Overview of NSF: The Directorate for Education and Human Resources EHR

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Overview of NSF The Directorate for Education
and Human Resources (EHR)

• Nancy Pelaez, Ph.D.
• Program Director
• Division of Undergraduate Education
• National Science Foundation
• February 15, 2007
• San Francisco, CA

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Presentation Outline

• EHR Directorate goals
• EHR organization
• Finding information on the NSF website
• EHR Divisions missions and programs
• Strategies and Participation

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The Directorate forEducation Human Resources

• EHR supports education, research, and
  infrastructure development in all STEM
  disciplines.

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EHR consider NSF-wide Emphasis Areas(innovation
mandate)

• Biocomplexity and the Environment
• Cyberinfrastructure
• Human and Social Dynamics
• Mathematical Sciences
• Nanoscale Science and Engineering
• http//www.nsf.gov/news/priority_areas/

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EHR Mission

• EHR promotes the development of a diverse and
  well-prepared workforce of scientists,
  technicians, engineers, mathematicians and
  educators and a well-informed citizenry who have
  access to the ideas and tools of science and
  engineering.

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NSF/EHR Goals

• 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.

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EHR Divisions

• Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal
  Education (ESIE)
• Division of Research, Evaluation and
  Communication (REC)
• Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
• Division of Graduate Education (DGE)
• Division of Human Resource Development (HRD)
• Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
  Research (EPSCoR)

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EHR Proposed Realignment

• Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal
  Education (ESIE)
• Division of Research, Evaluation and
  Communication (REC)
• Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
• Division of Graduate Education (DGE)
• Division of Human Resource Development (HRD)
• Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
  Research (EPSCoR)

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EHR Realignment

• Division of Research on Learning in Formal and
  Informal Settings (DRL)
• Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
• Division of Graduate Education (DGE)
• Division of Human Resource Development (HRD)
• Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
  Research (EPSCoR)

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www.nsf.gov
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EHR Divisions
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EHR Divisions (e.g., DUE)
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EHR Programs (e.g., ATE)
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Division of Research on Learning (DRL)

• DRL contributes to the broad field of educational
  research and improvement by funding projects
  through grants, contracts, and cooperative
  agreements. It also provides conceptual and
  technical assistance to various EHR programs and
  principal investigators.

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DRL Programs

• Advanced Learning Technologies
• Research and Evaluation on Education in Science
  and Engineering (REESE) (ROLE, EREC, IERI)

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Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)

• Mission  To promote excellence in undergraduate
  science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
  (STEM) education for all students.
• Goals
• Provide leadership
• Support curriculum development
• Prepare the workforce
• Foster connections
• (See DUE website for strategies associated with
  these goals.)

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DUE Programs

• Curriculum, Laboratory and Instructional
  Development
• Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement
  (CCLI)
• National STEM Education Digital Library (NSDL)

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DUE Programs

• Workforce Development
• STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP)
• Advanced Technological Education (ATE)

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DUE Programs

• Workforce Development Scholarship Programs
• Federal Cyber Service Scholarships for Service
  (SFS)
• Robert Noyce Scholarship Program (Noyce)
• NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology,
  Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM)

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DUE Programs

• Realignment New to DUE
• - Math and Science Partnership (MSP)
• - Excellence Awards in Science Engineering
  (EASE)
• The Distinguished Teaching Scholars (DTS) Program
• The Presidential Awards for Excellence in
  Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) Program
  
• The Presidential Awards for Excellence in
  Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring
  (PAESMEM)

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CCLI Course, Curriculum and Laboratory
Improvement

• The Program was significantly revised in fiscal
  year 2006!
• 3 Phases All previous CCLI program tracks with
  some variations and extensions fit within the new
  solicitation.
• Dates Solicitation 07-543
• Phase 1 Deadline (May 8, 2007)
• Phases 2 3 Deadline (Jan. 10, 2008)

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CCLI Goals

• Provide a framework for projects to maximize the
  effectiveness in improving undergraduate STEM
  education
• Increase the emphasis on projects that build on
  prior work and contribute to the knowledge base
  of STEM education research and practice
• Contribute to building a community of scholars
  who work in related areas of education
• Explicitly identify a set of measurable outcomes
  that will be used in the project management and
  evaluation

