Postdoctoral Training Program to Develop Critical Research Skills

There is a critical need to increase the number of individuals with relevant expertise that align with emerging economic needs in areas such as high-tech manufacturing, artificial intelligence, safe renewable energies, and cyber security. In order to meet these needs, it is of the utmost importance that STEM education researchers come from diverse perspectives to help identify and answer consequential questions relating to STEM education research, including gender and sexual minorities. This postdoctoral research cohort program seeks to train early-career scholars to carry out STEM education research projects that incorporate analyses at the institutional, classroom, and cultural levels. The program is designed to prepare postdoctoral fellows for careers who are well-positioned to lead productive careers carrying out research aligned with emerging needs and is policy relevant. The cohort program is designed to foster a sense of belonging through a STEM education research community. This project is designed to recruit and train a cohort of three postdoctoral scholars to address intersectional concerns of marginalization and disciplinary activity in STEM. The project is designed to respond to the need to (1) support early-career STEM education researchers who have strong potential to address the needs of STEM learners that are under-researched and (2) help postdoctoral fellows to further develop skills required to conduct rigorous STEM education research that analyze phenomena at the institutional, cultural, and classroom-levels. Fellows will be engaged in research through two research rotations prior to choosing two permanent mentors (one in science education and one in critical studies) to support them in creating and implementing an independent research project. The project incorporates a rich series of development opportunities including mentoring, conference attendance, and a research symposium. 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. 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.