The AAAS-IUSE Disruptor blog is dedicated to exploring strategies that empower faculty, administrators, and other stakeholders to create systemic change that improves diversity, equity, and inclusion at institutions of higher education and supports students from underrepresented and underserved communities to participate and succeed in STEM. Posts reviewing research or case studies focusing on strategies that improve equity within STEM education are of interest.
Blog Theme & Topics
2023 Blog Theme: Promoting research on inclusive STEM ecosystems for faculty, students, and the greater undergraduate community.
The blog theme above will be addressed through the following subtopics. Submissions should align with at least one subtopic:
Topics
STEM Identity, Intersectionality, and Belonging
- Editor: Sibrina Collins, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Marburger STEM Center, Lawrence Technological University
- How can we make STEM an inclusive space for all? For this topic, we are interested in research and practices that increase retention and/or reduce barriers to participation and success in STEM.
Technology as a Gateway
- Editor: Stephanie E. August, Ph.D., Independent Consultant, Engineering Education
- This topic focuses on innovative technologies and virtual engagement/learning platforms that increase success and facilitate inclusion, ways to sustainably implement new technologies in STEM courses, and methods for eliminating barriers to technology.
Cross-Departmental Coordination and Multi-Discipline Convergence
- Editor: Zakiya Wilson-Kennedy, Ph.D., Ron & Dr. Mary Neal Distinguished Associate Professor of Chemistry Education, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, College of Science, Louisiana State University
- How can faculty work together across departments and disciplines to increase student success? How can faculty work together to reduce the barriers of gatekeeping courses?
Furthering Student Engagement in STEM
- Editor: Bryan Kent Wallace, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Physics, Director of Physics Laboratories & Coordinator of Rocketry, Dept. of Life and Physical Sciences, Fisk University
- How can we leverage experiences beyond the classroom to increase learning, participation, diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields? This topic focuses on professional development opportunities, internships, research opportunities, field work, bootcamps, tutoring services, mentor programs, and other creative ways to engage students.
Authors should focus on the implications of their work and how readers in the academic community can benefit from and/or take meaningful action based on the content of your blog post.
Format
Word Count: If your submission is selected, the maximum word count of your finalized blog post is 1600. The minimum word count is 1000.
Selected authors are encouraged to develop resources that further illustrate the information in their blog post such as graphs, charts, infographics, embedded videos, references, and links to additional resources for further reading and analysis. Authors may wish to create a short video for their finalized blog post. Videos should not exceed 5 minutes or solicit funding. Videos support the blog post in one of the following ways:
- An introduction to your post that tee’s up the content that will be covered in greater depth below, or
- A video inserted into the main body of your post that illustrates an example of your work or the idea you’re discussing.
- IUSE program PIs & Co-PIs
- Educators, researchers, evaluators, and representatives of academic institutions
- Representatives from non-profits, STEM centers, STEM discipline societies, funders, or government entities with a focus on undergraduate STEM education
- Experts in the field of undergraduate STEM education
Speakers will be chosen based on the following criteria:
- Relevancy to the overall blog theme and at least one topic listed in the description above
- Relevancy to an audience of IUSE principal investigators, higher education stakeholders, and the larger undergraduate STEM education community
- Compelling title, subtitle, and description of the subject you plan to cover
- Content advances and pushes the field beyond the status quo, introduces compelling evidence, clearly describes implications and practical steps readers can take, and does not shy away from uncomfortable conversation or stop short of audience empowerment
Please be prepared to submit the following:
- Personal information such as name, affiliation, email address, discipline, and demographic information
- IUSE award recipient status, category of award, project role, and additional project personnel
- Tentative blog post title and subtitle
- A short description of your idea for a blog post (up to 300 words)
- How does your proposal relate to the blog theme? (up to 250 words)
- What implications will your blog post have on IUSE PI’s and/or the larger STEM education community?
- Optional: A draft outline of your blog post
- Would you like to include any links to your research, program, bio pages, or resources that are relevant to your topic?
Questions?
Please contact the AAAS-IUSE team at iuse@aaas.org.
