“Workers in STEM fields play a direct role in driving economic growth. Yet, because of how the STEM economy has been defined, policymakers have mainly focused on supporting workers with at least a bachelor’s degree, overlooking a strong potential workforce of those with less than a BA.” Read this brief to explore CTE pathways to STEM occupations.
The NSF’s Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) program is one potential source of funding for the needed research on the educational effectiveness of gaming and simulations. The DR K-12 program seeks to enhance the teaching and learning of STEM in K-12 education by funding the “development, testing, deployment, effectiveness, and/or scale-up of innovative resources, models, and tools”4 in STEM areas. This work takes on many forms within the funding portfolio, including computer games and simulations.
The NSF’s Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) program is one potential source of funding for the needed research on the educational effectiveness of gaming and simulations. The DR K-12 program seeks to enhance the teaching and learning of STEM in K-12 education by funding the “development, testing, deployment, effectiveness, and/or scale-up of innovative resources, models, and tools”4 in STEM areas. This work takes on many forms within the funding portfolio, including computer games and simulations. With the growing attention to these types of educational technologies, the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) conducted a brief targeted study to better understand the gaming and simulation research and development work being funded within the NSF’s DR K-12 program and to highlight work that may help fill the gaps identified by the NRC.
This file contains a listing of STEM education-related conferences that may be of interest to DRK-12 grantees, such as for the purposes of (1) disseminating knowledge and products and (2) developing partnerships with stakeholders and end-users. These conferences were chosen because they provide researchers and developers with an opportunity to present their work to individuals that could use, promote, or improve the work. We include conferences that target practitioners and policymakers, as well as research and academic communities.
This list includes STEM education-related conferences that may be of interest to DRK-12 grantees.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
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.”
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.
