STEM skills—from computer programming to bioengineering—are the bedrock of the 21st century economy.
Not all students have a high-quality STEM education, which can limit their post-secondary learning and career options. EDC works to improve the quality, effectiveness, and equity of STEM learning and teaching, giving all students a solid foundation in computer science and creating pathways to STEM careers for students from underrepresented groups, students from low-income families, and English learners.
We develop STEM curricula, digital games, and apps that engage, excite, and challenge students, aiming to foster and use technology for robust STEM experiences. And through national resource centers and collaborative research, we guide STEM research and program design.
Learn about EDC’s work with Family STEM Communities.
Related Content
Tackling Inequity in the Mathematics Classroom
EDC’s Babette Moeller and Matt McLeod discuss their efforts to make mathematics teaching more equitable.
EDC Talks: STEM Education in Rural Schools
In this video, Pam Buffington discusses how to enrich STEM learning in rural communities.
A New Language for Mathematics
Young children often struggle to write down their mathematical ideas. Could computer programming be an easier language for them?
EDC Talks: Making Time for Family Math
What are some fun, easy activities that families can do to encourage math learning at home? (Hint: You are probably already doing some of them.)
Tapping, Swiping, and Learning Science
Research findings on The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!™ have implications for parents, educators, and educational media developers.
Projects
Resources
Here are a few of our resources on STEM. To see more, visit our Resources section.
This report examines Cyberchase: Mobile Adventures in STEM, a bilingual family engagement program for families with children ages 6 to 8 years old that uses weekly text messages and media to encourage parents and kids to do fun, hands-on environmental learning activities at home.
Featuring insights from leading researchers, this brief describes National Science Foundation Discovery Research K-12 projects that identify strategies to accomplish the following:
In this video, NSF-funded researchers Arthur Barody, Jere Confrey, Paul Goldenberg, and Julie Sarama discuss the importance of mathematics education in the early grades.
This report shares findings from EDC’s evaluation study of Cha-Ching Money Adventures.
This report offers research-backed guidelines to support designers of big data interfaces for education.
Developed by EDC, this set of eight briefs outlines research related to the challenges and recommendations for K–12 STEM education.
This guide helps school districts choose the computer science (CS) curricula that best suit their communities’ needs.
This curriculum guide is designed as a tool to help teachers in autism inclusion schools facilitate an after-school or lunchtime “Maker Club.”
In this briefing book, the leaders of the Massachusetts Computing Attainment Network (MassCAN) describe the goals, key accomplishments, and future directions of the partnership.
The investigations in Explore It! provide an experiential foundation for the development of concepts aligned with the national standards that are addressed in formal school curricula. Explore It!