Initial Publication Date: March 16, 2015
Portfolio
SERC has an extensive portfolio of projects that have been created, developed, and implemented in collaboration with many partners. Learn more about many of our current and past projects using the browse below.
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Browse a selection of past and current collaborations.
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Project Focus
- Career Support for Educators 8 matches Focus on supporting educators in their careers. This includes pre-service and in-service professional development for k-12 teachers, support for college educators aimed at different career stages and elements like leadership development.
- Changing Education Systems 16 matches Focus on how to make positive change in education systems. This includes departmental change, institutional change, as well as other systemic change across institutions and disciplines.
- Connecting STEM Research to Education 12 matches Focuses on bringing current STEM research practice and knowledge into education. This includes research experiences for student such as field work, CURE's and summer research experiences (like REU's). It also includes strategies and resources for bringing current research literature, practices and knowledge into the classroom and informal science communication.
- Disciplinary Skills and Habits of Mind 28 matches Focuses on developing students' ability to think and act with disciplinary expertise. This encompasses concepts like systems thinking, quantitative reasoning, field-based learning, spatial and temporal thinking, data visualization and manipulation.
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice 14 matches Focuses on one or more dimensions of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice (DEIJ). This encompasses a wide range of topics including anti-racism, accessibility, ethics, and broadening access to education.
- Engaging Students with Communities 4 matches Focus on connecting students and education processes with broader communities and civic issues.
- Interdisciplinary Grand Challenges 7 matches Focus on grand challenge problems that require multiple disciplinary strategies. This includes issues like climate change and the interconnected issues of food, energy and water. The solutions integrate STEM-informed approaches as well as wisdom from the social sciences, arts, humanities and other ways of knowing.
- Network and Community Building 9 matches Focus on supporting the development and nurturing of networks of individuals. This includes community visioning efforts, supporting communities of practices, and understanding and supporting the growth of networks.
- Pedagogy and Teaching Approaches 26 matches Focuses on one or more dimensions of how educational experiences are structured. This encompass topics such as curriculum design, informal education strategies, universal design for learning, and specific classroom approaches. It includes both educational research and applied practice. (Includes simple materials development.)
- Supporting Student Success 8 matches Focus on how to support students across their full education career. This includes fundamental educational access issues, attending to the whole student, academic and professional skill development, and facilitating the transition from education to career and citizenship.
SERC Role
- Community Building/Organization 17 matches A focus on activities that create a sense of community amongst project participants. This can include groups such as communities of practice, professional organizations, and research coordination networks.
- Content Expertise 20 matches A focus on SERC staff writing disciplinary content for a project. Many SERC staff members have advanced degrees and all can contribute a wide range of content knowledge to projects.
- Education Research 8 matches A focus on facilitating or conducting research on what works in the STEM classroom across a variety of levels and contexts. Project foci include student assessment, spatial reasoning, teaching and learning practices, influence of professional development, influence of open education internet resources, influence of Communities of Practice, and levers of change in higher education.
- Evaluation 28 matches SERC has deep experience in utilization-focused, evidence-based program evaluation. This can a wide variety of methodologies, evaluation planning, and capacity building for project teams.
- Event Development/Facilitation 36 matches A focus on planning, organizing, and supporting in-person or virtual events as part of a project's activities. This can include logistical support, program development, session facilitation, and all other aspects of running successful events.
- Materials Development/Review 27 matches A focus on supporting the creation of new pedagogic materials addressing some specific content area, pedagogic need, or educator audience. This can include aspects such as the technical infrastructure to support authoring, management of author teams, and facilitating expert review prior to publishing.
- Organizational Backbone 12 matches A focus on providing administrative services for partner organizations. This can include aspects such as membership management, accounts payable/receivable, and intra-organization communications.
- Product Dissemination 39 matches A focus on helping publicize and raise awareness of the outcomes, products, and findings of project work. This can include activities such as presentations at professional meetings, writing manuscripts, running webinars, and writing press releases.
