Effective: 2018-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Dustin B Thoman

Institution: San Diego State University Foundation

This study will investigate the factors that facilitate or hinder STEM undergraduate instructors from implementing strategies that have demonstrably positive impacts on student outcomes. The research will specifically focus on the study of one such intervention called the Utility Value Intervention (UVI), which has been shown to have a positive impact especially on students who are first generation college students or who are from racial and ethnic minority groups that are underrepresented in...

Effective: 2018-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Amy D Robertson Jr

Institution: Seattle Pacific University

This ECR project will explore the extent to which educational strategies, tools, and materials in undergraduate physics classrooms and laboratory sessions center some students and marginalize others. This project will identify teaching strategies, tools, and materials that communicate who is welcome, important, and influential in physics and what characteristics are valued and necessary for success in physics. The ways that undergraduate physics is taught may lead to reduced persistence and...

Effective: 2018-2023

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Steven T Piantadosi

Institutions: University of California-Berkeley, University of Rochester

Award AbstractThe goal of this project, led by a team of researchers at the University of Rochester, is to answer important questions about fundamental cognitive capacities underlying number learning. The team will examine abilities assumed by prevailing theories to be universal by studying mathematical learning in the Tsimane', a unique population of farming-foragers. The extreme variability in their exposure to formal education will provide the researchers with an opportunity to evaluate the...

Effective: 2018-2023

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Krystal Hinerman, Eric M Riggs, Julie M Sexton

Institutions: Lamar University, Texas A&M University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Northern Colorado

The representation of women in the earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences workforce is significantly lower than that of female undergraduate students majoring in these disciplines. This underrepresentation limits the available role models for female undergraduate and graduate students, and female scientists working in industry. It is critical to understand the factors that may influence why male or female undergraduate students pursue the STEM workforce or not. Advancing a diverse and...

Effective: 2018-2023

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Gavin R Price

Institution: Vanderbilt University

Approximately 6% of Americans suffer from the mathematical learning disability developmental dyscalculia (DD), facing academic difficulties, reduced employment, increased mental and physical illness, and higher rates of arrest and incarceration. Despite the potential consequences, no consensus currently exists regarding the brain and behavioral causes of DD. The project team will attempt to characterize the development of and interaction between brain mechanisms responsible for processing...

Effective: 2018-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Kelley Durkin

Institution: Vanderbilt University

This study continues a longitudinal study that began with students in preschool and will follow them into high school in a large, urban school district including a large number of African-American students and low-income students. The study is a unique opportunity to learn about how the students go through school from preschool through the end of high school. This opportunity will examine how their readiness for STEM careers and their beliefs about STEM. Their path through school will...

Effective: 2018-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Jennifer M Bekki, Kerrie G Wilkins-Yel

Institutions: Arizona State University, Indiana University, University of Massachusetts Boston

This study will investigate the associations between perceived supports and persistence for both majority (Caucasian) women and underrepresented minority (URM) women in STEM doctoral programs. Women leave doctoral programs in STEM at higher rates than their white male counterparts. Reducing the attrition of these talented individuals from STEM is of particular importance given that diversity at all levels of the STEM workforce has been shown to benefit the outcomes of related scientific...

Effective: 2018-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Tama Leventhal

Institution: Tufts University

This project seeks to broaden the participation of an important underrepresented group in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Mexican-origin children, one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population, often come from disadvantaged circumstances that increase their need to use public education for social mobility while also posing challenges to navigating the public education system. Yet, Mexican-origin families are rich in social resources that can be leveraged to...

Effective: 2018-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Sandra Simpkins

Institution: University of California-Irvine

High school is a critical turning point in many students' STEM coursework and career trajectories. For example, students' math motivation peaks in high school yet 45% of 10th graders who express interest in pursuing a STEM career lose that interest by the end of high school. Adolescents with minimal math and science high school coursework are extremely unlikely to either try or be able to enter STEM college majors and careers. To change these trends, it is necessary to understand how best to...

