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

STEM-R: Modeling STEM Retention and Departure across Physics, Mathematics, and Engineering

Effective: 2016-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: John C Stewart

Institution: West Virginia University Research Corporation

Researchers at West Virginia University will develop a new theoretical framework for STEM departure that will detail the reasons why students leave STEM majors. The research extends Tinto's university departure model to include the career exploration process where a student leaves STEM but remains in college. The framework will be developed and tested by extensive measurement of demographic, social, academic, affective (self-efficacy, self-esteem, belonging), career exploration/aspirations and...

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

The Role of Executive Function in Mathematics and Science Learning Difficulties of Students with Disabilities

Effective: 2016-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Paul Morgan

Institution: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park

Executive function (EF) deficits may explain lower math and science achievement for students with and without disabilities and therefore may be essential targets for intervention. Current research in this area often relies on cross-sectional studies using smaller samples of middle and high school students and so this study fills a critical gap by examining relationships between executive function and math and science achievement with younger students in a large, nationally representative...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

To Compare or Space? The Role of Timing in Children's Science Learning

Effective: 2016-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Haley A Vlach

Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison

This research will contribute to understanding how science concepts are learned. This project will study how concepts are generalized from individual examples, thus continuing to inform the cognitive science literature on this topic. The experiments will present students with multiple examples of science concepts according to different timing patterns so that students can abstract similarities and differences among them. The studies will directly address a seemingly paradoxical set of findings:...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Understanding Teacher Enactment of New Science Standards and Needs for Implementation Support

Effective: 2016-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Edward D Britton

Institution: WestEd

Researchers will examine the fidelity and quality of their implementation of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in response to an extensive professional development program of workshops and professional learning communities. In addition the study will investigate how individual teacher background characteristics, their personal beliefs about science teaching and learning, the characteristics of their students, and other contextual variables affect such implementation. Study findings will...

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

Using Data Mining and Observation to derive an enhanced theory of SRL in Science learning environments

Effective: 2016-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Ryan Baker, Gautam Biswas

Institutions: Teachers College, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University

This project aims to enhance theory and measurement of students' self-regulated learning (SRL) processes during science learning. SRL refers to learning that is guided by metacognition (thinking about one's thinking), strategic action (planning, monitoring, and evaluating personal progress against a standard), and motivation to learn. The project will accomplish this by developing a technology-based framework which leverages human expert judgment and machine learning methods to identify key...

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

Algebra Instruction at Community Colleges: An Exploration of its Relationship with Student Success

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Laura L Watkins

Institution: Maricopa County Community College District

Community colleges serve a large portion of students who require mathematics at the undergraduate level and play an increasing role in STEM workforce development. There is a growing national interest in the role of community colleges for undergraduate education. The proposal seeks to investigate the conditions under which instruction in community college algebra courses can be associated with student learning gains and course performance. This information can be used to design programs 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

Career Commitment and Retention in STEM: The Intersection of Professional Identity and Career Management Skills in Minority and Women STEM Students

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Marie S Hammond

Institution: Tennessee State University

Researchers at Tennessee State University will study the role of professional, social, and cultural identities on career choice and commitment among underrepresented minorities. They will expand the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) by examining factors such as problem solving, decision making, goal setting, and managing goal pursuit that are not articulated in the current model. As critical as self-efficacy is in the process of developing one?s interests, making career choices, and...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Career Technical Education: Investigating Factors Associated with Enrollment and Persistence in Information and Computing Technologies Among Underrepresented Groups

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Pamela Anderson

Institution: ETR Associates

Researchers at ETR Associates will conduct a mixed methods longitudinal study on the malleable factors that affect community college students? persistence in information and communications technologies (ICT) classes and careers. The project involves a partnership between a research organization, about 25 community colleges, and five external advisors with expertise in higher education research, policy, and teaching. It will test and extend theories of student persistence and build on the team?s...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Divergent Thinking in the Engineering Design Context: Experimentation to Connect Performance to Neurocognitive Responses

