NSF Invites Public Participation in Identifying Mid-Scale Infrastructure for STEM Education Research

This listening session is an opportunity to provide feedback with respect to the nature of mid-scale research infrastructure for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education research. It is not intended to make recommendations to NSF.

EVENT: The National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources invites your participation in a listening session to provide input with respect to the nature of mid-scale research infrastructure for STEM education research (https://www.nsf.gov/events/event_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301450&org=NSF).

WHEN: Friday, October 30, 2020 from 11:00 AM-3:00 PM Eastern Time

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Current and potential NSF mid-scale infrastructure PIs, STEM education researchers, informal science educators, and STEM education specialists

WHERE: The listening session will be conducted virtually via Zoom. To participate fully you will need to have the most recent version of the free Zoom app installed on your device. You can download the latest version here.

RSVP: Pre-registration is required for this event. Please pre-register here. A Zoom meeting link and password will be sent to you after your registration is confirmed.

MEETING LOGISTICS CONTACT: Dr. Brian Zuckerman (bzuckerm@ida.org)

GUIDING QUESTIONS: As part of the listening session, NSF is seeking public input on the following questions:

  1. What are the most pressing questions in STEM education research?
  2. Which of these questions could be addressed or could progress be made were NSF to support mid-scale infrastructure?
  3. What kinds of infrastructure might be valuable in addressing or advancing research related to those pressing questions?
  4. What resources might be required (in addition to the infrastructure itself) that NSF might need to support?
  5. Are there any examples of mid-scale infrastructure being used to address pressing questions in STEM education research?
  6. What barriers or challenges might complicate the use of mid-scale infrastructure to address these most pressing questions in STEM education research – and how might these challenges be overcome?

 

AGENDA: After introductory remarks, there will be an open forum for participants to provide input to NSF. The first round of public comments will seek input on the first four of the guiding questions above. After a break, a second round of public comments will seek input on the last two of the guiding questions. This will be followed by a breakout session where participants can choose from among three groups to discuss specific opportunities and barriers for STEM education research making use of mid-scale infrastructure as related to: 1) Computing hardware; 2) Data repositories; and 3) Instrumentation/research equipment.

LOGISTICS: The IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute will be facilitating the meeting on NSF’s behalf. The meeting will be recorded. Participation in this session implies consent for NSF to capture your name, voice, and likeness, and anything you say may be recorded and transcribed for NSF use. Moderators will manage participation and remove disruptive participants if necessary. Participants will be afforded the option to provide short (1-2 page) written comments to complement their meeting participation.

For more details regarding the listening session, please contact Lee Zia (lzia@nsf.gov)