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RIOS Institute

What are Working Groups?

Working Groups can be convened by the RIOS Leadership team or proposed by RIOS community members to tackle a shared community challenge. These groups function as innovation sandboxes or think tank incubators. In either format, participants bring new ideas to address challenges and develop a tangible product by the end of the project period. RIOS Working Group participants are active researchers and co-authors working together towards the construction of new knowledge (such as synthesis, pilot research, or translational work) to be disseminated in some way for the RIOS membership (such as through a white paper that may form the basis of a grant, a webinar, and/or a set of informational documents).

To support this work, RIOS invites proposals to its mini-grants program for up to $4,000 towards participant support, facilitator honoraria, and/or consultants. Working Groups should meet regularly (weekly or biweekly), and leaders will be mentored and supported by a member of the RIOS team. Successful Working Group proposals will include an open call for participation to the RIOS Community unless otherwise justified (the group already includes diverse and relevant perspectives). Working Group projects must align with the RIOS mission. At the conclusion of a Working Group, groups submit a report of work and then are invited to present results at the next RIOS Virtual Showcase.

Proposal Guidelines

RIOS Working Group participants will be active researchers and co-authors working together towards the construction of new knowledge (such as synthesis, pilot research, or translational work) to be disseminated in some way for the RIOS membership (such as through a white paper that may form the basis of a grant, a webinar, and/or a set of informational documents). Proposals can be made by all members of the RIOS community.

Proposals should be 1-3 pages in length and address the following requirements in individual sections:

  1. A statement of a problem to be explored or solved, or an area of concern to be addressed
  2. The goals/objectives of the group
  3. Contact information for the Working Group proposer(s) and area of expertise of any confirmed Working Group members
  4. A statement on the diversity of the proposed working group team and, if applicable, a culturally-responsive recruitment plan 
  5. Expected outcomes or specific products
  6. A description of how all products will be openly licensed and shared or include an explanation for why any product can not or should not be openly licensed. Note each proposal should include some form of written dissemination for the public.
  7. A timeline for activities and dissemination
  8. Budget that indicates how funds will be distributed.

Evaluation criteria:

  • Alignment with the RIOS Mission
  • Clarity of problem statement, goals and expected outcomes
  • Expertise and recruitment plan
  • Clear timeline and budget aligned to the outcomes/creation of a specific product - up to $2000 existing collaborations and up to $4000 for new collaborations, open recruitment collaborations, or multi-institutional collaborations.

Deadline: Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis. Go here to submit your Working Group proposal. Contact admin@riosinstitute.org for additional information.

Current RIOS Working Groups (Summer 2023-Spring 2024)

Social Justice Advocacy Manual for Survival

This group is led by Dr. Chad Topaz, Dr. Jude Higdon and Karen Walker. With the rise in anti-DEI laws aimed at minoritized persons coupled with the increase in far-right domestic terrorist activities targeting, among others, social justice advocates and organizations, the need for those working in the social justice space to take proactive steps to protect themselves and their loved ones is critically important. It is important for those involved in the movement to coordinate, lock arms, and support and protect one another when individual members or organizations in our community become the target of anti-DEI, anti-social justice terrorist activities. The proposed project will seek to build a “Social Justice Advocacy Manual for Survival” (S-JAMS) that will provide actionable tips for those in the space to take prophylactically, when/if they become targets, and when/if their personal safety is compromised.

Developing a Quantitative Reasoning Workbook for Social Justice (Summer/Fall 2023)

This group, proposed by Drs. Bianca Thompson & Kenan Ince, is dedicated to writing the first known active learning-centric, self-contained text and workbook for a one-semester course on quantitative reasoning for social justice, moving through four broad parts: Number and Quantity, Algebra and Functions, Statistics and Probability, and Geometry and Topology. The goal of this project is to help students to see how mathematics connects to their lives, including empowering students to use math and statistics to change the issues that they are most passionate about and/or impacted by, thus engaging students who may otherwise view mathematics as disconnected from real and personally meaningful contexts. We aim to connect both students and instructors to important issues for their communities, contributing to grassroots efforts led by students to address issues of social and economic injustice and promoting the liberal arts goal of an informed, active, literate citizenry. This text will support students and instructors in moving from the question, "When/how/where are we ever going to use this?" to "How can we use math to make change?"

A Review and Comparison of OER and STEM Equity Frameworks

This group, proposed by Dr. Anastasia Karaglani at the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), proposes a comprehensive review of existing research and literature on rubrics, frameworks, and models focusing on identifying and creating equitable OER and/or STEM course materials. The goals of this study will be to synthesize the relevant literature as a basis for comparing and describing various frameworks or models aiming to address equitable course materials and pedagogy. A systematic study would help us to understand and connect the various constructs across tools and structures and create a comprehensive understanding of this topic. Through systematic comparison, we will identify key common concepts, how these concepts are related, which variables seem to be absent, and highlight where future research efforts are needed. Analysis of the extant body of research will also surface recommendations for research needed to inform future work.

Developing a Community-Driven/Data-Driven Website for Neighborhood Advocacy among Spanish Speaking Residents of Providence, Rhode Island

This group, led by Rebekah Greenwald, is readying to finalize and launch the VECINA website. VECINA is an online open-source tool for community storytelling and geospatial information presented primarily in Spanish, the preferred language of content developers and end users. VECINA is an acronym for “Visualizing Environmental and Community Information for Neighborhood Advocacy” and it refers to the word for “neighbor” in Spanish.

