Overview of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources EHR

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Overview of the Directorate for Education and
Human Resources (EHR)

• Emmett Wright, Ph.D
• TPC Section Head
• Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal
  Education (ESIE)
• Directorate for Education and Human Resources
  (EHR)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• http//www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?orgEHR

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NSFs Unique Purpose
In partnership with the STEM community, NSF
identifies and invests in emerging areas of
research and education that offer exceptional
promise to advance knowledge
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EHR Mandate To Strengthen SE Education 1950
NSF Act.
Mission
To achieve excellence in U.S. science and
engineering education at all levels and in all
settings, and to ensure the development of a
diverse and well-prepared workforce of
scientists, engineers, mathematicians,
technicians, and educators and a well-informed
citizenry.
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The EHR Mission Is Unique to NSFTo Develop the
Next Generation of Science and Engineering
Professionals

• EHR must make strategic investments at the K-12,
• undergraduate, and graduate levels to
• Attract and retain U.S. students to science and
  engineering
• Improve the quality of the preparation of
  scientists and engineers
• Broaden participation in science and engineering
  fields.

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What Are EHRs Investment StrategiesTo Achieve
The Mission?

• Support RD that advances the knowledge essential
  for a robust and challenging STEM education
  experience.
• Integrate research and education across the
  Foundation and with other federal agencies.
• Attract more U.S. students to STEM and retain
  them in the enterprise
• Broaden participation in STEM fields

4th-graders at Glenallen Elementary in Silver
Spring, Maryland, examine Leaves for
micro-organisms. Their teacher was a 2001 PAESMT
awardee
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To Support our Investment Strategies, EHR Has
Been.

• Investing in the creation of models and methods
  that can improve STEM education and be adapted
  and adopted by a wide variety of users.
• Developing a vibrant education research community
  that will support excellence in STEM education.
• Broadening participation (individuals, geographic
  regions, types of institutions) in all STEM
  fields.

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To Support our Investment Strategies,EHR Has
Been. cont.

• Developing the technological, scientific, and
  quantitative literacy of all Americans so they
  can exercise responsible citizenship.
• Leading the integration of research and
  education, including partnerships between EHR and
  other NSF directorates to connect education
  scholarship with fundamental STEM research so
  that each may amplify the other.

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NSF Outcomes Must BeEvidence-Based

• We need to settle on what works in science
  education.
• Then we need to figure out why it works.

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How Does EHR See Its Broader Impact?

• We build communities of learners and
  practitioners, expanding the base of people who
  interact among themselves and with NSF.
• We make investments with a view to long-term
  sustainability of the enterprise.
• We support intellectual developments that
  energize the field toward innovation.

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Where is the Emphasis for FY 2006?

• Undergraduate and graduate preparation of STEM
  professionals
• Innovative curricula/materials for undergraduate
  STEM education
• Increase the technological, scientific, and
  quantitative literacy of all Americans
• Broaden participation (individuals, geographic
  regions, types of institutions) and close the
  achievement gaps.
• Cyberinfrastructure
• Human and Social Dynamics
• International programs

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Integrating Research and Education An EHR Tool
for Achieving its Special Mission

• Support projects that create lasting bonds
  between
• education and science communities, moving
  beyond
• research and education as side-by-side
  activities.
• Support long-term collaborative work, moving away
• from episodes of cooperation.
• Support projects that establish horizontal
  connections
• between and among
• disciplinary scientists
• scientists studying learning and teaching, and
• education researchers.

Students
Scientists
Teachers
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Integration of Research Education Using the
Tool What Are Some Expectations ?

• Meaningful collaboration among science and
  education communities creates a lasting nexus
  between discovery innovation and teaching
  learning.
• Continue EHRs unique contributions to broadening
  participation demographically, as well as
  geographically, and institutionally.
• Create rigorous evaluation measures and models
  that enable us to understand what works and, most
  importantly, why it works.

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EHR Divisions

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

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Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)

• DUE programs aim to strengthen and ensure the
  vitality of undergraduate STEM education for all
  students, including
• science, mathematics, or engineering majors
• students in science and engineering technology
  programs
• future teachers at the elementary and secondary
  school levels and
• non-science majors seeking scientific and
  technical literacy.
• Website http//www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?divDUE

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DUE Programs

• Workforce Development Scholarship Programs
• Federal Cyber ServiceScholarships for
• Service (SFS)
• Robert Noyce Scholarship Program (Noyce)
• Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics
  Scholarships (CSEMS)
• Workforce Development
• STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP)
• Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC)
• Advanced Technological Education (ATE)

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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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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.

Website http//www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?divDGE
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DGE Programs

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

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Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal
Education (ESIE)

• ESIE programs are designed to improve the
  educational experiences of all students in school
  settings--pre-kindergarten through the 12th
  grade--and to increase and improve the
  opportunities for all individuals to explore
  science, mathematics, and technology beyond the
  school setting.

Website http//www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?divESIE

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ESIE Programs

• Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLTs)
• Informal Science Education (ISE)
• Information Technology Experiences for Students
  and Teachers (ITEST)
• Instructional Materials Development (IMD)
• Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education
  (NSEE)
• Presidential Awards (PAEMST)
• Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC)
• Advanced Technological Education (ATE)

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Division of Human Resource Development

• HRD programs reflect NSF's commitment to
  developing the resources of the scientific and
  technical community as a whole and focus on
  increasing the presence of minorities, women and
  girls, and persons with disabilities in science
  and engineering

Website http//www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?divHRD
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HRD Programs

• Minorities and Minority Serving Institutions
• Alliances for Graduate Education and the
  Professoriate Program (AGEP)
• Centers for Research Excellence in Science and
  Technology (CREST)
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  (HBCU-UP)
• The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority
  Participation Program (LSAMP)
• 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)
• Crosscutting
• Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science,
  Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM)

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Division of Research, Evaluation, and
Communication

• REC 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.

Website http//www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?divHRD
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REC Programs

• Interagency Education Research Initiative Program
  (IERI)
• Research on Learning and Education Program (ROLE)
• Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)
• Evaluative Research and Evaluation Capacity
  Building (EREC)
• No new awards are expected in FY 2006

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Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research (EPSCoR)

• EPSCoR promotes the development of the states'
  science and technology (ST) resources through
  partnerships involving a state's universities,
  industry, and government, and the Federal
  research and development (RD) enterprise.

Website http//www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?divEPSCO
R
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For More Information

• http//www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?orgEHR
• (Or from www.nsf.gov, choose Education from
  Program Areas drop-down menu)
• Contact the Program Director responsible for the
  program that interests you.

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The Best Proposal Tip

• STUDY THE SOLICITATION !
• It contains essential information about
• Program goals and categories
• Deadlines
• Cognizant program officers
• Constraints
• Specific program requirements
• Review criteria

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Proposal Development Strategies

• Develop a proposal draft
• Survey the existing knowledge base
• Consult current investigators
• Solicit reactions from colleagues
• Conduct a pilot to test your idea
• Assemble a team of collaborators
• Prepare a preliminary proposal

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Intellectual Merit

• Does the project advance knowledge?
• Are PI and personnel well qualified?
• Is activity creative, original, innovative?
• Is activity well conceived and organized?
• Is there sufficient access to resources?

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Broader Impacts

• How well does the project advance discovery and
  understanding?
• Does activity broaden participation of
  underrepresented groups?
• Will activity enhance research and education
  infrastructure?
• Will results be disseminated broadly?
• What may be the activitys benefits to society?