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Zahed Siddique

Institution: University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

Divergent thinking, which is related to ideation, continues to be a not fully understood and yet a very important part of the design process. Using cognitive neuroscience experiments to study divergent thinking for various idea generation methods and design tasks, and studying the effectiveness by comprehensive evaluation design outcomes, we can better understand the idea generation process. Cognitive neuroscience uses different techniques to study the brain in action, and each technique has...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Domain-General and Domain-Specific Training to Improve Children's Mathematics

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Susanne Jaeggi, Geetha Ramani

Institutions: University of California-Irvine, University of Maryland, College Park

This project, a collaboration between researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of California-Irvine, will test the benefits of training activities for improving the mathematical achievement of kindergartners from low-income backgrounds using newly-developed tablet computer games. The gap in mathematical proficiency between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds is present before children enter elementary school, and it progressively widens over the course of...

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

Equity in Engineering: Understanding and Promoting All Elementary School Children's Knowledge of and Motivation to Engage in Engineering

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Cindy F Miller

Institution: Arizona State University

Increasing concern in recent years has highlighted the low percentage of adults who are earning degrees and pursuing careers in engineering, and this is especially true for female and ethnic minority individuals. Given that early experiences have a profound effect on later skill development and one's motivation to learn, it is essential to target children's early beliefs and experiences to better understand and change occupational disparities later in life. Very few studies have been conducted...

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

Identifying and Validating Interactive and Uncommon Characteristics of Retention and Success in Engineering Education

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Nong Ye

Institution: Arizona State University

This project targets three significant gaps in the current state of knowledge relevant to engineering retention and success: 1) lack of knowledge on engineering retention and success characteristics based on interactive, concurrent effects of multiple factors, 2) lack of knowledge about engineering retention and success characteristics based on the modeling of variable relations that exist for some but not all values of variables or are different for different value ranges of variables, and 3)...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Mathematical Modeling with Cultural and Community Contexts

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Julia Aguirre, Mary Q Foote, Amy Roth-McDuffie, Erin Turner

Institutions: University of Washington, CUNY Queens College, Washington State University, University of Arizona

This proposal was submitted in response to EHR Core Research (ECR) program announcement NSF 15-509. The ECR program of fundamental research in STEM education provides funding in critical research areas that are essential, broad and enduring. EHR seeks proposals that will help synthesize, build and/or expand research foundations in the following focal areas: STEM learning, STEM learning environments, STEM workforce development, and broadening participation in STEM. The ECR program is...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Measuring Collaboration in Complex Computerized Performance Assessments

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Jessica Andrews Todd

Institution: Educational Testing Service

The ECR program of fundamental research in STEM education provides funding in critical research areas that are essential, broad and enduring. EHR seeks proposals that will help synthesize, build and/or expand research foundations in the following focal areas: STEM learning, STEM learning environments, STEM workforce development, and broadening participation in STEM. The ECR program is distinguished by its emphasis on the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to (a) understand, (b)...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Partnership for Building Capacity for Improvement in State Science Education

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: William R Penuel

Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder

The ECR (Education and Human Resources Core Research) program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. As such, the incoherence of state and local science systems is well-documented in the research literature, as are the ways that incoherence makes system-level improvements difficult to attain. This project will investigate the steps state level science educators and policymakers might take to help build coherent systems of science...

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

Staying in Science: Examining the Pathways of Underrepresented Youth Mentored in Research

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Preeti Gupta

Institution: American Museum Natural History

This longitudinal research study will contribute to a broader understanding of the pathways of STEM-interested high school students from underrepresented groups who plan to pursue or complete science studies in their post-high school endeavors. The project will investigate the ways that formative authentic science experiences may support youth's persistence in STEM. The study focuses on approximately 900 urban youth who are high interest, high potential STEM students who participate in, or are...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Women's Engineering Participation in the US: What can the US Learn from Women's Decisions to Pursue Engineering in Diverse Cultural Contexts?

