EDC Receives NSF Award to Continue CADRE

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded EDC a three-year grant to continue leading the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE), a national network focused on improving the quality and equity of pre-K–12 STEM and computer science education.

Through CADRE, EDC supports researchers and developers of STEM education innovations that enhance teaching and learning; improve assessment; and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Over the past 13 years, CADRE has advanced the work of over 1,000 projects funded by NSF’s Discovery Research PreK–12 (DRK–12) program, helping them widely share their knowledge, practices, and products.

In collaboration with new partners at North Carolina State University, WestEd, the University of Missouri, Vanderbilt University, and Mathematica, EDC will carry out the following activities:

• Expand support for prospective awardees, early career researchers, and others across less-represented institutions, communities, and cultures within DRK–12
• Lead capacity-building activities to enhance the effectiveness of DRK–12 research design and implementation approaches, facilitate collaborations, and strengthen expertise
• Engage key communities to increase the reach, use, and impact of promising practices and innovations in pre-K–12 STEM education

CADRE will continue to lead its national Fellows and postdoc programs. To date, these programs have provided professional growth experiences for 133 early career scholars whose work centers on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM education.

“More than ever, high-quality pre-K–12 STEM education is critical to the future of our young people and country,” said principal investigator Catherine McCulloch. “DRK–12 is one of our nation’s flagship programs working to ensure all of our students have an outstanding STEM education, and we are honored to continue to lead the DRK–12 network.”