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CCLI Cycle of Innovation with 5 Components
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CCLI 3 Phases in an Organized Cycle to Reach
Goals of the Program

• Phase 1 Exploratory Projects (05/8/2007)
• Involve exploratory, initial investigation or
  adaptation in one of the component areas.
• Phase 2 Expansion Projects (01/10/08)
• Build on smaller scale but proven innovations,
  refine and test innovations on diverse users
• Phase 3 Comprehensive Projects (01/10/08)
• Several diverse institutions, evaluation or
  assessment activitiesdeep broad, combine
  proven results and mature innovations from
  several component areas, sustainability, national
  dissemination, etc.

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ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION

• FY2008
• Preliminary Proposals Apr 26, 2007
• Formal Proposals Oct 11, 2007
• About 46 million for FY08
• http//www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_k
  eynsf07530

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Purpose of ATE

• The ATE program promotes improvement in the
  education of science and engineering technicians
  at the undergraduate and secondary school level
  and the educators who prepare them, focusing on
  technicians for high-technology fields that drive
  the nations economy.

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Advanced Technological Education Program

• Projects which focus on
• Program Improvement
• Professional Development for Educators
• Curriculum and Educational Materials Development
• Teacher Preparation or
• Small Grants for Institutions New to the ATE
  Program.
• Centers of Excellence National, Regional,
  Resource
• http//www.ATECenters.org
• Targeted Research on Technician Education

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NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM)

• Goal Provide scholarships to academically
  talented, but financial needy, students pursuing
  associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degrees.
• Deadlines 02/16/2007 and 11/13/2007
• http//www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_k
  eynsf0752

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S-STEM

• MAJOR FEATURES
• Eligible disciplines include almost all NSF
  supported areas (see solicitation for guidance)
• Maximum scholarships increased to 10,000 (but
  still based on financial need)
• Grant size increased to 600,000 with 7 allowed
  for administration and 8 for student support
• Maximum of 225,000 in any one year, but can ramp
  up
• One proposal per constituent school or college
  that awards degrees (also schools within
  institutions)
• About 50 to 70 million available in FY 2007

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Interdisciplinary Funding Opportunities

• Information and Intelligent Systems Advancing
  Human-Centered Computing, Information Integration
  and Informatics, and Robust Intelligence NSF
  06-572
• Computational Science Training for Undergraduates
  in the Mathematical Sciences (CSUMS) NSF 06-559
  
• Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE)
  NSF 06-538  
• Cyber infrastructure Training, Education,
  Advancement, and Mentoring for Our 21st Century
  Workforce (CI-TEAM) NSF 06-548
• CISE Pathways to Revitalized Undergraduate
  Computing Education (CPATH) NSF 06-608

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Joint Activity with the Division of Mathematical
Sciences (DMS) and BIO Research Directorate

• Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in
  Biological and Mathematical Sciences (UBM)

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NSF-Wide/Crosscutting Programs with an
Undergraduate Component
Program Solicitation Partnerships for Innovation
(PFI) NSF 06-550 Research Experiences for NSF
05-592 Undergraduates (REU) Cooperative
Activity with Department NSF 06-522 of Energy
Programs for Education and Human Resource
Development Faculty Early Career Development
NSF 05-579 (CAREER) Program www.nsf.gov/fund
ing/pgm_list.jsp?typexcut
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Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI), NSF
00-144

• Goals
• Support high quality research with active
  involvement of undergraduates
• Strengthen the research environment in
  undergraduate institutions
• Promote integration of research and education
  in undergraduate institutions
• Eligibility
• 10 or fewer Science and Engineering Ph.D. per
  year
• Undergraduate enrolment exceeds graduate
  enrolment
• Regular research
• Multi-user instrumentation

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Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU),
NSF 05-592

• NSF-supported fields of science, mathematics and
  engineering
• Group of ten or so undergraduates working on
  research projects (sites)
• Stipends and possible assistance with housing and
  travel
• Citizens or permanent resident aliens of the
  United States

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Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU),
NSF 05-592 (supplements)

• Request can be made within a proposal or as a
  supplement to an existing one.
• One or two undergraduates
• It can be helpful to discuss with program officer
  before submitting.