Effective: 2016-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Mick Cunningham, Jennifer DeBoer, Julie Kmec

Institutions: Western Washington University, Purdue University, Washington State University

Non-technical AbstractWomen's participation in engineering is a crucial national priority. The shortage of engineers in the US weakens the country's position as a leader in the global market and restricts our capacity to solve infrastructural challenges. This project involves research in four countries (Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia) to assess the contextual factors that encourage women's participation in engineering in tertiary education and as a career. In three of the four...

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

Investigating the Effectiveness of Boot Camps in Developing a Diverse Software Development Workforce

Effective: 2016-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: James F Bowring, Louise Lyon

Institutions: College of Charleston, ETR Associates

ETR Associates and the College of Charleston will conduct a collaborative research project that is designed to increase diversity in computer science by exploring whether boot camps build students' adaptive expertise and how the actual preparation aligns with computing workforce expectations for knowledge and competencies. The study will be conducted in Silicon Valley in California and Silicon Harbor in South Carolina and will yield (1) models of the attributes of effective software developers...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

A Study of Interactional, Organizational and Professional Mechanisms of Disadvantage in the Underrepresented and Marginalized STEM Workforce

Effective: 2015-2023

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Erin A Cech, Tom J Waidzunas

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

This award is supported the EHR Core Research (ECR) program. ECR emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. This research project is making contributions to the field in the areas of STEM workforce development and broadening participation in STEM. The proposed work is advancing basic understanding about the intersectional mechanisms of disadvantage, at the interpersonal, organizational and professional levels, for underrepresented groups...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Exploring the consequences of individual differences in preschoolers' causal stance

Effective: 2015-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Amy E Booth

Institutions: Vanderbilt University, University of Texas at Austin

It has been increasingly recognized that promoting scientific literacy must begin early while foundational attitudes, knowledge and skills are taking shape. This project, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas and Loyola University of Chicago, will explore preschoolers' attunement to causal information -- referred to as their causal stance -- as a key component of this foundation. For example, the researchers are interested in the degree to which children seek out information about...

Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Investigating the Use of Peer Role Models to Inspire Women to Thrive in STEM

Effective: 2015-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: David Marx

Institution: San Diego State University Foundation

This proposal was submitted in response to EHR Core Research (ECR) program announcement NSF 15-509. As part of ECR, this project is funded by the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering (GSE) program. GSE seeks to understand and address gender-based differences in STEM education and workforce participation through education and implementation research that will lead to a larger and more diverse domestic STEM workforce. Stereotype threat and feelings of not belonging are suggested as...

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

Investigating Virtual Learning Environments

Effective: 2015-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Mark Warschauer

Institution: University of California-Irvine

The multi-year project will study 50 flipped, hybrid, and online courses offered in the three major STEM Schools at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Higher education institutions are increasing the number of courses they offer that use elements of virtual instruction in the belief that these courses will lead to better learning, lower costs, greater access, and higher graduation rates. However, recent meta-analyses of virtual learning in higher education all conclude that there is a...

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

Recruiting STEM Faculty: A systematic analysis of the faculty hiring process at Research Intensive Universities

Effective: 2015-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Kimberlee Shauman

Institution: University of California-Davis

This proposal was submitted in response to EHR Core Research (ECR) program announcement NSF 15-509. As part of ECR, this project is funded by the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering (GSE) program. GSE seeks to understand and address gender-based differences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce participation through education and implementation research that will lead to a larger and more diverse domestic STEM workforce. This study will...

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

Spatial Visualization Skills and Engineering Problem Solving

Effective: 2015-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Lance C Perez, Sheryl A Sorby

Institutions: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Cincinnati Main Campus, Ohio State University

Engineers are known problem-solvers and the engineer of the future will be tasked with solving traditional problems as well as the ill-defined interdisciplinary problems faced by our society. Engineers will need to be able to think holistically about a myriad of factors and visualize a solution that solves the technical problem while satisfying cultural, environmental, societal, and economic constraints. Spatial visualization skills have been linked to success in engineering and mathematics as...

