Collaborative research: developing stem education reform leaders through a multidisciplinary and cross-institutional community of transformation

Northeastern Illinois University received a $248,274 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076), awarded September 15, 2025, with completion targeted for August 31, 2028. This collaborative research initiative, executed in partnership with three additional four-year institutions (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and Chicago State University) and four community college partners (St. Louis Community College, City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College, Oakton College, and Shawnee Community College), implements and investigates the effectiveness of flipped instruction pedagogy in undergraduate STEM courses across diverse institutional settings.

The project delivers comprehensive professional development activities designed to scale evidence-based teaching practices through four institution-pairing cohorts that combine four-year and two-year colleges. Primary deliverables include rigorous implementation of flipped instruction—where students engage with structured materials outside class and apply knowledge through active learning during class time—coupled with systematic investigation of how institutional, disciplinary, instructor, and student characteristics influence teaching effectiveness. The initiative builds upon prior exploratory NSF-supported research and aims to generate actionable insights regarding faculty development models and the scalability of evidence-based STEM education reform across heterogeneous academic environments.

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by systematically scaling up evidence-based teaching practices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) courses across a diverse set of institutions and by investigating factors associated with effective educational interventions. To understand and assess these factors, the collaborative research project intends to rigorously implement and investigate a recognized effective teaching practice, flipped instruction, in which students apply knowledge from well-structured materials to active learning situations during class time. A team of faculty and researchers from southern illinois university - edwardsville, northeastern illinois university, southern illinois university carbondale, and chicago state university and their community college partners, ST. Louis community college, city colleges of chicago-malcolm x college, oakton college, and shawnee community college intend to conduct a wide-range of professional development activities. They also aim test a model of professional development, and determine the effects of institutional, disciplinary, instructor, and student characteristics on the effectiveness of flipped instruction in stem undergraduate education. Four pairings of institutions - each pair including a 4-year institution and a 2-year institution - constitute the foundation for both implementation and investigation. Flipped instruction has demonstrated its potential to significantly transform teaching and learning in undergraduate stem education. Drawing on extensive research and findings from a prior NSF iuse exploratory award, this track 2 institutional and community transformation level II collaborative research project intends to (1) monitor student- centered orientation of faculty, implementation, and variations in implementation based on institutional type, department/discipline, and student demographics; (2) identify enablers and obstacles; and (3) examine change leadership as foundational strategies for developing a community of practice. Activities have been designed to enhance instructor expertise and skills in flipped instruction to meet the needs of students and leadership to drive transformative, lasting change within the respective institutions. Grounded in a communities of transformation perspective, the mixed methods research design uses rigorous data collection, analysis, and interpretation methods. The team will document and assess instructors' confidence, attitudes, and motivations to use flipped instruction, as well as students' academic performance and persistence in stem. The innovative collaboration of eight institutions (four pairs) includes intentionally designed training for effective stem teaching, while the research seeks to address differential effects across institutions and find solutions that strengthen stem education. The project will identify enablers and challenges to lasting change in undergraduate stem education, both at the four-year and community college levels. The NSF iuse: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of stem education for all students. Through the institutional and community transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve stem education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.