Research Partnership
steamHouse is a research site with unusual properties. We're looking for researchers who want to use them.
Why steamHouse Is Interesting as a Research Site
Most educational research happens in schools — constrained by institutional politics, standardized curricula, and limited flexibility. steamHouse offers something different.
Community-based, not school-based. The Fairmount steamHouse community in Golden, Colorado includes 100+ families who've participated over eight years. A functioning community with established trust, not a recruited sample.
A willing population. Participants and families understand that evaluation is part of the model. They expect to be studied. Most research sites tolerate evaluation; this one was designed for it.
A comprehensive framework generating testable questions. The framework integrates identity development, metacognition, character education, civic engagement, systems thinking, and more — producing dozens of research questions across multiple disciplines. One site, many studies.
A documented synthesis of 1,100+ sources. The theoretical foundation is transparent, organized by domain, and available for review. Evaluate the synthesis before deciding whether to engage with the community.
An active community context. Real team projects (robotics, theater, animal husbandry, service). Real mentors. Real seasonal rhythms. Development happens in context, not in a lab.
Open-source and transparent. Full curriculum, framework guides, book manuscripts, and design documents are browsable in the Workshop. We don't guard our methods.
What We Need
We've organized our research needs by commitment level. Start wherever makes sense — there's no expectation of escalation. A Tier 1 review that catches an error is as valuable as a Tier 3 pilot study.
Tier 1: A Few Hours
Focused, bounded asks. Each produces something useful on its own.
Framework Mapping Review. We've mapped how major research traditions connect to our framework. We need domain experts to verify these mappings. Available for review now:
Identity development and the ZPID framework — how our developmental progression maps to identity formation research
Metacognition and calibration research — how our "Lenses" markers map to self-regulation and reflective capacity
Character education and PRIMED — how our four principles map to Berkowitz's integrated character framework
Pragmatist epistemology — how our epistemological position relates to Dewey's inquiry model
Systems thinking — how Meadows' leverage points inform our approach to human development
Education policy frameworks — how Van Damme & Fadel's cross-national curriculum work parallels our structure
Each mapping is a document you can read in 1–2 hours. We provide a structured response template. You tell us what we got right, what we got wrong, and what we missed.
Convergence Claim Verification. We claim ten independent research programs converge on our core conclusions. If you're associated with one of those programs, we'd like you to verify or challenge our characterization of your work.
Domain Critique. Read our treatment of your domain in the 48-category research compendium. Is it accurate? Current? Missing key work?
Marker Spot-Check. The 58 Development Markers span character, cognition, and capability, each with stage-based progressions (emerging → developing → demonstrating → mentoring). Developmental psychologists: scan the markers in your domain. Do the progressions hold? Are the behavioral indicators observable? Are there red flags?
Position Paper Response. We've published positions on epistemology, faith and religion, AI-assisted composition, and the defense of synthesis. Each engages a specific intellectual tradition and invites response from within that tradition.
Tier 2: A Few Weeks
Deeper engagement that shapes the project's direction.
Measurement Design Consultation. Our pilot measurement toolkit is documented: pre/post instruments, observation protocols, self-report measures, mentor verification rubrics. We need a methodologist to review the toolkit and tell us what a minimally viable study looks like. What instruments work? What needs redesign? What sample size makes sense for preliminary evidence?
Developmental Progression Review. The markers claim developmental sequences — that certain capacities build on others in predictable ways. We need researchers who study developmental sequences to evaluate whether our progressions reflect genuine developmental patterns or are arbitrary staging.
Verification Methodology Review. The marker verification system uses a three-step process: self-assessment, mentor verification, and external validation. We need psychometric expertise to evaluate whether this approach can produce reliable, valid assessments.
Synthesis Methodology Critique. steamHouse integrates across domains usually studied separately. We need researchers who think about methodology itself — cross-disciplinary synthesis, integrative frameworks, the epistemological challenges of working across paradigms — to critique our approach.
Curriculum Sequencing Consultation. The four-volume curriculum manual (680+ pages) sequences content across developmental stages. Learning scientists: does the sequencing reflect what we know about cognitive development and skill building?
Tier 3: A Semester or Longer
Substantial commitments that produce citable research.
Pilot Study Design and Implementation. Partner with us to design and run the first formal evaluation. Even a small study (n=15–20) with a simple pre-post design produces citable preliminary data. The Fairmount community is available and willing.
Possible study questions: Do participants show measurable gains on targeted markers over a season? Does the mentor verification process produce inter-rater reliability? Do participants demonstrate transfer of team skills across activity contexts?
Marker Validation Study. Formal psychometric validation of the 58 markers — factor analysis, reliability, convergent/discriminant validity against established instruments.
Implementation Research. As steamHouse prepares to replicate beyond Golden, implementation researchers can study fidelity, adaptation, and essential vs. modifiable elements. Particularly relevant for Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR) methodology.
