Highlights of the successful implementation of our Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) group.

1. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers: DUE-1239910 and
HRD-1232447.
The primary aim of our interdisciplinary group is to identify barriers to participation in STEM by under-presented groups, specifically
Hispanic females and English Learners (ELs), and develop more successful strategies to engage these groups in STEM at the K-12 and
undergraduate level.
Our team is guided by the following overarching research
question:
What is the relationship between identity and the
recruitment and persistence of under-represented
students in STEM?
Motivation and Challenge
Our interest is in a population historically underrepresented motivated
us, and our challenge was finding compatible times to meet given our
diverse schedules.
College of Education
Alberto Esquinca, Department of Teacher Education
Pei-Ling Hsu, Department of Teacher Education
Erika Mein, Department of Teacher Education
College of Engineering
Martine Ceberio, Department of Computer Science
Patricia Nava, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Undergraduate Studies
Elsa Villa, Center for Research on Engineering & Technology Education (CREaTE)
College of Liberal Arts
Guillermina (Gina) Nuñez-Mchiri, Department of Sociology & Anthropology
College of Science
Eric Hagedorn, Department of Physics
IDR Collaborative Success Factor
Our ability to actively listen to each other’s perspectives and find a common
ground for communication. This resulted in submission of the following grant
proposals:
• National Science Foundation: Research on Gender in Science and Engineering program, Latinas
in Engineering and Computer Science: A Qualitative Study Examining Identity and Agency for
Resilience and Persistence, $524,960, 2013-2016. Status: Funded.
• National Science Foundation: Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, Building Capacity for Preparing
Teacher-Engineers for 21st Century Engineering, $287,703, 2013-2015. Status: Funded.
• National Science Foundation: CE-21 program, Creating Gateways to Participation in Computer
Science for Hispanic Adolescent and Adult English Language Learners. Alberto Esquinca and
Martine Ceberio with Maria de la Piedra and Alfredo Urzúa-Beltrán. Submitted April 2012,
$598,147. Status: Not funded.
• National Science Foundation: Research in Engineering Education (REE) program, Retaining
Hispanic Women in Engineering: An Examination of Social Networks, Identity Development, and
Academic Success. Erika Mein, Alberto Esquinca, and Elsa Villa. Submitted January 22, 2013,
$315,640. Status: Under review.