Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings
Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers
(ITEST)
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ITEST Learning Resource Center
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The ITEST Learning Resource Center homepage contains information on ITEST projects in 38 states, as well as related publications and resources: http://www2.edc.org/itestlrc/default.asp
CONTACTS
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PROGRAM GUIDELINES
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Solicitation
09-506
As announced on May 21st, proposers must prepare and submit proposals to the National
Science Foundation (NSF) using the NSF FastLane system at
http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/.
This approach is being taken to support efficient Grants.gov operations during this busy
workload period and in response to OMB direction guidance issued March 9, 2009. NSF will
continue to post information about available funding opportunities to Grants.gov FIND and
will continue to collaborate with institutions who have invested in system-to-system
submission functionality as their preferred proposal submission method. NSF remains
committed to the long-standing goal of streamlined grants processing and plans to
provide a web services interface for those institutions that want to use their
existing grants management systems to directly submit proposals to NSF.
Please be advised that the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) includes
revised guidelines to implement the mentoring provisions of the America COMPETES Act (ACA)
(Pub. L. No. 110-69, Aug. 9, 2007.) As specified in the ACA, each proposal that requests
funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include a description of the mentoring
activities that will be provided for such individuals. Proposals that do not comply
with this requirement will be returned without review (see the PAPP Guide Part I:
Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II for further information about the implementation of
this new requirement).
DUE DATES
Letter of Intent Deadline Date: January 19, 2010
ITEST
Full Proposal Deadline Date: February 12, 2010
ITEST
SYNOPSIS
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The ITEST program responds to current concerns and projections about the growing demand for professionals and information technology workers in the U.S. and seeks solutions to help ensure the breadth and depth of the STEM workforce. ITEST supports research studies to address questions about how to find solutions. It also supports the development, implementation, testing, and scale-up of implementation models. A large variety of possible approaches to improving the STEM workforce and to building students’ capacity to participate in it may be implemented and studied. ITEST projects may include students or teachers, kindergarten through high school age, and any area of the STEM workforce. Projects that explore cyberlearning, specifically learning with cyberinfrastructure tools such as networked computing and communications technologies in K-12 settings, are of special interest.
This program is interested in addressing such questions as: What does it take to effectively interest and prepare students to participate in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce of the future? What are the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that students need in order to participate productively in the changing STEM workforce and be innovators, particularly in STEM-related networked computing and information and communication technology (ICT) areas? How do they acquire them? How can the Nation’s burgeoning cyberinfrastructure be harnessed as a tool for STEM learning in classrooms and informal learning environments? What will ensure that the nation has the capacity it needs to participate in transformative, innovative STEM advances? How can we assess and predict inclination to participate in the STEM fields and how can we measure and study impact of various models to encourage that participation?
Four types of projects are invited:
Research projects enrich the understanding of issues related to enlarging the STEM workforce. Research projects may conduct efficacy and effectiveness studies of intervention models, conduct longitudinal studies of efforts to engage students in the STEM areas, develop instruments to assess engagement, persistence, and other relevant constructs of student motivation, or conduct studies to identify predictors of student inclination to pursue STEM career trajectories. The program is especially interested in projects that target students from groups that are underserved and underrepresented in STEM and ICT-intensive careers, including those residing in rural and economically disadvantaged communities.
Strategies projects design, implement, and evaluate models for classroom, after-school, summer, virtual, and/or year-round learning experiences for students and/or teachers. The strategies are intended to encourage students’ readiness for, and their interest and participation in, the STEM workforce of the future. Strategies project proposals must describe the anticipated contribution to the research knowledge base about STEM career preparation in addition to immediate impacts on participants.
Scale-up projects implement and test models to prepare students for information technology or the STEM workforce of the future in a large-scale setting such as at state or national level. A scale-up project must be based on evidence of demonstrated success from an existing strategy for students or teachers.
Conferences and Workshops target STEM educators (from both the formal and informal education communities), educational researchers, and evaluators. The proposed conferences would be expected to contribute to the development of a research agenda on K-12 STEM workforce preparation and development issues, workforce participation, and cyberlearning. Conferences or workshops must be designed to bring together individuals with expertise in technology and STEM education, career development, cognitive science, sociology, anthropology, science fields, and other communities that are invested in STEM workforce careers. Evaluation approaches for innovative STEM and ICT workforce motivation, preparation, and development models are also sought.
Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) projects enable faculty, administrators, and others in institutions to think and act strategically about the creative integration of NSF-funded awards, with particular emphasis on awards managed through programs in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), but not limited to those awards. For Fiscal Year 2009, proposals are being solicited in nine EHR programs that advance I3 goals: CREST, GSE, HBCU-UP, ITEST, LSAMP, MSP, Noyce, RDE, and TCUP.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
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This program provides educational opportunities for
K-12 Educators
.
This program provides indirect funding for students at this level or focuses on educational developments for this group such as curricula development, training or retention. To inquire about possible funding opportunities not directly from NSF, please look at the active awards for this program.
RELATED URLS
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Innovation for Institutional Integration, Frequently Asked Questions
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Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
News
Events
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