Integrating Research and Education: Biocomplexity Investigators Explore the Possibilities: Summary of a Workshop (2003)

A Guide for Proposal Writing, a booklet prepared by staff in DUE (NSF 98-91)

NSF’s Step-by-Step Guide for Prospective Principal Investigators, basic tips on exploring funding opportunities at NSF and preparing a proposal

Frequently Asked Questions: Preparing and Submitting a Proposal to NSF, a list of questions and answers maintained by NSF’s Policy Office

NSF 00-117: Supplemental Information for Principal Investigators and Applicants to NSF’s Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement Program, a summary of desired objectives for CCLI projects, and approaches to measuring those objectives

NSF 93-152: User-Friendly Handbook for Project Evaluation, a monograph describing the evaluation process, with a focus on the collection and analysis of quantitative data

NSF 97-153: User-Friendly Handbook for Mixed Method Evaluations, a monograph “initiated to provide more information on qualitative [evaluation] techniques and … how they can be combined effectively with quantitative measures”

Online Evaluation Resource Library (OERL) for NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources, a collection of evaluation plans, instruments, reports, glossaries of evaluation terminology, and best practices, with guidance for adapting and implementing evaluation resources

Field-Tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG) for Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology Instructors, a collection of “broadly applicable, self-contained modular classroom assessment techniques and discipline-specific tools for … instructors interested in new approaches to evaluating student learning, attitudes, and performance.”

http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/CL1/flag/

Career Program

http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/career/start.htm

NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12)

http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/gk12/start.htm

IGERT: Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program

http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/igert/start.htm

REU: Research Experiences for Undergraduates

http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/reu/start.htm

RUI/ROA: Research in Undergraduate Institutions and Research Opportunity Awards

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/crssprgm/rui/start.shtm

Math Science Partnerships (NSF 02-061)

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02061/nsf02061.html

Program Solicitation for ESIE

http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf0160

Centers For Learning and Teaching (CLT) (NSF 02-038)

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/esie/resources/centers.asp

abstracts and websites of successful proposals

Instructional Materials Development

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02067/nsf02067.html

Informal Science Education

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1997/nsf9770/isesupl.htm

Teacher Enhancement

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/rec/publications/eval/tep/tep.htm

Advanced Technology Education

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/due/programs/ate/

Assessment of Student Achievement in Undergraduate Education

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/due/programs/asa/

Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/due/programs/ccli/

National STEM Education Digital Library

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/due/programs/nsdl/

Other Funding Opportunities for Undergraduate STEM Education

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/due/links/other_programs.asp

Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI)

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02062/nsf02062.html

Research on Learning and Education (ROLE)

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/rec/

Evaluative Research and Evaluation Capacity Building

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf0234/nsf0234.html

David Mogk, of the University of Montana, listed the following as re sources within NSF that support educational projects.

Interdisciplinary Programs: NSF Graduate Teaching Fellowships in K-12 Education (GK-12)

This program supports fellowships and associated training that will enable graduate students and advanced undergraduates in the sciences, mathematics, engineering, and technology to serve as resources in K-12 schools. Academic institutions apply for awards to support fellowship activities, and are responsible for selecting Fellows. The Fellows will serve as resources for teachers in science and mathematics instruction. Expected outcomes include improved communication and teaching skills for the Fellows, enriched learning by K-12 students, professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers, and strengthened partnerships between institutions of higher education and local school districts (from http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/dge/programs/gk12/).

IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Pro gram)

The IGERT program has been developed to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists, engineers, and educators with the interdisciplinary backgrounds, deep knowledge in chosen disciplines, and technical, professional, and personal skills to become in their own careers the leaders and creative agents for change. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education, for students, faculty, and institutions, by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. It is also intended to facilitate greater diversity in student participation and preparation, and to contribute to the development of a diverse, globally-engaged science and engineering workforce (from http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/igert/intro.htm).

RUI/ROA: Research in Undergraduate Institutions and Research Op portunity Awards

All NSF directorates participate in the Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) activity, which supports research by faculty members of predominantly undergraduate institutions through the funding of (1) individual and collaborative research projects, (2) the purchase of shared-use research instrumentation, and (3) Research Opportunity Awards for work with NSF-supported investigators at other institutions (from http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/crssprgm/rui/start.shtm).

Discipline Specific Programs:

The National Science Foundation funds research and education in science and engineering. It does this through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, and other research and/or education institutions in all parts of the United States. The Foundation accounts for about 20 percent of federal support to academic institutions for basic research. Each year, NSF receives approximately 30,000 new or renewal support proposals for research, graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, and math/science/engineering education projects; it makes approximately 9,000 new awards. These typically go to universities, colleges, academic consortia, nonprofit institutions, and small businesses.