Effective: 2018-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: David S Yeager

Institution: University of Texas at Austin

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This study will add to foundational knowledge by building theory about broadening participation of underrepresented minority groups (students of color, young women, students from low SES families, students with disabilities, English language learners), and intersections among them, in STEM education. The study will use data from the National Study of Learning Mindsets (NSLM),...

Effective: 2018-2021

Funding Type: RAPID/EAGER

Principal Investigator: Odis D Johnson Jr

Institutions: Washington University, Johns Hopkins University

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This project will conduct an early stage exploratory study of an untested idea that will address the nation's STEM workforce needs. It will use a radically different approach to uncover barriers that impede broader participation by specific race-gender groups in STEM fields. The study will investigate whether school policies and practices regarding safety, discipline, school...

Effective: 2018-2021

Funding Type: RAPID/EAGER

Principal Investigator: Kathryn H Shows

Institution: Virginia State University

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This project will explore an early-stage, untested intervention aimed at promoting ways to help underrepresented minority students succeed in introductory biology courses and persist in STEM careers. The project will study whether combining team-based geocaching gameplay with near-peer mentoring will help students master content and skills in biology. It will also examine...

Effective: 2018-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Maria Ong

Institution: TERC Inc

This project will review and synthesize existing literature on factors that impact the interest, participation, retention and success of women of color in computing and technology fields. This type of project informs areas for future research and helps to identify promising practices that others can implement. The project will result in a report to help inform those who are practitioners in STEM education, STEM employers, and STEM policy makers. This project is a mixed-methods meta-synthesis...

Effective: 2018-2020

Funding Type: Conference

Principal Investigator: William R Penuel

Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This conference will provide a venue for state science coordinators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories and their teams to learn about tools and practices that will help them identify, analyze, and adapt resources that shape educational opportunities in science co-designed through the Advancing Coherent and Equitable Systems of Science Education...

Effective: 2018-2019

Funding Type: Conference

Principal Investigator: David J Kraemer

Institution: Dartmouth College

Creativity in STEM is the difference between basic competency and innovative advancement. To foster continued innovation, it is essential that we develop new methods to foster students' creative thinking skills in STEM. However, many issues regarding creativity remain unresolved. For example, we know little about how creativity develops, how the brain gives rise to creativity, and what sorts of educational experiences can make a student more creative over time. Indeed, even determining how to...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Kathleen H Corriveau

Institution: Trustees of Boston University

The United States invests over $600 billion on public K-12 education every year to further the Nation's prosperity and welfare. The National Science Foundation's CAREER program supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research. This CAREER project dissects and characterizes science explanations in formal and informal learning settings to uncover best practices for optimizing...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Lois Weis

Institution: SUNY at Buffalo

Although we have some evidence of the effects of state policy on postsecondary costs, tuition waivers, and earmarked grants for college attendance, we have little evidence of the effects of STEM-specific state policy defined as math and science course requirements for high school graduation, and presence or absence of high-stakes testing on high school opportunities and short and long term outcomes for STEM. Although students interested in STEM pursue varying paths toward STEM degrees and...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Eric Deemer, Aryn M Dotterer

Institutions: Purdue University, Utah State University

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. As such, this study will build on an emerging body of research about ways to broaden the representation of the African American undergraduate students in STEM fields. This type of research is highly important since studies show that racial bias weaken scientific identity in STEM by triggering and perpetuating threatening stereotypes that African Americans do not have the...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Adam E Green, Robert A Kolvoord, David J Kraemer, David H Uttal

Institutions: Georgetown University, James Madison University, Dartmouth College, Northwestern University

Spatial thinking is a powerful driver of success in the STEM classroom and spatial thinking is a major predictor of future STEM success in the workforce. The brain systems that support spatial thinking have been well mapped by neuroscience to allow clear interpretation of new brain-imaging data. Recent advances in tools used to analyze brain activity allow detection of changes in the brains of students that signify accurate learning of STEM concepts. This advance may open a window onto...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Jonathan E Cook

