Research Programs
The STEM TRAIL Center supports UNO faculty creating innovations in formal and informal STEM education.
The STEM TRAIL Center and affiliated faculty conduct basic and applied research across many areas of STEM education. The Center also supports faculty research by providing infrastructure for teams focused on intellectual merit in STEM education research and/or broad impacts in STEM disciplinary research.
STEM TRAIL Center Research Areas | ||
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Teaching Practices | We study the practices and methods used by STEM instructors, faculty-percieved barriers to the use of evidence-based practices, and diffusion of practices through teaching social networks. We have developed the Inventory of Methods and Practices Associated with Compotent Teaching (IMPACT), we are developing the Observered Barriers to Successful Teaching Questionaire for Lecturers (QBSTQL), and we map instructor networks, positioning, and idea-diffusion using novel Social Network Analysis (SNA) techniques. | |
Phenomena-Based Instruction | We study pedagogy development and efficacy centered on anchoring phenomena and related STEM storylines for improving student practice and reasoning abilities. This includes active projects on "humanizing physics" through biomechanics phenomena, development of quantum mental models, and studies of phenomena-generated engagement and any corresponding gender discrepancies. Previous work on phenomena, assessing practice abilities, and "metacognitive tasks" have been incorporated in high school curricula adopted in over 300 school districts nationally. | |
Technology-Enhanced Learning | We study technology-enhanced teaching and learning in STEM, with active projects on AI-enhanced student discussions in online discussion boards, and AR/VR visualizations for improvements in mental-model construction. Previous work on Multimedia Learning Modules (MLMs) has been incorporated in high school curricula adopted in over 300 school districts nationally. | |
STEM Pipeline Development | We study how STEM pipelines work and how to make them more efficient and less leaky. Currently, we are working on how to effectively use technology to link community members and education researchers with the broad array of programs across the state of Nebraska. This project includes developing methods to "map" existing programming to identify geographic holes in services, "map" progressions in programming for needs assessment, and "map" participant pathways to identify barriers and pipeline "leaks". | |
STEM Mentoring & Service | We study student service and research as a pedagogical tool. Active projects include student response to particpation in Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), critical-thinking development resulting from participation in structured STEM mentor/mentee programming, and service through informal outreach programming and its effect on retention. |
Currently Funded Projects
Below is a list of currently-funded projects run through or supported by the STEM TRAIL Center. The Center currently supports $6.6M in grant funding for research. Most of this funding provides direct positive impacts on UNO students and/or Nebraska residents.
Currently Funded Projects | ||
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$2,000,000 | ONE STEM: Preparing Nebraska's Future STEM Workforce | US Department of Education |
$1,200,000 | NebraskaSCIENCE: A School-University Partnership to Develop Exemplary Science Teachers in Nebraska | National Science Foundation |
$999,984 | EMPLOYEE: Empowering undergraduates via Mentorship, Professional development, Leadership, and Opportunities for Youth EngagEment | National Science Foundation |
$634,192 | Quantum Business, Arts, and Science for Society (Q-BASS) | UNL ORED Catalyst |
$487,909 | Work-Learn: Examining the use of micro-internships to leverage scalable learning for STEM workforce development among people experiencing homelessness | National Science Foundation |
$359,998 | The Inquiry-Based Learning Regional Communities Project | National Science Foundation |
$299,985 | Undergraduate Service Learning Experiences with Data: Mathematics in the Community | National Science Foundation |
$298,276 | Prevalence of and Barriers to the Adoption of High-Impact Teaching Practices in General Education Science, Mathematics, and Social-Science Course | National Science Foundation |
$149,943 | 2021 GenCyber Student Program | National Security Agency |
$99,905 | Increasing High Impact Teaching Practices in General Education Chemistry and Physics Courses | Fred J. Kelly Fund for Research on Teaching |
$51,165 | Multi-generational engagement via NE STEM 4U program enrichment | Collective for Youth |
$14,500 | University of Nebraska Standards-based, Technology-Rich Inquiry in Virtual Education (NU STRIVE) for P12 Science and Health Education | Nebraska Public Power District |
$10,155 | Building Staff Confidence for STEM | Collective for Youth |
$10,000 | Impact of Digital Learning Interactions in STEM Education | Unizin |
Recent Publications
“How expert and inexpert instructors talk about teaching,” T. Reding and J.C. Moore, Education Sciences, Education Sciences, 13(6), 591 (2023).
