NIH SciEd 2014 Conference
May 5, 2014
Bethesda, MD
Joan Prival
Division of Undergraduate Education
National Science Foundation
NSF Programs Supporting K12 STEM
Education
 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
 STEM-C Partnerships
 Discovery Research K-12
 Research Experiences for Teachers
 Presidential Awards for Excellence in
Mathematics and Science Teaching
 Broadening the impact of NSF Research
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
 To encourage talented mathematics, science,
and engineering undergraduates (STEM
majors) to pursue teaching careers
 To encourage STEM professionals to become
teachers
 To prepare Master Teachers
Noyce Scholarship Program (NSF 14-508)
Three Categories :
Scholarship Track
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Supports undergraduate STEM majors and post-baccalaureate
students/career changers
Scholarships/stipends, internships
Teaching commitment in high need school district
NSF Teaching Fellowship/Master Teaching Fellowship Track
(TF/MTF)
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Supports post-baccalaureate preservice students/career changers
Develops Master Teachers
Fellowships and salary supplements
Teaching commitment in high need school district
Capacity Building Projects
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Planning, development, building infrastructure
Noyce Scholarship Program
Projects include:
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STEM faculty collaborating with Education faculty
Strong partnership with school district
Recruitment and selection strategies
Exemplary teacher preparation programs leading to certification
and/or professional development programs for Master Teaching
Fellows)
Support for new teachers
Mechanism for monitoring recipients
Institutional support
Evaluation
Noyce Scholarship Program
Capacity Building Track
To develop the capacity of the teacher preparation community to expand
efforts to document, disseminate, and implement evidence-based
practices for preparing effective STEM teachers and teacher leaders:
 Development of new teacher preparation programs for STEM
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majors and STEM professionals
Development of new programs for developing Master STEM
Teachers
Workshops, conferences focusing on challenges or effective
practices in recruiting and preparing STEM teachers for high-need
school districts
Knowledge syntheses, identification/dissemination of resources
and evidence-based practices
Enhancing Noyce project evaluation
TELbio: Teaching English Learners Biology
Kennesaw State University
PI: Jennifer Frisch
 Collaboration between Kennesaw State University's (KSU) College of Science
and Mathematics and the Bagwell College of Education and five high-need
school districts in the metropolitan Atlanta, GA Georgia area
 Teacher candidates complete the MAT Biology degree and obtain both 6-12
biology teaching certification and a TESOL endorsement.
 Scholars with strong biology content knowledge are recruited into the program
 Research-based best practices in biology instruction with English language
support, social justice techniques, culturally relevant and culturally responsive
pedagogies equip Noyce Scholars to meet the needs of all students.
 In-school mentoring and KSU faculty mentorship support for new teachers
 Data regarding the academic strength and commitment of the applicants,
evidence of development of candidate skills during the program period, and
evidence of success during the induction period for scholarship recipients are
used to evaluate program effectiveness
Teaching as a Primary Profession (TAPP) in Biology and
Biochemistry
California State University-Fullerton
PI: Barbara Gonzalez
 Collaboration between CSU-Fullerton, UCLA, Mount San Antonio
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College and Anaheim Union High School District
Biology or Biochemistry majors receive a teaching credential through a
five year program
Provide opportunities for students to enrich their understanding of the
nature of scientific inquiry through research experiences in biology
and biochemistry
Develop pedagogical content knowledge with supported experiences in
high school and college classrooms
Supported by Master Teachers and university field supervisors
Facilitate the use of information, communication, and educational
technologies to improve teaching and learning
STEM Teacher as Researcher
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
PI: John Keller
Producing teacher-researchers through:
 Paid 9-week research internships at national labs (NOAA, DoE,
NASA, NSF, SETI Institute, DoD)
 Weekly STEM education workshops
 STAR Teacher-Researcher Conferences\
STAR Fellows:
 Engage in original research
 Join a community of teacher-researchers
 Build a professional network at a national lab
 Translate research into classroom practice
STEM-C Partnerships
STEM-C Partnerships
Partnership: at least one K-12 school district + at
least one institution/ organization that is actively
engaged in teacher education and which brings STEM
disciplinary expertise
PI/Co-PIs must include at least one K-12 Core Partner
organizational representative and an individual with an
advanced STEM degree (scientist, engineer,
mathematician, or computer scientist) from a Core
Partner
STEM-C Partnerships (NSF 14-522)
Focal Areas:
 Community Enterprise for STEM Teaching &
Learning
 Current Issues Related to STEM Content
 Teaching & Learning In Computer Science
 Identifying & Cultivating Exceptional Talent
 K-12 STEM Teacher Preparation
STEM-C Project Attributes
 Center on improving STEM learning by K-12 students
 Contribute to the literature on STEM teaching and learning, with an
explicit research agenda?
