Dr. Brenda Capobianco Receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Ireland to study engineering design integration in STEM education

Dr. Brenda Capobianco, Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at Purdue University, has been awarded the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for 2021-2022. Dr. Capobianco will conduct research at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) where she will investigate the integration of engineering design as a means of supporting the development of high-quality STEM teachers. Her research will focus on how the two constructs – learning to teach science using engineering design and engaging in action research to support STEM learning – intersect and facilitate science teacher development.

Considered one of the most widely recognized and prestigious awards, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award honors competitively selected scholars who exercise their talents abroad through research and/or teaching. As a Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Capobianco will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Ireland. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions.  

“Fulbright awards are highly prestigious and extremely competitive,” said Dr. Wayne Wright, Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Programs and Faculty Development and Professor & Barbara I. Cook Chair of Literacy and Language in the College of Education. “Dr. Capobianco’s selection as Fulbright Scholar demonstrates her outstanding scholarship and recognition as an expert in her field. She has much to offer to the faculty and students she will work with in Ireland and will gain valuable experience through this international exchange. As a former Fulbrighter myself, I can attest to the career and life-changing experiences the Fulbright has to offer.”

“A signature component of my current research at Purdue involves the creation of a new model for elementary science teacher education,” said Dr. Capobianco. “By immersing myself in the Irish context, I will be able to test my model for its capacity to be scalable as well as transportable.”

Dr. Capobianco’s research will entail interviewing and observing science teacher educators and preservice science teachers at the NUIG. She will contribute her expertise in action research through research modules, doctoral seminars, and workshops with undergraduate and graduate students in science teacher education. Additionally, she will assist her Irish colleagues on funded projects situated in the local schools.

“Unlike my NSF awards, Fulbright grants me a prolonged period of time to explore and experience first-hand the different ways my colleagues in Ireland respond to their national call for improved STEM teacher preparation,” explained Dr. Capobianco. “Equally important will be the opportunity for my Irish colleagues to share their expertise in curriculum development, reform-based teaching, and scholarly research in preparing the next generation of high-quality STEM educators.”

Dr. Capobianco joined Purdue University in 2002. Her research interests include science teachers’ and teacher educators’ engagement in action research; young women’s participation in science, technology, and engineering and the role teachers play in supporting young women’s participation; issues of gender, culture, and identity in science and engineering education. She has been awarded over $20 million in both external and internal grants including several grants funded by the National Science Foundation emphasizing the integration of engineering design in elementary science education. Dr. Capobianco has served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Science Teacher Education and the editorial boards for the Journal of Research in Science Teaching and Journal of Science Teacher Education.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, counter misunderstandings, and help people and nations work together toward common goals. Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enabled more than 390,000 dedicated and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and find solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

Learn more about Purdue University College of Education at https://education.purdue.edu// .

Learn more about Dr. Brenda Capobianco at https://education.purdue.edu//faculty-profiles/name/brenda-capobianco/.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright.

Source: Dr. Brenda Capobianco, bcapo@purdue.edu, (765) 494-9635

Writer: Jennifer Merzdorf, jmerzdo@purdue.edu, (765) 494-0568