ECR Projects

Explore past and current fundamental STEM education research projects across the three research areas that NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program funds, as well as across ECR funding types. Other search filters draw from both NSF's data and the ECR Hub's hand coding of award abstracts.

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ECR Projects

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STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

The Role of Attentional Control in Early Mathematical Learning

Effective: 2020-2025

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Steven T Piantadosi

Institution: University of California-Berkeley

The project, led by a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, aims to understand the relationship between attention and early mathematical development. Children’s first mathematical skills, like counting and number estimation, are typically measured using tasks that require children to sustain attention. In some cases their knowledge of mathematics is intrinsically linked to attentional processes. For example, in counting, children must learn to attend selectively to...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Translating Innovations from the Sleep Laboratory to Enhance Classroom Education and Informal Science Learning

Effective: 2020-2025

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Michael K Scullin

Institution: Baylor University

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program is a National Science Foundation-wide activity that offers awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. This award to a scientist at Baylor University has the goal of improving STEM education at the undergraduate level by bridging the gap between...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

A Statistical Framework and Tools for Planning Multilevel Randomized Cost-Effectiveness Trials

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Nianbo Dong

Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This research project is supported by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.There continues to be increasing demand for more comprehensive assessments of the impacts of STEM education programs, policies, and practices. In general, cost-effectiveness studies are designed to address this demand by evaluating the comparative performance...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Advanced Quantitative and Computational Methods for STEM Education Research

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER Institute

Principal Investigators: Ken Frank, Guanglei Hong

Institutions: Michigan State University, University of Chicago

The goals of this capacity building institute are (a) to introduce participants to rigorous and novel applications of advanced methods to STEM education research, (b) to provide them with continuous methodological support in research planning, data analysis, and publication, and (c) to create a community that prepares emerging scholars for taking leadership in advancing STEM education research. This capacity building award initiates an institute in quantitative and computational methods for...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Algebra Instruction at Community Colleges: Validating Measures of Quality Instruction

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Mary D Beisiegel, Irene Duranczyk, Vilma Mesa, Laura L Watkins

Institutions: Oregon State University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Maricopa County Community College District

This STEM Learning and Learning Environments project seeks to advance understanding of algebra education at community colleges. It will build on prior work to explore further the relationship between the quality of instruction in college algebra classes and teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching. This “knowledge for teaching” is the mathematical understanding that teachers need in order to be effective teachers of mathematics. For example, this knowledge enables teachers to explore...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

An Investigation of Mentors' Practices that Help Minoritized Undergraduates Persist In STEM

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: CAREER

Principal Investigator: Joi-Lynn Mondisa

Institution: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program is a National Science Foundation-wide activity that offers awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. This project awarded to a CAREER scholar has the goal to discover and understand effective, evidence-based mentoring practices and strategies that...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

BCSER Optimal Timing of Introductory Biology I: Implications for Motivation and Achievement

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Jennifer L Osterhage

Institution: University of Kentucky Research Foundation

Nearly half of undergraduate students who pursue STEM disciplines ultimately change fields. Many who leave STEM majors do so after taking introductory courses that serve as “gatekeepers” to degree progression. Low grades and interest in introductory courses are important barriers to retention. A preliminary study shows that undergraduates who complete Introductory Biology I later in their college career earn lower grades and are more likely to fail than students who complete the course...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Bridging Science Education and Psychology Perspectives to Support Science Literacy Theory & Instruction

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Jenny M Dauer

Institution: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

It is essential for citizens to develop the science literacy that empowers them to make informed decisions about challenging real-world issues. Science literacy is a complex process that involves learning to make sense of information from multiple sources, to consider social, cultural and economic values, and to evaluate options for action. To effectively enhance the scientific literacy of their students, science instructors also need to integrate results of psychology research that may help...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Defining and Measuring Student Trust of Instructors in College STEM Courses

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Xinnian Chen, Mark J Graham

Institutions: University of Connecticut, Yale University

This project aims to serve the national interest by conducting basic research to characterize key components of student trust in college STEM instructors and how that trust contributes to desired student outcomes. The project is an EHR Core Research (ECR) Level 1 award, focused on STEM Learning and Learning Environments. A consensus is emerging about the benefits of student-centered pedagogies, like active learning, for students in college classrooms. However, less is known about how...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Describing the Neurobehavioral Effects of Modeling-Based Instruction in Undergraduate Life Sciences Education

