The Curry School of Education October 3, 2018 STEM Education at NSF The Curry School of Education October 3, 2018

Themes for this Presentation NSF has a significant budget to enable a robust community of STEM education researchers. NSF encourages interdisciplinary collaborations among STEM and STEM education researchers. NSF recognizes the need to improve its support for early-career investigators in STEM education. NSF seeks to improve the methodological foundations in the STEM education community.

Education and Human Resources Directorate The mission of EHR is to achieve excellence in U.S. STEM education at all levels and in all settings (both formal and informal). The annual budget of EHR is about $900M, about 2/3 of which is mandated by Congress at the program level. Leadership transitions in EHR: A new Assistant Director and a search for Deputy Assistant Director.

Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Cognitive Neuroscience Developmental Sciences Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics Perception, Action, and Cognition Science of Learning Science of Science and Innovation Policy Social Psychology

NSF Award Portfolio at Curry 2014-2018 NSF Program NSF Directorate AISL Education and Human Resources DRK-12 Economics Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences ECR Engineering Education Engineering ITEST IUSE PRIME* REAL* Robert Noyce Scholarship Program Science of Science Policy STEM+C**

Goals: Education and Human Resources Prepare the next generation of STEM professionals and attract and retain more Americans to STEM careers. Develop a robust research community that can conduct rigorous research and evaluation to support excellence in STEM education. Increase the technological, scientific, and quantitative literacy of all Americans. Broaden participation and close achievement gaps in all STEM fields.

EHR Support for STEM Education Research Goal: Develop a robust research community that can conduct rigorous research and evaluation. Themes: STEM learning, STEM learning environments, STEM workforce development, and broadening participation in STEM. Strategic Priorities: Increase attention to methodology, improve support for early career researchers, and foster interdisciplinary research collaborations.

EHR STEM Education Research Programs Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) [$63M] Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) [$82M] EHR Core Research Program (ECR) [$67M] Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) [$15M] Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) [$87M] Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) [$5M]

EHR Core Research Program (ECR) ECR began in 2013 and has subsumed PRIME, REAL, and REESE. In 2013 NSF and IES released Common Guidelines for Education Research to provide cross-agency guidance for program officers, prospective grantees, and reviewers. The 2017 ECR Committee of Visitors voiced concerns about reviewer attention to methodology, portfolio balance across themes, and low success rates for early career investigators. Dear Colleague Letter: Research on Methodologies for STEM Education (NSF 17-136).

Early Career Support: NSF CAREER Program CAREER Awards by NSF Directorate Directorate 2016 2017 2018 Total Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) 97 127 186 410 Education and Human Resources (EHR) 9 13 35 Engineering (ENG) 144 169 217 530 The need to build the STEM education research community. STEM education is now a designated field for the NSF GRFP.

NSF 17-093 EHR Dear Colleague Letter CAREER Proposals Submitted to the Directorate for Education and Human Resources - Suggestions for Enhancing the Quality of Proposals Research Design and Methodology CAREER investigators are expected to formulate research questions that are likely to yield significant knowledge relevant to core problems of STEM education. To support this goal, the proposed research methods should be detailed and carefully justified. The Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development (NSF 13-126), jointly developed by the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education, are a useful reference to help in the preparation of CAREER proposals.

EHR Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration Education and the NSF Big Ideas NSF INCLUDES Harnessing the Data Revolution The Future of Work at the Human Technology Frontier Growing Convergence Research Education, Computer Science, and Technology Computer Science for All Cyberlearning Education and Neuroscience The BRAIN Initiative Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER)

The NSF Big Ideas NSF INCLUDES Harnessing the Data Revolution The Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier Growing Convergence Research Navigating the New Arctic Windows on the Universe The Quantum Leap Understanding the Rules of Life Mid-scale Research Infrastructure NSF 2026

Education and the Big Ideas NSF INCLUDES Transforming education and career pathways to help broaden participation in science and engineering. Harnessing the Data Revolution Fundamental research in data science and engineering, the development of a cohesive, federated, national-scale approach to research data infrastructure, and the development of a 21st-century data-capable workforce. The Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier Understanding how constantly evolving technologies are actively shaping the lives of workers and how people in turn can shape those technologies, especially in the world of work. Growing Convergence Research Framing challenging research questions at inception, and fostering the collaborations needed for successful inquiry.

EHR: Recent Interdisciplinary Opportunities Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NSF 18-533) Principles for the Design of Digital STEM Learning Environments (NSF 18-017) STEM Education for the Future (NSF 18-084) Accelerating Discovery: Educating the Future STEM Workforce  (PD 18-1998) Interdisciplinary research; Harnessing the Data Revolution and the Future of Work at the Human Technology Frontier. Cyberlearning for Work at the Human-Technology Frontier (NSF 17-598) Stimulating Research Related to the Science of Broadening Participation (NSF 17-143)

Relevant National Academies Reports Revitalizing Graduate Education for the 21st Century 2018 report from Board on Higher Education and Workforce and COSEPUP NSF invests about $1B per year in graduate education Discipline-Based Education Research 2012 report from Board on Science Education Edited by Susan Singer; looks across physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, the geosciences, and astronomy.

Revitalizing Graduate Education for the 21st Century FROM THE REPORT Funding for Research on Graduate Education “NSF and other funding agencies should issue calls for proposals to better understand the graduate education system and outcomes of various interventions and policies, including but not limited to the effect of different models of graduate education on knowledge, competencies, mind-sets, and career outcomes.” NSF PROGRAM: Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Program, NSF 17-585

Questions and Discussions Thank You!