The Impact of a Design Workshop on the Quality of Educational Outreach Products and Clean Energy Fellows’ Knowledgeability of the Broader Impacts of their Research

While deep disciplinary knowledge will be required to develop next-generation clean energy technologies, the skills to work across disciplines and with diverse stakeholders will also be required. Providing authentic and explicit opportunities for graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to engage in the broader impacts (BI) 0f their research could support the development of these skills. A concurrent mixed methods action research study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a three-part, semi-structured design workshop on clean energy fellows’ knowledgeability of the broader impacts of their research, their identification with the clean energy field, and their ability to develop high-quality educational outreach products. This study was grounded in a sociocultural theory of learning and informed by several conceptual frameworks: situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991), communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), and knowledgeability (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015). Quantitative data was collected through a rubric and survey informed by guiding principles from the Broader Impacts Review Document for National Science Foundation Proposals (Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society, 2020). Qualitative data was collected through this survey and a focus group interview. Results demonstrated a significant, strong, and positive correlation between attendance at the design workshop attendance and Product of Lasting Value (PLV) quality. Unfortunately, the lack of respondents in the post-survey prevented the ability to quantify any changes that took place in fellows’ knowledgeability of the BI of their research and their identification with the clean energy field due to the innovation. Yet, results from the focus group interview do show that some fellows experienced increased knowledgeability of the BI of their research and identification with the clean energy field, but these gains were not necessarily due to the PLV Design Workshop.