NSF Award
2329405
This organizational STEM education postdoctoral fellowship project will focus on preparing graduates with doctoral degrees in a STEM field (e.g., mathematics or biology), with recruitment focused specifically on members of underrepresented groups, to conduct rigorous discipline-based education research (DBER) in their respective fields. DBER scholars from disciplinary fields can have high impacts on the quality of undergraduate STEM instruction, and currently there are few professional development models focusing on how to train disciplinary scholars as effective DBER researchers. The project team will implement a two-year professional development program for a cohort of four postdoctoral fellows. In the first year, the fellows will collaborate with faculty on an interdisciplinary STEM education research project while engaging in professional development activities to support development of their independence and skills as DBER researchers, as well as strengthen their relationship with this community of practice. In year two, the fellows will conduct an independent research project related to undergraduate STEM faculty teaching professional development. With strong domain knowledge in a STEM field and training in education research methods, the fellows will be well-positioned for future careers in STEM departments to conduct research that will support effective instruction in their departments. As researchers from groups typically underrepresented in STEM fields, their entry into the community of discipline-based STEM Education research will position them as leaders guiding efforts to improve retention of undergraduate STEM majors from similar backgrounds. <br/><br/>Advancing knowledge of evidence-based instructional practices relies on research that combines the domain expertise of scientists/engineers with mastery of learning theories and educational research methods called Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER). This postdoctoral fellowship project will prepare graduates with doctoral degrees in STEM fields to conduct DBER research through a two-year training program. This project is led by faculty in Middle Tennessee State University’s Interdisciplinary Mathematics & Sciences Education Research doctoral program and the Tennessee STEM Education Center with extensive experience in developing STEM disciplinary scholars into effective education researchers. The culturally-responsive mentorship of the fellows will be guided by self-determination theory, which suggests individuals are motivated to grow, change, and develop a cohesive sense of self by the three innate and universal psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Mentoring will not only provide the fellows opportunities to develop autonomy and competence as researchers, but also strengthen their relatedness to the wider DBER community of practice. The project aims to increase the inclusion of postdoctoral scholar-leaders with marginalized identities in the DBER faculty community, enhance the STEM education research infrastructure both within and across the university, and disseminate postdoctoral development models to enhance the transition of disciplinary PhDs into the DBER fields. <br/><br/>This project is funded by the STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) program that aims to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctorates in STEM, STEM education, education, and related disciplines to advance their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research that advances knowledge within the field.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