- Professional Development 15 matches A focus on putting together opportunities for project participants to learn new skills or content related to the goals of the project. This can include activities such as synchronous or asynchronous events, self-paced materials, and creating an enduring record of activities for use after the end of project funding.
- Project Lead (PI/Co-PI) 18 matches SERC has a primary leadership function on this project. One or more SERC staff members direct the work of the project.
- Project Management/Implementation 16 matches A focus on ensuring that project work moves forward in a timely fashion. This can include activities such as scheduling regular meetings, providing deadlines and reminders for project personnel, and maintaining records of discussions and project decisions in a centralized space.
- Strategic Planning and Thought Partnership 14 matches A focus on SERC staff assisting project leadership with designing activities to meet the goals they set for the project. This can involve activities such as grant writing and visioning, participation in project leadership, providing exemplars from past projects, and contributing lessons learned from SERC's collective experience.
- Website Hosting and Development 73 matches A focus on providing the technical infrastructure and support for a project's website. This can include activities such as creating new SERCkit tools, development of website architecture, and design of the website's look and feel.
Grade Level
Subject
- Biology 10 matches
- Business 1 match
- Chemistry 4 matches
- Computer Science 1 match
- Economics 2 matches
- Education 6 matches
- Engineering 1 match
- Environmental Science 20 matches
- Fine Arts 1 match
- Geography 5 matches
- Geoscience 40 matches
- Mathematics 1 match
- Physics 3 matches
- Political Science 1 match
- Social Science 2 matches
- Sociology 1 match
Results 1 - 10 of 87 matches
Improving Undergraduate Scientific Explanations: Exploring the Role of Data Literacy
The Improving Undergraduate Scientific Explanations: Exploring the Role of Data Literacy Skills in Scientific Reasoning project at Rider University is supported by an NSF IUSE grant (#2021347) awarded to Kathleen Browne in 2020. The PIs investigate whether students who participate in courses that use data sets from the NSF-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) and provide instruction in the use of "DCER" (i.e., Data Description-Claim-Evidence-Reasoning) are able to provide better explanations of scientific observations than those in a comparison group and perform better on assessments of scientific reasoning and data literacy.The SERC evaluation team consulted on the statistical analysis and conducted a process evaluation using artifact review and interviews.
The Improving Undergraduate Scientific Explanations: Exploring the Role of Data Literacy Skills in Scientific Reasoning project at Rider University is supported by an NSF IUSE grant (#2021347) awarded to Kathleen Browne in 2020. The PIs investigate whether students who participate in courses that use data sets from the NSF-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) and provide instruction in the use of "DCER" (i.e., Data Description-Claim-Evidence-Reasoning) are able to provide better explanations of scientific observations than those in a comparison group and perform better on assessments of scientific reasoning and data literacy.The SERC evaluation team consulted on the statistical analysis and conducted a process evaluation using artifact review and interviews.
SERC Role: Education Research, Evaluation
AK UNiTE
By providing researchers and professionals with learning opportunities related to mentorship, AK UNiTE aims to expand the ability of Alaskan students, particularly historically marginalized groups, to participate in biological research in Alaska. Connecting students from diverse backgrounds to place-based research with culturally responsive mentors is one method to increase retention in the biological sciences. SERC provides web hosting for the project and also helps design and facilitate some of the professional development that project participants receive.
By providing researchers and professionals with learning opportunities related to mentorship, AK UNiTE aims to expand the ability of Alaskan students, particularly historically marginalized groups, to participate in biological research in Alaska. Connecting students from diverse backgrounds to place-based research with culturally responsive mentors is one method to increase retention in the biological sciences. SERC provides web hosting for the project and also helps design and facilitate some of the professional development that project participants receive.
Project Focus: Network and Community Building , Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice
SERC Role: Website Hosting and Development, Event Development/Facilitation
SERC Role: Website Hosting and Development, Event Development/Facilitation
GEODE
Google Earth for Onsite and Distance Education (GEODE) focuses on enhancements to virtual globes such as Google Earth that allow for plate tectonic reconstructions, embedded virtual specimens and outcrops, interactive imagery, "grand tours" of the Earth (and other planets and moons), and learning modules using large geoscience datasets. SERC supported the project in transitioning this website from its original location to a permanent home with SERC.
