Status of the Field of Discipline-Based Education Research: Proceedings of a Workshop

Discipline-based education research (DBER) examines teaching and learning in STEM disciplines using methods grounded in that discipline's knowledge and practices as well as more general evidence about human cognition and learning.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop on November 17-18, 2025 to look at how DBER has progressed since the release of the 2012 report, Discipline-Based Education Research: Understanding and Improving Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering. Speakers and attendees discussed the current state of the field, which report recommendations have been accomplished, the current state of interdisciplinary DBER, and what is needed to support a thriving DBER workforce and community moving forward. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.