Dr. Sylvia James & Dr. Monya Ruffin
August 2011
NSF Strategic Outcome Goals
2011-2015
 Transform the Frontiers
 Innovate for Society
 Perform as a Model Organization
DGE
DRK-12
ISE
DRL
National
Science
Foundation
LLC
EHR
ITEST
DUE
REESE
HRD

R&D to improve effectiveness
of STEM learning for people of
all ages

Advance cutting-edge
knowledge and practice in
formal and informal settings

Support innovative research,
development & evaluation of
learning and teaching across
all STEM disciplines
Supports innovation in anywhere,
anytime, lifelong learning through
investments in research,
development, infrastructure, and
capacity-building for STEM learning
outside formal school settings.
ISE Audiences
• Public Audiences
• Professional Audiences
ISE Program Solicitation #: NSF11-546
 Permanent
and
traveling exhibits
 Film, radio, and TV
 Cyber-enabled
learning, emerging
technologies, and
educational games
 Citizen science
projects
Youth and
Community projects
Research and
development in the
field
Professional
development
Consortia and
collaborations
Virtual networks
Research (<$1.5 M)
 Pathways (<$250 K)
 Full-Scale Development (<$3 M)
 Broad Implementation (<$3 M)
 Connecting Researchers to Public
Audiences ($150 K)
`````````````````````````
 Rapids (<$200 K)
 EAGERs (<$300 K)
 Workshops / conferences (Varies)

 Capital
or operating
expenses
 Major or office
equipment
 Vehicles
 Undergraduate tuition
 Paid advertising
 Admission fees
Operating
expenses for school
field trips/camps/
competitions
 Projects that
focus primarily on
health or medicine
 Publications and
curricula as the
primary deliverable
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Ubiquity
Equity
Compelling
Experiences
Flexible Assessment
Abundance of
Educators
Nimbleness
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
How to bridge for
continuity
How to capitalize
on potential
How to support
broad learning
How to
demonstrate
learning
How to support PD
for all
How to get
coherence of effort
# of Projects (n=175)
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Format Type
As of 12.10
ISE Impact Categories
Awareness, knowledge, or understanding
 Engagement or interest
 Attitude
 Behavior
 Skills
 Other

(Friedman, 2008; Renninger, 2008)
Westat OPMS Pilot Study August 2009
Percent of ISE
budget
Budget: $64 M
Youth/Community: 21.0%
Period under
review
2005-2007
Sample
Active awards
Technology
Most projects include websites and/or cyberlearning
component
Outcomes/
Impacts/
Measures
1-4 Impacts identified
100% have formative and summative with complex designs
Youth &
Community
Outcomes
Knowledge or comprehension – 75.0%
Engagement or Interest – 75.0%
Behavior – 25.0%
New skills – 25.0%
Attitude – 37.5%
 Include
multiple delivery platforms
 Complex designs with multiple entry points
 Offer opportunities for long-term
interaction
 Target diverse audiences
 Include strong partnerships
 Take place in community settings – local,
regional, national
 Labor intensive
 Often include professional development and
training
(PI: Janet Besieger; 08-40313; University of Chicago)



is a five -year project designed to introduce middle school
students across the country to cryptography and
mathematics.
Project partners include the Young Peoples Project (YPP), the
Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and Eduweb.
Project deliverables include online activities, online
cryptography adventure games, interactive offline games, a
leader's manual, and leadership training workshops for
afterschool leaders.
(PI: Jon Chase; 07-39874; Washington University)



This comprehensive five-year project is designed
to engage underserved students in grades 11 and 12 in fieldbased exploration of the environment.
The four deliverables are as follows: a field program at the
Shaw Nature Reserve (SNR), an environmental biology
research program, a research communication strategy, and a
one-week training experience for science educators to
promote dissemination of the program model.
Students are introduced to basic ecological concepts,
including aquatic biodiversity assessments, species
interactions, mark and recapture population studies,
population viability exercises, and predator/prey
relationships.
(06-10720, Bonnie Sawyer, Hopa Mountain)

Results of the pre-post surveys indicate a positive
shift in thinking about science, along w/ a broader
view of science and sharing new knowledge
