0000164 September 1, 2000 An Empirical Test of the Theory of Urban Systemic Reform. The goal of this proposed study is to test the theory of educational improvement in urban settings based upon systemic reform as delineated by NSF's process and outcome drivers by: 1. estimating the quantitative relationship between individual elements of NSF's process drivers and the change in student achievement (i.e., the outcome drivers); 2. measuring the synergistic effects of the drivers upon each other; and 3. attempting to estimate a quantitative relationship between the drivers and student achievement. Additionally, the proposed study will collect data at the middle and high school levels. The proposed study is designed to examine the evidence supporting the theory of systemic reform, not to evaluate the success of the CPMSAs. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Cavalluzzo, Linda Floretta McKenzie Joseph Harris William Rutherford The CNA Corporation VA Bernice T. Anderson Continuing grant 631078 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0000167 March 15, 2000 Language Acquisition in Science Education for Rural Schools at Middle Schools (LASERS - MS). 0000167 JAFFE The proposal is for a planning grant to establish a middle school consortium among five rural school districts. The school districts are located in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties, three of the seven counties in California with the highest proportion of limited English-proficient students. During the planning year the consortium will establish a leadership team of middle school language and science teachers who are experienced teaching ELL students and who are seeking innovative, integrated and coherent strategies to improve instruction for all students in their schools. The intended planning exercise will be to design a regional teacher professional development plan for all middle school teachers of science. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Jaffe, Roberta Patricia Stoddart Don Rothman Life Lab Science Program Inc CA Joyce B. Evans Standard Grant 50000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000352 September 1, 2000 Michigan Rural Systemic Initiative (MiRSI) Comprehensive Regional Plan for Systemic Reform in Mathematics, Science and Technology. Michigan Rural Systemic Initiative Abstract The Michigan Rural Systemic Initiative (MIRSI) to Improve Science, Mathematics and Technical Education seeks to organize a consortium of seventeen school districts and two Native American academies in isolated rural school districts in northern Michigan. The Michigan RSI is working collaboratively with universities, community colleges, Tribal Colleges and other agencies to promote local capacity for systemic reform. The initiative will promote standards-base MST by enhancing teacher knowledge of content and technology processes to increase student achievement. Regional coordinators located in the school districts will make available technical assistance, professional development activities and a web-based technology venue to increase access to information and innovations in mathematics, science, and technology education. Web-based technologies will allow rural educators, students, parents, and stakeholders to participate in learning communities for investigations, communications, collaborations, and publications. The RSI will assist districts in the re-alignment and leveraging of resources and to institute the policy changes necessary for true systemic change. The goals of the proposal are to: (1) improve support for the development of a reform agenda for rural schools by forming new regional and statewide collaborations among the rural districts, Michigan State University, North Central Regional Education Laboratory, and other institutions or agencies; (2) to increase community and business involvement in the schools to support the rural agenda in mathematics, science and technology; (3) enhance the understanding of the rural communities and cultures by gathering base-line data from self-studies that examine the contextual variables within the communities and that support the reform agenda; (4) to generate a comprehensive and sustainable implementation plan for systemic reform in mathematics, science, and technology education that transcends levels, and addresses a local and regional vision, seeks a commitment to policy, fiscal and instructional reform, a comparison of programmatic strengths and weaknesses, a secure level of resources to promote change and an expedited reform through state and local policy changes. This proposal aligns with the Michigan School Improvement Plan. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Douglass, Claudia Aaron Payment Arnold Parish Barbara Markle Michelle Johnston Cheboygan Otsego Presque Isle Intermediate School District MI Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 1885328 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000368 February 1, 2000 SGER: Finding Principles For K-6 Curriculum Materials that Promote Rather than Require Professional Development. 0000368 GOLDENBERG This one-year project will conduct research designed to identify ways of organizing curriculum materials that will not only effectively teach elementary school mathematics to children, but also simultaneously provide professional development for the elementary teachers who use the materials. As new curriculum materials are created it is critical we find out how the use of innovative curriculum materials can provide professional development for the teachers who use those materials. The project will use existing elementary school mathematics curriculum materials ("Math Workshop," written several decades ago by Wirtz, Botel, Beberman and Sawyer) as a base for creating one or two sample units which illustrate a proposed curriculum organization framework. These materials will be piloted with a small group of teachers and students in Massachusetts. Evaluation data will include teacher interviews and classroom observations. The evaluation will focus particularly on the ways that teachers' knowledge of mathematics changes as a result of using the materials. These data will be analyzed to determine if the proposed framework is appropriate. If not, the data will suggest ways of modifying that framework. NSF's support for this project is $84,791. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Goldenberg, E. Paul Education Development Center MA Karen D. King Standard Grant 84791 7300 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000509 January 15, 2000 Promoting Applications of R&D to Improve State-level Decision-making for Systemic Reform, Teacher Improvement and Uses of Advanced Technologies.. The State Leadership Center (SLC) is proposing a collaborative venture with the National Science Foundation (NSF) in an effort to foster the use of research and to support state policies and programs aiming to advance systemic educational reform and improvement. Working with a team of state educational technology directors and a team of highly-qualified researchers, the SLC will prepare five commissioned papers on various aspects on what is known about preparing teachers to use modern telecommunications technologies for achieving standards-based educational reform. The authors of these papers will have the opportunity to discuss their findings in panel discussions during the State Educational Technology Leadership Conference in Washington, DC in January. Following the conference, the papers will be published along with an overview and distributed widely to state educational policymakers and program administrators. The SLC presently works will all states involved in the processes of changing and upgrading performance standards for teachers. Recent reports from states indicate that virtually all states are attempting to broaden and deepen the disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge of teachers, improving their ability to deliver more challenging and difficult courses of instruction, particularly, courses in science, mathematics, and technology that are available to all students. Recent reviews of the states' five-year plans [developed in response to the Goals 2000 and Technology Literacy Challenge Fund requirements] attest to the fact that states recognize the integration of technology as a critical element for achieving higher performance standards. However, state officials need better and research-based information on what is being learned about effective statewide practices and investment strategies. State policymakers want to know what legislative mandates, regulatory requirements and administrative directives are most likely to stimulate institutional reform and renewal. As advanced telecommunications infrastructures emerge and as virtually all schools and classrooms are "wired," state officials increasingly are directing their attention to human resource issues. By concentrating on policies and programs relating to teachers, the SLC is responding to one of the most pressing concerns of states: ensuring the quality of the next generation of classroom teachers. This initiative will help state officials to learn and share information on how a state, region or school system can develop collaborative and constructive relationships with institutions of higher education or other partners to ensure that teachers will operate effectively in new and different learning environments. The researchers involved in this project are expected to analyze, review and report on the information needs of state education policymakers and administrators, thereby, helping the SLC in providing states with technical assistance. The researchers are also expected to provide NSF and other agencies supporting education-related with recommendations for expanding the application of research for advancing and sustaining statewide systemic educational reforms. The proposed research papers will be reviewed and discussed during the national conference of state officials in January 1999 and subsequent in a forum arranged by NSF and SLC. The purposes of the two meetings are: to help states in aligning new teacher technology standards with new content and performance standards for students; to help NSF and the SLC in determining the information needs of state education officials and the means to assure that states benefit from the body of research developed by NSF and other agencies supporting education-related R&D. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Sheekey, Arthur John MacDonald Council of Chief State School Officers DC Nora Sabelli Standard Grant 76360 7300 7256 SMET 9237 9177 0000527 April 15, 2000 A Multi-Factor Investigation of Variables Affecting Informal Science Learning. 0000527 FALK With a Small Grant for Exploratory Research, The Institute for Learning Innovation will to conduct a study, "A Multi-Factor Investigation of Variables Affecting Informal Science Learning." Prior research has revealed seven variables, or the suite of variables encompassed by these seven variables, that affect visitor learning in science centers. This research will study to what extent each of the variables contributes to learning outcomes, or which of these variables explains the most variance. It is anticipated that the results of this study will have an important and direct impact on future investigations into science center learning and efforts to facilitate science center effectiveness. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Falk, John Institute for Learning Innovation Incorporated MD Barry A. Van Deman Standard Grant 96184 7259 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000581 August 15, 2000 JANE GOODALL PROJECT. 0000581 DAY The Science Museum of Minnesota is producing a 40-minute large format film on the life work of Dr. Jane Goodall. Much of the film will be shot at Goodall's principal research site, Gombe National Park in Tanzania and will focus primarily on the chimpanzees she has studied. While reviewing the four decades of Dr. Goodall's research with the chimpanzees, the film also will explore the work of Elizabeth Vinson, a young researcher who is continuing Dr. Goodall's research. Vinson is the first person at Gombe to quantify measures of individual chip difference in tool using skill and techniques and to examine how social dynamics affect the development of this behavior in young chimps. Featuring Vinson's work contributes to the film in a number of ways. It connects Goodall's milestone observation of non-human animal use of tools to a real, contemporary and substantive field project. It also will enable the filmmakers to tell the story of a new generation of researcher. The film and the accompanying educational materials will convey substantive science and stress the importance of long-term scientific field studies. An array of educational materials and programs will be created to support and build on the learning experience from the film. These include: Freestanding kiosk exhibits for display at museums that lease the film. These small exhibits will highlight real artifacts and specimens, including chimp tools and field notes from Dr. Goodall's work. Technology at the kiosks will feature video sequences of chimp behavior and enable visitors to access the project's online activities. A "Discovering Chimps" website will enable users to meet the chimps, take a Gombe virtual tour, learn about Gombe researchers and to find related resources - both on and offline. An educator leadership institute will be a help prior to the release of the film to train educators from twenty museums how to make the most effective use of the film and outreach material. Women-in-Science classes for children and parents will be designed and offered by both the Science Museum of Minnesota and Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC. The design of these classes will be available to other museums that lease the film. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Day, Mike Anne Pusey Jerald Reynolds Freda Nicholson Science Museum of Minnesota MN Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1432286 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000586 September 1, 2000 Materials MicroWorld: A National Museum Exhibition and Education Project on Materials Science. 0000586 FLEISCHER The Materials Research Society will develop "Materials MicroWorld." This will be a nationally traveling exhibition that promotes public understanding of basic scientific principles, issues, and trends in materials research. "Materials MicroWorld" will be developed in two exhibit versions, 5000-sq.ft. and 1500- sq.ft., to serve large and small science centers nationwide. Accompanying educational materials and training videos will enable each museum to tailor exhibit-related programming to suit the needs of audiences and the capabilities of staff. An electronic 'Best of Materials Science Activities ' booklet will be developed for publication on the Materials Research Society website to deepen understanding of exhibit concepts and provide parents and educators with a variety of explorations on materials science that can be safely conducted at home or in school. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fleischer, Elizabeth Michael Driver Materials Research Society PA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1539254 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000589 October 1, 2000 TEAMS Traveling Exhibit Collaborative. 0000589 GOUDY The Montshire Museum of Science, on behalf of the TEAMS Collaborative, will develop "TEAMS Traveling Exhibit Collaborative." Four charter members of the TEAMS collaborative, a partnership that includes the Monthshire Museum of Science, Norwich, VT; the Catawba Science Center, Hickory, NC; the ScienCenter, Ithaca, NY; and the Discovery Center Museum, Rockford, IL, request funding to expand the collaborative by incorporating three new museum partners. They will develop, evaluate, and produce two copies each of four 1500-square foot traveling exhibitions. Each TEAMS exhibition will be accompanied by maintenance manuals, teacher's guides, and program materials for community science events. Three charter museums will mentor the three new museum members, which include the Health Adventure in Asheville, NC; the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, NY; and the Family Museum of Arts and Science in Bettendorf, IA. The four new exhibit topics being proposed by the collaborative are Sound Slices, The Body as a Machine, The Physics of Motion, and The Science of Sports. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Goudy, David Charles Trautmann Sarah Wolf Mark Sinclair Montshire Museum of Science VT Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2074689 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000594 June 1, 2000 Pulse of the Planet Project. 0000594 METZNER Jim Metzner Productions is developing a means to broaden and deepen the reach and impact of the "Pulse of the Planet," the short-format science and nature radio series that is currently carried on approximately 300 stations. The plans are to develop and broadcast a Spanish-language version of the series and to continue production and increase the carriage of the short-format programs. In addition to broadcast radio, the series also will be available in RealAudio on the National Geographic Web site, and the project has its own Web site. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Metzner, Jim Jim Metzner Productions Inc NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 349950 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000603 July 15, 2000 Travelers and Hitchhikers: Links from Land to Sea. 0000603 SHUMWAY "Travelers and Hitchhikers: Links from Land to Sea" is a 5,000 sq. ft. exhibit which will be housed at the New England Aquarium, with two additional 1,200-4,800 sq. ft. modules produced for exhibition at participating consortium and partnering venues. The exhibit will invite visitors to "travel" with sea turtles, frogs, and fish as they tell their stories of journeys through an interconnected mosaic of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats. A fourth module will use aliens, or introduced exotic species, to illustrate the disruption caused when humans make inappropriate connections across habitats. The underlying theme and message for the visitor is the connection between aquatic biodiversity and their own everyday lives. The animals and the four (4) modules have been chosen to emphasize a different aspect of these interconnections among rivers, land, and sea. The traveling version can either stand alone as one (1) module telling one story or be installed with all four (4) in combination. Sea turtles will emphasize land to sea, the frogs from water to land, and the immersive environment of the fish will allow the visitor to experience the physical connections from stream to sea. Finally, the introduced species module will illustrate how ecosystems can become fragile and broken due to human action. It is expected that over 2,000,000 visitors will be informed of aquatic biodiversity through this exhibit. In addition, activity carts and educator resource kits will be produced to further enhance the message of biodiversity conservation to all audiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Shumway, Caroly William Spitzer New England Aquarium Corporation MA Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1428327 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000604 September 1, 2000 ScienceQuest. 0000604 ZORFASS "ScienceQuest" is an innovative program created by the Education Development Center that fosters an interest in science and technology among adolescents ages 10-14. This program builds on the successful "ThinkQuest" model, in which small teams of 2-3 students work with adult coaches to research subjects of interest and share their knowledge through the creation of websites. "ScienceQuest" teams focus on science topics and are housed in HUD Neighborhood Network technology centers, located in communities with HUD-assisted or insured housing residents. Participants include individuals with and without disabilities from low-income urban areas. Students select a science topic and research it using online resources, hands-on experiments and visits to museums and science centers. Coaches such as scientists, teachers, museum staff and other role models, as well as on-line scientists, provide assistance by setting goals, devising an action plan and identifying appropriate resources. The "I-Search" model, a four-step strategy used to direct student inquiry, is used to guide investigations and aid in content acquisition. Once completed, websites are mounted on the "ThinkQuest" server. Parental participation is encouraged throughout the process. "ScienceQuest" will be piloted in the greater Boston area in year one, and disseminated to 75 Neighborhood Network sites throughout the country in years two and three of the grant. Each site may have one or more teams. With more than 500 Neighborhood Networks in place, "ScienceQuest" has the potential for widespread dissemination. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Zorfass, Judith Education Development Center MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1085937 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000607 July 1, 2000 Kinetic City After School. 0000607 HIRSHON The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is developing, producing and testing a pilot phase for an after school program designed to engage children 9-12 years old in recreational science education. The materials will provide a structured yet flexible daily experience aligned with age-appropriate learning goals. Individuals and teams of children engage in the program by registering on-line, following the developing story line, and performing science activities on and off line. The activities will remain available on the Internet for continued use by after school programs, home schools, small teams of children and individuals working independently. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hirshon, Robert American Association For Advancement Science DC Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 320138 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000610 September 1, 2000 The Elegant Universe. 0000610 MCGHEE WGBH is producing a three-hour television series about the scientific quest for a unified set of laws governing the universe. The programs, to be broadcast as part of the on-going NOVA series, will place special emphasis on the new development in physics known as string theory. Inspired by Columbia University physicist Brian Greene's best-selling book of the same name, "The Elegant Universe" will explore the ways in which our understanding of matter and forces, space and time have shifted over the years, most recently with the emergence of string theory in the 1980s and its resurgence in the last five years. Greene will play a prominent role in the series, both on camera and as a consultant helping the producers shape the programs. The series, planned for broadcast in the fall of 2002, will communicate critical scientific concepts through filmed experiments, carefully crafted explanations, and the latest in computer animation. Interviews with scientists and historians, re-creations of key breakthroughs in the history of science, and sequences featuring physicists working on today's most pressing problems will allow viewers to share in the excitement of scientific discovery. Outreach material will be developed for the public and for teachers. NOVA Online will produce a rich companion Web site to allow viewers whose interest is piqued by the series to enhance their learning in a number of ways, including interactive animations of famous experiments and essays that go deeper into subjects than the programs could. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Drain, Margaret Paula Apsell WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 838163 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000611 June 1, 2000 The Human Blueprint. 0000611 APSELL WGBH is producing a two-hour NOVA special that will examine the scientific undertaking to decipher all three billion letters of the human genetic code. The program will take viewers inside the labs where this effort is going on and will examine the difficult decisions that are arising from our growing understanding of the human genome. The central narrative thread in "The Human Blueprint" is the extraordinary race now going on between two teams striving to be the first to read, or "sequence," the human genome. On one side is the official Human Genome Project, funded by the federal government and coordinated by the National Human Genome Research Institute; on the other side is private industry, in the form of a well-financed company run by a biologist with a long track record of finding quicker, cheaper ways to plumb the secrets of the genetic code. To support the extended use of the series, "The Human Blueprint" will be featured in the NOVA teachers guide and will be the subject of an enhanced Web sit at NOVA Online. The Executive Producer for the programs will be Paula Apsell, Executive Producer for NOVA, and the series will be produced by Elizabeth Arledge who has produced science programming for WGBH, WNET and CBS News. Dr. Joseph Levine will serve as science consultant to "The Human Blueprint" and will work with the producer to plan program research, suggest sequence possibilities, review program treatments and critique the film at early stages. Dr. Levine has a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University and served as the science editor for the WGBH series "The Secret of Life." Advisors to the series include: W. French Anderson, Professor of Biochemistry and Pediatrics and the Director of Gene Therapy Laboratories at the University of Southern California School of Medicine David Baltimore, President of the California Institute of Technology and Chairman of the NIH AIDS Vaccine Research Committee Paul Berg, Director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Research at Stanford University Robin Blatt, Founder of the Genetic Resource at the Massachusetts Health Research Institute David Blumenthal, Director of the Institute for Health Policy and Professor of Medicine and Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Robert Cook-Deegan, Director of the National Cancer Policy Board, Institute of Medicine and the Commission on Life Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences Ronald G. Crystal, Director of the Gene Therapy Core facility at Cornell University Medical College Georgia M. Dunston, Professor of Microbiology and Acting Director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University Philip R. Reilly, Executive Director of the Shriver Center for Mental Retardation Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Vice President of Research and Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 552785 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000620 September 1, 2000 Bone Zone. 0000620 BARTLETT The Children's Museum of Indianapolis will develop a 6,000-sq. ft. traveling exhibition about bones, helping children and adults learn about the science of bones, maintenance of healthy bone structures and the cultural and artistic uses of bones. Also, the exhibition will help inform upper elementary and middle school audiences of career possibilities in science, further an understanding of bones as revealed through modern technology and promote understanding of the skeletal system. A Web site, teacher workshops, kits and other materials and events will support learning through this exhibition. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bartlett, Karol Children's Museum of Indianapolis Inc IN Orrin Shane Continuing grant 1151568 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000624 July 15, 2000 The Weather Notebook Expansion Project. 0000624 CRANE The Mount Washington Observatory is expanding the daily, nationally broadcast radio program, "The Weather Notebook." The two-minute programs inform an estimated 2.5 million weekly listeners about the science underlying weather. During this three-year phase of the project, the project will broaden the range of science content by deepening the connections of weather and climate with other scientific disciplines, especially earth systems science. The project also hopes to double the size of the listening audience by increasing the number of stations carrying the series. In addition, they will produce Spanish-language versions of the programs and distribute them through the Hispanic Radio Network. In response to listeners' requests for longer programs, the project will produce 20 to 30 approximately five-minute modules that will be broadcast in existing radio series such as "Marketplace" and "The Cultivated Gardener." Ancillary educational materials will be provided for students, teachers, families and others interested in further learning about topics included in the broadcast programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Crane, Peter Mount Washington Observatory Inc NH Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 704500 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000636 January 1, 2001 Parent Partners in School Science (PPSS). 0000636 MCCREEDY Parent Partners in School Science (PPSS) is a partnership project between The Franklin Institute and the Philadelphia School District. This is a three and one-half year program which will provide a pivotal role for the informal science learning center to be a facilitator in parental support of K-4 school instruction in science. The PPSS program will involve teachers, families and children in grades K-2 the first year, grades 1-3 the next, and finally grades 2-4 in the third year. The incorporation of the national science standards and working with Home and School Associations (HSA) in the area schools, the program will impact over 3600 children, 5400 parents and 45 educators participating over the life of the project. There are several goals and elements in the program. This will certainly demonstrate how an informal science center supports learning and it is also hoped to become a model for effective parent-teacher and parent-child collaboration to support learning. There will be Exploration Cards developed, which are at-home schince challenges for families, Discovery Days that are museum-based days of science inquiry using the yearly theme, Parent/Teacher Workshops at the museum, and finally a Science Celebration which is a showcase of participants' year-long achievements via an exhibit to be displayed at The Franklin Institute for a month, then traveling the exhibit to participating schools. The project's structure, disseminination acitivites and products are designed for national application and as a model for use in both formal and informal education communities. It is hoped the program will offer new opportunities for science center methology and pratice to provide direct support for the school agenda in science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McCreedy, Dale Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Mary Ann Steiner Continuing grant 1258197 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000897 September 1, 2000 Technology for All Americans -- Phase III. 0000897 DUGGER The Standards for Technological Literacy: Content Standards for the Study of Technology describe what students in the K-12 school system should understand about technology and how they should learn it. Phase III is to develop standards for professional development of teachers, both inservice and preservice, standards for assessment and program standards. The project builds upon similar standards in othe disciplines. ADVANCED TECH EDUCATION PROG INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Dugger, William International Technology Education Association VA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1428618 7412 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0000976 January 1, 2000 SGER--Identifying and Understanding the Effects of SMET Education Undergraduate Reform on K-16 Teachers. The Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) has funded Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) to prepare more teachers of mathematics and science to fill increasing demand; to produce a more diverse supply of mathematics and science teachers; and to prepare better teachers of mathematics and science at both the elementary and secondary level. However, there is little research on the effects that these innovations have had or would have on the education of prospective teachers. Therefore, this proposal seeks funds to examine one CETP project -- the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Teacher Education Collaborative (STEMTEC) -- as a way to gain knowledge that would allow us to identify and better understand the ways such a project affects the development of new science teachers. In particular, we will focus on the effects of STEMTEC on undergraduates enrolled in science courses and preservice teacher education programs, and the K12 teachers who have collaborated in the development and implementation of STEMTEC activities. In short, we seek to understand how and why STEMTEC innovations lead to, or fail to produce, a larger number and more diverse body of better prepared K12 science teachers. DRL EHR Feldman, Allan Kathleen Davis University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 59972 7256 SMET 9177 0001042 March 1, 2000 CONFERENCE GRANT: Image and Meaning: Communicating Science and Technology (I & M), June 14-16, 2001, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 0001042 RENSBERGER The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is conducting a three-day symposium to consider how to use images to communicate science and technology most effectively. Participants will include scientists, imaging technologists, computer scientists, photographers, science writers, illustrators, computer modelers, mathematicians, and others involved with communicating the basic science and findings from research. The focus of the conference will be on communication -- both from the scientific community to the general public, and within the scientific community. The 300 conference attendees will hear presentations from professionals working in the area. However, they will spend the majority of the time working collaboratively on solutions to model problems such as how to represent the interaction of a receptor with a ligand, how to make visually explicit the passage of time at all scales, and how to explain visually a sequence of events. Those who have committed to attend the conference will participate for several months in a conference web site prior to and after the meeting. The web site will enable participants to "critique" and make modification to various images and text used to communicate science. It also will be used to enable participants to collaborate in working groups on the model problems. The PI's for the project are Boyce Rensberger and Felice Frankel. Rensberger is director of the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships program at MIT. He is a science writer and editor and has worked in these capacities for both the New York Times and The Washington Post. Frankel is Artist-in-Resident and research scientist in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. She photographs and digitally images research data in science and engineering. She has collaborated with George Whitesides to publish "On the Surface of Things: Images of the Extraordinary in Science." INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Rensberger, Boyce Felice Frankel Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 136500 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0001377 September 1, 2000 Furthering the Impact of COMPASS: A National Secondary Mathematics Implementation Project. 0001377 ROBINSON This Implementation Center at Ithaca College sustains and expands the work of COMPASS, a secondary school implementation program that focuses on the five comprehensive secondary school mathematics curriculum programs developed with support from NSF. This work began under grant #9619168. The COMPASS structure incorporates a Central Site together with five Satellite Sites, one for each curriculum program. The primary functions of the Central Site are to inform various constituencies about these innovative curricula, aid school districts in the first general phases of curriculum selection and implementation, and coordinate requests for additional information and assistance from the Satellite Sites. The primary goals of the Satellite Sites are to provide curriculum program-specific information to various constituencies and to assist school districts with program-specific implementation strategies including professional development. This effort involves working with policy makers at the school, district, regional or state level as well as with parents, businesses and community leaders, the higher education community, and others. As one component of this work, COMPASS hosts an annual national conference for secondary school decision-makers focusing on curriculum awareness, selection and implementation. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Robinson, Eric John Maceli Margaret Robinson Ithaca College NY John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2800000 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0001439 June 15, 2000 U.S.-Japan Teacher Development Workshop: A Conference Planned for Makuhari, Japan in August of 2000. 0001439 WONG The project will plan and conduct a conference among U.S. and Japanese mathematics educators (e.g., teachers, researchers, teacher educators) focused on exploring the similarities and differences in teacher professional development for elementary school mathematics teachers. There will be 40 participants, split evenly between U.S. and Japanese delegations. The conference would be held in August, 2000, immediately following the Ninth International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME 9). Two products would be developed after the conference. The first is a set of proceedings (available in print and stored on the web) that would include summaries of discussions and activities as well as a series of commissioned papers that would explore issues raised at the conference. The second is an edited video of conference discussions and activities. One of the planned conference activities is a simulation/presentation of Japanese "study groups" that are often part of Japanese teachers' professional development. The video will attempt to capture some of the essential features of this demonstration so that U.S. educators who did not attend could gain some insight into the nature of that kind of professional development activity. During 2000 and 2001, the project staff will make presentations at a variety of professional conferences to share the proceedings (both print and video) with mathematics educators throughout the U.S. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Wong, Tamae National Academy of Sciences DC Monica M. Neagoy Standard Grant 180000 7300 7256 5978 SMET 9177 5983 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0001632 August 1, 2000 World Botanic Garden Congress: Partnerships Within and Beyond the Garden. 0001632 PASTORE The American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta (AABGA) is requesting support for the upcoming World Congress to be held in Ashville, NC, June 25-30, 2000. They intend to develop a theme, "Reaching Out: Informal Learning in Botanical Gardens," in order to enhance informal learning in botanical gardens across the nation. The theme will be addressed through plenary addresses, conference sessions, workshops and tours. A conference publication and a web site will extend the impact of this theme beyond the conference. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pastore, Carla American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta PA Barry A. Van Deman Standard Grant 115192 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0002146 February 15, 2000 Volcanoes of the Abyss--Deep Water Test Shoot. 0002146 LOW Volcanic Ocean Films, Inc. is testing the viability of shooting large-format film of volcanic vents on the deep ocean floor. The tests will be carried out during the course of the currently scheduled November, 1999, dives involving the deep sea submersible, Alvin, at the 9 Degree North site on the East Pacific Rise. the expedition plans to shoot approximately 20,000 feet of 15 perforation, 70-mm film resulting in approximately 10 to 20 minutes of footage. The objectives of this research are: o To confirm the feasibility of lighting and filming the deep sea volcanic vents in the large film format from Alvin and o To develop and optimize the deep water, large-format filming capabilities of Alvin. The research effort is proposed on behalf of a consortium of US-based organizations now forming for the production of a 40-minute, large-format film, "Volcanoes of the Abyss." Key production personnel involved in this research will be: Stephen Low, Director/Producer; Pietro L. Serapiglia, Producer; William W. Reeve, Camera Specialist; and Alexander Low, Project Manager. Scientists working with the proudction crew in this phase are: Richard A. Lutz, biologist from Rutgers University; Fred Grassle, Director, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University; Dave Gallo, Director, Special Projects, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; and Emory Kristof, Deep Sea Imaging Specialist, National Geographic Society. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Low, Alexander Volcanic Ocean Films, Inc. none Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 100000 7259 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0002231 June 1, 2000 Next Steps in Education Research, Practice, and Progress: Strategic Planning at the National Academies. 0002231 FEUER This award will continue the leadership of the Center for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education in the synthesis and application of research to educational improvement by outlining a series of strategic planning exercises. Beginning with the establishment of a strategic planning advisory group, the Center will conduct a series of activities that include: dialog with various experts; "roadmapping" exercises designed to bring greater coherence to the National Academy's work in education; and development of a coherent vision and revised mission statement for guiding future work. These activities will conclude in a "white paper" that will convey the overall vision of the Center. The recent decision to integrate the Board on Testing and Assessment (BOTA), the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BICSE), and the Center creates a unique opportunity for leadership. Financial support is necessary to enable the Center to articulate a research and action plan and to build the appropriate infrastructure to carry out this strategic plan. ALLIANCES-MINORITY PARTICIPAT. CCLI-NATIONAL DISSEMINATION INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 DRL EHR Feuer, Michael Jay Labov National Academy of Sciences DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 1047500 9133 7429 7355 7347 7256 7179 SMET 9179 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0002681 August 15, 2000 Planning for Reform in Secondary Science and Math (PRiSSM). 0002681 KENNEDY Planning for Reform in Secondary Science and Math (PRiSSM), a twelve-month planning project, seeks to coordinate activities among local secondary schools, higher education institutions and community partners in southwestern Washington. The project engages participants in (1) an assessment of programs, beliefs, expertise and missions across institutions; (2) building consensus on the alignment of programs from the point of view of both content and pedagogy; and (3) building consensus on core competencies for mathematics, science and technology education of grades 6-20. An important outcome of the work will be an understanding of the local needs for professional development of teachers, leaders of professional development, and teacher mentors in science, mathematics, and technology. The project is managed through the Science and Math Education Resource Center at Educational Service District 112 (Washington), a regional partnership among the district, Washington State University - Vancouver, and the Hewlett Packard Corporation. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Kennedy, Anne Brian Tissot David Slavit Educational Service District 112 WA Monica M. Neagoy Standard Grant 50000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0002694 June 1, 2001 Amateur Astronomers as Informal Science Ambassadors -- A Planning Grant. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, in collaboration with the Astronomical League and Sky and Telescope Magazine, will survey amateur astronomers to determine which informal audiences they serve and what types of support materials would encourage them to do more and better outreach, and to test a prototype set of outreach support materials. Amateur astronomers, estimated to number 300,000 to 500,000, represent a large and mostly untapped source of expertise and enthusiasm for conducting educational outreach activities in the community and in schools. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bennett, Michael Astronomical Society of the Pacific CA Orrin Shane Standard Grant 49900 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0002742 May 15, 2000 Psychology & Education: Toward New Research/Policy Syntheses. As a result of the persistent attempt to find out why American education is failing to fulfill many children's potential and many societal needs, many of the elements needed to answer the question have been identified and some of those have been successfully implemented. However, work must continue on identifying remaining pieces of the puzzle and, especially, on how to assemble the pieces into a coherent whole. Succeeding will require the construction of conceptual and structual bridges between scholars working at different distances from educational applications. NSF's draft stategic plan includes the following long term outcomes, under the heading of "Ideas": * Partnerships connecting discovery to innovation, learning, and societal advancement. * Research and education processes that are synergistically coupled. The WPA and APA symposia proposed herein should contribute meaningfully to achieving those ends buy bringing together distinguished scholars with expertise in diverse areas of psychology (evolutionary, social, cognitive, cross-cutural) and education research and policy, to stimulate discussion about how to improve education research and policy, to stimulate discussion about how to improve education by effectively integrating research and policy. DRL EHR McCarty, Richard American Psychological Assoc DC Kenneth C. Whang Standard Grant 23997 7256 SMET 9237 9177 0002778 August 15, 2000 Science Analysis for TIMSS-R Videotape Classroom Study. As part of the TIMSS-R video study, nationally representative videotape samples of eighth-grade science lessons are being collected in five countries--the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and the United States. The first three of these were among the highest performing countries on the TIMSS science achievement tests. Collection of the data is already funded by NCES. We are seeking funding to prepare, code, analyze, and interpret the data in order to provide the first cross-national descriptions of science teaching. We further propose to carry out these processes in a way that maximizes usability of the data in future research and improvement efforts. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Owen, Eugene Department of Education DC Finbarr C. Sloane Interagency Agreement 3298664 7355 7300 7256 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0002973 September 1, 2000 SportSmarts. 0002973 SCHNEPS The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is developing "SportSmarts," a national education campaign that builds on people's fascination with sports. SportSmarts plans to reach children and adults who are unlikely to turn their attention to science by "going to the sport" to reach audiences in places where sports are played or watched. During this planning phase, the project will: create proof of concept programming; research appropriate sports science content; build networks, partnerships and coalitions; create plans for outreach, evaluation, public relations and financing; and establish strong potential distribution outlets. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schneps, Matthew Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003009 June 1, 2000 Increasing Evaluation Expertise of SMET Professionals. The Evaluators' Institute provides high-quality short-courses taught by nationally recognized experts in the evaluation field. Courses are scheduled to allow participants to take 2-3 courses over the period of a week. This SGER will test whether SMET professionals can be involved in these courses by offering $1000 Tuition scholarships. Since the Evaluators' Institute is providing courses this summer and a limited set again in the fall, decisions about future planning by the Evaluation Program can be made in a timely manner. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Smith, M. F. The Evaluators' Institute DE Conrad G. Katzenmeyer Standard Grant 50000 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0003026 February 1, 2001 Touch the Future Science, Math and Technology Displays. This project for six (6) months' duration will bring advisors and designers together to plan an environment of interactive touch-screen displays to draw high-school students and their parents into thoughtful consideration of careers in science, mathematics, and technology. Housed at Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Center and in keeping with the theme of space exploration, the visitor will become a crewmember on a future voyage and solve problems encountered on the journey via computer simulations. Veteran astronauts will narrate the scenarios, since they have actually encountered unexpected problems in space. The proposed final exhibit will have six (6) stations, each featuring a different episode and levels of complexity of a common storyline. After solving the problem using math, science, technology and critical thinking skills, a registration mechanism will enable the student to request information on spedific careers and information about post-secondary schools that offer such training. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Tavares, Gene Walter Jaworski Astronaut Memorial Foundation FL Orrin Shane Standard Grant 49880 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003029 June 15, 2000 The Exploration and Conceptualization of the Public Understanding of Scientific Research. 0003029 MILLER Jon Miller of the Northwestern University Medical School is undertaking exploratory research into issues surrounding informing the public about on-going research. The specific activities to be undertaken as part of this Small Grant for Exploratory Research include: o examining the scope and dimensions of the issues in the context of current learning and communications research, o re-conceptualizing the problem in programmatic and research terms, and o developing a general research program to address these issues over the next ten years. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Miller, Jon Northwestern University IL Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 96137 7259 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003202 May 1, 2000 Proposal Processing for Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI). No abstract required. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Damon, Peter ALLIED TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC MD Nora Sabelli BOA/Task Order 21998 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0003285 July 1, 2000 Connected Mathematics: Making Sense of Complex Phenomeana through Building Object-Based Parallel Models. Connected Mathematics: Making Sense of Complex Phenomena through Building Object-based Parallel Models The content area of the project is learning about "complexity". Complexity is the study of systems in which phenomena or global behaviors arise from the interactions of simpler parts. Many everyday phenomena exhibit complex behavior: the growth of a snowflake crystal, the perimeter pattern of a maple leaf, the dynamics of the Dow Jones or of a fourth grade classroom. These are all systems which can be modeled as composed of many distributed but interacting parts. They all exhibit non-linear or emergent qualities which place them beyond the scope of current K-12 mathematics curricula. The project goal is to make complexity accessible to students through the use of object-based parallel modeling languages (OBPML). Students build models of complex mathematical and scientific phenomena from "scratch" as well as extending models they are given from a library of "extensible models". Through these activities, the researchers seek: *To understand how learners make sense of complex phenomena when engaged in buiding object-based parallel models *To design computational tools and activities that foster learner's in a) building models of complex phenomena and b) building intuitive conceptions of complexity *To investigate the ways in which learners engage in this kind of modeling change their beliefs about and attitude towards the mathematical and scientific enterprises *To investigate patterns in the kinds of symbolization developed by learners engaged in object-based parallel modeling. OBPMLs afford a probabilistic and statistical approach to modeling. One outcome of the project is a strengthened and broadened role for probability and statistics in the mathematics and science currucula, combining it with computational techniques such as Monte Carlo simulations -- thus developing a new subject area perhaps better called stochastic. In this respect and others, we expect to develop new mathematical contents areas--content areas which live in an object-based parallel medium. DRL EHR Wilensky, Uri Northwestern University IL Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 57306 7256 SMET 9177 1045 0003325 September 1, 2000 Science Education and Rural Settings: Understanding Access to and Engagement in the Rural Systemic Initiatives. This study will focus on the Rural Systemic Initiatives Program to compile current understandings and identify new issues, resource and strategies of importance to those currently working in rural settings. This exploratory research will involve: 1)an investigation and analysis of the content and use of large-scale databases; 2)interviews with educators, researchers, and reformers working to improve science education in rural settings; and 3)a meeting of key stakeholders to focus on sharing understandings about districts' access to and engagement in the rural reform and successful strategies for data collection and analysis. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Century, Jeanne Rose Barbara Berns Education Development Center MA Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 99926 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0003387 September 15, 2000 Planning Grant for an IMAX Film: THE SEARCH FOR INFINITY. 0003387 KIRSCH The Reuben H. Fleet Space Center is developing "The Search for Infinity," a large-format film on mathematics and nature. The current concept, based on a film idea developed in collaboration with Sir Arthur C. Clarke, is to center the film on an intelligent computer running an unmanned space probe. By following the actions of the computer, audiences will learn about mathematical fractals and the relationships between fractals and the natural world. A key effect planned for the film will be a prolonged zoom into the endless details of the celebrated Mandelbrot Set fractal. Jeffrey Kirsch, Director of the Reuben H. Fleet Space Center, will be PI and Executive Producer for the film. The Co-Executive Producer will be Christina Schmidlin, Vice-President of XAOS, Inc, one of the world's leading computer graphics studios, and the Producer-Director will be Ronald Fricke. This production team will work with Sir Arthur Clarke to write the treatment for the film. Scientists working directly in the pre-production phase of the project include Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, and Rudy Rucker of San Jose State University. Other advisors include: Benoit Mandelbrot, Yale University; Maxine Brown, University of Illinois at Chicago; Bernard Pailthorpe, San Diego Supercomputer Center; and David Brin, Science Fiction author and astrophysicist. During this planning phase the project will: (1) identify subjects that are best suited to illustrate the fractal geometry of nature in large format film; (2) conduct front-end evaluation to assess the potential educational benefits of such a film; (3) write a treatment and develop a storyboard for the film; conduct formative evaluation of the treatment; (4) produce a motion picture sequence to demonstrate the educational power of the large format film medium to convey complicated ideas related to computer processes; and (5) develop interactive web-based activity concepts to exploit the film's distribution in the museum-dominated large format film community. