Best Practices for Supporting Undergraduate STEM Faculty and Students in the Online Transition: Results of NSF RAPID Awards Supported by IUSE

Dr. Barbara Means, Executive Director of Learning Sciences Research at Digital Promise, has been studying the equity impacts of the shift to remote instruction caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. Prior to joining Digital Promise in 2017, she was at SRI International where she founded SRI’s Center for Technology in Learning research group and served as its co-director for many years. Her current  work includes supporting colleges and universities in implementing continuous improvement research as part of their efforts to integrate learning technology into high-enrollment gateway courses in ways that support better and more equitable student outcomes. A fellow of the American Educational Research Association, Dr. Means has served on many study committees of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, including the panels that produced How People Learn I and How People Learn II. She has advised the U.S. Department of Education on national education technology plans and authored or edited more than a half dozen books related to learning and technology. Barbara earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Eric Brewe, PhD, is an associate professor in physics and science education at Drexel University. His research into the teaching and learning of physics at the university level includes developing curriculum for the Modeling Instruction course, leading inquiries into the role of Modeling Instruction in promoting student learning, participation, retention and persistence, and enhanced attitudes toward science and equity. This research has led to describing the role of participation in learning using primarily quantitative measures including the use of Network Analyses, and recently Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. In addition to research on post-secondary physics, Brewe has been involved in preparing future physics teachers through Modeling Workshops, and as co-editor of the PhysTEC sponsored book, "Recruiting and Educating Future Physics Teachers: Case Studies and Effective Practices". He helped to found the American Physical Society’s Topical Group on Physics Education Research (GPER) and served as the founding chair. He was elected as APS fellow in 2018.