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National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation

James E. HamosDirectorate for Education & Human ResourcesDirectorate for Education & Human Resources

November 2009

Creating Systemic and Sustainable Capacity for

STEM Education: Learning from the NSF

Portfolio

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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. Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives, Hearing on K-12 Science and Math Education Across Federal Agencies -- March 30, 2006

Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr. Director, NSF

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Enabling the Nation’s future through Enabling the Nation’s future through discovery, learning and innovationdiscovery, 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

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

NSF Strategic GoalsNSF Strategic Goals DiscoveryAdvance the frontiers of knowledge

LearningCultivate a world-class, inclusive science and engineering workforce

Research infrastructureBuild research capability via advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyberinfrastructure and experimental tools

StewardshipSupport excellence and ensure a capable and responsive organization

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NSF Organization ChartNSF Organization Chart

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NSF Considers Proposals for Support NSF Considers Proposals for Support of Research in any Field of Scienceof Research in any Field of Science

Astronomy Atmospheric

Sciences Biological Sciences Chemistry Computer Sciences Earth Sciences Education and

Human Resources Engineering

Information Science Materials Research Mathematical

Sciences Nanotechnology Oceanography Physics Polar Studies Social, Behavioral

and Economic Sciences

Interdisciplinary/Cross-cutting Proposals

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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.

NSF/EHR GoalsNSF/EHR Goals

EHR’s FundingEHR’s Funding FY 2007 Total – $695.65 million (out of

$6.095 billion total for NSF)• DRL $208.99 million• DUE $204.96 million• DGE $155.90 million• HRD $125.80 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 Math and Science Science

Partnership Partnership (MSP) Program(MSP) Program

A Research and A Research and Development Effort Development Effort

in K-16 Teaching in K-16 Teaching and Learningand Learning

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

NSF’s Math and Science NSF’s Math and Science PartnershipPartnership

                                                                                                                                                  

  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.

12 ComprehensiveComprehensive PartnershipsPartnerships (FY 2002, FY 2003)

36 TargetedTargeted PartnershipsPartnerships (FY 2002, FY 2003, FY 2004, FY 2008)

23 Institute PartnershipsInstitute Partnerships (Prototype Award in FY 2003, FY 2004, FY 2006,

FY 2008, FY 2009)

19 MSP-StartMSP-Start PartnershipsPartnerships (FY 2008, FY2009)

6 Phase IIPhase II PartnershipsPartnerships (FY 2008, FY 2009)

49 RETARETA projects (Design Awards in FY 2002, FY 2003, FY 2004, FY 2006, FY

2008, FY 2009)

145 Funded MSP Projects145 Funded MSP 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 

Scope of Partnership ProjectsScope of Partnership Projects

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Math and Science Partnership (MSP) ProgramMath and Science Partnership (MSP) ProgramNational Distribution of Partnership ActivityNational Distribution of Partnership Activity

Examining Student Examining Student AchievementAchievement

Year-by-Year Trend Analysis Matched comparisons Meta-analysis pre/post assessments

Closing the Closing the AchievemeAchieveme

nt Gap nt Gap

Through new long-term and Through new long-term and coherent courses and coherent courses and programs, the involvement of programs, the involvement of STEM faculty and their STEM faculty and their departments in pre- and in-departments in pre- and in-service education enhances service education enhances content knowledge of teachers content knowledge of teachers 

What are we learning?What are we learning?

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.

North Cascades and Olympic Science North Cascades and Olympic Science PartnershipPartnership

39.4 39.243.7 42.4

48.648.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

5th Grade 10th Grade

% Proficient

0 Years with aNCOSP Teacher

1 Year with aNCOSP Teacher

2 Years with aNCOSP Teacher

N = 7408 1927 368 2949 1819 327

Impact on Teacher Leaders’ Content

Knowledge

Impact on the Students of

Teacher Leaders

MSP projects are making new MSP projects are making new contributions to the STEM contributions to the STEM education literature related to education literature related to teacher content knowledge teacher content knowledge and teacher leadershipand teacher leadership  

What are we learning?What are we learning?

http://www.mspkmd.net/

Teacher Content Knowledge & Teacher Content Knowledge & Teacher LeadershipTeacher Leadership

STEM professional learning STEM professional learning communities are new communities are new exemplars in professional exemplars in professional developmentdevelopment

What are we learning?What are we learning?

Rice University Mathematics Leadership Rice University Mathematics Leadership InstituteInstitute

STEM education can and STEM education can and should extend beyond science should extend beyond science and mathematics; in and mathematics; in particular, K-12 engineering particular, K-12 engineering education is ready for prime education is ready for prime time time

What are we learning?What are we learning?

Higher education STEM faculty, Higher education STEM faculty, often with the aid of teachers-often with the aid of teachers-in-residence on college in-residence on college campuses, are broadening their campuses, are broadening their discussions of teaching and discussions of teaching and learning and supporting new learning and supporting new efforts in teacher preparationefforts in teacher preparation

What are we learning?What are we learning?

Research methods in Research methods in ethnography and social ethnography and social network analysis help network analysis help document change in document change in institutions and partnershipsinstitutions and partnerships

What are we learning?What are we learning?

School with Emerging Distributed Leadership

School with High 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

Milwaukee Milwaukee Mathematics Mathematics PartnershipPartnership

New centers and institutes New centers and institutes devoted to K-16 math and devoted to K-16 math and science education facilitate science education facilitate interactions between higher interactions between higher education and K-12, offer education and K-12, offer professional development for professional development for STEM faculty, and advance the STEM faculty, and advance the scholarship of teaching and scholarship of teaching and learninglearning

What are we learning?What are we learning?

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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 Enhancing Support of Transformative Research at the National Science Research at the National Science

FoundationFoundationScience 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 – Transformative Research – Notice No. 130Notice 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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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

EArly-concept Grants for EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER)Exploratory Research (EAGER)