UPDATES FROM NARST RESEARCH INTEREST GROUPS

CADASE News

CADASE had very successful outing at Chicago. We had a very interactive and productive discussion during our administrative session. The two invited speakers Anton Miglieta and Alejandra Fausto did a phenomenal job sharing their grassroots curricula and how to apply their model of context based and culturally responsive activities in making science accessible to all students.

Another highlight of CADASE activities at the past NARST conference was the announcement of the achievements of CADASE members during the past year. Some of these achievements are:

1. Mary Atwater officially became president of NARST
2. Meshach Ogunniyi received two awards, the Distinguished Contribution to Science Education Through Research award at the NARST Chicago and a Life Time Achievement Award for his meritorious service to the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, (SAARMSTE) at its conference.
3. Peter Okebukola was appointed chair of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) International Quality Group (CIQG) and chair of the Board of Regents of the University of West Africa.
4. Malcolm Butler became President-Elect of the Association for Science Teacher Education
5. Felicia Moore Mensah made a contribution in the most recent Journal of Research in Science Teaching Special Issue: Exploration of Structure-agency dialectic as a tool for framing equity in science education.
6. Irene Osisioma, Chair of CADASE RIG received two awards: The Carnegie African Diaspora’s Fellowship award and the Fulbright Scholars Award to conduct research and work with University Faculty in Africa during Summer of 2015, and 2015-2016 academic year.
7. Melody Russell, Chair of CADASE RIG Steering Committee received an NSF grant for a multi-institutional collaborative project with Tuskegee and University of Alabama.
8. Jomo Mutergi and members of the (ES)² Research Program published a special issue in the Journal, African American Learners. This special issue, “A Critical Analysis of Hip Hop Pedagogy” closely examines and critiques the underlying assumptions that serve as the foundation of Hip Hop Based Pedagogy research
9. Rona Robinson received a tenure track position at Ball State University Biology Department.

CADASE has planned to undertake a number of exciting activities in the coming year. Examples of such activities are a plan to produce a second edition of the CADASE special issues, a book project and a pre-conference workshop at the next NARST conference. We call on CADASE members to volunteer to work with the steering committee in achieving these goals. We also encourage NARST members who are interested in the work CADASE is doing in promoting its vision of encouraging science educators to engage in research aimed at meeting the needs of people of African descent; and providing intellectual, professional, and personal space for science educators engaged in such research to join us.

Contemporary Methods for Science Education Research RIG News

The Research Methods RIG is working on two initiatives this summer.

1. First, we are looking for a web host to house a Methods RIG-sponsored “resource center” where will compile web links to the most useful research methods resources available to researchers. We will focus on those resources that are free and publicly available.
2. In addition, we are investigating the feasibility of collecting meta-data as part of the NARST conference session submission process. This meta-data would pertain to the types of research questions and methodologies being employed in the research that is submitted by the membership each year.

These data will help us plan programs for the annual meeting.

Engineering Education RIG News

As the Engineering Education (ENE) RIG enters its third year of operation, we are incredibly excited to support the collaboration of NARST members interested in engineering education. During the NARST 2015 meeting in Chicago, the ENE RIG met for the third time with the attendance of over 50 people. The RIG in Engineering Education aims to synergize research in science and engineering education, promote rigorous research in engineering education, and provide a collaboration and discussion space that supports intellectual and professional exchange and networking. ENE RIG now has 120 members.

We currently have a call for NARST paper set ideas centered on engineering education. If you are planning to submit an engineering-themed paper to NARST this year, and are interested in collaborating with others to form paper sets, please email Chris Schnittka (Schnittka@auburn.edu) with the following information: your name, your paper topic, and the strand to which you would submit this paper. We will work to get authors with similar themes in touch with one another, and to facilitate the process of writing the paper sets.

If you would like to be a member of the ENE RIG and join our listserv, contact Chris Schnittka, Auburn University.

• Founder & Outgoing Chair: Senay Purzer, Purdue University
• Chair: Christine (Chris) Schnittka, Auburn University
• Chair Elect: Cathy Lachapelle, Boston Museum of Science

Complete List of NARST Research Interest Groups (RIGs)

The Continental and Diasporic Africa in Science Education RIG (CADASE)

The mission of CADASE is to support research in science education that will have a positive impact on the lives of children of African ancestry. This is accomplished by (a) encouraging science educators to engage in research aimed at meeting the needs of people of African ancestry; and (b) providing intellectual, professional, and personal space for science educators engaged in such research.

Chair: Irene Osisioma, California State University, Dominguez Hills iosisioma@csudh.edu

CADASE Official Website

Engineering Education RIG (ENE-RIG)

The purpose of the RIG in Engineering Education is to synergize research in science and engineering education, promote rigorous research in engineering education, and provide a collaboration and discussion space supporting intellectual and professional exchange and networking.

Chair: Chris Schnittka, Auburn University, schnittka@auburn.edu

Latino/a RIG (LARIG)

The Latino/a RIG supports social networks that further research agendas regarding Latino/a science learners. LARIG also serves as a support and mentoring alcoba (space) for Latin@s/Latino science educators and others interested in Latin@ science education.

Chair: Ingrid Sanchez-Tapia, University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC), ingridsanchezt@gmail.com

Contemporary Methods for Science Education Research

The broad purpose of this RIG is to advance the mission of NARST by maintaining the rigor of science education studies, as well as promoting more standardized research practices across the organization such that we are better able to learn from and synthesize each other’s work. The intent is that these outcomes will, in turn, allow us to keep advancing the field and maintain the relevance of our research to improving science teaching and learning.

Chair: Joseph Taylor, Abt Associates, joseph_taylor@abtassoc.com Co-Chair: Bina Vanmali, Arizona State University, Bina@asu.edu