Program in Interdisciplinary Education Research

In 2004, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) established the Program in Interdisciplinary Education Research (PIER),which received a second grant in 2009. Through this 2015 grant, PIER continued to train fellows to conduct rigorous research on learning conditions related to curriculum, instruction, and assessment to improve academic outcomes for diverse prekindergarten through postsecondary students. PIER was led by CMU faculty from several academic departments (psychology, statistics, human-computer interaction, and economics) and the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence. PIER recruited fellows primarily from these participating departments, but fellows also came from other CMU doctoral programs flexible enough to accommodate all PIER requirements.

Over the course of the grant, PIER recruited and trained fellows providing, 5-year positions with 3- to 4-years of support through the IES grant and 1- to 2-years provided by CMU. All PIER fellowships included tuition and benefits, $30,000 stipends, and a small research fund. PIER fellows participated in an interdisciplinary core curriculum consisting of coursework in the learning sciences, instruction, assessment, research methodology, and statistics. Fellows also participated in field-based experiences including observing and collaborating with practitioners, engaging in interdisciplinary research projects with other PIER fellows, and participating in research apprenticeships with PIER faculty.

The PIER training program also included an ongoing interdisciplinary colloquium in the education sciences and a biweekly brown bag series on education research. The PIER colloquia, brown bag series, and courses were open to the entire learning sciences community in Pittsburgh and even more broadly during the pandemic when everything switched to a virtual format. Finally, PIER launched a Summer Program for Undergraduate Researchers (SPUR)designed to increase participation of underrepresented groups in graduate training related to learning sciences by providing undergraduate research apprenticeships at CMU for students.  Over the course of 5 summers, with combined funding from IES and other sources, 36 undergraduates participate in SPUR.

The total costs of the training program over 6 years were approximately $8 million. In addition to the $3.67 million grant from IES, CMU contributed approximately $3.56 million to cost-share fellows' stipends/tuition during the award period and approximately $765,000 in fellowship support to continue to train fellows for up to 2 years after the grant concluded.