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Joe Dauer, Tammy M Long

Institutions: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Michigan State University

This project aims to serve the national interest by conducting basic research about the neurobiology of learning in undergraduate life sciences education. This Level 1 STEM learning and learning environments project aims to broaden understanding of who is affected by modeling-based instruction in undergraduate life sciences, and how they are affected. Modeling is vital to STEM professions and national standards call for modeling instruction at all levels of STEM education. Despite behavioral...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Development of Research to Inform the Design and Improvement of Mathematics Education for Teachers

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Julia St Goar

Institution: Merrimack College

This award will support the development of research to investigate key developmental mathematics understandings of undergraduates who are intending to become teachers. Many secondary teachers learned geometry through proving theorems. Current secondary standards and guidelines favor a vastly different approach that focuses on geometric transformations, such as reflection of a shape against an axis. This difference in learning approaches provides an important STEM education question: how do...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Effects of the Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation Instructional Model: Systematic Review and Innovation Through New Meta-Analysis Methodology

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Joshua R Polanin

Institution: American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences

This project aims to serve the national interest by conducting basic research on the effectiveness of a commonly used teaching approach in K-12 STEM education, as well as by providing a tool that can help others do similar research studies. Specifically, the project will study the effectiveness of the 5E (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation) model for instruction, which is commonly used in K-12 STEM education to organize instruction within programs, units, and...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Evaluating CURE Laboratory Benefits for Underprepared Students

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Anne Casper

Institution: Eastern Michigan University

Evaluating Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience Laboratory Benefits for Underprepared StudentsClassroom Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) laboratory experiences can make science more inclusive by giving large numbers of first-year students the experience of carrying out authentic research. The positive benefits of CUREs include increased analytical skills, technical skills, self-efficacy, and persistence in science. Most of the reported research on CUREs is from research-intensive...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Examining Potential Causal Connections and Mechanisms between Children's Block Play and Mathematics Learning

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Sara Schmitt

Institutions: University of Oregon Eugene, Purdue University

The purpose of this project is to further develop, refine, and evaluate a research-based STEM learning tool (i.e. block play) that tests theories of mathematical learning. Block play is common in preschool settings and is a context in which mathematics skill development may occur. Although a growing body of work has linked block play to mathematical development, there remains little causal evidence to support these relationships. The first objective of the project is to empirically evaluate the...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Exploring Algorithmic Fairness and Potential Bias in K-12 Mathematics Adaptive Learning

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Nigel Bosch, Jaclyn Ocumpaugh

Institutions: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Pennsylvania

Students in middle school and high school often use adaptive learning software as part of their math education experience. Adaptive learning software works by automatically measuring how much students have learned about the topic, as well as their learning process and experiences, and then adjusting the instruction accordingly. This project will investigate potential ways in which adaptive learning software might be biased against students from certain groups, and how such biases can be...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Exploring the Comprehension and Meta-comprehension Benefits of Learner-Generated Drawings in Science

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Logan Fiorella, Allison J Jaeger

Institutions: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Saint John's University, Mississippi State University

Academic success depends on students’ ability to comprehend text. Such comprehension can be challenging in undergraduate science courses because the text often describes things that are complex, dynamic, and invisible. One critical factor in effective text comprehension is the ability to monitor and regulate one’s own learning. Unfortunately, students are often inaccurate judges of their learning, leading them to make ineffective study choices and to achieve limited learning outcomes. This...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Extending a Theoretical Model for Undergraduate Students' Reflection and Abstraction of Proof Structures in Transition to Proofs Courses

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Paul Dawkins, Kyeong Hah Roh

Institutions: Texas State University - San Marcos, Arizona State University

This project will build upon promising teaching experiments that have already been conducted to develop theory about how students develop understandings of logical structure when learning mathematical proof. The project will begin with an initial model of students' Reflection and Abstraction of Proof Structures based on findings from existing studies and will develop and extend this model through a series of new teaching experiments. In the third year of the project, the model will be used to...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Facilitating Pathways to Success for High-Achieving Pre-Collegiate African American Males in STEM

