ECR Insights

Please join the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) in celebrating the EDU Core Research (ECR, formerly EHR Core Research) program's 10th anniversary.

• ECR:Core launched in 2013, establishing a Directorate-wide mechanism to support curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental STEM education research initiatives.
• In 2019, ECR launched its Building Capacity for STEM Education Research (ECR:BCSER) competition, providing opportunities for investigators to build capacity to carry out high-quality STEM education research to enhance the nation's STEM education enterprise.
• Also in 2019, ECR launched the Production Engineering Education and Research (ECR:PEER) competition as part of a partnership for workforce development and diversity in STEM with The Boeing Company.
• To learn more about the EDU Core Research program, please visit https://www.nsf.gov/edu/ECR.jsp.

SPEAKER SERIES

As part of the anniversary celebrations, EDU will feature a series of presentations and panels that highlight major contributions and important advances arising from the program's investments in fundamental STEM education research. Webinars will occur throughout the anniversary year. Please make sure to check back regularly as new events are added. Please note that all events are open to the public. To join an event, please register in advance following the links below.

Events in the series

Mathematics and science achievement gaps begin early, persist, and are largely explained by modifiable factors

Paul Morgan, Director for Social and Health Equity, University at Albany, presents findings that suggest addressing mathematics and science achievement gaps in United States elementary schools may help to broaden participation in the STEM workforce.

STEM Education Reform in Urban High Schools: It's Complicated; It's Consequential

Margaret Eisenhart (University of Colorado Boulder) and Lois Weis (SUNY Buffalo) give a nuanced view of the obstacles marginalized students face in STEM education, and they explain how schools can better support STEM learners. Reporting the results of a nine-year ethnographic study, the speakers chronicle the outcomes of STEM education reforms in eight public high schools with nonselective admissions policies and high proportions of low-income and underserved students: four schools in Denver, Colorado, and four in Buffalo, New York.

ECR: Past, Present, and Future

EDU is delighted to welcome former Assistant Directors Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Dr. Karen Marrongelle to join the current Assistant Director, Dr. James L. Moore III in sharing their perspectives on the origins, growth, and future of this important program. Dr. Ferrini-Mundy is President of the University of Maine and its regional campus, the University of Maine at Machias, and Vice Chancellor for research and innovation for the University of Maine System. Dr. Marrongelle is Chief Operating Officer of the National Science Foundation. The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Gregg Solomon, Program Director in EDU's Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings.

ECR HUB

The ECR Hub works to expand the influence and reach of existing ECR investments and provide ECR career development opportunities to current and prospective investigators. The Hub’s NSF EDU Core Research at AERA 2023 provides information on 70+ presentations, discussion forms, and workshops featuring ECR-supported fundamental STEM education research projects during the April 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). To learn more about the ECR Hub, see NSF Award Abstract 2208422.

PEERS Data Hub

The Partnership for Expanding Education Research in STEM (PEERS) data hub promotes discovery and use of wide-ranging data resources, fosters connections among STEM education researchers, and promotes learning about data analysis and data stewardship. The American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) joined to create this research data hub to connect, educate, and build community around STEM education data resources. PEERS offers technical assistance and professional development opportunities to expand access to and use of data and to support innovative and inclusive inquiry. PEERS is supported by the National Science Foundation through its Core Research Program in the STEM Education Directorate.

ECR RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Today's Artificial Intelligence models are smart but lack the commonsense knowledge humans use to detect what motivates others' actions. A new study by New York University researchers finds that infants use this commonsense psychology to understand intentions, goals, and preferences, essential for social interactions, allowing infants to think in ways even adults take for granted. Understanding how infants possess this knowledge could help build more powerful A.I. systems capable of performing complex tasks with human cognitive abilities. To learn more about this ECR-supported work, see the March 2023 NSF Science Now video AI vs Infants: Implications for Humanlike AI and NSF Award Abstract 1845924.