“Reliability and validity of an introductory physics problem-solving grading rubric,” K. Rodenhausen, J.C. Moore, Proceedings of the Physics Education Research Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, 389-394 (2022).
“Barriers to change: social network interactions not sufficient for diffusion of high-impact practices in STEM teaching,” T.L. Reding, J.C. Moore, J. Pelton, S. Edwards, Education Sciences, 8(12), 512 (2022).
“Assessing a higher education interdisciplinary leadership group using social network analysis,” T. Reding, E. Ostler, C. Cutucache, J.C. Moore, N. Grandgenett, in Gamification and Social Networks in Education, London, UK: MacroWorld Publishing (2022).
“The effect of mentoring on undergraduate mentors: A systematic review of the literature,” AS Leavitt, KL Nelson, CE Cutucache, In Frontiers in Education, vol. 6, p. 537. Frontiers, 2022.
“Replicating or franchising a STEM afterschool program model: core elements of programmatic integrity,” Stevenson N, Sommers AS, Grandgenett N, Tapprich W, McQuillan J, Phillips M, Jensen R, Cutucache C. International Journal of STEM Education. 2022 Dec;9(1):1-7.
"A multiple case study to understand how students experience science and engineering practices." Schaben, Chris, Justin Andersson, and Christine Cutucache. In Frontiers in Education, vol. 7, p. 932. Frontiers, 2022.
"Insight of supporting the learning of a challenging content for special education preservice teachers with learning analytics." Sointu, Erkko, Laura Hirsto, Sannsa Väisänen, Christine Cutucache, and Teemu Valtonen. In EdMedia+ Innovate Learning, pp. 861-869. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), 2022.
"Lived Experiences of Former STEM Undergraduate Mentors of an Afterschool Mentoring Program: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis." Oquendo, Pamela Martínez, Kristin N. VanWyngaarden, and Christine E. Cutucache, Qualitative Report 27, no. 10 (2022).
"Why COMMIT? Stories from Regional Math Faculty Leaders Engaged in Communities of Practice Centered Around Inquiry." Jakopovic, Paula, and Kelly Gomez Johnson. In 2022 Virtual Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM 2022). AMS, 2022.
"Assessing a higher education interdisciplinary leadership group using social network analysis," Evans Reding, T., Cutucache, C., Ostler, E., Moore, C. (2021). In U. Bakan & S. Berkeley (ed.), Gamification and Social Networks in Education. https://doi.org/ 10.15340/978-625-00-0106-6_11
“There is more than multiple choice: crowd-sourced assessment tips for online, hybrid, and face-to-face environments." Drew, J.C., Grandgenett, N., Dinsdale, E., Vázquez Quiñones, L.E., Galindo, S., Morgan, W.R., Pauley, M., Rosenwald, A., Triplett, E.W., Tapprich, W., Kleinschmit, A.J. (2021). J Microbiol Biol Educ 2:e00205-21. https:// doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00205-21.
"The COMmunities for Mathematics Inquiry In Teaching (COMMIT) Network." Gantner, Ryan and Gomez Johnson, Kelly and Jakopovic, Paula and Ksir, Amy E and Rault, Patrick X. (2020). Focus. 40 (6) 25-27.
"Investigating Individual and Collective Value within a Network of Communities of Practice." Jakopovic, P., Gomez Johnson, K., & White, N. (2021). Conference Proceedings for the 24th Annual Conference of the Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (SIGMAA on RUME).
"Assessing a Higher Education Interdisciplinary Leadership Group Using Social Network Analysis." Reding, T.E., Cutucache, C., Moore, C. (2021). In: Bakan U. & Berkeley S. (eds) Gamification and Social Networks in Education (pp. 229-253). MacroWorld Pub.
"CURE Disrupted! Takeaways from a CURE without a wet-lab experience." Sommers AS, Miller A, Gift A, Richter-Egger D, Darr J, Cutucache CE. 2021. Journal of Chemical Education.
"A Composite Textual Phenomenological Approach to CUREs versus Traditional Laboratory Experiences." Sommers AS, Richter-Egger D, Cutucache CE. 2021. The Qualitative Report. 26(2), 507-524.