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DUE PIRS

• Project Information Resource System
• (PIRS), through which you can access updated
  information about DUE projects that is provided
  and maintained by individual principal
  investigators. A text search of these records
  will produce a "hit list" of projects that
  "match" your input.

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Division of Graduate Education (DGE)

• DGE programs promote the early career development
  of scientists and engineers by providing support
  at critical junctures of their careers through
  fellowships and traineeships.

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DGE Programs

• Graduate Research Fellowships
• Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
• NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education
  (GK-12)
• Integrative Graduate Education and Research
  Traineeship (IGERT)

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Division of Human Resource Development (HRD)

• Two-fold Mission
• To increase the participation and advancement of
  underrepresented minorities and minority-serving
  institutions, women and girls, and persons with
  disabilities at every level of the science and
  engineering enterprise.
• To serve as a focal point for NSF's agency-wide
  commitment to enhancing the quality and
  excellence of science, technology, engineering,
  and mathematics (STEM) education and research
  through broadening participation
  by underrepresented groups and institutions.

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HRD Programs

• Minorities and Minority Serving Institutions
• Alliances for Graduate Education and the
  Professoriate Program (AGEP)
• The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority
  Participation Program (LSAMP) and Bridge to the
  Doctorate (BD) Program
• Centers for Research Excellence in Science and
  Technology (CREST)
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  Undergraduate Programs (HBCU-UP)
• Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP)

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HRD Programs

• Women and Girls
• Research on Gender in Science and Engineering
  (GSE)
• Persons with Disabilities
• Research in Disabilities Education (RDE)

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The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority
Participation Program (LSAMP)

• Develop strategies to increase the number of
  minority students who complete BA/BS degrees in
  STEM
• Partnerships between institutions, government
  agencies and laboratories, industry and
  professional organizations are required
• Activities include
• student enrichment
• skill development and academic enrichment
• mentoring
• curricular and instructional improvement
• direct student support

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Capacity-Building Strategies

• Ensure that the STEM community is broadly
  representative of the nations individuals,
  geographic regions, types of institutions and
  STEM disciplines and,
• Identify effective ways (formal and informal) to
  address the STEM knowledge requirements of adults
  so that they can be productive members of the
  workforce and informed and active citizens.

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Criteria for Excellence

• Centrality to mission of NSF/EHR
• Responsiveness to societal needs and changing
  conditions
• Quality of efforts
• Impact on capacity building
• Broad participation
• Effectiveness at reasonable costs
• Partnerships for change and sustainability
• Use of evaluation and research for improvement
  and accountability
• Knowledge generation (and management)

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Proposal Content Reminders

• The proposal should present
• Objectives and scientific and/or educational
  significance of the proposed work
• Suitability of the methods to be used, including
  evaluation of outcomes
• Qualifications of the investigator and the
  grantee organization
• Effect of the activity on the infrastructure of
  science/education
• Results from prior support
• Amount of funding required (justify)

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Getting Started

• Start EARLY
• Get acquainted with FASTLANE (www.FastLane.nsf.gov
  )
• Read the Program Solicitation and follow the
  guidelines
• Contact a program officer to discuss your idea
  this provides useful information and often helps
  you to refine your idea it may also prevent you
  from applying to the wrong program
  (e-mail is best)
• Become a NSF reviewer
• Subscribe to Custom News Services at NSF

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WAYS TO PARTICIPATE

• Grant Holder
• Principal Investigator
• Member of Project Team, or
• Coalition, or Advisory Board
• Test Site
• User of Products
• Participant in Workshops and Symposium
• Reviewer of Proposals

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MyNSF (Custom News Service)

• http//www.nsf.gov/mynsf/
• Receive notifications about new content posted on
  the NSF website
• Notification via email or RSS