National Science Foundation:
Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12)
NSF 15-592
Synopsis:
DRK-12 seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by PreK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of STEM education innovations and approaches. The DRK-12 program is primarily concerned with the goals and effectiveness of formal education, but recognizes that learning is not limited to formal school environments and regular school schedules or populations. The program encourages proposals to draw from knowledge and practice of learning in out-of-school and informal settings to enhance learning and teaching in formal settings. As a research and development program, DRK-12 contributes to knowledge of how STEM education innovations or approaches are designed, engineered and tested. The emphasis is on what works, for whom, and under what conditions. The DRK-12 program not only contributes to the development of innovations or approaches that are useable and useful for PreK-12 students and teachers, but also to the generation of new knowledge about the nature of STEM learning and learning environments. Research and development plans are integral to every project description. DRK-12 has a focus on PreK through the end of high school, but the connection to college and career-readiness standards ties the work of many projects to post-secondary or adult basic education. The DRK-12 program has three research and development strands: (1) Assessment; (2) Learning; and (3) Teaching. The program supports five types of projects: (1) Exploratory, (2) Design and Development, (3) Impact, (4) Implementation and Improvement, and (5) Conferences and Syntheses.
- Exploratory studies provide investigators with opportunities to investigate approaches to STEM education problems that establish the basis for design and development of STEM education innovations or approaches.
- Design and Development proposals build on evidence from prior research and development studies. The goal of Design and Development Studies is to research and develop new or improved STEM education innovations or approaches to achieve specific goals related to assessment, learning, or teaching.
- Impact studies expand the evidence of promise from previous studies to provide more rigorous measures of the strength of the STEM education innovation or approach to achieve its intended outcomes through efficacy or effectiveness studies.
- Implementation and Improvement studies aims to strengthen the capacity of an organization to reliably produce valued STEM education outcomes for diverse groups of students, educated by different teachers from varied organizational contexts. The focus is more broadly on making STEM education innovations or approaches succeed when implemented at scale.
- Conference and Syntheses proposals related to the mission of the DRK-12 program are also supported under this solicitation. Conferences should be well focused, related to the goals of the program, and generate a product usable by researchers or practitioners.
Deadline:
Full Proposal Due: December 7, 2015 (due by 5 p.m. proposer’s local time)
Funding Information:
Estimated Number of Awards: 35 to 45 per year.
Anticipated Funding: $50,000,000, pending availability of funds.
Normal limits for funding requests of DRK-12 proposals are as follows: (1) Level I projects up to $450,000 with duration up to three years; (2) Level II projects up to $3,000,000 with duration up to four years; and (3) Level III projects up to $5,000,000 with duration up to five years. The three levels of funding should align with the maturity of the proposed work, the size and scope of the empirical effort, as well as the capacity of the interdisciplinary team to conduct the proposed research.
Submission:
Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted electronically via FastLane or via Grants.gov. Please contact the Bureau as soon as possible for consultation and advice on submission process.
Contact Information:
DRLDRK12@nsf.gov | (703) 292-8620
Program Links:
Discovery Research PreK-12
DRK-12_pdf