Google Earth for Onsite and Distance Education (GEODE) focuses on enhancements to virtual globes such as Google Earth that allow for plate tectonic reconstructions, embedded virtual specimens and outcrops, interactive imagery, "grand tours" of the Earth (and other planets and moons), and learning modules using large geoscience datasets. SERC supported the project in transitioning this website from its original location to a permanent home with SERC.
Project Focus: Disciplinary Skills and Habits of Mind:Visualization
SERC Role: Website Hosting and Development, Product Dissemination
SERC Role: Website Hosting and Development, Product Dissemination
ACM Pedagogic Resources
The Faculty Career Enhancement Program (FaCE) awards funding to ACM faculty that enable them to engage in collaborative projects that explore ways to strengthen liberal arts education in a variety of ways. Project collaborators are then able to desseminate and share their results widely with colleagues across the ACM and beyond. (adpated from https://acm.edu/faculty/research-innovation/face-faculty-career-enhancement-program/)The SERC evalutaion team is conducting a retrospective evaluation using a mixed-methods approach involving participant interviews, surveys, and artifact analysis to understand the FaCE program's influence and impact.
The Faculty Career Enhancement Program (FaCE) awards funding to ACM faculty that enable them to engage in collaborative projects that explore ways to strengthen liberal arts education in a variety of ways. Project collaborators are then able to desseminate and share their results widely with colleagues across the ACM and beyond. (adpated from https://acm.edu/faculty/research-innovation/face-faculty-career-enhancement-program/)The SERC evalutaion team is conducting a retrospective evaluation using a mixed-methods approach involving participant interviews, surveys, and artifact analysis to understand the FaCE program's influence and impact.
SERC Role: Website Hosting and Development, Evaluation
ARIS: Advancing Research Impact in Society
The Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) was launched in September 2018 with funding from the National Science Foundation to "advance the rigor, relevance, and practice of broader impacts (BI)." ARIS works to elevate research impact by providing high-quality resources and professional development opportunities and by creating connections among researchers, community partners, and engagement practitioners. The external evaluation team at SERC provides an independent, formative assessment of whether Center activities are being implemented as proposed (implementation evaluation) and desired outcomes are being achieved (outcome evaluation). Consistent with a Development Evaluation (DE) approach, the goal of this work is to provide project leaders with the information they need to continuously adapt and improve ARIS materials and programming throughout the grant period.
The Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) was launched in September 2018 with funding from the National Science Foundation to "advance the rigor, relevance, and practice of broader impacts (BI)." ARIS works to elevate research impact by providing high-quality resources and professional development opportunities and by creating connections among researchers, community partners, and engagement practitioners. The external evaluation team at SERC provides an independent, formative assessment of whether Center activities are being implemented as proposed (implementation evaluation) and desired outcomes are being achieved (outcome evaluation). Consistent with a Development Evaluation (DE) approach, the goal of this work is to provide project leaders with the information they need to continuously adapt and improve ARIS materials and programming throughout the grant period.
SERC Role: Evaluation
Nanotechnology in STEM
Through the NNCI, the Nanotechnology in STEM website is hosted on SERC in order to help alleviate the lack of nanotechnology resources in both smaller academic institutions, as well as in the small to medium size commercial sector. SERC has supported this project by providing workshop development and implementation expertise and assessing the ways in which the website meets stakeholders' needs and expectations, the extent to which the project outcomes are being realized.
Through the NNCI, the Nanotechnology in STEM website is hosted on SERC in order to help alleviate the lack of nanotechnology resources in both smaller academic institutions, as well as in the small to medium size commercial sector. SERC has supported this project by providing workshop development and implementation expertise and assessing the ways in which the website meets stakeholders' needs and expectations, the extent to which the project outcomes are being realized.
