciplinary communities of practice that can be sustained through virtual meetings. The project has the potential to broaden the pool of STEM education researchers and enhance knowledge transfer between mathematics and physics scholars. The project is supported by the ECR: Building Capacity in STEM Education Research competition of the EHR Core Research (ECR) program. ECR funds fundamental STEM education research projects that address topics relevant to STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM professional workforce development.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.