The Influence and Outcomes of a STEM Education Research Faculty Community of Practice

Abstract

To address the need to increase STEM faculty member expertise in STEM education research I developed a faculty community of practice (FCP) focused on increasing knowledge and experience in STEM education research. The STEM Education Research Scholars Group (SERSG) met every other week during the academic year to study and engage in education research. The participants applied to be part of the group (eight scholars per cohort)which was facilitated by an expert educational researcher, and committed to engage in both individual and group STEM education research projects. At the end of the fourth year, I conducted an exploratory study of the program outcomes and influences by surveying the 31 program alumni. From the 21 former scholars that participated in my study, I found that SERSG involvement had substantial impact on the participants’ collaborations and perceptions of STEM education research. In my report I detail my findings, discuss the results, explore some implications, and offer some possible directions for future research.