NSF & Dpt. Of Education Common Guidelines For Education Research Development

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) and National Science Foundation (NSF) have released a report called the Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development. The Common Guidelines grew out of a Joint Committee of ED and NSF to establish cross-agency guidelines for improving the quality, coherence, and pace of knowledge development in STEM education. The Joint Committee was established in response to recommendations from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The report defines the types of ED- and NSF-funded research that relates to the development and testing of interventions and strategies designed to increase learning. Second, it specifies how those types of research relate to one another, and describes the theoretical and empirical basis needed to justify each research type. Examples of previously funded projects of each research type are provided. This document is an important resource for current and potential Principal Investigators (PIs) of NSF- and ED- funded projects, as well as evaluators of those projects. Additional FAQs have also been posted by NSF. The report, which was first released in August 2013, is considered to be a “living document” that may be adapted, rearranged, or otherwise changed by ED, NSF, or other federal agencies over time. CAISE will distribute any additional drafts and associated FAQs as they become available.