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

Stereotype-based contagion in Problem Based Learning Contexts and STEM Identification

Effective: 2015-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Chad E Forbes

Institution: University of Delaware

This proposal was submitted in response to EHR Core Research (ECR) program announcement NSF 15-509. As part of ECR, this project is funded by the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering (GSE) program. GSE seeks to understand and address gender-based differences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce participation through education and implementation research that will lead to a larger and more diverse domestic STEM workforce. This project will...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

Variation in the awarding and effectiveness of STEM graduate student funding across teaching and research assistantships, fellowships, and traineeships

Effective: 2015-2021

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Maura J Borrego, David Knight

Institutions: University of Texas at Austin, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will conduct a mixed methods research project to better understand how various mechanisms of funding - fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, etc. - influence students' pursuit of doctorates in STEM and subsequent employment. The project will produce empirical evidence and a conceptual framework to inform the improvement of graduate student funding policies and...

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

A Study of Elements of Teacher Preparation Programs that Interact with Candidates' Characteristics to Support Novice Elementary Teachers to Enact Ambitious Mathematics Instruction

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Peter Youngs

Institution: University of Virginia Main Campus

Preparing large numbers of elementary teachers to enact high-quality or ambitious mathematics instruction is a central policy challenge in the U.S. While several studies have tried to identify linkages between features of teacher preparation and student achievement outcomes, few large-scale studies have addressed the relationship between teacher preparation and ambitious mathematics instruction, a more proximal outcome. To meet the need for ambitious mathematics instruction, a more robust...

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

Effects of diagrams and spatial skills on undergraduate students' illusions of understanding of introductory biology and geoscience texts

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Jennifer Wiley

Institution: University of Illinois at Chicago

A majority of people experience illusions of understanding when reading explanations of scientific phenomena. That is, people generally think they understood what they read better than they actually did. This self-assessment skill (referred to as monitoring) is critical in order for students to regulate their own learning and tailor their study behaviors so that they develop deep understanding of science topics. Interestingly, a number of recent studies have demonstrated that illusions of...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Enhancing Learning of Science Categories Through Guidance of Psychological Models of Classification

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Robert M Nosofsky

Institution: Indiana University

A ubiquitous component of science education is learning the key categories of each target domain. This project, a multidisciplinary collaboration of cognitive scientists, geologists, and science education researchers at Indiana University and Washington University, will take basic research findings on human learning and attempt to develop diagnostic tools that can be matched with instructional technique to facilitate the learning of scientific classifications. Rock categorization will be used...

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

Examining the Career Trajectories of Urban Math Teachers from a Selective Alternative Certification Program

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Andrew M Brantlinger, Laurel A Cooley

Institutions: University of Maryland, College Park, CUNY Brooklyn College

The goal of the research project is to describe the features of selective alternative teacher certification programs (ATCPs) that affect selective route mathematics teachers' (SRMT) professional pathways and to make informed recommendations to decrease the current high teacher turnover. While selective ATCPs are intended to address issues of teacher staffing and quality by recruiting high achieving graduates of the nation's most competitive colleges and career changers with impressive resumes,...

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

Hispanics in the Pipeline: Foundations of Persistence from Middle School to STEM Careers

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Jacquelynne Eccles

Institution: University of California-Irvine

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California-Irvine, and the University of Michigan, will examine the underrepresentation of Hispanics in STEM fields. Hispanic youth, the largest minority and fastest growing demographic group, are the most likely to drop out of the STEM pipeline before college and are the least likely to complete college STEM training. Understanding the psychosocial non-cognitive influences on Hispanic youth's educational and occupational decisions is...

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

Improving Performance and Retention of Engineering Graduate Students through Motivation and Identity Formation

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Cheryl Cass, Adam Kirn

Institutions: North Carolina State University, Board of Regents, NSHE, obo University of Nevada, Reno

This work is supported by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Initiating a Foundational Research Model for Secondary Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (INFORMS MKT)

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Jodie D Novak, Michael C Oehrtman

Institutions: University of Northern Colorado, Oklahoma State University

The goal of the project is to understand expert secondary mathematics teachers' knowledge for teaching exponential functions. In particular, the study examines how mathematics knowledge for teaching is used by teachers as they are teaching students' and the factors that influence their interactions with students. The project is recruiting teachers in order to observe their teaching of exponential functions units in Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and College Algebra courses in high schools. They will...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Investigating Relationships Between Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching and High-Leverage Teaching Practices

