Exploring the Theoretical Foundations of an iSTEM Graduate Program using Epistemic Network Analysis

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 11:45am
  In Poster Session: Div J, Section 4 Poster Session 1

Abstract

UNESCO’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Department of Education’s STEM 2026 emphasize the need for innovative programs that equip students to address the pressing educational and sustainable challenges. In response, we developed an innovative Graduate Certificate in iSTEM education, grounded in interdisciplinarity, inquiry, and mathematical modeling, and aligned with UNESCO’s 2030 sustainable development goals. This study uses Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) to explore how the written curriculum of this approach conveys the relationship between interdisciplinarity, inquiry, and mathematical modeling. Our goal is to strengthen the evidence base for the types of STEM learning and teaching experiences that build international and interdisciplinary communities of practice and work best to serve a broader group of diverse STEM learners.

Authors

• Cynthia Esperanza Lima, University of Texas - San Antonio

• Guadalupe Carmona, University of Texas - San Antonio

• Veronica Vargas-Alejo, Universidad de Guadalajara

• Saugata Datta, University of Texas - San Antonio

• Harshad Kulkarni, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi

• Luis E. Montero Moguel, University of Texas - San Antonio