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Edward C Fletcher Jr

Institution: Ohio State University

Research about broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a significant priority for the National Science Foundation (NSF). Compared to their White male counterparts, African American males are commonly underrepresented in STEM. With increasing American workforce needs in STEM, more research is needed that focuses on broadening participation in STEM among historically underrepresented populations, including African American males. Much of the current...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Facilitating Teacher Learning with Video Clips of Instruction in Science

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Miray Tekkumru Kisa

Institutions: Rand Corporation, Florida State University

Videos of teaching have become a popular tool for facilitating teacher learning, with the potential to powerfully impact teacher practice. However, less is known about specific mechanisms through which teachers learn from video. The goal of this study is to build foundational knowledge about teacher learning by using video clips of science instruction within a professional development (PD) context. The researchers will study the infusion of principles from cognitive science as possible ways to...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Facilitation Practices of Instructional Assistants

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Ira Caspari-Gnann

Institution: Tufts University

This project aims to serve the national interest by characterizing the ways in which facilitation practices of instructional assistants contribute to the scientific literacy of students in large enrollment introductory chemistry and physics lectures. In this project, instructional assistants are defined as undergraduate learning assistants and graduate teaching assistants who support student learning during problem solving in interactive lectures. Integrating instructional assistants into...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Fostering deep learning, identity, and agency: Minoritized students learning biology in personal and community-relevant contexts

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Ravit Golan Duncan

Institution: Rutgers University New Brunswick

Currently, equity remains an elusive goal in science education. Many minority groups continue to be underrepresented in science careers, limiting their opportunities to pursue potential science trajectories and diminishing benefits to society from diverse perspectives. Science learning environments, however, often do not build on or recognize the lives of students resulting in persistent marginalization. This, in turn, can lead minoritized youth to identify negatively with science and decreases...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Improving Evaluations of STEM Programs: An Empirical Investigation of Key Design Parameters

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Andrea L Beach

Institution: Western Michigan University

To improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outcomes in K-12 classrooms, it is critical to understand the landscape of the STEM learning environment. However, the STEM learning environment is complex. Students are nested within teachers, and teachers are nested within schools (which in turn are nested within districts), which implies a multilevel structure. To date, most empirical research that uses multilevel modeling to examine the role of higher levels on variation in...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Improving Peer-led Team Learning and Peer-Leader Training to Increase Undergraduate Student Achievement in Mathematics

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Nadia M Mills

Institution: University of The Virgin Islands

This project aims to serve the national interest by increasing undergraduate student success in STEM courses. It will do so by improving implementation of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) and implementing research to examine the effectiveness of these improvements. This project focuses on the effects of PLTL in early mathematics courses. When PLTL was implemented in a remedial mathematics course at the University of the Virgin Islands, students were able to complete the course successfully....

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Institute for Meta-Synthesis: A Practicum through the Lens of STEM Equity and Inclusion Literature

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER Institute

Principal Investigator: Maria Ong

Institution: TERC Inc

TERC, Inc. will implement an Institute in Research Methods that will build capacity in qualitative meta-synthesis methods, with an emphasis on STEM equity and inclusion literature. The institute responds to the need for greater emphasis on meta-synthesis methods in STEM education research, the lack of preparation among researchers to conduct these studies, and the need to diversify the pool of STEM education researchers broadly. Institute participants are expected to build capacity in...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Institute in Critical Quantitative, Computational, and Mixed Methods Training For Underrepresented Scholars

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER Institute

Principal Investigators: Ezekiel J Dixon-Roman, Odis D Johnson Jr, Ebony O McGee

Institutions: University of Pennsylvania, Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, Vanderbilt University

The project is a collaborative effort lead by Washington University and involving Vanderbilt University, and the University of Pennsylvania to establish an Institute in Critical Quantitative, Computational, and Mixed Methods Training for Underrepresented Scholars. It is designed to mitigate the disparities in the number of underrepresented scholars that utilize quantitative and computational research methods and techniques. The goals are to enable participants to incorporate quantitative and...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Institute in Research Methods for Professional Development for Emerging Education Researchers (PEER) Field Schools

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER Institute

Principal Investigators: Scott V Franklin, Mary Bridget Kustusch, Eugene Y Vasserman

Institutions: Rochester Institute of Tech, DePaul University, Kansas State University