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Tim Boerst

Institution: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

This proposal was submitted in response to EHR Core Research (ECR) program announcement NSF 15-509. The ECR program of fundamental research in STEM education provides funding in critical research areas that are essential, broad and enduring. EHR seeks proposals that will help synthesize, build and/or expand research foundations in the following focal areas: STEM learning, STEM learning environments, STEM workforce development, and broadening participation in STEM. The ECR program is...

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

Investigating the influence of informal understandings about biology on formal learning of biological concepts

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: John D Coley

Institution: Northeastern University

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. This project will integrate research on STEM learning in developmental cognitive science and science education to investigate how cognitive aspects of informal biology facilitate or impede...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  Broadening Participation in STEM Broadening Participation in STEM

STEM Training, Employment in Industry, and Entrepreneurship

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Jason Owen-Smith, Bruce A Weinberg

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

Ohio State University and the University of Michigan are investigating factors that affect graduate student pathways to non-academic careers. The interdisciplinary research team examines two research questions: (1) What are the pathways that graduate students take into non-academic careers? and (2) What is the role of their training environments, including faculty sponsors and networks, in guiding those pathways? To investigate these questions, the researchers will develop a data infrastructure...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

The Downside of Perseverance--Investigating and Moving Students Beyond Unproductive Persistence

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Ryan Baker, Neil T Heffernan, Philip Vahey

Institutions: Teachers College, Columbia University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, SRI International

The project researches persistence in mathematics learning in a computer-based learning environment (CBLE). The research investigates how a CBLE can provide the supportive help and promote the self-regulatory strategies necessary for students to be not just persistent, but productively persistent math learners. The project will focus on the middle school years, an important and vulnerable point in the school trajectory, as mathematical concepts become increasingly difficult and abstract in the...

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

The Impact of Social Capital and Mentoring in Earth System Science Workforce Development

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Julie C Libarkin

Institution: Michigan State University

Researchers at Michigan State University will investigate the relationship between mentoring and career development in Earth System Science (ESS) with a particular focus on diverse populations. The researchers argue that increasing diversity in ESS can be addressed through 1) an exploration of how relationship development during mentoring impacts career satisfaction and sense of belonging, 2) an analysis of how different groups respond to mentoring, and 3) a synthesis of research findings into...

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

Why We Persist: An Intersectional Study to Characterize and Examine the Experiences of Women Tenure-Track Faculty in Engineering

Effective: 2015-2020

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Ebony O McGee

Institution: Vanderbilt University

The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that will generate foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. As part of ECR, this project is funded by the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering (GSE) program. GSE seeks to understand and address gender-based differences in science,...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Can Student Characteristics be Used to Effectively Identify Students At-Risk in the Online STEM Environment?

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Claire W Wladis

Institution: CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College

The EHR Core Research Program funds proposals that will help synthesize, build and/or expand research foundations in the following areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Education: STEM learning, STEM learning environments, STEM workforce development, and broadening participation in STEM. The STEM education pipeline narrows significantly in college. Community colleges serve some of the most diverse audiences, and are increasingly using online learning as a cheaper way...

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

Investigating How English Language Learners Use Dynamic Representational Technology to Participate in Middle School Mathematical Practices

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigators: Tracy Noble, Philip Vahey

Institutions: TERC Inc, SRI International

The goal of the project is to bring together research about English-language learners with the use of dynamic representational technology for middle school quantitative reasoning. Dynamic representation technology allows learners to work with multiple representations of a problem simultaneously. These representations include, for example, graphs of an equation, a table of values and a simulation of the real-world phenomenon to understand concepts such as linear functions and rates of change...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Investigating Motivation and Transfer in Physical Science through Preparation for Future Learning Instruction

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Timothy J Nokes-Malach

Institution: University of Pittsburgh

A critical problem in science education is to understand how students transfer their prior knowledge and experience acquired in one situation to solve novel problems in another. Not only do students struggle with conceptual understanding and transfer, but they also show declines in motivation for science during the middle school years. Prior research suggests there is great potential and opportunity to address these challenges by integrating past work on cognitive and motivational approaches to...