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kirsch, Jeffrey Reuben Fleet Space Theatre Science Center CA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 49500 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003391 June 15, 2000 Learning Sciences and Brain Research. This proposal will provide funds for three international conferences to examine and expand the relationships between brain science and education. The conferences will be organized around three stages of development: young children; adolescence and adult. DRL EHR Bengtsson, Jarl Organization For Economic Cooperation & Development none Kenneth C. Whang Standard Grant 70000 7256 SMET 9177 0003422 April 1, 2001 Mother Goose Cares about Math and Science: An Integrated Course of Science and Mathematics for Child Care Providers. The Vermont Center for the Book is developing "Mother Goose Cares about Math and Science," an integrated curriculum of science process skills and standards-based mathematics concepts for preschool children. A college credit course will be developed for childcare providers based on this curriculum. The course increases science and math literacy and the ability to incorporate NCTM standards, and science process skills, into daily interactions with children. Participants are also provided with the tools to communicate the importance of these concepts to parents. The course will be delivered to 600 childcare workers in Vermont and inner-city Philadelphia over a three-year period. Recruitment will include providers in center-, home- and school-based settings in both urban and rural communities. Participants will be provided with books, Curriculum Guides, tools and manipulatives needed to implement the course pedagogy. Materials to be developed include a seven-segment training, which will be used to disseminate the project nationally. Participants will receive a comprehensive training package that can be used to train their peers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Anderson, Sally Gregory DeFrancis Vermont Center for the Book VT Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1581189 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003446 September 1, 2001 Freedom Machines. Freedom Machines is a one-hour special for public television which will highlight the information about the newest technological advances which support over 54 million Americans with disabilities. Through personal narratives, high-impact storytelling, and a comprehensive public education and outreach campaign, the show will inform viewers about assistive technology (AT) being used, and how it is adapted and designed by people with disabilities. The individuals to be profiled, many of them leaders in science and technological fields, will encourage young people with disabilities to pursue careers in the sciences. Many of the devices and approaches to be featured will also show how valuable these technologies are for the able bodied, general public. The sixty-minute documentary is structured around the themes of Pioneers, Partners and Prophets in order to examine the evolving relationship between technology and the disabled, profile emerging technologies and explore the larger societal implications of this growing phenomenon. A companion website and extensive outreach program will continue the informative material, support and create networks, and promote linkages between viewers, either abled or disabled, and the technology that might benefit them. Technological changes have always been influenced by people with needs beyond the ordinary. This dynamic is even more relevant in today's information age. Freedom Machines will dramatically demonstrate that designing a world of inclusion benefits everyone. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Cox, Richard Film Arts Foundation CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 554915 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003502 March 1, 2001 Speed -- A Traveling Exhibition. COSI Columbus will develop "Speed," a traveling exhibition. "Speed" is a 6,000-square-foot, interactive traveling exhibition introducing visitors to the science of speed. Visitors experience extreme and slow speeds through a variety of interactives. The exhibition emphasizes the role of speed -- that is, the physical phenomenon of changing motion over time -- in governing biological, geological and electronic processes as well as the central role of mathematics as the language of physical science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Wisne, Joseph Wanda Foor Franklin County Historical Society OH David A. Ucko Continuing grant 1438220 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003519 May 15, 2001 The Magic School Bus Gets Weather Wise: A National Traveling Exhibit and Educational Programs on Meteorology. The Children's Museum of Houston, in cooperation with Scholastic Entertainment, the National Weather Service and the American Meteorological Society (AMS), will develop, produce and nationally circulate two (2) copies of a 2,500-sq.ft. interactive exhibit. Using the popular icon of the Magic School Bus, the exhibit will take young children on a journey of discovery to explore the science involved in the Earth's weather. The exhibit, "The Magic School Bus Gets Weather Wise," and accompanying educational materials and programs will be bilingual in Spanish and English and will support national and Texas standards for science and mathematics learning for children aged 5-10. It is estimated that the exhibit and programs will serve 2,000,000 children and adults in 36 national venues over six (6) years. Weather Exploration Stations will precede the exhibit to encourage community engagement prior to the exhibit's arrival at the host venue. AMS scientists, local meteorologists and media weathercasters will assist visitor experiences and help museums with strategies for publicity campaigns and development of local programming. The visiting audiences of children and their families will learn meteorology is a study of weather, there are different types of weather, a variety of tools are used in predicting weather and the water cycle plays a role in weather events. Visitors will read data from maps, graphs, thermometers, anemometers, experiment with variables and model weather conditions using interactive exhibit components. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McCallum, Cheryl The Children's Museum of Houston TX Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1614111 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003521 June 1, 2001 Home, School and Community: After School Math for Grades 3-5. The Developmental Studies Center (DSC) will implement "Home, School and Community: AfterSchool Math for Grades 3-5," a program that targets at-risk and low income children in afterschool programs. AfterSchool Math trains youth workers to help students in grades 3-5 better understand measurement and geometry concepts, building on the success of the NSF-funded Home, School and Community mathematics program for grades K-2 (ESI #97-05421). The project develops, field-tests and evaluates thirty math games and ten story guides, which support the social and mathematical development of children, while emphasizing cooperative learning. The content for all materials will be aligned with national standards in mathematics. A 12-hour professional development workshop for youth workers and an 18-hour workshop for facilitators or youth worker leaders are also planned. Two training videos and a facilitator manual will be produced to support this aspect of the project. Field testing will occur in Kansas, Louisiana and Missouri. This proposal has been augmented to include a special emphasis on rural communities which doubles the number of field test sites from 50 to 100. A Rural Outreach Specialist will conduct focus group meetings to determine needs unique to rural programs and lead the field testing in these communities. It is anticipated that over 3,200 youth workers will be trained and a national cadre of more than 300 youth worker leaders will be created. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Snyder, Frank Developmental Studies Center CA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2770948 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0003610 May 1, 2001 Footsteps through Time: Four Million Years of Human Evolution. A new, permanent exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Man will reflect the great scientific strides made in unraveling the mysteries of our uniquely human biology. The exhibit of 7,000 sq. ft. will take visitors on a 65-million year journey through time and even go beyond the present with glimpses of current technologies which will shape the future of human evolution. The exhibit development is being guided by a team of renowned scholars, museum professionals and community members in order to insure that the material is scientifically accurate, current and comprehensive. Evaluation and community input combined with engaging exhibitry will further enhance the informal science learner's experience. The exhibit will be about time, genetics and the environment. Dioramas, casts, artifacts and engaging interactives will convey the storyline. As a result of the development of culture, technology is refined and becomes intertwined with the human evolution. The exhibit will unify and draw together other halls in the museum. Further hands-on discovery will be encouraged in an outdoor archaeological site. Associated programming, which will foster the integration of research and education, will include a lecture series, on-line chats and guidebooks, as well as resources for teachers and students. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sharon, Douglas Rose Tyson San Diego Museum of Man CA Orrin Shane Continuing grant 1955500 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003611 April 1, 2001 California Science Center's Air and Space Gallery. The California Science Center Foundation will develop the California Science Center's Air and Space Gallery, a 12,000-square foot exhibit space. The California Science Center will reopen Aerospace Hall (closed in 1998) with new and re-designed exhibits and offer a full complement of learning experiences. Funding from NSF will support design, fabrication and core program development of the Air and Space Gallery. The Gallery will feature four themed areas that explore the depth and breadth of aeronautics and space exploration: Air and Aircraft; Humans and Their Spacecraft; Mission to the Planets; and Stars and Telescopes. Also featured will be a Discovery Room for young learners and their parents, a changing exhibit gallery and educational programs for the public and for schools. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Phillips, Kenneth California Science Center Foundation CA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1997666 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003613 June 1, 2001 The Great Lakes Story -- An Interactive Traveling Exhibit. "The Great Lakes Story" is a 3,000 sq. ft. interactive traveling exhibit based on the highly successful and unique permanent exhibition at the Great Lakes Science Center. Its focus is devoted to highlighting the natural history of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The traveling exhibit will allow even more visitors around the country to understand the beauty, majesty and restoration efforts of this important national resource. Through a planned six-year tour, it is estimated "The Great Lakes Story" will be experienced by as many as three million people. There will be several components, including hands-on exhibits, organized with a centerpiece of a walk-around model of the Great Lakes region, and other interactive components. The four major areas of the exhibit are physical characteristics of the Lakes, the natural cycles and processes which shaped them over time, changes and threats to the Lakes (especially human-induced), and finally, restoration efforts to bring the Lakes back to being the rich and productive ecosystem they should be. Along with these exhibit areas, other project components are educational and marketing materials to ensure that host science centers are able to provide a complete learning experience to their youth, family, and adult audiences around the country. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Davillier, Valence Andrew McDowell Great Lakes Museum of Science, Environment and Technology OH Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 910561 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003623 October 1, 2001 The Hispanic National Community Science Festivals Project. The Self-Reliance Foundation (SRF) will implement a comprehensive three-year project that provides Hispanics with greater access to science resources and increases their participation in informal science activities. The Hispanic National Community Science Festivals Project makes optimal use of radio and print media, as well as the Internet, to deliver much-needed services to the families in their homes and communities. First, the SRF will partner with the Hispanic Radio Network (HRN) and the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC) to reach major Hispanic markets in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Dallas and Yakima, Washington. A community coalition, including members of the radio station, community organizations and science centers, will be created in each of the targeted locales to plan events and support the project. Radio broadcasts will include information on community science festivals organized by science centers in these cities. Daily science radio capsules will also be developed, produced and distributed nationwide. Topics for radio capsules will include parental involvement and participation in informal science activities, and pathways to science careers. The Self-Reliance Foundation will serve as a clearing-house for community science resources by establishing an 800 number-hotline and bilingual Internet site with referral information on science opportunities within the community. It is anticipated that the festivals alone will reach 100,000-200,000 visitors per weekend, while broadcasts have the potential to reach the majority of the U.S. Hispanic population of 32 million people. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Vasquez, Arturo Robert Russell Self Reliance Foundation DC Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2088969 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003630 September 1, 2001 Boat Building: Art and Science. The Independence Seaport Museum will create "Boat Building: Art and Science," a 3,000-square foot permanent exhibit that is designed to educate visitors about the science of boat building and design. Concepts such as buoyancy, water displacement, turbulence and drag will be explored through interactives, maritime artifacts, models and oral histories of tradesmen. By using the principles identified by the Family Science Learning Research Project of the Philadelphia/Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative (PISEC), the exhibit will be user-friendly for families with young children. Visitor workstation topics may include boat building, floating, buoyancy, sails, wind and boat shape. Visitors will use science processes while learning through open-ended play and exploration. Creative programs for families and school groups, as well as curriculum materials will support the exhibit. A website and technical training manual will also be produced. Four phases of evaluation are planned, and include front-end analysis which will incorporate focus groups with children ages 7-12, and formative evaluation using prototypes of interactives. Remedial evaluation will be carried out once the exhibit opens, and summative evaluation will use tracking and exit interviews to assess learning and understanding. The estimated annual audience of over 130,000 visitors will be expanded by replicating and traveling various components to other maritime museums in partnership with the Association of Science and Technology Centers. Evaluation of traveling components will also be undertaken to determine if they present an appropriate model for maritime-based exhibits. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Beard, David Independence Seaport Museum PA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 575093 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003650 January 1, 2001 Coral Reef Adventure. MacGillivray Freeman Films is producing a large format film about the exploration and new scientific research aimed at understanding and responding to changes in coral reef ecosystems. The film will examine the complex behavior and interactions among unique Pacific coral reef animals, illustrate the role of scientific research in addressing the declining health of reefs, and stimulate public interest in pursuing further learning and careers in coral reef and marine science. In five coral reef sites the film will feature science researchers who are each a part of the global effort to understand and protect coral reef ecosystems as they document reef diversity and animal behavior, investigate symptoms of reef degradation, provide information on past environmental change through core sampling, and explore life in extreme ocean environments. Outreach materials will include a Museum Resource Guide, Family Fun Sheet, Activities for Informal Education Groups, Teacher Guide and Poster, Web Site/Virtual Field Trip, and Scientist Speaker Series. Greg MacGillivray will be the PI for the project and also will serve as Co-Producer/Co-Director/Co-Director of Photography. Alec Lorimore is Co-Producer and Howard Hall is Co-Director of Photography/Sequence Director/and Cameraman. Science Advisors include: Gerald Allen, Conservation International; Richard Aronson, Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama; Gisele Muller-Parker, Shannon Point Marine Center and Western Washington University; Joseph Levine, WGBH and Discovery Magazine; and Richard Pyle, University of Hawaii and Bishop Museum. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR MacGillivray, Greg MacGillivray Freeman Films CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1800000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003651 April 1, 2001 "ZOOM" - Season IV. WGBH is producing twenty, new, half-hour programs for the fourth season of "ZOOM." Uniquely for, by and about kids, "ZOOM" gives its viewers a chance to explore, experiment and share their creativity with the world. Targeted at children 8-11 years-old, "ZOOM" features a diverse cast of seven children who build bridges, solve puzzles, play games, respond to challenges and act out stories, as they bring to life contributions sent in by viewers from across the country. "ZOOM" currently is carried by 281 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by an average of 5.22 million children per week. The "ZOOM" website receives 18,000 - 20,000 visits per day with kids averaging 30 minutes per visit. The specific goals for Season IV are to: (1) connect science to kids' every day world and every day lives; (2) promote Habits of Mind and an understanding of the basic science and math within three content areas; (3) expand ZOOM's outreach activities, and (4) increase parental involvement in children's "ZOOM"-related activities. The themes for the new seasons will include "Your Biome," "Kitchen Chemistry," and "Structures." Outreach for the project will include printed materials for kids, families and educators; "ZOOM"-related activities at community-based organizations, shopping malls and science museums; and a 3000-page web site. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sullivan, Brigid Kate Taylor WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1397390 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003857 September 1, 2000 Research-based Science Curricula: Developing Methods to Determine How They are Used in High School Classrooms -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research. 0003857 MILLER Although there is a research base for how students learn many of the concepts in science, there is almost no research on the effectiveness of research-based curricula in classrooms. The project provides the necessary tools and instruments to facilitate future research on how teachers use inquiry-based science curricula in high schools. Developers are interviewed to determine their goals for the materials. Publishers and implementation site personnel are interviewed to determine their view of how materials are implemented in the classroom. Focus groups of teachers help set the issues to be investigated. Instruments are developed and tested in classrooms by observing and interviewing teachers. The preliminary research results and model instruments are published. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Miller, Jacqueline Karen Robblee Education Development Center MA Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 99957 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003893 August 15, 2000 Feasibility and Viability of Science Media Review Concept -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research. 0003893 FLAGG Barbara Flagg is conducting exploratory research to assess the feasibility and viability of presenting to the public an on-going review of new findings or issues in major fields of research. This research on the untested idea of providing the public with information about research on a regular, on-going basis through multiple media will provide information about the American public's current science media habits, their awareness of and interest in broad areas of research, and the presentation formats most likely to appeal to and reach the public on a regular basis. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Flagg, Barbara Consortium For Mathematics & Its Applications Inc MA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 68207 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0003895 September 1, 2000 Sustainable Reform In Science Education -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research. 0003895 KOZAITIS This applied research will capitalize on work that has been done over the past four years and will, by means of a controlled study, explore the factors that contribute to sustainable reform in a Local Systemic Change (LSC) project. The experiment is unique, as the project in the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is the only one in the entire Teacher Enhancement portfolio which has associated with it an anthropologist-in-residence who will carry out this research. Informed by the conceptual framework outlined in the proposal, the study will reveal factors that encourage or inhibit adoption of constructivist science pedagogy by APS teachers. The context for the research is the Elementary Science Educational Partners (ESEP) project. This is a five-year LSC project which serves approximately 1,600 K-5 teachers in 69 elementary schools in Atlanta. The EXEP project is in its final stages and the study is timely in that there are many important lessons to be learned about the impact of NSF investment in an urban school district. Such research will help provide answers. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Kozaitis, Kathryn Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc. GA Patricia K. Freitag Standard Grant 99725 7300 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0004034 April 15, 2001 Planning For Teacher Leadership To Effect Systemic Change. "Planning for Teacher Leadership to Effect Systemic Change," a twelve-month planning project, seeks to assess the needs for K-8 mathematics teacher-leaders in the Newark Public Schools. The Newark Public Schools, the largest district in New Jersey, serves approximately 45,000 students. In recent years, Newark's educational system has been plagued with chronic underachievement as evidenced by poor student performance on state assessments. The New Jersey State Department of Education has assumed control of the daily operations of the school system and mandated implementation of a model of whole school reform. The goals of the planning project are: Identify needs/strengths of current teacher-leaders and classroom teachers with regard to mathematics content, mathematics reform and pedagogy. Investigate and explore models of successful teacher leadership and training programs in urban systems. Select a teacher-leader model and develop a training plan to meet identified needs. Align, coordinate and integrate the proposed plan with other district initiatives to ensure cohesiveness and to foster and support effective instructional practices. The project is managed by the Newark Public Schools. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Samuels, May Anthony Piccolino Newark Public Schools NJ Kathryn B. Chval Standard Grant 45925 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0004107 April 1, 2001 A Planning Grant: Is Global Warming Just a Lot of Hot Air?. The planning project, "Is Global Warming Just a Lot of Hot Air?," is a consortium of twenty (20) research institutions, science centers and environmental organizations which will plan exhibits and outreach programs to address climate change and its affect on communities and ecosystems of northern New England. Research scientists will work with informal science educators to develop innovative approaches to presenting what is known about climate change. The planning project will investigate strategies for helping the 1.85 million visitors in the region understand the issues in relation to the landscape and social environment. There is a wide-ranging group of advisors drawn from science, research, classrooms and informal learning centers to guide the 18-month planning project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR MacLeod, Iain Debra Meese Audubon Society of New Hampshire NH Orrin Shane Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0004127 August 15, 2000 Revelance of Culture in Evaluation Workshop. This workshop is intended to provide a select group of teachers with an increased understanding of program evaluation in general as well as the emerging dicussion about the relevance of culture in program evaluation research and practices. Participants will be provided with an increased awareness of program evaluation, its importance for improving the educational success of minority students in urban school settings, and how program evaluation could be more culturally responsive. The workshop will involve minority and female teachers with 3-5 years experience in culturally diverse classrooms. In addition, teachers will receive 5-8 CE credits for their attendance at the workshop. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hood, Stafford Arizona State University AZ Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 82317 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0004253 September 15, 2001 Master Plan for New Permanent Exhibits -- A Planning Grant. The San Diego Natural History Museum is committed to the research and interpretation of the Southern California and Baja California area. New permanent exhibits to convey the excitement and relevance of natural history study is the focus of this planning grant. The planning project has three goals. First, it will devise a master plan that establishes a philosophical foundation and the organizing framework for exhibit development. Second, a schematic design that articulates content, space allocation and exhibit techniques will be made. Finally, a plan for related materials and programs that will fund, enhance and expand the exhibit effort will be constructed. The twelve-month planning proceess will be evaluated and the results disseminated and added to the field of museum learning research. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Shelly, Ruth San Diego Society of Natural History CA Barry A. Van Deman Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0004272 February 1, 2001 GANGES -- A Planning Grant. This is a planning grant to Independent Broadcasting Associates, Inc. to enable them to obtain and evaluate scientific data about the ecological condition of the Ganges river in South Asia in preparation for a series of documentaries for National Public Radio. The series would combine both science and humanities to consider the meaning of the river in terms of the broad continuum of the Ganges ecosystem. During the planning stage, the PI will: review published literature and determine whether relevant unpublished information is obtainable; screen the obtainable information on the ecological condition of the Ganges/Padma river and identify major causes of the degradation of the river; contact relevant government related bodies within India in order to locate suitable experts and written reports; establish relationships with and conduct interviews amongst relevant non-governmental parties including scientists, industrialists and agriculturalists in order to facilitate future interactions for the purpose of producing the series ; and assess the suggestion that one of the problems with initiatives such as the Ganga Action Plan has been its reliance upon Western models -- both technological and conceptual -- which are often inappropriate to local conditions and realities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hollick, Julian Crandall Roberta Farrell Graham Chapman Triyugi Prasad Independent Broadcasting Associates, Inc. MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0004273 April 1, 2001 Setting a Research Agenda: Parents as Informal Math Educators -- A Conference to be Held in Washington, DC, May/June, 2001. The "Setting A Research Agenda: Parents as Informal Mathematics Educators" conference will convene parents, researchers in parent/child learning, a methodological/research design expert, a developmental psychologist, and representatives from mathematics professional organizations. The goals of the conference include: 1) summarizing the goals, methods and findings of the leading research in parent/child mathematics learning; 2) establishing the agenda for future research in this area; and 3) charting a short- and long-term plan of action to accomplish these research goals. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mokros, Janice Marlene Kliman TERC Inc MA Kathryn B. Chval Standard Grant 81328 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0004452 September 15, 2001 Learning Through Teaching in an After-School Pedagogical Laboratory. This study will document the development and impact of an after-school program for elementary students in school district in California. This after-school program will also serve as a pedagogical laboratory and professional development site for new teachers. The specific goals of the study are two-fold: 1) to document and examine the processes of learning among children who are enrolled in the after-school pedagogical laboratory and 2)to document and analyze the process of teachers learning to teach in the pedagogical laboratory. Consequently, this study will directly and simultaneously address the underachievement of African American students and other students of color and the preparation of their teachers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Foster, Michele Claremont Graduate University CA Kenneth C. Whang Standard Grant 85000 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0004527 February 1, 2001 Seeing in the Dark -- A Planning Grant. This is a planning grant to Timothy Ferris to develop a PBS documentary film about amateur astronomy and stargazing. The film will bring viewers into direct contact with the night sky, introducing them to the constellations and showing how even a small telescope can open a window onto the cosmos. Ferris has previously produced two highly regarded science documentaries, "The Creation of the Universe" and "Life Beyond Earth." The director for the "Seeing In the Dark" program will be Thomas Levenson who most recently served as producer/director/writer for the "Dome" program in Building Big. Andrew Fraknoi, Chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College and Educational consultant for the Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be the Science and Outreach Consultant for the project. Activities during the planning stage include: Developing preliminary storyboarding, determining locations and people to appear in the film and working out special effects sequences Acquiring and digitizing images for use in the film Planning educational and public outreach efforts Identifying and consulting with potential creative contributors to the film Shooting and editing a test night scene at a "star party" to establish which techniques can produce the best results in these conditions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ferris, Timothy Ferris, Timothy CA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0010064 July 1, 2001 Computing Education for Every Student in Secondary Schools. This project emphasizes the principles of problem solving and program design using Scheme. Students learn to solve problems in a systematic manner and are able to use those skills in many domains, not just computing. The pedagogical approach is based on the belief that the conventional approach to computer science in high school is inappropriate, and, with an emphasis on code generation and successive modification by steps, is more consistent with computer science from the early 1980s. The emphasis on grammar rules is inconsistent with current methods. The results-dated methodologies have been that secondary schools have small computer science enrollments and encounter diminishing interest even by the more mathematically inclined students. The project is based on the introductory computer science curriculum developed at Rice University, and the PIs have tested these methods in high schools and found the students to be more receptive and to learn more about computational problem solving. The approximately 310 participating teachers learn a dramatically different and more applicable approach through workshops at Northeastern University, Adelphi University, Brown University, the University of Utah, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Teachers are introduced to the new content, approaches and software. A central Web repository is maintained for distribution and exchange. The teachers receive forty contact hours and extensive follow-up activities and supports plus 3 graduate credits. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Felleisen, Matthias Stephen Bloch Matthew Flatt Kathi Fisler Shriram Krishnamurthi Northeastern University MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1895957 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0072036 May 1, 2000 SGER--An Interactive-Teaching Virtual Museum: Implementation of a New Digital Socratic Pedagogy for K-6 Students from a Multi-Cultural Society. The authors propose to perform exploratory research into the requirement parameters for developing an interactive, personalized, question/answer learning environment for K-6 students using digital virtual museums. New technologies in computer and computational science can be synthesized with effective museum science techniques to provide a learning environment to combat the loss of decline in achievement, and loss of interest in science in elementary school students. A key question to be resolved is the identification of the needs to develop such a computer program. This research will then form the basis of a subsequent proposal to further develop this concept. DRL EHR Schorr, Herbert Dan Davis University of Southern California CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 45003 7256 SMET 9237 9177 0072917 September 1, 2000 Finding Significance. 0072917 ALLEN The Exploratorium will conduct a controlled, two-year research project, titled "Finding Significance," to study how different exhibit presentation techniques affect visitors' abilities to make meaning -- or find significance -- and how such techniques impact learning. The techniques will be applied to a varied sample of five exhibits commonly found in science and children's museums. The exhibit design techniques include a) sharing scientist and exhibit developer stories, b) sharing visitor stories, and c) modeling inquiry. Although each technique shows promise at eliciting personal significance, they have yet to be rigorously tested and applied to the same set of exhibits to compare relative strengths and weaknesses. Five baseline exhibits, plus four variations of each, will be tested on groups of visitors, including adults, children and mixed groups of both. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Allen, Sue Kathleen McLean Exploratorium CA David A. Ucko Standard Grant 451628 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0072921 September 1, 2000 Dogs: Our Canine Companions. 0072921 ABRAHAM The Natural History of Museum of Los Angeles County will mount and administer a five (5) year tour of an exhibition, "Dogs: Our Canine Companions," which explores the evolution, behavior, diversity and cultural significance of dogs. Visitors to the 6,000 sq. ft. exhibit will gain a better knowledge of these familiar animals through a variety of componenets including hands-on displays, videos, graphic panels, computer-generated images, dioramas, fossil skeletons and educational curriculum materials. The exhibit will be divided into eight (8) sections. Throughout the sections there are recurring themes to unify the educational messages of the adaptive diversity of canids, the relationship between wild and domestic dogs, and the relationship between dogs and humans -- especially service dogs. The dissemination of DOGS will include presentations to groups and conferences, with particular emphasis on the exhibit's treatment of accessibility issues. There will be an extensive web site with animation, movies, sound and interactive elements to further enhance the effectiveness of the exhibit and the availability of educational materials. the final ancillary materials to accompany the traveling exhibition will be a theater production, a free-standing, self-contained learning center, an exhibit guide, and a CD-Rom. Formal education providers will benefit from workshops, curriculum guides, and teaching kits. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Abraham, Linda Blaire Van Valkenburgh Robert Wayne Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Foundation CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1298772 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0073880 September 1, 2000 K-12 Mathematics Curriculum Center: Phase 2. 0073880 MARK The Education Development Center is continuing the work of its K-12 Mathematics Curriculum Center (MCC), first funded under NSF grant ESI-9617783. The center continues to offer a regular schedule of workshops for teams from schools and school districts interested in upgrading their mathematics program. The center also continues to support and disseminate the materials already developed and to develop additional materials that support the implementation of the supported instructional materials. The purpose of the seminars and the workshops is to assist schools and school districts in becoming familiar with the 13 sets of comprehensive instructional materials in mathematics developed with NSF support and to understand the issues related to the implementation of these materials. Specifically, the goals of the center are to: Increase awareness of NSF-funded comprehensive instructional materials among school districts interested in improving their mathematics program. Increase understanding of the challenges involved in the selection and implementation of mathematics curricula developed in response to the NCTM Standards. Provide assistance to schools and districts reviewing and using standards-based curricula, paying special attention to issues of transition and articulation across grades K-12. Provide needed resources for school systems, including a seminar series and related publications focused on standards-based curriculum selection and implementation. Build capacity within districts for making informed choices and decisions regarding selection and use of standards-based mathematics materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Mark, June Deborah Spencer Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2150199 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0074418 September 1, 2000 POWRE: Overcoming Barriers to Technology-Based Education in an Underserved Community. This proposal seeks to develop a model of technology-based education and research in a community-based program that serves Latino communities. The focus is on how new ideas are accepted and communicated. It seeks to understand how technology can be better used outside of the structured classrooms by individuals who are not typical users of technology. The project uses IMMEX (Interactive Multi-media Exercises). The project seeks to study 1) what people understand as they solve complex problems and 2) how they use information to solve these problems. PROF OPPOR FOR WOMEN IN RSCH DRL EHR Kanowith-Klein, Susan University of California-Los Angeles CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 74936 1592 SMET 9177 1592 0116000 Human Subjects 0074604 September 1, 2000 POWRE; Digital Divide, IT Workforce, and High School Quality. The new digital economy has been experiencing a surge in demand for workers in the area of information technology (IT). Individuals with IT education are rewarded with high salaries. The proposed study will examine the 'digital divide' in terms of information technology (IT) education in college using the University of Illinois undergraduate student data and the logit regression technique. It will show the extent to which a college student's participation in IT education is affected by the student's gender and race, controlling for other factors including his or her math ACT score and high school. Using the Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) high schools data and census data, the study will go on to examine how the distribution of the ACT scores of students in a high school is influenced by the high school characteristics and the students' socioeconomic backgrounds. High school characteristics encompass teacher training/qualification, class size, expenditures per students, ethnic composition of students, computer ownership, and Internet accessibility. Socioeconomic variables are family income, education level of the parents, and household type. The empirical findings of the proposed should expand significantly those in the existing literature. The study examines a different aspect of the 'digital divide'. It couches the 'divide' in terms of IT education instead of simply access to technology. Also, it uses a different regression technique, namely the quantile regression, instead of the ordinary regression technique. This different approach can reveal impacts of contributing factors to the 'divide", which ordinary regression technique will overlook. These results will identify factors that enable access, participation, and diversity in IT education in college. Such knowledge provides empirical basis for implementation of policies to narrow the "digital divide' by both high school and university administrators. ALLIANCES-MINORITY PARTICIPAT. DRL EHR Tam, Mo-Yin University of Illinois at Chicago IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 71863 9133 SMET 9177 1592 0074710 August 1, 2000 Promoting Understanding and Knowledge Acquisition through Effective Collaboration. The specific goals of the projects are to: 1) document a relationship between the quality of interaction in a group and the quality of outcomes from group interaction, and 2) to determine if the quality of interaction can be influenced by intervening in the preparatory activities of a group by planning, or by intervening in the activities of group members engaged in discussion. The target content for this project is the human circulatory system. This material provides an opportunity to explore students' learning of a complex system. The project involves an examination of middle school students working in collaborative groups to come to an understanding of the circulatory system. Collaborative groups will first learn about the circulatory system of the proboscis worm. They will subsequently work together to determine how the human circulatory system is different from that of this worm. The project will examine the effects of two strategies for providing cognitive support to the collaborative group with the goal of promoting high levels of discourse. One strategy involves students planning how to go about making a complex comparison by listing ideas and organizing and grouping those ideas. A second strategy involves having students generating sets of comprehension and elaboration questions that they then use in making the comparison. Outcomes assessed will include the quality of discourse and the quality of explanations and reasoning provided by groups. The research can contribute to an understanding of how children piece together a theory about how systems work. The data to be collected here will provide insight into how students reason by analogy and by comparison. The results will also contribute to theories about how to scaffold learning in the classroom. Students may be unable to implement the more complicated "planning' strategy, suggesting that particular approaches to prompting metacognition may be too difficult. It is also conceivable that the planner may focus more quickly on key issues in the comparisons they make. The data collected here will provide a window on some aspects of the transferability of metacognitive prompting. From a practical standpoint, clear data on how to support students' reasoning and explanations will be available. This information will be helpful to teachers as they attempt to have students engage in higher levels of reasoning and thinking. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI PROF OPPOR FOR WOMEN IN RSCH DRL EHR O'Donnell, Angela Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ James S. Dietz Standard Grant 79747 1666 1592 SMET 9251 9177 1592 0116000 Human Subjects 0075011 August 15, 2000 POWRE: A Narrative: Science Stories by Native American Teachers-In-Training. The purpose of this research study is to collect and analyze the stories of Native American teachers-in-training. The teachers-in-training are participants of a United States Department of Education funded bilingual program on the Omaha Reservation School, Macy, Nebraska. This research project focuses on the stories of these Omaha Native American teachers-in-training. Their stories will describe their experiences and perceptions teaching and learning elementary science in the Reservation school. Stories will be analyzed to explain the nature of science as told in the stories of the teachers-in-training on the Omaha Reservation school. PROF OPPOR FOR WOMEN IN RSCH DRL EHR Ollerenshaw, Jo Anne University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 74453 1592 SMET 9177 1592 0116000 Human Subjects 0075065 August 15, 2000 POWRE: Providing 'Invitations to Learn' to Elementary Mathematics Teachers. 0075065 JACOBS This research project is an exploration of teachers' learning in both formal and informal professional development activities; for example, scheduled workshop sessions and teachers' conversations about mathematics teaching. All of the professional development is focused on helping teachers learn to use children's mathematical thinking as a framework for engaging in inquiry. Data sources include teachers' journal writing, formal interviews and audiotapes of both researcher-teacher interactions and teacher-teacher interactions (when the researcher is not present). The PI and the teacher participants will all be actively engaged in gathering data about teachers' learning. Data analysis will (a) increase understanding of differences in teacher learning across settings and (b) help identify issues related to the emergence of teachers as professional development providers. PROF OPPOR FOR WOMEN IN RSCH DRL EHR Jacobs, Vicki San Diego State University Foundation CA Monica M. Neagoy Standard Grant 74999 1592 SMET 9177 1592 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0075907 May 15, 2000 Including Language, Literacy and Community in Standard-Based Science Education Reform: Toward Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Curriculum. Recent curriculum design projects have attempted to engage students in responsive or authentic science learning experiences in which students engage in textual and inquiry-based research projects about questions of interest to them (Goldman, 1997; Marx, Blumenfeld, Krajcik, & Soloway, 1997). The features of science project-based curricula generally include (a) driving questions anchored in real-world problems; (b) investigations and artifact creathion; (c) collaboration among students, teachers, and othersin the community; and (d) use of technological tools (Krajcik, Blumenfeld, Marx, Bass & Fredricks, (118). Indeed, these are the features included in curriculum developed by the Centers for HighlyInteractive computing in Education (hi-ce) and Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS) in collaboration with several Detroit public schools. One of the five major facets of the LeTUS agenda is a focus on community engagement, along with curriculum and pedagogy, learning technology, professional development, and policy and management. The experiences of LeTUS researchers during the firts two years of curriculum enactment suggests that more detailed work needs to be done to address a number of curricular issues related to language and literacy, issues that have implications for and that can be addressed through community engagement. Specifically, an initial assessment of the project-based curriculum indicates that the curriculum can be made more responsive in regard to language and culture concerns in the particular communities served by these schools. In fact, successful curriculum entactment in the urban schools served by LeTUS over the next several months will depend on our addressing these language, literacy, and cultural demands of the curriculum. Although we need to move forward with some urgency in our efforts toward community knows and needs in regard to childern's science learning-in order to engage the community with the science learned in curriculum. In addition, we need to examine several components of curriculum enactment to look for meeting points of the curriculum and accompanying materials; the teachers' enactments surrounding language and literacy; and the teachers' use of the students' everyday knowledge and ways of knowing, being, reading, writing and talking. Given these discursive and textual demands, it is important to ask what linguistic - that is language,literacy, and technology skills - are engaged by such curricula and their accompanying texts, and how these skills shape students' opportunities to learn. In short, what do young people need to be able to do to get the most from project-based science? What strategies do we need to embed in projects in order to support students' learning? In what ways can curricula designed to be culturally responsive also be made linguistically responsive to the needs of students? We propose to engage in three related exploratory studies - a curriculum content analysis, a community ethnology, and a classroom interpretive study - that will allow us to advance the mission of the LeTUS by addressing these questions and laying the groundwork for future investigations of these issues. DRL EHR Moje, Elizabeth University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Kenneth C. Whang Standard Grant 98791 7256 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0079971 March 15, 2000 International Support for a Coordinated SITES/OECD Study in the United States and Elsewhere. The IEA International Coordinating Center (ICC) at SRI proposes to work with OECD staff, U.S. researchers, and researchers in other interested countries to create an implementation plan that coordinates and, to the extent appropriate, combines, the national-level implementation of the complementary IEA and OECD studies. This process will include coordinating research goals and methodologies, merging instruments, coordinating schedules, and providing technical support and quality assurance so that the studies can be done together in those countries (including the United States) that choose to do so. This is a significant, novel, and time-sensitive effort that will increase the payoff and efficiencies of both studies and lay a foundation for future organizational collaboration. DRL EHR Kozma, Robert SRI International CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 97968 7256 SMET 9237 9177 0079972 August 15, 2000 SGER: Communities of Evolving Learners. This SGER is a preliminary grant to begin testing a hypothesis concerning using the web for learning guided by the use of Multi-User Virtual Environments as a place for competitive and collaborative learning games. The hypothesis that this award is testing is that by tracking user performance, managing the set of available playmates for every student, and introducing virtual agent players at a variety of school levels, such a community of evolving learners can keep all participants appropriately challenged and motivated to learn. To test this hypothesis, appropriate games and learning outcomes will be defined and the software protocols written to do playmate matching agent choice, and collection of data or student learning. The students tested will be in fourth and fifth grade classrooms and work with games to improve learning of mathematics and elementary physics. CISE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Pollack, Jordan Brandeis University MA Lee L. Zia Standard Grant 97483 2885 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0080043 May 1, 2000 Building Capacity Among Junior Researchers in the Learning Sciences: A Request for Special Program Support for the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2000. Building Capacity Among Junior Researchers in the Learning Sciences: A Request for Special Program Support for the International Conference of the Learning Sciences: 2000 This is a SGER proposal to support graduate students to attend the International Conference on the Learning Sciences to be held in Ann Arbor June 14-17, 2000. The funds would support the development of 3 workshops on methodology, would support junior faculty attending the meeting, and would provide support for graduate students to attend at a reduced price. Also, the conference will hold a consortium for graduate student research at which students would present summaries of their research in process and receive comments from nationally recognized faculty. DRL EHR Songer, Nancy Barry Fishman University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 60400 7256 SMET 9177 0080724 June 15, 2000 Evaluative Study of the Comprehensive Partnerships for Mathematics and Science Achievement (CPMSA) Based on the Tabulated Indicators for Systemic Changes (TISC). Systemic Research, in collaboration with Research and Evaluation Associates, Inc., propose to conduct a three-year CPMSA evaluative study. The proposed evaluative study effort consists of four distinct deliverables: 1. TISC data collection: Collect upgraded annual TISC data (both quantitative and qualitative) for the next three years. 2. Annual CPMSA Fact Book with a Narrative Progress Summary: Compile and publish CPMSA Fact Books based on TISC with an additional section for a narrative progress summary. 3. CPMSA Case Stories: Publish exemplary CPMSA success stories based on two site visits each year. 4. CPMSA Evaluative Study Report: Publish an overall program evaluative study report each year focusing on causal inferential statistical models. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Kim, Jason Peggy Richmond Systemic Research, Inc. MA Bernice T. Anderson Continuing grant 819894 7365 7261 SMET 9177 0083276 July 15, 2000 SGER: Exploring the Portfolios of National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Candidates in Middle School Mathematics and Science. 0083276 BAXTER The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) rewards teachers for their content knowledge and skill through a portfolio assessment system where teachers' performances are judged against a set of professional teaching standards. The data base of candidate portfolios represents a rich, potentially useful, and untapped reservoir of information about accomplished teaching practice in middle grades mathematics and science. This project will examine portfolio entries of candidates who applied for certification in 1999 (N = 250 and 204 for mathematics and science, respectively). Both qualitative and quantitative analyses will be undertaken, with a goal toward characterizing the nature and quality of teachers' assessment and instruction practices. The PIs will discuss what the analyses suggest about teaching and learning in middle grades mathematics and science. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Baxter, Gail Edward Silver Educational Testing Service NJ Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 100000 7300 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0083336 September 1, 2000 Center for Applications of Information Technology in the Teaching and Learning of Science. 