Teaching and Inclusion for Disability Equity in STEM: Postdoctoral Mentoring and Professional Development for Diverse Learning Environments

Existing graduate training models in STEM, STEM education, education, and related disciplines often artificially separate the study of inclusive education for disabled students from the study of highly effective teaching practices in STEM learning environments. The project aims to support the full inclusion of disabled students in STEM by recruiting and training a cohort of three postdoctoral scholars to pursue fundamental intersectional research on the science of broadening participation in STEM as it pertains to disability and ableism.

It is anticipated each postdoctoral fellow will participate in a mentoring triad that includes two established scholars: one whose work focuses primarily on questions of STEM teaching and learning and one whose work focuses primarily on questions related to the full inclusion of disabled learners. The project is designed to build on the existing strengths of the University of Maine by leveraging the resources and ongoing research projects of the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center), the College of Education and Human Development, and the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies.

The RiSE Center will facilitate access for postdoctoral fellows to the Maine STEM Partnership, a statewide preK–16+ STEM education improvement community. One project aim is to develop, implement, and evaluate a postdoctoral researcher training model focused on intersectionality and corresponding interventions in the context of disabled student experiences in STEM.

The fundamental innovation of the proposed postdoctoral training model is to prepare doctoral qualified researchers, including disabled researchers, to think about disability intersectionally and to design systematic interventions based on the science of broadening participation to support the full inclusion of multiply-minoritized disabled learners in STEM. The individual participation of each fellow in a mentoring triad is intended to provide a foundation for their participation in two research projects: 1) a new independent research project and 2) an existing team science project focused on the science of broadening participation for disabled and other minoritized learners.

Equally important, the postdoctoral program is designed for fellows to participate in cohort-based professional development activities including workshops, short-duration training courses, and journal clubs. The purpose of these activities is to expose postdoctoral fellows to cutting-edge scholarship on intersectional approaches to the science of broadening participation and the full inclusion of disabled learners in STEM.

The proposed project is developed to prepare the next generation of STEM leaders to work at the leading edge of theory, methods, and empirical insights to advance the science of broadening participation for disabled and multiply-minoritized STEM students.

This project is funded by the Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program (STEM Ed PRF) with co-funding from Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) and EDU Core Research: Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER). The STEM Ed PRF Program 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.

The DRK-12 program seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of STEM by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.

ECR: BCSER is designed to build the capacity of individuals to carry out high-quality, fundamental STEM education research in STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development.

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.