STEM Workforce Development STEM Workforce Development  

Preparing Local Talent for Jobs in the Sub-baccalaureate STEM Economy: A Study of the Marcellus ShaleNET Program and the Energy Sector

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Robert Bozick

Institution: Rand Corporation

The research project will examine an industry-college collaborative model to align workforce development strategies to employment needs in a sector-specific economy. The research team will conduct a mixed-methods research study in the context of the Marcellus ShaleNET Program ? a unique partnership between the energy sector and a consortium of colleges in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. Through this partnership, local employers have designed sub-baccalaureate credentialing...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Removing Barriers to Success in Mathematics: An Integrative Expectancy-Value Intervention

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Christopher S Hulleman

Institution: University of Virginia Main Campus

The EHR Core Research (ECR) program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. This study extends prior theoretical and empirical work on STEM learning and STEM learning environments into community college classrooms in developmental mathematics....

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

Teaching Struggling Fifth Graders Fractions Concepts, Procedures, and Problem-Solving: A Rigorous Efficacy Trial of a Fractions Intervention.

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Russell M Gersten

Institution: RG Research Group

Learning of fractions is a significant barrier for many in further study of mathematics and thus other science, technology, and engineering disciplines. Many students identified as struggling learners of mathematics are provided with interventions that focus on simplifying the complexity and breaking up the task into small discrete pieces, which is counter to the recommendations on supporting students in learning mathematics from the mathematics education community. The rigorous, large-scale...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Tell Me About Math: A Longitudinal Training Study on the Effects of Parent-child Interactions and Parental Cognition on Children's Math Abilities

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Melissa E Libertus

Institution: University of Pittsburgh

Current research suggests a relationship between the development of approximate number system (ANS) cognition in children and later mathematics achievement on standardized tests. However, little is known about the role parent-child interactions play with respect to the ANS. This study allows the field to better understand the transmission of cognitive skills like the ANS across generations. It also allows for the exploration of the potential for training for both parents and children to impact...

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

The Effects of Education and Professional Development on Beginning STEM Teacher Persistence: a Longitudinal Study

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Richard M Ingersoll

Institution: University of Pennsylvania

The attrition of teachers from teaching is a major public policy issue. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teachers, in particular, leave the profession even when they are making progress toward becoming excellent teachers. The project will identify both causes of teacher attrition and practices that support new teachers and contribute to persistence in the profession. The project will analyze data from the newly released nationally representative large-scale, longitudinal...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

What attributes of college biology students influence conceptual change?

Effective: 2015-2019

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Steven T Kalinowski

Institution: Montana State University

Understanding conceptual change in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is critical for helping students develop deep understandings of complex ideas and models, and thus, for supporting undergraduate students' success and persistence in STEM fields. This EHR Core Research (ECR) project in the area of STEM learning will explore how multiple factors influence college biology students' conceptual change regarding evolution by natural selection. The project team will...

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

Developing Math/Science Teacher Leadership: A Consensus Approach to Evaluating Program Quality

Effective: 2015-2017

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Jody Bintz

Institution: BSCS Science Learning

This ECR synthesis project will build consensus on the key attributes of high-quality math/science teacher leadership development programs. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust...

STEM Learning and Learning Environments STEM Learning and Learning Environments  

Core Systems for Learning Mathematics

Effective: 2014-2022

Funding Type: ECR:Core

Principal Investigator: Elizabeth S Spelke

Institution: Harvard University

Although human infants readily develop some capacities for representing number and geometry, children's thinking extends far beyond these capacities when they learn school mathematics. The basic concepts and skills of arithmetic and geometry that children learn in elementary school are critical for all subsequent learning and practicing of mathematics and science, but their acquisition, in relation to younger children's preexisting numerical and geometrical concepts, is not well understood. The...

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