This Institute in Research Methods project extends the impact of the Professional Development for Emerging Education Researchers (PEER) field school model to emerging education researchers through a multi-faceted approach, building individual and community capacity for high-quality STEM education research. The institute advances understanding of the effectiveness of professional development for research. Evaluation activities will identify characteristics of successful field schools in STEM...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Investigating How to Better Prepare Undergraduate Students for Physics Labs that Focus on Experimental Science

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: David Hammer, Natasha G Holmes, Rachel E Scherr

Institutions: Tufts University, Cornell University, University of Washington

This project aims to serve the national interest by identifying strategies to support students’ understanding of experimental science. The major goal is to identify instructional strategies that better prepare undergraduate students for doing authentic scientific experimentation in physics labs. Traditional laboratory exercises have trained students to view instructional laboratories as places to do rote procedures that lead to known results. This project will probe how to help students...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Investigating the Benefits of Using Worked Examples to Improve Mathematical Explanations for Students Who Struggle

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Robin F Schumacher

Institution: RG Research Group

When students explain their solution approaches in mathematics, they are able to make linkages with prior knowledge, build new insights, and deepen their understanding of the mathematics they are learning. Students with mathematics difficulties (those performing below the 25th percentile) struggle to articulate their understanding of mathematical principles as they explain their solution approaches. Learning and understanding fractions in upper elementary school is especially challenging for...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Investigating the Role of Interest in Middle Grade Science with a Multimodal Affect-Sensitive Learning Environment

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Jaclyn Ocumpaugh, Jonathan Rowe

Institutions: University of Pennsylvania, North Carolina State University

Student interest and affect play critical roles in shaping how individuals learn. Interest impacts student engagement with scientific ideas and practices, student learning outcomes, and the ability to set goals and self-regulate. Student interest is also a well-known precursor to STEM career development. Over the past several years, research on affect-sensitive learning environments has enabled data-rich investigations into the affective dynamics of student learning. However, designing adaptive...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Learning Analytics in STEM Education Research Institute

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER Institute

Principal Investigator: Shaun B Kellogg

Institution: North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University (NCSU) will establish the Learning Analytics in STEM Education Research (LASER) Institute to build learning analytics capacity in STEM education research. The institute will provide professional development for early and mid-career STEM education researchers in learning analytics, a computational research methodology. The goal of the institute is to increase the capacity of researchers to understand and improve STEM learning and learning environments through the...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Let's do science! Promoting the development of beneficial beliefs about science in early childhood

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Marjorie Rhodes

Institution: New York University

The roots of gender, racial, and ethnic disparities in science achievement take hold in early childhood, with lifelong implications for educational outcomes. Often, these early roots are in the form of problematic beliefs, including beliefs that science is something in which only a select group of people can succeed. These beliefs are particularly discouraging for children from social groups that are underrepresented in science, including girls and children from certain racial and ethnic...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Maryland Collaborative for Research in Urban STEM Education

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER Institute

Principal Investigator: Roni M Ellington

Institution: Morgan State University

Morgan State University proposes to implement an Institute in Research Methods that will build capacity in mixed-methods, with an emphasis on K-12 STEM education in an urban setting. The institute will be managed by the Maryland Collaborative for Research in Urban STEM Education (MD-CRUSE), a partnership involving the Baltimore Education Research Consortium and Baltimore Public Schools. The goal is to enhance participants’ STEM education research skills and competencies, stimulate research...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Maximizing the Sustained Effects of Utility-Value Interventions in Community College Math

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Christopher S Hulleman

Institution: University of Virginia Main Campus

This study addresses gaps in the STEM utility-value interventions literature by studying the interventions in gateway community college math courses, which serve as a critical barrier or opportunity to postsecondary success. Researchers at the University of Virginia and the Tennessee Board of Regents will investigate three research questions: (1) Do customized utility-value interventions lead to improved academic outcomes compared to standard utility-value interventions or a control condition?...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Overcoming critical skill gaps in residential and online STEM education via novel immersive, industry-aligned simulated environments

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Ashkan Negahban

Institution: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University propose to create and utilize 3D virtual reality (VR) environments in engineering settings that immerse learners in complex simulation models representing a real-world situation instead of well-defined problems with existing solutions. By partnering with a simulation software company and industry consultants, the project will generate education modules aligned with industry needs and provide novel model-based systems for engineering education. The...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Paving the Way for Fractions: Identifying Foundational Concepts in First Grade

