Mohamed El Nagdi, a Ph.D. candidate in STEM Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, has received the Davis-Foster Graduate Student Reseach Award  from the North Central Association for Science Teaching Education (ASTE).

ASTE recognized El Nagdi for his research on the evolving roles of STEM educators in new STEM teaching environments. “This [research] was conducted in four Minneapolis emerging STEM schools,” explains El Nagdi. “The research findings show that STEM teachers’ identities are a developing construct with much emphasis on the need for great alignment between teacher’s personal philosophy of teaching and what is required in order to be a successful STEM teacher.”

El Nagdi developed his research with colleague Felicia Leammukda, and his advisor Gillian Roehrig, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and the current acting president of ASTE.

ASTE grants the Davis-Foster Graduate Student Research Award to several students each year. The recipients receive a a monetary prize in addition to ASTE covering the costs of travel to their annual international conference. El Nagdi will attend the 2018 conference in Baltimore, Maryland this January.

Learn more about  STEM education research in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.