0083336 EWING Texas A&M will institute the "Center for the Applications of Information Technologies in the Teaching and Learning of Science." The Center focuses on the development of innovative strategies and unique learning experiences to enhance teacher preparation and teacher professional education through the development of education specialists with advanced degrees. The Center joins research faculty in scientific disciplines with research faculty in education to address the critical issues of teaching and learning in science in grades 7-12. Typically discrete strands of scientific research, educational research, and information technology are woven into a more seamless and aligned infrastructure with a national mission. The partnership includes universities, community colleges, research centers, museums, state education agencies, and the mathematics and science teachers in NSF-funded systemic initiatives in Texas. The Center provides research-rich professional development experiences for 700 grades 7-12 teachers and the education of approximately 60 professional development specialists with the capacity for national leadership. The research objectives focus on the impact of information technologies on (1) how science is done, (2) how science is taught and learned, (3) how the processes and products of learning science can be assessed and (4) how a network can involve 7-12 teachers and their students in a community of scholarship. The activities and outreach efforts of the Center are conducted through interdisciplinary research teams, consisting of university faculty, doctoral and master's students, and master teachers working with Texas districts involved in systemic reform. These teams work on research and development that introduce modern science methods and integrate information technologies into the teaching of science. The outcomes of the project include science education/technology specialists, increased district capacity for and delivery of teacher enhancement, and research on the effective uses of information technologies in science education. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN ROBERT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PGM DRL EHR Schielack, Jane H. Joseph Newton Jon Denton Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Michael Haney Continuing grant 10888493 7300 7298 7181 1795 SMET OTHR 9200 9178 9177 5978 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0083429 September 1, 2000 Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning. 0083429 FEY The "Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning" (CMTL) is a consortium led by members of the mathematics and education faculties of three research universities and three school-system partners -- the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, the Pennsylvania State University, the Delaware State Department of Education, the Prince George's County (MD) Public Schools, and the Pittsburgh (PA) Public Schools. The University of Maryland is the designated grantee institution. The CMTL addresses the shortage of mathematics education professionals through two major sets of activities: *Design, operate, and evaluate an innovative prototype for doctoral and postdoctoral education of specialists in mathematics teacher education, curriculum, development, policy leadership and mathematics education research. *Develop, evaluate, and disseminate models for mathematics education of pre-service teachers and professional development of in-service teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools. The specialists training draws upon the combined resources of faculty and students from the three participating universities. Courses, research experiences and field experiences are provided that go far beyond the capability of each institution separately. The program for specialists is be characterized by three major elements: * Breadth and depth of knowledge in mathematics and its applications. * Knowledge of mathematics teaching and learning. *Scholarly Skills. The education of pre-service teachers and the professional development of in-service teachers are a joint effort involving each of the universities and its school partner. Mathematics and Education faculty at the University of Delaware work with staff from the Delaware State Department of Education to improve pre-service education for elementary and middle school teachers. Mathematicians and mathematics educators at Penn State work with doctoral fellows and mathematics teacher leaders to develop college-level courses focusing on foundational ideas from secondary mathematics for prospective high school teachers. These courses are revised with the help of teachers from the Pittsburgh Public schools to be suitable for courses for in-service teachers. The University of Maryland and Prince George's County Public Schools cooperate to formulate and evaluate a model for professional development for middle school teachers that develops school-based leaders and evaluates their efforts to effect instructional change in schools. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Fey, James James Hiebert Patricia Campbell M. Kathleen Heid University of Maryland College Park MD John S. Bradley Continuing grant 9575724 7300 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0084311 April 1, 2000 A Tale of Two High Schools: An Investigation of Reform Contexts and Technology Use Among Students, Teachers, and Administrators in Two Urban High Schools. The PI seeks to build in novel and innovative ways upon the research agenda currently supported by NSF under award number REC-9815026, "Project Hiller: The Impact of Ubiquitous Portable Technology in an Urban School." The PI has a time-sensitive opportunity to expand her investigation of the use of home-school networking technology to her district's second high school. The PI proposes to compare the role of technology in two very different high school contexts, one that has made substantial strides in the reform arena (Emerson High School) and another that has a long way to go before a more student-centered pedagogy can take hold (Union High School). The project will enable the PI to conduct research which will allow her to systematically investigate the relationship between technology and systemic educational reform at the high school level. The PI will also be able to look across these contexts at the affordances of home-school access to technology in an urban environment. DRL EHR Honey, Margaret Education Development Center MA Lee L. Zia Standard Grant 98421 7256 SMET 9237 9177 0084694 June 1, 2000 Preliminary Exploration of Tomographic Microscopy. We propose the construction of a tabletop tomographic device -Optical Computer Tomograph (OCT)-to generate images of small semi-translucent objects, such as biological samples and manmade objects, and to conduct a preliminary exploration of its educational and scientific potential. The Optical Computer Tomograph will enable students to create 3D and cross-sectional representations to be displayed and manipulated on the computer screen. Students will be able to navigate the virtual image of the object (e.g. a slice of an onion or a small fish) similarly to how a radiologist navigates computer-generated images for a part of the human body obtained through MRI technology. The fact that the students will see and touch the represented object, in parallel with the manipulation of computer images, is likely to make a crucial difference for their understanding. This tool could naturally be used in relation to topics in middle and high school biology (e.g. cell structure), physics (e.g. light and matter), and mathematics. Regarding the latter, the mathematical transformations entailed in reconstructing an object from a sequence of flat projections involve a set of crucial pieces of mathematical concepts used extensively in countless technological applications. Experimenting with these processes of reconstruction can make this mathematics accessible to students-from middle school students to students of medicine and engineering. While the primary purpose of the OCT is educational as a classroom-teaching tool, we can foresee its use for scientific research, to investigate questions such as: What resolution can be achieved with an Optical Computer Tomograph? Does it matter whether the source of light is coherent (laser) or not? How do people process visual projections to envision objects in space? The only application of optical tomography that we know of is a "Computer Tomography Laser Mammography" being developed by a company in Florida. Their focus is unrelated to microscopy. Our proposed work could lead to the development of an unexplored field of research, that of visible-light tomographic microscopy. DRL EHR Nemirovsky, Ricardo Hernan Jara TERC Inc MA Lee L. Zia Standard Grant 97193 7256 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0084772 September 1, 2000 Birmingham USP. The Birmingham Public School District has established a strong infrastructure in support of its thrust to improve the science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) education for all of its K-12 students. The goals and objectives of the Birmingham Urban Systemic Program (BUSP) are to enhance the system's capacity to provide a rich and challenging curriculum in that regard. To accomplish these goals and objectives, the District intends to incorporate the activities proposed in the USP into those that are outlined in its new Strategic Plan. This design strategy will provide further assurance that the state's higher requirements for science and mathematics will come to fruition. Efforts will be purposefully focused at the classroom level as prescribed by the Alabama State Course of Study. A plan is operable in the District to acquire standards-based instructional materials for all grades. Extensive professional development will be provided for all teachers and all schools via embedded-day activities. Special sessions, task-specific workshops, and academic-year and summer institutes will be offered through the new McWane Professional Development Center. Longstanding partnerships with local colleges and universities will assist the District in delivering SMT content as prescribed in the Alabama State Course of Study. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Shiver, Wayman Abbe Boring Birmingham Public Schools AL Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 4770000 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0084836 September 1, 2000 An Exciting "ERA" for Change: Eliminating Random Arrows. The Oklahoma City Public Schools proposes a courageous project to improve math, science, and technology achievement for all students. This objective will be accomplished by implementing three driving goals, all resting on a standards-based curriculum and district wide reform agenda referencing the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence guidelines. Goal one of this initiative is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning for all students. This goal concentrates on professional development and will be accomplished through extensive teacher pre-service and in-service plan in collaboration with four partnering universities, Langston University, Oklahoma State University, University of Central Oklahoma, and University of Oklahoma. Goal two will refine and further develop the standards-based mathematics, science, and technology curriculum and improved curriculum alignment, both vertically and horizontally. This will be accomplished with ninety (90) school-based teams, each at a school site working with a cadre content coaches and professional consultants. Goal three will use continuous instructional improvement strategies in classrooms to enable students, assisted by teachers, to research and measure their own progress and identify immediately areas of accomplishment and measures for continuous improvement. Special measurement tools and techniques will assess individual student progress, strategies, and class performance. All goals will aim arrows at the same target of closing gaps in student academic achievement. The cost share for this project is $2,481,250 URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Moore, Bob alan ingram Oklahoma City Public Schools OK Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 3600581 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0084872 September 1, 2000 Memphis Urban Systemic Program. The Memphis City Schools, currently in its fifth year of the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Initiative, proposes the improvement of K-12 mathematics and science student achievement through the extension of previous accomplishments and the implementation of a rich and comprehensive full-scale standards-based program districtwide. The Memphis Urban Systemic Program's (MUSP) instructional plan focuses on the implementation of K-12 mathematics and science standards-based curricula in 100% of the schools through professional development that provides over 100 hours of learning experiences to teachers. The proposed professional development comprises subject content, pedagogical approaches, integration of learning technologies, and alignment of student assessment with both curriculum and instruction. Teacher networks and action research will be used as tools to expand teachers' abilities to reflect on their students' learning and their own instructional process. Summer camps and Saturday academies will be implemented to assist students meeting the new standards, and parental involvement activities will be conducted in schools to promote their understanding of the ongoing standards-based reform efforts. Furthermore, the MUSP expects to improve the quality of current teacher preparation programs and the science and mathematics teacher shortage by developing a strong sequence of undergraduate and pre-service education courses in close and intense collaboration with the University of Memphis, LeMoyne-Owen College, and Christian Brothers University. The MUSP proposal constitutes a potential urban district reform model, especially by illustrating appropriate alignment among standards-based curriculum implementation, professional development, and student assessment-one of the most critical components of and a necessary condition for successful educational reform. The development of a seamless teacher education program addressing teacher recruitment and certification, preservice, and in-service activities depicts a promising undertaking as well. Success of the MUSP will be determined by the degree to which students meet or exceed the performance benchmarks established over the five years of the proposed program. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Watson, Johnnie Marieta Harris Memphis City Schools TN Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 7289658 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0084891 September 1, 2000 Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Urban Systemic Program. Metro-Nashville Public schools (MNPS) proposes to design and implement a project titled: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Urban Systemic Program. The vision for MNPS is to institutionalize the teaching and learning of science and mathematics for all K-12 students through this Urban Systemic Program (USP). The overall objective of this initiative is to substantially elevate student interest, participation, and achievement in K-12 science and mathematics and to foster broader career opportunities for all students graduating from the MNPS. Ultimately, this initiative would foster greater workforce diversity, high standards, achievements, and success for all students. Fundamental, comprehensive and coordinated changes in education will be supported by changes in policies, financing, management, course content, and pedagogy to sustain the systemic reforms. This USP Award will allow the MNPS to move forward aggressively to implement sustaining successful strategies that will enhance the district's capacity to provide K-12, standards-based, science, mathematics, and technology education for all students. MNPS plan to utilize the USP resources to catalyze the districts investments and converging resources to improve science, mathematics, and technology teaching and learning for all students and to meet its' equity and excellence goals. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Garcia, Pedro Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools TN Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 1449234 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0084898 September 1, 2000 MIAMI RISE: Rising to International Standards in Science/Mathematics Education. The Miami-Dade County School District (M-DCSD) proposes to significantly advance the science, mathematics, and technology education (SMT) of all K-12 students through the Miami-Dade Urban Systemic Program (M-DUSP). The M-DUSP will accomplish this task by building on the extant infrastructure that serves as the foundation for the District's Urban Systemic Program's (USP) implementation plan. This infrastructure is characterized by an exemplary leadership team, Competency-Based Curricula Standards for science and mathematics based on the Florida State Sunshine Standards, a comprehensive accountability plan. This infrastructure is also supported by policies in support of SMT education for all, the convergence of fiscal and intellectual resources for a single K-12 program for SMT, and a shared vision among all sectors of the community in support of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics, system-wide. To accomplish the USP goals, the M-DCSD will provide all of its students with the fundamentals of mathematics and science so that their understanding, ability, and academic achievement enable them to perform at or above their peers from around the world. The M-DCSD goals are directed toward: (1) student achievement and graduation priorities; (2) equal access and equitable outcomes; (3) an enhanced curriculum, instruction, and assessment; (4) school environments that supports improved teaching; (5) enhanced support for beyond school learning; (6) increased teacher capacity through content and pedagogy; and (7) effective use of of technology in science and mathematics The infrastructure was developed over the last ten years with support from the Urban Systemic Initiative, other federally funded programs, local partners from colleges and universities, and business and industry. Future efforts will be increasingly informed by research and guided more deliberately by state, local and international comparison data sets to advance to full scale the district's capacity to provide a standards-based science, mathematics, and technology education for all students. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Crew, Rudolph Constance Thornton Dade County Public Schools FL Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 11775275 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0084964 September 1, 2000 Community of Excellence in Mathematics and Science. The Community of Excellence in Mathematics and Science (CEMS) will build on the work of the Banneker Partnership (CPMSA). It will use innovative, best practice strategies to reform the educational patterns that limit student such and achievement in mathematics and science. The core approach for teaching, learning, staff development, and community involvement is the base for this reform. Omaha's initiative is designed to complete the implementation of a standards-based curriculum and assessment model that will enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics and science. The K-12 core--curriculum will focus on student outcomes and be implemented by restructured graduate and undergraduate professional development in mathematics and science, and increase the effectiveness of partnerships among parents, community members and educators. CEMS will greatly increase the number and diversity of students who succeed in science and mathematics and graduate prepared for advanced studies. It will substantially increase professional knowledge and skill of 2759 teachers and engage them in selecting and using teaching strategies that assure all students will increase achievement. It will use proven methods of engaging parents, businesses, and the general community for improving achievement and perseverance In mathematics, science and technology. 1t will Influence long term changes in the way teachers are prepared for urban education at the University of Nebraska Omaha. It will strengthen data-based decision making and problem solving skills in schools COMP PART FOR MATH & SCI ACHIE DRL EHR Mackiel, John Carol Mitchell Virginia Ginger Hansen Omaha Public Schools NE Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 4818870 1547 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085037 September 1, 2001 Los Angeles Urban Systemic Program. The LA-USP, building upon the infrastructure and improved student outcomes emanating from previous funding under the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Initiative effort, focuses on enhancing the capacity of the system as a whole, and the instructional workforce in particular, in order to support all students in learning and mastering standards-based mathematics and science at a level sufficient for successful matriculation to university or the workforce. Building upon the accomplishments of the LA-USI, LAUSD proposes specific goals that are congruent with the USP solicitation goals and exemplify a core vision of success for all. Through the LA-USP, LAUSD intends to: (1) raise the district's capacity to bring the highest quality of mathematics and science instruction to students; (2) substantially increase all students' achievement, pass rates, access to college and careers in mathematics, science, and technology, with special attention to underrepresented minorities; (3) scale-up implementation of standards-based curricula, pedagogy, and assessment for all students through Differentiated Professional Development (DPD); (4) align mathematics and science instruction so that grade-appropriate content and processes lead progressively to higher level science and mathematics for all students; (5) increase the number of college-eligible students and the number majoring in mathematics and science by increasing enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) mathematics and science courses; (6) improve instructional workforce quality in collaboration with universities by developing appropriate pre- and in-service courses in mathematics and science; (7) work with university and district partners to connect teachers' in-service professional development to the standard-based student expectations; (8) engage parents in advocacy and action roles related to enrollment in advanced mathematics courses, as well as promote parental interactions with preservice teachers in order to encourage such interactions with families by teachers in the future; and (9) effectively use internal and external research and evaluation to assess progress for all students, and to identify interactive factors that foster present gains as foundational for increased future gains. In order to accomplish these goals, the LA-USP staff will (A) use Differentiated Professional Development (DPD), a platform for in-service, that shapes sessions to fit teacher needs; (B) increase dissemination of program information to the community; (C) accelerate collaboration with higher education to equip teacher graduates with new skills needed for LAUSD's multilingual, multicultural, multiethnic enrollment; and (D) restructure instructional services to fit the reorganization of the LAUSD's administrative structure in order to meet the system's need for DPD and accountability for student achievement. Central to the implementation of the USP is the expansion of the MST Centers and attendant Resource Teachers to serve all of the recently formulated eleven (11) local school districts that comprise the united district that is the Los Angeles Unified School District. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Romer, Roy Los Angeles Unified School District CA Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 13470000 7347 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085055 September 1, 2000 Philadelphia Urban Systemic Program. The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) proposes to advance significantly the science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) education of all K-12 students through the Philadelphia Urban Systemic Program (PHUSP). The PHUSP goals parallel those of the USP that seeks: (1) to improve student achievement in science and mathematics; (2) to advance the implementation of mathematics and science education reform in the District; (3) to increase the competency and diversity of teachers and administrators; and (4) to promote collaborations with colleges and universities. The SDP proposes to accomplish this task by building on the existing infrastructure developed by reform efforts that began in 1995 concomitantly with the awarding of the Urban Systemic Initiative. The foundational tenets include a strong preK-12 leadership team, a standards-based curriculum for science and mathematics based on the SDP Curriculum Frameworks, Content Standards, and Benchmarks. The core structure is also characterized by a state-driven school accountability plan, and policy changes that increase graduation requirements for science and mathematics, recertification mandates for teachers and principals, and the teaching of SMT at grades preK-12. The infrastructure also features converged fiscal and intellectual resources, and significant external support for the implemented curriculum from multiple institutions of higher education, business partners, and the community. State, district, and classroom data are being used extensively to inform and drive change supported by research and evaluative studies and surveys from local and national experts. An array of instructional materials supports the implemented curricula that have embedded technology, integration of disciplines, community links, problem-based instruction, and writing across the disciplines. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Thornton, Gregory School District of Philadelphia PA Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 8144803 7347 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085062 September 1, 2000 New York City Urban Systemic Program (USP) in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. ABSTRACT New York City Board of Education By-Borough Prototype Implementation Model Building Standards Based Educational Environments as Models of Systemic Reform in Mathematics and Science ESR-00-85062 The overarching goal of this effort is to provide the professional development and support to district and school teams that will build their capacity to develop Standards Based Educational Environments and become models for systemic reform in Mathematics and Science. This one-year grant award provides limited resources to the New York City Board of Education (NYCBoE), in collaboration with the City University of New York (CUNY), for a scalable reform model in one of New York City's five boroughs. The NYCBoE Borough of Queens is a set of districts that are representative of the entire set of forty districts and serves approximately one-fourth of the entire student population. Each district within the Borough of Queens will have six (6) elementary, four (4) middle and two (2) high schools engaged in the prototype model. This will result in 84 schools that will serve as models and mentors for other schools in future years. The prototype borough model will include: Borough-wide professional development activities, individual district specific activities, and school specific activities. Schools will have teams trained to provide professional development on mathematics and science standards, implementation of standards-based curricula and standards based assessment; Meaningful Action Research on Teacher Practice developed to track the progress of instructional reform; Formation of study groups and learning communities as one professional development strategy; The use of New Standards Performance Standards Applied Learning in Mathematics, Science and Technology curricula; Engagement of colleges and universities to supply support in improving the "content" knowledge of teachers and in increasing the number of "certified teachers;" Collaboration with colleges and universities towards changing the Mathematics and Science Teacher Education Curricula to include the use of the New York City Customized versions of the New Standards Performance Standards in Mathematics and Science; Preference for teachers of model schools for participation in professional development with outside science-rich institutions; and Development of standards based field trip activities in cooperation with science-rich institutions. Through a one-year grant, NYCBoE will engage in forging the necessary elements and demonstrating the efficacy of the "by-borough" model while building the capacity of the borough to move to full scale within the borough. Further, the learnings from this prototype will be refined to assist the other four boroughs in moving towards full implementation of reform efforts leading to improved student achievement in mathematics and science for all students. The NYCBoE will also continue citywide endeavors, which are not funded through this grant, for district teams from all the boroughs, in the sustained effort to support standards-based mathematics learning across the entire system. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Levy, Harold Matthew Goldstein Russell Hotzler Judith Rizzo New York City Board of Education NY Kathleen B. Bergin Standard Grant 1500000 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085086 September 1, 2000 MinnMASTER. The Minneapolis Public Schools' Urban Systemic Program mission is to accelerate learning and expand opportunities so that all MPS children can achieve high standards in mathematics, science, and technology. The Minneapolis/Minnesota Mathematics and Science-Technology Education Reform (MinnMASTER) will expand district-wide, standards-based, integrated instruction to all students in grades K-12 in mathematics, science, and technology resulting in improved student achievement in K-12 mathematics and science by all students. MPS defines high standards in terms of students meeting the requirements of the NCTM Mathematics Standards 2000, National Research Council Science Standards, Minnesota Profile of Learning, and the Minneapolis Public Schools' content grade level expectations. The MPS-USP proposes to focus on the following: 1) Staff development for teachers in: - Mathematics and science content; - Meaningful integration of mathematics, science, and technology concepts and instruction; - Pedagogy regarding mathematics, science, and technology instruction; - Understanding how children think and learn mathematics and science; - Assessment and examining student work; and - Equity issues impacting learning in mathematics, science, and technology (including an emphasis on techniques for content teachers working with English Language Learners [ELL] to increase student's academic language base and deepen their cognitive thinking skills); 2) Staff development for administrators (referring to the above) 3) Alignment of assessments (both classroom and district-wide) to standards-based, best practices in mathematics, science, and technology; and 4) Community outreach regarding standards-based instruction in mathematics, science and technology. MPS will utilize Teachers On Special Assignment (TOSA) as well as school-based lead teachers as a first-line mechanism for sustaining classroom teachers in their support of all students engaging and succeeding in a standards-based learning environment that will lead to improved student achievement on a number of student progress indices. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM ROBERT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PGM DRL EHR Peebles, Thandiwe Anne Bartel Lynn Garrett James Bickel Cheryl Creecy Minneapolis Public Schools MN Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 4488359 7347 1795 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085094 September 1, 2000 Phoenix Urban Systemic Program. The Phoenix area is comprised of one 9-12 high school district with 23,000 students, and 13 K-8 elementary districts with over 100,000 students. The Phoenix Union High School District proposes the implementation of the Phoenix Pilot 2000 project, an outgrowth of the Phoenix Urban Systemic Program proposal (NSF-0085094), to enhance the existing K-12 science and mathematics learning infrastructure by effectively integrating the 14 school districts into a structure with the greatest potential to improve student achievement. The goals of the proposed 12-month effort are: 1. To increase enrollment and student success in college preparatory mathematics and science. 2. To provide K-12 standards-based staff development opportunities for mathematics and science teachers in collaboration with the Arizona State University. 3. To implement K-12 standards-based mathematics and science curricula. 4. To increase parent involvement and awareness of the importance of student success in mathematics, science, and technology. 5. To evaluate program implementation and student achievement in mathematics and science. In order to accomplish these goals, the 14 school districts will be organized into five clusters for effectiveness and efficiency. Each cluster will consist of a high school and its nearest elementary schools. Although the cluster formation will provide all school districts with opportunities to address each of the project goals, Phoenix Pilot 2000 will focus on the following three clusters: 1. Alhambra High School with the Alhambra Elementary District 2. Camelback High School with Balsz, Creighton, and Madison Elementary Districts 3. Carl Hayden High School with Isaac, Murphy, and Riverside Elementary Districts High school and elementary science and mathematics teachers will participate in seminars and discussions with emphasis on the implementation of high-quality, standards-based instructional programs and the delivery of effective curricula. A total of four lead teachers (two mathematics and two science lead teachers), in conjunction with the Arizona State University, will provide support to classroom teachers, ensure the K-8 to 9-12 transition of mathematics and science curricula, and conduct staff development activities that focus on standards-based curricula, instruction, and student performance assessment. Additional major components of the Phoenix project include a three-week algebra summer program eight grade students; and parent involvement through quarterly meetings, newsletters, and workshops. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Chopra, Raj Phoenix Union High School District AZ Joseph Reed Standard Grant 850000 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085098 September 1, 2000 Fresno Systemic Program. Fresno Urban Systemic Program Proposal Abstract The Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) proposes to significantly advance the science, mathematics, and technology education (SMT) of all K-12 students through the Fresno Urban Systemic Program (FUSP). To accomplish the USP goals, the FUSD will provide all of its students with the fundamentals of mathematics and science so that their understanding, ability, and academic achievement will enable them to perform at or above their peers from around the world. The FUSD goals are: (1) to improve science and mathematics achievement; (2) to increase the competency of SMT teachers and administrators; and (3) to strengthen the District's capacity to sustain SMT reform. The proposed plan is based on prior accomplishments primarily achieved via the Urban Systemic Initiatives Program and the Local Systemic Change Project funded by the National Science Foundation. The District intends to move aggressively to scale up activities to ensure that the SMT standards were transformed into classroom practice as prescribed by the state. A differentiated approach to professional development will be implemented via embedded day, after school, and summer activities. The District will work with two of its eight feeder patterns during Year 1 to test pilot the proposed design model. The District has taken on the challenge and commitment to use resources from multiple entities to upgrade facilities and provide state-of-the art improvements in support of a more rigorous course of study for SMT. Existing partnerships with local institutions of higher education, educational consultants, cultural organizations, community groups, and parents will serve to maximize the USP efforts. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Hanson, Michael Terry Simerly Fresno Unified School District CA Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 5274733 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085107 September 1, 2000 STEP.com. The Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) proposes to plan and implement a project titled: STEP.Com. This project is designed to significantly advance science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) education of all K-12 students. The NNPS would accomplish this task by building on the extant infrastructure developed by a systemic reform process initiated in 1992 and catalyzed by the CPMSA program, implemented 1993. System components identified for more extensive deployment are as follows: (1) Intensify the institutionalization of the K-12 science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) standards-based curriculum. (2) Elevate principals' leadership capacity to promote and sustain reform. (3) Expand school-business partnership programs that would increase the number of skilled-entrants into the technology-based workforce. (4) Accelerate the integration of parents and community as partners in the whole school reform process. Critically new system components include in this project design: (1) Collaboration with universities to revise teacher education program. (2) Expansion of student-teacher research activities supported by post-doctoral personnel from the universities. (3) Infusion of technology to improve teachers' delivery of SMT standards-based curriculum for all students. (4) Application of key indicator data systems that correlate teacher performance and student achievement. This NNUSP project will lead to a unified, full-scale implementation of a SMT program for all students. It has the potential to dramatically impact the future of the Newport News Community. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Newsome, Marcus Braska Williams Martha Askew Harvey Perkins Newport News Public Schools VA Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 3136762 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085113 September 1, 2000 Math and Science Synergy. The Hamilton County Department of Education's (HCDE), Mathematics and Science Synergy (MaSS) supports the continuation and expansion of HCDE's efforts initiated through the infrastructure and success of the Chattanooga Comprehensive Partnerships for Mathematics and Science Achievement (CPMSA). Through MaSS, HCDE will provide "the exemplary mathematics and science education that each child needs and deserves to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century." MaSS has at its core the development of a cadre of building-level lead teachers of mathematics and science, building-based on-site activities facilitated by district "consulting teachers," and professional development of all educational stakeholders, including guidance counselors, administrators, and community members. In order to attain the challenging targets for improved student achievement that HCDE has set forth, MaSS delineates six (6) "Essential Components:" * Intensify the implementation of a district-wide standards-based SMET curriculum, instruction, assessment, and supporting professional development; * Strengthen the alignment between district policies and MaSS goals; * Institutionalize a culture of continuous improvement by increasing school and district organizational capacity; * Broaden parent and community involvement; * Increase the competency and diversity of the mathematics and science workforce; and * Employ research as an effective tool in improving the teaching and learning of mathematics and science program. MaSS will support 42,220 students in eighty (80) schools to succeed in a rigorous high-quality standards-based mathematics and science. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Register, Jesse Sheila Young Hamilton County Department of Education TN Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 4999986 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085115 September 1, 2000 Chicago Urban Systemic Program. The Chicago Public Schools, formerly an Urban Systemic Initiative site funded by the National Science Foundation for five years (1994-1999), proposes to increase significantly K-12 student achievement in mathematics and science by noticeably improving the level of performance of the current science and mathematics teachers through a Citywide Professional Development University Partnership. By means of the proposed partnerships, the Chicago Urban Systemic Program plans: (1) to increase the competency and diversity of the science and mathematics instructional workforce; (2) to advance the implementation of K-12 standards-based mathematics and science curricula; (3) to increase student achievement as measured by standardized assessments; and (4) to promote and sustain collaborations with colleges, universities, and museums. The proposed model encompasses four major initiatives to upgrade the standards of mathematics and science teaching via new university courses and the creation of a community of teacher professionals: (1) the K-4 Specialization in Mathematics and Science; (2) the Grades 5-8 Mathematics and Science Endorsement Program; (3) the Grades 9-12 High School Science and Mathematics Certification Courses; and (4) the Professional Development Networks. The Northwestern University's Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS) will engage as a major partner to create innovative professional development course models that will typify the linkage of content to pedagogy and field-based experiences to practice. By strengthening professional development as an essential component of systemic reform, and aligning it with other elements of the system, such as standards-based curricula, instruction, student assessment, and policies, the District will be able to sustain its systemic effort aimed at improved student achievement. Furthermore, it is anticipated that all of Chicago's major collaborating universities continue to use the USP model and reform their teacher education programs. The Chicago Education Alliance will coordinate the participation of ten universities that comprise this partnership. The CUSP will gather formative feedback on the connection between professional development and student achievement by using the research capacity of LeTUS. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Duncan, Arne Richard Daley Barbara Eason-Watkins Chicago Public Schools IL Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 10474102 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0085139 September 1, 2000 PRIME+: The Pittsburgh Urban Systemic Project. The Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) have made a strong commitment to, and significant progress in, establishing standards-based education. The greatest progress to date is in mathematics, partially due to the PRIME professional development project. Standards-based mathematics instruction has been fully implemented in 15% of the elementary and 36% of the middle schools, and at least partially implemented in almost all of them. The achievement gains in the high-implementation schools have shown impressive results. This model will lead to the implementation of standards-based mathematics education district-wide. In addition, the model is being used in implementing standards-based reform in science. USP support will provide resources needed to (a) bring mathematics reform to scale in all PPS elementary and middle schools as well as up to the high schools; (b) fully engage in implementing science reform, using the model employed in mathematics; and (c) leverage additional resources to enable the extension of the PPS' current success far more quickly. The ultimate goal of the USP is to establish standard-based mathematics and science education systemically, so that all PPS classrooms and schools effectively support all students in meeting high standards. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Briars, Diane Richard Mathews School District of Pittsburgh PA Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 5000000 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0086113 September 1, 2000 Fort Belknap College Rural Systemic Initiative. The Fort Belknap College Initiative (FBCRSI) will expand the efforts that were begun during the past five years of work with the Tribal College RSI. First, Standards-Based Curriculum and Assessment Training will be offered at least twice per year to orient new-hires and to provide ongoing training in current developments in standards based curriculum and assessment for all teachers. For the last two years the target schools have synchronized their academic calendars to facilitate these professional development sessions and currently the schools are working on synchronizing the next academic year's calendar as well. Now that the Standards-Based Curricula is in place, the focus has shifted to appropriate evaluation. Training in alternative assessment will be conducted three times per year, with the goal of all math and science teachers in the target schools attending at least one of the sessions each year. FBCRSI will coordinate the development of a Summer Institute for Math and Science teachers. Second, since the bulk of accomplishments over the first five years has been at the elementary level, it is now time to focus on the secondary level and on the pre-service teacher program at Fort Belknap College. This slight shift in focus will insure that the FBCRSI is providing services to the entire target population on the Fort Belknap Reservation at grades K-14. This will not only increase student achievement in math and science at the secondary level, but will also increase the number of Native Americans who choose math or science teaching as a career. Third, the FBCRSI will expand its efforts in student achievement by coordinating and facilitating enrichment activities that include: Standards-Based After School Programs, Saturday Academies, and Summer School Programs. These programs will be customized for each target school student population to assist the students with remediation and/or enrichment activities to help all students achieve at high levels. Fourth, the now-established FBCRSI program will continue with its successful RSI Steering Committee, which represents all targeted school populations in math and science. Program personnel will expand efforts to provide leadership for the various programs and departments within the reservation that will lead to more cooperation and less duplication of efforts. FBCRSI will work collaboratively with all other RSI programs in Montana and statewide educational agencies/programs to coordinate shared activities, leverage resources, and share effective practices that have optimal impact on student achievement. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Taylor, William Fort Belknap College MT Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1384444 7366 1748 1538 SMET 9177 0086159 September 1, 2000 Salish Kootenai College-Rural Systemic Initiative. The Salish Kootenai College Rural Systemic Initiative (SKC RSI-Phase II) will result in a transformation of the educational experience for both teachers and students. Professional development for teachers, adoption of effective assessment strategies, and promotion of community involvement in the educational process will enhance the quality and quantity of the learning experience for students in science, mathematics, and technology within and beyond the school walls. The classroom teacher is the key to the effectiveness of the delivery of curricular changes to the individual student. In the SKC RSI project, the primary goal is to have every teacher achieve the status of "master teacher" and to have every student achieve the status of "master learner." It is important to understand that the journey of the educational experience Is a balanced effort between teachers and students. The overall goal of this proposal is to implement a comprehensive, sustainable, adaptable system-wide reform of science, mathematics and technology instruction and learning on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. This will lead to increased achievement for all students and specifically emphasizes greater achievements for two groups of under-served populations in this rural setting: Native American students and girls. SKC is the resource identifier for science, mathematics, and technology areas and has already developed coursework in biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences. SKC will, in effect, become a "mini clearinghouse" for science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) areas using American Indian-specific teaching and learning materials in professional development in SMT areas for teachers and students. SKC is currently preparing assessment strategies and activities that will be shared with other TCRSI projects. Other major goals are the improvement of science, mathematics, and technology education on the Flathead Indian Reservation including access to high quality, standards-based instruction for all students, innovative use of educational technologies for interactive delivery and the training of the teaching workforce to meet the demands of a new instructional paradigm. Rigorous, standards-based instruction for all students will be implemented on the Flathead Indian Reservation and the curriculum, professional development, and assessment systems to support that instruction. The development of the policy changes and resource allocations to support these efforts are the long-term goal of the SKC RSI Program. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR McClure, Roger Salish Kootenai College MT Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1356000 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0086165 October 1, 2000 Wind River Rural Systemic Initiative. The Wind River Rural Systemic Initiative (WRRSI) has been promoting quality RSI programs for the Wind River Indian Reservation students for the past five years. Phase II funding will allow WRRSI to expand its focal area and serve approximately 2,150 students, of which 95% are Native American. The need for science and math systemic reform on the Wind River Indian Reservation is documented by test scores showing Native students still score below the state average. WRRSI's Phase I data shows that their programs have made a difference, however, as Wyoming has now adopted statewide standards and has begun to require statewide standardized tests, WRRSI must continue to work to improve these traditionally under served students' scores. Phase II programming will include: On-going professional development opportunities for teachers on the Wind River Indian Reservation; Summer school and after school activities for K-8 students; Summer institute for 9-12 grade students; An integration of culture into the curriculum; and Career awareness and job shadowing programs. Data collection over the next five years will be extensive. WRRSI will develop databases for both students and teachers. Teacher databases will document professional development opportunities and courses taken. The student database will document student achievement and participation in program offerings; track students after they leave high school; and allow WRRSI to determine program effectiveness by comparing students participating in programs to those not participating. WRRSI's underlying goal is to provide Native American students with a solid base in science and mathematics to provide opportunities and choices to compete at the college level. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Berlin, Karl Fremont County School District #21 WY Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1384444 7366 1748 1538 SMET 9177 0086170 September 1, 2000 LBHC RSI SMT Education. Little Big Horn College (LBHC) proposes to build upon Phase I activities to develop and maintain a comprehensive and sustainable reform effort in mathematics, science and technology education for schools on or adjacent to the Crow Tribe Reseravtion in southeastern Montana. LBHC will utilize the lessons learned from Phase I activites and continue to promote the NSF drivers while implementing strategies to assist in their effort to provide a program that will catapult the schools serving their students to meet the National standards. Special emphasis will be placed on a holistic approach to community reform using RSI activities to promote a comprehensive approach for systemic reform. First, it is recognized that the vision held by stakeholders must be changed to accomplish systemic reform. Through the stages of implementation, the various groups must be increased to shape the purpose and goals of the new system. LBHC will invite all stakeholders to participate in this process. As the vision develops and is translated into practice, the support of the public and of the political leadership at all levels of the system must expand. Several isssues will be addressed during Phase II to ensure that the stakeholders are in careful collaboration. The following will guide this effort: A common language and purpose will be develop and will resonate for the RSI to all stakeholders. Training and orientation will help all sites to envision the total picture and each will be better positioned to take action and support the reform effort. A strategy will be implemented to move reform forward with a clear plan and related objectives. An evaluation process will be implemented to measure the progress and guide the project. For systemic change to occur, key participants will be included in all activities throughout the reform process. The proposed systemic reform effort will impact the required fundamental, comprehensive and coordinated changes for MST systemic change. The changes will reflect policy, financing, governance, management, content and conduct. All essential features of the school systems and LBHC will be engaged and operating as a seamless entity in promoting a comprehensive, standards-based curriculum and instructional materials for all students. Special emphasis will be placed on assessment of effort and on assessment practices. Activities will be aligned with the NSF drivers. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Yarlott, David Beverly Snell Little Big Horn College MT Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1384440 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0086171 September 1, 2000 Turtle Mountain Rural Systemic Initiative. The Turtle Mountain Rural Systemic Initiative proposal for Phase II proposes that the Turtle Mountain Community College coordinate continues systemic reform of the K-12 schools in the reservation area. These schools include: Dunseith Day School, Dunseith Public Elementary School, Dunseith High School, Ojibwa Elementary School, Turtle Mountain Elementary School, Turtle Mountain Middle School and Turtle Mountain High School. Objectives 1. Sustain professional development of staffs of Turtle Mountain schools as a year-round endeavor. 2. Institutionalize the process for continually reviewing, revising and implementing standards-based curriculum in all classrooms in each school engaging the teachers in alternative assessments. 3. Establishing teacher learning communities headed by lead teacher to continue to improve instruction in SMET areas. 4. Put in place policy mandates supporting high quality SMET at all levels of each system. 5. Sustain a resource network for continuing organizational improvement in SMET areas. 6. Disseminate success via a conference involving stakeholders in SMET to demonstrate gains in student achievement for traditionally underserved populations. Methods The TMRSI will institutionalize the ongoing annual Teacher Enhancement Institute pre-school year training session providing graduate credits for area teachers. TMCC's newly constructed main campus will become its permanent site. To support continued staff renewal, a teacher learning community program will be implemented in which lead teachers will identified and trained to conduct staff improvement clinics for their fellow teachers in SMET areas. TMRSI will assist area schools in obtaining consultants to help systematically acquaint them with varied alternative assessment methods and to conduct one pilot project in alternative assessment in area schools. TMRSI will work with policy makers to shape mandates including reserved inservice days for improved SMET education. Rational budget forecasting, leveraging funds from external resource providers, and implementing and annual SMET conference will also sustain the momentum of system reform from Phase I. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Davis, Carol Turtle Mountain Community College ND Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1415480 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0086177 September 1, 2000 United Tribes- Rural Systemic Initiative. The proposed work would build upon the pilot activities undertaken through the TCRSI, which centered around schools in two. The focus of the proposed work is curricular alignment with technology integration. UTTC is a leader in distance instruction and instructional technology for the tribal colleges in the state. The conduct of the project will be under the guidance of an Advisory Council, composed of parents, teachers, administrators, students and corporate partners. The works will be accomplished through avenues such as improved pedagogy, improved content, standards-based materials, integration of technology into instruction, professional development workshops and training, and the use of technology resource teachers. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Gipp, David Lisa Feldner Jennifer Janecek United Tribes Technical College ND Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1380036 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0086180 February 1, 2001 Sitting Bull College Rural Systemic Initiative. The project would build upon the on-going activities undertaken through the TCRSI, which centered around schools on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation that straddles North and South Dakota. The work will be accomplished through avenues such as professional development workshops and guidance, collaboration with the school systems involved in the project, and active participation and leadership by Sitting Bull College to facilitate change, direct delivery of services, and restructuring its own math and science programs. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Vermillion, Laurel Guy McDonald Sitting Bull College ND Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1250000 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0086181 September 1, 2000 Sisseton Wahpeton Rural Systemic Initiative. The Sisseton Wahpeton Rural Systemic Initiative, based at the Sisseton Wahpeton Community College, is in many aspects a continuation of the Tribal Colleges Rural Systemic Initiative. However, since it is a locally based project, instead of a six-state effort, we will be able to concentrate on the educational needs of the Lake Traverse Reservation population to a far greater extent. The ultimate goal of the SWRSI project is improve the education, particularly in the areas of math and science, of our children through systemic reform. This is a process that requires the support and dedication of all the stakeholders in the community. This reform began three years ago with the introduction of the TCRSI program, with the development and adoption of standards and increased professional development in research-based curricula. The formation of a coalition of the local school districts and the establishment of "focal schools" also occurred. Activities during the TCRSI project are referred to as Phase I. Phase II will be a more intensive program of systemic reform, with our major objectives being the increased implementation of research-based curricula and the development of culturally relevant alternative assessments. These assessments will be tied to benchmarks established by local and state standards, and correlated to traditional standardized tests. By this method our schools will be able to develop better teaching methods based on our students learning styles. The implementation of research-based curricula is a potential hazard if not supported by up-to-date and intensive professional development for teachers. When these programs are introduced without understanding their underlying philosophies, the curriculum becomes part of the problem. Our second objective is to create a system of professional development that is curriculum specific, intensive, ongoing, and relevant to teacher needs. At the same it must be able to overcome the problems of a rural setting, limited budgets, and high teacher turnover rates. Our strategy to overcome these issues is to use distant learning technologies, web-based support, and the development of local experts at SWCC and lead-teachers in the focal schools. Information given at "traditional" workshops and via video conferencing sessions will be placed on curricula support web pages available 24 hours a day to our participants. Questions related to the use of the curricula could be posted with answers being provided by expert consultants or other classroom teachers. To combat the high teacher turnover rate Internet courses for training purposes will be developed and maintain by SWRSI and collaborating institutions. These efforts will directly address the issue of sustainability. The third objective of the SWRSI project is to increase the level of cooperation between the individual focal schools and the tribal college. An Administrators Committee and a Steering Committee (composed of focal schoolteachers, SWCC staff, and community members) has been formed as one component of this effort. The professional development activities of SWRSI will attribute to this effort, as each school will help plan and participate in these joint-training sessions. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Morgan, Scott Sisseton Wahpeton Community College SD Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1330000 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0086188 September 1, 2000 Appalachia Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI). The Appalachian RSI (ARSI) has submitted a plan for another five years of support that is built upon the successes and experiences, as well as the programmatic infrastructure, of the first award. The second phase is geared toward ensuring sustainability, although significant work in that area has already taken place, and on broadening the scope of the Teacher Partners' work to have a greater districtwide impact. In addition to continuing to work toward the goals of Phase I (i.e., develop knowledge and skills in the teaching workforce; develop a sustainable system to support teachers and students; and develop the leadership and ancillary support to sustain the project), ARSI will promote the following specific Phase II goals: Document the effectiveness of the program Develop a research base for math and science reform in rural communities Establish rural math and science education sites at Appalachia-serving universities ARSI will promote these goals through a variety of activities and restructurings, such as: Resource collaborative directors (RCDs) will assist participating districts with systemic reform strategies, as they have done during Phase I. However, the emphasis will be more on district-wide rather than individual school development. RCDs will also work with their sponsoring institutions to get the services that ARSI has provided institutionalized in the universities. The ultimate objective for this activity is to evolve universities that are service-oriented to the Appalachian districts in their regions. RCDs will continue and expand their efforts to engage State Departments of Education to support and promote the ARSI model, in non-participating as well as ineligible districts. RCDs will continue to develop and nurture the Teacher Partners as instructional leaders in the region. This is crucial as TPs expand their roles to a district scope. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG ROBERT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PGM SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Royster, Wimberly Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation KY Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 6707398 7366 1795 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0086194 September 1, 2000 Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, Phase II. The underlying purpose of the AK RSI has been to implement a set of initiatives to document the indigenous knowledge systems of Alaska Native people and develop pedagogical practices and curricula that appropriately incorporate indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing into the formal education system. The systemic reform focus of the AKRSI reform strategy is the fostering of connectivity and complementarity between two interdependent but historically disconnected, alienated complex systems - the indigenous knowledge systems rooted in the Native cultures that inhabit rural Alaska, and the formal education systems imported to serve the educational needs of rural Native communities. Within each of these evolving systems is a rich body of complementary scientific and mathematical knowledge that can serve to strengthen the educational experiences and improve the academic performance of students throughout rural Alaska. The following initiatives constitute AKRSI educational reform strategy: Culturally Aligned Curriculum/Cultural Standards Village Science Applications and Careers/ANSES Chapters, Camps and Fairs Indigenous Science Knowledge Base/Multimedia Cultural Atlas Development Native Ways of Knowing/Parent Involvement Elders and Cultural Camps/Academy of Elders The initiatives above will be implemented on a region-by-region basis, building on Phase I to integrate the reform process into the everyday workings of the schools and districts to a sustainable level by the end of Phase Il. Also an array of statewide intiative will be implemented to support the activities at the local and regional levels. Following is a summary of the statewide initiatives relative to the implementation of the Regional initiatives during Phase II. Math/Science Performance Standards and Assessments Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools Cultural Frameworks for Curriculum Native Educator Associations Alaska Native Knowledge Network Consortium for Alaska Native Higher Education The experience and academic achievement successes gained during Phase I, are the basic strategy for Phase II, but will be continued with greater intensity and delineation. of emphases. The locus of activity will be in the same 20 rural school districts as partners in those schools with the primary differences during Phase II being the concentration of effort and increased emphases on sustainability of the initiatives. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG TRIBAL COLLEGE & UNIVERS PROGR SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Barnhardt, Raymond Oscar Kawagley Frank Hill Alaska Federation of Natives AK Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 7199438 7366 1744 1538 SMET 9178 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0086580 September 1, 2000 Conceptualization of the Mathematics Strands Found in Translations of Korean Mathematics Texts -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research. 0086580 GROW-MAIENZA The project supports the completion of translations of Korean mathematics texts and accompanying teacher's manuals for Grades 1-6. The Korean instruction on number and computation is being analyzed to reveal how key concepts are developed. A similar analysis is being conducted for both traditional and reform materials in use in the U.S., and a comparison of the instructional strategies across all texts will be made. An interpretive report is being prepared so that a variety of audiences (e.g., teachers, curriculum developers, teacher educators) can make quality judgements about the different instructional approaches. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Grow-Maienza, Janice Truman State University MO Mary Ann Huntley Standard Grant 97963 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0086677 June 1, 2000 SGER: Educational Filming Opportunity of Multidisciplinary, Binational Scientific Expedition to Isla Guadalupe, Baja California. 0086677 HAGER This Small Grant for Exploratory Research will enable the applicant to film an expedition of Mexican and American scientists who will go to Isla Guadalupe, 160 miles off the coast of Baja California. From June 3 through June 11, 2000 the expedition will investigate the status of land and sea bird species, study the insect and arthropod populations, survey the plants, search for secretive reptiles and amphibians, monitor the effects of overgrazing, and prescribe needed conservation measures for the island. In conjunction with this expedition, there will be the first ever visit by humans to an offshore islet that remains undisturbed. The period in June when the expedition will be there is when the Storm-Petrel, a species some think to be extinct, would most predictably occupy this breeding ground. The expedition, itself, is partially supported by a Small Grant for Exploratory Research from the Biology Directorate at NSF. The request to the Informal Science Education Program is for support to a small film crew to document the expedition. The footage obtained would be jointly owned by The San Diego Natural History Museum and North Lights Production, the film production partner. Subsequent to the expedition, potential uses of the film include full production of a one-hour documentary for national broadcast (interest has already been expressed by National Geographic), as well as production of a video for use in formal education and by museums. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hager, Michael San Diego Society of Natural History CA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 55511 7259 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087389 January 1, 2001 Investigating Viruses With Touch: Nanotechnology and Science Inquiry. This project is investigating the impact that experimentation with nanotechnology has on middle, secondary, and university students' learning of science and perceptions about science. The enabling tool of this project is the nanoManipulator (nM), a device to receive visual and haptic feedback from investigations of nanometer-sized objects. In a series of studies involving scientists and students engaged in collaborative guided inquiry experiences, the research team is researching the role of multiple representations (visual or haptic) on the learning of scientific concepts of students with varying cognitive, affective, motivational, and sociological characteristics. The study is also examining the cognitive and affective outcomes on students' perceptions of the nature of science and scientists. In addition, members of the project team are exploring the development of a low-cost alternative to the current nM research tool. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Jones, Melissa Richard Superfine Russell Taylor University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC WALTER C. ERMLER Continuing grant 767273 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087396 October 1, 2000 ROLE: Tracking the Course of Mathematical Problem Solving. The goal of this project is to improve our ability to track how students solve mathematical problems. This research will use eye tracking to make real-time inferences about what the student is thinking and fMRI imaging to make inferences about different styles of problem solving. This research is done in the context of both the ACT-R theory of human cognition, which allows us to produce computational models of cognition, and a series of cognitive tutors for mathematics education, which are based on the ACT-R theory. The ACT-R theory is a theory of how the cognitive system adaptively uses procedural and declarative knowledge to achieve its goals. The research will focus on the algebra tutor that is currently in use in high schools and is being adapted for use in middle schools. The research will be concerned with the effect of different mathematical representations on problem solving and with different strategies for mathematical problem solving. There will be three lines of research. One, involving eye movements, will document the instructional opportunities associated with eye movements in the context of the cognitive tutors. It will particularly focus on the eye movements associated with competent use of graphical, tabular, and symbolic representations of functions. The second line of research, involving fMRI brain imaging, will study brain activation markers of the course of mathematical problem solving. It will particularly focus on distinguishing between students who use an informal, verbal form of reasoning with students who use a symbolic, visual form of reasoning. This line will also look at how we can merge information from imaging and eye scanning to make both methodologies more effective. The third line of research will study how one can use the information from fMRI scanning and eye tracking to produce more effective instruction. The three lines of research will converge on a culminating study that attempts to improve the effectiveness of the middle school tutor. It will first use fMRI imaging to identify the learning strategies of individual students and then collect real-time eye movement to guide instruction as students are learning. This will demonstrate how we can use some of the new emerging sensing technology to improve mathematics education. NEURAL SYSTEMS CLUSTER RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI CHILD LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT DRL EHR Anderson, John Ken Koedinger Cameron Carter Carnegie-Mellon University PA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1719612 5500 1666 1358 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087447 November 15, 2000 Conferences on Research on Technology in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics. 0087447 HEID This project is organizing and conducting two, 2-day conferences on research on technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The first conference is an in-depth examination of a series of papers which summarize research on the impact of technology in mathematics education. The second conference is a conversation among researchers and authors of reform curriculum to discuss the implications of this research for development of more effective materials. The papers are being disseminated through publication of two books as well as through presentations at professional conferences. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Heid, M. Kathleen Glendon Blume Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Paola Sztajn Standard Grant 231766 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087511 January 1, 2001 Examining the Impact of a Standards-Based Program on Student Performance. The purpose of this proposal is to request funds to examine in depth data collected during the past three school years (1997 - 2000) for the "Longitudinal/Cross-Sectional Study of the Impact of 'Mathematics in Context' on Student Performance," funded by the National Science Foundation. This study is an example of a research study on student learning of mathematics in complex educational contexts. The research model for the study is a structural model for monitoring changes in school mathematics designed to capture the impact that the dynamic, complex interaction of social context for learning, curricular content and materials, classroom experiments, and pupil motiviation have on student performance and further pursuit of mathematics. The mo9del is composed of 14 variables and their theoretical interrelationships. The study also featured a nonequivalent control-group, quasi-experimental design. about 80% of the students and teachers used "Mathematics in Context"; the remaining 20% of the students used conventional curricla already available in the schools. The longitudinal parat of the study involves tracking the performance of the three cohorts of students over the three years of study, and the cross-sectional part includes three cross-grade comparisons by year and three cross-year comparisons by grade. Information from teachers, administrators, and students in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 in four school districts has been collected and is now being entered into a database. The analyses will be directed toward both the longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisions an dtoward a set of questions about the implementation of standards-based programs, such as: "Do students continue to develop number skills in sucha a program?" or "Are such programs effectivie with students with differing backgrounds?" or "Do teachers change their pedagogy when presenting content in non-traditional ways?" To make the comparisons and to answer such questions the analyses will include exploratory descriptions of information related to each variable in the model, linear regression for a simplified model, structural equations to estimate path coefficients in the complete model, and a series of sub-studies examine in depth some patterns of relationships in the data. Finally, based on these analyses a series of reports are palnned. Currently a set of technical reports are being written on the creation of the data consturction instruments, the indicies for each variable, and the raw data that has been collected. Funds in this proposal would make it possible to report on the cross-sectional and longitudinal findings and our answers to the set of questions about the "Mathematics in Context" (National Center for Research in Mathematical Sciences Education & Freudenthal Institute, 1997-98). INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Romberg, Thomas University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 713150 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087516 December 1, 2000 Understanding and Teaching Spatial Competence. Spatial competence is a fundamental aspect of intelligence, important to successful functioning. A high level of spatial skill is critical to the achievement of a technologically sophisticated work force for the twenty-first century. Spatial intelligence plays a major role in effective education in mathematics, science and engineering. The interdisciplinary research we will carry out focuses on understanding of spatial intelligence and establishing methods for maximizing the development of spatial skills. We will study spatial competence at different levels of analysis. At the biological level, we will will investigate the neurological foundations for spatial growth. We will examine the growth and organization of neural connections in areas of the brain that underlie the processing of spatial information. At the behavioral level, we will investigate the mechanisms that are involved in the mental representation of the spatial aspects of the world. We also will study the ways in which children come to understand spatial symbols such as maps and models. We will study how acquisition of these symbol systems affects the development of spatial intelligence. This work will include computational modelling of spatial intelligence. Finally, at the level of educational application, we will investigate the educational input responsible for the differential gains in spatial skill levels children achieve in school. We plan to identify specific teacher practices that are associated with high gains in student achievement. Our research team has expertise in a variety of relevant fields, including neural science, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology,computer science, education, and statistics. This research team has worked together for the past three years on research that has identified core elements of spatial functioning. Our goal now is to further our understanding of how the development of spatial competence can be enhanced .M RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI CHILD LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT DRL EHR Huttenlocher, Janellen Nora Newcombe Dedre Gentner University of Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1598931 1666 1358 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087519 October 1, 2000 Learning How to Learn Science: Metacognition in post-secondary physics education for bioscience majors. In this project, a cross-disciplinary team of the University of Maryland Physics Education Research Group (UMD-PERG) and an advisory team of biologists and biology-oriented education specialists is carrying out basic research in science learning among college-level bioscience students. An emphasis on meta-learning frames the approach of the team. This includes metacognition, epistemologies, expectations, and the construction of broad and powerful mental models; in short learning that goes beyond content and helps students understand what it means to learn science and how to learn it effectively. The project is studying student learning of fundamental issues in thinking about science; modifying current best-practices learning environments to make them effective tools for teaching meta-learning in a large-lecture enviornment; and developing survey tools to permit the documentation and evaluation of the state of student meta-learning attitudes and skills in large classes. The "laboratory" for this research effort is an algebra-based physics course, and the project builds on earlier work of the UMD-PERG in studying student meta-learning in high school and calculus-based university physics classes. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Redish, Edward David Hammer University of Maryland College Park MD Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 1046475 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087557 September 15, 2000 Continuation and Expansion of Collaboration between South African National Research Foundation and the US National Science Foundation. This award will conduct an educational research project in conjunction with some universities and faculty in both the United States and South Africa. The focus of the project will be standards-based education reform. The project will support exchange of faculty and graduate students, as well as some research costs. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG DRL EHR Hewson, Peter University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 1024226 7366 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087558 September 1, 2001 Search for Extraterrestrial Life Exhibition. A permanent exhibition entitled "Search for Extraterrestrial Life" will engage visitors at the New York Hall of Science in applying the fundamental biology of life on Earth to understanding the search for life elsewhere. The 4,000 sq. ft. exhibition and accompanying programs will engage visitors in learning more about the wide range of conditions that support life on Earth, and how these life requirements shape the search on Mars and other planetary objects for any existing life forms. In addition, the technologies and strategies that scientists are developing to detect any life elsewhere will be highlighted. It is expected that 500,000 visitors each year will participate with the exhibit and its associated programs. Another dissemination plan for the project will be posting fabrication drawings and scripts in readily accessible formats on the Internet. Copies of all computer interactives on electronic media will be available to science-technology centers, museums and other informal learning institutions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Weiss, Martin New York Hall of Science NY Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1465842 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087560 September 15, 2000 Beginning Science Teachers in Action: Investigating Mis/Connections Between Preservice Content and Classroom Instruction. The is a Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) proposal to conduct research on how beginning teachers of secondary school science practice the teaching of science. The investigator, an assistant professor in the school of education at UCSB who teaches science education classes, proposes that her own teaching practices be an object of investigation. The project would study the experiences of students in the science education program at the University of California, Santa Barbara who had taken her course in science education to see how they translate the course materials into teaching practices. One intent of this project is to provide rich textual descriptions of science instruction. It will use a "design experiment" methodology and thereby provide a valuable example, and evaluation, of that method as an way to intervene in science teacher education. This proposal was submitted as a SGER because the exploratory nature of conducting research on teaching by studying the teaching of one's self, as a means of scientific discovery, generates some negative reaction by reviewers. However, the research method proposed here is also accepted and adopted by other researchers as a ground-breaking way of investigating difficult subjects such as the relationship between teaching and learning. It follows a method used by Maggie Lampert at the University of Michigan to study herself prepare mathematics classroom and her research has been widely cited as a model of research into good teaching practices. Such methods have not been employed at the college level of teaching however, and this project offers the possibility of new insight into how to improve teaching of young new teachers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Bianchini, Julie University of California-Santa Barbara CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087562 December 1, 2000 Experimental Design to Measure Effects of Assisting Teachers in Using Data on Enacted Curriculum to Improve Effectiveness of Instruction in Mathematics and Science Education. This project will test the effects of an intervention to assist middle school teachers to learn to use rich, in-depth data to improve their teaching. Information about their current instruction, curriculum practices, and student assessment will be gathered, summarized, and given to teachers in a training exercise. Two forms of the intervention will be used: one is based on "continuous improvement" in which data and formative evaluation are provided to teachers. The other intervention is "school-based collaboration and networking" aimed at sharing teaching ideas, models, and strategies for improvement. The project will apply an experimental design with treatment and control schools randomly selected from a pool of schools from the same districts. Improvements in curriculum and teaching will be assessed with multiple measures, including teacher surveys, observation, interviews, and analysis of teacher assignments, student work, and student test results. However, the true test of the effect of the interventions cannot occur until a 4th unfunded year. The project will rely on school collected assessments. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Blank, Rolf Linda Wilson Council of Chief State School Officers DC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1438462 1666 SMET 9177 0087571 March 1, 2001 Family Science: Expanding Community Support for Inquiry-based Science Education. "Family Science: Expanding Community Support for Inquiry-based Science" is the University of Washington's innovative five-year plan for reaching youth and families in the Seattle school district. This program represents an enhancement of the NSF-funded Family Science program targeting grades K-5 and expansion of this successful program to include middle and high school students. The proposed activities, Science Explorations, Inquiry Science Conferences and Community Celebrations, are designed to help parents understand inquiry-based science instruction while heightening students' confidence in their ability to understand science processes. The hands-on activities also support and complement Seattle's Local Systemic Change project by enlisting teachers, parents and community members to champion science education outside of the formal school setting. The implementation strategy includes workshops to train Family Science Lead Teachers and Parent/Community Leaders to coordinate Family Science programs. Subsequent partnerships between teachers and community organizations are designed to establish regional clusters of community networks to support programmatic activities during and beyond the funding period. It is estimated that Family Science will result in the presentation of nearly 300 school and community-based events impacting 10,000 individuals. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hood, Leroy Ethan Allen University of Washington WA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 423134 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087573 December 1, 2000 Math in Motion: Investigating the relationship between formal mathematics and body action. The aim of this proposal is to investigate new approaches to nurture and cultivate the mathematical imagination of all students. Mathematics as a science to imagine-with is not incompatible with memorizing the multiplication tables, number facts, or shortcuts to operate fractions, but it changes what these memories are part of. It is about imagiining space and time: shapes, patterns, or trajectories; it is about envisioning houw things could be; it is about discriminating the finite and infinite, the discrete from the continuous, and dthe possible from the impossible. The main conjecture of this proposal is that cultivating mathematical imagination is deeply related to enriching bodily action/perception. The research we propose intends to investigate this thesis through a series of studies with high school students and pre-service teachers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Nemirovsky, Ricardo James Kaput TERC Inc MA Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 1040616 1666 SMET 9177 0087579 October 1, 2000 Fostering Transfer From Open-Ended Exploration To Scientific Reasoning. This project will attempt to combine the excitement and interest students evince when allowed to interact with open-ended, exploratory computer models, with the structure and explicit pedagogy many require to succeed at linguistically oriented, paper-and-pencil tests. Using BioLogica, a software environment we have developed on a prior NSF grant, we will present students with a sequence of "web labs," or computer-based, guided investigations, that will introduce them to multi-level reasoning in the domain of genetics. The web labs will provide the students with challenges of increasing difficulty, monitoring their work, offering feedback and soliciting responses as appropriate. Each will present students with information and questions regarding situations or problems analogous to the ones they have just worked on, offering metacognitive prompts designed to promote transfer from the computer activities to a broader understanding of the underlying scientific concepts RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Horwitz, Paul Janice Gobert Concord Consortium MA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 599636 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087583 January 1, 2001 Modeling, Developing, and Assessing Scientific Inquiry Skills Using a Computer-Based Inquiry Support Environment. This study investigates cognitive models of scientific inquiry skills in middle school science. It creates pedagogical approaches that enable students to develop widely applicable cognitive skills needed for collaborative inquiry and reflective learning. It would investigate a number of hypotheses concerning how to achieve these objectives. The study expects to result in creating a learning theory that links metacognition and reflective practices to the development of expertise in scientific inquiry. The central hypothesis is that scientific inquiry can be taught, or facilitated, through computer tools that support cognitive modeling and reflective practice. The investigators would create a support environment that houses several software advisors that can give strategic advice and guide students as they conduct research projects in science and reflect on their processes of investigation. Also, the investigators would create assessments of students' expertise and evaluate the use of these models increases their understanding and performance of scientific inquiry. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR White, Barbara University of California-Berkeley CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 789035 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087602 January 1, 2001 Our Genes/Our Choices. The Fred Friendly Seminars is producing a three-part, prime-time television series about the ethical, legal and social implications of advances in genetic research and technology. The audience for the series is the general public with special emphasis on the scientific and policy-making communities. Each of the programs will begin with a presentation of the basic genetic science linked to a specific ethical and policy issue and then will engage a panel in a Socratic dialogue based on a hypothetical situation related to that issue. The panel will represent a wide range of perspective including scientists, policy makers and people experiencing the dilemmas presenting in the hypothetical situations. Outreach material for the project will be developed by the National Center for Science Literacy, Education and Technology and Exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History. The center will produce a 16-page discussion guide designed for by a variety of informal education organizations that reach the general public. This guide will be available in both print and on the project web site. In addition to the guide, the web site include guidelines about how to use segments of the series as catalysts for discussion, a list of annotated resources on genetics, and a behind-the-scenes look at the genomic research labs of the museum. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kilberg, Richard Fred Friendly Seminars, Inc. NY Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 599181 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087611 September 1, 2000 Pilot Study to Establish the Nature and Impact of Effective Undergraduate Research Experiences on Learning, Attitude, and Career Choice. Abstract A three-year research project is proposed whose overall goals are to: Clarify the nature of authentic undergraduate research experiences-and their variations-in a sample of science disciplines from the viewpoints of participating and non-participating undergraduates (both as seniors and one year from graduation), from faculty, and from their institutions; Identify and categorize the essential elements of "good" undergraduate research experiences, the learning gains (cognitive, behavioral, affective, social, and professional) that they produce over time; the conditions and processes by which, these occur; and their relative significance in the achievement of outcomes valued by students and faculty; Identify variations in undergraduate research participation, experiences, and outcomes, and the factors that shape them, for women and men; and for white students and students of color. Hypothesize and test linkages between aspects of undergraduate research experiences and desired outcomes in the shorter and longer term. The research design controls for variations in undergraduate research models, institutional contexts, and academic disciplines by limiting the inquiry to one common type of program (mentored summer research for entering seniors requiring a senior thesis, and/or presentation and publication of scholarly work) in a sample of institutions of similar type, with a limited range of science disciplines. Investigation will begin with entering seniors in summer, 2000 programs in four liberal arts colleges with a strong history of engagement in undergraduate research. Methods of sampling and inquiry allow for discovery of variations in the experiences and outcomes reported by female and male participants, by students of color compared with white students, and by female participants in single-sex versus mixed-sex research contexts. Samples will also include two comparison groups of non-participants who either chose not to participate in research programs as undergraduates, or who applied, and were not selected. A comparative ethnographic exploration of faculty goals and pedagogical methods, and student accounts of their experiences and benefits over time, will ground the development and testing of instruments to assess the impact of undergraduate research opportunities on the education and post-graduate lives of undergraduates. Interview and survey data from the student cohorts will be compared with those from faculty in order to establish, compare, and rank what each group perceives as the benefits of the research experience, and what factors influence their achievement. Interviews with students who do, and do not, participate in undergraduate research, with faculty research mentors, and with engaged senior faculty and administrators will be conducted in real time. Alumni who do, and do not, participate in undergraduate research will be interviewed one year after graduation to discern longer-term effects. Pilot study findings will also provide a research base for the design of comparable, cross-program evaluation strategies for common models of undergraduate research. Findings and instruments will be disseminated for use by colleagues interested in the development of evaluation strategies for undergraduate research projects through a workshop, presentations targeted to relevant audiences, selected web-sites, and published work. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lopatto, David Elaine Seymour Grinnell College IA Lee L. Zia Standard Grant 651885 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087628 September 1, 2000 A NEW TIMSS FOR A NEW CENTURY. This project seeks funds to begin serious planning for a fifth international study of mathematics and science to be conducted by the IEA. Boston College directors, Ina Mullus and Michael Martin, would begin planning meetings and discussions that would lead toward a reconceptualization of the frameworks for the assessments in mathematics and science that make up the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The experience of the previous 2 assessments, and the needs of policy makers would be discussed at these meetings. The study would be enhanced to address leading issues in mathematics and science education. These plans would cumulate into a study to be conducted in 2003 or after. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Martin, Michael Ina Mullis Boston College MA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 314411 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0087632 September 1, 2000 Dynamic Scaffolding to Improve Learning and Transfer of Hidden Skills. Failure to learn hidden skills is a persistent obstacle to students in science, math, and engineering domains. Hidden skills, which include problem categorization, feature detection, and planning, are critical to solving problems in a domain but do not have any immediate, external product for students to see. Unfortunately, it is unclear how best to identify and teach these difficult-to-learn skills. Instructional scaffolding is a popular and effective technique for providing targeted support and guidance while students learn to solve problems in a new domain. Scaffolding has great potential for improving hidden-skill learning. However, the reasons it works and how best to implement it are largely unknown. The proposed research will explain the effectiveness of instructional scaffolding in terms of hidden skill learning. Several hypotheses about the relationship between scaffolding and hidden skills will be tested, and new scaffolding designs will be evaluated. This will lead to a systematic approach to teaching hidden skills that improves students' learning and transfer. The four specific aims of this project are: (1) Develop a systematic, efficient method for identifying hidden skills. While methods currently exist for analyzing domain-specific knowledge, these methods are not robust for identifying hidden skills, and they tend to be difficult and slow. This project will develop and test an automated method that combines logistic regression models and heuristic search algorithms to infer where hidden skills lie. (2) Develop a theoretical explanation for why scaffolding works. Although instructional scaffolds often lead to better learning, there has been little theoretical progress in explaining when and how scaffolding works. A sequence of experiments will be conducted to test three hypotheses that offer increasingly concrete levels of explanation for how scaffolding benefits learning and transfer. (3) Develop practical guidelines for the design of effective instructional scaffolding. Three critical questions for scaffolding design will be examined: What level of scaffolding support is sufficient to achieve its main benefit? When and how should scaffolding support be built and faded? And how can human instructors (i.e., TA's) best complement a computerized scaffolded learning environment? (4) Develop novel applications of our results on scaffolding hidden skills. There are at least two novel applications of this work, beyond the scope of learning theory and instructional design. First, the scaffolding designs from Specific Aim 3 will be used to develop new on-line assessments of students' understanding. Second, the results from Specific Aim 1 will be used to develop tools that train instructors to "see" the hidden skills in complex problems and thus better anticipate students' learning difficulties. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lovett, Marsha Robert Kass Joel Greenhouse Brian Junker Ken Koedinger Carnegie-Mellon University PA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 662463 1666 SMET 9177 0087653 November 15, 2000 ROLE Proposal: Learning to Teach Secondary Mathematics Project (LTSM). This study will continue previous work on the nature of two reform-based teacher education programs and their impact on prospective teachers. The researchers will follow a number of preservice secondary mathematics teachers into their second year of teaching, in order to study closely how teacher education impacts their learning and development as mathematics teachers. Data will be gathered predominantly through semi-structured interviews, observations, and the collection and analysis of artifacts. The data gathering process will be organized around participants' knowledge and beliefs, participants' teaching, university teacher education experiences, and public school experiences. Products will be conference presentations, journal articles, and postings to a website. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Peressini, Dominic Hilda Borko University of Colorado at Boulder CO Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 389855 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087664 September 1, 2000 Improvement of Mathematics Literacy in African-American Students: Preparation for Algebra and Higher Mathematics. This three-year study will document in depth, and develop explanatory constructs for, practices in four urban schools where the schools and/or specific teacher have an outstanding record of placing or sustaining students in college preparatory mathematics: a San Francisco middle school with large numbers of African-American and Latino students, a Boston K-6 pilot school with a similara demographic profile; and a high school/feeder school pair in Jackson, MS, with 99% African-American students. The study will use ethnographic methods to examine classroom teachers', administrators', youth interactions, in the context of the school and community. Classrooms and aftershcool learning environments will be extensively videotaped, and interactions will be analyzed. The analyses will detail the development of mathematical ideas as well as the social processes of teaching and learning. As a secondary goal, the researchers will examine dimensions and varibles emerging from the analysis and consider problems of measurement and "operationalization" for large-scale quantitative research. The research draws on current theoretical perspectives and research methods on learning, including situated learning, integration of social and individual aspects of learning, communities of practice that indluence students' learning and identities as mathematics learners, and methods for analysis of discourse, paraticipant structures, and mathematics content. The participating schools are members of the "Algebra Project," a middle schyool project founded in the mid80s to increase proportion of minority students who complete algebra siccessfully in late middle school or high school and enter college preparatory studies. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Davis, Frank Mary West James Greeno Lesley University MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1072913 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087679 January 1, 2001 Volcanoes of the Abyss. Rutgers University is developing a large-format, scientific, documentary film about the evolving scientific investigation of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Volcanoes of the Abyss (working title) will be produced in conjunction with Volcanic Ocean Films and produced/directed by Stephen Low. It will examine the communities these vents support and their relationship to the surrounding environment. It also will consider the implications vent discoveries have for our understanding of the evolution of life and our search for life elsewhere in the Cosmos. Much of the filming will be done from on board the Alvin deep ocean research vessel. The companion Educational Outreach Program will reach students in middle and secondary schools and at the college level. Print-based and web-based material also will be designed for use by families. The film and the outreach materials together will be the basis of a substantive educational effort to inform the public about the intricacies and significance of the fascinating, but largely unknown, ecosystem. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lutz, Richard Alexander Low Stephen Low Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2118453 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087721 January 1, 2001 Sources of Mathematical Thinking. To understand mathematical cognition both as it develops in the young child and as it is taught in school, one must understand the cognitive systems from which it is constructed and the processes by which those systems are coordinated to produce new concepts and skills. Based on previous research, we hypothesize that elementary school mathematics builds on three representational systems: a system for representing exact small numerosities, a system for representing approximate large numerosities, and natural language with its system of number words and other quantifiers. The proposed research investigates each of these building block systems and their interactions through experiments on human infants, non-human primates, preschool children learning counting, elementary school children learning arithmetic and fractions, and adults. To study the building block cognitive systems directly, experiments investigate spontaneous number representations in human infants and in untrained adult monkeys, using in each population the same three converging behavioral measures: looking time to arrays of different numerosities and to addition or subtraction events (building on the finding that both infants and monkeys look longer at novel arrays or unexpected events), manual search (building on the finding that the number of times that an infant or monkey will search in a container depends on the number of objects it represents within the container), and locomotor approach to containers with different numbers of attractive objects (building on the finding that infants and monkeys will approach the container with the greater number of objects). Further experiments investigate how preschool children assemble these components in learning number words and the counting routine, by using verbal and pointing tasks to assess developmental changes in children's understanding of number words and counting procedures. To uncover the neural substrates underlying mathematical cognition, both behavioral and neuroimaging experiments investigate whether and how human adults use each of the three representational systems in performing numerical comparisons and elementary arithmetic. Finally, experiments investigate number concepts and arithmetic learning in elementary school children. Training studies in which children are taught new facts or concepts and then are tested on a range of related problems will serve to investigate the subsystems involved in this learning, to probe the processes by which those subsystems are assembled to meet new educational challenges, and to explore ways of enhancing mathematics learning in elementary school. This research promises to shed light on the teaching and learning of mathematics through coordinated, laboratory-based studies in which monkeys, infants, children and adults are given the same stimuli and often the same tasks. This coordinated effort should provide a broad portrait of the sources of mathematical thinking, from its phylogenetic and ontogenetic origins to its culmination in educated adults. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI CHILD LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT DRL EHR Spelke, Elizabeth Nancy Kanwisher Marc Hauser Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Kenneth C. Whang Continuing grant 320000 1666 1358 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087751 November 15, 2000 Technology-supported Performance Assessment for Inquiry-based Science Learning. A major challenge for the implementation of inquiry-based science learning is the implementation of assessment approaches that can capture the rich forms of conceptual learning and strategic reasoning that inquiry learning is designed to foster. To address the challenge, science education reformers are advocating performance assessment approach, in which students are evaluated on the quality of their performance on cognitively demanding tasks. The goal of this research is to identify strategies to support performance assessment with technology, taking advantage of the Progress Portfolio, an inquiry-support tool developed at Northwestern University. The Progress Portfolio was designed initially to foster inquiry by providing tools for learners to create a visible record of their activities as an object for reflection, but prior studies revealed that the features that make the Progress Portfolio effective as a scaffold for reflective inquiry also make it a valuable support for assessment.. Accordingly, this research will conduct a pilot investigation of: a) the design of performance assessment frameworks to take advantage of technology supports, b) the design of technology supports for performance assessment c) the application of these technology-supported performance assessment frameworks in the design of inquiry-based science curricula, d) support for teacher implementation of performance assessment, and e) the effectiveness of the technology-supported performance assessments at capturing student progress and providing reliable feedback to teachers and students. The project will benefit from a collaboration between researchers from Northwestern University with expertise in technological supports for inquiry learning, and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and SRI with expertise in performance assessment and curriculum development. This project addresses the ROLE themes of Research on SMET learning in educational settings and Research on SMET learning in complex educational systems. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Edelson, Daniel Brian Reiser Louis Gomez Northwestern University IL Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 316986 1666 SMET 9177 0087760 June 1, 2001 Citizen Science Online. Cornell University will develop "Citizens' Science Online." This project will use the Internet to develop ways of allowing citizens, at any level of prior sophistication, to participate in science by gathering data that will contribute to an understanding of the population biology of birds and for managing the natural ecosystems these birds inhabit. The program has five components: (1) software, user interfaces and background resources on an Internet-based program that is accessible to any North American participant; (2) nine existing citizen-science projects will be modified to make online data entry more accurate, to make participation more user-friendly and to facilitate feedback of results to the participants and public; (3) an extensive library of online support materials and tutorials, including photos, audioclips of vocalizations, maps and other information; (4) integration of all of these Internet-based projects and information via a comprehensive Web portal, Citizen Science Online; and (5) testing and modifying of the interactive database tools through partnerships with other organizations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fitzpatrick, John Richard Bonney Cornell University - State NY David A. Ucko Continuing grant 2400672 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087768 November 15, 2000 The Role of Emotion in Propelling the SMET Process. Exploring the Role of Emotion in Propelling the SMET Learning Process The proposed research aims to build a computerized Learning Companion that will be sensitive to the affective aspects of learning and that will work with the child to facilitate the child's own efforts at learning. Learning complex ideas in science, math, engineering, and technology and developing the cognitive reasoning skills these areas demand often involves failure and a host of associated affective responses. When learning proceeds via human-human interaction, it is often improved by communication of affective cues (such as frustration, confusion, or interest), and by adaptation of the learning experience to such cues (adjusting pace of presentation, interjecting motivation, offering an additional view, etc.). When learning involves human-machine interaction, the human communication about when, where, how, and how important it is to adapt also often involves emotional information; however, today's computers largely ignore this information. Affective computing has the potential to expand human-computer interaction by extending computing to include emotional communication together with appropriate means of handling affective information. The proposed research aims to bring new tools of affective computing into the reach of educators, to begin to change computer-based learning from a style that ignores emotions to a style that can begin to respond appropriately to student emotions. The initial focus is on building a system that (1) helps students increase their awareness and mastery of the important role that emotions can play in learning and (2) facilitates the child's learning, by occasionally prompting with questions or feedback, and by watching and responding to the affective state of the child-watching for signs of frustration and boredom that may precede quitting, for signs of curiosity or interest that tend to indicate active exploration, and for signs of enjoyment and mastery, which might indicate a successful learning experience. Tools developed for the Learning Companion should also be useful for intelligent tutoring systems, and should help give insight into new theories of motivation and emotion in teaching; however, the Learning Companion is not a teacher or tutor that knows the answers, but a player on the side of the student. The companion will be sensitive to the learning trajectory of each student, helping him or her learn, and in so doing, learn how to learn better. At the same time, the Learning Companion will serve as an interactive system for helping researchers identify and better understand ways in which emotion is expressed, communicated, and handled in successful science, math, engineering, and technology learning experiences. