Congratulations to the recently announced 2015-2016 CADRE Fellows cohort, who met on October 19-20 at EDC. The ten early career researchers and developers are bight and energetic, and will co-design the year’s syllabus, which culminates with both participation in the 2016 PI meeting and a mock proposal review at NSF. This year’s selection process was particularly challenging. We thank the exceptionally large group of PIs who nominated a very rich group of scholars, as well as Fellows alumni Jonee Wilson and AJ Stachelek for their astute perspectives and guidance. Learn more about the CADRE Fellowship at cadrek12.org.
We are in the initial stages of planning the 2016 PI Meeting which will take place in Washington, DC on June 1-3. We hope you are thinking of ways you might share your results, products, challenges, and progress to date. We expect once again to feature collaborative sessions, critiquing sessions, poster sessions, plenaries, a gaming arcade, meetings with NSF Program Directors, and opportunities for networking. We will also make adjustments to the 2014 programming and structure based on our evaluation results and conversations with PIs who are serving as informal advisors.
We are excited to announce two dissemination opportunities coming in 2016. Back by popular demand, we will host a second Learning and Teaching Video Showcase in collaboration with the other DRL resource networks. In addition, we will be organizing the eighth in a series of regional STEM Smart meetings, which will take place in California this February and focus on curriculum. (Learn more at successfulstemeducation.org.) For both, we will be calling on many of you to participate.
Lastly, our commitment to broadening participation and supporting early career researchers and developers has not waned. We plan to highlight DR K-12 awards doing work in these areas and resources to enhance your efforts.
Sincerely,
Barbara Brauner Berns
CADRE Principal Investigator
EVENTS
STEM Smart California
February 2016 | San Francisco Bay Area, CA
This is the latest in a series of workshops highlighting findings and themes in the NRC reports, Successful K-12 STEM Education and Monitoring Progress Toward Successful K-12 STEM Education. With a special focus on curriculum, participants will learn about NSF-funded projects, resources, and initiatives that align with the reports' evidence base. We will update successfulstemeducation.org as the date, location, and other details are confirmed.
DR K-12 PI Meeting
June 1-3, 2016 | Washington, DC
If your project will be actively funded at the time of the meeting, be sure to save the date and keep the following timeline in mind as you begin planning to share your work.
- December 2015: Call for proposals
- February 2016: Session proposals due
- March 2016: PI registration opens
Plenary & Dissemination Sessions
What would you like to see at this year’s meeting? Let us know what presenters and/or topics you would find most compelling at a plenary session. Based on significant interest from the community, we are planning for a special focus on dissemination, but welcome additional input on the aspects of dissemination you would be most interested in exploring. Provide your feedback by filling out a brief survey.
NSF Teaching and Learning Video Showcase
Late Spring 2016
We are pleased to announce that after the success of this year's event, NSF's resource centers will host a second Teaching and Learning Video Showcase in 2016. During this multi-day online event, participating projects have an opportunity to share and discuss their work by creating a short video highlighting some aspect of their project and contributing to facilitated online discussions around each video. Facilitators, presenters, and the public will vote for their favorites, which will be featured on NSF and resource center websites.
We encourage you to begin planning now to take advantage of this opportunity to disseminate and get feedback on your work! To see what others have done, visit the 2015 showcase website where the videos and discussion are still accessible, as well as the CADRE spotlight specifically featuring videos from the DR K-12 participants.
PROJECTS & PEOPLE
2015 DR K-12 Awardees
Congratulations and welcome all recently announced DR K-12 awardees.
Spotlight on Broadening Participation in STEM
Broadening participation aims to strengthen the STEM fields and community by providing enhanced opportunities to underserved and underrepresented populations at all levels of STEM education. This spotlight marks the beginning of an ongoing strand of work that focuses on increasing involvement in STEM in several ways:
- supporting interest and achievement for underserved or underrepresented student populations;
- increasing teacher diversity and voice in STEM research, development, and policy; and
- forming strategic research and development partnerships.
- resources for building partnerships with minority serving institutions;
- a list of active DR K-12 projects with a broadening participation focus; and
- videos from the 2015 NSF Teaching and Learning Video Showcase on broadening participation work in DR K-12.
