National Science Foundation
Creating Systemic and
Sustainable Capacity for
STEM Education:
Learning from the NSF
Portfolio
James E. Hamos
Directorate for Education & Human Resources
November 2009
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Today's young people
face a world of
increasing global
competition. We
depend on the
excellence of U.S.
schools and
universities to provide
students with the
wherewithal to meet
this challenge and to
make their own
contributions to
America's future.
Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr.
Director, NSF
Committee on Science, U.S. House of
Representatives, Hearing on K-12
Science and Math Education Across
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Federal Agencies -- March 30, 2006
Enabling the Nation’s future through
discovery, learning and innovation
To promote the progress of science; to advance the national
health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national
defense; and for other purposes
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Basic scientific research and research fundamental to the
engineering process,
Programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research
potential,
Science and engineering education programs at all levels and in
all fields of science and engineering, and
An information base on science and engineering appropriate for
development of national and international policy.
from National Science Foundation Act of 1950
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NSF Strategic Goals
 Discovery
Advance the frontiers of knowledge
 Learning
Cultivate a world-class, inclusive science and
engineering workforce
 Research infrastructure
Build research capability via advanced
instrumentation, facilities, cyberinfrastructure
and experimental tools
 Stewardship
Support excellence and ensure a capable and
responsive organization
NSF Organization Chart
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NSF Considers Proposals for Support of
Research in any Field of Science
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Astronomy
Atmospheric
Sciences
Biological Sciences
Chemistry
Computer Sciences
Earth Sciences
Education and
Human Resources
Engineering
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Information Science
Materials Research
Mathematical
Sciences
Nanotechnology
Oceanography
Physics
Polar Studies
Social, Behavioral and
Economic Sciences
Interdisciplinary/Cross-cutting Proposals
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NSF/EHR Goals

Prepare the next generation of STEM professionals and
attract and retain more Americans to STEM careers.

Develop a robust research community that can conduct
rigorous research and evaluation that will support
excellence in STEM education and that integrates research
and education.

Increase the technological, scientific and quantitative
literacy of all Americans so that they can exercise
responsible citizenship and live productive lives in an
increasingly technological society.

