Purpose

The National Science Foundation has a mandate to broaden participation in science and engineering, as articulated and reaffirmed in law since 1950. Congress has charged NSF to “develop intellectual capital, both people and ideas, with particular emphasis on groups and regions that traditionally have not participated fully in science, mathematics, and engineering."

This program aims to provide all U.S. students with the opportunity to participate in computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) education in their schools at the preK-12 levels. With this solicitation, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funds both research and research-practice partnerships (RPPs) needed to make CS and CT available to all schools.  The RPP funding strands (3) connect research to practice through long running and diverse collaborations with schools. The Research funding strand supports traditional research that builds knowledge across educational pathways. 

Through these strands, the grant aims to provide

(1) High school teachers with the preparation, professional development (PD) and ongoing support they need to teach rigorous CS courses;

(2) PreK-8 teachers with the instructional materials and preparation they need to integrate CS and CT into their teaching; and

(3) Schools and districts with the resources needed to define and evaluate multi-grade pathways in CS and CT.

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):47.070 --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering and 47.076 --- STEM Education

Eligible Entities

The following types of organizations are eligible to apply for the NSF grant:

• • • Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) (two- and four-year, including community colleges) accredited and located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members;
    • Non-profit, non-academic organizations, such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations directly associated with educational or research activities; and
    • Tribal Nations, including American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131.

RPPs require well-organized teams of researchers, PreK-12 practitioners (teachers, administrators, and counselors), and potentially other community, foundation, policy, and industry partners.  There are many ways RPP teams can work together; however, central to the partnership is shared participation in rigorous research about problems of practice by all team members.

Eligible Activities

Proposals will be funded in four "strands" that collectively foster design, implementation at scale, and/or research.  Eligible projects support activities consistent with the following emphases:

• • • PreK-8 Strand:  designing, developing, and piloting instructional materials that integrate CS and/or CT into preK-8 classrooms.
    • High School Strand:  preparing and supporting teachers to teach rigorous CS courses.
    • PreK-12 Pathways Strand: designing pathways that support school districts in developing policies and supports for incorporating CS and/or CT across all grades and potentially the transition into introductory levels at community or four-year institutions of higher education and/or the workforce.
    • Research Strand:  building strategically instrumental, or "high leverage" knowledge about the learning and teaching of introductory CS to support key CS and/or CT understandings and abilities for all students.

Proposals in the PreK-8 Strand, High School Strand, and the Pathways Strand must involve RPPs, whereas proposals in the Research Strand are not subject to this requirement.

Award

Anticipated Type of Award:  Standard Grant

Anticipated Funding Amount: $20,000,000

Estimated Number of Awards:  27

• • • Small RPPs:  12-13
    • Medium RPPs:  6
    • Large RPPs:  3
    • Research Strand:  4-5.

Important Dates

Next Steps

For an overview of the grant, go to the dedicated web page at Computer Science for All (CS for All: Research and RPPs).

To learn more, read NSF 24-555: Computer Science for All (CS for All: Research and RPPs) Full Announcement.

Applications may be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov:

• • • Research.gov applications follow the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG).
    • Grants.gov applications follow the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov. 

For further information, please contact a Program Officer:

• • • Allyson Kennedy, CISE/CNS, telephone: (703) 292-8950, email: jsinger@nsf.gov
    • Jonathan Singer, EDU/DRL, telephone: (703) 292-2913, email: fke@nsf.gov
    • Jeffrey Forbes, CISE/CNS, telephone: (703) 292-8950, email: jforbes@nsf.gov
    • Michael Ford, EDU/DRL, telephone: (703) 292-5153, email: miford@nsf.gov