Publications, Presentations, & Patents
Publication: VOCES faculty member, Laird Kramer, led a study published in Science on improving calculus instruction.
Kramer, L. Fuller, E. Watson, C., Castillo, A., Duran Oliva, P., Potvin, G. (August 2023). Establishing a new standard of care for calculus using trials with randomized student allocation. Science.
Podcast: Listen to the September 1, 2023 Science Podcast episode discussing the work.
Presentation: Two VOCES faculty members presenting the project’s aims, goals, and vital components to a meeting in San Antonio, TX.
Darici, Y., Kramer, L., Castillo, A., Benabentos, R., Secules, S., Miksovska, J., Wells, L., Cardella, M., Bhimani, J., & Caglar, U. (May 2023). Project VOCES: Establishing student voice to drive STEM education transformation. Presented at the 2023 National Science Foundation Hispanic Serving Institutions PI Meeting, San Antonio, TX.
Institutional Change
Focusing on the process of establishing VOCES as a novel approach to emergent institutional change, we base our methodology on students as partners and collective action. There is significant consensus in the institutional change literature that true and sustainable change requires adaptability from project-leaders and buy-in from multiple different stakeholder groups to pursue a shared vision.
This project positions students, one stakeholder group that is often neglected, at the forefront and coordinates connections to other stakeholder groups to help facilitate feedback and coordinate collective action. Using a design-based research methodology to document, assess, and disseminate this novel process of student-led institutional change, the approach emphasizes iterative empirical engagement to refine initial theoretical assumptions and incorporate contextual realities.
Student Agency
With students taking a prominent role of stakeholders, research will begin on student Voceros’ sense of agency regarding their own education and experience in STEM. Agency has been noted as an important element of student support in marginalization and a factor which can promote student persistence. The literature on STEM student agency has primarily documented its importance, not investigated programmatic interventions that could increase agency.
Understanding that student empowerment is likely to be a source of student agency, we will conduct a parallel mixed methods assessment of student sense of agency and their perspective on their STEM pathway at three selected points of experience: prior to becoming Voceros, after 1 year of being a Voceros, and after 2 years of being a Voceros (or at the conclusion of their time working for the project, whichever comes first). Surveys will combine measures of agency, including an adaptation of sense of agency constructs and student success outcomes; to capture impact of the program across all Voceros in a systematic way.
Stakeholder Impact
Prioritizing stakeholder perspectives, we seek to understand the nature of and impact on stakeholder views and actions. The focal stakeholders for this research question are STEM faculty members, although the research will also examine impact on non-Voceros students, staff, and administrators. STEM faculty often have limited understanding of current student experiences, designing curriculums and educational systems without adequate recognition of these perspectives.
Realizing this, we will conduct a sequential mixed methods study on faculty views of students to examine this mindset and whether experience with and feedback from Voceros has a significant impact on their viewpoints and actions. As this particular topic is not well established in the literature, in year 1 we will first conduct an exploratory qualitative cognitive interview study to examine faculty views of students and to establish the primary dimensions that distinguish between different faculty views. We will then use that study to extrapolate larger themes that develop into a survey. In year 2 we will disseminate the survey to a population of faculty who have had contact with Voceros students and to those who have not had contact with Voceros students, using demographic and other variables to create matched pairs for comparison. We will conduct follow up surveys in years 3, 4, and 5 to examine shifts in faculty views of students over time. In parallel, we will combine qualitative interview and assessment of selected faculty classrooms to examine the realities of those shifts in detail.
Sponsors
National Science Foundation
Promoting developments in science, engineering, and education, the National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to expand the capabilities of the United States by investing in new innovations. Committed towards public service and scientific leadership, the NSF is determined to make an impact on rising STEM talent, empowering them to participate towards discovery and understanding in the US. Acknowledging FIU’s progressive ideas towards educative reforms, they awarded FIU with a $3 million grant, providing the Florida International University with an opportunity to transform STEM education and perceptions. Using this, our driven team will make new progress in the educative culture, providing a voice for students.