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Nancy Jordan, Nora S Newcombe

Institutions: University of Delaware, Temple University

Although fractions represent a crucial topic in early childhood education, many students develop only a tenuous grasp of fraction concepts, even after several years of fraction instruction that is aligned with current standards. The goal of this project, led by a team of researchers at the University of Delaware and Temple University, is to answer important questions about the informal understandings of fractions young children have before they come to school and what their relations are to...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  
Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Recognition of Gender Stereotyping as a Determinant of Stereotype Assimilation and Contrast Effects Resulting from Subtle Bias Exposure in STEM

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Lorelle A Meadows, Denise J Sekaquaptewa

Institutions: Michigan Technological University, Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Women have been historically underrepresented in STEM fields, and research evidence suggests that subtle gender bias occurs in many STEM settings, especially those where women continue to be underrepresented. Social psychological research has demonstrated the negative effects of perceived bias or becoming aware that one is the target of stereotyping and discrimination. This project will provide a novel contribution to and extension of the perceived bias research by proposing that simply...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

STEM Literacies, Learning, and Identities through Cascading Models of Near-Peer Mentorship

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Eli Tucker-Raymond

Institution: Trustees of Boston University

Despite decades-long efforts to broaden STEM participation, the underrepresentation of people from communities of color persists in STEM across many areas, including, for example, laboratory work, engineering, and teaching. Research suggests that more expansive STEM learning opportunities are possible in school and out of school when youth have opportunities to develop and share their experience with others, both in and beyond the classroom. Mentoring is a widely accepted strategy for...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  
Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Study of New Strategies to Combat Harassment in Engineering

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Mala Htun

Institution: University of New Mexico

Researchers from New Mexico State University (NMSU) will implement an EHR Core Research (ECR) program research project. This ECR program supports work that advances fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The study will assess whether and how bystander intervention training - a successful approach in other contexts such as universities and the U.S. military - can be refined, adapted, and delivered to...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

The Effect of Geographic Locale on Work-Related Experiential Learning Opportunities

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Karen L Webber

Institution: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc

The project examines how students’ work-related experiential activities (WREAs) may be affected by their institution’s geographic proximity to major economic and workforce hubs. WREAs include internships, co-ops, practicums, job shadowing, and other similar opportunities that enable students to apply knowledge in an authentic setting and that lead to successful and productive employment. The research will fill a knowledge gap by empirically documenting the influence of locale on internships...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  
Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

The Influence of an Inclusive Climate on STEM Academic Early-Career Outcomes

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Kendra S Cheruvelil, Isis H Settles

Institutions: Michigan State University, Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Researchers from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor will collaborate with researchers from Michigan State University to implement an EHR Core Research (ECR) project. The project will study how an inclusive educational and workplace climate can affect academic STEM career outcomes, particularly for early-career individuals from underrepresented groups. The proposers will develop a novel construct of inclusive authorship climate in which intellectual contributions are fully welcomed and valued...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

The Pro-Qual Institute for Research Methods in STEM Education - A Novel Problem-Led and Research-Quality-Focused Approach

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER Institute

Principal Investigator: John R Morelock

Institution: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc

The ProQual Institute (PQI) is designed to implement a novel, problem-led, research quality-focused approach to developing STEM education research capacity. The approach starts with the problem, idea, or general topic of interest, and researchers are then guided to identify and visually map a "social reality" of interest to articulate clear and purposeful research questions and to inform a coherent use of theoretical frameworks to undergird the study. Based on understanding the scope and nature...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Understanding how student identities shape STEM retention: exploring perceptions of in-class interpersonal relationships and institutional and discipline inclusivity

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Jeremiah A Henning

Institution: University of South Alabama

This capacity building project includes a study to measure a suite of social identities salient in STEM classrooms to understand how identities shape perceptions of in-class, interpersonal relationships with peers and instructors and perceptions of institutional and disciplinary inclusivity and how these factors impact retention of marginalized identities in STEM majors and careers. The project will simultaneously explore multiple student identities and interactions among identities and explore...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Untangling the Complex Role of Anthropocentric Thinking in Undergraduate Biology Education

