Empowering Educators Through Engineering STEM Success Program

Warsaw Community Schools (WCS) and Ball State University (BSU) have teamed up to promote education in science, technology, engineering and math by launching the Engineering STEM Success Program. Last summer, WCS sixth through ninth grade teachers working with math, science, special education and English Language Learners voluntarily attended a two-week Math Science Partnership Summer Institute with the goal of improving classroom content. The 80 hours of instruction is college-level material provided by Ball State University to coach WCS educators in furnishing their students with a real world understanding of math and science. Throughout the program, teachers are encouraged to develop project-based, hands-on learning experiences that they can apply in the classroom.

After partnering with BSU about the program idea, both WCS and BSU worked diligently to co-write the grant. The Engineering STEM Success program was ultimately funded by a $450,000 grant received from the Indiana Department of Education. This past summer was year one of the possible three year grant. Almost fifty teachers were involved last summer and most of them plan to return this summer to continue their learning as well as strive to have a greater impact on their students.

Photos and more information from the event can be found here on the foundation's website.

Selected Grantweek updates from the Grants Resource Center for the week of April 1, 2013

Federal Budget Progress (No April Fool’s Joke)

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed budget plans for FY 13 and FY 14 recently, leaving GRC members one step closer to knowing the future landscape of Federal funding opportunities. It was the Senate’s first budget in four years. The Senate plan calls for almost $1 trillion in tax increases while cutting spending by roughly the same amount over the next decade. The plan addresses higher education by fully funding the Pell Grants Program, increasing aid for existing education programs, and increasing institutional and research support.

According to the Washington Post, the GOP-led House plan would lead to a “radical” reduction in the size of government, making large cuts in healthcare and social programs. The House plan hopes to move funding for higher education away from financial aid to policies that develop more innovative institutional options for students and their families.

Of course, neither of these plans will be implemented as is. Instead, they will set the boundaries for the coming debate. The real battle begins as Senate and House leaders meet to reconcile their competing visions and try to come up with something both chambers can approve and send on to President Obama.

From GRC Grantweek: NSF Will Launch E2 in Late-FY 13

During a November 8, 2012 public meeting, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR) discussed the pending release of a solicitation for Expeditions in Education (E2) pilot projects. E2 was proposed in NSF’s FY 13 budget request as part of the $807 million OneNSF initiative to coordinate high-priority programs seamlessly across all NSF disciplines and administrative units. (See the February 13, 2012 edition of GrantWeek for previous coverage.)

E2 is an effort to “consolidate, leverage, and focus” NSF’s educational and research missions to achieve national goals in STEM research and discovery, teaching and learning, and workforce development. There are three initial priorities: Transforming Undergraduate STEM Learning through Science and Engineering; Learning and Understanding Sustainability and Cyberlearning; and Data and Observations of STEM Education.

The February budget request described NSF’s plans for EHR, as the coordinating unit, and participating research offices, divisions, and directorates to issue a dear colleague letter that will solicit proposals and provide the following information:

• A list of programs across NSF that are part of the E2 portfolio;
• E2-specific expectations and language for each participating program;
• Information on what will constitute an E2 activity;
• Proposal evaluation and funding details (EHR and the participating directorates, divisions, and offices will split financial, staffing, and award decision responsibilities during FY 13); and
• A description of E2 guiding principles, metrics, data collection and reporting standards, and project evaluation requirements.

E2is part of a broader effort to staunch the flow of students out of STEM disciplines. EHR representatives at the November 8 meeting cited data showing that over 40 percent of U.S. undergraduate students who begin in a STEM major leave the program by the second semester of their first year. E2 will probe the replication potential of successful interventions for pervasive problems like these (EHR has highlighted Tuft University’s thriving engineering department as an example of a program that embeds real-world experience into undergraduate education, resulting not just in student retention but also in attracting students from other disciplines.) A second expected outcome of E2 is widespread execution of strategies for aligning experts on the science of learning with researchers from disciplines all along the STEM spectrum.

The pilot projects selected for FY 13 funding will become NSF’s “baseline” E2 portfolio. By FY 17, the agency expects the initiative to have transformed NSF’s entire education portfolio “into a coordinated and strategic set of investments spanning basic research and theory about STEM learning; design, implementation, and assessment of models for STEM learning and workforce development; evidence-based models for building institutional and human capacity; and innovative approaches to adaptation and scale-up.” This STEM education revolution will run concurrently with NSF’s “re-envisioning of EHR” to “to provide a full set of core investments in STEM education” research and development.

Check back with the Research Blog for updates!

Dear Colleague Letter: Unsolicited Proposals at the Interface of the Biological, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Engineering

From NSF.gov:

Divisions within the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) have seen increasing numbers of proposals in recent years that focus on biological systems at all levels of biological organization, ranging from the sub-cellular level to the environment. Additionally, the Directorate of Engineering (ENG) seeks to contribute to the understanding of biology using engineering tools to exploit unique aspects of biological systems in applications that are useful in industrial, environmental, and health care arenas. At the same time, divisions in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) are receiving significantly more proposals that incorporate approaches and address questions that have traditionally been the domain of the mathematical and physical sciences and engineering.

BIO, ENG and MPS recognize that it is vital for biological, mathematical, statistical and physical scientists and engineers to increase their collaborations, both in new research efforts and in ongoing research projects, to advance the frontiers of discovery and innovation. While many strong, vibrant interactions currently exist between the three directorates, this letter is to remind our research communities that BIO, MPS and ENG strongly encourage proposals from interdisciplinary research teams that involve collaborations among investigators from the biological, mathematical, and physical sciences and engineering to support new interactions that span interfaces between BIO, ENG, and MPS.

Read the full letter: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12057/nsf12057.jsp

STEM Education Data and Trends

Compared to other states, how well are students in my state prepared in science and math?

What are my or my child's career opportunities in science and engineering fields?

How much are states spending on their schools?

The STEM Education Data and Trends web tool allows you to explore the answers to these and other questions, by providing easy access to data on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and related careers. The interactive tool is organized chronologically from preschool to a career in a STEM field. It lets users select a specific question to retrieve easy-to-understand text and to link to further data and discussion in the National Science Board's biennial Science and Engineering Indicators report.

Go to:
STEM Education Data and Trends Web Tool
STEM Education Data and Trends [Text Only Version]
Science and Engineering Indicators: 2010