Building Investigators' Capacity to Leverage Emerging Technologies to Improve STEM Education Research
Funding Agency:
- National Science Foundation
The EHR Core Research: Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) program of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) announces a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and the Walton Family Foundation to support and develop investigators' capacity to leverage emerging technologies such as data science to generate foundational knowledge for equitable STEM education, with particular interest at the K-12 level. This partnership will support institutes to build the skills of diverse cohorts of researchers as well as professional development activities for individual researchers.
With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), we invite proposals to the ECR: BCSER program solicitation NSF 22-548 that request support to build investigators' capacity to conduct high-quality and equitable STEM education research that leverages promising methodological advances supported by emerging technologies. Research methods that employ these advances have the potential to transform STEM education research and to enable research that will reduce barriers to STEM learning success for historically marginalized groups. Examples include the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, learning analytics, natural language processing, sensor technology, and tools for more efficient and secure analysis of educational datamining sets and other data that could come from digital learning platforms.
Proposals advancing methods to support the integration and sharing of multiple heterogenous datasets are also encouraged. It is important for investigators to understand and use such research methods in equitable ways. Institutes should include training on and foster deep understanding about how the use of advanced research methods requires highly developed considerations of equity, the reduction of bias in AI algorithms and machine learning processes, data privacy, and data security. Proposals that leverage emerging technologies in any area of STEM education research are welcome, particularly those with a mathematics focus. We also encourage submissions that advance knowledge and practice of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in STEM education. While there is particular interest in projects that focus on the K-12 level, connections to postsecondary education and/or informal STEM education are welcome.
Standard Grant or Continuing Grant
TBA
Please contact the program director
Institutes for Methods & Practices: Jessaca Spybrook, Program Director, jspybroo@nsf.gov
Individual Investigator Development: Rob Ochsendorf, Program Director, rochsend@nsf.gov