STEM PUSH Network

PUSHING FOR EQUITY CENTERED IMPROVEMENT SCIENCE: STEM PUSH TO JOIN NSF WEBINAR 

The STEM PUSH Network is excited to join four NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES-funded alliances and the NSF Coordination Hub for an important webinar discussion on how Improvement Science can be leveraged and adapted for equitable systems change in STEM.  

The Aug. 30th National Network Quarterly Webinar will showcase the transformative work of four INCLUDES-funded Alliances and offer strategies and resources for equitable research and design, showing how Improvement Science and Networked Improvement communities (NICs) can meet the multifaceted challenges of educational equity.  

Mark your calendars for August 30th at 

10:00 – 11:30 am PST/ 1:00 – 2:30pm EST 

for insightful discourse. 

STEM PUSH centers equity in every facet of the work, from research design to development and scale, as we aim to dismantle the systemic barriers that have historically limited access and success for marginalized students in STEM. 

This webinar will explore how the STEM PUSH Alliance, alongside ALRISE Alliance, First2 Network, and Native FEWS, leverages Improvement Science and NICs as powerful tools for systemic change. Each Alliance will present insights and adaptations to the NIC initiation framework developed by Jennifer Russell and colleagues (2017), with a particular focus on how the adaptations support the building of inclusive networks. 

“STEM PUSH is eager to share what we’ve learned in our journey in using improvement science within a network to pursue equitable systems change. We have adapted traditional and existing tools and approaches to more effectively center equity in our improvement effort and look forward to sharing what we’ve learned. We will share practical strategies for how we have ensured an equitable culture within the NIC and infused the voices of underrepresented students in the improvement work. Our colleagues leading other Alliances have also adapted and extended improvement science practices and we are looking forward to learning with and from them” said Jen Iriti, co-lead for STEM PUSH. 

Participants will have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of these four Alliances, comparing the similarities and differences in how each group applied the framework of NICs in their work. The session will also offer the opportunity to engage in small group discussion about participants’ experiences with improvement science and NICs in their equity-focused work. 

Register Here for the discussion on August 30 at 10:00 – 11:30 am PST/ 1:00 – 2:30pm EST 

For more information or inquiries, please contact nsfincludeshub@sri.com. 

More about STEM PUSH Network 

The STEM PUSH Network, an NSF INCLUDES Alliance, is working to leverage the power of pre-college STEM programs (PCSPs) to broaden participation of Black, Latine, and Indigenous students in STEM, and, together with its partners, create systemic change in higher education admissions. STEM PUSH is a national network of pre-college STEM programs and is conducting the first large, cross-program research study of pre-college STEM program experiences on student enrollment and persistence in STEM in higher education.  

Recent posts

National Association for College Admission Counseling’s The Journal of College Admission Feature on the STEM PUSH Network

NACAC’s Journal of College Admission features STEM PUSH: Pre-college STEM programs teach students
about scientific inquiry, research, and much
more. Yet many of these out-of-school
programs that are equity-focused often aren’t
considered in college admission because
there’s too much variability across programs
for admission offices to evaluate. A national
alliance called the STEM PUSH Network is
working to change that.

Read More »