The NSF’s Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) program is one potential source of funding for the needed research on the educational effectiveness of gaming and simulations. The DR K-12 program seeks to enhance the teaching and learning of STEM in K-12 education by funding the “development, testing, deployment, effectiveness, and/or scale-up of innovative resources, models, and tools”4 in STEM areas. This work takes on many forms within the funding portfolio, including computer games and simulations. With the growing attention to these types of educational technologies, the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education (CADRE) conducted a brief targeted study to better understand the gaming and simulation research and development work being funded within the NSF’s DR K-12 program and to highlight work that may help fill the gaps identified by the NRC.