Collaborations in Discipline-Based Education Research to Train Postdoctoral Scholars

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This project will serve the national interest by creating a structured and scaffolded training program for postdoctoral scholars within the Collaborations in Interdisciplinary Discipline-Based Education Research (CiDER) program at North Dakota State University. The CiDER program will facilitate collaboration, integration, and synthesis across disciplines, while also advancing our understanding of how to best support the postdoctoral experience and prepare postdocs for future career endeavors. It may serve as a model for other training programs. Postdoctoral trainees will collaborate with members of the CiDER community to conduct independent research projects in STEM Education, with particular emphasis on exploring STEM teaching and learning in rural communities. Trainees will engage in professional development designed to develop both their research skills in DBER and to navigate university and department cultures.The CiDER postdoctoral training program will be grounded in a Community of Practice model and be supported by team-based mentoring and activities designed to facilitate skill development. The cohort of postdoctoral trainees will develop independent research projects in one of two threads: (1) teaching and learning of disciplinary content, and transferring knowledge, skills, and problem-solving strategies across contexts and disciplines; and (2) general cognition and learning including examination of pedagogical practices that impact learning beyond disciplinary understanding, with an emphasis on improving diversity, equity, and inclusion, promoting institutional transformations, and increasing scientific literacy. The training plan will address the well-documented isolating experiences of postdocs, particularly women and people historically excluded from STEM and will specifically develop trainees’ cognitive and affective skills and to build self-efficacy and sense of belonging. This project is funded by the STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) program that aims to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctorates in STEM, STEM education, education, and related disciplines to advance their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research that advances knowledge within the field. The project is also supported by the Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (BCSER) program and the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program.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.