Previous RIOS Working Groups

Debunking the Myth that Race is Biological (Spring 2023)

This group, proposed by Melanie Lenahan and Karen Gaffney, focused on the problem that the belief that race is biological is on the rise, and this is a serious problem for two reasons. First, this belief is false, and second, it is dangerous, with harmful and even fatal consequences. This myth has served as a rationale and justification for white supremacy, imperialism, colonialism, genocide, land theft, slavery, segregation, eugenics, and more. Institutions of higher education have an opportunity to take a more active role in debunking the myth that race is biological through teaching. This Working Group identified materials that could be integrated into various science courses to support faculty in this intervention. Funding from RIOS went towards compensating students to create curricular materials that contributed to this work.

Revising the Genetics Curriculum for Biologically Accurate Learning about Race and Genetics (Spring 2023)

This group, proposed by Drs. Katherine Furniss, Charlie Willis, and Sarah Hammarlund, revised common genetics learning objectives, classroom examples, and assessment questions. The basic genetics curriculum, typically focused on Mendelian and molecular genetics with examples about, for example, sickle cell anemia, reinforces the incorrect belief that race is genetic. Using the principles of backwards design, the group aimed to revise learning objectives to be biologically accurate and anti-essentialist. The group revised and created classroom examples and contexts that meet these learning objectives. Funding from RIOS was primarily utilized to compensate an undergraduate student for their efforts in this project, as well as provide some compensation to the three faculty leaders.

Open Frameworks for Evaluating OER towards Social Justice (Spring 2023)

This group was led by RIOS co-founder Dr. Karen Cangialosi, Kassidy Fegles-Jones and Elizabeth Braatz. In the last few years, several OER and STEM organizations have begun to create frameworks or develop projects with the intention of identifying, evaluating and/or guiding creators in the construction of equitable, anti-racist and socially just (S-JEDI) OER materials. The working group aimed to research and curate information about these frameworks and built an ongoing database of organizations, projects, and initiatives that have created frameworks or guidelines to be used for the integration of S-JEDI and anti-racist principles into OER creation, remixes, and use in pedagogical practices. Once the database was completed, they analyzed the various frameworks for commonalities and differences and developed a matrix to more easily identify areas of similarities and uniqueness. The database was used as part of a community engagement plan and is available on the RIOS website.

Reclaiming the Language of Advocacy (Spring 2022)

This group, led by RIOS Communications Fellow Jasmine Roberts-Crews, explored how to be intentional in the language we use to discuss social justice issues and advocate for systemic change. It also addressed how the language of advocacy can and has been weaponized to minimize the experiences of systematically excluded people, and to challenge movements for change. Through weekly readings and discussions, participants built a white paper that identified the role of language in framing social justice issues and provided recommendations for how to propose and advocate for systemic solutions. At the end of the Working Group, participants had the opportunity to revise the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) BioInteractive’s Inclusive Language Guide. Funding from both RIOS and HHMI went towards compensating the organizers of the Working Group, as well as participants who contributed to the revision of the HHMI guidelines.

Broadening Representation and Recognition in STEM curricula with OERs (Spring 2022)

This group, proposed by Dr. Marja Bakermans, explored how to use Open Education Resources (OER) as a tool for decolonization in STEM education. Participants built a white paper that outlined how to use workshops for increasing the creation and adoption of OER that centers marginalized people, incentivize faculty use of these OER, and promote decolonized and inclusive OER designed by the team. Following the Working Group, the team planned to expand their work into a full NSF grant proposal. Thanks to RIOS’ funding, the Working Group members were able to recruit peer consultants to evaluate the project and compensate them for their work.

The Inner Landscape of Critical Thinking: Building Learning Ecosystems for STEM Students’ Wicked Competencies (Spring 2022)

This group, proposed by Dr. Mays Imad, tackled how acknowledging and incorporating emotions into the classroom⁠—instead of falsely asserting that learning is purely logical⁠—can improve students’ experiences. “Critical feeling,” then, is a skill that needs to be cultivated by lessons, alongside and intertwined with critical thinking. Dr. Imad’s Working Group created a concept paper that asked what critical feeling looks like in the STEM classroom, and how students respond to this frame of learning. RIOS’ funding went towards compensating team members for their time spent on this project.

A Culturally Responsive Instructor Training Curriculum (Spring 2022)

This group, proposed by Elizabeth Besozzi, worked on revising and expanding the CODE Workshop, a series of computer science events for students from marginalized groups. This workshop was previously developed by several members of the Working Group, and provided not just data analysis experience, but also peer mentorship for attendees. Working Group participants built a culturally responsive training curriculum for CODE Workshop instructors, and a grant proposal to support ongoing and future iterations of the workshop. RIOS’ funding went towards compensating Indigenous participants and external consultants for their expertise. This Working Group was also supported by matching funds from the Oklahoma University Office of the Vice President, and the Corix Plains Institute.

Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) OER Initiative: The IDEA Framework (Spring 2022)

This group, proposed by Dr. Michelle Pilati, further developed a framework for the development of inclusive, diverse, equitable, and anti-racist (IDEA) OER. This framework provided tools for faculty to choose and improve existing OER for their courses. Participants in the Working Group solicited and incorporated feedback on the IDEA Framework, and used that to revise it. RIOS’ funding, along with matching funds from the ASCC OERI, went towards compensating the team members for their work.

Tagging Ontologies (Summer 2021)

This group’s participants explored possibilities for metadata systems which support inclusive and anti-racist Open Education Resources (OER). How we design our OER databases, search functions, and other systems sends a message to the community about what we value pedagogically. The working group focused in part on how systems of labeling and searching (“tagging”) OER can encourage anti-racist and decolonizing curriculum submissions in postsecondary STEM education. At the end of the working group period, the team produced a one-pager that became the basis of a full NSF grant. Following the conclusion of the working group, several group members, along with a few new individuals with additional expertise, finalized and submitted the grant. You can read about that team’s insights from their experience on our News Blog.