among each other. Students in grades 7-9
gained an appreciation of science.
“The lessons being learned through the NSFCs are contributing
to the ISE field and articulating ways in which scientific
data and traditional knowledge can build collective
knowledge bases.”
 Funded
by H-1B visa revenues
 Focus on any STEM area
 Targets K-12 students, teachers, and parents
in relationship to needs of the US workforce
 STEM workforce includes technologists,
scientists, engineers, and mathematicians;
also ICT-intensive fields (e.g., computational
biology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology)
ITEST Program Solicitation #: NSF 11-525

To produce research findings that build knowledge
about approaches, models, and interventions with
K-12-aged children and teachers to increase the
nation’s capacity and innovation in the STEM
workforce of the future.

To develop, implement, study and evaluate
strategies that encourage K-12 students to develop
interest in and to be prepared for careers in the
STEM workforce of the future.

To equip teachers with the resources to ensure
that their students consider choosing and are
prepared to enter the STEM workforce of the
future.
Computer Science
– Gaming &
Simulations (use
Environmental
Science
includes
GIS/GPS,
remote sensing
technology,
climate
modeling, and
ecological
research and
analysis
and creation of
gaming and
simulations in formal
& informal education)
Computer Science
includes:
programming; web
development;
multimedia –
audio, video and
animation; computer
hardware; general
skills and
mathematics
Bioscience includes
Bioinformatics,
biotechnology, DNA
analysis/sequencing, and
biomedicine
Engineering includes
Aerospace, design,
robotics and
nanotechnology
 Strategies
–develop, implement and study
theory and practice-based models
 Scale-Up-expand and study successful models
in school and non-school settings
 Research– produce empirical findings and
research tools
 Conferences and Workshops – define the
ITEST research agenda and better understand
how to assess impacts of ITEST innovations
(PI: Steven Bean, 09-29676, ETR
Associates)



Formerly Animando a Estudiantes Con
Technologia (AET)
“Encouraging Students in the Field of
Information Technology
The PI seeks to test a model of parent
engagement and leadership (PEAL) in
combination with an out-of-school
youth IT education program targeting
Latino/a students in middle and high
school.
Fosters the development of IT fluency
and awareness of IT careers
PI: Preeti Gupta, 09-29206,
New York Hall of Science



Virtual Hall of Science (VHOS)
serves as a STEM learning
environment for middle and high
school students.
Students use ICT skills to design
interactive virtual exhibits, develop
digital communication skills, and
learn about usability.
Participating youth learn interactive
computing design, mentoring skills,
increased awareness of STEM and
ICT careers, teamwork, and
leadership skills. Students form
teams, create interactive science
exhibits, study interactive design,
and use a variety of Web 2.0 tools
for collaboration purposes.
Intellectual Merit
 How important is the proposed activity to advancing
knowledge and understanding within its own field
or across different fields?
Broader Impacts
 How well does the activity advance discovery and
understanding while promoting teaching, training,
and learning? How well does the proposed activity
broaden the participation of underrepresented
groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic,
etc.)?
Ratings: E, VG, G, F, P
 Solicitations
 NSF
website
(www.nsf.gov)
 Submissions
 FastLane
o
Be aware of quirks
 Grants.gov
 Electronic

ISE Guidelines, NSF 11-546:
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=5361&ods_ke
y=nsf11546

Website: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5361&org=D
RL&from=home


Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education (CAISE)
http://caise.insci.org/
ITEST Guidelines, NSF 11-525

ITEST Homepage

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5467&org=DRL&from=home

ITEST Learning Resource Center website

NSF Awards Database
<http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09506/nsf09506.htm
http://www2.edc.org/itestlrc/
 Dr.
Sylvia James
Lifelong Learning
Cluster Coordinator
(703) 292-5333
sjames@nsf.gov
 Dr.
Monya Ruffin
Program Officer
(703) 292-7322
mruffin@nsf.gov