Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

This policy brief, developed by Lara Perez-Felkner through the SERN Midcareer Fellows Program, explains how STEM fields can broaden participation by providing curricular on-ramps and attending to students' financial constraints.

This policy brief, developed by Rebecca Covarrubias through the SERN Midcareer Fellows Program, explains how postsecondary institutions can offer research opportunities and mentorship that support more racially and economically minoritized students to enter research careers.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a project led by Jamaal Matthews and DeLeon Gray, funded through the SERN K-12 Teachers and Classrooms Research Portfolio. The researchers describe the development and validation of their Belonging-Centered Instruction Observation Protocol, which evaluates the multiple ways mathematics teachers can provide opportunities for active inclusion, learning equity, and empowerment through their instruction and in the social climate they create in their classrooms. They discuss the connections between the protocol and student engagement, mathematical agency, and achievement, as well as how teachers enact the various dimensions of the protocol within lessons.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a project led by Yasmiyn Irizarry and Tia Madkins, funded through the SERN K-12 Teachers and Classrooms Research Portfolio. Using both qualitative and quantitative analyses, and by developing and piloting the first large-scale teacher survey to examine secondary mathematics teachers’ beliefs and practices with explicit attention to race, the researchers describe students' experiences within racialized mathematics learning environments and how teachers foster inclusive classroom environments.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a project led by Neil Lewis, Jr. and Rene Kizilcec, funded through the SERN K-12 Teachers and Classrooms Research Portfolio. The study investigates the psychological experience of more than 106,000 high school students from across the United States who were enrolled in Code.org's Advanced Placement Computer Science course during the 2017-2018 school year. The researchers examine relationships between student demographics, mindsets, and course outcomes.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a project led by Eric Grodsky and Patti Schaefer, funded through the SERN K-12 Teachers and Classrooms Research Portfolio. Drawing on a sample of 1,887 students and 60 teachers from five middle schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District, the study examines: (1) How is student sense of belonging distributed within and between middle school mathematics classes? (2) How is teacher mindset related to student sense of belonging, academic identity, and student success in middle school in general and mathematics classes in particular? and (3) How, if at all, does the relationship between belonging and achievement vary by student race and ethnicity?

This one-pager draws on research from the Inclusive Mathematics Environments Early Career Fellowship to illustrate how the learning environment can shape student experience in the context of mathematics. It is designed to serve as a starting point for learning about the research that was completed through the fellowship.

This slide deck summarizes findings from the Inclusive Mathematics Environments Early Career Fellowship about creating inclusive environments for students from minoritized and marginalized groups in mathematics, with a focus on the middle childhood through mid-adolescence developmental stage. Research completed by the fellows suggests five interrelated guiding principles for creating more inclusive mathematics environments: mathematics educators need critical consciousness; mathematics curriculum should reflect a more expansive view of mathematics, including the history of mathematical concepts, the uses of mathematics in different cultures, and the application of mathematics for understanding current events; mathematics curriculum and instruction should be adaptable so that it is relevant to the specific students in the class; mathematics curriculum and instruction should feature meaningful opportunities to engage in collaborative work; and assessment practices and policies should prioritize deep mathematical thinking, exploration, and collaboration. The deck outlines and contextualizes the research underlying these principles and suggests directions for future research.