Valuable Professional Learning and Development Activities for Black STEM Postdoctoral Scholars
- Conference
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2022 CoNECD (Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity)
- Location
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New Orleans, Louisiana
- Publication Date
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February 20, 2022
- Start Date
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February 20, 2022
- End Date
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July 20, 2022
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topics
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Diversity and CoNECD Paper Sessions
- Page Count
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22
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--39151
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/39151
- Download Count
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197
Paper Authors
Sylvia L. Mendez University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Dr. Sylvia Mendez is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Leadership, Research, and Foundations at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She earned a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Kansas, a MS in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University, and a BA in Economics from Washington State University. Dr. Mendez's research centers on effective faculty mentoring practices, broadening participation in higher education, and the educational attainment and schooling experiences of Mexican descent youth in the mid-20th century.
Valerie Martin Conley University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Valerie Martin Conley is dean of the College of Education and professor of Leadership, Research, and Foundations at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She previously served as director of the Center for Higher Education, professor, and department chair at Ohio University. She was the PI for the NSF funded research project: Academic Career Success in Science and Engineering-Related Fields for Female Faculty at Public Two-Year Institutions. She is co-author of The Faculty Factor: Reassessing the American Academy in a Turbulent Era.
Canek Moises Luna Phillips
Rice University
orcid.org/0000-0002-6571-2733
Dr. Canek Phillips is a Research Scientist at in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University where his research interests touch broadly on efforts to promote greater equity for underrepresented groups in engineering. Canek earned his PhD from the Purdue School of Engineering Education in 2016 and worked as a graduate research assistant in Dr. Alice Pawley’s Feminist Research in Engineering Education Lab. Canek was brought on at Rice originally as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2017 on an NSF-funded study that investigates the efficacy of an audio-based method of learning mathematics where he now serves as Co-PI. In 2019, he began working as Co-PI on another NSF-funded study to reduce barriers in the hiring of underrepresented racial minority faculty in data science and data engineering fields.
Tammy Michelle McCoy
Georgia Institute of Technology
orcid.org/0000-0001-7452-8447
Tammy M. McCoy is the TA Development and Future Faculty Specialist for the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In this capacity, she works closely with graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in pursuing careers in college teaching through teaching assistant (TA) training and support, academic career development programs, and training and certification in college teaching. Specifically, she teaches courses and facilitates workshops to support future faculty development; assists in the implementation of the orientation program for new TAs and the support of departments offering TA training courses; contributes to the Tech to Teaching certificate program for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars; provides individual consultation and teaching evaluation to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars seeking to enhance expertise in the classroom; and assists with the campus-wide awards program that recognizes excellence in teaching within the TA community at Georgia Tech. Tammy earned her Ph.D. and completed a postdoc in materials science and engineering at Georgia Tech. She also earned a M.S. in materials engineering from Auburn University and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Mississippi State University. Prior to beginning her current position, Tammy taught science at a local high school, was an instructor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Spelman College, and an adjunct instructor in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Engineering at Georgia Perimeter College.
Comas Lamar Haynes Georgia Tech Research Institute
Comas Lamar Haynes is a Principal Research Engineer / faculty member of the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Joint Faculty Appointee at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His research includes modeling steady state and transient behavior of advanced energy systems, inclusive of their thermal management, and the characterization and optimization of novel cycles. He has advised graduate and undergraduate research assistants and has received multi-agency funding for energy systems analysis and development. Sponsor examples include the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and NASA. Dr. Haynes also develops fuel cells and alternative energy systems curricula for public and college courses and experimental laboratories. Additionally, he is the co-developer of the outreach initiative, Educators Leading Energy Conservation and Training Researchers of Diverse Ethnicities (ELECTRoDE). He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida A&M University and his graduate degrees (culminating in a Ph.D.) from Georgia Tech; and all of the degrees are in the discipline of Mechanical Engineering.
Kathryn Joan Watson
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
orcid.org/0000-0002-2062-2849
Kathryn is a doctoral student at University of Colorado Colorado Springs in Education Leadership, Research, and Policy. Her studies focus on supporting student mental health in secondary education. Kathryn's prior education includes a Master's from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY in Integrated Marketing, and her Bachelor's is from Michigan State University in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: Secondary Education. Kathryn has taught high school Social Studies and is passionate about increasing equity in education.
Sarah Elizabeth Cooksey University of Colorado Colorado Springs
Sarah Cooksey is a Ph.D. graduate from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She currently works at UCCS as a Research Assistant and Lecturer in the department of Leadership, Research, and Foundations and on a grant with the National Science Foundation trying to understand the career decision making process of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. Sarah is a special education teacher in the state of Colorado, whose specific research interests lie in the educational experiences of marginalized populations, special education best practices, and education in prison reform.
Kathryn Elizabeth Starkey University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Ms. Starkey is currently a thid year doctoral student in Leadership, Research, & Policy at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. In addition to her doctoral studies, she is currently employed at the Adult Learning Lead Specialist at Colorado State University Pueblo. Her research interests include state education policy, adult learning, and policy analysis and evaluation, which allows her to pursue these interests both in her studies and in employment.