Broaden participation (individuals, geographic regions,
types of institutions, STEM disciplines) and close
achievement gaps in all STEM fields.
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EHR’s Funding
 FY 2007 Total – $695.65 million (out of
$6.095 billion total for NSF)
•
•
•
•
DRL
DUE
DGE
HRD
$208.99
$204.96
$155.90
$125.80
million
million
million
million
 FY 2009 Omnibus – $845.26 million, 21.5%
increase (out of $6.490 billion total for NSF)
 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 – additional $100 million (out of $3.002
billion additional to NSF)
Math and Science
Partnership (MSP)
Program
A Research and
Development Effort in
K-16 Teaching and
Learning
NSF’s Math and Science Partnership
 A research & development effort at NSF for building
capacity and integrating the work of higher education
with that of K-12 to strengthen and reform
mathematics and science education
 Launched in FY 2002 as a result of legislative interest
and was also a key facet of the President’s NCLB vision
for K-12 education
 Reauthorized as part of the America COMPETES Act of
2007 and provided with additional appropriation in
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
and the FY 2009 federal budget
Through the Math and Science Partnership program, NSF
awards competitive, merit-based grants to teams
composed of institutions of higher education, local K-12
school systems and supporting partners. At their core,
Partnerships contain at least one institution of higher
education and one K-12 school system.
145 Funded MSP Projects
12 Comprehensive Partnerships
(FY 2002, FY 2003)
36 Targeted Partnerships (FY 2002, FY 2003,
FY 2004, FY 2008)
23 Institute Partnerships (Prototype Award in
FY 2003, FY 2004, FY 2006, FY 2008, FY 2009)
19 MSP-Start Partnerships (FY 2008, FY2009)
6 Phase II Partnerships (FY 2008, FY 2009)
49 RETA projects (Design Awards in FY 2002,
FY 2003, FY 2004, FY 2006, FY 2008, FY 2009)
Scope of Partnership Projects
 Over 800 K-12 school districts
 ~5 million students
 ~147,000 teachers of K-12 math and
science
 198 institutions of higher education
 Over 2600 faculty, administrators,
graduate and undergraduate
students
Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program
National Distribution of Partnership Activity
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Examining Student Achievement
 Year-by-Year Trend Analysis
 Matched comparisons
 Meta-analysis pre/post assessments
Closing the
Achievement
Gap
What are we learning?
Through new long-term and
coherent courses and programs,
the involvement of STEM faculty
and their departments in pre- and
in-service education enhances
content knowledge of teachers
North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership
Impact on
Teacher Leaders’
Content
Knowledge
60
48.6
48.6
Impact on the
Students of
Teacher Leaders
% Proficient
50
40
43.7
39.4
39.2
42.4
0 Years with a
NCOSP Teacher
1 Year with a
NCOSP Teacher
30
2 Years with a
NCOSP Teacher
20
10
0
N =
7408
1927 368
5th Grade
2949 1819 327
10th Grade
Students who have NCOSP teacher leaders for one and two
years of instruction are more likely to score proficient on state
assessments than students who do not have such a teacher.
What are we learning?
MSP projects are making new
contributions to the STEM
education literature related to
teacher content knowledge and
teacher leadership
Teacher Content Knowledge &
Teacher Leadership
http://www.mspkmd.net/
What are we learning?
STEM professional learning
communities are new exemplars
in professional development
Rice University Mathematics Leadership Institute
What are we learning?
STEM education can and should
extend beyond science and
mathematics; in particular, K-12
engineering education is ready
for prime time
What are we learning?
Higher education STEM faculty,
often with the aid of teachers-inresidence on college campuses,
are broadening their discussions
of teaching and learning and
supporting new efforts in teacher
preparation
What are we learning?
Research methods in
ethnography and social network
analysis help document change
in institutions and partnerships
Milwaukee Mathematics
Partnership
School with High Distributed Leadership
School with Emerging Distributed Leadership
• Distance is important. Closer nodes are
more tightly connected than nodes that are
further apart.
• Color is important. Individuals from the
subject school are colored red and those
who are not at the school are green. The
MTL for each school is colored yellow.
• Shape denotes role as follows: Diamond =
MTL; Overlapping Triangles = Principal; Up
Triangle = Literacy Coach; Down Triangle =
MTS; Square = Teacher; Circle = Other role
What are we learning?
New centers and institutes devoted
to K-16 math and science education
facilitate interactions between
higher education and K-12, offer
professional development for STEM
faculty, and advance the
scholarship of teaching and
learning
Enhancing
Support of
Transformative
Research at the
National Science
Foundation
(NSB 07-32)
http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/documents/2007/tr_report.pdf
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Enhancing Support of Transformative
Research at the National Science
Foundation
Science progresses in two fundamental and equally valuable ways.
The vast majority of scientific understanding advances
incrementally, with new projects building upon the results of
previous studies or testing long-standing hypotheses and
theories. This progress is evolutionary—it extends or shifts
prevailing paradigms over time. The vast majority of research
conducted in scientific laboratories around the world fuels this
form of innovative scientific progress. Less frequently,
scientific understanding advances dramatically, through the
application of radically different approaches or interpretations
that result in the creation of new paradigms or new scientific
fields. This progress is revolutionary, for it transforms
science by overthrowing entrenched paradigms and
generating new ones.
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Transformative Research –
Notice No. 130
Endeavors which have the potential to
change the way we address challenges in
science, engineering, and innovation.
Those endeavors which promise
extraordinary outcomes, such as:
revolutionizing entire disciplines; creating
entirely new fields; or disrupting accepted
theories and perspectives.
Director Arden Bement, Notice No. 130, September 24, 2007,
Important Notice To Presidents of Universities and Colleges and
Heads Of Other National Science Foundation Awardee Organizations
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/in130/in130.jsp
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EArly-concept Grants for
Exploratory Research (EAGER)
 Replaces part of the Small Grants for
Exploratory Research (SGER) program
 Supports high-risk, exploratory and
potentially transformative research
 Requests may be for up to $300K and of
up to two years duration
 Further guidelines in Grant Proposal
Guide (NSF 09-1, January 2009),
Chapter II, Section D (Special Guidelines),
Subsection 2
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