STEM Research Center

The STEM Research Center served as the evaluator for the STEM Beyond School program which used an innovative approach to expand STEM opportunities and student STEM interest, motivation and enthusiasm in STEM-related activities and careers among historically-underserved students in grades 3-8 by supporting high-quality out-of-school STEM programming, professional development and a statewide network for community-based out-of-school-time providers. 

Under the leadership of Drs. Kelly Riedinger and Martin Storksdieck with assistance from Victoria Bonebrake, the Center collaborated with Iridescent Learning to study the impact of project-based learning using their Curiosity Machine program on students and their families in STEM (science-technology-engineering-mathematics).

You can view the project website at http://ufern.net/

The goal of the BEETLES project was to improve the quality of science teaching and learning in Outdoor School Programs (OSP) nationwide with two foci:

Focus 1: To broadly implement the BEETLES professional learning model in 100 OSP nationwide that annually serve nearly one million youth from diverse backgrounds.
Focus 2:  To contribute knowledge to the field of informal science education about the features of informal science learning experiences that support meaningful outcomes for youth.

The Corvallis School District has introduced about 4,000 tablet computers into classrooms with the intent to provide students with access to personal devices and digital resources to support their learning. The implementation of the “tablet program” began in 2012 with the goal of connecting every student to a deeper and more personalized learning experience with instructional technology.