Mission statement
The Center for Broadening Participation in STEM (CBPSTEM) at Arizona State University is a research organization focused on advancing educational strategies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). CBPSTEM provides capacity-building services and professional development for faculty in support of student-centered practices and experiential learning opportunities leading students to STEM workforce readiness. The Center examines the impact of these efforts on outcomes for STEM faculty, staff, and students.
Strategic vision
CBPSTEM will continue to strengthen its role in advancing student success in STEM, and breaking barriers to design a robust and skilled STEM workforce.
CBPSTEM Research and Development Lab
Purpose
Design, write and disseminate evidence-based STEM education and workforce research.
- Design
rigorous research projects that investigate, inform and strengthen practices to broaden participation in STEM. - Write
scholarly manuscripts, reports and practitioner resources. - Disseminate
research findings, tools, frameworks through conferences, workshops, communities of practice, digital tools and peer-reviewed publications to reach STEM faculty, staff, administrators and policy interest holders.
Research Improvement Framework (PDSA Cycle)
The Plan–Do–Study–Act (PDSA) cycle is a structured continuous improvementframework used to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation ofprojects across CBPSTEM initiatives. Within the center, PDSA is appliedacross programs such as the ALRISE Alliance and KickStarter 2.0 to supportsystematic planning, reflective practice, and evidence-baseddecision-making for a range of STEM and experiential learning initiatives.
The framework organizes project work into four iterative phases—Plan, Do,Study, and Act—beginning with the development of a clearly defined aim,identification of change ideas aligned with project goals, and the outlining of tasks, responsibilities, and data collection strategies. Teams then implement their planned activities (“Do”), analyze outcomes and compare results to predictions (“Study”), and determine next steps (“Act”),including whether to adapt, adopt, or abandon the change.
This PDSA documentation process was introduced to the center by AnnaTanguma-Gallegos, Associate Director, and has since been adopted as a standard structure for guiding project development and continuous improvement across multiple program areas, contributing to a range of observed successes across grant initiatives.
CBPSTEM Research and Development Lab
Inquiry areas
The following inquiry areas are research topics our center is interested in:
- Broadening participation in STEM
- Student-centered experential learning (ExL)
- Faculty digital literacy
- Institutional capacity-bullding
- STEM identity and communities of practice
Post Grant Sustainability Study
Research Study Project Overview: This is an exploratory case study of HSIs that participated in the ALRISE Alliance and how their STEM workforce investments were impacted by federal funding terminations, in particular regarding their STEM Teams, STEM Plans, and SCI Experiential Learning practices and courses that were in development. The mixed method case study (surveys, interviews, secondary data analysis) will be an in-depth analysis of three to five Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to learn how and in what ways the terminated federal grants impacted these HSIs, structurally, economically and socially. Findings from this work will inform and identify ways to restructure STEM units and courses that promote sustainable experiential learning in the classroom. NSF#2120021
