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Background/Context Educational and societal phenomena can converge to draw attention to a new focus, such as English Learners (ELs) and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and then trigger new research interests. A funding program can play a critical role in shaping these new research interests by prioritizing specific research topics and designs or by requiring particular specializations of researchers. Purpose of the Study The study examined whether funding provided through the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) program has made a unique contribution to the research in the fields of science and mathematics education for ELs. Research Design This study compared the portfolio of DR K–12 projects focusing on EL science and mathematics education to the literature of non DR K-12 projects in terms of research topics, design, methods, scale, samples, and outcomes. The study also examined the disciplinary expertise of the DR K-12 investigators. Data Collection and Analysis The primary method used in this study was content analyses of the portfolio of DR K-12 projects and the literature of non DR K-12 projects in the fields of EL science and mathematics education. To develop comprehensive lists of the literature in these fields, two separate literature searches were conducted. Finally, content analyses of the curricula vitae of the DR K–12 projects’ PIs and co-PIs were undertaken. Results The DR K–12 EL projects in both science and mathematics education have made contributions to their respective fields in three areas in particular: (1) their use of mixed methods and experimental designs; (2) their emphasis on instruction and teacher preparation; and (3) their focus on middle school students. In addition, DR K-12 investigators are making connections across the mathematics/science content and EL/English Language Arts (ELA) areas and are incorporating expertise from both areas, often through the addition of advisory group members. Conclusions The results from this comparative study suggest that funding programs can shape research agendas by providing deliberate and targeted funding for priority areas. Federal government agencies should continue providing this funding to support much-needed research that is a necessary step to improving the quality of science and mathematics education for ELs.

This article draws upon the experiences of four recent efforts to synthesize the findings of quantitative studies in science education research. After establishing the need for research syntheses in advancing generalizable knowledge and causal effects research in our field, we identify a set themes that emerged in the process of conducting these syntheses. These themes include that many impact study designs were not conducive to quantitative synthesis, reporting practices of studies were often insufficient for inclusion in research synthesis, and very few replications were performed. These findings have the potential to limit the advancement of knowledge and discovery in science education research. We recommend that the science education research community pay closer attention to existing reporting standards and guidance, as well as consider the merits of a stronger commitment to study registration, replication, and data sharing. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach

Encouraging student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is an urgent priority in the USA and abroad. How most effectively to generate and sustain student interest in and preparation for STEM education and careers remains a vexing question, as the content areas, target ages, instructional approaches, and specific purposes of STEM education—and career preparation—are so diverse. Political interest in uncovering means to prepare and engage both larger numbers and more diverse students in STEM fields has extended to the practice of engaging STEM professionals in educational activities with students. What is the empirical evidence about which approaches that rely upon STEM experts to engage students work, and for whom? This paper summarizes research about the effects of such programmes on student outcomes, and offers recommendations for strengthening the research basis about using STEM professionals in the future.

A stochastic algorithm for obtaining feasible initial populations to the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows is presented. The theoretical formulation for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows is explained. The proposed method is primarily divided into a clustering algorithm and a two-phase algorithm. The first step is the application of a modifiedk-means clustering algorithm which is proposed in this paper. The two-phase algorithm evaluates a partial solution to transform it into a feasible individual. The two-phase algorithm consists of a hybridization of four kinds of insertions which interact randomly to obtain feasible individuals. It has been proven that different kinds of insertions impact the diversity among individuals in initial populations, which is crucial for population-based algorithm behavior. A modification to the Hamming distance method is applied to the populations generated for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows to evaluate their diversity. Experimental tests were performed based on the Solomon benchmarking. Experimental results show that the proposed method facilitates generation of highly diverse populations, which vary according to the type and distribution of the instances.

This paper shows the implementation of the direct method, also called unsatisfied basic need index, indirect or poverty line method, Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve in Manga del Cura non delimited zone in Ecuador. The data used are the result of the processing of questionnaires applied to the people living in the zone. Simple probabilistic randomized sampling was applied for data processing (136 questionnaires). Housing and minimum equipment for home were analyzed, together with infrastructure, access to education and home subsistence ability. Results show that residents have more than one unsatisfied basic need, among them overcrowding, in an infrastructure that does not guarantee the minimum sanitary standards needed. These people live under the line of poverty because their average earnings correspond to 271, 37 USD, not enough to cover the cost of a basic food basket and Ecuadorian vital food basket. Engel and Gini coefficients demonstrate that there is equity in income distribution, what does not necessarily constitutes an indicator of good economic conditions, on the contrary, in this particular case, they indicate that this population group has similar, under 300.00 USD, monthly incomes.

This article describes findings from an evaluation of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) International Research Fellowship Program (IRFP), which supports postdoctoral research fellowships of 9–24 months in locations outside the USA. The evaluation assessed the role of IRFP in seeding productive international research collaborations for researchers early in their careers. Data used in the evaluation included the NSF program data and survey data from 1,039 scholars who applied to IRFP from 1992 to 2009. The evaluation employed a quasi-experimental design to compare the outcomes of IRFP-funded postdoctoral fellows (awardees) to unfunded applicants (non-awardees), using pre-award characteristics of applicants to mitigate the potential threat of selection bias; the study incorporated propensity score methodology to construct groups of awardees and non-awardees that were statistically similar across a number of preexisting characteristics. By constructing a comparison group from among applicants to the program, the treatment and comparison groups represented individuals who were similarly motivated to engage in international collaboration, and by using propensity scores to match based on characteristics at the time of application, comparisons were made among similarly qualified groups. The study found that IRFP awardees were more likely to have productive research collaborations with foreign researchers, their time abroad did not come at the expense of overall research productivity or career advancement, and the fellowships seeded collaborative relationships that extended beyond the fellowship period.

Male and female focus groups at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) discussed mentoring of Hispanic graduate students. Using Thematic Analysis, investigators identified three main themes: Relationship Initiation and Development, Valued Relationship Qualities, and Context and Barriers. Relationship themes included mentor openness, trust, commitment, availability and grant assistance. Barrier themes subsumed gender roles, financial insecurity, social inequality, and language differences. Females noted one unique theme, and males emphasized work obligations’ negative impact on mentoring.

A comparative analysis of several neighborhood structures is presented, including a variable neighborhood structure, which corresponds to a combination of the neighborhood structures evaluated in this paper. The performance of each neighborhood structure was tested using large random instances generated in this research and well-known benchmarks such as the Classical Symmetric Traveling Salesman Problem and the Unrelated Parallel Machines Problem. Experimental results show differences in the performance of the variable neighborhood search when it is applied to problems with differing complexity. Contrary to reports in literature about variable neighborhood searches, its performance varies according to the complexity of the problem.