Abstract
This instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) explores the ways in which Black science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) postdoctoral scholars describe the valuable professional learning and development activities they engaged in that supported their academic career advancement. A postdoctoral appointment in STEM is a critical milestone to entering the professoriate because it affords doctoral recipients with advanced preparation to assume the research, teaching, and service responsibilities of a tenure-track faculty member (Andalib et al., 2018). Yet, postdoctoral scholars typically require additional career advancement support in order to be competitive in the tenure-track job market and successfully transition into the professoriate. While a scant body of literature exists on the professional learning and development activities of postdoctoral scholars in general, and postdoctoral scholars of color specifically, this knowledge base may be key to broadening participation efforts in the STEM professoriate. Presently, less than 10% of STEM postdoctoral scholars and STEM faculty identify as racial/ethnic minorities (Bennett et al., 2020; Yadav et al., 2020) despite comprising nearly 40% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). The research question that guides this study is: What professional learning and development activities do Black STEM postdoctoral scholars engage in to support their career advancement?
The professional learning and development model posited by Nowell et al. (2018) was used as the conceptual framework for this instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) of nine Black STEM postdoctoral scholars. Nowell et al. noted professional development and learning “includes a vast range of informal or formal activities and interactions, as well as contextual learning and reflective actions that may increase knowledge, skills, abilities, and growth, and improves performance in present or future roles” (p. 2). Interview participants were queried on the types of professional development activities they engaged in during their postdoctoral appointment and the value they attributed to such activities to their academic career advancement. The model served as a deductive lens for data analysis and was foundational to the interpretations and implications of the study.
The interview data were analyzed using Stake’s (1995) four-step deductive data analysis process of direct interpretation, categorical aggregation, pattern recognition, and naturalistic generalizations. Three major themes emerged relative to the professional learning and development activities in which Black STEM postdoctoral scholars engaged in that supported their academic career advancement: (1) Technical, research-orientated activities that bolstered their scientific skills were of the greatest value; (2) Exposure to various career options in STEM aided in their career decision-making process; and (3) Community development activities that diminished feelings of isolation were critical to STEM career trajectories but were few and far between. Multiple verification strategies were employed to ensure trustworthiness by attending to issues of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).
These findings contribute to our understanding of the professional learning and development activities that supported Black STEM postdoctoral scholars to enter the professoriate ranks. Replication activities must focus on enhancing postdoctoral scholar scientific and technical skills which Yadav et al. (2020) also found was a professional growth desire for racially/ethnically diverse STEM postdoctoral scholars. Additionally, greater attention must be directed to career choices and decision-making during postdoctoral appointments as also uncovered by Van Benthem et al. (2020). The fact that feelings of isolation permeated the postdoctoral scholar experience must be addressed, as this has also been noted by other researchers (Chakraverty, 2020; Hudson et al., 2018; Van Benthem et al., 2020; Yadav et al., 2020). If those in academia truly desire to diversify the professoriate ranks, professional learning and development activities must be institutionalized within postdoctoral appointment contracts to ensure Black STEM postdoctoral scholars are receiving the kind of professional support that promotes their transition into STEM faculty ranks. Greater consideration to improving the postdoctoral experience through such activities may bolster STEM broadening participation efforts and aid in the diversification of the STEM professoriate. This research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP).
References
Andalib, M. A., Ghaffarzadegan, N., and Larson, R. C. (2018). The postdoc queue: A labour force in waiting. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 35(6), 327–348.
Bennett, J. C., Lattuca, L., Redd, K., and York, T. (2020). Strengthening pathways to faculty careers in STEM: Recommendations for systemic change to support underrepresented groups. Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. https://www.aplu.org/library/strengthening-pathways-to-faculty-careers-in-stem- recommendations-for-systemic-change-to-support-underrepresented-groups/file
Chakraverty, D. (2020). The imposter phenomenon among black doctoral and postdoctoral scholars in STEM. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 15, 433-460.
Hudson, T. D., Haley, K. J., Jaeger, A. J., Mitchall, A., Dinin, A., and Dunstan, S. B. (2018). Becoming a legitimate scientist: Science identity of postdocs in STEM fields. The Review of Higher Education, 41(4), 607–639.
Lincoln, Y. S., and Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publications.
Nowell, L., Ovie, G., Berenson, C., Kenny, N., and Hayden, K. A. (2018). Professional learning and development of postdoctoral scholars: A systematic review of the literature. Education Research International, 2018, Article 5950739.
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage Publications.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2021). Quick facts, 2019. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219
Van Benthem, K., Mohamad, N. A., Corkery, C. T., Inoue, J., & Jadavji, N. M. (2020). The changing postdoc and key predictors of satisfaction with professional training. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, 11(1), 123–142.
Yadav, A., Seals, C. D., Soto Sullivan, C. M., Lachney, M., Clark, Q., Dixon, K. G., and Smith, M. J. T. (2020). The forgotten scholar: Underrepresented minority postdoc experiences in STEM fields. Educational Studies, 56(2), 160–185.
Mendez, S. L., & Conley, V. M., & Phillips, C. M. L., & McCoy, T. M., & Haynes, C. L., & Watson, K. J., & Cooksey, S. E., & Starkey, K. E. (2022, February), Valuable Professional Learning and Development Activities for Black STEM Postdoctoral Scholars Paper presented at 2022 CoNECD (Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity) , New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/1-2--39151
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