Research
and Evaluation
on Education
in Science
and Engineering
(REESE)
This document has been archived.
Dear Colleague:
On behalf of the Division of Graduate Education (DGE) in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) we call your attention to an opportunity to request support for research and evaluation projects focused on graduate education. This opportunity is embedded in the Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering (REESE) program managed by the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) in EHR. The REESE Program Solicitation (NSF 07-595) can be viewed at: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07595/nsf07595.htm
DGE seeks proposals that have the potential to strengthen research on graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As examples, we encourage proposals that can contribute to our knowledge about how to successfully broaden participation in graduate-level education programs and proposals that investigate the effectiveness of new trends and challenges in graduate STEM education. Successful proposals will demonstrate expertise in both the disciplines being studied and research methodology. In principle this can be achieved by selecting a team of co-PIs that bridge knowledge of STEM disciplines with expertise in education research or social science research methods.
We seek to build a research community that can more effectively address current issues, trends and questions in STEM graduate education, such as:
- How can we improve the retention and graduation rates of STEM graduate students?
- What is the impact of increased mentoring on the success of graduate students?
- What are the implications for student learning that emerge from STEM research fields, particularly cross-disciplinary ones?
- What changes in skills are expected for STEM professionals and how these are communicated to graduate programs?
- What are the effects on graduate education of growing international cooperation in research and education?
- What are uses of new technologies (including new cyber infrastructure developments) in both education and research?
- What factors influence the speed of diffusion of new methods of graduate education or the diffusion of new programs in emerging STEM disciplines? and
- How can we advance the understanding of the causes and effects of progress in and barriers to broadening participation in STEM graduate education?
The following NSF-supported projects are representative of the current education research portfolio in graduate STEM education:
Connie
L. McNeely, Jong-on
Hahm, David H. Kamens
(George Mason University), Institutional
Diffusion and Organizational
Impacts on STEM
Women in Higher
Education, NSF
award 0633950. This
study will investigate
the institutional
diffusion of policies
and practices aimed
at increasing the
number or women
in the various science,
technology, engineering,
and mathematics
(STEM) fields in
U.S. universities. While
the study builds
upon previous efforts
directed at individual
and career level
outcomes, this study
will examine institutional
level changes and
effects relative
to gender diversity
in graduate education
and the STEM professoriate. See:
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0633950
Bianca
Bernstein (Arizona
State University), CareerBound:
Internet-Delivered
Resilience Training
to Increase the
Persistence of Women
Ph.D. Students in
STEM Fields,
NSF award 0634519. The
study is addressing
the question of
whether deliberate
resilience training
delivered via the
Internet can strengthen
women doctoral students'
persistence in physical
sciences, engineering
and mathematics,
fields where women
display high rates
of attrition even
as their numbers
in doctoral programs
have continued to
rise. An internet-based,
multimedia-enhanced
program is being
developed and evaluated
for its effectiveness
in reducing attrition
and strengthening
career aspirations
and personal skills
of female doctoral
students in selected
fields at multiple
universities. Grounded
in the literatures
of career development,
self-efficacy, and
empirically supported
interventions and
instructional tools,
the set of personal
and psychosocial
skills are addressed
as "resilience
skills" and
the psycho-educational
strategy to strengthen
these skills as "resilience
training." See:
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0634519
Maresi
Nerad (University
of Washington), Forces
and Forms of Change
in Doctoral Education
Worldwide II: A
Research Synthesis
Workshop,
NSF award 0701317. This
synthesis workshop
is addressing a
critical issue facing
STEM graduate education – worldwide
changes in the forces
and forms of doctoral
education. The synthesis
project is part
of a multi-year
project to establish
an international
network of leaders
in doctoral education
research and innovation
to synthesize existing
research and knowledge
in five critical
dimensions of globalization
in doctoral education.
They are: (1) the
impacts of globalization
in labor markets
on doctoral education;
(2) the problem
of tensions between
national interests
and global science;
(3) the competencies
of Ph.D. holders
worldwide; (4) the
usefulness of existing
data for evaluation
of doctoral education
cross-nationally;
and (5) the problem
of evaluation and
quality assurance
as doctoral education
globalizes.
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0701317
Sandra
L. Laursen (University
of Colorado), Professional
Socialization and
Career Selection
in Ph.D. Science
Education: An Empirical
Research Study,
NSF award 0723600. This
project is examining
the professional
socialization and
career choices of
scientists through
an in-depth, qualitative
investigation of
professional socialization
in science Ph.D.
programs, employing
an embedded case
study design. This
design is structured
as a comparative,
ethnographic study
of science graduate
students, faculty,
and staff to address
the question: "What
are the elements
and processes of
professional socialization-
both manifest and
latent - by which
science graduate
students come to
understand their
profession and their
own fit within it,
and how do these
shape their career
selection and progress."
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0723600
We encourage knowledge diffusion projects (e.g., research syntheses) for durations of one to two years not to exceed $250,000, empirical projects for durations of up to three years with project budgets up to $1 million, and large empirical projects for durations of five years and project budgets up to $2 million. The synthesis projects will permit investigators to develop rigorous research designs, techniques, and methods and to forge partnerships with researchers representing appropriate disciplines and areas of expertise. Proposers should review the REESE Program Solicitation to ensure that eligibility requirements are met.
For further information: (703) 292-8650 or DRLREESE@nsf.gov
We look forward to reviewing innovative and competitive proposals.
Sincerely,
Carol
Stoel, Acting Director
Division
of Graduate Education