Dr. Shonda Rutledge serves as Co-PI and broadening participation lead for the Center. In these roles, she facilitates partnership development between STEM education researchers and professionals through community-engaged research learning activities. 

Read below for Dr. Rutledge’s thoughts on how the Center supports early career researchers. 

What value does the Center bring to the PreK-12 STEM education field?

The Center will elevate the impact of STEM education research by ensuring it is accessible, relevant, and grounded in classroom and system needs. 

How does the Center help bridge the gap between research and STEM classrooms? 

The Center focuses on connecting researchers and practitioners through translation, partnerships, and actionable resources that make research usable in real-world learning contexts. It ensures that strong ideas move beyond publications to inform teaching, learning, and policy in meaningful ways. 

"I also hope that the Center helps researchers connect with broader audiences and build partnerships that extend the reach and impact of their projects in meaningful ways into classrooms and school systems." 

-Dr. Shonda Rutledge, Co-PI

What hopes do you have for how NSF-funded researchers will benefit from this Center? 

I really hope that the Center will create clearer pathways for researchers—especially those new to the NSF STEM K–12 program—to develop competitive proposals and impactful projects. I also hope that the Center helps researchers connect with broader audiences and build partnerships that extend the reach and impact of their projects in meaningful ways into classrooms and school systems. 

How will the Center be able to support early career STEM education researchers who are new to NSF? 

The Center can foster mentorship and community, helping new researchers build networks and navigate the field more effectively. 

What excites you most about this work?

I am most excited about our work through the Center to expand who participates in and shapes STEM education research by intentionally supporting scholars from geographically underrepresented institutions and backgrounds. I strongly believe this work will strengthen the field by broadening perspectives, increasing access to NSF opportunities, and elevating innovative, student-centered research.