STEM Education Programs at NOAA

Carrie McDougall, Ph.D.NOAA Office of Education

Triangle Coalition Annual Conference on STEM Education Policy

October 21, 2010

NOAA-Science & Service Agency

Major Organizational Units

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National Weather ServiceNational Marine Fisheries ServiceNational Ocean ServiceNational Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information ServiceOffice of Oceanic and Atmospheric ResearchNational Climate Service (proposed)

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NOAA Vision

An informed society that uses a comprehensive understanding of the role of the oceans, coasts, and atmosphere in the global ecosystem to make the best social and economic decisions

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Mandate to Educate4

• The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall conduct, develop, support, promote, and coordinate formal and informal educational activities at all levels to enhance public awareness and understanding of ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmospheric science and stewardship by the general public and other coastal stakeholders, including underrepresented groups in ocean and atmospheric science and policy careers.

2008 Annual Sea Ice Minimum

America COMPETES Act of 2007

Education Strategic Plan5

NOAA’s education missionTo advance environmental literacy and promote a diverse workforce in ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather, and climate sciences, encouraging stewardship and increasing informed decision making for the Nation.

Goal 1: An environmentally literate public supported by a continuum of lifelong formal and informal education and outreach opportunities in ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather, and climate sciences.

Goal 2: A future workforce, reflecting the diversity of the Nation, skilled in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and other disciplines critical to NOAA’s mission.

Science Literacy Essential Principles

• Ocean Literacy Principles and Concepts:– Community driven effort to clarify fundamentals of ocean

literacy– Used as guiding document by many institutions (e.g.,

Smithsonian Ocean Hall, Aquariums, Sanctuaries, Coastal America, Centers for Ocean Science Excellence in Education, K-12 school districts)

– Model for other literacy efforts (e.g., Climate) – K-12 scope & sequence & NSES alignment companion

documents

• Climate Literacy Principles and Concepts:– Community driven effort to clarify fundamentals of

climate literacy– Used as guiding document by many partner organizations

(e.g., the GLOBE Program, TERC, Association of Science Technology Centers, National Science Teachers Association)

• Support Other Literacy Efforts:– Great Lakes, Earth Science, Atmospheric Science, Energy

Literacy and others

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NOAA’s Education Resources7

Grant & Scholarship OpportunitiesLesson Plans & CurriculaTeacher Professional DevelopmentMultimedia, Games, & InteractivesExperiential LearningInnovative Education TechnologyPlace-based and Research-focused ResourcesReal-time Data & Information

NOAA’s Competitive Grants & Scholarships

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K-12 & Informal Science EducationBay-Watershed Education & Training (B-WET) GrantsEnvironmental Literacy Grants

Undergraduate & Graduate Science Education

Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving InstitutionsErnest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarships (~120 new students supported each year)Dr. Nancy Foster Graduate Scholarships

Bay-Watershed Education and Training

(B-WET) GrantsA regional competitive grants program supporting projects that integrate classroom instructional requirements with meaningful outdoor experiential learning Managed in partnership with Sanctuaries, Chesapeake Bay Office and Coastal Services CenterExisting programs in Chesapeake Bay, California, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and the Pacific NW

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http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/BWET/

Environmental Literacy Grants

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A national competitive grants program for K-12 and informal education

71 funded projects = $26.9M

Annually 8-10 awards, $3.2-$7.5M total$100,000-$1.5M awardsTypes of projects funded:

Citizen ScienceScience On a Sphere & OthersData Visualization & InterpretationMuseum ExhibitsCivic EngagementPublic Opinion ResearchTeacher PD (in-service & pre-service)Curriculum Development

http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/grantprog.html

Educational Partnership Program

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Goal:Increase the number of students from underrepresented communities who are educated, trained, and graduated in fields that directly support NOAA’s mission.

• Cooperative Science Centers funded through competitive grants at minority serving institutions (MSIs)

Builds research capacity in the NOAA sciences at MSIs

Increases the graduation rates of students from underrepresented minority communities in NOAA sciences

• Graduate Sciences Program• Undergraduate Scholarship Program

Lesson Plans & Interactives

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education.noaa.gov

27 National Estuarine Research Reserves

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Place-based & Experiential Education

13 National Marine Sanctuaries

32 Sea Grant Colleges

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Ocean Exploration & Research

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Research-focused Experiences

Teacher at Sea

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Real-time Data & Multimedia Resources

Climate.govDataintheclassroom.org

Interagency Coordination16

NSTC Subcommittee on Education & Workforce DevelopmentOcean Education Working Group (National Ocean Council)US Global Change Research Program-Interagency Working Group on Education (& focused collaboration on grants)Interagency coordination of teacher research experiencesGLOBE Program

http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/

Thank you.

Carrie McDougall, Ph.D.

Senior Program Manager

NOAA Office of Education

202-482-0875

carrie.mcdougall@noaa.gov