Mentoring a Diverse Cohort of Postdoctoral Scholars in Data Science Education Research

数据科学作为一种职业、一种专业技能和公众素养的组成部分正在迅速发展。随着数据科学研究职业从大学环境转移到其他领域，了解什么样的学习环境将支持博士后培训和发展多样化，熟练的数据科学家，教育工作者和数据科学教育研究人员，这些研究人员可以帮助建立并与具有数据素养的公众进行交流。消费、质疑、生产和使用数据的能力不仅对回答健康、科学、商业和政府等领域的研究问题至关重要，而且对工作和个人生活的许多方面的决策也至关重要。通过这个项目，北卡罗莱纳州立大学数据科学学院将确定一个模式的关键成功组成部分，以招聘和指导一批不同的博士后，这些博士后将在数据科学教育研究方面拥有专业知识。该模式旨在培训和支持在STEM、STEM教育、教育研究或数据科学方面具有不同水平经验和优势的学者。虽然数据科学和素养可以嵌入跨学科，但它们是STEM教育的核心。如何将与数据相关的技能融入到课程中，并在独立的数据科学学习环境中教授，是教育研究和实践的一个开放和不断发展的领域。这批博士后学者将研究北卡罗莱纳州立大学数据科学学院的课程设计模式：基于项目的无障碍教学与学习（ADAPT）的全校园数据科学。研究员将作为一个多元化的教育研究团队的一部分，开发、实施、扩展和共享一个长期、强大的研究项目，以评估ADAPT模式和相关课程的有效性。该研究将通过提出一个经过持续评估和持续改进验证的模型，增加STEM教育研究的能力，并有可能适用于其他机构和STEM领域。通过将博士后与具有不同数据科学教育研究兴趣的多样化导师团队相匹配，该项目还旨在建立学员和导师之间的互惠关系，他们可以相互学习并学习彼此的经验。博士后学者将有机会与工业、政府、教育、咨询和农业领域的数据科学和教育领导者组成的网络进行接触。探索研究preK-12项目（DRK-12）旨在通过研究和开发创新资源、模型和工具，显著提高preK-12学生和教师对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）的学习和教学。DRK-12计划中的项目建立在STEM教育的基础研究和先前的研究和开发工作的基础上，为拟议的项目提供了理论和实证依据。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。

Data science is rapidly growing, as a profession, a professional skill and a component of literacy for the general public. With data science research careers moving beyond the university setting and into other sectors, it is imperative to learn what kind of learning environment will support the postdoctoral training and development of diverse, skilled data scientists, educators, and data science education researchers who can help build and communicate with a data-literate public. The ability to consume, question, produce, and use data is critical not only to answer research questions in areas such as health, science, business, and government but also to inform decision-making in many aspects of work and personal life. Through this project, the North Carolina State University Data Science Academy will identify the key success components of a model for the recruitment and mentoring of a diverse cohort of postdoctoral fellows who will enter their professions with expertise in data science education research. This model is intended to train and support scholars who have differing levels of experience and strengths in STEM, STEM education, education research, or data science.While data science and literacy can be embedded across disciplines, they are central to STEM Education. How data-related skills will be infused in courses across the curriculum and taught in stand-alone data science learning environments is an open and evolving area of education research and practice. The cohort of postdoctoral scholars will study the North Carolina State University Data Science Academy's course design model: All-campus Data science through Accessible Project-based Teaching and learning (ADAPT). Fellows will work as part of a diverse education research team to develop, implement, scale and share a long-term, robust research program that assesses the efficacy of the ADAPT model and related courses. The research will add capacity to STEM education research by presenting a model that has been validated through ongoing assessment and continuous improvement and has the potential to be adapted to other institutions and STEM fields. By matching postdoctoral fellows with a diverse team of mentors with varied data science education research interests, the project also aims to build reciprocal relationships between mentees and mentors who learn from each other and their experiences. Postdoctoral scholars will have opportunities to engage with a network of data science and education leaders in industry, government, education, consulting and agriculture.The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.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.