The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, certain oceanographic vessels, and Antarctic research sta

tions. The Foundation also supports cooperative research between universities and industry and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

Getting Information About NSF Programs

Most NSF funding opportunities are divided into broad program areas:

Biology

Computer and Information Sciences

Crosscutting Programs

Education

Engineering

Geosciences

International

Math, Physical Sciences

Polar Research

Science Statistics

Social, Behavioral Sciences

Information about NSF programs is compiled annually into the Guide to Programs, and updated and supplemented by periodic Program Announcements and Solicitations. These publications can be found through the Online Document System. Lists of current announcements and information can also be found on the NSF web by broad program area. To receive rapid notification of new program information, by email or via a custom web page, you may subscribe to NSF’s Custom News Service.

Special Programs

Additional funding opportunities may be found in these special program areas:

For Educators and Faculty

For Students and Post-Doctorates

Multidisciplinary and Joint Agency Programs

Small Business Programs

(from http://www.nsf.gov/home/programs/start.htm)

The Teacher-Researcher connection—We all want a scientifically literate populace!

Teachers/students have much to gain from a research experience:

• Teachers are immersed in the scientific process.

• Teachers are engaged in cutting-edge research.

• Teachers will be able to update their science content knowledge.

• Teachers will collaborate with colleagues and researchers.

• Students will “share” the experience.

• Students will experience the process of science as it is brought into the classroom.

Scientists have much to gain from working with teachers and students:

• Science education improves as teachers change to focus of their teaching.

• Scientists are exposed to new ways of thinking and teaching.

• Scientists know and understand science content and the research process.

• Teachers know and understand how to translate science content and the research process into the classroom.

The Professional Cultures of Science and Education: COMMON & UNCOMMON GROUND

Shultz, Barbara. SEP Newsletter Winter 1998

1. Utilize the standards (National Science Education Standards)—this one is critical!

2. How do you begin? Meet with teachers and teacher educators to help you plan.

3. Understand your differences and commonalities.

4. Recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

5. Make certain your partnership is sustainable.

6. Remember that teachers work within a constrained system and curriculum. They must be able to integrate new ideas into an existing curriculum.

7. Plan early how to assess the impact of your program.

8. Incorporate ways to “spread the wealth.” Very few teachers/students can participate in an actual research experience. Those that have the opportunity must be responsible for transferring that experience and knowledge to students, other teachers and the community.

Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic (TEA) is facilitated by Rice University of Houston, TX, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, NH, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, NY. It is funded by the division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education (ESIE) of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) and the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Goals of the TEA program:

• To immerse teachers in a research experience as a component of their continued professional development

• To have research experiences inform teaching practices; science investigation in the classroom should model the scientific process and the manner in which science is conducted.

• To carry the polar research experience into classrooms in rich, engaging, and innovative ways that underscore the relevance of science and the scientific process to society and individuals

• To establish a growing collaborative “Polar Learning Community” of teachers, students, schools districts, researchers, and the community to build on the TEA experience.

Why is the TEA program so successful? (Think about the hints, helpful suggestions, and important things to remember.)

1. The program is based on the National Science Education Standards. Inquiry is an integral part of the standards. The Standards focus on providing inquiry-based experiences for students showing that science is a human endeavor, and underscoring the relevance of science to societal issues.

2. Teachers were involved in the planning and teachers currently serve on the advisory board.

3. and 4. The program provides teachers with the opportunity to participate in a polar research program under the guidance of a research scientist. The teacher is responsible for transferring that experience back to the classroom both during the experience (daily journals and photographs posted on the web) and after (activity development, mentoring, presenta

tions, and participation in professional meetings). The scientist facilitates the teacher’s experience, allowing her/him to become immersed in the process of science. Following the field experience, the scientist visits the teacher’s classroom.

4. The field experience, while unquestionably the most exciting part of the TEA program, is still only one small piece of the teacher’s commitment. Follow-up activities are an integral part of the teacher enhancement and professional development components.

5. Each TEA teacher completes two activities within two years of return from the field. These activities infuse the polar research experience into the classroom. All activities are inquiry-based and related to the Na tional Science Education Standards.

6. Each TEA teacher is required to file a formal program evaluation at the close of the field season. Each year, for at least their first four years, the TEA teacher submits an annual report. The TEA teacher also collects video and print media that discusses the experience for the TEA archives.

7. Each TEA teacher is required to mentor a minimum of three peer teachers for a minimum of 140 hours each over a period of three years. In addition, each TEA teacher will create two activities, attend two professional meetings, and give at lest six presentations to the public.