Using Science Education Gateways to improve undergraduate STEM education: The QUBES Platform as a case study

TL;DR

The QUBES platform serves as a science education gateway to enhance undergraduate STEM education by providing equitable access to resources, supporting authentic science learning, and fostering open education practices, thereby promoting reform adoption.

Contribution

This paper presents the design, implementation, and potential impact of the QUBES platform as a novel cyberinfrastructure for undergraduate STEM education reform.

Findings

QUBES broadens participation in STEM teaching scholarship.

The platform facilitates scalable dissemination of reform resources.

It lowers faculty barriers to adopting innovative teaching practices.

Abstract

The QUBES platform was conceived as a "science education gateway" and designed to accelerate innovation in undergraduate STEM education. The technical infrastructure was purpose built to provide more equitable access to professional resources, support learning that reflects authentic science, and promote open education practices. Four platform services (OER Library Access; Professional Learning; Partner Support; and Customizable Workspaces) support overlapping faculty user communities, provide multiple points of entry, and enable manifold use case scenarios. The integrated nature of the platform makes it possible to collect, curate, and disseminate a diverse array of reform resources in a scalable and sustainable manner. We believe that the QUBES platform has the capacity to broaden participation in scholarship around teaching and learning and, furthermore, that it can help to lower faculty barriers to the adoption of reform practices. The role of cyberinfrastructure in undergraduate STEM education is generally underappreciated and warrants further exploration.