The purpose of this REESE project is to investigate the impacts of inquiry-based science teaching experiences on the development of STEM graduate students as researchers. The investigators will measure the trajectory and magnitude of change in teaching and research skills over time using an array of relevant and contextualized data sources. They hypothesize that graduate students participating in both inquiry focused teaching experiences and advisor-directed research experiences will demonstrate greater growth in scientific reasoning and research design skills than those lacking either experience. Further, it is expected that research-active graduate students will benefit from teaching experiences in either undergraduate or K-12 settings.

The team anticipates that specific aspects of skill development may differ as a function of the teaching setting, but that either experience will provide a differential benefit relative to those students who participate exclusively in either research assistantships or teaching experiences. The researchers expect that this work will inform STEM graduate level training in both research and teaching.