Discipline-Based Education Research
Understanding and improving STEM teaching and learning through rigorous research.
Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) at NC State brings together faculty, postdocs, graduate students and others who study how students learn STEM disciplines and how educational systems can better support that learning. Our work draws on the knowledge, practices, and ways of thinking of STEM disciplines, while using theories and methods from the learning sciences, social sciences and education research. We conduct research that informs teaching, curriculum, assessment and institutional change at NC State and beyond.
What Is Discipline-Based Education Research?
DBER investigates teaching and learning within specific STEM disciplines, grounded in both disciplinary expertise and social science research methods. DBER addresses questions such as:
- How do students learn core concepts and practices in STEM fields?
- How can instruction be designed to help all students learn?
- What supports sustainable instructional and institutional change?
At NC State, we use the term DBER broadly to include research on learning, instruction, curriculum, assessment and educational change within and across STEM disciplines. Our work spans quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches and engages multiple theoretical perspectives.
Our Community
DBER at NC State is an interdisciplinary community spanning colleges, departments and roles. Members include professional-track faculty, teaching faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students and others.
Together, we:
- Support one another in developing high-quality DBER at NC State;
- Collaborate on research projects across disciplinary and methodological boundaries;
- Mentor graduate students and early-career researchers;
- Support proposal development and externally funded research; and
- Build connections between research and educational practice.
Announcements
Intensive DBER Workshop – APPLICATIONS OPEN
May 11-14: Professional Development for Emerging Education Researchers (PEER) workshop. PEER supports faculty and postdocs who are beginning or expanding their work in Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) in STEM fields. For many participants, PEER marks their first education research project; others use the workshop to explore new theories or methodologies, or to re-engage with research after a hiatus. PEER is built on the idea that everyone brings valuable expertise, and everyone has opportunities to learn, grow, and refine their skills.
- Where: Cox 105
- When: The worshop will run from May 11-14, roughly 10am-4pm each day. Lunch will be provided.
- This workshop is open to all NC State faculty, staff, and postdocs. It is sponsored by the College of Sciences and the Integrative Sciences Initiative as part of NC State’s efforts to expand capacity in Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER).
- Priority will be given to applications received by March 27. We will notify selected participants by April 10.
DBER Faculty Learning Community (FLC)
The DBER Faculty Learning Community (FLC) supports faculty who are interested in developing a Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) project within a collaborative and supportive community of peers.
The FLC will meet approximately ten times during the 2026–27 academic year, with each session lasting 90 minutes.
Participants should enter the FLC with an initial DBER research project idea that they hope to develop further and, ideally, implement during the academic year or shortly after. Projects do not need to be fully formed at the beginning of the FLC. The FLC is designed to support ideas at any stage of development.
The primary goal of the FLC is to guide participants through the DBER research design process. Meetings will include readings and structured discussions focused on key components of education research that may be unfamiliar to traditionally trained scientists and engineers. Topics include identifying relevant literature, developing feasible research goals and questions, working with theoretical and conceptual frameworks, conducting data analysis, and writing for education research journals. A significant portion of each session will be devoted to sharing work-in-progress and providing constructive peer feedback.
Participants should expect to spend approximately 2–3 hours preparing for each meeting.
By the end of the FLC, participants will have a well-developed research project, with the goal of presenting their work at a professional conference and potentially submitting it for publication.
If you are interested in participating in the FLC, please complete the short application form. Priority will be given to applications received by May 29, 2026.
Please contact Dr. Charles Henderson (charles_henderson@ncsu.edu) with any questions.
New DBER Graduate Course offered in Fall 2026
The course is designed for graduate students interested in or studying DBER or STEM Education. Although listed with a Physics (PH) prefix, the course is open to and will be inclusive of students from all STEM disciplines.
Please see the course description and help spread the word to relevant colleagues and graduate students
DBER @ NC State Leadership group
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Director of Interdisciplinary STEM Education
crhende3@ncsu.edu
Teaching Professor, Department of Statistics, and Associate Dean for Administration, College of Sciences
hmmcgowa@ncsu.edu
Assistant Professor, Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
919-515-0381 eawade@ncsu.eduEvents
Recent Events
Wednesday April 8
Time: 3pm-4:15pm
Location: Faculty Seminar 2312N, D. H. Hill Jr. Library
Topic: Qualitative research in DBER
Time: 3pm-4:15pm
Location: Faculty Seminar 2312N, D. H. Hill Jr. Library
Topic: Qualitative research in DBER
Examples of three qualitative research methods in DBER, by:
Dr. Lexie Cooper, Biological Sciences
Dr. Melissa Dancy, Physics
Dr. Charles Henderson, Physics
Tuesday March 10
Time: 11:45am-1:00pm
Location: Faculty Seminar 2312N, D. H. Hill Jr. Library
Topic: Getting Started in DBER
Time: 11:45am-1:00pm
Location: Faculty Seminar 2312N, D. H. Hill Jr. Library
Topic: Getting Started in DBER
Special Presentation by Dr. Scott Franklin, RIT
Dr. Franklin (Rochester Institute of Technology) will discuss the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in DBER and describe what will happen in the May 11-14 Intensive DBER workshop.
Tuesday Feb 24.
Time: 11:45am-1:00pm
Location: Faculty Seminar 2312N, D. H. Hill Jr. Library
Topic: Metacognition for Undergraduate STEM Students
Presenter: Dr. Melissa Dancy
Time: 11:45am-1:00pm
Location: Faculty Seminar 2312N, D. H. Hill Jr. Library
Topic: Metacognition for Undergraduate STEM Students
Presenter: Dr. Melissa Dancy
During the first half of our meeting, Dr. Dancy presented a new course she is developing and teaching to support undergraduate STEM students’ flourishing. The course integrates metacognition, virtue ethics, and mindful noticing as core frameworks for helping students develop greater awareness of their thinking and learning as well as personal and professional growth.
She outlined the course’s design principles, described key topics and learning goals, and shared representative classroom activities. The second half of the meeting was devoted to discussion, with participants invited to reflect on and share perspectives related to metacognition in undergraduate STEM education more broadly.