EHR Core Research (ECR): STEM Learning and Learning Environments, Broadening Participation, and Workforce Development

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Solicitation Title: EHR Core Research (ECR): STEM Learning and Learning Environments, Broadening Participation, and Workforce Development
Event Type: COVID-19
Funding Amount: $500,000 to $2,500,000
Sponsor Deadline: Thursday, October 1, 2020
Solicitation Link: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504924
Solicitation Number: NSF 19-508

Overview

The EHR Core Research program (ECR) invites proposals for fundamental research (basic research or use-inspired basic research) that advances knowledge in one or more of the three Research Tracks: Research on STEM Learning and Learning Environments, Research on Broadening Participation in STEM fields, and Research on STEM Workforce Development. The ECR program places emphasis on the rigorous development of theory and accumulation of knowledge to inform efforts to address challenges in STEM interest, learning, and participation, for all groups and all ages in formal and informal settings. This emphasis includes research on advancing evaluative methodologies to support research efforts funded through ECR. ECR supports a wide range of research activities. ECR seeks to fund fundamental research that could involve the collection of new qualitative or quantitative data, secondary analyses using extant datasets, or meta-analyses. In addition, ECR supports research to develop innovative research methods, metrics, and conceptual models to measure existing and emerging phenomena, and to test theories that inform core scientific questions about STEM education and learning. The three levels of funding should align with the maturity of the proposed work, the size and scope of the empirical effort, and the capacity of the team to conduct the proposed research.

Other Information:<a href="https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20052/nsf20052.pdf">NSF 20-052 Dear Colleague Letter on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)</a> In light of the emergence and spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States and abroad, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is accepting proposals to conduct non-medical, non-clinical-care research that can be used immediately to explore how to model and understand the spread of COVID-19, to inform and educate about the science of virus transmission and prevention, and to encourage the development of processes and actions to address this global challenge. NSF encourages the research community to respond to this challenge through existing funding opportunities. In addition, we invite researchers to use the Rapid Response Research (RAPID) funding mechanism, which allows NSF to receive and review proposals having a severe urgency with regard to availability of or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment as well as quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events. Requests for RAPID proposals may be for up to $200K and up to one year in duration. Well-justified proposals that exceed these limits may be entertained. All questions should be directed either to a program officer managing an NSF program with which the research would be aligned or to <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>. Complete guidance on submitting a RAPID proposal may be found in Chapter II.E.1 of the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. We ask that all investigators and organizations maintain awareness of the dynamic nature of this event through regular monitoring of official communications from the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization. NSF has also provided Frequently Asked Questions that address questions associated with NSF proposal submission and award management relevant to research proposals relating to COVID-19 as well as possible impacts of COVID-19 on activities under existing awards and on participation in NSF's merit review panels; that website will be updated as appropriate. Sincerely, Dr. France A. Córdova Director _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (1) Level I proposals: have a maximum award size of $500,000 and a maximum duration of 3 years; (2) Level II proposals have a maximum award size of $1,500,000 and a maximum duration of 3 years; (3) Level III proposals have a maximum award size of $2,500,000 and a maximum duration of 5 years. If you are interested in fundamental research at the undergraduate or graduate level, consider responding to the associated DCL: Dear Colleague Letter (DCL): Fundamental Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) Focused on Undergraduate and Graduate STEM Education within the EHR Core Research (ECR) Program The EHR Core Research (ECR) program of National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) wishes to notify the community of its intention to support, through EHR Core Research (ECR) program solicitation NSF 19-508, fundamental discipline-based education research (DBER) focused on undergraduate and graduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The NSF intends to foster DBER to develop foundational knowledge in STEM education at the undergraduate and graduate levels in each of ECR's three tracks: STEM Learning and Learning Environments, Broadening Participation in STEM, and STEM Workforce Development. DBER is defined as "an empirical approach to investigating learning and teaching that is informed by an expert understanding of [STEM] disciplinary knowledge and practice".[1] DBER addresses complex problems in STEM education by integrating expert knowledge of particular STEM disciplines' models, theories, culture and educational challenges with relevant models, theories and research methodologies from a variety of fields such as education, the learning sciences, psychology, and many more. With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), NSF invites proposals that request support to conduct fundamental DBER (basic or use-inspired) focused on developing and testing models or theories in undergraduate or graduate STEM education, including all areas of STEM supported by NSF including interdisciplinary or convergent topics. As described in ECR solicitation NSF 19-508, the program will support a wide range of fundamental research activities in STEM education. As outlined by the National Research Council (NRC) DBER report, some key goals of DBER include, but are not limited to, understanding how people learn the concepts, practices, and ways of thinking in particular STEM disciplines; understanding the nature and development of expertise in a discipline; identifying and measuring appropriate learning objectives and instructional approaches for a particular STEM discipline; contributing to the knowledge base in a way that guides the translation of DBER findings to classroom practice; and identifying approaches to make STEM education and the STEM workforce broad and inclusive. With respect to broadening participation in STEM, DBER research is needed to develop and test theories that contribute to the understanding of the effects of discipline-based education strategies on the culture of STEM classrooms, student affect, persistence, graduation, and learning outcomes of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities within and across different STEM disciplines. In addition, the 2018 report on Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century recommends research to better understand graduate STEM education including, but not limited to, the effects of the several models of graduate education on student knowledge, competencies, mind-sets, and career outcomes; and studies on how the various STEM disciplines can integrate the changing scientific enterprise into graduate education.[2] ECR is also interested in supporting synthesis projects and conference proposals related to DBER focused on undergraduate or graduate STEM education.

Last Updated: 03/25/2020

RODA ID: 954