Institution: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This study will examine whether stress from psychological threat helps explain why nearly half of doctoral students overall and even higher rates of women and underrepresented minority students leave graduate school before attaining their terminal STEM degrees. The proposed research will be guided by the self-affirmation theory in determining whether social psychological...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Dara Shifrer

Institution: Portland State University

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant will establish an integrated research and education program focused on questions underlying persistent underrepresentation of racial minorities, youth with lower socioeconomic status (SES), and disability classifications in STEM fields. In general, there is a lack of clear direction for addressing these disparities. The project aims to promote understanding of the conditions under which racial minorities, persons with disabilities, and...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Ebony O McGee

Institution: Vanderbilt University

The EHR Core Research program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This essential research will examine ways to broaden participation in engineering and computing through a multi-tiered research design that studies how race-related bias and microaggressive acts affect the career trajectories of Black, Native American, and Latino/a doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers. The research will examine three main variables in...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Brian Donovan

Institution: BSCS Science Learning

This project draws on the relation between genetics instruction and psychological biases associated with the development of racial stereotyping. Previous research has suggested that when students are taught genetics in particular ways, it increases faulty assumptions. For example, learning about the prevalence of sickle cell anemia in people of African descent and the prevalence of Cystic Fibrosis in people of European descent can cause middle and high school students to infer that racial...

Effective: 2017-2024

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Yi Zhang

Institution: University of Texas at Arlington

The ECR (Education and Human Resources Core Research) program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. As transfer students continue to use community colleges as stepping stones to pursue STEM degrees, it is important to understand the unique challenges these students encounter and the diversity within this important student population. This study will develop a transfer student typology and investigate its relationships with...

Effective: 2017-2023

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Mary C Murphy

Institution: Indiana University

This project consists of a large randomized-controlled trial (RCT) of a social psychological intervention with college students. The social-belonging intervention seeks to normalize the students' experience of struggle in the transition to college and provides productive strategies to help students perceive initial challenges with adjustment as relatively commonplace and not indicative of a lack of belonging. The project examines the experimental effects of the belonging intervention on the...

Effective: 2017-2023

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Eric W Welch

Institution: Arizona State University

A team of researchers from Arizona State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Arkansas will investigate factors affecting the retention of foreign STEM higher education faculty in the US and those factors leading to their being more productive members of the workforce and advancing STEM in this country. In an era of global competition for academic STEM talent, and despite the high representation of foreign STEM faculty in US post-secondary institutions, significant...

Effective: 2017-2023

Funding Type: RAPID/EAGER

Principal Investigator: Mary M Atwater

Institution: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This project will examine ways to broaden participation in STEM for science education faculty of African ancestry and science education Latino/a faculty. Research shows that science and science education faculty and students from these populations regularly face intentional and unintentional acts of racial microaggressions...

Effective: 2017-2023

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Mary Blair-Loy

Institution: University of California-San Diego

The underrepresentation of women faculty in STEM limits the potential for scientific creativity and reduces available role models for female undergraduate and graduate students pursuing STEM careers. Research on implicit bias indicates that women candidates for faculty positions are less likely to be selected than men. It is critical to understand the experiences of hiring committee members, and of candidates for faculty positions, in order to advance STEM academic hiring practices. Having a...

Effective: 2017-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Diana Franklin, Cathy N Thomas

Institutions: University of Chicago, Texas State University - San Marcos, University of Missouri-Columbia

In order to produce a more competitive, computer-literate domestic workforce ready to be computational innovators, this project seeks to improve computer science instruction at the upper elementary school level. It will create strategies for teaching a diverse set of students, including students with learning disabilities, English language learners, and students with a variety of ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It will draw on decades of research on reading comprehension to drive...

Effective: 2017-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Lucas C Parra

Institution: CUNY City College

When a teacher is presenting new material during class or online, are students actually paying attention? The ambitious goal of this project is to objectively measure students' attentional engagement during learning using electroencephalography (EEG). Specifically, it measures students' brain activity as they watch online educational videos, and then compares their neural activity to how well they perform on traditional measures of learning such as tests and quizzes. If successful, this project...