CADRE Advisors & Contributors
Our events, activities, and resources are greatly enhanced by input and expertise from our community! Recently, we have solicited input in the areas of broadening participation in STEM, mentoring, the CADRE Fellowship, the STEM Smart workshop, and the 2016 DR K-12 PI Meeting. Thank you to the following grantees for their contributions:
- Jacqueline Barber, University of California, Berkeley
- Brian Belland, Utah State University
- Amy Brodesky, Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)
- Tutita Casa, University of Connecticut
- Samantha Daley, Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
- William Finzer, Concord Consortium
- Paul Goldenberg, EDC
- Gloriana Gonzáles Rivera, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Brian Harvey, Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
- Jessica Hunt, University of Texas at Austin
- Maritza Macdonald, American Museum of Natural History
- Vera Michalchik, SRI International
- Barbara Nagle, Lawrence Hall of Science
- Amy Park, Michigan State University
- Jeremy Roschelle, SRI International
- John Settlage, Unviersity of Connecticut
- AJ Stachelek, Hostos Community College
- Craig Strang, Lawrence Hall of Science
- Carolyn Staudt, Concord Consortium
- Steve Schneider, WestEd
- Jakita Thomas, Spelman College
- Julianne Wenner, Boise State University
- Darryl Williams, Tufts University
- Jonee Wilson, Vanderbilt University
- Christopher Wright, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
We always welcome your input! If you are willing to serve as an advisor on these or future topics, let us know.
2015-2016 CADRE Fellows Announcement
Congratulations to the 2015-2016 Fellows! CADRE is proud to announce the ten new Fellows accepted to the 6th year of the program in September. Accepted Fellows include:
- Christina Anderson Bosch, University of Massachusetts Amherst (PI: Michael Krezmien)
- Tonjua Freeman, University of Central Florida (PI: Malcolm Butler)
- María González-Howard, Boston College (co-PI: Kate McNeill)
- Dana Grosser-Clarkson, University of Maryland (PI: Daniel Chazan)
- Candice Guy, University of California, Davis (PI: Cynthia Passmore)
- Ayana McCoy, University of Massachusetts, Boston (PI: Arthur Eisenkraft)
- Jay Plasman, University of California, Santa Barbara (PI: Michael Gottfried)
- Annick Rougée, University of Michigan (PI: Shari Stockero)
- Lisa Skultety, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (PI: Gloriana González Rivera)
- Zach Swiecki, University of Wisconsin, Madison (PI: David Shaffer)
The Fellowship began with an in-person orientation at EDC in Waltham, MA on October 19 and 20, 2015. On the first day of activities, the Fellows were introduced to CADRE and the Fellowship. Attention was focused on professional career trajectories. Boston-area (and one west coast!) PIs participated in a panel discussion with the Fellows, including Paul Goldenberg (EDC), Brian Harvey (University of California, Berkeley), Carolyn Staudt (Concord Consortia), and Darryl Williams (Tufts University). One piece of advice that echoed throughout the panel and discussion was that "you can't plan everything!" On the second day, David Campbell welcomed the Fellows and provided an overview of the NSF. Fellows also presented their DR K-12 projects, identified areas of common interest for future collaborations, and began planning for future Fellowship activities.
For the Fellows' bios and more information, visit the CADRE Fellowship webpage.To read about and see more of the October orientation, see EDC's coverage and photos of the event.
CADRE Fellowship Fellows @ EDC
RESOURCES
Mentoring in DR K-12
We've added new resources to our mentoring spotlight that continue 
our focus on supporting early career professionals in STEM education R&D.
Mentoring Plan Samples & Webinar Recording
On October 13, 2016, a panel of presenters talked about the needs and interests of early career researchers and developers, the effective mentoring experiences (giving both mentee and mentor perspectives) of three DR K-12 PIs and mentees, and implications for the development of mentoring plans. To accompany the slides and recording from this session, sample mentoring plans are available on cadrek12.org.
Mentoring Tips
CADRE has composed a set of tips that may help new mentors and mentees establish an effective and productive relationship. The first section includes tips for mentors; the second section includes tips for mentees.
DR K-12 Solicitation Webinar Recordings
This fall, CADRE hosted three informational sessions on the DR K-12 Program Solicitation (NSF 15-592). NSF's Karen King provided an overview of the changes and key components for those considering a DR K-12 submission this year. The slides and recordings for each session, which include Dr. King's responses to participant questions, are available on cadrek12.org. We also encourage you to take advantage of the resources available in the NSF Proposal Writing Toolkit.
NSF Nuts & Bolts Webinar Recording
On September 22, 2016, NSF's David Campbell led a webinar on the ins and outs of managing a DR K-12 project. The slides and recordings from this session, which include Dr. Campbell's responses to participant questions, are available on cadrek12.org.
Updated Lists of Conferences & Publications
For your convenience, we have updated the lists of upcoming STEM education conferences and publication opportunities, which include up-to-date instructions for presentation and manuscript proposals.
