REU Site: STEM Education Research through a Social Justice Lens

TERC位于马萨诸塞州剑桥，将在2023年至2025年的夏天为八名学生提供为期十周的培训。学生将在非正式STEM教育领域进行研究。他们的项目将以促进社会正义和公平为主题。社会正义主题旨在吸引学生参加STEM教育研究，因为有证据表明学生重视为公平和社会变革而努力。学生将进行独立的研究项目，并将学习适当的研究方法。学生支持将包括指导，网络，同伴关系，研究通信实践和研讨会的参与。这些专业发展课程将纳入社会正义方法。学生的研究成果可能有助于扩大参与非正式STEM学习的知识基础。通过他们的独立研究项目，毕业支持和文化上敏感的指导，该项目有可能影响参与者在发展独立研究技能，特别是社会正义知情的研究方法，并获得道德和相关职业的意识，同时发展作为教育研究者的身份。正在上升的三年级和四年级学生主修STEM，STEM教育或社会科学学科的学生将在全国范围内招募。为了特别接触在STEM中代表性不足的学生，招聘将利用TERC的国家STEM组织网络来支持这些人群以及当地教育机构。年度申请截止日期为1月中旬，参与者将根据他们在家乡机构进行类似研究的有限机会以及进入STEM教育领域的愿望进行选择。三个队列的结果将根据自我评估和观察到的成长为新兴的研究人员，以应对辅导和专业发展进行评估。学生将在项目结束后进行跟踪，以确定学生的职业道路。学生将被要求通过NSF报告系统自动发送电子邮件。欲了解更多信息，请访问https://www.terc.edu/work-with-us/terc-scholars-intership-program/或联系Stephen D.这个REU网站由推进非正式STEM学习（AISL）和发现研究PreK-12（DRK-12）计划资助。它支持AISL计划的目标，以推进新的方法，并以证据为基础的理解，在非正式环境中设计和开发STEM学习。它支持DRK-12计划的目标，即通过preK-12学生和教师加强STEM的学习和教学。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This REU Site award to TERC, located in Cambridge, MA, will support the training of eight students for ten weeks during the summers of 2023-2025. Students will perform research in the field of informal STEM education. Their projects will have a theme of advancing social justice and equity. The social justice theme aims to attract students to STEM education research, as evidence suggests students value working toward equity and social change. Students will conduct independent research projects and will learn appropriate research methods. Student supports will include mentoring, networking, peer relationships, research communications practice, and seminar participation. These professional development offerings will incorporate social justice approaches. Student research results may potentially contribute to the knowledge base of broadening participation in informal STEM learning.Through their independent research projects, graduated supports, and culturally responsive mentoring, the project has potential to impact participants abilities to make gains in the development of independent research skills, especially social justice–informed research methods, and gain awareness of ethics and related careers while developing an identity as an educational researcher. Students who are rising juniors and seniors majoring in STEM, STEM education, or a social science discipline will be recruited nationally. To specifically reach students underrepresented in STEM, recruitment will leverage TERC’s network of national STEM organizations that support these populations as well as local educational institutions. The annual application deadline will be in mid-January, and participants will be selected based on their limited opportunities for similar research at their home institutions and aspirations to enter the STEM education field. Outcomes of the three cohorts will be evaluated based on self-assessment and observed growth as emergent researchers in response to mentoring and professional development. Students will be tracked after the project in order to determine student career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information is available by visiting https://www.terc.edu/work-with-us/terc-scholars-intership-program/ or by contacting Stephen D. Alkins, PhD.This REU site is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) and the Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) programs. It supports the AISL program goals to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. It supports the DRK-12 program goal of enhancing the learning and teaching of STEM by preK-12 students and teachers.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.