Effective: 2017-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Gavin R Price

Institution: Vanderbilt University

Math skills are a strong predictor of life success, yet many people struggle to acquire basic numerical and mathematical skills. Being able to fluently process symbolic numbers (i.e. Arabic digits) is a key foundation for the development of basic math skills. However, very little is known about the brain systems which support the processing numerical symbols, how those systems develop in the early school years, and how they are related to math skill development. Understanding the development of...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: David S Knight

Institutions: University of Washington, University of Texas at El Paso

Maintaining U.S. global competitiveness in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) industries requires increasing participation among traditionally underrepresented groups including people of color and women. Studies show creating more equal educational opportunities in the K-12 education system is an effective, socially just approach to expanding STEM participation. This study examines the impact of Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (T-STEM) academies on (a) STEM...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Julie J Park

Institution: University of Maryland, College Park

In the higher education settings for Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM), social ties and social capital contain critical resources that students need to understand through college and beyond. Deeper exploration of social capital and its impact on differing populations and how it may hinder equity in STEM education and workforce advancement is needed. The research examines the effect of social ties and social capital on key outcomes such as retention and job placement for STEM...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: RAPID/EAGER

Principal Investigator: Paul W Schultz

Institution: California State University San Marcos Corporation

Previous research has demonstrated that a strong Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) identity predicts persistence and success in STEM disciplines. Individuals identify themselves with STEM to varying degrees depending on their perceptions of STEM and their other important identities. This project will add to the tools available to researchers to measure STEM-identity, other identities, and identity balance by developing, piloting and testing a new measurement instrument and...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Andrew N Meltzoff

Institution: University of Washington

The underrepresentation of women in STEM disciplines is a societal problem with economic implications. Despite the narrowing of the gap in math performance between boys and girls in the past two decades, gender disparities still influence students' decisions to enter math-related careers. Young students' math self-concepts have been found to predict future choices in math-related domains. As early as elementary school--and in the absence of gender differences in math achievement--girls have...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Nicholas Giudice, Jenna Gorlewicz, Dr. Derrick Smith, Andreas M Stefik

Institutions: University of Maine, Saint Louis University, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Nevada Las Vegas

Students with disabilities often have fewer opportunities for experiential learning, an important component of quality STEM education. With continued shifts toward the use of digital media to supplement instruction in STEM classrooms, much of the content remains inaccessible, particular for students with visual impairments. The promise of technology and use of tactile graphics is an effective, emerging innovation for providing more complete access to important information and materials. Tactile...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Marvin Powell

Institution: George Mason University

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. To that end, this research project will collect data about the experiences, beliefs, and praxis of Black mathematics teachers from historical and contemporary perspectives to: (a) inform recruitment and retention efforts; and (b) contribute to theory building. This study is highly important since the number of Black mathematics educators choosing to teach mathematics at the...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Jennifer Schmidt

Institution: Michigan State University

The ECR (Education and Human Resources Core Research) program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This study will investigate student engagement in science in the interest of of broadening participation in STEM fields. This will be an important undertaking since research shows that low student engagement is a major challenge for students from subpopulations often underrepresented in STEM fields. The research will help advance...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: RAPID/EAGER

Principal Investigator: Walter Lee

Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University propose to conduct exploratory research through the EHR Core Research (ECR) program to further develop and validate a survey instrument that can be used by college administrators and student-support practitioners to assess the magnitude of institutional support received by undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). An instrument to do this work does not currently exist. Such an instrument...

Effective: 2017-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Patrick Shafto

Institution: Rutgers University Newark

Asking questions is a common way that families and teachers support children's learning, and different types of questions influence children's exploration and understanding. Yet we still know little about the role of questioning in STEM learning. This project investigates how and why certain types of questions may be better at fostering learning. In particular, in contrast to questions asked by a person seeking to learn something new (information-seeking questions), children may learn better...

