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

这一有组织的STEM教育博士后奖学金项目将侧重于培养拥有STEM领域(例如数学或生物)博士学位的毕业生，招聘重点是代表性不足的群体成员，以便在各自的领域开展严格的学科教育研究(DBER)。来自学科领域的DBER学者对本科STEM教学质量的影响很大，目前很少有专业发展模式关注如何将学科学者培养成有效的DBER研究人员。该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，研究员将在跨学科STEM教育研究项目上与教师合作，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，并加强他们与这个实践社区的关系。在第二年，研究员将进行一项与本科STEM教师教学专业发展相关的独立研究项目。凭借在STEM领域的扎实领域知识和教育研究方法方面的培训，这些研究员将为未来在STEM部门的职业生涯做好准备，以开展支持其部门有效教学的研究。由于研究人员来自STEM领域通常代表性较低的群体，他们进入以学科为基础的STEM教育研究社区，将使他们成为指导努力改善类似背景的本科STEM专业留住的领导者。发展循证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，称为基于学科的教育研究(DBER)。这一博士后奖学金项目将通过为期两年的培训计划，为拥有STEM领域博士学位的毕业生进行DBER研究做准备。该项目由田纳西中部州立大学跨学科数学与科学教育研究博士项目和田纳西STEM教育中心的教师领导，他们在将STEM学科学者培养成有效的教育研究人员方面拥有丰富的经验。对研究员的文化反应的指导将由自我决定理论指导，该理论认为，个人通过自主、能力和人际关系这三种与生俱来的普遍心理需求，激励个人成长、改变和发展一种凝聚力的自我意识。指导不仅将为研究员提供发展自主性和作为研究人员的能力的机会，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DBER教师群体中具有边缘化身份的博士后学者领袖的参与，加强大学内部和整个STEM教育研究基础设施，并传播博士后发展模式，以促进学科博士向DBER领域的过渡。该项目由STEM教育博士后研究奖学金(STEM Ed PRF)计划资助，该计划旨在提高STEM、STEM教育、教育和相关学科的新近博士的研究知识、技能和实践，以促进他们从事基础和应用研究，促进该领域知识的进步。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 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.