STEM Education Research Collaboratorium and Resource Center

The STEM Center is designed as a hub of innovation for STEM education research within the UT Arlington organization and beyond.
Undergraduate researchers looking at slide

About the Center

Housed within the UTA College of Education, the new STEM Education Research Collaboratorium and Resource Center, also known as STEM-E(RC)2, is designed to help education researchers address questions about the nature and outcomes of education programs for the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – while also assisting teachers, universities, school districts, and other education stakeholders in refining educational programming in ways that will enhance student learning and engagement.

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What We Offer

Mission & Primary Purpose

The STEM Center will serve as a hub of innovation for STEM education research, helping synergize STEM education research, nucleate collaboration and partnerships, and better position UTA faculty to pursue and secure extramural funding for STEM education projects targeting diverse audiences in postsecondary, K-12, and informal/non-formal learning environments, particularly those that align with UTA’s strategic plan.

Equipment & Resources for Researchers

Data collection equipment, including digital video/audio recorders, tablets, microphones, and data analysis software, as well as whiteboards, digital screens, moveable circular tables, and input devices at workstations, enables on-site study of educational programs and activities by UTA personnel.

Collaboratorium

The space includes a meeting room with high-resolution display wall and video-conferencing capabilities, small- and mid-size rooms for conducting participant interviews and focus groups, permanent office space, and workstations for floating student research assistants.

Workshops & Programming

The STEM center's on-campus collaboratorium and tools for researchers are just the beginning. As the center grows, we will expand on the center's footprint with a speaker series, research support workshops/webinars, a faculty fellows program, and other relevant programming.

Students in the advanced materials lab in uta campus

Get Involved

Become an early collaborator and connect with us at the STEM Education Research Collaboratorium and Resource Center - STEM-E(RC)2 as we work to establish interdisciplinary partnerships among researchers and practitioners in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering, learning theory, technology, and education research to investigate teaching and learning from perspectives that reflect the priorities, knowledge, and practices of unique STEM disciplines.

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ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Cory Forbes HeadshotThe center's inaugural director is Cory T. Forbes, Ph.D., Fenton Wayne Robnett Professor of Science Education and Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at UTA. Additionally, he holds a secondary appointment in the UTA Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Dr. Forbes’ tenure in higher education has included roles as an Associate Professor of Science Education in the School of Natural Resources, Assistant Professor of Science Education in the University of Iowa College of Education, the Director of the National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW), and as the Coordinator of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources‘ (IANR) Science Literacy Initiative at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), where he also held an appointment in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education (TLTE) for the College of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS). He was also a high school science teacher.

His teaching and research efforts focus on STEM education in K-12 and undergraduate STEM contexts. He directs multiple externally-funded projects involving STEM curriculum development, assessment design and testing, professional development for K-12 STEM teachers, and classroom-based research on STEM teaching and learning that are based in regional, national, and international partnerships with education researchers, STEM faculty, K-12 teachers, and stakeholders, that have real world implications for the way education professionals conduct, think of, and utilize the full potential of STEM education research. Forbes is a NARST Early Career Research Awardee and Fulbright Faculty Scholar.

 

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