Effective: 2017-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Barbara L Schneider

Institution: Michigan State University

The EHR Core Research (ECR) program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. To that end, this project will extend the purpose of the College Ambition Program (CAP), a school-wide intervention designed to encourage high school students to become college applicants, particularly in STEM fields, and enroll in postsecondary school. The CAP will serve predominantly minority and low-income high school students and those with special needs...

Effective: 2017-2020

Funding Type: RAPID/EAGER

Principal Investigators: Michelle Miller, Chrystal Smith

Institutions: University of South Florida, University of Connecticut

Increasing the participation and success of all students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate degrees continues to be a challenge. This research will add to our understanding of the factors that impact the participation and success of understudied students. This is critical information for designing effective education and research programs to increase participation in STEM. This EAGER proposal will develop a survey instrument designed to gather...

Effective: 2017-2019

Funding Type: Conference

Principal Investigator: Bryna R Kra

Institution: Northwestern University

Northwestern University will host a summer workshop for women undergraduates in mathematics to motivate them to pursue graduate school and mathematics research careers. The project is the third workshop organized by the investigators to address barriers that impact the proportion of women transitioning from undergraduate to graduate school and the workforce. It is modeled as an intervention based on data about the progression of undergraduate women students in mathematics, documented barriers...

Effective: 2017-2018

Funding Type: Conference

Principal Investigator: Darnell Cole

Institution: University of Southern California

The University of Southern California will conduct a workshop to identify and address issues that impact career pathways for African American students in physics and astronomy. Diverse experts from Pk-12, higher education, industry, and professional societies will convene to (1) identify evidence-based approaches to mitigating barriers to African American students? academic performance and workforce participation, (2) discuss strategies for more rigorous, third-party evaluations of programs or...

Effective: 2017-2018

Funding Type: Conference

Principal Investigator: Marieta Harris

Institution: Le Moyne-Owen College

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. This conference proposal will build on the current knowledge base and guidance from research studies about ways to improve the quality of STEM education and research for students who attend three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and one urban-based non-HBCU university. The conference will focus on ways to increase the number of African American students who...

Effective: 2017-2018

Funding Type: Conference

Principal Investigator: Shari Gardner

Institution: SRI International

The Education and Human Resources Core Research (ECR) program funds fundamental research on education and workforce development in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) focused on STEM Learning and Learning Environments, Broadening Participation in STEM, and STEM Workforce Development. The convening will bring together researchers who have been funded by ECR to share their research results and ongoing studies to better inform the continuing research funded by the program....

Effective: 2016-2023

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Marie Coppola

Institution: University of Connecticut

There are approximately 80,000 school-age children who are deaf or hard of hearing in our nation's schools and these students typically lag behind their hearing classmates in mathematics achievement. There is a pressing need to ensure that these students learn mathematics and are able to advance academically with equal access to science and mathematics education. Recent research suggests that early language development affects young children's cognitive representations of numbers and their...

Effective: 2016-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Ming-Te Wang

Institution: University of Pittsburgh

Research has shown that, on average, African American students perform less well on STEM standardized tests, opt out of advanced coursework despite requisite ability, and choose to major in non-STEM fields in college despite relevant preparation. This project will use a combination of a primary quantitative analysis and a supplemental qualitative analysis to examine the interrelations between African American middle school students' experiences of stigma in math, developing gender and racial...

Effective: 2016-2022

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Christopher Jett

Institution: University of West Georgia

African American male students' stories of mathematics success are critically needed in the research literature, and it is important to gain insights from African American male science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors to improve efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate these students. Furthermore, African American male students' STEM career decisions can provide insights concerning persistence and career trajectories in STEM fields. This project awarded to a CAREER scholar...

Effective: 2016-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Eva M Pomerantz

Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Many people believe that mathematics ability is a fixed trait. However, research indicates instead that mathematics ability is malleable, that it can be improved with effort and persistence, a belief system known as "growth mindset". There has been much attention to enhancing children's mathematics learning in the classroom. Although this is critical, it does not take into account that children spend a large proportion of their time outside of school, frequently with at least one of their...