Research on Educational Equity and Diversity in STEM

该奖项由《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)提供全部或部分资金。该项目将为博士后研究员提供机会，让他们在研究密集型拉美裔服务机构(HSI)的背景下参与STEM教育实践。项目团队将为不同的研究员创造研究机会，促进对STEM本科教育的多样性和公平性的研究，支持为研究员提供包容和公平的研究环境，并发展博士后研究人员作为职业早期STEM教育工作者利用和促进公平做法的能力。该项目将推进有关扩大STEM参与的学术研究，并促进致力于改善STEM教育实践的学者和实践者社区的专业发展。博士后研究员队列将制定研究议程，探索文化响应实践与几个关键结果之间的关系，包括i)文化响应实践对早期STEM兴趣、成功和坚持性的影响；ii)STEM转化率；iii)STEM认同感；以及iv)STEM归属感。来自已经建立的研究项目的丰富数据将使研究员有机会在导师的支持下获得项目领导经验，从而能够通过演示和出版物分析和传播结果。在每个导师的领导下，四个研究项目将为研究员的工作奠定基础，并为他们制定独立的研究议程。对研究员的专业发展的关注将贯穿于他们的经历之中，这样，学习和发展将是一个通过反思和提高而螺旋式增长的过程。特别是，每个研究员将创建一个个人发展计划，作为评估他们的技能、兴趣和能力的框架，与导师交流，并实施实现学术和专业目标的活动。本项目是为了响应STEM教育博士后研究奖学金(STEM Ed PRF)竞赛而提交的。STEM ED PRF计划旨在增强STEM、STEM教育及相关学科的博士研究生的研究知识、技能和实践，为从事STEM教育的基础和应用研究做好准备。该项目由HSI计划共同资助，旨在加强本科生STEM教育，扩大STEM的参与，并建设HSIS的能力。考虑到HSIS的不同性质和背景，实现这些目标需要创新的方法来激励机构和社区的变革，并促进基础研究(I)关于参与式学生学习，(Ii)关于如何有效地多样化和增加对STEM的参与，以及(Iii)提高我们对如何在HSIS建设机构能力的理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).This project will provide opportunities for postdoctoral fellows to engage with STEM educational practices within the context of a research-intensive Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). The project team will create research opportunities for a diverse cohort of fellows, foster research on diversity and equity in STEM undergraduate education, support inclusive and equitable research environments for the fellows, and develop the postdoctoral researchers’ capacity to utilize and advance equitable practices as early-career STEM educators. The project will advance the scholarship about broadening participation in STEM and contribute to the professional development of a community of scholars and practitioners who are committed to improving educational practices in STEM.The cohort of postdoctoral fellows will develop a research agenda exploring the relationship between culturally responsive practices and several critical outcomes, including i) the impact of culturally responsive practices on early STEM interest, success, and persistence; ii) STEM transfer rates; iii) STEM identity; and iv) sense of belonging in STEM. Rich data from already established research projects will afford fellows the opportunity for project leadership experiences with mentor support, enabling analysis and dissemination of results through presentations and publications. Under the leadership of each mentor, four research projects will ground the fellows’ work and serve to frame their independent research agendas. Attention to the professional development of the fellows will be woven throughout their experience such that learning and development will be a spiraling process of growth through reflection and enhancement. In particular, each fellow will create an individual development plan that will serve as a framework to assess their skills, interests, and abilities, to communicate with mentors, and to implement activities to achieve academic and professional goals.This project was submitted in response to the STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) competition. The STEM Ed PRF program is designed to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctorates in STEM, STEM Education, and related disciplines to enhance their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research in STEM education.This project is being supported with co-funding by the HSI Program which aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs.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.