Credentialing System Co-Design. The online credentialing platform is designed but not built. Researchers with expertise in assessment design or competency-based credentialing can co-design the validation architecture.
Joint Publication. Co-author a paper on the convergence analysis, synthesis methodology, pilot results, or any aspect of the framework. steamHouse provides the practice context; you provide the methodological rigor.
Tier 4: Ongoing Partnership
Research Advisory Board. Small advisory board providing periodic guidance on research strategy, methodology, and evidence standards. 2–3 meetings per year plus ad hoc consultation.
Institutional Affiliation. Formal affiliation with a university research center providing IRB umbrella, graduate student involvement, and institutional credibility.
Graduate Student Projects. steamHouse generates testable questions across psychology, education, measurement, sociology, philosophy, and communication. Students who need dissertation topics; we have questions and a willing research site.
Grant Partnership. NSF AISL, Spencer Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, Jacobs Foundation, and IES measurement programs all fund researcher-practitioner partnerships. steamHouse provides the practice side; you provide the research side.
What Researchers Get
Your time has value. We don't expect altruism.
For a Tier 1 review. The experience of seeing your work integrated seriously into a comprehensive framework. A focused ask — we've read your field and want your expertise. Minimal time. No strings.
For a Tier 2 consultation. Meaningful intellectual engagement with a novel approach. Potential insights for your own work — seeing your domain through an integrative lens often surfaces questions you wouldn't ask from inside the domain.
For a Tier 3 study. Access to a unique research site. Data for papers. A framework generating multiple publishable questions. Graduate student projects. A community that welcomes evaluation. Co-authorship on novel work.
For a Tier 4 partnership. Long-term collaboration. Grant opportunities that fund your lab. The chance to shape something at the ground floor.
For everyone. steamHouse is unusual because it wants to be studied and challenged. Most organizations tolerate evaluation. We're actively seeking it.
What You Can Review Before Deciding
We don't ask you to commit before you've seen the work.
The Framework — Structure brief, four principles, three-level consciousness model, Purpose-Paradigm-Practice progression. Two-page summary or 31-chapter deep dive.
The Convergence Analysis — Ten independent frameworks mapped to our conclusions. Full table, methodology notes, and the "whose values?" objection addressed.
The Curriculum — 680+ pages of curriculum manual, plus the 12 team lessons and bootstrap guides live and in use today.
The Markers — All 58 Development Markers with stage progressions, behavioral indicators, and verification methodology design.
The Position Papers — Epistemological position, faith and religion, AI-assisted composition, defense of synthesis, convergent wisdom traditions.
The Bibliography — 1,100+ sources organized by domain.
[Enter the Workshop →] — Everything above, plus book drafts, program designs, organizational strategy, and the Chronicles story world.
The Research Domains We've Mapped
steamHouse organizes its research foundation across 6 domains containing 48 categories of evidence-based, vetted references. Those six domains aren't equal in weight — identity, metacognition, and character carry the deepest integration work. But the framework touches a wider set of fields. The convergence evidence draws from six primary domains; the full framework engages at least eleven, each with dedicated coverage in the compendium:
Cognitive science and brain architecture. How neural systems produce thought, attention, and decision-making. Kahneman's dual-process model as foundational.
Metacognition and self-regulation. Calibration, monitoring, reflective capacity. How people learn to think about their own thinking.
Identity development. How purpose, self-concept, and values form — particularly in adolescence. Identity as something authored, not assigned.
Character education and moral development. Principle-based approaches to ethical reasoning and prosocial behavior.
Emotional intelligence and regulation. How emotions inform decisions and how regulation develops as a learnable capacity.
Systems thinking and complexity. How interconnected systems behave, why linear thinking fails, where leverage points exist.
Epistemology and philosophy of education. How we know what we know. Dewey's pragmatism as methodological ancestor.
Adolescent psychology and development. The specific developmental window and why it matters.
Communication, relationships, and social skills. How people connect, influence, collaborate — and how these capacities develop.
Civic engagement and democratic participation. How citizens form, why belonging matters, the relationship between personal development and public life.
Research methodology. How to study a comprehensive framework like this one — including design-based approaches, practitioner-researcher partnership, and questions of what's essential vs. adaptable in implementation.
How to Start
Browse first. Enter the Workshop. Read the framework summary. Scan the markers in your domain. Look at the convergence table. Form your own assessment before we talk.
Start with a Tier 1 ask. Tell us your domain and we'll send you the relevant mapping document and a structured response template. Two hours. No commitment beyond the review.
Have a conversation. If you're interested but not sure where you fit, we're happy to talk. We'd rather have an honest conversation about fit than pitch you on something that isn't right.
Contact: brenton@steamhouse.club · 303.842.2986
We're based in Golden, Colorado — twenty minutes from CU Boulder, forty from CSU, thirty from CU Denver. Coffee is easy.
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