 Involve at least one K-12 school district and at least one
institution/organization that is actively engaged in teacher
education (pre-service and/or in-service) and which brings STEM
disciplinary expertise in a mutually beneficial Partnership
 Utilize expertise of STEM disciplinary experts, educational
researchers, and K-12 teachers and administrators, with
individuals from the learning sciences
 Address a National Priority—the project should address both
identified local needs and issues of national import
Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12)
DRK-12
The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to
significantly enhance the learning and teaching of Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by preK12 students, teachers, administrators and parents.
All DRK-12 projects should be framed around a research
question or hypothesis that addresses an important need or
topic in preK-12 STEM education. The emphasis in DRK-12 is
on research projects that study the development, testing,
deployment, effectiveness, and/or scale-up of innovative
resources, models and tools
Resources, Models and Tools
 Resources – wide variety of research-based
materials, information sources or services that
enhance or empower effective teaching and
learning
 Models – frameworks for organization, action or
engagement in teaching and/or learning
 Tools – wide range of devices, procedures, and
processes that enable students, teachers,
administrators or parents to pursue specific goals
DRK-12’s Four Strands
 The Assessment Strand: projects that develop and study valid and
reliable assessments of student and teacher knowledge, skills, and
practices
 The Learning Strand: projects that develop and study resources,
models and tools to support all students' STEM learning, enhance their
knowledge and abilities, and build their interest in STEM fields
 The Teaching Strand: projects that develop and study resources,
models and tools to help pre- and in-service teachers provide high
quality STEM education for all students
 The Implementation Strand: projects that develop and study the
factors that contribute to implementation of RMTs or that develop
rigorous evidence about their efficacy or effectiveness
Research Experiences for Teachers
Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)
 NSF supports Research Experiences for Teachers (RETs) via the
Directorates for Engineering (ENG), Geosciences (GEO),
Biological Sciences (BIO), Materials Research Science and
Engineering Centers (MRSEC) and others through:
 RET supplements to ongoing awards, and
 RET Site awards
 The goal is to help build long-term collaborative partnerships
between K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) teachers, community college faculty, and the NSF
university research community by involving teachers in research
and helping them translate their research experiences and new
knowledge into classroom activities
http://www.retnetwork.org/about.php
Presidential Awards for Excellence in
Mathematics and Science Teaching
• The Nation’s highest
honors for teachers of
mathematics and science.
• Awardees serve as models
for their colleagues,
inspiration to their
communities and leaders
in the improvement of
mathematics and science
education
Presidential Awards for Excellence in
Mathematics and Science Teaching
 Awards given to mathematics and science (including computer
science) teachers from each of the 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico,
Department of Defense Education Activity schools, and the U.S.
territories as a group (American Samoa, Guam, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands).
 The award recognizes those teachers who develop and
implement a high-quality instructional program that is informed
by content knowledge and enhances student learning.
 Applications for current competition (K-6 Teachers) must be
completed by May 15, 2014.
 Nominations for mathematics and science teachers of grades 712 will open in Fall of 2014.
NSF Review Criteria
NSF Merit Review Criteria
 Intellectual Merit: encompasses the potential to advance
knowledge
 Broader Impacts: encompasses the potential to benefit
society and contribute to the achievement of specific,
desired societal outcomes
Additional Program specific review criteria, dependent
on proposal type
NSF Resources Supporting K12 STEM
Education
 Broadening the impact of NSF funded research
 Resources for STEM Education
http://www.nsfresources.org/home.cfm
 Successful K12 STEM Education
http://successfulstemeducation.org/
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13158
 Monitoring Progress Toward Successful K12 STEM
Education
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13509
Common Guidelines for Educational
Research
The Guidelines were jointly developed by the National
Science Foundation and the Department of Education’s
Institute of Education Sciences to “establish cross-agency
guidelines for improving the quality, coherence, and pace of
knowledge development in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM) education” (NSF 13-126)
The Common Guidelines (NSF 13-126):
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=ns
f13126
Common Guidelines
 The Guidelines describe six types of research studies
that can generate evidence about how to increase
student learning.
 For each research type, there is a description of the
purpose and the expected empirical and/or theoretical
justifications, types of project outcomes, and quality of
evidence.
www.nsf.gov
jprival@nsf.gov