Conferences (PDF) Publications (PDF)
Newsbites from DR K-12 and NSF
We regularly share updates about DR K-12 projects, as well as our sister resource networks who serve other NSF funding programs (ARC, CAISE, CIRCL, MSPnet, and STELAR). In addition to disseminating this information on our website and social media, we provide a digest of Newsbites in our quarterly newsletter. Let us hear from you!
News from DR K-12 Projects
- New Website on the Science Practices for Principals
Kate McNeill’s team is in the process of creating an online resource on the science practices for instructional leaders. Feedback and suggestions are welcome! - Presentation on Social Media for Learning
Amber Rowland and Jana Craig Hare’s PowerPoint from their session at ISTE 2015 focused on what professional learning supports are needed to help teachers support student practice of scientific argumentation and how social media can support teachers and students in this effort. - New Science Test Signals Shift in How Subject is Taught in Illinois
Brian Reiser and James Pellegrino were quoted in this Chicago Tribune article about new NGSS-based exams being developed in Illinois. - The Long, Strange Journey of 'Zoombinis'
Newly-funded DR K-12 project, led by Jodi Asbell-Clarke, was featured in USA Today. - Memorizing is Out, Thinking Like a Scientist is In
Joe Krajcik was quoted in this article by Detroit Free Press on Michigan Standards in Science. Michigan is in the process of proposing new Michigan standards in science. - When the Classroom Feels Hostile
Samantha Daley’s work on stereotype threat in science was featured in this Harvard Graduate School of Education newsletter. - Radio: Looking Ahead to Connected Educator Month 2015
Former CADRE Fellow Sarah Rand was one of 4 speakers on this Bam! Radio talk show on what’s new at Connected Educator Month. - State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Unveils Blueprint for Environmental Literacy
DR K-12 Craig Strang co-chaired a California Task Force whose findings were published in A Blueprint for Environmental Literacy. This Blueprint provides recommendations that could help educate all CA students about how to create a sustainable and healthy environment. - Making Early Math Education Work for all Children
Douglas Clements and Julie Sarama are two authors of this article on closing the math gap in prekindergarten and kindergarten. - How to Protect Your Students from Job-Eating Robots
DR K-12 project Novel Engineering was featured in a Start Engineering blog on what story-based engineering programs look like. - Publication: Preparing Teachers to Design Sequences of Instruction in Earth Systems Science
This AERA article looks at a study’s comparison of 3 professional development programs that prepare teachers to design sequences of instruction. - NCTM Shadowcon Talks
Listen to talks by math teachers and professors, including former DR K-12 co-PI Elham Kazemi, who asks, “What happens when teachers find creative ways to teach together, listen intently to children’s thinking about mathematics, and experiment with new ideas?” - Giving Harder, Better, Faster Feedback
EdSurge article on DR K-12 project WISE and its study on “knowledge-integration” feedback. Unlike typical feedback, “knowledge-integration” feedback is designed to help students update and link ideas in order to understand complex phenomena. - Bedtime Problems Boost Kids’ Math Performance
AAAS Science article quotes TERC mathematician and computer scientist Andee Rubin in this article on the benefits of replacing a bedtime story once (or more) a week with a math discussion. - New Book: Challenging Standards: Navigating Conflict and Building Capacity in the Era of the Common Core
Edited by DR K-12 PI Jonathan Supovitz, this book brings together the practical knowledge of top education researchers who have both experienced and investigated education reform challenges in the past.
Email cadre@edc.org to share news from your project.
News from NSF Networks
- Connecting Research and Practice in Informal STEM Education
A recent blog post on informalscience.org highlights resources from research and practice that may be helpful in forming partnerships during the proposal development process. - Using DIA2 to Target Your Proposal to NSF
CIRCL recently hosted a webinar on DIA2, a tool that enables visual exploration of topics and grantee networks using NSF's funding database. Slides and a recording are available on the CIRCL website. - Webinar: Success Strategies for Integrating Computer Science in STEM
On December 10, 2016, STELAR is offering a webinar during which ITEST projects share how their programs have been designed to build computer science, programming and computational thinking skills in middle and high school aged youth. - Webinar: Tools to Support Inquiry
On November 4, 2016, MSPnet will host a webinar, led by Robert Tinker, who will demonstrate an integrated set of computer-based tools that students can use to undertake sophisticated, open-ended investigations.
Contact Us
If you want additional information on CADRE or have specific questions, please email cadre@edc.org. Join us on Facebook or Twitter to receive the latest news and information from CADRE.
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