Community Engaged Disciplinary and Educational Researchers in STEM (CEDERS)

STEM社区参与学科和教育研究人员机构队列博士后奖学金计划(CEDERS)旨在提高STEM教育领域新近毕业的博士毕业生的研究知识、技能和实践。社区外展和公共传播是STEM研究人员工作的常规特点。然而，传统的大学-社区合作方式优先考虑学术专业知识。相比之下，社区参与奖学金(CES)鼓励更民主的过程和多种类型的专业知识交流。这种方法可以欢迎社区的参与，这些社区通常比学术研究人员更了解社会问题。因此，STEM的CES有望扩大对STEM相关领域的参与。CEDERS项目旨在由博士后研究员领导并与STEM研究人员和社区利益相关者合作完成的教育研究项目中优先考虑CES。研究人员项目的结果有可能影响STEM外联和教育的方向，这些方向将惠及大量社区利益攸关方。因此，该项目可以直接提高STEM外联和教育的有效性，以满足社区的需求。此外，这种STEM教育者-STEM学科研究人员-社区伙伴关系的模式可以为其他机构的CES提供一条途径，努力实现在更大范围内扩大参与STEM的目标。项目活动将整合STEM博士后发展和CES学习的最佳实践，通过以下方式提升STEM教育博士后研究员的培训：(1)参与研究，促进STEM教育与STEM学科学者和社区合作伙伴之间的合作；(2)设计旨在机构和社区利益攸关方之间互惠交流知识和资源的研究，以扩大对STEM的参与；以及(3)获得资源和人际关系，包括参与多个小组和社区，这可以扩大早期职业学者的联系。将这些方法结合起来，不仅可以提高博士后研究员进行有影响力的研究的能力，还可以提高他们为从事STEM教育的职业生涯做好准备。为了体现该项目的协作性质，博士后研究员将由STEM教育委员会和STEM教师委员会指导，并通过个性化研究和专业发展计划提供支持。这些计划遵循有效的模式，沿着基于能力的轨迹建设参与奖学金的能力，并纳入了教师发展的有前途的实践。该项目由NSF的STEM教育博士后研究奖学金计划(STEM Ed PRF)支持，并由推进非正式STEM学习计划(AISL)共同资助。STEM ED PRF计划旨在增强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，促进该领域知识的发展。AISL方案支持下列项目：(A)促进关于STEM非正式学习在公平和归属STEM中的作用的研究和实践；(B)促进STEM个人和教育方面的成功；(C)促进公众参与科学发现；(D)培养对STEM职业的兴趣；(E)为有效的STEM非正式学习创造和加强理论和经验基础；(F)提高社区活力；和/或(G)加强科学交流以及公众对STEM和STEM过程的参与和了解。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。

The institutional cohort postdoctoral fellowship program for Community Engaged Disciplinary and Educational Researchers in STEM (CEDERS) is designed to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctoral graduates in STEM Education. Community outreach and public dissemination are regular features of the work that STEM researchers do. However, traditional approaches to university-community partnerships privilege academic expertise. In contrast, community engaged scholarship (CES) encourages a more democratic process and exchange of multiple types of expertise. This approach can welcome engagement among communities who often have more knowledge of social issues than academic researchers. Consequently, CES in STEM holds promise to broaden participation in STEM-related fields. The CEDERS program is designed to prioritize CES in educational research projects led by postdoctoral fellows and done in collaboration with STEM researchers and community stakeholders. Findings from the fellows’ projects have the potential to influence the direction of STEM outreach and education that will reach a large number of community stakeholders. Hence, this project may directly improve the effectiveness of STEM outreach and education to serve the needs of communities. Further, this model for a STEM educator-STEM disciplinary researcher-community partnership can provide a pathway to CES at other institutions working towards the goal of broadening participation in STEM on an even larger scale.The project activities will integrate the best practices of STEM postdoctoral development and CES learning to elevate training of STEM education postdoctoral fellows through (1) engagement in research that facilitates collaboration among STEM education and STEM disciplinary scholars and community partners; (2) design of research that aims for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources across institutional and community stakeholders for the purpose of broadening participation in STEM in PreK-16 contexts; and (3) access to resources and relationships, including participation in multiple groups and communities that can expand early career scholars’ connectedness. Integrating across these approaches can improve not only the postdoctoral fellows’ capacity for impactful research but also their preparedness for a professional career in STEM education. To reflect the collaborative nature of the project, postdoctoral fellows will be mentored by a committee of STEM education and STEM faculty and supported through individualized research and professional development plans. These plans follow effective models for building capacity for engaged scholarship along a competency-based trajectory and incorporate promising practices for faculty development.This project is supported by NSF’s STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) Program with co-funding from the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Program. The STEM Ed PRF Program 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 AISL Program, supports projects that: (a) contribute to research and practice that considers informal STEM learning's role in equity and belonging in STEM; (b) promote personal and educational success in STEM; (c) advance public engagement in scientific discovery; (d) foster interest in STEM careers; (e) create and enhance the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; (f) improve community vibrancy; and/or (g) enhance science communication and the public's engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes.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.