Our Mission
To advance the research and practice of teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the STEM disciplines.
The Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center) is an interdisciplinary center organized to conduct research, graduate education, and professional development. We aim to build community partnerships focused on improving the research and research-based practice of STEM education at all levels of instruction. Members of the RiSE Center include faculty, staff, and graduate students engaged in education research across multiple STEM departments and the College of Education at the University of Maine.
RiSE faculty, staff, students, and collaborators contribute to knowledge of teaching and learning across STEM subject areas, with significant national and international contributions in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Education, Marine Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics.
The RiSE Center provides education and professional development for emerging educators through undergraduate and graduate opportunities, including teaching and research assistantships, a Master of Science in Teaching degree with a teacher certification option, and an interdisciplinary STEM Education PhD program.
The RiSE Center also facilitates community partnerships with K–12 schools and school districts, teachers, university faculty, and other organizational partners in Maine and beyond to improve STEM education and teacher preparation through research-supported practices.
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History of the RiSE Center
The Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center) was founded in 2001 with a $1.23 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Education. This initial grant began the development of the RiSE research portfolio, using discipline-based education research to study teaching and learning. It also established the Master of Science in Teaching Program, a content-rich, research-based program for secondary teacher preparation or further graduate study for those interested in STEM education research.
Faculty who were part of the team to launch the Center, develop and teach the core courses, and form partnerships during Center’s first decade are: François Amar (Chemistry), Mitchell Bruce (Chemistry), Robert Franzosa (Mathematics and Statistics), Chris Gerbi (Earth and Climate Sciences), Susan McKay (Physics and Astronomy, Founding Director), Eric Pandiscio (Learning and Teaching), Molly Schauffler (Earth and Climate Sciences), Natasha Speer (Mathematics and Statistics), John Thompson (Physics and Astronomy), Michael Wittmann (Physics and Astronomy), and Professor Emeritus Steve Norton (Earth and Climate Sciences). This team provided the foundation for the success of RiSE and its growth to its current 21 faculty members, over 20 graduate students, and 10 professional staff. RiSE faculty members come from four of UMaine’s colleges: Education and Human Development, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture. Thus, RiSE brings together multiple disciplinary perspectives in its research, which often includes the ongoing involvement and contributions of teachers and administrators as well.
RiSE continues to expand its research portfolio and build research-practice partnerships with teachers, STEM and STEM education faculty, community members and other stakeholders to strengthen STEM education for all Maine students. Examples of current partnerships include the NSF Teaching Fellowship Program, which recruits, prepares, supports and retains STEM teachers in high-need Maine districts; the NSF STEM+C Program, which integrates computing and computational thinking into middle school science; and NSF EPSCoR Track-1 and Track-2 partnerships, which bring cutting-edge, environmentally relevant research into Maine classrooms. This work brings the excitement and opportunities offered by a high quality STEM education to over 9,000 students annually, PreK–16+, while building a culture of evidence to guide ongoing improvement.