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Laura W Burrus, John D Coley

Institutions: San Francisco State University, Northeastern University

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving undergraduate biology education. It will do so by conducting basic research on how the intuitive thinking of biology students helps and/or hinders their learning of biological concepts in STEM learning environments. The project focuses on anthropocentric thinking, a particular kind of intuitive thinking that anchors understanding of the biological world in human terms. Anthropocentric thinking results in a tendency to see humans as...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Using Neural Networks for Automated Classification of Elementary Mathematics Instructional Activities

Effective: 2020-2024

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Peter Youngs

Institution: University of Virginia Main Campus

This research project is supported by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports work that advances fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.In the last decade, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of video for preparing teachers and studying teaching quality. Prominent approaches to summative evaluation of teaching candidates and beginning teachers feature video recordings of...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

A Regression Discontinuity Study of the Impact of Mathematics Achievement Fund on Student Outcomes

Effective: 2020-2023

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Zeyu Xu

Institution: American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences

Socioeconomic and racial gaps in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) participation can sometimes be traced back to discrepancies in mathematics skills that emerge at kindergarten entry. Importantly, children who exhibit early lags in mathematics development may also demonstrate lower growth rates in mathematics skills later. Consequently, early gaps in mathematics skills may widen over the course of schooling. How to diagnose and correct mathematics shortcomings early is a...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

BCSER Building Capacity for A Longitudinal Mixed-Methods Explanation of Women’s Achievement and Attrition in Undergraduate Engineering Education

Effective: 2020-2023

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Jamie Gurganus

Institution: University of Maryland Baltimore County

In this capacity building project, the investigator proposes to develop a model for inquiry in engineering education research that accommodates a range of complementary data types, data sources, points of time, and conceptual lenses while concurrently acquiring skills in explanatory sequential mixed-methods STEM education research. The research project aims to model patterns of major behavior data among undergraduate women entering and exiting an engineering program prior to graduation,...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Building Capacity in STEM Education Research via the POGIL Community

Effective: 2020-2023

Funding Type: Conference

Principal Investigator: Richard S Moog

Institution: The POGIL Project

This project aims to promote discipline-based education research (DBER) within the Process-oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) community of practitioners. Specifically, the project team will host a workshop for early- and mid-career POGIL practitioners led by a team of five DBER scholars. The goal of this event is to introduce current POGIL practitioners to the knowledge and skills involved in design, implementation, and methodology of STEM education research. The participants will be...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Collaborative Research: Designing an Educational Intervention to Address Intuitive Misconceptions about COVID-19

Effective: 2020-2023

Funding Type: RAPID/EAGER

Principal Investigators: John D Coley, Deborah Kelemen

Institutions: Northeastern University, Trustees of Boston University

Misconceptions about the transmission of COVID-19 can lead to noncompliance with preventive public health recommendations. The first goal of this project, led by researchers at Boston University and Northeastern University, is to understand the deeper conceptual nature of these biological misconceptions. The research will explore whether these ideas are specific to COVID-19 or whether they reflect intuitive reasoning patterns of reasoning about biological phenomena more generally, and how...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  
Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Cultivating sustainable citizenship among 8th and 9th grade girls through informal STEM workshops

Effective: 2020-2023

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Simi T Hoque

Institution: Drexel University

This two-year project will analyze how adolescent girls develop as sustainable citizens as they take part in a college-based STEM summer program that offers hands-on workshops in sustainability science. As a Building Capacity in STEM Educational Research (BCSER) project, a key goal is to build the principal investigator's knowledge base and analytical expertise in STEM education research. This project aims to position the investigator to conduct longer-term research on broadening participation...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Developing Expertise in Educational Testing to Support Characterizing the Impact of Organic Chemistry Instruction on Students' Ability to Reason with Representations

Effective: 2020-2023

Funding Type: BCSER IID

Principal Investigator: Maia Popova

Institution: University of North Carolina Greensboro

Representational competence is the ability to use drawings, diagrams, and symbols to learn, communicate, and solve problems in a specific area, such as organic chemistry. Studies have shown that undergraduate students’ ability to reason with specific representations is important for their understanding of and success in organic chemistry. However, no validated assessment instruments currently exist that measure students’ representational competence in organic chemistry. With support from...

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