About the Incubator

Purpose and Background

The purpose of the INTERACT Incubator is to identify research needs for studying teaching practices that improve equity in STEM, and to solidify a detailed design plan for infrastructure to address these needs comprehensively, and at scale.  The incubator was created in response to the NSF's Dear Colleague Letter (May 11, 2022) which called on the research community to envision instrumentation and infrastructure to advance research on equity in education:

[The purpose of incubators is to] support the development of Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure (RI) efforts, especially those that enable research on the assets and needs of those traditionally left out of STEM and that lead to greater education equity. Mid-Scale RI is a relatively new concept for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education community because STEM education research has traditionally been distributed, individual, and less reliant on instrumentation. Improving the speed and scale at which STEM education research advances, however, requires national research infrastructures. Through this DCL, NSF aims to conceptualize and consolidate viable infrastructure ideas to support STEM education research that will transform teaching and learning.

Incubator Structure

The INTERACT Incubator's home is Indiana University Bloomington.  It is led by Ben Motz and Mary Murphy jointly, with Amanda Diekman, Emily Fyfe, Dorainne Green, and Rob Goldstone, all in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.  Along with two project managers, Harmony Jankowski and Kathy Emerson, these 8 individuals constitute the INTERACT Incubator's Steering Committee. 

The incubator brings together a diverse set of researchers who study equity and learning in education settings, as well as teachers, administrators, and technology leaders.  The full incubator membership, and ways for getting involved, is listed on the Members page.