Our Learning Ecosystems research investigates how learning occurs within a learner's (STEM) ecosystem, not only in school or out of school, but in a complex network of institutions, families, environments, and events.

The Center's current Learning Ecosystems research projects are listed below. You can also read about our completed Learning Ecosystems projects.

The Virtual Field: A Mitigation Strategy for the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing massive disruptions in higher education. Faculty across disciplines are struggling to quickly transition to virtual classrooms. Nowhere has this been more difficult than in the field sciences, where first-hand experience with the complexity of the natural world is essential for applying classroom learning to authentic settings, developing deep content knowledge and skills, and fostering identity as a field scientist.

SYNERGIES: Customizing Interventions to Sustain Youth STEM Interest and Participation Pathways

The SYNERGIES: Customizing Interventions to Sustain Youth STEM Interest and Participation Pathways is an NSF Research in Service to Practice project (DRL 1516718) which leverages research findings from a previous longitudinal study to support a systematic design phase involving a variety of educational partners (both informal and formal) to develop a set of customized, connected and coordinated learning opportunities that we hypothesize will address the well-documented decline of youth attitudes, interest, and motivation to participate in STEM during early adolescence and

The Circuit: A Platform for Increasing Access to, Deepening and Researching Patterns of Family and Adult Participation in Informal Science (2019-2023)

Led by director Dr. Martin Storksdieck, Center researchers Dr. Heather Fischer and Kimberley Preston are collaborating with several partners to research and develop the Circuit, a mobile phone and web-based application designed to empower families and the general public to discover the full spectrum of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) informal learning opportunities available in most communities. Currently, there are no “one-stop” search platforms for these resources.

CAISE Evaluation (2016-2021)

The Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE) is a resource center funded through a cooperative agreement with the NSF Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Program.

Gulf of Maine Research Institute LabVenture (2018-2022)

The research team from the STEM Research Center at Oregon State University (Martin Storksdieck, Kelly Riedinger, Kimberley Preston and Brianna Keys), in collaboration with researchers from TERC, will partner with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute on research in service to practice project funded by NSF’s Advancing Informal STEM Lear

Explorer at Large Pilot Implementation (2017-2020)

In this study led by Drs. Kelly Riedinger and Martin Storksdieck with assistance from Kim Preston and Victoria Bonebrake, the STEM Research Center is a research and evaluation partner with Little Yud Ventures and the PAST Foundation on the Explorer at Large (XAL) pilot program in Ohio.

U-FERN: Undergraduate Field Experiences Network (2017-2021)

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

STEM Matters: Investigating the Confluence of Visitor and Institutional Agendas (2016-2020)

Led by Dr. Kelly Riedinger and Dr. Martin Storksdieck with assistance from Kimberley Preston  Victoria Bonebrake, Nicolette Canzoneri, and Kevin Keys OSU’s STEM Research Center partnered with two other research organizations, Knology (formerly New Knowledge Organization Ltd.

Bringing the Universe to America's Classrooms (2016-2020)

nasa logoThe Center has partnered with WGBH Boston and PBS LearningMedia on a NASA-funded partnership, Bringing the University to America’s Classrooms.