RGV STEM Education Consortium

This year’s conference theme is Toward Transformative Practices: STEM Pathways Beyond Borders - Global Perspectives for the Future. As we continue toward transforming practices in STEM education, we seek to embrace learning for all learners, including designated underrepresented or othered learners to ensure they have the opportunity for success in STEM. While equitable and high-quality education is a critical component of the pathway, there are many other elements to consider. For example, STEM pathways might lead to careers in academic research, industry, policy making, communications, or data analytics. Given the vast types of STEM careers and the growing need for individuals to have a strong STEM foundation, we continue to explore different ways to prepare today's students for an ever-changing global society.

What we seek in proposals are transformative research, ideas, pedagogical practices, and models for success. The purpose of this conference is to continue building foundations that create pathways and possibilities that benefit the communities in which we live and the members of the community. This conference is unique in that it brings together stakeholders across all STEM environments. This includes, but is not limited to formal and informal educators, international scholars, practitioners, and students from PK-12 to higher education.

1. Discipline specific core concepts: This strand explores appropriate disciplinary core, content or curricular ideas in science, mathematics, technology, engineering practices, and/or crosscutting concepts.
   
   
2. Teaching and learning in STEM: This strand addresses research that focuses on the ways we teach and how students learn, student understanding, and conceptual change. This includes research related to STEM teacher practices, including but not limited to curriculum, evaluation, and assessment. Proposals that address challenges faced in STEM teaching and learning are strongly encouraged.
   
   
3. Context and learning: This strand explores contextual factors that may facilitate or inhibit teaching and learning in STEM.
   
   
4. Equity in STEM: This strand addresses research on equitable practices in STEM, including the complexities and intersectionalities of sociocultural phenomena.
   
   

1. Research Paper Session: Each accepted paper presentation will be allotted 30 minutes. This might include a research study, theoretical paper, or position paper.
   
   
2. Deep Exploration Sessions: Each session will be 60 minutes and allow for an in-depth exploration of a topic or idea. This might be organized as a roundtable discussion or panel discussion. Other formats will be considered.
   
   
3. Poster Presentation: Each presenter will prepare and display a representation of research (completed or in-progress), issue, or practice related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
   
   
4. Interactive Workshop: Each 60-minute session will allow for sharing research and emerging practices in a way that is more informal and intimate. This can include practitioner sessions, panel discussions, roundtable discussions, simulations, modeling curriculum, or other interactive formats.
   
   
5. Program Showcase: Each session will be 30- or 60-minutes in length and allow for sharing of successful STEM programs. This might include, but is not limited to, after school STEM programs, informal STEM programs, industry related programs, or government programs. Proposals are strongly encouraged to provide evidence of success.
   
   

1. Author(s) information: Name(s), title(s), professional organization (if any), email address.
   
   
2. Session title (25 words or less)
   
   
3. Intended audience (indicate all that apply): Early child/P-2, Elementary (3-5), Middle school (6-8), Higher Education, High school (9-12), Informal educators, Other (please indicate).
   
   
4. Keywords (minimum of 3, maximum of 5)
   
   
5. Short description (50 words or less) as it will appear in the program.
   
   
6. Proposal Narrative (2,000 words or less not including references)
   
   
   1. Clear focus/problem statement: The proposal has a clear focus and/or addresses a problem that is relevant to STEM education.
      
      
   2. Theoretical or conceptual framework: The proposal is grounded in an appropriate conceptual and/or theoretical framework(s).
      
      
   3. Methodology/design of the study: For research studies, describe the methodology and research design. For philosophical viewpoints, describe the logic and coherence of arguments as it relates to the theoretical or conceptual framework. For position papers, the position is well-grounded in relevant literature. For practitioner focused proposals and interactive workshops, there is a clear connection to the appropriate framework (theoretical or conceptual) and pedagogical perspective. For the program showcase, provide a detailed context of the study and how it was implemented.
      
      
   4. Findings/conclusions (for research study) and contributions (for philosophical, theoretical, position paper, practitioner, interactive workshops): The work contributes to the knowledge base in STEM education either through using evidence to answer one or more research questions, communicating a philosophical viewpoint, synthesis of existing literature and the implications for practitioners, and/or by providing evidence of the effectiveness of practitioner proposals. For a program showcase, provide clear evidence of program success and outcomes.
      
      
7. Special requests: (AV equipment, room or table set-up, etc.)