Collaborative Research: Building Educational Theory Through Enacting Reforms in STEM

合作研究：通过 STEM 改革构建教育理论

• 批准号: 2111417
• 负责人: Saraswathy Nair
• 金额: $ 61.97万
• 依托单位: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-10-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2111417&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Building; Educational; Theory

This project aims to serve the national interest by building educational theory to support broadening participation in the context of improving undergraduate STEM education. This collaborative project across three institutions seeks to embed inclusive research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) within STEM undergraduate courses and departments and investigate effective strategies to support their use. Project activities and findings will significantly impact how STEM departments at two- and four-year institutions nationwide support faculty members’ use of inclusive RBIS in their undergraduate STEM courses. The primary goals are to: 1) apply an established theory of change to institutionalize the effective use of inclusive RBIS in STEM courses, 2) generate new knowledge about how specific change strategies enable STEM departments to institutionalize the effective use of inclusive RBIS in courses, and 3) generate new knowledge about benefits of and barriers to effective use of inclusive RBIS in undergraduate STEM courses. The major project activities are to implement and study a coordinated set of change strategies targeting key barriers and drivers for undergraduate STEM reform at a community college (Whatcom Community College), a regional comprehensive university (Western Washington University), and a large Hispanic-serving institution (University of Texas- Rio Grande Valley). The absence of a shared framework to define, measure, and reward effective teaching can be a barrier to broad implementation of inclusive RBIS. Through this project's coordinated set of change strategies, STEM faculty will: 1) Develop a shared framework for effective instruction that operationalizes RBIS and includes equity and inclusion as key components, 2) Develop faculty and chairs’ knowledge and skills around the framework, 3) Engage instructional change teams of 2-4 faculty in peer observations followed by learning-focused conversations for feedback to improve enactment of RBIS, 4) Prepare faculty to lead departmental change through a leadership development program, and 5) Co-facilitate departmental conversations to revise policies and procedures to reward faculty’s use of inclusive, equitable RBIS. An existing four-category model of change strategies will provide a framework for design-based research to deepen understanding about how these strategies can be implemented and sustained. The involvement of three distinct institutions will increase the applicability and transferability of research findings about the faculty, departmental, and institutional factors that support or inhibit effective implementation of the proposed change strategies. This project is supported by the NSF HSI Program and the NSF IUSE: EHR Program. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.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.

本项目旨在通过构建教育理论来支持在改善本科STEM教育的背景下扩大参与，从而为国家利益服务。这个跨三所机构的合作项目旨在将包容性的基于研究的教学策略（RBIS）嵌入STEM本科课程和部门，并研究支持其使用的有效策略。项目活动和研究结果将显著影响全国两年制和四年制大学的STEM部门如何支持教师在其本科STEM课程中使用包容性RBIS。主要目标是：1)应用既定的变革理论，将包容性RBIS在STEM课程中的有效使用制度化；2)产生关于具体变革策略如何使STEM部门能够将包容性RBIS在课程中的有效使用制度化的新知识；3)产生关于在本科STEM课程中有效使用包容性RBIS的好处和障碍的新知识。主要项目活动是实施和研究一套协调一致的变革战略，针对社区学院（Whatcom社区学院）、区域综合性大学（西华盛顿大学）和大型西班牙裔服务机构（德克萨斯大学-里约热内卢格兰德山谷）的本科STEM改革的主要障碍和驱动因素。缺乏一个共同的框架来定义、衡量和奖励有效的教学，这可能是广泛实施包容性RBIS的障碍。通过这个项目的一套协调的变革策略，STEM教师将：1)为有效的教学制定一个共享框架，使RBIS得以实施，并将公平和包容作为关键组成部分；2)围绕该框架发展教师和主席的知识和技能；3)让由2-4名教师组成的教学变革团队进行同行观察，然后进行以学习为中心的对话，以获得反馈，以改进RBIS的制定；5)共同促进部门对话，修改政策和程序，以奖励教师使用包容、公平的RBIS。现有的四类变化策略模型将为基于设计的研究提供一个框架，以加深对这些策略如何实施和持续的理解。三个不同机构的参与将增加有关教员、部门和机构因素的研究成果的适用性和可转移性，这些因素支持或阻碍拟议变革战略的有效实施。本项目由美国国家科学基金会HSI计划和美国国家科学基金会IUSE: EHR计划支持。HSI计划旨在加强本科STEM教育，扩大STEM参与，并在HSI进行能力建设。NSF IUSE: EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过机构和社区转型轨道，该计划支持高等教育机构和学科社区的STEM教育转型和改善。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。