"Collaborative Research: The Future of Innovative Learning Environments in STEM Education"

To advance the use of novel technologies to increase student learning outcomes, educational technology must be coupled with a deep understanding of how students learn and retain information. Thus, technology and the learning environment must work together to enable pedagogical approaches that promote student-centered learning. To set a research agenda for the technology-enhanced learning environment of the future, this collaborative project will conduct a series of events that explore the Future of Innovative Learning Environments. These events will include a series of interactive, online discussions followed by an in-person workshop. Workshop participants will include twenty-nine expert participants from academia, industry, and nonprofits. This project aims to inform the future of learning environments in STEM higher education. The project will consider the near-term and longer-term impacts, opportunities, challenges, and future research initiatives related to the development and implementation of innovative learning environments. This project will include three components: 1) Interactive, online discussions (microlabs) prior to the workshop will introduce participants to different innovative learning environments and solicit feedback from a range of stakeholders; 2) Participants at a two-day in-person workshop will engage in creative activities that help them envision how innovative learning environments might transform STEM higher education; and 3) the PIs and invited participants will synthesize the discussions and produce a report that can guide future. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.