Preparation and Refinement of Postdocs in STEM for Disciplinary-Based Education Research (PROPS for DBER)

学科教育研究 STEM 博士后的准备和完善（DBER 的 PROPS）

• 批准号: 2329405
• 负责人: Grant Gardner
• 金额: $ 124.94万
• 依托单位: Middle Tennessee State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2329405&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Preparation; Refinement; Postdocs; STEM; Disciplinary

This organizational STEM education postdoctoral fellowship project will focus on preparing graduates with doctoral degrees in a STEM field (e.g., mathematics or biology), with recruitment focused specifically on members of underrepresented groups, to conduct rigorous discipline-based education research (DBER) in their respective fields. DBER scholars from disciplinary fields can have high impacts on the quality of undergraduate STEM instruction, and currently there are few professional development models focusing on how to train disciplinary scholars as effective DBER researchers. The project team will implement a two-year professional development program for a cohort of four postdoctoral fellows. In the first year, the fellows will collaborate with faculty on an interdisciplinary STEM education research project while engaging in professional development activities to support development of their independence and skills as DBER researchers, as well as strengthen their relationship with this community of practice. In year two, the fellows will conduct an independent research project related to undergraduate STEM faculty teaching professional development. With strong domain knowledge in a STEM field and training in education research methods, the fellows will be well-positioned for future careers in STEM departments to conduct research that will support effective instruction in their departments. As researchers from groups typically underrepresented in STEM fields, their entry into the community of discipline-based STEM Education research will position them as leaders guiding efforts to improve retention of undergraduate STEM majors from similar backgrounds. Advancing knowledge of evidence-based instructional practices relies on research that combines the domain expertise of scientists/engineers with mastery of learning theories and educational research methods called Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER). This postdoctoral fellowship project will prepare graduates with doctoral degrees in STEM fields to conduct DBER research through a two-year training program. This project is led by faculty in Middle Tennessee State University’s Interdisciplinary Mathematics & Sciences Education Research doctoral program and the Tennessee STEM Education Center with extensive experience in developing STEM disciplinary scholars into effective education researchers. The culturally-responsive mentorship of the fellows will be guided by self-determination theory, which suggests individuals are motivated to grow, change, and develop a cohesive sense of self by the three innate and universal psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Mentoring will not only provide the fellows opportunities to develop autonomy and competence as researchers, but also strengthen their relatedness to the wider DBER community of practice. The project aims to increase the inclusion of postdoctoral scholar-leaders with marginalized identities in the DBER faculty community, enhance the STEM education research infrastructure both within and across the university, and disseminate postdoctoral development models to enhance the transition of disciplinary PhDs into the DBER fields. 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.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.

这个组织STEM教育博士后奖学金项目将侧重于培养STEM领域的博士学位毕业生（例如，这些研究所的目标是在各自的领域开展严格的基于学科的教育研究（DBER）。来自学科领域的DBER学者可以对本科STEM教学质量产生很大影响，目前很少有专业发展模式专注于如何培养学科学者作为有效的DBER研究人员。项目团队将为四名博士后研究员实施为期两年的专业发展计划。在第一年，研究员将与教师合作开展跨学科STEM教育研究项目，同时参与专业发展活动，以支持他们作为DBER研究人员的独立性和技能的发展，并加强他们与实践社区的关系。在第二年，研究员将进行与本科STEM教师教学专业发展相关的独立研究项目。凭借在STEM领域的强大领域知识和教育研究方法的培训，研究员将在STEM部门的未来职业生涯中处于有利地位，以进行研究，支持他们部门的有效教学。作为来自STEM领域代表性不足的群体的研究人员，他们进入基于学科的STEM教育研究社区将使他们成为领导者，指导改善来自类似背景的本科STEM专业的保留。推进基于证据的教学实践的知识依赖于将科学家/工程师的领域专业知识与学习理论和教育研究方法的掌握相结合的研究，称为基于证据的教育研究（DBER）。这个博士后奖学金项目将通过为期两年的培训计划为STEM领域的博士学位毕业生做好准备，以进行DBER研究。该项目由田纳西州中部州立大学的跨学科数学科学教育研究博士课程和田纳西州STEM教育中心的教师领导，该中心在将STEM学科学者发展为有效的教育研究人员方面拥有丰富的经验。研究员的文化响应指导将由自决理论指导，该理论表明，个人有动力成长，改变，并通过自主，能力和相关性这三个先天和普遍的心理需求发展自我的凝聚力。指导不仅将为研究员提供发展自主权和研究能力的机会，而且还将加强他们与更广泛的DBER实践社区的联系。该项目旨在增加在DBER教师社区中具有边缘化身份的博士后领导者的参与，加强大学内部和整个大学的STEM教育研究基础设施，并传播博士后发展模式，以加强学科博士向DBER领域的过渡。 该项目由STEM教育博士后研究奖学金资助（干艾德PRF）计划，旨在提高研究知识，技能，并在干，干教育，教育，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得支持的，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。