Graduate

Descriptive Portfolio Overview of Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) Projects Funded from 2007 to 2012

The Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) was funded by a cooperative agreement, beginning in 2008, as the resource network that supports the DR K-12 community in advancing the state of research and evaluation in STEM education, and furthering the goals of the DR K-12 program. As part of its work, CADRE annually conducts a review of the DRK-12 portfolio.

Author/Presenter

Alina Martinez

Brian Freeman

Daphne Minner

Laurie Bozzi

Carolyn Callahan

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2013
Short Description

This overview is intended to describe the scope and depth of research and development DR K-12 has funded and to identify areas that could be advanced by further investigations by CADRE. The overview summarizes the 351 projects that met the criteria for inclusion and analysis.

STEM Smart Brief: Engineering: Emphasizing the “E” in STEM Education

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2013
Short Description

“Engineering is taught only sporadically in K-12 schools, despite growing evidence that engaging in engineering education leads to improved student learning and achievement in mathematics and science, in part by connecting these subjects to real-world problems.” Read this brief to learn more about the increasing efforts to integrate engineering into the K-12 curriculum.

STEM Smart Brief: Connecting Informal and Formal STEM Education

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2012
Short Description

“Providing a richness of resources unavailable in any classroom, informal science institutions across the country have developed exemplary partnerships with public schools—and have room for more.” Read this brief to explore how out-of-school learning can complement and enhance what is being taught in the classroom.

STEM Smart Brief: Raising the Bar: Increasing STEM Achievement for All Students

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2012
Short Description

“When students from non-mainstream backgrounds receive equitable learning opportunities, they are capable of attaining science outcomes comparable to their mainstream peers. The same is true for mathematics and, presumably, for other STEM subjects, as well.” Read this brief to dive further into what can be done to improve the academic achievement of students from all backgrounds.

STEM Smart Brief: Improving STEM Curriculum and Instruction: Engaging Students and Raising Standards

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2012
Short Description

“For effective K–12 STEM instruction to become the norm, schools and districts must be transformed.” Read this brief to learn more about curriculum and instructional methods that engage students in the learning process.

STEM Smart Brief: Preparing and Supporting STEM Educators

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2012
Short Description

“Recent research emphasizes that teacher quality alone cannot improve student achievement at scale. School leadership, staff collaboration, and a positive climate are among essential organizational elements that contribute to meaningful change.” Read this brief to learn more about suggested methods for properly supporting STEM educators.

Preparing Students for College and Careers in STEM

“The majority of U.S. students, particularly low-income and minority youth, lacks foundational skills and knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.” Read this STEM Smart brief to find out more about the efforts that are making change across the nation.

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2013
Short Description

“The majority of U.S. students, particularly low-income and minority youth, lacks foundational skills and knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.” Read this STEM Smart brief to find out more about the efforts that are making change across the nation.

Descriptive Overview of the DR K-12 Portfolio: Projects funded 2007-2012

The Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) program, funded by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL), supports research and development in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Specifically, the program seeks to enhance the learning and teaching of STEM by funding “research projects that study the development, testing, deployment, effectiveness, and/or scale-up of innovative resources, models and tools.”

Author/Presenter

Alina Martinez

Brian Freeman

Daphne Minner

Laurie Bozzi

Caroline Callahan

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2013
Short Description

This report, the fifth and final portfolio overview to be prepared by CADRE, describes important characteristics of the first six cohorts of DR K-12 projects that received their initial funding from 2007 to 2012. It characterizes the development and research in STEM education—on resources, models, and technologies—funded by the DR K-12 program.

VISUALIZING OCEANS OF DATA Educational Interface Design

Science is data-intensive, but today’s science education is not. In most classrooms, students’ work with data is limited to reading graphs prepared by others, or at best collecting simple data sets themselves. While these student-collected data sets allow students to begin building their data proficiency, the conclusions that can be drawn and the lessons that can be learned from these data are limited in scope and can sometimes be compromised by data quality.

Author/Presenter

Ruth Krumhansl

Cheryl Peach

June Foster

Amy Busey

Irene Baker

Jackie DeLisi

Year
2012
Short Description

The Oceans of Data project has made an attempt to define and confront what is “hard” for students and teachers who attempt to use large, online professional data sets. We feel passionately that it’s important for us to do this to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s world.

VISUALIZING OCEANS OF DATA Educational Interface Design

Science is data-intensive, but today’s science education is not. In most classrooms, students’ work with data is limited to reading graphs prepared by others, or at best collecting simple data sets themselves. While these student-collected data sets allow students to begin building their data proficiency, the conclusions that can be drawn and the lessons that can be learned from these data are limited in scope and can sometimes be compromised by data quality.

Author/Presenter

Ruth Krumhansl

Cheryl Peach

June Foster

Amy Busey

Irene Baker

Jackie DeLisi

Year
2012
Short Description

The Oceans of Data project has made an attempt to define and confront what is “hard” for students and teachers who attempt to use large, online professional data sets. We feel passionately that it’s important for us to do this to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s world.