Translation and Diffusion

This solicitation addresses issues of translation and diffusion that arise in moving knowledge gained from fundamental learning and education research toward application in PreK-12 STEM classroom practice or leveraging knowledge derived from effective practice toward driving fundamental research. The first goal of this funding opportunity is to encourage the scientific study of theories, frameworks, and models for the translation and diffusion of knowledge, especially between fields and across contexts and levels-of-analysis (e.g., biological to cognitive/socioemotional to behavioral; individual to classroom to broader demographic variables; lab to classroom to school to district). The second goal is to advance or move specific practice, research or scientific discovery in STEM education reciprocally along the research-practice continuum. The Translation and Diffusion (TD) solicitation invites four types of proposals: Research on Translation or Diffusion proposals request funding to conduct scholarship that will advance the sciences of translation or diffusion of fundamental research knowledge toward PreK-12 formal STEM education practice by developing or refining theories, frameworks, or models (or adapting those from other domains) and conducting related research. Such proposals may also address the leveraging of effective classroom practices toward the enrichment of foundational research, constructs and models. We note that bi-directional movement across boundaries is a mutually beneficial reciprocal process. Proof-of-Concept Research proposals request funding to explore the feasibility and viability of particular knowledge or products generated from STEM education research toward advancing practice in formal PreK-12 settings (even if it is still basic or applied research and development rather than implementation). The goals are to facilitate the process by which the promise that the initial insight holds for research and practice can be realized. The outcome of such a project would lay the methodological, theoretical, empirical, design, or social foundation for conducting systematic work at the next stage of development or at the next level of analysis. Empirical and theory-building efforts to adapt initial insights from research or practice across significantly different contexts, populations, domains, and levels-of-analysis are also welcome. Synthesis proposals critically integrate the current state of knowledge on a particular topic relevant to translation and diffusion in formal PreK-12 STEM education. Such proposals should include the state of the knowledge across disciplinary communities and across relevant literatures, identify the lacunae in STEM education knowledge, and, where appropriate, lay out thenext steps for future research and development. Conference / Workshop proposals relevant to the call are also welcome.