SERC Role: Event Development/Facilitation, Website Hosting and Development, Product Dissemination, Evaluation, Community Building/Organization
Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub
SERC serves as the external evaluator for the MACH project. The "wicked problem" that climate change poses to coastal communities requires many great minds working alongside local residents, officials, and professionals to better understand the options available to decrease their risk. To assist with these types of complex decisions, Rutgers University and 12 other institutions created the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub, or MACH (pronounced 'mock'). MACH is a part of a network of research hubs, located around the country, funded through the National Science Foundation's Coastlines and People (CoPe) program. MACH's mission is to support decision making to manage climate-change-related risks through research focused at the intersection of natural and human systems. These collaborations are rooted in core principles regarding equitable community participation in and co-production of climate solutions. (Adapted from coastalhub.org)
SERC serves as the external evaluator for the MACH project. The "wicked problem" that climate change poses to coastal communities requires many great minds working alongside local residents, officials, and professionals to better understand the options available to decrease their risk. To assist with these types of complex decisions, Rutgers University and 12 other institutions created the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub, or MACH (pronounced 'mock'). MACH is a part of a network of research hubs, located around the country, funded through the National Science Foundation's Coastlines and People (CoPe) program. MACH's mission is to support decision making to manage climate-change-related risks through research focused at the intersection of natural and human systems. These collaborations are rooted in core principles regarding equitable community participation in and co-production of climate solutions. (Adapted from coastalhub.org)
SERC Role: Community Building/Organization, Materials Development/Review, Strategic Planning and Thought Partnership, Evaluation
Polar STEAM
Polar STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math, integrates and enhances two long-standing National Science Foundation (NSF) programs: the Polar Educators program and the Antarctic Artists and Writers program and facilitates virtual and deployment collaborations with scientists conducting research in the polar regions. The external evaluation of project activities are led by the SERC Evaluation Team, using a mixed-methods approach to conduct a developmental evaluation that provides rapid feedback to support data-driven innovation (Patton et al., 2016), and an outcomes evaluation to monitor progress towards the stated project outcomes.
Polar STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math, integrates and enhances two long-standing National Science Foundation (NSF) programs: the Polar Educators program and the Antarctic Artists and Writers program and facilitates virtual and deployment collaborations with scientists conducting research in the polar regions. The external evaluation of project activities are led by the SERC Evaluation Team, using a mixed-methods approach to conduct a developmental evaluation that provides rapid feedback to support data-driven innovation (Patton et al., 2016), and an outcomes evaluation to monitor progress towards the stated project outcomes.
Project Focus: Engaging Students with Communities, Connecting STEM Research to Education
SERC Role: Evaluation
SERC Role: Evaluation
Spatial Thinking Workbook
The Spatial Thinking Workbook project is focused on improving spatial skills in upper-division undergraduate geoscience courses. SERC was involved in the leadership of this project and the development of its teaching activities and spatial learning assessments.
The Spatial Thinking Workbook project is focused on improving spatial skills in upper-division undergraduate geoscience courses. SERC was involved in the leadership of this project and the development of its teaching activities and spatial learning assessments.
Project Focus: Disciplinary Skills and Habits of Mind:Spatial and Temporal Thinking
SERC Role: Education Research, Content Expertise:Pedagogy, Geoscience, Product Dissemination, Website Hosting and Development, Evaluation, Project Lead (PI/Co-PI), Project Management/Implementation, Community Building/Organization
SERC Role: Education Research, Content Expertise:Pedagogy, Geoscience, Product Dissemination, Website Hosting and Development, Evaluation, Project Lead (PI/Co-PI), Project Management/Implementation, Community Building/Organization
Community Contribution Tool
Through this project SERC developed the Community Contribution Tool functionality within Serckit and reified it through a 2024 EER workshop session where materials for the GETSI and InTeGrate projects were augmented.
Through this project SERC developed the Community Contribution Tool functionality within Serckit and reified it through a 2024 EER workshop session where materials for the GETSI and InTeGrate projects were augmented.
Project Focus: Pedagogy and Teaching Approaches
SERC Role: Website Hosting and Development:Online Tool Development
SERC Role: Website Hosting and Development:Online Tool Development