Summer offers a welcome shift in rhythm for many STEM education research teams. With fewer school-year demands, it is an ideal time to regroup, analyze data, and prepare for dissemination and the next grant proposal. For many DRK-12 projects, summer is more than a pause—it is a time to innovate, deepen partnerships, and amplify learning. Here are examples of how summer work can go further:
As STEM education funding and academic research opportunities continue to shift, early career researchers are increasingly finding fulfilling careers outside traditional academic settings. Survey responses from former CADRE Fellows working outside of academia highlight the many ways they are applying their research training to improve education and lead in diverse professional landscapes.
Applying Research Skills Across Sectors
Whether working in unions, school districts, nonprofits, or edtech firms, Fellows describe daily use of their education research training.
As part of NSF’s Discovery Research PreK–12 (DRK–12) program, your project is not only advancing knowledge in STEM education; it’s also helping shape a national story of innovation and impact. How can your team best document and communicate this contribution? Here are ways DRK–12 projects can frame their outcomes to amplify the broader NSF impact narrative across sectors:
Highlight Improved Teaching and Learning
Share evidence of how your project has shifted classroom practice or student learning. This might include:
Artificial intelligence can strengthen the role of narratives in games for learning.
If you are as old as I am, or at least familiar with games as old as I am, you’ll know that many of the early computer games were text adventures. These games involved setting you on a narrative drive quest, with the ability to provide two-word commands on how to interact with the environment. Commands like “GO WEST” and “LIFT TABLE” were quite common. To me, these worlds were equally fascinating and frustrating.
CADRE analyzed findings from open-ended questions included in the 2024 DRK-12 Portfolio survey sent to 309 DRK-12 principal investigators (PIs) (n = 154 total respondents). The survey included questions about project challenges and impacts.* The findings underscore the need for adaptive strategies to address recruitment, retention, and effective virtual engagement, alongside an ongoing focus on measuring long-term outcomes to capture the full impact of these educational initiatives.
Challenges Overview
Translating the latest science into education is always a challenge, particularly in physics. A key aspect of exemplary science education is that the students are doing science, not just reading or hearing about science. Physics ideas are often complex and far removed from everyday experience, making it difficult to turn developments in physics into instructional materials appropriate for the classroom.
In the ever-evolving realm of education research, the goal is to transform knowledge into action, making a tangible impact on teaching and improving learning. This journey encompasses research that studies implementation and effects of education innovations and culminates in the communication of research evidence and uptake of innovative practices and resources.
This conversation and summary were originally released in the August 2022 CADRE Newsletter and are being repromoted on the Community Voices blog to provide continued support to prospective DRK-12 awardees during the proposal devleopment process.
In the evolving landscape of education research dissemination, DRK-12 awardees are employing innovative methods to share their insights beyond traditional academic forums.* Striving to inform a diverse audience that includes policymakers, educators, and even the public at large, these scholars are taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure their research has the widest possible impact.