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Picard, Rosalind Justine Cassell Robert Reilly Barry Kort Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 918883 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087771 October 1, 2000 Understanding Classroom Interactions Among Diverse, Connected Classroom Technologies. Together with three major corporate partners, Texas Instruments, Palm, and Nokia, this project is investigating the impact on everyday classroom teaching and learning of a network of inexpensive hand-held devices equipped with interactive computational media. The effects of this massive classroom connectivity are important to understand in order to inform iterative improvement of i) technologies and classroom practices that support learning and ii) the design of teacher development and support structures. The PI and colleagues are working with teachers in ordinary grade 8-12 classrooms equipped with school-standard graphing calculators and newer devices wirelessly networked to each other and to a teacher's workstation. Three areas of impact are under exploration: (1) Assessment: regular, principled diagnoses of students' responses to carefully designed probes and problems submitted to the teacher for analysis and action. (2) Learning: new student activity structures involving (a) teacher-student and student-student challenges, and (b) student contributions to shared and publicly displayed constructs. (3) Teaching: teacher classroom management support for distributing and collecting student work, viewing and annotating student screens, and managing the flow of information in the connected classroom. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kaput, James Jeremy Roschelle University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth MA Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 1959842 1666 SMET 9177 0087779 January 15, 2001 ROLE Proposal: Study and Development of Distractor-Driven Multiple-Choice Tests Aligned to the National Science Standards. With a growing national facus on the measurement of learning outcomes in science classrooms, states and cities relying increasingly upon assessment methods developed prior to recent advances in cognitive scinece. While alternative and authentic assessments have gained a foothold in school reform, they are considerably more expensive and complex to utilize than traditional standardized tests that rely upon multiple-choice items. Rather than comdemn such simple item forms, the project plans to develop and study diagnostic assessment instrument that reflect advances in understanding conceptualchange in learner, yet are simple to administer and score. The prject will drawon the rich research literature documenting alternative conceptions and construct test items that allow choices between the scientifically correct answer to a problem and the most prevalent alternative conceptions. Earlier work shows that the psychometric profiles of such items depart significantly from those constructed and used by the makers of standardized tests, and that more research is needed before relucant test-makers will adopt items with profiles that depart from their non-cognitive models. Such a study is imperative for the development of standarzed tests that accurately measure progress toward achievement of swtate and national science standards. In addition, analytical methods will be developed and employed to reveal the underlying prerequisite structure of such tests, shedding light on the proper sequence of ideas in K-12 instruction. Results will be publicized through academic publications and papers. A public domain database of diagnostic items will be made available for test developers and educators. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sadler, Philip Harvard University MA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 250000 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087783 May 1, 2001 ISE: Money. MONEY is a traveling exhibition using the familiar and fascinating subject of money to build math skills and promote economic literacy. The exhibit will provide an engaging and relevant context in which to explore mathematics using experiences such as making change, comparing prices, saving, balancing a checkbook, paying bills or budgeting -- which are all direct applications of math. This exhibit will address the needs of children and their families for economic literacy as they make decisions that shape their futures. Through a mix of hands-on interactives, audio and video components, computer-based activities, graphics, text and artifacts, the exhibition emphasizes the mathematical skills, concepts and problem-solving strategies necessary for economic literacy. Areas in the exhibit will address the history of money, how it is made, prices and markets, and world trade. Within these contexts, visitors will develop computational skills and gain an understanding of concepts such as operations, patterns, functions, algebra, data analysis, probability and mathematical representation. The concepts are highly correlated with -- and build upon -- the NCTM National Standards in mathematics. Families, children and learners of all ages will be able to experience the exhibit during its national tour. There will be ancillary resources in the form of family take-home activities, a teacher's guide with classroom activities, and an exhibit website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Vandiver, Raymond Karyn Bertschi Oregon Museum of Science and Industry OR Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1906260 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087788 January 1, 2001 Technology & Model-Based Conceptual Assessment: Research in Students' Applications of Models in Physics & Mathematics. To improve the communication between students and teachers, particularly in large classes, many universities have begun using technology-based response systems. These systems enable an instructor to pose questions and see, within a few minutes, the students' responses to those questions. Another similar approach is to assign homework that is submitted, graded and returned quickly via the World Wide Web. Both of these technology-based systems offer instructors the opportunity to record each student's responses in a database. Thus, the instructor can track students' understanding much more completely than with traditional homework and quizzes and can use the resulting data to investigate more deeply how students understand the scientific and mathematical concepts. In addition to seeing the present level of each students understanding the instructor can learn how the students change their thinking by making comparisons of responses throughout the learning process. A present, the analyses of these responses generally tell instructors when the students are obtaining the right answers. However, for students who are not answering correctly, the present systems do little more than indicate that the student is not applying the scientific theories and models correctly. Still missing is an analysis tool that is based on contemporary educational research and can provide robust quantitative information on the students' difficulties with the underlying scientific models and theories, and can track how the students' understandings of these models change during instruction. These tools must go beyond correct answer analysis and analyze students' incorrect answers by incorporating theories of learning into the systems. This project will begin with a model for students' conceptual learning processes and with existing work on assessing students' conceptual understanding in physics and mathematics. Then, research will be conducted on students' applications of scientific models and mathematical concepts, on how the students' thinking and applications change during instruction, and methods to present the results of these assessments to teaching faculty who are using in-class, real-time response or on-line homework systems. By constructing sets of questions in which incorrect answers provide insights into the scientific and mathematical models that students are applying, the project's results will lead to a deeper understanding of students' abilities to learn physics and mathematics and the contexts in which that learning occurs most effectively. The analysis will also provide insight into students' abilities to transfer knowledge between physics and mathematics courses. The major objectives of the project are to measure, with real-time feedback, students' understanding of fundamental concepts and the application of those concepts, trace changes in those understandings and applications during instruction, investigate how students' conceptual understanding depends on the context in which a new concept is studied, create analysis tools that can be used effectively in many educational environments, provide information about the transfer of knowledge between physics and mathematics, and investigate how students and instructors interact with this teaching environment. The result of reaching these goals will be a system that will have a large impact on the teaching of science and mathematics. The impact will be particularly great in large enrollment classes where instructors are often very detached from their students because, frequently, such information becomes available only after students take an exam. Of particular importance for the instructors is knowledge of when students have begun to change their thinking but still sometimes revert to pre-instructional applications of scientific or mathematical concepts-- a mixture of understanding and a lack of understanding. Such situations are recognized to be an important intermediate step in the learning process. By knowing the extent of this mixture the instructors can plan the next step in the learning process based on the students' present physical or mathematical understanding and the contexts which aid fundamental change in students' thinking. Thus, the project will provide both information and tools to help science and mathematics instructors learn about the present knowledge of their students and how to use that present knowledge constructively to improve the students' scientific and mathematical thinking skills. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Zollman, Dean Andrew Bennett Kansas State University KS Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 994273 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087811 November 1, 2000 Talking about Genetics: Using Representations and Language to Understand Complex Science. This project will investigate the roles of representations and language in learning complex science through technology-based activities. Researchers will conduct a series of design and classroom studies in which students will use representations and language to support the learning of scientific inquiry and complex concepts in genetics. This research will study how technology can support learning in three ways: (1) providing students with simulations in which they can conduct investigations of scientific phenomena, (2) showing multiple representations which students can use to understand the underlying entities and mechanisms that account for these phenomena, and (3) providing structure that scaffolds their explanation of these underlying entities and mechanisms. This technology support will come from integrating two independently developed software programs into an environment called GenTalk. GenTalk will combine features of BioLogica simulations and ExplanationConstructor explanation support to generate an environment rich both in representations and in scaffolding for students' explanations and discourse about their investigations. Researchers will collaborate with the designers of these software packages and with high school biology teachers to implement a controlled classroom experiment and look at the impact of these software packages, separately and in combination, on the investigation practices, language use, and science understanding of a range of high school students. They will investigate questions such as: What representational features support student discourse? What rhetorical prompts and software supports increase student talk? How do representations and rhetorical prompts work together to influence student discourse? Methods: This project is a two-year plan of research to investigate the relationship between representations and discourse in technology environments, and the resulting student understanding of scientific causal mechanisms in genetics. The first year will be used for a design of the technology environment and curriculum for genetics up to and including the population level, and the second year will be for implementation of, and research on, the prototype in several classrooms. Potential Impact: This project is a program of fundamental research on the cognitive and social processes of learning science that will have direct implications for the classroom use of technology in the service of curriculum reform and student achievement. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Bienkowski, Marie Robert Kozma Karen Hurst SRI International CA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 609546 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0087813 March 1, 2001 The PIE Network: Promoting Science Inquiry and Engineering through Playful Invention and Exploration with New Digital Technologies. The MIT Media Laboratory, in collaboration with six museums, will develop the "Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Network," with the goal of engaging a broader audience in science inquiry and engineering by enabling more people to create, invent and explore with new digital technologies. PIE museums will integrate the latest MIT technologies and educational research into their ongoing public programs. The museums will organize MindFest events, modeled after a two-day event at MIT in 1999, at which youth, educators, artists, engineers, hobbyists and researchers came together to collaborate on invention projects. The PIE Network will disseminate PIE ideas and activities to educators and families nationally. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Resnick, Mitchel Natalie Rusk Bakhtiar Mikhak Mike Petrich Karen Wilkinson Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2078635 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087832 January 1, 2001 Synergy Communities: Aggregating Learning about Education [SCALE]. The goal of this project is to foster and study the process by which designers, researchers, and practitioners work together, in the same project, but with different schools, geographic areas, and partnerships. These collaborations among researchers will be likely to produce flexible curriculum that other teachers can then customize for use. One goal is to allow the average teacher the ability to make these units work in her classroom; another is to understand the process of abstraction and accumulation of knowledge and practice across education research projects in general. The project would then support the development of a SCALE web portal and two summit meetings of developers, plus work with teachers in using the materials. Each year, the project will support 2-3 small projects. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Linn, Marcia University of California-Berkeley CA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 782850 1666 SMET 9177 0087844 June 1, 2001 Going APE: Achieving Active, Prolonged Engagement with Science Center Exhibits. The Exploratorium will develop exhibit designs that encourage visitors to become more cognitively engaged with exhibits -- to use exhibits as tools for self-directed exploration, rather than as authoritative demonstrations. To do this, the staff is drawing on new work in the fields of education, visitor research, human factors engineering, computer interface design and interactive exhibit development at other museums. The Exploratorium proposes to conduct evaluative research and exhibit development that maximizes possibilities for visitor-authored questions, activity and discovery, or active, prolonged engagement (APE). The project team plans to create 15 new exhibits and renovate an additional 15 exhibits in the physical sciences. The team will strategically position the exhibits to support active, prolonged engagement throughout the collection. Although the project focuses on physical science -- the most fundamental part of the Exploratorium exhibit collection -- the results will apply to exhibits in nearly all science disciplines. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Humphrey, Thomas James Bell Joshua Gutwill Exploratorium CA David A. Ucko Continuing grant 1284590 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087848 October 1, 2000 Research in Standards-Based Science Assessment. This project seeks to conduct research on the types of science assessment measures that provide data on student outcomes that are useful, accurate, and allow valid inferences. The goal of the project is to help Systemic Initiatives to measure the impact of their efforts to improve student learning in science and to use assessment results to inform and improve instruction. The questions addressed by the project are such things as: "what types of measures best inform standards-base instruction? Does exposure to inquiry-based science instruction improve scores on some components of standards-based science assessment more than others? How do teachers use results from assessment to inform practice? Will training change instruction?" The study will recruit a sample of schools in California at elementary, middle, and high school levels and administer a pre- and post-test, a teacher interview and a student interview and survey questionnaire. These data will be analyzed in a multidimensional item response model. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Comfort, Kathleen Mark Wilson WestEd CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1708318 1666 SMET 9177 0087912 June 1, 2001 Handling Calculus: Math in Motion. The Science Museum of Minnesota will develop, test and disseminate "Handling Calculus: Math in Motion." At the heart of "Handling Calculus" is a set of model exhibits and accompanying programs designed to introduce museum visitors to calculus through interactive physical models that illustrate mathematical concepts both kinesthetically and conceptually. The project focuses on three central concepts: (1) how graphs show changes in rates; (2) how summing quantities over time (integration) can provide important information about results of a process; and (3) how the use of parametric functions can provide a simple way to describe a complex motion. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Newlin, J Ricardo Nemirovsky Science Museum of Minnesota MN David A. Ucko Continuing grant 986504 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0087951 June 1, 2001 Alien Stingers. The New York Aquarium, a subsidiary of the Wildlife Conservation Society, is developing Alien Stingers, a 4000 square foot, permanent exhibit featuring Cnidarians, jellyfish and their relatives. This exhibit will showcase species such as the purple stripe, umbrella and lion's mane jellies. Other animals to be presented include colorful sea anemones and live corals. Visitors will learn about Cnidaria and their habitats, ecological roles, adaptations and relationships with other ocean life. Endangered species, human impact on habitats and various conservation efforts will also be highlighted. The exhibit design will create a sense of wonder and mystery using dramatic lighting, music and unique displays. Moveable 3D models, interactive graphics and specially designed cylindrical tanks will result in an exhibit experience that stimulates curiosity and invites learning. The project has a comprehensive, multi-level evaluation plan structured around two exhibit openings. The first round of evaluation will look at the impact of two-dimensional graphics and prototype interactives. A second opening is planned which will add complex prototype interactives that are designed to present more intricate messages. Both layers of evaluation will be used to shape the permanent exhibit graphics and promote self-directed learning. A website with a live jelly-cam supports this exhibit, along with a host of educational programs and materials for various audiences. A family handbook, children's activity guides, visitor guides and a children's book on jellyfish are among the supplemental materials planned. It is anticipated that over 815,000 visitors will view Alien Stingers on an annual basis. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Boyle, Paul John Gwynne Wildlife Conservation Society NY Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1448261 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0088027 September 1, 2000 Supporting and Understanding Sustainability in Local Systemic Change. 0088027 FALK The project extends the electronic community to include those LSC projects which have recently "graduated" (reached the end of their NSF support). Former projects receive continued access to LSC-Net and participate in research on aspects on sustainability. The project design also includes an annual electronic conference with many special features catered to the needs of districts and educators. The objectives are to continue to provide support and access to LSC-Net; to create additional functionality for, and implement a virtual conference on, sustainability; and to conduct collaborative research on sustainability within an LSC context. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Falk, Joni Brian Drayton TERC Inc MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 649790 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0088892 September 1, 2000 K-12 Science and Mathematics Curriculum Developers Conference. 0088892 SMITH Over the next three years, an annual conference of developers of comprehensive K-12 science and mathematics curricula and national implementation sites recently funded by the National Science Foundation will be held. The goal of these conferences is to provide a forum for developers to discuss and find solutions to common issues of materials development, evaluation, adoption and implemenetation of reform-based curricula. The conference allows the participants to exchange information, interact with experts and build relationships begun in previous meetings. A conference report and evaluation is publisehd on the web. Each meeting builds uon the previous one. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Smith, Michael American Geological Institute VA Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 421467 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0089094 October 1, 2000 Planning a Rigorous Experimental Trial of SimCalc's Approach to Increasing Access to Complex Mathematical Ideas. This planning grant will enable the transition to larger-scale, more rigorous testing of a technology and curriculum project (SimCalc) whose aim is to make generally available the mathematics of change and variation by incorporating dynamic, computer-based representational tools into the classroom experience of middle-school children. SimCalc's aim is to make mathematical concepts such as "rate" become available to students without an algebra prerequisite, and push the boundaries of what K-12 learners can master. SimCalc was developed and tested in variety of settings including some of the lowest performing districts in two states, and one class in which English was a first language for only 35% of the students. The collaborations in the planning process will help design rigorous experiment that will analyze how to produce the desired effects with diverse students in varied educational settings and with teachers who vary in their sophistication about and comfort with technology. Findings from the long-term research could influence an understanding of what "high expectations" are possible to achieve for all students, and the role of technology, curriculum, and teacher support in reaching those expectations. DRL EHR Roschelle, Jeremy James Kaput Janet Bowers SRI International CA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 116123 X702 SMET 9177 7180 0089122 October 1, 2000 Planning for a System of Principled Assessment Designs of Inquiry (PADI). This project will support the development of a conceptual framework and a collection of development resources for Web-based assessments of science inquiry, Principled Assessment Designs for Inquiry (PADI. PADI seeks to provide a practical, theory-based approach to developing high-quality assessments of science inquiry by combining developments in cognitive psychology and research on science inquiry with advances in measurement theory and technology. The interdisciplinary PADI research team combines the expertise of two major nonprofit research organizations-SRI's Center for Technology in Learning and the Educational Testing Service's Research Division. Application of this framework and statistical model has the potential to address many of the issues arising from the situation-specific science inquiry assessment of our work of SRI and that of others. The long-term objectives of PADI are to provide a systematic process for developing assessment tasks; an organized set of assessment development resources, reusable task templates and generally stated rubrics, and a statistical model supporting more rigorous analyses of student learning. The planning grant will support the intensive interactions and collaborative design activities that will produce a rapprochement in our team's ideas, strategies, and methods. We will accomplish this goal through co-developing (1) a narrative description of the PADI assessment development framework, (2) one or more prototype assessment tasks conforming to the framework, and (3) the conceptual design of the PADI assessment development support system. DRL EHR Means, Barbara Gail Baxter Edys Quellmalz Geneva Haertel Robert Mislevy SRI International CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 111000 X702 SMET 9177 7180 0089134 October 1, 2000 Applying Technology and Triarchic Enhancement to Instruction and Assessment in a School Science Curriculum: Air-Traffic Control, Earthquake, and Air-Pollution Analysis. Through an interdisciplinary collaboration between a program that has achieved extensive validation of a theory of student learning and a program that has gained wide recognition for using Internet technology as a real-time resource in science classrooms. The triarchic theory of human intelligence will provide a systematic methodology for the study of student learning achievement levels of roughly 1600 middle school and high school students as they pursue lessons in the context of four different instructional conditions. The four conditions are: (1) traditional teaching using paper-and-pencil; (2) traditional teaching with (non-Internet ) computer use; (3) triarchically enhanced teaching using archived data but no computers; (4) triarchically enhanced teaching using real-time data via Internet. Each of the four conditions will be implemented in three different classroom settings: (1) the study of earthquakes and seismic phenomena by 7th and 8th grade students; (2) the study of air quality and pollution by 11th and 12th grade students; and (3) the study of velocity vectors used in navigation by 11th and 12th grade students. Strong emphasis will be placed upon recruiting teachers from urban schools, suburban and rural schools. Instructional conditions will be assigned randomly by school. Since Stevens Institute of Technology is pursuing teacher professional development programs involving more than 15,000 teachers in the states of Arizona, Florida, New Jersey and Ohio, recruiting schools in these four states will ensure diversity. The research will be conducted over a five-year period. Prior to Year 5, all teachers will be informed about interim research results concerning the efficacy of the triarchic approach, the use of real time Internet resources in instruction and the synergies between these two efforts to enhance learning. DRL EHR Friedman, Edward Robert Sternberg Elena Grigorenko Stevens Institute of Technology NJ Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 490713 X702 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089178 January 1, 2001 The Evaluation & Analysis of an Innovative Framework for School Reading. This project will implement a research agenda that will provide a rigorous longitudinal evaluation of the effectiveness of a scalable, school-wide model of reading improvement (Reading--FIRST). The research will provide information on a number of related theoretical and practical questions related to teacher thinking, school change, student learning, parent involvement, educational supervision, and the use of technology in the professional development of teachers. The results of the study will provide insights into how large scale interventions work in a wide variety of school contexts. Reading--FIRST was developed for grades K-12); this project covers only grades K-5). It addresses major alterable factors related to instructional improvement that have been identified in prior studies, including increasing the amount of instruction, improving essential content coverage, and fostering greater continuity within schools. Reading--FIRST has been field-tested in more than 200 schools. An interdisciplinary team of educators, psychologists, statisticians, and technology experts will conduct the series of related research studies, using quantitative and qualitative data drawn from students, teachers, principals, and parents. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Shanahan, Timothy William Teale University of Illinois at Chicago IL Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 110000 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089198 October 1, 2000 Planning Grant: Modeling Across the Curriculum. This proposal will fund the planning of Modeling Across the Curriculum, a major program on the use of computer-based modeling on student learning and inquiry skills in secondary science. The goal of the planning grant is to develop detailed partnerships, research design, and organizational and technical plans needed for a successful large-scale longitudinal study. The Modeling Across the Curriculum project will conduct a longitudinal study of the impact of highly interactive modeling tools and associated learning materials on secondary level student science problem solving, reasoning, and performance on standardized tests. The program, a large-scale collaboration integrating software and curriculum development, and significant data analysis tasks, will build on smaller-scale studies of the educational value of using, modifying, and building interactive computer-based models when supported with appropriate materials and teacher professional development. In addition, it will afford a unique opportunity to combine prior developments into a coherent curriculum multi-year strand with a common format and set of tools. A detailed analysis of the reliability, validity, and appropriateness of measures will be conducted in two urban partner schools and then will expand to include approximately 50 districts nationwide. DRL EHR Horwitz, Paul Robert Tinker Concord Consortium MA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 102239 X702 SMET 9177 7180 0089221 September 15, 2000 Best Practices - Teacher Preparation - Technology: Connections that Enhance Children's Literacy Acquisition and Reading Achievement. This project will use knowledge about best practices of early literacy education to target teacher education, and by using case-based, anchored instruction. We will provide multimedia, case-based materials on CD/DVD-ROM and over the Internet, making visible the richness and complexity of best practice instruction to teacher educators, pre-service teachers, and classroom teachers. An extensive set of studies will use the digital, multimedia resources available at our site to study the use of a case-based approach to pre-service teacher education. We plan to accomplish three central objectives: (a) raise pre-service teachers' understanding of best practices of early literacy education; (b) increase pre-service teachers' use of best practices in the classroom when they first begin teaching; and (c) significantly raise young children's reading achievement. The project is based on two main assumptions: first, that sufficient research is available about "best practices" to teach reading and writing effectively; and, second, that technology can play a key role in improving reading achievement. Specifically, this project identifies instructional practices which are supported by scientific research and which have "stood the test of time" in exemplary teachers' classrooms. These best practices will be used to enhance pre-service teacher education through cases-based, anchored instruction, and establish guidelines and best practices for use of technology for K-3 classroom reading instruction. This pre-service delivery system and subsequent classroom instruction will be tested through a broad-based research program that assesses effects on teacher candidates as well as on children's literacy achievement, and disseminated through a "Best Practices in Literacy Web Site" and other means. Years 3 - 5 involve widespread experimental intervention studies with collaborating Southeast Literacy Consortium members (70 researcher/teacher educators at institutions in the southeastern U.S.) at 25-30 sites. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Labbo, Linda William Teale Donald Leu University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 5551059 X702 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089222 December 1, 2000 Looking Inside the Black Box: Classroom Practice that Supports High Achievement in Both Science and Reading: A Planning Grant. This project will focus on identifying, quantifying, and describing teaching strategies that result in high elementary student performance in reading and high elementary student performance in science. In today's environment of high stakes tests and increased accountability, elementary teachers are under pressure to devote increasing amounts of classroom time to reading and mathematics. Research on the relationship between reading and inquiry science may provide teachers with strategies for improving both the teaching of science and reading and for including science as a core subject. The long-term project will critically analyze teachers who are currently demonstrating success or failure in both reading and science (by measures such as standardized tests accepted by the state) and carefully document classroom practice and pedagogical strategies. Successful instructional approaches and common themes and patterns will be tied to a general theory of effective instruction. The project will have as partners two or three states that administer state-wide standardized tests in both language arts and science and have other supporting elements of systemic reform in place (e.g., standards and supporting policies). EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Century, Jeanne Rose Education Development Center MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 118363 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0089225 October 1, 2000 Increasing Reading Comprehension, Motivation and Science Knowledge through Concept_Oriented Reading Instruction in a District-wide Experiment. This investigation addresses the challenge of implementing effective instruction for reading comprehension in the elementary grades, based on a cognitive-motivational model of reading comprehension. From this framework, we developed Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI), which combines reading strategy instruction and inquiry science. The goals of the interdisciplinary team are to: (1) 'scale-up' CORI to the district level in the later elementary grades, (2) compare the effectiveness of CORI to strategy instruction (SI) and traditional reading instruction (TRI) for increasing reading comprehension, reading motivation, and science knowledge, (3) examine the variables influencing the scalability and sustainability of CORI, and (4) use technology for student learning, assessment, and teacher development. In a three-year longitudinal design, we are phasing-in CORI and comparison groups with a target sample of 3600 students across grades 3, 4 and 5 in 144 classes in 16 schools in one district. Effects of treatments are analyzed cross-sectionally and growth curve modeling is conducted longitudinally with Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Computer-based technology is used for: student learning (Internet web sites, computer tools, and CD-roms); student assessment (science knowledge); teacher professional development (preparation, collaboration, and monitoring); and dissemination. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Guthrie, John Pedro Barbosa Allan Wigfield University of Maryland College Park MD John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 4288214 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089231 October 1, 2000 Instructional Intervention to Promote Science and Literacy for Linguistically Diverse Elementary Students. The goal of this research is promoting science learning, particularly focusing on science inquiry, and literacy development for linguistically diverse as well as mainstream students. The research addresses the following questions: What are developmental trajectories in conducting science inquiry by linguistically diverse elementary students? What is the process of instructional intervention as teachers provide effective scaffolding on the nature of science and literacy with students' language and cultural experiences and the teacher explicit to student exploratory continuum? What is the impact of the instructional intervention on teacher change and student achievement over time that can be sustainable and scalable across diverse groups of students and teachers? How do state and district policies influence the implementation of the intervention? What are similarities and differences in the process and impact between two intervention conditions: (a) design experiments and (b) focused intervention? This 4-year research will be conducted at two sites, Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, the nation's fourth largest school district and San Francisco Unified School District in California. The research will involve grades 3, 4, and 5 elementary students at 6 elementary schools representing diverse ethnolinguistic backgrounds in each district. The research will include a total of 12 elementary schools, about 150 teachers, and about 4,500 students each year. Teachers will receive support for professional development in science and literacy instruction as well as diversity in language and culture. Instruction will focus on two units at each grade level, including the topics of measurement, states of matter, the water cycle, weather, the solar system, and heat energy. A key aspect is a longitudinal design with cohorts of teachers and students. Data collection will involve multiple sources across schools, teachers, and students. Patterns of change in teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and practices, as well as student achievement, will be analyzed. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Lee, Okhee Eugene Garcia Patricia Baquedano-Lopez University of Miami FL John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 2500000 X702 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089235 September 1, 2000 Data Research and Development Center (DRDC). This proposal requests support to plan and develop a Data Research and Development Center (DRDC) at National Opinion Research Center (NORC) and the University of Chicago. The mission of this Center would be improving the research capacities of individuals engaged in the conduct of interdisciplinary work in the areas of learning, instruction, and achievement. Substantive and methodological changes over the past five years in conduct of research are challenging researchers as they design, analyze, and disseminate their results. Investigators must produce findings that are generalizable to populations beyond small purposive samples and that are replicated across other data sets. Investigators are often unaware of how their findings relate to work in other areas or how their findings are consistent or inconsistent with larger samples. Creating a center where investigators are provided with information on other data sets and opportunities to learn how to access and analyze such information accomplishes two important objectives. First, it would be possible to link results across several data sets to produce more robust compelling evidence than if we had to rely on the results of a single study. Second, it would increase the capacity of individual investigators to replicate their findings more systematically and efficiently using a variety of data sets and methods. To accomplish these goals, we envision our Center as having four main objectives: (1) training, (2) research, (3) dialogue, and (4) data archiving and dissemination. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Schneider, Barbara Robert Zimmer David Sallach Larry Hedges Colm O'Muircheartaigh National Opinion Research Center IL John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 109708 X702 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0089239 September 1, 2000 Validation of the Astronomy Diagnostic Test. Astronomy education researchers require a validated content assessment instrument. The Collaboration for Astronomy Education Research has designed a 21 question test (the Astronomy Diagnostic Test, ADT) for undergraduate non-science majors that covers selected astronomical topics likely to be included during undergraduate non-science instruction. This instrument is intended to be given as a pre-test and as a post-test. The ADT was administered to approximately 2500 students at 26 different institutions during 1999. Approximately fifty video and audio interviews, and thirty written responses for each questions were collected during 1998 and 1999. Preliminary statistical analysis and validation tests have been done for the ADT. This project would complete the validation process through consultation with a psychometrician, disseminate the results, construct a dedicated web site providing access to the instrument along with databases for comparison of results with other similar institutions, and explore the needs of the community for a "next generation ADT." RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Deming, Grace Beth Hufnagel University of Maryland College Park MD Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 99524 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0089243 October 1, 2000 High Quality Teaching of Foundational Skills in Mathematics and Reading. This project will focus on the early learning of foundational skills and study how highly successful 4th and 5th grade teachers help students achieve above predicted rates, an o help close the achievement gap between highest and lowest performing students. We will ascertain if there is consistency among different indicators of teaching quality: nominations, classroom observations, and student learning gains, using multiple criteria (statistical significance, percentile distributions, and effect sizes) to select teachers on two different dimensions of high-quality teaching: academic excellence and equity. We will not presume that teachers who are unusually effective with their students "on-average" are the same ones who narrow the achievement gap without holding back high achievers. Nor will we presume that measures of "effectiveness" from student gain scores will correspond to measures of effectiveness that are embedded in observation instruments. Two researchers will observe teachers over one or two years using both standardized and open-ended protocols. Teachers and other school-based educators will be interviewed; key lessons in mathematics and reading will be videotaped. The planning grant will be used to refine the research design, questions and methodology; explore the feasibility of a comparative analysis; select the teacher sample through a database analysis; determine the final composition of the research team; collect, modify, and develop observation instruments; and establish a data management system. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Valli, Linda University of Maryland College Park MD Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 102078 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0089244 October 1, 2000 Testing a research/technology-based delivery system to improve student performance in mathematics and science in middle schools in rural, high-poverty communities. While hundreds of schools are implementing reform models through the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program, most implementations they do not meet all nine CSRD criteria. There is growing concern that the models being delivered through the CSRD program have not adequately reached isolated, rural schools in poor communities. The purpose of this planning grant is to develop a rigorous, research study proposal that will test the effectiveness of a prototype model (the Promising Futures Model-PFM) that meets the criteria for comprehensiveness and is designed to target middle schools located in isolated rural, high-poverty communities. The planning award will allow, the partners and collaborators to set the stage for a three-phase, five-year study to test the effects of a fully implemented PFM on teaching and learning in rural, high-poverty middle schools. As part of this proposal planning effort, an Interdisciplinary Research Team (IRT) will be formed. This team will include scientists and scholars representing diverse disciplines and perspectives, including economists and rural sociologists. A Delivery Team (DT) will be formed to refine the model to be tested and to ensure that the study proposal adequately addresses the complexity of implementing comprehensive school reform in diverse contexts. In addition to the IRT and the DT, an Advisory Committee will be formed to bring additional expertise (e.g., practitioners, national organizations, and stakeholders) to bear on the study proposal. The objective of the one-year planning grant is to fully develop a study proposal that incorporates a three-phase, five-year study to answer the following research questions: How does the PFM differ in implementation in diverse contexts with different kinds of teachers? Can the PFM be implemented in any rural community with fidelity? What does it cost? Is it affordable in the rural context? Does the PFM significantly raise student achievement in mathematics and science? EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Basom, Richard University of North Carolina Greensboro NC John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 100000 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089247 September 1, 2000 Professional Development Support Systems for Mathematics and Science Teaching. This project will develop a large-scale professional development strategy in mathematics and science to support pre-service and beginning K-12 teachers in mathematics and science. As part of the planning effort, the research team will formalize partnerships with major education organizations and engage in prototype development and feasibility research to develop models for courses, activities, and tools that will support the preparation of new teachers. The proposed professional development model would be most appropriate for college students in their junior and senior years or in post-baccalaureate programs, as well as for those in their first two years of teaching. The outcome of the planning grant will be a fully developed plan, with supporting research and evidence data, for the full scale implementation of the proposed effort. DRL EHR Gitomer, Drew Educational Testing Service NJ Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 106411 X702 SMET 9177 7180 0089255 October 1, 2000 Interagency Education Research Initiative: Planning Grant for National Data Collection Center. This project will plan a data collection center (DCC) to coordinate measurement instruments, facilitate research design planning and problem-solving, and coordinate the analysis of data from multiple projects within designated subject areas; it will also provide assistance in dissemination and utilization of research project results. We propose to focus upon: (a) designing a national data base (IERI Data Base), (b) designing an interactive portal to facilitate research collaboration (IERI Portal), and (c) designing an analytic workbench that performs selected data analyses (IERI Workbench). The project will consider a database that includes all IERI funded projects' proposed measures and student and teacher demographics; and guidelines for investigators to follow to compile their data for analysis and for reporting research results. The project is also considering an IERI Portal to provide IERI investigators, IERI program officers, and the scientific community with a collaborative environment for learning about ongoing and proposed research issues. The last consideration is an analytic workbench of software tools that specializes in (a) meta-analyses of intervention approaches and outcomes, (b) qualitative analyses of promising interventions and approaches, (c) selected secondary analyses of the planned national data base, and (d) identification and recommendation of future research directions. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Rusch, Frank James Levin Nicholas Burbules University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IL Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 99999 X702 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0089258 September 15, 2000 The Development of Fluent and Automatic Reading: Precursor to Learning from Text. Being able to read fluently is a critical developmental step in all young children's education. Reading fluency is neccessary for learning from science and social studies texts in later grades. The objectives of the proposal is to investigate the devleopment of fluency and automaticity in early elementary school reading. The research will refine existing programs for the development of fluent reading in classrooms and remedial reading settings. The study has three goals: (a) to develop and validate pedagogical approaches to developing reading fluency, specifically repeated reading and wide reading approaches; (b) to determine the effectiveness of approaches to providing remedial support for low-achieving children including decoding instruction, speeded word identification strategies, and repeated reading strategies; (c) to develop an empirically-based model of the development of fluency in beginning readers, particularly obligatoriness, spped, and resource availability aspects of fluent reading. Strand 1 will train classroom teachers in Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction (Stahl, Heubach, & Cramond, 1997) and Wide Reading approaches in their classrooms in schools in Atlanta, Rural Georgia, and New Jersey. The development of fluency in children in these classrooms will be measured through standardized and experimental methods both immediately following the intervention and a year later, and these children will compared to development of fluency in children receiving a traditional reading instruction. Effective methods will be implemented and disseminated. Strand 2 will examine remedial aspects of reading instruction designed to promote the development of fluent and automatic reading in struggling readers. This strand will examine the effectiveness of both Phonological and Strategy Training, Speeded Word Retrieval, and Repeated Reading strategies, both singly and in combination. The effectiveness of these will be compared to a traditional remedial instruction control. Both immediate and long term follow-up measures, on both standardized achievement and experimental measures, will be conducted to follow the progress of these children. Strand 3 will examine how the apects associated with automatic reading: obligatoriness, speed, and resource availabilty change together during the development of fluent reading during the second grade. Both a cross-sectional and two-year longitudinal study are planned. By examining all of these aspects together in a single ongitudinal study, a richer description and theoretical based for the development of fluent reading skill will be obtained. The strand will also develop the experiemtal measures of reading fluency to be used in other strands, The research conducted will add valuable knowledge regarding the ways to foster fluent automatic reading in young elementary school children. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Stahl, Steven Paula Schwanenflugel University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 39500 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0089259 August 1, 2000 Scalable and Sustainable Technologies for Reading Instruction and Assessment. Kintsch Summary The project will plan for the creation and assessment of an ambitious program to improve reading and writing achievement with the participation of Boulder Valley School District (K-12) and the State of Colorado Department of Education. The project brings together a team of cognitive scientists, speech scientists, educational researchers, computer scientists, administrators and educators to work to design an program that uses state-of-the-art language technologies to help students learn to read fluently and to write effectively and creatively. Specific objectives of the planning phase include (a) establishing the full interdisciplinary team, (b) working with administrators and educators in Colorado schools to create an integrated program in which interactive learning tools optimally complement and enhance existing teaching methods, (c) developing an evaluation plan that will assess the effectiveness of the program. The work will be performed in close collaboration with teachers, including the design of an initial program in which reading tutors will be used to recognize and interpret students' reading and writing behaviors and provide feedback to improve phonological awareness, reading fluency, comprehension and composition skills. Though much of the current work of members of the team is focused on early reading instruction; some of the methods (e.g., the comprehension-based methods that facilitate reading to learn) are also relevant for later grades. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Kintsch, Walter Lynn Snyder Richard Olson Ronald Cole Donna Caccamise University of Colorado at Boulder CO Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 107060 X702 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0089271 October 1, 2000 Promoting Active Reading Strategies to Improve Students' Understanding of Science. The problem addressed by this project regards high-school students' understanding of and ability to learn from difficult science texts. The first purpose of this project is to examine high school students' and teachers' knowledge about metacognitive reading strategies to better ascertain the need for strategy interventions, as well as teachers' ability to provide such training to students. The second purpose is to compare the effectiveness of three reading interventions and to thereby identify more effective methods for improving students' comprehension skills. The third purpose is to determine whether the benefits of reading interventions depend on students' skills, knowledge, or cultural environment. The fourth purpose is to develop a computerized training program that adaptively assigns a student to an appropriate training regime, and interactively provides reading training. Hence, this project bridges the two focus areas of the IERI initiative concerning reading skill acquisition and students' understanding of increasingly complex scientific ideas. Within these areas, this project will address issues regarding instructional practices in reading, the role of teacher learning and performance on student learning, optimal interventions for students at-risk of reading or academic failure, the development of better assessment techniques of knowledge and skill, and the use of technology to improve assessment and learning. DRL EHR McNamara, Danielle Raymond Morgan Irwin Levinstein Old Dominion University Research Foundation VA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 3196913 X702 SMET 9177 7180 0089283 January 1, 2001 BioKIDS: Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species. Between fourth and eighth grade, American students' achievement and understandings of complex science decline relative to their peers internationally. For urban students these declines are even more pronounced and, in many cities, standardized test scores remain among the nation's lowest. Through BioKIDS, late elementary students will embrace a coordinated curricular sequence that will support them as they grapple with complex science questions of their own design early, often, for multiple years, in multiple contexts and with the support of technologies tailored to their own needs and goals. Student learning and beliefs in biodiversity and other topics will be tracked over multiple years to profile in-depth and sustained inquiry learning. Standards of evidence will be used to provide compelling examples of late elementary inquiry that can compliment high-stakes testing. Hybrid technologies will serve as change agents for learning and will be embedded into many aspects of the learning activities. Interdisciplinary teams will converge on effective means of representing complex science for inquiry activities at different ages. Existing multi-year relationships with urban Detroit and schools nationally will serve as essential partners in the study of teacher support for innovation and scaling towards large impact. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Songer, Nancy Philip Myers University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 4564681 X702 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089285 October 1, 2000 Planning a Research Program to Study How to Improve the Effectiveness of Using Telecommunications to Teach Science. This project will lay the groundwork for a methodologically rigorous five-year study that on ways to improve the use of telecommunications in the teaching of high school. During this phase, the project will look at variables that enhance the effectiveness of telecommunication technologies in teaching and learning science. The project will also identify or plan a psychometrically sound measure of student learning achievement in accordance with 2061tms science standards. On that basis, the project will design one or more appropriate professional development interventions and an experimental design on to determine their effectiveness in enhancing student achievement in science. Teachers, by and large, are unprepared to create effective technology-rich learning environments. The five-year study will focus on how professional development and other interventions help teachers improve their ability to evaluate and integrate telecommunication tools and related curriculum and instructional materials into effective science instruction in secondary science. Student achievement will be measured against national science education standards (American Association for the Advancement of Science 1993; National Research Council 1996). schools. DRL EHR Hull, Darrell George Nelson Robert Tinker Agustin Navarra Roger Kirk CORD TX Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 104351 X702 SMET 9177 7180 0089293 October 1, 2000 Representing and Learning from Classroom Processes. Innovative video-based techniques are opening new windows on the processes involved in teaching and learning. Yet experiences with using video examples as a method of providing instruction about teaching suggests that there are important obstacles to be overcome before this technology can serve as the basis for improving education. This proposal will address the problems involved in developing effective ways to use video records of classroom processes as a means to help teachers reflect on the processes of teaching and learning. The research has two major related goals: 1) studying the cognitive processes involved in learning from video and developing effective combinations of materials and tasks that promote teacher understanding of classroom processes, and 2) developing new methods for producing and disseminating video records of classroom processes that overcome some of the major limitations of current techniques. The proposed studies will describe the problem space of video materials and viewer tasks to find an optimal set of procedures for effectively using vignettes taken from classroom video as an educational technique. To promote generalization of results, the proposed studies will include children at two grade levels (1 & 4) and focus on two central topics in elementary school mathematics (learning about number representation and place value in grade 1, and learning about fraction representation and equivalence in grade 4). The system will be tested for its impact on teacher understanding, teaching practices, and student learning. The system will use the Internet to develop and implement teacher learning communities. Experience in developing and testing these materials will also facilitate extending the approach to other grades and domains. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Miller, Kevin James Stigler David Brady Michelle Perry University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IL John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1824224 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089294 January 1, 2001 COORDINATING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR SUSTAINED ACADEMIC SUCCESS. This planning grant is designed to serve as the foundation for a full-scale proposal to the IERI. During planning grant the project will run a pilot study which begins to integrate the existing activities in order to collect preliminary data on barriers to vertical integration, and will work with a second geographical location as a site for studying the replication of the vertical integration model system. The major goal of the long term research project is to identify the institutional and social arrangements necessary for the successful vertical integration of proven after-school educational K-12 programs. Currently, these programs operate independently at the pre-school, elementary school, middle and high school levels. Our goal is to bring together an interdisciplinary team to design a vertically integrated system of such activities and to develop a set of methodological tools which will be useful for studying and integrating after-school programs more generally. This vertical integration will constitute an effective pipeline for educational achievement in SMET. Such integration is necessary for the development of individual students, for the mutual support of after-school and school activities, and for sustaining these design efforts. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Cole, Michael University of California-San Diego CA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 118496 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089302 October 1, 2000 Building Bridges to Student and Teacher Learning: Early Literacy Assessment and Intervention Planning Grant. The project will expand the work of a teacher-researcher collaboration in the area of early literacy development, particularly early identification of and intervention for children at-risk for reading failure. The objectives of this work are threefold: (a) refine and pilot test the efficacy of a comprehensive literacy assessment and accompanying interventions to be used with at-risk children in kindergarten and first grade in preparation for a future large-scale efficacy study, (b) use the software tools developed by TIMSS Video-R project and LessonLab to create a digital video library of illustrations of literacy assessments and interventions, and to document changes in instructional practices in the classroom as a result of implementing the literacy assessment and intervention, and (c) using information from the pilot efficacy study and the digital library, begin to develop a model program for literacy assessment and intervention to be used in teacher professional development. The pilot efficacy study involves two treatment conditions and one no-treatment comparison condition. One of the treatment groups uses the assessment and interventions with full support from the project team for formative evaluation purposes, a second is supported only by the web-based (digitized materials to examine the assessment s use under anticipated future implementation conditions. If successful, this study will show that it is possible to affect change in reading out comes for at-risk children by providing teachers with assessment tools and intervention choices focused on early literacy development. Results of the study will aid in the design and implementation of the large-scale efficacy study and the development of a model program for early identification and intervention that can be disseminated electronically. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Bailey, Alison Ronald Gallimore University of California-Los Angeles CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 109162 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0089625 September 1, 2000 Visual Literacy in Mathematics: Hyperseeing and Knots -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research. 0089625 FRIEDMAN The proposed project develops and pilots an experimental module on knot theory for students in grades 3-5. As part of the piloting process, a few teacher workshops are being provided to help pilot teachers understand the mathematics and learn how to use the module effectively. The effects of the module would be assessed in terms of student use of visualization, spatial reasoning and geometric modeling to solve problems. The module would be disseminated by placement on the web and through future workshops with teachers. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Friedman, Nathaniel SUNY at Albany NY Mark Saul Standard Grant 92836 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0090024 April 15, 2001 Planning for the "Mind and Learning" Exhibit Area -- A Planning Grant. This 12-month planning phase will prepare the Exploratorium to develop a major collection of exhibits and activities on human thought and behavior. Because of the abundance of dramatic, new scientific research in human cognition and how this topic can be explored in an informal setting by the public, the institution will perform a one-year research and planning project. The team will investigate work by other science centers through site visits, conduct audience research on their needs in learning about cognitive science, consult with advisors, develop and test exhibit prototypes and evaluate the process. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pearce, Michael Susan Schwartzenberg Exploratorium CA Orrin Shane Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0090332 September 15, 2001 Interpreting Finger Lakes Geoscience: A Planning Grant. A regional system of collaborative geoscience interpretation for the Finger Lakes region of New York State will be undertaken. The Museum of the Earth (MOTE) will be the interpretive hub and partnerships with six Finger Lakes State Parks, Cornell University and the Paleontological Institute are in place to provide field sites and geology content information. The integrated interpretive system of signage and related exhibits will be assessed as to reaching the needs of the target audience by way of extensive front end evaluation. The development of the geoscience content and prototyping of the signage will continue throughout the planning period. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Wizevich, Karen Paleontological Research Institute NY Barry A. Van Deman Standard Grant 49698 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0091749 September 1, 2000 A Conference Grant -- Enhancing the Public Understanding of Research -- January 28-30, 2001, Boston.. 0091749 ELLIS The Museum of Science in Boston is conducting a workshop/symposium that will focus on the question of how best to address the issue of enhancing public understanding of major, on-going research efforts. The workshop will begin a critical discussion among researchers and some of the most prominent practitioners of informal public education in the areas of science, engineering and technology. The discussion will explore possible directions that might be taken in regard to disseminating information about research to the public and in increasing the public's understanding of the role and possible implications of this research. Issues to be examined include: The scope and aspects of research upon which to focus The present obstacles to public understanding The advantages and disadvantages of different approaches for disseminating information Costs and time frames of different approaches How to encourage and implement collaboration and networking among institutions that have the goal of increasing public understanding. The general goal of the workshop is twofold: to provide feedback that will inform the creation of new programs to address the issue of enhancing public understanding of research and to share ideas among institutions that have a common purpose. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ellis, David Museum of Science MA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 86750 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0092547 February 1, 2001 Using Videos for Professional Development -- A Conference Grant. The purpose of the conference is for individuals from leading edge projects who are creating ways to focus professional development on actual classroom practices and, more specifically, using video as a tool for professional development, to: * share lessons they have learned about video tape design, platforms and software that facilitates video case study, and the use of videos with teachers; and * identify issues that still need to be addressed related to the use of video to improve instruction. Researchers and Developers of such video programs will convene for three and one-half days to consider these lessons and issues, using four of five "cases" of video development and use to focus the discussion. Based on these discussions, a monograph in print and web-based formats will be produced, which discusses the important challenges faced by professional development leaders as they develop and use videos in their own settings. The monograph will capture the lessons learned about overcoming these challenges and about using videos successfully in a side range of settings. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Bybee, Rodger Joan Ferrini-Mundy Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO Patricia K. Freitag Standard Grant 139658 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0092610 September 1, 2001 PECASE: Making a Case for New Elementary Science Teachers. This PECASE award is a longitudinal study of how elementary teachers learn to teach science. Of particular interest is supporting new elementary teachers--preservice teachers and teachers in their first four years ofteaching--in learning to teach inquiry-based science, and investigating how these teachers learn from a supportive, integrated, technology-mediated instructional resource and learning environment. The research will characterize teacher learning and propose a mechanism explaining that learning; investigate ways that specific supports provided using technology and contextual features of their larger environment are related to that learning; and identify links among teachers' learning, their practice, and their students' learning. Research objectives will be met through interrelated series of longitudinal learning studies, design studies, community studies, and context studies. As a context in which teacher learning and ways of supporting that learning can be investigated, an integrated instructional resource and technology-mediated learning environment for teachers called CASES will be developed. CASES will provide teachers with curricular materials they need in their first years of teaching, and will help them make sense of the complex ideas about science teaching in the context of their practice. The development of CASES will be based on a theoretical foundation grounded in current sociocognitive approaches to teaching, learning, and technology design. The teaching plan involves integrating the CASES learning environment in the researcher's elementary science methods courses for undergraduate and masters students preparing to be elementary teachers. The work will also be discussed in a doctoral course, and doctoral students will serve as mentors for new teachers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Davis, Elizabeth University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 723674 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1076 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0092641 August 15, 2000 Evaluation Training Programs: Strategies for Success. The issue of evaluation for mathematics and science education programs has been a concern for the field of evaluation and NSF for several years. The pool of qualified evaluators is not large enough to keep pace with the growing need for and interest in evaluation. To this end, in 1996 the AERA Grants Program created the Evaluation Training Program (ETP), designed to train doctoral students in state-of-the-art evaluation theory and practice, and to stimulate the development of evaluator training programs at four select higher education institutions. As the ETP winds down, there exists a window of opportunity to evaluate the program and use the experience gained to assist NSF in developing new programs to train qualified evaluators for mathematics and science education programs. This proposal includes a formal evaluation of the ETP, meetings of ETP students and PIs and the creation of an Advisory Panel to assist NSF staff as they consider the next steps for NSF-funded evaluator training. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Russell, William American Educational Research Association DC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 99795 7261 SMET 9177 0092648 April 15, 2001 CAREER: Conceptual Dynamics in Complex Science Interventions. Many recent innovations in science education are designed to embed science learning into meaningful contexts. These task-structured curricula are organized around specific projects, goals, or issues that cut across multiple content areas at varying levels of depth, unlike content-structured curricula that are organized around disciplinary topics. The content covered in these new curricula has different properties when compared to content-structured curricula, which makes the description and measurement of learning difficult. This project aims to develop theoretical frameworks and methodological strategies that can be used to characterize conceptual change in task-structured curricula. The project will result in three outputs: (1) an assembly of theoretical frameworks and methodological strategies referred to as the Conceptual Dynamics program, (2) application of the program to analyze existing task-structured curricula, and (3) development of resources for teaching students in the learning sciences. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sherin, Bruce Northwestern University IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 581711 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0092746 September 15, 2001 CAREER: Understanding and Cultivating the Development of Students' Competencies in Justifying and Proving. Proof is central to the discipline and practice of mathematics. In school mathematics proof is rarely encountered outside the realm of Euclidean geometry. Recent reform efforts in mathematics education call on schools to provide all students with opportunities and experiences throughout the mathematics curriculum. Yet little is known about the ways grade school students learn to conjecture, to justify and to prove mathematically. More specifically, the grade-levels where least is known are 6th through 8th. With this in mind then, the objectives of this middle school proof study are as follows: Understand the development of students' competencies in justifying and proving: To understand the conditions and pedagogy necessary to promote the development of those competencies; and To develop teacher preparation and professional development materials designed both to enhance teachers' understandings of proof and to support them in fostering the development of students' competencies in justifying and proving. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Knuth, Eric University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 701649 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0092831 April 1, 2001 CAREER: Designing Communities of Practice to Support Math, Science, Technology, and Pedagogy Learning. The idea "virtual communities" has captured popular, as well as scholarly, attention. This interest takes place in an America that is increasingly concerned about the loss of face-to-face community. Advocates of online communities hope that by leveraging technology, we can recreate a "we" that has steadily eroded into many isolated "I's." Educators are exploring the value of employing a "community" model for supporting learning. The idea is that through participating in a community, novice learners can learn through collaboration with others and work with more experienced "old-timers." Much like in an apprenticeship, learners observe old-timers, and then gradually begin to adopt the practices of the community. In this model, learning is not abstracted from useful activity, but a part of it. By making learning immediate, practical, and real, educators hope to overcome the historical problems of engaging students and teachers in meaningful learning, and the contemporary problems of students who are disaffected by school. The community-based approach to learning has enormous theoretical and practical potential, but it is imperative that these environments be studied empirically. What is the educational value of a community approach to learning? Can learning through participation in a community help students overcome the historical barriers to entering math, science, and technology, and promote the development math, science, and technology skills? Does it have a special role in fostering deep learning? Are their gender differences and how can we develop online communities that do not exacerbate the digital divide? While this grant will learn from other successful projects (e.g., Tapped In, Math Forum, etc.), this work will primarily focus on the research and design of three different learning environments designed to support learning about math, science, and technology. Each one of these projects is substantial and offers a unique contribution to our understanding of learning through community participation. However, a thorough cross-project analysis will leverage the unique aspects of each situation while at the same time allowing us to make scientifically grounded claims across cases. We will systematically research both the effectiveness of this community approach in terms of learning as well as the processes through which such communities form. For each setting we will emphasize different types of evidence. First, the Inquiry Learning Forum project entails a Web-based professional development network for improving pedagogical practices of preservice and inservice math and science teachers. We will use discourse analysis to examine the quality of their online discussions, interviews and questionnaires to assess their conceptions of pedagogy, and visits to their classrooms to observe actual practice. In the second online community targeted toward children learning math and science, we will conduct pre- and post-tests on their understanding of math and science, interviews to test the depth of their understanding of these content areas, and we will use content rubrics to examine the richness of the artifacts they produce as part of community participation. Third, in the technology course for preservice teachers, we will analyze class assignments, use rubrics to examine portfolios of teaching with technology, and observe their classroom practice. Central to all this work is a commitment to not only producing scientifically credible knowledge about building online communities to support learning math, science, and technology skills, but also to providing a community service that takes part in and facilitates change. EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC PROGRAM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Barab, Sasha Indiana University IN Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 698746 5978 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 5927 5912 1187 1045 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0093093 October 1, 2001 CAREER: Learning Entropy and Energy Project (LEEP). Absent an adequate language to talk about change and the direction of change, science curricula are fundamentally constrained to over-emphasize static constructs like taxonomies and memorized sequences of events. In contrast with these over-simplified, statics-based curricula, the world students live in is complex and dynamic. A fundamental disconnect is created between what learners know of their world and the current statics-based science they are taught in school. In addition to moving toward a math of change strand in school curricula and early university curricula (e.g. early non-calculus sciences), a full dynamics-based curriculum needs to address the directed-ness we experience in the world around us. When we get up in the morning, energy always flows from our warm feet to the cold floor and never the other way around. The second law of thermodynamics the entropy law is the only law of science that allows learners to understand the directed-ness of physical process. Replacing statics-based curricula with a full dynamics-based reform depends vitally on being able to talk about change but also on being able to talk about the direction of change. Recent educational innovations related to the early introduction of the math of change e.g. the use of motion detectors and powerful simulation software are starting to find their way into significant curricular reform. Unfortunately, entropy related fundamental research, materials development, and course-work aimed at advancing the dynamic-based understanding of all learners is all but non-existent. This grant is aimed at addressing this critical missing element in pursuing dynamics-based reform. Over a decade of entropy-based research and innovation leads me to believe that entropy ideas can be incorporated into learning about energy dynamics early on in science education, that entropy can be taught in a way that is cross-disciplinary and cross-level (from the very small to the very large), and that moving in this direction not only advances student understanding of entropy but that the ability of all students to better understand and succeed, at virtually all levels of their science learning, is significantly advanced. Although I intend for this entropy-focused work to impact science learning from late elementary through the wide range of undergraduate science courses, my primary focus will be on two critical junctures in students' lives relative to formal science learning: early high school and early university level work. Coming into these junctures many students are "still in the game" and are interested in further science study. Coming out of these junctures many students decide to leave, especially students from under-represented groups. Courses taught at these levels will serve both as testbeds for the efficacy of entropy-based learning and as research settings. In schools, I will focus primarily on the state-mandated, ninth-grade Integrated Physics and Chemistry course. At the university level I will focus on a newly developed undergraduate science course titled Entropy and Energy that I will co-teach with a research physicist who is also Co-Director of the completely restructured and rapidly growing new secondary certification program called UTeach. Domain courses, such as this, in the new UTeach program are to model Standards-based teaching at the university level. Research insights related to student learning as such learning with entropy will be integrated with my newly developed Knowing and Learning course that is the first required education course for all the UTEACH students. Through the establishment of a work circle of teachers in schools, through the establishment of a brown-bag seminar series at the university, through research presentations and publications, and through the development of a Learning Entropy and Energy (LEEP) website, this project is intended to support a larger conversation related to the efficacy and significance of learning about and with entropy as a vital part of moving towards a dynamics-based curriculum for all students. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stroup, Walter University of Utah UT Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 280244 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0093292 August 1, 2001 CAREER: Examining the mutual construction of learning and teaching in university mathematics classrooms. To investigate the teaching undergraduate mathematics that strives to allow students to develop personally meaningful understandings of the mathematics in typical undergraduate curricula through a case study of one teacher; and To develop a professional development program for graduate teaching assistants from a theoretically based perspective. In addition, this teaching assistant certification program will be a site for research in teacher development through a teacher development experiment. In particular, the work on this project is toward developing models of teaching at the undergraduate level that both extend and inform what is known about teaching at the K-12 level. These models then form a basis for implementing professional development programs that can affect reform at the undergraduate level, leading to a cohesive K-16 mathematics education program. The first phase of the project, underway in the 2001-2002 academic year is an intensive case study of one mathematics faculty member, teaching calculus, noted for innovative instruction that leads to meaningful mathematical participation among his students. The case study involves daily interviews with the instructor on his plans and the results of his interactions with the students in class, which are also videotaped and observed. The focus of the analysis on this teacher looks at: ways in which this teacher uses his content knowledge in practice; ways in which he incorporates technology into teaching calculus, and the ways in which he deals with the dilemmas of teaching in the university setting. In addition, analysis of student work provides insight on the possible impact that instruction has on student learning. The second phase of the project is the developmental research on graduate teaching assistant professional development. Using a Teacher Development Experiment [TDE] (Simon, 1999) model and emergent and situative theoretical perspectives, the research and development focuses on developing and testing instructional tasks used with graduate teaching assistants in a university-sponsored Teaching Assistant Certification Program. The results of this research lead to both a better understanding by the field of the processes involved in teaching at the university level, in understanding the professional growth as teaching assistants of future faculty, and in materials to use to foster growth of future faculty. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR King, Karen Joan Ferrini-Mundy Michigan State University MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 256917 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1045 0093319 June 1, 2001 CAREER: Strategies Developed by Chemistry Graduate Students in Pedagogical and Empirical Content Knowledge. Strategies Developed by Chemistry Graduate Students in Pedagogical and Empirical Content Knowledge. The study investigates the professional development of graduate students in two distinctly different areas, pedagogical content knowledge or PCK, and empirical content knowledge, ECK. Empirical content knowledge is defined as the knowledge of strategies, knowledge of research tools, and content knowledge that define successful research practice in a field. The definition of PCK for successful teaching is the knowledge of teaching strategies , the particular student population, areas of common difficulty, and teaching tools. The context for study of both areas is one of situated learning as graduates students work in teaching laboratories and research laboratories. Inquiry also concerns the characteristics of the learning environment for new graduate students, particularly learning conversations about research and/or pedagogy. Since problem solving is the essence of successful research or teaching practice, one assessment of strategies will originate from solution-pathway analyses created by graduate students as they solve problems authored by the research & teaching directors in a virtual learning environment. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Bond-Robinson, Janet University of Kansas Center for Research Inc KS Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 527196 9150 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 1187 1045 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0093494 September 15, 2001 CAREER: Developing Frameworks for Student Mathematical Reasoning: The Case of the Undergraduate Transition Courses. The objective of this project is to develop research based frameworks for understanding the mathematical reasoning of students enrolled in "transition" mathematics courses at the college level, that focus on the introductory aspects of mathematical logic, and proof (e.g., Linear Algebra). This study of student reasoning will look at issues associated with student justification and explanation as they relate to students learning of proof. Further, the researcher will investigate the progressive mathematization of students, as these students struggle intellectually with notions of symbolism and definition in the context of mathematical proof. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Zandieh, Michelle Arizona State University AZ Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 501245 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0093505 April 15, 2001 CAREER: Collaborative Representations: Supporting Online Knowledge-building Discourse. The present widespread interest in the use of computers for online learning at all levels from primary school to university and adult education presents an unprecedented opportunity for leveraging the computational medium's strengths for learning. Along with this opportunity comes profound responsibility to adopt these technologies in ways specifically proven to support learning. Research on learning shows that social processes such as collaboration and mentoring play an important role. Likewise, many disciplines make use of rich forms of visual representations, and research has shown that proper use of visual representations can impact on learning. Yet, existing software for online learning provides only primitive support for manipulation of representations other than text, and there is a lack of research on how representational tools and online discussion tools may be constructively combined. The Collaborative Representations project is exploring ways to design interactive software in which learners can easily collaborate online while learning with rich representations. The project is also studying how the representations themselves may be designed to guide learners into knowledge-building discourse. Software for online learning is being developed in collaboration with teachers and scientists to help ensure suitability for instructional objectives. Controlled experiments are being undertaken to refine the software design and to assess the effects of the representations on discourse processes and on learning outcomes. Instructional and assessment strategies are being developed in the context of authentic research projects involving students, teachers and scientists, and will be disseminated to teachers through professional development activities. Continued work in this area will contribute to a scientifically tested theory of representationally rich collaborative learning, and inform the design of the next generation of software and associated instructional and assessment strategies for online learning. This work is being undertaken with the assistance of graduate students who are receiving training in methodologies for the design and evaluation of educational technologies. Additionally, new courses are being proposed for our degree program, courses specifically designed to expose future information technology workers to the importance of addressing the human dimension of information systems, particularly in educational and training applications. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Suthers, Daniel University of Hawaii HI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 402755 9150 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 1187 1045 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0094509 September 1, 2000 TeachingTeachers.org. 0094509 KORF WGBH is at the initial stages of developing TeachingTeachers.org. This project will utilize WGBH's extensive broadcast, video and interactive programming resources to support teacher education and student learning in science at the K-12 grade levels. As currently conceived, the result will be a searchable, Web-based repository of no-cost, high-quality materials that teachers can easily access for their own professional development as well as to support classroom activities with students. They are seeking immediate support to study the viability, usefulness, and functionality of the proposed model. The Principal investigator reports that they have made significant progress in developing the concept over the past year. With NSF support they will be able to complete the design of a prototype, test its component parts with target users, and explore options to keep the resources free of commercial agendas. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Korf, Michele WGBH Educational Foundation MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 100000 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0095023 January 1, 2001 Molecular Visualization and Science Education: Promoting Collaboration across Disciplines. This project consists of a three-step strategy for supporting collaboration among diverse research communities with the goals of encouraging the research-based analysis of molecular visualization and defining the role of molecular visualization in the teaching of chemistry . An invitational workshop on molecular visualization in the teaching of chemistry will provide a forum for lead chemists, cognitive scientists, and chemical educators to define directions for new research and development in this field, in particular with respect to modes of interaction with visualizations of molecular structure and dynamics. The project also provides travel support for 20 teachers, school administrators, college and university faculty, and graduate students attending the Gordon Research Conference on Science Education and Visualization: International, August 5-10, 2001. In order to encourage continuing collaboration among In order to continue emerging collaborations that form at the 2001 Gordon Research Conference on Science Education and Visualization, participants will be invited to apply for five minigrants of $5,000 each to continue interdisciplinary collaborations formed to conduct research or development work in molecular visualization in science education. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Jones, Loretta University of Northern Colorado CO Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 236746 1666 SMET 9177 0095450 July 1, 2001 A Revision of Investigatons in Number, Data and Space: Focus on Algebra and Assessment. "Investigations in Number, Data and Space" is an elementary school mathematics curriculum which reflects research on, and best practices in, learning and teaching mathematics in grades K-5. NSF funded the development of the original curriculum, starting in 1990. This revision of the "Investigations" curriculum will focus on the integration of algebraic thinking throughout the curriculum, the development of comprehensive assessment tools, and the strengthening of the number and operations strand. This work is informed by feedback from the field, as well as by recent recommendations for improving the mathematics curriculum. These revisions will be carried out and tested in an established network of school system partners, teacher collaborators and educational leaders. In addition to revising the curriculum, the project will develop materials to support teachers as they implement the curriculum. Additional materials will be developed for parents and administrators. The summative evaluation of the project will include longitudinal student achievement data, following two groups of students for three years each. Cost sharing will include substantial contributions from the publisher, Scott Foresman, and the developer, TERC. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Russell, Susan Jo Karen Economopoulos TERC Inc MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 4985865 7355 7300 7271 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0095520 August 15, 2001 Embedding Assessments in the FAST Curriculum. Embedding Assessments in the FAST Curriculum is a feasibility study on the impact of formative student assessment on student performance. The project develops a framework to create a set of formative and summative assessments from the FAST middle school science program. The assessment-embedded unit will be evaluated in a small, randomized experiment focusing on both student learning and teacher implementation. If the feasibility study demonstrates that the framework and methods impact teaching and learning, a full-scale research and development effort to link assessments with curricula will be proposed using FAST and other middle school programs. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Shavelson, Richard Stanford University CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 764316 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0095684 March 15, 2001 Exploring Earth. The goal of "Exploring Earth" is to weave into a tightly integrated package the revised textbook, in depth student investigations of core topics in Earth sciences, and a web site of Earth science images, animations and other visualizations. The project is a collaboration between the publisher (McDougall Littel) of the most widely used high school Earth science textbook and TERC. The investigations serve as challenging and stimulating entry points into or extensions from major topics, providing opportunity for student-guided applications to real-world scenarios. They include investigations at local study sites, design of experiments, working with visualizations, and real-time data and experimenting with models and simulations. The website features images from space, real-time data, and information about theories, data and recent events to extend and deepen student learning. Students develop an understanding of Earth and space science and of Earth as system by experiencing Earth and space science as a process of inquiry, exploration and discovery; by observing, exploring and monitoring the environment around them; and by learning to use the tools of modern technologies. The project builds upon previous work of both parties to provide all teachers a pathway for easier change to the increased use of inquiry and electronic technologies. The materials contain a guide for professional development of teachers and workshops are held to support learning Earth science in urban environments. The evaluation includes pilot and field testing the materials and evidence of student learning. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Barstow, Daniel Tamara Ledley TERC Inc MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 2629301 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0095726 August 1, 2001 Tech*Know: Integrated Instructional Materials for Technological Literacy. This proposal is for the creation of 20 modules of instruction that would be based on technology education, problem-solving activities that are part of the curriculum of the Technology Student Association (TSA), and that are consistent with standards for technological literacy as published by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA). Science and mathematics content would be added to these TSA activities. The grade levels would be middle and high school. For the middle school level units include Cyberspace pursuit, Dragster design challenge and Flight challenge. At the high school level units include electronic systems, manufacturing prototype and radio-controlled transportation. The project will extend over four years. Materials will be piloted and field-tested by TSA and non-TSA teachers, in North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma and Virginia. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Penick, John Rosanne White Tom Shown Jerianne Taylor North Carolina State University NC Karen F. Zuga Continuing grant 1824387 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0095922 September 1, 2001 Invention-Innovation-Inquiry: Units for Technological Literacy, Grades 5-6. This proposal is for the creation of two units of instruction in technology education, yielding ten modules for the fifth and sixth grades. The units are titled "Design and Innovation, and Technology Systems," and would seek to interpret the recently published standards for technological literacy. Modules include: Communication--Better ideas in history; Power and Energy--Circuits in a city; Manufacturing--Keeping food fresh; Transportation--People and goods in motion; Health--Fighting disease in the air; Ecosystem--Energy from the sun; Construction--Keeping the heat in and out; Innovation--people making things better; Invention--Creating the new thing; and Environment--Changing waste. Units will be piloted and field-tested in eight states by exemplary teachers. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS DRL EHR Starkweather, Kendall Daniel Engstrom International Technology Education Association VA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 995039 7355 1748 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0095938 September 15, 2001 Project CUES: Constructing Understandings of Earth Systems. "Constructing Understandings of Earth Systems (CUES)" is a comprehensive treatment of the Earth and Space Science Content of the National Science Education Standards for middle school students. The materials address fundamental Earth Systems content. The Earth evolves as a synergistic physical system of interrelated phenomena, processes and cycles that may be affected by human activities. To support the integration of subject matter knowledge and the nature of science, students engage in guided and student-driven inquiry and use CD-ROM or Web-based tools to gather data and promote their explorations through photographs and visualizations. Students are expected to make informed decisions about science-based personal and social issues. The topics covered include the stucture of the solar system, cycles within Earth/Space Systems, flow of matter and energy in and on Earth and in ecosystems, plate tectonics and its effects, the water cycle and weather, fossils, processes that shape the land, change, renewable resources, and resource management and sustainability. The textbook is accompanied by content video, a teacher's guide, professional development materials and a website. The variety of assessments include discovering pre-conceptions, embedded assessments, standardized tests, and open-ended questions. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Benbow, Ann John Southard Norman Lederman Matthew Smith American Geological Institute VA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1682666 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096162 March 1, 2000 PRIMES: Parents Rediscovering and Interacting with Math and Engaging Schools. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Goldman, Shelley Jennifer Knudsen WestEd CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1930042 7355 7300 7259 SMET OTHR 9177 1381 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096238 March 1, 2000 Project VITAL (Video Interactives for Teacher Analysis and Learning) Pilot. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Goldman, Shelley WestEd CA Monica M. Neagoy Standard Grant 131631 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096308 May 1, 2000 Strengthening Science Inquiry, Assessment And Teaching: Professional Development Materials To Instill Ongoing Student Assessment. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Carlson, Maura Gregg Humphrey WestEd CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 505914 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096318 April 1, 2000 Parents and Children as Co-Travelers (PACCT). INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Morris, Linda Jan Anstatt Challenger Center for Space Science Education VA Michael Haney Continuing grant 241119 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096337 June 1, 2000 School District Capacity to Support the Mathematics Standards in Secondary Classrooms. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Sanders, Nancy Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning CO Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 141275 7261 SMET 9177 0096509 July 1, 2001 Lancaster Children Excelling in Mathematics. Funded under the guidelines for Local Systemic Change (LSC) through Teacher Enhancement, this five-year project is a collaboration among the School District of Lancaster (Pennsylvania), LaSalle University, and the Education Trust. The project supports professional development and curricular implementation for 400 teachers of mathematics in grades K-12 and 30 administrators, to meet the District's goal of having 90% of students meet high mathematics standards by 2005. Lancaster's LSC plan includes: 1. 180 hours of professional development for 400 mathematics/support teachers in implementing Everyday Mathematics in grades K-6, Impact in grades 7-8, and NSF-supported instructional materials (Interactive Mathematics Program, Core-Plus, or Math Connections) as the core for all mathematics students in grades 9-12. 2. An additional 90 hours of staff support through modeling, coaching, and collaboration with internal and external mentors. 3. 150 hours of instructional leadership training for administrators and school-based mentors (Instructional Facilitators). 4. Community mathematics fora on supporting mathematics learning. School-based Instructional Facilitators (IF) provide daily support for teachers in improving teaching and learning through modeling, coaching and facilitating teacher collaboration. Each of the District's thirteen elementary schools, four middle schools, one alternative secondary school, and one high school has at least one IF. In addition to the required LSC core evaluation, the project's evaluation includes a student achievement component: (a) the Pennsylvania State Assessments measuring students' progress in mathematics at grades 5, 8, and 11; (b) the New Standards Reference Exam measuring students' progress in mathematics at grades 4, 7, and 10; and (c) district-wide, 9-week assessments (performance-based tasks adopted and adapted from nationally recognized assessments, including Exemplars and Maryland State Assessments) measuring students' progress throughout the year in mathematics at grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Bishop, Rita Mary Leer School District of Lancaster PA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 1789813 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096511 July 1, 2001 Preparing K-12 Teachers to Teach Physics and Physical Science by Inquiry. This five-year Teacher Enhancement project will create Professional Development Materials for teachers of physical science and physics with an emphasis on the K-8 grade levels. It is envisioned that professionals who deliver physical science/physics workshops for K-8 teachers will use the materials in short courses and workshops. The materials will be developed and piloted in summer institutes at the University of Washington and in other venues nationwide, including at professional meetings. Both print and computer-based materials will be guided by discipline-based physics education research conducted by the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR McDermott, Lillian Paula Heron Peter Shaffer University of Washington WA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 3593398 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096609 September 1, 2001 Valle Imperial Mathematics K-8 Local Systemic Change Project. The Valle Imperial Mathematics K-8 Local Systemic Change Project (VIM) is a collaborative initiative between the El Centro School District, the Imperial County Office of Education and San Diego State University, Imperial Valley Campus. It is one part of a broad systemic reform initiative in Imperial County, California designed to implement standards-based instruction in mathematics. This five year LSC project is designed to support all 1,230 K-8 teachers of mathematics in Imperial County through the implementation of high quality, standards-based mathematics materials, instruction and assessment in their classrooms. It focuses on rich standards-based mathematics content, constructivist instructional methods to promote student understanding, research on children's learning of critical mathematical constructs, strategies to increase mathematics achievement in language minority students, and the design and use of appropriate student assessment strategies. The VIM project design will utilize a strategy to build leadership capacity with a cadre of teachers within the region. Preservice will be restructured at San Diego State University with a focus on strengthening the mathematics background of prospective teachers. Existing teachers will be afforded the opportunities to participate in a program to receive advanced degrees in Mathematics Education. The project will utilize the regional fiber optic network as a means of extending teacher enhancement. An interactive platform to enhance professional development and networking opportunities for teachers will be used to provide distance learning staff development. The project design includes a strong research component focusing on student outcomes, the effects of teacher enhancement and distance learning. TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Klentschy, Michael Leslie Garrison Marsha King Juan Cruz Mary Love El Centro School District CA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 5671774 7348 7300 SMET 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096613 April 1, 2001 WWW.Evolution. The National Center for Science Education proposes to develop a website on evolution and the nature of science for K-12 teachers. This project, "WWW.Evolution," aims to improve teacher understanding of the nature of science, the patterns and processes of evolution, and the history of evolutionary thought and to increase their ability to teach these subjects effectively. The Site will also provide teachers with classroom resources, including a selection of effective approaches and teaching strategies and a searchable database of curricula, teacher-tested activities, and lesson plans, which are consistent with those modeled in the National Science Education Standards. The evaluation of the project will include multiple aspects of the proposed website and its constituent elements, ranging from its appeal and utility to its ability to help users understand new concepts and acquire strategies for -- and confidence in -- teaching evolution. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Caldwell, Roy David Lindberg University of California-Berkeley CA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 523261 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096614 July 1, 2001 Renaissance in Science Education (RISE). The five-year Local Systemic Change project is part of a long-term, intensive, inquiry-based initiative that started in the district in 1997 with a pilot in two schools supported by state funds. "Renaissance in Science Education" (RISE) is a model program based on professional development and support for all 372 K-12 science teachers in the district with nine elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. There are 351 teachers K-6, ten middle school and eleven high school teachers, respectively. The instructional materials are mainly the Science and Technology for Children (STC) supplemented by "old" ESS kits (now published by Delta) and the new STC/Middle School units. At the high school level, teachers plan to examine and consider for adoption the latest secondary-level, exemplary, inquiry-based materials based on a plan for high school curriculum selection and implementation. This selection will be carried out during the first three years with the professional development program for high school teachers being designed and offered in years four and five. Partners with the school district include: Washington University, St. Louis; the Missouri Botanical Garden; the St. Louis Zoo and the St. Louis Science Center. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Gibbons, Patrick John Rigden Frank Duke School District of Riverview Gardens MO Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1936726 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096627 June 1, 2001 Teaching Technology from Everyday Stuff: Sustaining Professional Development Online. This proposal is for the development of an internet-based professional development model that would supplement hands-on workshops. The model would promote conceptual change and would be broadly accessible to elementary teachers. The efficacy of the model would be tested through an evaluation process. The focus is on using "everyday stuff" to teach children about the designed world. The project features collaboration of engineers and teachers in the development of curriculum. The project focuses on five topics of design that have previously been the basis of prior NSF-supported curriculum development by the PI, namely: "Environmental Analysis and Design;" "Mechanisms;" "Circuits and Controls;" "Packaging and Structures" and "Signs, Symbols and Codes." The project includes a pilot phase that focuses on facilitator training in the conduct of online forums for teachers, at five professional development sites. Two hands-on workshops will be conducted at these sites. A field-test phase follows, involving scaling-up to 15 sites nationally. The primary deliverable is a tested professaional development package. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Benenson, Gary James Neujahr Wilvena Gordon CUNY City College NY Karen F. Zuga Continuing grant 1722603 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096637 July 1, 2001 University of Illinois at Chicago - Harvey - North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) Partnership for Mathematics Improvement in Harvey Public Schools District 152. This K-8 Local Systemic Change mathematics project funds professional growth activities for teachers and administrators in Harvey Public Schools District 152. A component of this three-year project is to enhance the district's infrastructure to support on-going improvements in mathematics teaching and learning. Implementation of two reform mathematics curricula -- "Math Trailblazers in Grades K-5" and "Connected Mathematics in Grades 6-8" -- provide the tools for developing strong professional communities of teachers, administrators and parents committed to improving mathematics instruction in the district. The results of the project will add to an emerging body of knowledge about standards-based curricula implementation in poor, urban communities. The project is a partnership among the Institute for Mathematics and Science Education of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the Harvey Public Schools, and the North Central Mathematics and Science Consortium at the U.S. Department of Education's North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL). UIC's Teaching Integrated Mathematics and Science (TIMS) Project will direct the K-5 component of the project, which involves 102 K-5 teachers. The North Central Mathematics and Science Consortium will fund and direct the component for 17 middle-grades teachers. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Kelso, Catherine University of Illinois at Chicago IL Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 468043 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096660 March 1, 2001 Middle Grades Hands-on Activity Science Program (MGHASP). The University of Alabama-Huntsville, in partnership with seven north Alabama school districts, proposes a five-year LSC project that will involve 160 middle-grade teachers. The districts are diverse ranging from rural to urban and the 11,500 students are from several traditionally underserved groups. All grade 6-8 teachers, from the 47 elementary middle and high schools in the districts, will receive at least 130 hours of professional development that will focus on: * Understanding of science content * Ability to use inquiry-centered curriculum materials effectively * Awareness of current research on science teaching and learning * Knowledge of diverse teaching practices that will enable them to reach all students * A repertoire of assessment strategies that are aligned with instructional practices. The major instructional materials to be implemented are Science and Technology Concepts for Middle Schools (STC/MS), FOSS and SEPUP. The districts have already piloted the available field-test versions of the STC materials. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Enger, Sandra University of Alabama in Huntsville AL David B. Campbell Continuing grant 719999 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096672 September 1, 2001 Professional Development for Mathematics Leadership: A VideoCase Strategy. This project creates leadership curriculum materials designed to develop the skills, sensibilities and long-term capacity of teacher leaders, enabling them to design and implement quality mathematics professional development. Curriculum materials are video-based (CD-ROM) cases illuminating various aspects of mathematics professional development practice. Rooted in mathematics, a series of five modules (containing six three-hour cases) include video of professional sessions, mathematics activities, interviews, commentaries, research papers, articles, references to the literature, assignments designed to help apply learnings to practice and facilitator guides. Materials are designed for flexible use as individual cases, as complete modules or as a comprehensive curriculum. Rather than providing exemplars to model, these materials will utilize a case method, lesson-study approach where leaders inquire into professional development practice in mathematics K-12. Modules are designed for use in facilitated sessions; text and video facilitation materials are integral to the final product. The CD-ROM format provides for at home and distance learning capabilities. The materials are designed for use by leaders of teacher leaders to help these teacher leaders: 1. Deepen their knowledge of mathematics content; 2. Develop the habits of mind that view professional development as a complex practice, foster a stance of inquiry about that practice and look at all professional development through the lens of equity; 3. Build analytic skills and a language of practice that will enable the development of clearer communication and reasoning about mathematics professional development; 4. Build a repertoire of strategies and facilitation moves that can be used to design and implement a thoughtful program of mathematics professional development. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Mumme, Judith Catherine Carroll WestEd CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2500000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096674 June 1, 2001 Gadsden Mathematics Initiative. Submitted under the guidelines for "Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement," this five-year project has as its goal to systemically guide professional growth for every elementary and middle school mathematics teacher in the district through professional development, team planning and collaboration, and collegial coaching. The project -- a partnership between New Mexico State University and Gadsden Independent School District -- develops a sustainable school and community base to support the implementation of curriculum and instruction aligned with New Mexico Education Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum and Professional Development Standards. The 1,200 square mile district lies along the border of New Mexico and Mexico and serves about 13,000 students. There are twelve elementary schools and three middle schools. More than 50% of the students experience English language deficiencies. Ninety-two percent of the students are of Latino/Hispanic origin. Approximately 94% of the students qualify for the Free and Reduced School Lunch Program. The school drop-out rate, as early as middle school, is high. Nine of the twelve elementary schools and all three middle schools will be on probationary status as over 75% of the students scored below Proficient on the state mandated test. The project provides 130 hours of formal professional development as summer institutes and academic year follow-up. The elementary grades will use "Investigations in Number, Data and Space" while the middle grades will use "Connected Mathematics." There are 450 teachers in the district. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Bulger-Tamez, Wanda Patrick Scott Karin Wiburg Sheila Raihl Gadsden Independent School District NM Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 2222210 9150 7300 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096679 September 15, 2001 Extending Scientific Inquiry through Geographic Information Systems. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are powerful technology tools that help create an inquiry-rich environment. With GIS, students discover underlying patterns from locally collected data that can be connected to data from the larger community. But GIS requires teachers to understand new content, new pedagogy and new technology. This project provides materials for professional development of middle and high school teachers in effective use of GIS as an instructional strategy. The GIS teacher enhancement materials are tied to two previously developed project-based curriculum units -- in atmospheric monitoring and biodiversity. The materials are modified based upon pilot testing with teachers and professional developers. The four learning units develop spatial reasoning in the use of maps, teach the use of GIS technologies using ARCView, enable the gathering and use of student data sets, and connect to existing model curricula. The materials, developed with master teachers, are for workshops that deepen teachers' content knowledge, model pedagogy consistent with best practice, evaluate the effectiveness of learning opportunities, develop coaching with questioning strategies and provide information about student preconceptions. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Heppert, Joseph Dennis Lane Terry Slocum Steven Case University of Kansas Center for Research Inc KS Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1060747 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0096856 September 1, 2001 Professional Development Materials for Constructing Physics Understanding among Prospective and Practicing Elementary Teachers. This project will develop a robust professional development package with three major components. A set of curriculum materials to help prospective and practicing elementary teachers develop a deep understanding of physics ideas consistent with national standards will be developed along with materials which will help teachers understand how students learn these ideas. Finally a set of materials will be developed to guide university faculty and professional development providers to use the materials described above. Use will be made of exemplary computer technology. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Goldberg, Fred San Diego State University Foundation CA Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 2021747 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0097091 July 1, 2001 IMO 2001 USA, Washington, DC, July 1-14, 2001. The United States is hosting the 42nd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in the summer of 2001. The IMO is the premier international mathematics competition for high school students and it will bring to the U.S. more than 500 of the most talented high school age mathematicians from more than 80 countries. During the competition, students work individually over a two-day period on six challenging problems, presenting their solutions as essay-style proofs akin to those produced by research mathematicians. While in this country, students are treated to American hospitality, visiting attractions in and around the Capital and experiencing American life and culture. At the closing awards ceremony outstanding performances are honored by the awarding of gold, silver and bronze medals to students scoring in the top half of the field. A number of outreach and research activities are planned as a way of enhancing public understanding of appreciation of mathematics and to engage a larger number of young Americans in mathematics. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Mientka, Walter University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE John S. Bradley Standard Grant 200000 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0098173 March 1, 2001 Additional Chapter to Active Physics Program. An additional chapter on energy conservation is created for the "Home Module of Active Physics." The chapter is based upon the "Rebuild America Program" of the U.S. Department of Energy and co-funded by them. Students assess their school building's energy performance and address standards in conservation of energy and interactions of energy and matter. The module follows the Active Physics model in content, design and pedagogical format, while supporting the Department of Energy's energy education program. "Rebuild America" participates in the dissemination of the module. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Zahm, Barbara Arthur Eisenkraft Jon Harkness It's About Time, A Division of Herff-Jones Inc. NY Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 45485 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0098406 March 1, 2001 Exploring Potential Research Uses of Connecticut's Beginning Teacher Portfolios in Mathematics and Science -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research. This project, a collaboration between NCISE and the Connecticut State Department of Education will investigate the research potential of the portfolios required of all Connecticut second-year mathematics and science teachers and compare multiple avenues of new research that address issues of national significance for improvement of teacher preparation and induction. The study poses the following questions: 1. What mathematics or science content do well-qualified and supported beginning teachers know, and what is the quality of their mathematics and science instruction? 2. How does the teaching quality of second-year teachers vary with the extent and nature of district- and school-level support provided during their first year? 3. What gains do teachers who fail the portfolio submission upon resubmission make? 4. What professional development benefits accrue to teachers who score the portfolios? 5. What aspects of Connecticut's program are transferable and under what conditions? 6. How can preservice faculty use the portfolios to improve their courses? INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Britton, Edward WestEd CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 99497 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0098792 May 1, 2001 Promoting Reasoning and Inquiry in Science and Mathematics (PRISM). This three-year Teacher Enhancement project will develop mentoring systems in which teacher-leaders and administrators nurture new teachers and encourage experienced teachers implementing change. Teams of middle-level teachers (Grades 5-8) from Northwest Missouri will participate in a four-week summer institute for each of three years. Up to 30 mathematics and 30 science teachers will participate. The program combines parallel programs of 130 hours of content specific coursework in mathematics or science, plus 275 hours of integrated teacher development activities during the summer institutes and academic year. Experienced teachers who participate in the renewal portion of the project will follow a phased mentoring plan, mentoring one novice teacher in Year One, two in Year Two and three in Year Three. The project includes a four-day Administrator Academy. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Lucido, Paticia Cheryl Malm Northwest Missouri State University MO David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1366572 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0099047 April 1, 2001 The Development of a Cognition-based Assessment System for Core Mathematics Concepts in Grades K-8. This "proof-of-concept" project will develop a cognition-based assessment system (CBAS) to help determine the cognitive underpinnings students reach in understanding and mastering core mathematical ideas in grades K-8. The project will identify these ideas in the areas of geometry and whole numbers. The system is comprised of a) the identification of core mathematical concepts in K-8; b) research-based cognitive milestones and fluencies for each core concept; and c) assessment tasks that track different positions of student understanding as students progress. CBAS will be designed for use by teachers in formative and summative classroom assessment, and for use by districts, program evaluators and researchers in evaluating the quality of student learning in various curricular and instructional programs. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Battista, Michael Kent State University OH Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 866579 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0099093 September 1, 2001 Learning By Doing: A Mathematics Curriculum for Elementary School Children and Their Teachers. This project addresses two challenges in elementary school mathematics improvement. First, it will provide a high quality mathematics curriculum that is aligned with national standards, promotes student understanding, and is acceptable to a wide range of elementary school teachers. Second, it proposes to advance teachers' mathematical understanding as they teach, and to accomplish this goal without the additional cost of extensive professional development. Following Liping Ma's belief that the right kinds of curriculum materials can help improve teachers' understanding of mathematics, the project will build on the existing Math Workshop materials to develop a dual-purpose curriculum, one that improves the understanding of both students and teachers. The evaluation of the project will assess not only student learning, but will also include extensive analyses of how the instructional and professional development materials promote teacher understanding. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Goldenberg, E. Paul Education Development Center MA Ron Tzur Continuing grant 5131410 7355 7300 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0099181 June 1, 2001 Teaching About the Nature of Science and Biological Evolution. BSCS is developing a 10th-grade curriculum unit on evolution and on science as a way of knowing. Included is a 100-page, six-chapter book to be used by students and a teacher's guide that contains background information, implementation strategies and student assessments. The first chapter of the student book deals with the nature of science and the issue of diversity and unity within and between species, the second with historical materials regarding evolutionary theory, the third with basic questions about diversity and adaptation, the fourth with genetics and molecular biology, the fifth with how evolution can be demonstrated experimentally with viruses and by reference to the AIDS epidemic and antibiotic resistance, and the sixth with the effects of humans on the environment and on natural selection. Two CD-ROMs complement the program. One includes samples of the writings of Darwin, maps of his voyages, and other historical materials as well as 2-3 student investigations for each chapter of the book. The second CD-ROM is an interactive simulated inquiry based on contemporary research on finches in the Galapagos Islands. Also included on the CD-ROMs are professional development materials for teachers. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Bybee, Rodger Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1225790 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0099213 August 15, 2002 Journey to El Yunque: Studying the Effects of Hurricane Georges. The "Journey to El Yunque" is a website to improve middle school students' understanding of ecology and changing ecosystems. The bilingual web-based learning environment allows students to investigate the effects of Hurricane Georges on the Caribbean National Forest known as El Yunque. The materials address selected science standards. Embedded assessments are included. Teacher support materials are connected to the "Exploring the Environment" website hosted by NASA. Parent support pages are provided EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR McGee, Steven Nicholas Brokaw Steven Croft Wheeling Jesuit University WV David A. Hanych Continuing grant 499779 9150 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0099220 September 1, 2001 Cryptography: The Mathematics of Secret Codes. This project develops an 8-week middle-school mathematics module that introduces cryptography, the science of sending secret messages, while teaching and reinforcing the learning of related mathematical concepts. The topics range from the classical encryption systems and the historic context in which they were used through powerful modern encryption systems that provide secrecy in electronic messages today. The module also covers passwords and codes that correct errors in the transmission of information. Public awareness of the importance of cryptography is growing, as is the need to understand the issues involved. The study of cryptography provides an interesting context for students to apply traditional mathematical skills and concepts. Mathematical topics covered include percents, probability, functions, prime numbers, decimals, inverses and modular arithmetic. The main product is a middle-school student book, with accompanying teacher materials. A web site is being developed that supports the activities in this book. Abbreviated modules for Grades 3, 4 and 5 are also being developed, as well as an instructor's guide for adapting the materials for use in informal educational settings such as museums and after-school programs. The development of the module involves piloting and field-testing by experienced classroom teachers from diverse school communities and instructors of informal educational programs. Evaluation includes review by mathematicians and educators, as well as an investigation into the level of students' understanding of the topics studied. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Beissinger, Janet Vera Pless University of Illinois at Chicago IL Ron Tzur Continuing grant 423109 7355 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0099265 September 1, 2001 Issue-oriented 6th Grade Earth and Physical Science. The issue-oriented and eigth grade courses in life and physical science developed by SEPUP (Science Education for Public Understanding Program) are extended to the sixth grade covering Physics and Earth Science. Students will understand the unique physical characteristics of the Earth in comparison with other planets, the relationship between force and motion, the role gravity plays in planetary processes, how energy in sunlight interacts with the Earth and its atmosphere, the role convection plays in atmospheric, oceanic and geologic processes and how the study of rocks provides evidence of current and past Earth processes and conditions. Each of these topics is considered in the context of making informed, non-emotional, evidence-based decisions that affect students and their families such as global warming, need for space exploration, location of essential, but potentionally dangerous structures, etc. The course materials include kits, printed materials, teacher guides and community outreach tools. The materials are developed by teachers and scientists and are tested in classrooms. Specific learning goals for students are derived from national and state standards. Student assessment is based on the previously developed embedded assessment system. The materials are published and distributed by LabAids. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Thier, Herbert Barbara Nagle University of California-Berkeley CA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1991304 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0099650 July 1, 2001 South Texas Rural Systemic Initiative. This proposal from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) targets a large area and a significant number of school districts in South Texas, known as the Valley region. The proposed work is organized around four partnership activities: District and Community Forum to allow STRSI staff to explain the reform activities and gain the acceptance and cooperation of the school and community (especially parental) stakeholders. Systemic Leadership Institute to annually gather the district Leadership Teams for improving team capacity and for team networking. Teacher Partner Academy for leadership, content, and pedagogy training for the master teacher who provide the principal intervention in the schools. Administrative Partner Academy to ensure administrative support and leadrship for the reform. CCLI-Phase 2 (Expansion) RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Marinez, Diana Juan Hinojosa Judy Kelley Lee Sloan Chris Comer Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 6329527 7492 7366 1748 1538 SMET 9178 9177 7427 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0100315 April 15, 2001 Science and Mathematics for Early Care and Education -- A Planning Grant. The Charles A. Dana Center of the University of Texas at Austin, will use a one-year planning grant to assess the design of standards-based mathematics and science resources for early childhood educators. The project will produce a prototype curriculum unit, based on "The Wonder of Water," which was developed as part of the Texas SSI Family Learning Project. The curriculum will be tested, revised and re-tested in six early childhood education settings. The results will be used to produce a plan to field test, research and disseminate the curriculum regionally and nationally, resulting in a strong resource for early childhood educators that will enable preschool children to develop an understanding and appreciation for math and science. By using this product in settings such as Head Start, a better sense of continuity will be established between preschool and elementary science and mathematics content. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Treisman, Philip Uri University of Texas at Austin TX Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 49999 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0100324 July 1, 2001 New Mexico Tribal Coalition-Rural Systemic Initiative. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Scruggs, Debra Viola Archuleta Santa Fe Indian School NM Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 2615595 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0100393 July 1, 2001 Hawaii Networked Learning Communities. The Hawaii Department of Education, in partnership with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, will conduct an Implementation phase RSI project for teachers and administrators in rural, disadvantaged schools on the islands. The project will rely heavily on leadership development opportunities and implementation of curricular standards, to achieve better learning opportunities for the targeted students. Much of the networking and inservice training will be conducted through distance learning technology. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Harada, Violet Daniel Suthers Vicki Kajioka Hawaii Department of Education HI Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 6134444 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0100584 July 1, 2001 Reforming Math, Science and Technology Education in Northern New Mexico. The proposed work would continue and deepen the work of the Northern New Mexico Network's first five years, which has been primarily devoted to increasing the capacity of teachers in 22 public school districts to understand, adopt, and implement standards-based instructional practices, based on the New Mexico State Standards, as well as hands-on science and math instruction. The goals of the project are: 1. Implementation of a comprehensive MST standards-based curriculum 2. High quality teacher and administrator professional development program. 3. Convergence of resources in support of increased student achievement in MST. 4. Development of a comprehensive assessment and accountability system. 5. Sustaining reform strategies. The scope of work will involve use of the Leadership Development for School Teams as the primary professional development vehicle for school administrators and the master teachers. The master teachers, termed Circuit Riders, will be assigned mentoring responsibilities in specific schools, and are in essence the field operation of the effort. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Atencio, Carlos Jemez Valley Public Schools NM Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 4993002 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101058 May 1, 2001 Research designs on underpinnings of systemic changes in regions serving impoverished, rural populations. The purpose of the proposed grant is to design and lay the necessary groundwork for major education research projects related to K-12 science and mathematics in the Delta resgion of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. This project provides the advantage of working within the framework of an established major systemic reform initiative, The Delta Rural Systemic Inititiative. We will bring together an interdisciplinary cadre of national and regional researchers, resouce personnel and practitioners, all working in close collaborat8ion, to develop partnerships and research designs which will lead to major research initiatives focused on the underpinnings of systemic changes in regions serving impoverished, rural populations. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Alexander, Charles University of Mississippi MS James S. Dietz Standard Grant 25000 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0101110 February 1, 2001 The Context for Developing Leadership for Mathematics and Science Education. This project proposes to conduct a study that investigates various aspects of leadership development in mathematics and science education while addressing four questions: 1. What are the characteristics of current leaders in science and mathematics education in crucial arenas of educational activity? 2. What educational and professional experiences led them to their leadership positions? 3. What do these leaders see as the desired future directions for mathematics and science education? 4. From where will the next generation of leaders come? In order to address these questions, the project will: 1) interview a systematic sample of mathematics and science education leaders in crucial areas; 2) review their curriculum vitae and products of their professional work; 3) analyze existing national databases that provide information about this leadership community; 4) review literature that expands understanding of leadership in the context of education; and 5) study program documents from leading programs of preparation of mathematics and science education leaders. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Gallagher, James Joan Ferrini-Mundy Robert Floden Michigan State University MI Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 546418 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101193 August 15, 2001 Teaching Excellence and Mathematics II (TEAM II). The TEAM II project, submitted in the area of Teacher Retention and Renewal, will develop highly qualified elementary mathematics teacher leaders throughout North Carolina. Principals and central staff will locally support teacher leaders. The goal of the project is to develop the state's leadership infrastructure by improving teachers' leadership skills, mathematical and pedagogical content knowledge. Staff development will provide in-depth investigation focused on: (a) national and state mathematics standards; (b) mathematics content and pedagogy; (c) curricular materials that support standards-based learning; and (d) the process of change. Administrators are extensively involved in this project. Lenses on Learning staff development materials will be used to increase administrators' knowledge of mathematics content and pedagogy. Administrators and lead teachers will receive support to develop long- and short-range plans to effectively implement reform-based curricula at the school level. Internal evaluation will include surveys of participants during summer institutes, interviews with project staff and instructors, conversations with school system principals and central office staff, and participants' reflections on the usefulness of project activities. External evaluation will document increased knowledge of participants, application of this knowledge in instruction, effects of improved teaching on student learning, and leadership by participants in NC mathematics reform. Data will be gathered through content assessments, interviews, written reflections, classroom observations, analysis of end-of-grade test scores and reports of leadership activities. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Joyner, Jeane Meredith College NC David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1658960 7645 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101758 August 1, 2001 Collaborative Research/Applied Research: Map and Spatial Skills of Children and Teachers, and How They are Affected by the 'Where are We?' Instructional Materials. The applied research project builds on the IMD funded "Where are We?" and poses the following research questions: Do students perform significantly better on real-world map tasks after using WAW? What specific misconceptions and weaknesses remain widespread among students after using the materials? How much improvement in student performance on map skills tasks would be expected after using the curriculum? How can teachers tell whether student learning has occurred? What is the relationship between teachers' spatial abilities and the likelihood they would use the materials? The project will develop quantitative, reliable field-based assessments of map skills and use them, along with other instruments, with three populations: elementary students using the materials; children over the 7-15 age range who do not use the materials; and preservice elementary teachers. Results from these assessments will be used in a redesign of the materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Liben, Lynn Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 199719 7355 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101766 August 1, 2001 Has Inquiry Made a Difference? A Synthesis of Research on the Impact of Inquiry. The primary applied research question posed by this project is: " What is the impact of inquiry science on student outcomes compared with the impact of other instructional strategies and approaches?" The project will: 1) identify studies to be included; 2) review and organize the studies into clusters; 3) code and analyze studies within and across clusters; 4) prepare written reports and articles and 5) disseminate findings to researchers, reformers, educators, parents and the general public. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Minner, Daphne Abigail Jurist Levy Education Development Center MA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1500064 7355 7300 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101780 August 1, 2001 Middle School Science Curriculum Materials: Meeting Standards and Fostering Inquiry Through Learning Technologies. This sixth through eighth grade comprehensive, project-based, science curriculum focuses on students acquiring deep understandings of the concepts, principles and habits of mind articulated in national science standards. The curriculum builds upon the experiences of the Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools developing the LeTUS modules for Chicago and Detroit Public Schools. The project brings together scientists and science educators from three universities, teachers and administrators from six school districts, curriculum speialists from Project 2061, educational researchers from EDC, and Kendall/Hunt publishers. The design principles, arising from research on teaching and learning, include alignment with standards, assessments, contextualization, sustained student inquiry, embedded learning technologies, collaboration, and scaffolds between and within modules. Phase 1 focuses on the development of two units: Structure of Matter and Diversity of Life and Evolution. Learning outcomes are identified, target understanding performances are specified and assessments are designed before the activities are developed. Everday authentic questions that students hold as important provide the basis for projects, contextualize the activities and give coherence to the curriculum. In addition to the student materials and teacher guides, the project develops materials to provide information to administrators and the community to understand and support the implementation of the modules. Issues of language, literacy, culture and diversity are addressed. Professional development materials address teacher attitudes and beliefs while educating the teachers about the new context and pedagogy. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Krajcik, Joseph University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 2093358 7355 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101791 July 1, 2001 Science for Today and Tomorrow. Two 8 to 10 week modules, one focusing on cells and the other on reproduction and heredity, serve as the basis for the development of a comprehensive, assessment-driven, middle school science curriculum called "Science for Today and Tomorrow." A curriculum frramework is developed for Life and Physical Sciences to be taught in Grades 6 and 7 and Earth Science in Grade 8. The research-based materials assist students to develop a working knowledge of a core set of ideas that are fundamental to the discipline and ultimately to see how the concepts span the disciplines. The student materials and the teachers' guides are enhanced with classroom-tested assessments and web-based content resources, simulations and tools for gathering and interpreting data. On-line professional development materials allow teachers to gain content knowledge and pedagogical skills. The website also contains an area that provides information for administrators including strategies for supporting teachers and another area for community members to involve them in the students' science learning. The project builds upon the lessons learned in previous materials development projects at TERC. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Vesel, Judy Louisa Sally Crissman TERC Inc MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1997016 7355 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101798 September 1, 2001 Foundation Science: A Comprehensive Middle School Curriculum. Foundation Science is a comprehensive, articulated curriculum for grades six through ten in which conceptual understandings are built and deepened from year to year. The curriculum in grades six through eight consists of four modules in each of the three major science disciplines. The sequence of modules in each discipline develops concepts in progressively deeper and more complex ways so that modules can be taught by discipline or in an interdisciplinary manner. The ninth and tenth grade modules are developed in Phase One along with the conceptual framework for the entire curriculum. These modules serve as a prototype for all the modules; they address learning goals and formative and summative assessment strategies that inform instruction and measure students' achievement for the learning goals. Each module consists of a student book and teachers guide. Educational technology is used for instruction and learning, accessing and sharing information as well as for assessment, professional development and community outreach. Professional development enhances the teachers' content knowledge, supports the hands-on, inquiry approach and prepares teachers for using the variety of assessments. Also included are materials to inform the community about the approach of the materials and also to gain administrative support for their implementation. The evaluation includes information about student learning of the learning goals. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Miller, Jacqueline Education Development Center MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1999313 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101799 August 1, 2001 Applied Research -- A Study of Teacher Education: Research on Instructional Design (Project ASTEROID). Despite the recent popularity of case-based instruction and other practice-based forms of teacher education, we know little about how such instruction is enacted and what teachers actually learn from participating in courses that utilize such an approach. The goal of Project ASTEROID is to produce empirical evidence of what teachers learn as a result of participating in practice-based teacher education courses. Three primary kinds of data will be collected in this regard: (a) pre- and post-measures of teacher knowledge of mathematics, of pedagogy, and of student learning; (b) continuous measures of teachers' developing understanding during the courses; and (c) observational data that focus on teachers' classroom practices. We plan to map what teachers learn on to various course experiences and how that learning does or does not transfer to actual classroom teaching. The courses will focus on two areas of the middle school mathematics curriculum that have been problematic for teachers: proportional reasoning and algebra as the study of patterns and functions. In the courses, the everyday work of teaching is the object of on-going investigation and thoughtful inquiry. Through the examination of records of authentic practice -- mathematics tasks selected from innovative curricula, student responses to mathematical tasks, and episodes of classroom instruction -- teachers develop an understanding of mathematics, of mathematics pedagogy, and of students as learners of mathematics As we develop procedures for studying the implementation and impact of the courses, we will systematically document the processes and instruments that we find effective. These will be made available to the field for use in the documentation and evaluation of other teacher education and professional development efforts. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Smith, Margaret Mary Kay Stein University of Pittsburgh PA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 608839 7300 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101806 August 1, 2001 Collaborative Research/Applied Research: Map and Spatial Skills of Children and Teachers, and How They are Affected by the "Where are We?" Instructional Materials. The applied research project builds on the IMD funded "Where are We?" and poses the following research questions: Do students perform significantly better on real-world map tasks after using WAW? What specific misconceptions and weaknesses remain widespread among students after using the materials? How much improvement in student performance on map skills tasks would be expected after using the curriculum? How can teachers tell whether student learning has occurred? What is the relationship between teachers' spatial abilities and the likelihood they would use the materials? The project will develop quantitative, reliable field-based assessments of map skills and use them, along with other instruments, with three populations: elementary students using the materials; children over the 7-15 age range who do not uses the materials; and preservice elementary teachers. Results from these assessments will be used in a redesign of the materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kastens, Kim Columbia University NY Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 238068 7355 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101822 August 15, 2001 Development of Courses and Recruitment Models for Attracting and Preparing Middle Grade Mathematics Teachers. "Development of Courses and Recruitment Models for Attracting and Preparing Middle Grade Mathematics Teachers" is a three-year project that addresses the needs of middle grade mathematics teachers through the development and delivery of four foundational mathematics courses with accompanying support materials and the development and implementation of an aggressive teacher recruitment model. Funded under the Teacher Enhancement guidelines for Mathematics and Science Courses for Improving Teacher Qualifications, the project's leadership -- a collaborative between mathematics faculty from the College of Arts and Science and mathematics education faculty from the College of Education at the University of Missouri - Columbia -- develops three-credit courses designed to provide middle grade teachers with a strong mathematical foundation and connect the mathematics they are learning with the mathematics they will be teaching. Courses focus on algebraic and geometry structures, data analysis and probability, and the mathematics of change; and employ standards-based middle grade mathematics instructional materials as a springboard to learn mathematics in depth. The courses are designed for teachers choosing a grade-level change (primarily elementary), middle/secondary teachers in oversupplied disciplines, individuals seeking career changes for entry into teaching, middle grade mathematics teachers seeking to upgrade their content knowledge, and traditional pre-service middle grade mathematics teachers. The recruited teachers pilot the courses and supplemental materials [companion modules] in Summer Institutes and in semester courses offered at off-campus sites. The program of courses provides a core that leads to certification for teaching middle school mathematics for participants and others throughout Missouri and is informed by the current national recommendations of the CBMS Mathematical Education of Teachers Project, Draft Report. The first year of the project's timeline is devoted to the development of the courses and materials, including a contractual commitment from a professional publisher for the publication and national dissemination of the supplemental materials, and the development of recruitment models for identifying and attracting middle school mathematics teachers. The remaining two years are spent on implementing the recruitment models, field-testing, revision of materials, and dissemination in Missouri and nationally. Project evaluation focuses on participants' understanding of the fundamental mathematics concepts within each course, their knowledge of standards-based middle school mathematics instructional materials and how these relate to the mathematical content in the four courses, as well as the effectiveness of the courses on changes in teachers' classroom practice. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Papick, Ira Robert Reys John Beem Barbara Reys Dorina Mitrea University of Missouri-Columbia MO Ron Tzur Continuing grant 1199179 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101829 April 15, 2001 ELMSS: Enhancing Leadership for Middle School Science. The intended two-year pilot Local Systemic Change project seeks to increase scientific understanding and literacy among middle school students in four diverse districts in Missouri. Professional development will be provided by science and science education faculty from the three of Missouri campuses (Columbia, Rolla and St. Louis). A total of 16 teachers, four from each participating district will be selected. Each participant will be offered 5 hours graduate credit each year, tuition waivers, an annual stipend, career ladder credit and STC/MS materials. One administrator from each district will also be involved. Summer institute sessions will be supplemented by a web site to enable continuous electronic interaction for teachers to discuss content and pedagogy concerns, compare experiences and engage in collective problem solving. The site will also be used to link participants to other web based information sources such as the Online Journal for Teacher Research (http://www.oise.utoronto.ca). Bi-weekly study sessions (teachers will keep journals to record the experience), site meetings and day-long project meetings will be held. The project will develop and test a sustainable structure of teacher professional development and support to facilitate the implementation of exemplary instructional materials and teaching practices. With the support of the University of Missouri science and science education faculty members, school administrators and middle school science teachers will collaborate to create an inquiry based classroom environment as a step towards broad comprehensive science education reform. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Abell, Sandra Oran Pringle William Kyle Steven Keller Bruce McClure University of Missouri-Columbia MO Patricia K. Freitag Standard Grant 199815 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101830 September 1, 2001 Chemistry Concepts and Connections for Teacher Leaders. This four-year program prepares 128 high school chemistry teachers with the content knowledge, instructional and leadership skills and confidence to serve as peer mentors/collegial coaches, workshop presenters and agents of change in their schools. These lead teachers will be provided with in-depth chemical knowledge, as well as skills to implement standards-based instruction and assessment. The skills and knowledge to serve as mentor, coaches, presenters and change agents for novice teachers will also be enhanced. The program is composed of a 3-week summer institute each of 2 summers with extensive academic year follow up through electronic networking, on-line mentoring, workshops, newsletters and classroom visits. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Ramsey, Linda William Deese Louisiana Tech University LA Glenn C. Markle Continuing grant 1616983 7300 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101842 May 1, 2001 Project MTS 2001-2004. Since 1998, The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University has been conducting a project for Materials Development, Training and Support Services (MTS) through the support of the Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication. This award has permitted intensive evaluation training of faculty and advanced graduate students through summer institutes. In addition, a number of other training activities as well as support mechanisms for evaluators have been developed, such as training materials, an Evaluators' Directory, and checklists for evaluators. Under this award, the work of the Evaluation Center on MTS will continue. Forty-five participants will be trained during the summer, and 18 of these will continue on into internships during the following academic year. Additionally, a model for training evaluators will be developed and tested, including an instrument for testing knowledge and a self-assessment measure. There will also be training materials developed by participants that will be made available to the field. Finally, the web-site developed for evaluators will be enhanced and used more widely. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Gullickson, Arlen Western Michigan University MI Gabriel M. Della-Piana Continuing grant 1245655 7261 SMET 9177 0101855 July 1, 2001 Southwest Texas Teacher Retention and Renewal Collaborative. This five-year Teacher Enhancement project will prepare experienced science, mathematics and technology teachers to mentor novice teachers. This renewal of the mentor and mentoring of the novice encourages both to stay in the profession. Designated as the Teachers As Mentor program (TAM) for South Texas rural and small school districts, sixty mentors will be prepared and each will mentor three novice science, mathematics and technology teachers for a minimum 137 hours each. The phased mentoring plan has each mentor teacher mentoring one novice teacher the first year, two the second year and three the third year. Mentors are supported by project personnel and their local districts for travel to national meetings to participate in the larger professional learning community of mentor teachers. The novice teachers receive the mentoring support plus educational materials and local district support. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Ball, Isabel Peggy Carnahan Our Lady of the Lake University TX David B. Campbell Continuing grant 2042175 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101857 September 15, 2001 The Upper Midwest LEADERS-in-Math Project Preparing Leaders for Education and Professional Development in the Effort to Renew School Mathematics. Submitted under the guidelines for Teacher Retention and Renewal, this 49-month project is "designed to develop a cadre of teachers, leaders, supervisors and collegiate mathematics educators who will act as change agents responsible for implementing standards-based high school mathematics reform" [project summary]. More specifically, the project provides (a) comprehensive professional development for 256 high school teachers in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin so they can effectively implement national goals for standards-based mathematics education through implementation of the Core-Plus instructional materials in their classrooms; (b) leadership development for 16 master teachers who are experienced with Core-Plus; (c) leadership development, structured workshop and classroom observation, and preservice or inservice leadership experience for eight college professors and eight school mathematics curriculum supervisors; and (d) experiences for participants to work with all stakeholders, such as parents and administrators, on behalf of standards-based renewal of school mathematics education. The project's teacher-participants engage in professional development in two cadres, each for two years, for at least six weeks over the life of the project; university/college professors and school mathematics supervisors participate for approximately four weeks. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Schoen, Harold Eric Hart University of Iowa IA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 1446951 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101897 August 15, 2001 Facilitating Lenses on Learning: Developing Leadership to Support Excellent Teaching in Elementary Mathematics. Under prior grants from the National Science Foundation, Education Development Center (EDC) has developed two year-long courses, called "Lenses on Learning: A New Focus on Mathematics and School Leadership," and "Lenses on Learning: Classroom Observation and Teacher Supervision," that provide school and district administrators with the opportunity to explore new ideas about mathematics, learning and teaching; to think critically about the nature of mathematics instruction; and to think through the implications of these ideas for how they support teachers and standards-based instruction. Building on previous work, this project ensures the availability of highly qualified Lenses on Learning facilitators on a national scale. Professional associations in mathematics and school administration, state departments of education, state-wide principal's academies, regional consortia for mathematics and science, and large school districts are project partners key to national dissemination efforts. Facilitator Institutes will provide prospective facilitators with the orientation and skills they need to teach either Lenses on Learning course. In the years 2001-2002, 2002-2003, and 2003-2004 EDC will offer year-long Facilitators Institutes, each consisting of a two-week residential summer program, on-line support during the following academic year, and two three-day retreats during the academic year. EDC also will offer facilitators an Advanced Institute. Participating organizations and districts are required to teach Lenses on Learning courses in their home sites in the year(s) following their participation in the Institute. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Nelson, Barbara Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1673137 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101907 September 15, 2001 The Allied Delmarva Enhancement Program For Teachers (Math ADEPT). Submitted under the NSF 00-99 guidelines for Teacher Enhancement: Mathematics and Science Courses for Improving Teacher Qualifications, the primary purpose is to develop six courses for middle-school mathematics teachers during this thirty-nine month project. The targeted geographic area is the Delmarva region in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. There are forty-five middle schools in the area and over 500 middle-school teachers. Six professors will each develop a course for middle school teachers. There are three objectives for the project: 1) to develop six credit-bearing, interconnected graduate courses in mathematics for middle-school teachers to foster a deep understanding of fundamental mathematics; 2) to implement the mathematics in the teachers' schools, reflect on their experiences and modify their teaching; 3) to reduce the anxieties which teachers experience due to their insufficient mathematical backgrounds, and thus improve their confidence. The courses will be delivered in an incremental manner. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Austin, Homer Harel Barzilai Salisbury University MD Ron Tzur Continuing grant 562978 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101910 August 1, 2001 South Fork Local Systemic Change Pilot Project. The intended two-year LSC Pilot project is a collaborative effort of eleven high poverty districts in the Appalachian region of Kentucky and Tennessee. Working together with universities and science rich institutions serving the area and building on positive results realized through the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI), the districts have targeted K-6 science as high priority (nine of these districts are working with ARSI). The intended project will prepare a cadre of 22 teachers and 11 administrators at 11 pilot schools (one in each district). Through summer institutes, academic study groups, job-embedded reflective tasks, and online facilitated discussions the teacher leaders strengthen their knowledge and skills in pedagogy, science content, and mentoring. Quality of professional development is assured through the involvement of national consultants, scientist and science educators from the University of Tennessee, Eastern Kentucky University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Brown, Mayfield Stephen Henderson Linda Cain Clarence Roeske Oneida Special School District TN Carole Stearns Standard Grant 199999 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101913 June 1, 2001 SESAME Development of Mathematics Courses for Improving Teacher Qualifications. This project will produce a series of textbooks to be used in professional development in mathematics for middle school teachers. The subject areas for the textbooks are Algebra, Calculus, Geometry, Number Theory, and Probability and Statistics. The books will emphasize content and pedagogy and will include ancillary materials such as videotapes of some of the professional development classes. The texts will come from the Seminars for Elementary Specialists and Mathematics Educators (SESAME) in the Mathematics Department at the University of Chicago. The writing team includes teachers, mathematics educators and research mathematicians. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Sally, Paul University of Chicago IL John S. Bradley Standard Grant 637870 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101928 August 1, 2001 Northern New England Co-Mentor Network (NNECN). This four-year Teacher Enhancement Renewal and Retention project will prepare 180 experienced teachers to be mentors for 360 novice science, mathematics and technology teachers. Over a span of three years each novice teacher will receive a minimum of 150 hours mentoring. The phased mentoring plan has each mentor teacher mentoring one novice teacher the first year, two the second year and three the third year. Mentors are supported by project personnel, their local districts and for travel to professional meetings to participate in the larger professional learning community of mentor teachers. The novice teachers receive the mentoring support plus educational materials and local district support. The project emphasizes a rigorous content-focused professional development (PD) curriculum, dictated in part by hiring practices that employ teachers who have not fully met state licensing standards. PD opportunities will be delivered through summer institutes and statewide conferences. Of the teachers who are supported directly by the project, 180 will serve as district and statewide content mentors for the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Keeley, Page Francis Eberle Douglas Harris Daniel Hupp Douglas Heuser Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance ME David B. Campbell Continuing grant 2296273 9150 7300 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101935 September 1, 2001 Development of a Distance Learning Program for K-12 Science and Mathematics Teachers. The Puerto Rico Resource Center for Science and Engineering (RCSE) and partners are instituting a distance learning program for K-12 science and math teachers. The content strands are the "areas of special emphasis" that emerged from the Puerto Rico Statewide Systemic Initiative (PRSSI). The workshops and courses are delivered by the University and designed to meet the needs of local teachers in district efforts to implement standards-based mathematics and science instruction. Thirty lead teachers provide local technical and content support for districts that participate in the project. Over five years, 1000 K-12 teachers will participate in and take courses through the project. Much of this is done through telecommunications technologies, which are used for delivery, collaboration, access, reflection, inquiry, online discussions and mentoring. The project builds on the SSI which has impacted nearly 50% of the island's schools. It clearly notes the work completed under the SSI and delineates what is left to be done. It is this remaining work that constitutes the core of the project. These efforts are supported by networking being installed throughout the island (T1), a number of earlier grants, and links to New York City (Lehman College). In addition, the project uses a supporting technology called mindtools. These are defined as "computer-based tools and learning environments that have been adapted or developed to function as intellectual partners with the learner in order to engage and facilitate critical thinking and higher order learning." In addition to content and methods, the project provides teachers with badly needed training in the use of computer-based technologies. The project also carries out research on the necessary conditions to scale such technologies. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Gomez, Manuel Hector Alvarez Luis de Jesus-Berrios University of Puerto Rico PR Michael Haney Continuing grant 1352150 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101936 May 1, 2001 Middle Grades Science Mentoring Program. This EDC project seeks to build a model program for the development and support of middle grades mentor teachers and a replicable implementation strategy. It will prepare 30 experienced teachers to serve as mentors for 60 novice teachers. Project staff will work on content, pedagogy and mentoring skills with the 30 teachers in Massachusetts to improve their skills, knowledge and confidence so they can work effectively with 60 novice science teacers. The goal of the project is to decrease attrition of novice teachers and develop their capacity to teach standards-based science. Key project components include summer institutes on physical, life and eath science; on-site classroom observation and conferencing; monthly study groups and engagement of 45 district administrators. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Berns, Barbara Marian Pasquale Education Development Center MA Robert D. Sherwood Standard Grant 939201 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101941 July 1, 2001 Apprenticeships in Cyberspace: Professional Development Model for the Emergent Technologies of 3-D Modeling. This project is a teacher development program that builds on three projects, the "Virtual Solar System Project", the "Virtual Exploratorium," and the "Virtual Gorilla Modeling Project." While featuring modeling enriched inquiry-based learning environments, the project develops and evaluates a model for changing teaching practice as teachers incorporate the extensive use of these technologies. The PIs use a four-phase process to help 90 middle school teachers make the transition. In the first two years of the project, teachers begin their apprenticeship with a one-week intensive workshop on science, pedagogy and technology. This is followed by one or two weeks working in one of three summer camps (at the Georgia Outreach Program or the Zoo). The third phase involves digital video and reflections with a follow up one-day seminar. In the final phase, teachers build their own communities, hold local workshops (1-2 hours) and do outreach presentations. Subcontracts are to the Atlanta Zoo and to EDC (Honey et al) for evaluation, which is quite thorough and consistent with PDET. Included are three doctoral students. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Hay, Kenneth Lynn Bryan Norman Thomson University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Michael Haney Standard Grant 837727 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101943 September 15, 2001 North Carolina Middle Mathematics Project (NCM2). The goal of the North Carolina Middle Mathematics Project (NCM2) is to improve mathematics education in grades 6-8 across the entire state of North Carolina, supporting teachers in their professional development and providing academic renewal and financial recognition to support their retention. The project will help middle grades mathematics teachers become local and statewide leaders, secure National Board certification and take the crucial first steps toward master's degrees. To carry out the project, nine centers of the University of North Carolina's Mathematics and Science Education Network (MSEN) will combine their efforts and the talents of faculty, school system administrators and talented middle school mathematics teachers. The project will form an NCM2 Leadership Network combining teams from each MSEN regional center including university mathematicians, university mathematics educators, school district administrators and highly qualified middle school mathematics teachers (two teachers from each region). The Leadership Network will assist NCDPI in revision of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and revision of the state's tests, including End of Grade Tests and the End of Course Test for Algebra I. The NCM2 Leadership Network will also develop three graduate-level courses for middle school mathematics teachers, one each in the content areas of statistics and data analysis, geometry and measurement, and number and algebra. The MSEN centers will provide these courses to teachers statewide. The teachers will use this course work in obtaining National Board Certification in Early Adolescence/Mathematics and as the foundation for obtaining master's degrees in middle school mathematics education. National certification and master's degrees are both rewarded in North Carolina with salary supplements. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Rowlett, Russell Sidney Rachlin Henry Johnson Verna Holoman University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 2035422 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101945 August 15, 2001 Texas State Middle School Mathematics Project: Tx(SM)2. Submitted under the guidelines for Teacher Enhancement, Teacher Retention and Renewal, this is a 36-month project to offer a graduate leadership program in middle school mathematics to 100 teacher leaders. The teacher leaders will complete a 36-hour master's degree in mathematics content and pedagogy, and in leadership/mentoring. The project will include both residential and on-line components. It is a collaborative effort among Southwest Texas State University, Stephen F. Austin State University, Sam Houston State University, the Texas Statewide Systemic Initiative, the Texas Rural Systemic Initiative, and K-12 partner schools. The project builds upon successful collaborations in pre-service with the intent to provide leaders who can mentor the new inductees. It will combine face-to-face meetings in the summer and weekend immersion during the academic year, along with internet coursework and interactive distance learning. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Wayment, Stanley John Huber Sharon Gronberg Jasper Adams Kimberly Childs Texas State University - San Marcos TX Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1525198 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101954 April 15, 2001 Secondary Science Teaching in Rural Michigan: A Model Program for Teacher Retention and Renewal. This proposal envisions a model partner-based system that provides lead teachers both school-based workshops and a summer institute for science content. The model has three components: a science pedagogy part provided by science education faculty, a science content component provided by active research scientists and a classroom teaching component. The specific goals are to deepen teachers understanding of content, scientific inquiry and pedagogy, including curriculum and assessment strategies; to develop a group of sixty teacher leaders and to provide teachers access to effective applications of educational technology. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Robertson, G. Philip James Gallagher Michigan State University MI Julia Clark Continuing grant 1220622 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101955 January 1, 2002 High Expectations for Learning Middle School Science (HELMSS). The mission of "High Expectations for Learning Middle School Science (HELMSS)" Pilot Local Systemic Change (LSC) is to nurture middle level scientific literacy throughout Rhode Island. The project is managed by a partnership of Rhode Island College, East Bay Educational Collaborative and ten partnering districts. The $658,000 project is funded by $200,000 from the National Science Foundation and $458,000 from Rhode Island College and the ten partnering districts. Goals include building a foundation for middle level science systemic change, developing cooperative relationships, building the capacity to implement standards-based curricula to deliver effective professional development and to provide materials support for all middle schools in Rhode Island. HELMSS is conceptualized as a three-phase, six-year project. Phase 1, "Initiating," began in 2000. Project personnel assessed teacher and system needs, designed courses, examined science frameworks and existing curricula and supported the piloting of middle school science instructional materials such as FOSS for Middle School and NSRC's Science and Technology Concepts for Middle Schools. Phase 2, "Building Capacity," (2001-2003) is the HELMSS Pilot LSC. The primary work of this phase is to build awareness of middle school science reform, forge new partnerships among other districts in the region, and develop middle school science teachers' capacity to lead their peers. Eighteen teachers will participate in three 45-hour science content courses and a seminar focusing on leadership, pedagogy, and curriculum. A principal seminar will enable them to work effectively with teachers on-site to support standards-based teaching and learning. By working closely with K-12 teachers and administrators, higher education faculty will improve middle level teacher preparation programs. Phase 3, "Scaling Up," (2003-2006) is the HELMSS Comprehensive LSC. More than 100 Rhode Island middle level teachers will improve student performance in middle level science. All teachers will implement NSF-funded instructional materials and engage in professional development opportunities created during Phase 2, "Building Capacity". TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Kniseley, MacGregor Rhode Island College RI David B. Campbell Standard Grant 199999 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101957 July 1, 2001 Teachers in the Woods: Forest Science Research and Mentoring for Middle and High School Science Teaching. This project utilizes scientists from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and Portland and Oregon State Universities to provide middle and high school science teachers with authentic work in environmental monitoring and forest research at one of the National Forests. The project provides a five-week summer research experience for teachers who will be partnered with field scientists. Five additional days of professional development training are provided during the school year to ensure transfer to the classroom. Teachers begin the program by working on an established project with forest scientists, and then create a short inquiry project of their own to be used with their students during the school year. Novice teachers work with mentor teachers in implementing the research projects. Mentor training is provided during the summer and the school year. This project will educate 105 mentor and 210 novice science teachers over four years. In the third year the project will be extended to a site that will be run by the University of Northern Colorado. Teachers at this new site will be will be recruited from Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Dresner, Marion Andrew Moldenke Portland State University OR David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1110942 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101958 May 1, 2001 SEDNet II: Expanding an Exemplary Nationwide Educational Leadership Program. The goal of the four-year project is to revitalize and retain grades 3-8 teachers of the physical and space sciences, and in so doing improve the instructional quality and increase the overall quantity of these sciences for students. The collaborative effort, to further teacher retention and renewal nationwide, is managed by the Science Education Department (SED) at Harvard College Observatory and the McAuliffe/Challenger Center Learning Center (MCLC) at Framingham State College (FSC). The aim is to build on the pilot SEDNet project, which was an exploratory effort designed to revitalize and retain grades 3-8 teachers of the physical and space sciences, and in so doing improve the instructional quality and increase the overall quantity of these sciences for students. Three person teams from16 Challenger Learning Centers (CLC's) attend two, two-week SEDNet summer institutes in alternate years for in-depth professional development on inquiry science embedded in the physical science concepts that form the basis of the ARIES modules. These team leaders then provide (at their own locale) fee-based implementation workshops, which support teachers using ARIES modules with elementary and middle school students. Built in sustained support for teachers will include CLC-based focus meetings, distance learning opportunities and Web-site support. Over time the SEDNet programming will be self-sustaining. Evaluation includes summative pre/post test measures to assess changes in science content knowledge of both team leaders and second-tier teachers and some comparison testing of students in schools. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Sadler, Philip Harvard University MA Robert D. Sherwood Continuing grant 1103129 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101960 July 15, 2001 Bridging the Gap between the Microscopic and the Macroscopic Using the Virtual Molecular Dynamics Laboratory. The Virtual Molecular Dynamics Laboratory will revise a set of instructional materials for virtual chemistry laboratories and provide professional development on those materials to 336 high school chemistry teachers. A key feature of the materials is the use of molecular dynamics. Students can see in real time, the microscopic behavior and using split-screen software programs can simultaneously see the corresponding macroscopic behavior. By changing the system conditions (e.g., the temperature) the student can begin to understand both the microscopic and macroscopic properties. The teachers' professional development will focus on using the simulations in their classes, introducing the use of cooperative learning as a pedagogical approach to teaching chemistry and encouraging the teachers to contribute to their profession by developing new activities, approaches, lessons and assessments using the computer as a simulator. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Stanley, H. Eugene Mary Shann Sergey Buldyrev Trustees of Boston University MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1480970 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101983 June 1, 2001 Anoka-Hennepin High School Mathematics Leadership Development Program. Funded under the guidelines for Pilot Local Systemic Change Projects, this two-year project in the Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District #11 (MN) provides at least 216 hours of professional and leadership development for 17 high school mathematics teacher-leaders who will pilot the Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP) instructional materials. Working with Hamline University and the IMP Midwest Regional Center at the University of Minnesota, the District implements a program of teacher enhancement that includes direct engagement with the IMP materials as well as leadership development. The leadership development is based on Michael Fullan's framework for teacher-leadership that includes not only knowledge of teaching and learning, but also knowledge of collegiality, knowledge of educational contexts, knowledge through continuous learning, knowledge of the change process and moral purpose. In addition, high school administrators and counselors are involved in learning about a standards-based mathematics curriculum, as well as staff development related to beliefs about teaching mathematics and mathematics for all students. Project evaluation includes a student outcome component (comparison of pass/fail rates in the first two years of IMP mathematics vs. non-IMP mathematics, as a measure of student retention in mathematics), a mathematics department climate survey in district high schools, and classroom and professional development observations. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Peterman, Laurie Dennis Holt Nancy Desmond Lelia Redin Anoka-Hennepin ISD #11 MN Monica M. Neagoy Standard Grant 200000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101985 May 1, 2001 National Teachers Enhancement Network for Elementary Teachers. The National Teachers Enhancement Network for Elementary Teachers (NTEN) will electronically provide professional development to elementary teachers on science concepts based upon selected kit-based curricula from FOSS, STC, BSCS Science and Delta Education II. The project will assist elementary teachers in deepening their science content knowledge and improve their ability to incorporate technology into their classes. The development team will consist of MSU and other faculty with NTEN experience (from the Keystone project), K-6 master teachers and instructional technologists. Each module will be of 4-6 weeks' duration. Initially, four modules will be pilot tested with 25 teachers. A second pilot for 50 teachers will occur in the second year of the project. NTEN will specifically target teachers of Native American and other minority students. The project will provide an Instructional Technology and Technical Support team to module instructors and participants. This team will provide training in using technology to the instructors and develop an online professional development package for participants. Furthermore, the Support team will provide an electronic listserve and chat room to establish a distance learning community for NTEN participants. As further support, teachers will be encouraged to participate in school teams. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Tuthill, George Kimberly Obbink Montana State University MT Michael Haney Continuing grant 2000130 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101986 September 15, 2001 Mobile Elementary Mathematics Initiative -- Phase II. Over a three-year period, the Mobile Elementary Mathematics Initiative - Phase II (MEMI-Phase II) develops the Academy for Excellence in Mathematics Education, K-6 and prepares its members to lead and sustain elementary mathematics reform in the 66,000-student Mobile [AL] County Public School System (MCPSS). The Academy will include a critical mass of leaders from four groups of essential stakeholders in K-6 mathematics reform: 36 teachers; 17 school and district administrators; 30 business and community leaders; and 6 post-secondary mathematicians and teacher educators. The heart of the Academy is its Teacher Leadership Program and its carefully coordinated summer institutes, academic year experiences, and reflection seminars which deepen Academy Teachers understanding of mathematics and how it is best taught. The MEMI-Phase II builds on knowledge being gained from a mostly private-funded, three-year (1999-2002) Maysville Mathematics Initiative which involves a cluster of four inner-city and high-poverty elementary schools in the MCPSS. As part of the Teacher Leadership Program, Academy members will lead and support school-wide mathematics reform in four additional MCPSS elementary schools using the Maysville Mathematics Initiative model. MEMI-Phase II will directly impact over 180 teachers and their 3,600 students and it will set the stage for a district-wide elementary mathematics reform initiative, including textbook adoption, that would impact Mobile's over 2,000 elementary teachers. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Pruet, Susan Suzanne McGill Martha Peek Mobile Area Education Foundation AL Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 965955 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101995 June 1, 2001 Project RENEW: Leadership for Excellence and Renewal in Mathematics Education. This project is a five-year leadership development project in mathematics educaton that addresses the need to retain qualified mathematics teachers in the profession. The primary goal is to keep competent beginning and experienced K-12 teachers in the profession while increasing their ability to teach mathematics effectively. The project is based at the University of Califonria, Santa Barbara, and involves teachers and districts in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. In Project RENEW, two cohorts of 30 experienced teachers will received 36 days of professional development over a three-year period. These teachers, called preceptors, will increase their knowledge of mathematics and mathematics pedagogy, develop their leadership capabilities, and develop and implement strategies to mentor three to five beginning teachers for a period of three years. The plan is to involve the two cohorts of 30 teachers with two cohorts of 120 beginning teachers for a total of 300 teachers. A resource manual for devloping teacher leadership for mentoring beginning teachers will be developed. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Weissglass, Julian Nancy Terman University of California-Santa Barbara CA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1985551 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101997 September 1, 2001 Come On: California's Outstanding Mathematics Educators Ongoing Network. Submitted under the guidelines for Teacher Retention and Renewal, this sixty-month project supports approximately 300 teachers of high school mathematics in fourteen school districts of California. These teachers comprise three distinct groups. First, those already experienced with instructional materials aligned with NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics "develop mentoring and professional development skills and serve as mentors and leaders in their districts... The other two groups are veteran teachers wishing to improve their teaching through alternative means of instruction and assessment, and novice teachers needing mentoring and support in the critical early years." The Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP) materials are the primary vehicle for the project's professional development. The teacher enhancement curriculum includes summer and winter workshops and individual work, collaboration, mentoring and electronic networking throughout the school year. All participants are expcected to make a commitment for at least two years (130 hours of professional development per year), but may choose to participate for three or four years. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Marks, Rick Sherry Fraser Margaret DeArmond James Short Sonoma State University CA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 1922500 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0101998 August 1, 2001 Maricopa Mathematics Mentoring and Renewal. "Maricopa Mathematics Mentoring and Renewal," a four-year project of Maricopa Community College District (AZ) in collaboration with the Chandler School District, the Tempe Elementary School District, Tempe High School District, Chandler Gilbert Community College, and Arizona State University is designed to address the issues of continual need for new mathematics teachers due to both teacher turnover and continuous growth in population. Funded under the Teacher Enhancement guidelines for Teacher Retention and Renewal, the project focuses on preparing 81 teachers of grades 5-12 to serve as mentors/coaches to novice teachers. n additional 119 teachers participate in professional development activities and implement standards-based units while being mentored and coached by the mentor teachers. All project teachers participate in professional development activities designed to enhance both mathematical content and pedagogical practice. In addition, mentor teachers develop their skills in coaching and leading collegial support groups. Participating 5th - 8th grade teachers implement a minimum of two standards-based mathematics units. In the last two years, each middle school becomes a site for a collegial support group. Teachers from feeder elementary schools and cluster high schools are a part of the middle school based support group. Both mentor and novice teachers participate in content courses delivered through Arizona State University. A summer school practicum employs a mentoring/coaching model that engages teams of participants in planning lessons based on standards-based instructional strategies. The teaching is followed by reflection, re-planning, and re-teaching by another team member. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Schroeder, Darcy Melinda Rudibaugh Nora Ramirez Michelle Zandieh Maricopa County Community College District AZ Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 956935 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0102133 May 1, 2001 Improving Middle-Level Mathematics Teaching and Learning: A Statewide Initiative. The three-year project will develop a coordinated set of six courses designed specially to prepare teachers to teach mathematics in the middle grades, level 5-8. The courses will form the core of a Master's Degree program or can be taken separately for certification. Two existing courses will be modified. The project is a collaborative effort involving university mathematicians, statisticians, mathematics educators, Presidential Awardees for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching and other exemplary middle-level teachers. The objectives include: increase the conceptual content knowledge of middle-level teachers, provide exposure to exemplary materials and develop skills to use them, prepare teachers to act as mentors, work with the state on certification, strengthen infrastructure that supports preparation and professional development, enhance teaching practices of middle-level teachers and college faculty, produce knowledge about collaborative course and program development, produce research results on developing and implementing a research-based and standards-based program for in-service teachers, and contribute to the understanding of adult education teaching strategies and distance delivery systems that can be effective in under-served rural areas (due to very small schools and great distances between them). This project addresses the fact that sixty-four percent of the teachers teaching mathematics do not have a state credential in mathematics. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR McClurg, Patricia Lynne Ipina Linda Hutchison University of Wyoming WY Ron Tzur Continuing grant 1116971 9150 7300 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0102228 September 1, 2001 Lead Learners in Mathematics: Cultivating Leadership to Support Mathematics Education Reform in Boston. This 5-year Retention and Renewal proposal, targeting Boston Public Schools, builds on the extensive professional development work of EDC and TERC. The"Cultivating Leadership to Support Elementary Mathematics Education Reform in Boston" project, targets approximately 400 teacher leaders who participate in over 200 hours of professional development. Administrator leaders participate in over 45 hours of professional development, and an additional 600 teachers participate in at least 130 hours of professional development through the leadership work in each school. The professional development designed to strengthen participants' mathematics teaching practice will support schools in the implementation of the Investigations in Number, Data and Space. All 87 elementary schools in Boston will be supported by this project. In addition the project targets seven carefully selected schools where teacher and administrator leadership is firmly in place and there is a school-wide focus on mathematics teaching and learning. These "Learning Site Schools" will serve as resources to other schools in the district, providing opportunities to learn about how teacher and administrator leadership is developed, how leadership is leveraged within a school, and how a school-wide focus on mathematics teaching and learning is created and sustained. Two additional schools, one without the infrastructure to support reform and one with minimal infrastructure to support these efforts, will receive extensive support. Research documenting the change process for schools at different stages of reform will be conducted. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Davenport, Linda Boston Public Schools MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 4848373 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0102241 January 15, 2001 Improving the Quality of Science Textbooks -- A Conference Grant. The project proposes to convene publishers, curriculum developers and state and district science education leaders for two separate but related conferences. The first targets curriculum developers. The second will include developers, and adds individuals responsible for curriculum development in states and districts. The goals of the conferences are for participants to gain a more complete understanding of the Project 2061 curriculum evaluation instrument, and to analyze and critique it. In addition, the conference proceedings (including commissioned papers) will be published on-line and information about the proceedings will be distributed through the project's newsletter (circulation 50,000). INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Roseman, Jo Ellen American Association For Advancement Science DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 337952 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0102287 March 1, 2001 Absolute Zero and the Conquest for Cold -- A Planning Grant. With support of this planning grant, Russell Donnelly, Professor of Physics and Director of the Cryogenic Helium Turbulence Laboratory at the University of Oregon, Eugene, is developing a four-part television series on low-temperature physics. Based on Tom Shachtman's 1999 book of the same title, the series will explore the field's key concepts, the significant individuals and events in its history, its impact on society through such technologies as air conditioning, refrigeration and liquefied gases, and its promise for the future. Shachtman will be the principal writer for the project, and Donnelly and Shachtman will work closely with television producers Meredith Burch and Steve Lyons, formerly a producer for NOVA. Barbara Flagg will conduct front-end evaluation during the planning phase. Activities to be conducted during the planning phase include: Preliminary evaluation of audience knowledge Consultations and meetings with advisors Development of detailed content outlines for the four programs Exploration of means to enhance the impact of the project through ancillary materials and outreach Assessment will include an investigation of the potential for adapting the content to other media such as design of a traveling exhibit, development of a Spanish-language radio version, production of "mini-films' for use on children's cable television, and publication of specialized print media. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Donnelly, Russell University of Oregon Eugene OR Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 54612 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0102295 June 1, 2001 Developing Teacher Leaders in Middle and High School Science. Howard University seeks funding for a three-year Teacher Retention and Renewal project for 180 middle school and high school teachers in Washington, DC, public schools. The project will develop teacher leaders with advanced skills and understanding in Science, Mathematics and Technology (SMT) education content and pedagogy who will help strengthen ongoing professional development in schools through the mentoring of other training courses for teachers in life science, earth science, biology, chemistry and physics. Scientists and science educators will teach the courses. The courses will be grounded in constructivist learning theory and the activities will be interdisciplinary and inquiry-based. The teachers will receive graduate credit. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Irving, Marilyn W. Austin Howard University DC Julia Clark Continuing grant 1155543 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0102582 June 1, 2001 High Quality Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology Education for All Learners. The project describes proposed work of the newly reconfigured Center for Educaton of the National Research Council. In September, 2000, the Center was expanded to include the Board on Testing and Assessment (BOTA), the Committee on Educatonal Excellence and Testing Equity (CEETE), and the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BISE). Other boards, e.g., the Mathematical Sciences Education Board (MSEB), the Committee on Science Education K-12 (COSE K-12), and the Committee on Undergarduate Science Education (CUSE) will continue. The Center will expand its work at the nexus of education policy, practice and research and will enable synergy among the various boards and committees around key issues. Among the issues identified for study in the first two years of this grant are: o Relationships of classroom assessments and high stakes tests; o Effects of NSF-supported mathematics curricula; o Next steps in mathematics teacher development; o Taking stock of the National Science Education Standards; o Framing science teacher education as a continuum; o Criteria and Benchmarks for evaluating undergraduate SMETE program effectiveness; o Transitions from graduate learning to undergraduate teaching in SMETE; o Promoting inquiry-based science education for undergraduates; o Technical skills for work. Work over the subsequent three years will be developed to take advantage of the most promising work of years one and two, and to address current strategic issues in mathematics and science education strategically. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI PRES AWDS FOR EXCELL IN SCI COMP PART FOR MATH & SCI ACHIE METHOD, MEASURE & STATS DRL EHR Morison, Patricia National Academy of Sciences DC Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 10808553 7365 7355 7348 7300 7271 7259 7181 7180 7172 1666 1593 1547 1333 SMET 9179 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0103678 July 15, 2001 A Proposal to Support the Next Generation of Curriculum Materials in Science, Mathematics and Technology. The project will build on prior successful work and: 1) Explore extending the applicability of its criteria for evaluating materials to the elementary school level and to a greater variety of topics. 2) Produce a set of interrelated on-line databases of instructional components -- research summaries, representations, phenomena and questions/tasks that developers can use to creat K-12 goals-based textbooks and other materials that focus on important ideas and skills in science, mathematics and technology. It is anticpated that these databases will also be valuable to practicing teachers (this component forming the basis for Project inservice programs) and to those designing preservice courses. 3) Create an expanded set of conceptual strand maps portraying students' growth of understanding for important topics such as weather and climate, basic functions of living things, energy conservation, and electricity and magnetism; and 4) Create professional development workshop plans and presentation materials designed particularly for curriculum materials developers and educators responsible for evaluating and selecting textbooks. In addition, a new component to the initiative will: Design strategies and create materials to help parents, decision-makers, and the public in general to understand basic scientific literacy. This component will include the Conover Miller Group/Global Strategy Group who will conduct public opinion/market research polls and develop a strategic communications plan. The Project will produce a customized website that links the resources of AAAS with other organizations such as the NSTA, NRC and the Annenberg/CPB Project to help teachers and parents increase their understanding of the important issues related to science education. This component will encourage teachers and parents to become more actively involved in their state's efforts to improve science education. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Roseman, Jo Ellen American Association For Advancement Science DC Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 6259603 7355 7300 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104420 January 1, 2002 Mission Discovery. The "Mission Discovery" project targeting middle school youth is a collaborative endeavor between the Carnegie Science Center (CSC) and the Hill House Association. This year-round project will work with inner-city children from communities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Thirty middle school students will experience standards-based, creative programs and activities. Physical Science, Life Science and Earth & Space Science will be the content focus of the project. CSC provides the mathematics and science expertise while the Hill House Association (serving six predominately low-income African American communities) provides the community, recruitment and staffing expertise. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Baillie, Ronald Aleina Smith Carnegie Institute PA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 500631 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104478 September 1, 2001 Outdoor Exploratorium: Experiments in Noticing and Understanding. The Exploratorium will create the "Outdoor Exploratorium," a 10,000-square-foot, open-air exhibit environment comprising 20 to 25 original installations. Each exhibit will allow visitors to interact directly with a variety of elements, that is water, wind, sound, light, and living things, as they exist in the natural world. One of the key components of this project will be the use of "Noticing Tours." Led by staff scientists, artists, educators, exhibit developers, and other "expert noticers," the tours will initiate a dialogue with the visitors as a starting point for exhibit development. To augment visitor learning and unify the museum's entire collection, exhibit text will relate the "Outdoor Exploratorium" experiences to exhibits. The project will culminate in a workbook for the field and two workshops for museum professionals. The Exploratorium Teacher Institute staff will develop two-week institutes that make extensive use of the "Outdoor Exploratorium." Classroom activities and inquiry-based learning experiences will be developed based on the new exhibits. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Richards, Peter Thomas Rockwell Exploratorium CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1855212 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104504 September 1, 2001 "QUEST: Investigating Our World" -- A Regional Public Television Science Series for Northern New England. Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation is producing three seasons of a regional television series that will enable audiences to explore, appreciate and learn about the relationship between science and everyday life in Northern New England. The project is being developed in collaboration with public television stations in Vermont and New Hampshire and will attract viewers by focusing on content and issues that are of unique interest to this area. It addresses the critical need to improve science literacy in this predominantly rural region of the country. Ancillary materials will be developed for use at home, in the community, and in classrooms and will consist of: Quest "Take-Home" Activity Pages, "In Your Community" Guides, Quest Community Events, and Classroom Lesson Plans and Suggested Activities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pulling, Barbara Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation ME Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1095435 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104536 September 1, 2001 Urban Ecology Field Study Program. This proposal seeks funding for an after-school field ecology research program. The plan involves 20 teachers/student center staff and 500 urban students from under-served communities over a three-year period in a unique research project that links teachers and students. The students will be divided into two cohorts: 14-16 years old and 17-18 years old. The younger group (14-16) will conduct research led by teachers in riparian field ecology along urban rivers. The older students (17-18) will be involoved in more in-depth projects where they are paired with a mentor from the state environmental agency. The proposed program is designed to complete a four-year "pilot project" that was initiated at Boston College in 1999. It is a partnership effort involving the Boston Public Schools, the Mayor's Office, state environmental agencies and a consortium of corporations. Students collect, analyze and post data at the Boston College web site. In addition to engaging in original research that is substantive and meaningful, students learn to use scientific instruments. The goals of the program are to increase urban students' interest in science and in careers in science. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Lord, Charles Eric Strauss Peter Auger Boston College MA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 399973 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104538 September 15, 2001 Forces that Shape the San Francisco Bay. The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) proposes to develop a permanent, one-acre, outdoor exhibition overlooking the San Francisco Bay called called "The Forces That Shape the San Francisco Bay." The exhibition will focus on the geologic and hydrologic forces and the human impacts that have shaped the San Francisco Bay and its environs. The exhibition's interactive components and related programs will involve visitors in learning about erosion, river sediment and deposition, mountain building, folding of strata and thrusting, faulting and seismicity. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Carmichael, Ian S. University of California-Berkeley CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1445839 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104543 July 1, 2001 After-School Adventures in Wildlife Science (ASCEND Project). The Wildlife Conservation Society seeks funding for a three-year project to develop an after school and Saturday program for 180 high school students from the Bronx in New York City. The families are all low-income and 85% are below the poverty level. Students will attend sessions two times a week after school from 2:30pm-5:00pm for 18 weeks; one-half day on Saturday per session will also be included. Sessions will be held in the spring and fall, and will include a total of 180 students over the three years of the project. The science content will be based on the Wildlife Inquiry through Zoo Education (WIZE) curriculum materials developed by the Bronx Zoo and supplemented with hands-on activities at the Zoo. The program will bring students from Bronx-area high schools to the Bronx Zoo where they will learn to observe, formulate hypotheses, collect data, analyze and present the data. Student will learn aspects of ecology, anatomy, animal behavior, food webs and chains, etc. Participating students will receive high school credit from the city of New York for participating. The Institute for Learning Innovation, an Annapolis, MD-based, non-profit educational research and development organization, will conduct formative/remedial and summative evaluation of the implementation and long-term impact of the program. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Berkovits, Annette Wildlife Conservation Society NY Mary Ann Steiner Standard Grant 300000 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104555 August 1, 2001 Science and Everyday Experiences (SEE) Initiative. The Delta Research & Education Foundation (DREF) is following up on a successful planning grant with the Science and Everyday Experiences (SEE) Initiative. The SEE Initiative will be implemented by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a non-profit organization composed of 190,000 predominantly African-American professionals, that provides programs and services to promote human welfare. The program offers a five-year, comprehensive approach to the delivery of resources designed to help parents and caregivers of African-American children in grades K-8 effectively support informal science and math learning. By partnering with the AAAS, SEE provides members of the 800+ Delta chapters with leadership and professional development training in informal science education. The first phase of training is a three-day professional development workshop for Delta regional officers and members. Regional leaders are prepared to conduct State Chapter Leadership Professional Development Workshops. State Chapter workshops are 12-hour sessions that train 4,200 sorority members per year to sponsor ongoing family science events. Finally, Delta members that are K-12 or community educators will be designated as Parent Educators. SEE Parent Educators will receive 40-hour training sessions from AAAS, which enables participants to provide parents with 24 hours of informal science education. It is anticipated that 2,800 SEE Parent Educators will be trained during the life of the grant. Delta chapters are located in seven geographical regions, which encompass 40 states and will serve as the primary mode of dissemination. Promotion of the SEE Initiative will occur in conjunction with media partners. A 30-minute science radio talk show for families will broadcast nationally on Radio One and inquiry-based science inserts will be placed in the Afro-American Newspaper, which has a circulation of 6.5 million. Other outcomes include an informational website, as well as science activity cards for families and training materials. This project will impact 17,500 families per year. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Davis, Barbara Shirley Malcom Delta Research and Educational Foundation DC Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1933167 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104578 September 15, 2001 "Greater Yellowstone Adventure:" Three Interconnected Exhibit Galleries Exploring the Relationships Binding Humans and Nature in the Greater Yellowstone Area. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center will develop the "Greater Yellowstone Adventure project," encompassing 1,719 square meters of exhibits in the Center's newly constructed Draper Museum of Natural History. The exhibits and associated programming constitute a major cultural and educational resource for underserved residents of rural, northwestern Wyoming and approximately 500,000 annual visitors to the region. The goal of Greater Yellowstone Adventure is to promote understanding of the relationships binding humans and nature and the use of science in exploring those relationships. The exhibits are orgainized into three galleries: Expedition Trailhead, Braided Paths and Tangled Destinies, and Seasons of Discovery. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Preston, Charles Eugene Reber Robert Pickering Maryanne Andrus Buffalo Bill Historical Center WY David A. Ucko Continuing grant 1337164 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104589 September 1, 2001 Mars Quest Online. "MarsQuest Online" is an exploration-based website designed to complement the innovative MarsQuest traveling exhibit launched by the Space Science Institute (SSI) in 1997. "MarsQuest Online" will enhance and extend the exhibit, which is currently on a six-year, 18-city tour. TERC, working in collaboration with the Space Science Institute and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will create a virtual version of the exhibit using software such as Java, Quicktime VR and JPL's sophisticated MarsNet Viewer system. Users will be immersed in an integrated, interactive environment complete with the tools and resources to carry out investigations and enhance inquiry-based learning. "MarsQuest" will expand users' understanding of the history of Mars, scientific exploration, the climate and related earth science concepts, while enabling them to follow the exploration of various landers and orbiters, and access NASA scientists. A diverse collection of Guided Inquiry experiences will foster the ability of users to develop inquiry and analysis skills, while offering options for novice, intermediate and advanced learners. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation plan will examine how the website and exhibit compare in promoting the understanding of science, broadening public interest in space exploration, and motivating further learning. The site will be promoted for use by schools as a tool for teaching earth science and space exploration. It is estimated that 300,000 people will visit "MarsQuest Online" annually. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Barstow, Daniel Paul Dusenbery Chris Randall Paul Andres TERC Inc MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 917228 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104600 July 1, 2001 Monarch Butterfly Larval Monitoring: A Nationwide Citizen Science Initiative. The University of Minnesota is requesting funding to implement a nationwide citizen science project focused on the life cycle of monarch butterflies. Scientists from the University will train naturalists and environmental educators throughout the U.S. at nine host sites. Participants in the first round of training will then conduct regional training sessions for naturalists, who will in turn train volunteer monitors. The target audience for volunteers will be adult/child teams. Results will be disseminated using the University of Minnesota's Environmental Spatial Analysis Center to show temporal and spatial data via the WWW. Listserves will also be created to support the project, to augment a monthly newsletter and the website. Mini-exhibits will be created to highlight the project at participating nature centers. Exhibits will focus on monarch and insect ecology and conservation, as well as local and population-wide monitoring efforts. It is estimated that 90-150 nature centers will participate in the regional training, and they will in turn train almost 5,000 volunteers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Oberhauser, Karen University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 842446 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104613 September 1, 2001 Native Waters. Native Waters is a comprehensive four-year tribal science education program focused on water. Working closely with leaders from 28 Missouri River Basin Tribes, the project will explore the Missouri River Flood Basin from a scientific and cultural standpoint. Partners are The Watercourse and International Project WET (Water Education for Teachers). Activities include Leadership Institutes for community educators and Native Waters Future Leaders Camps for secondary school and college students. Products to be developed include an interactive traveling exhibit, which will focus on the Missouri River watershed and the physical properties of water, as well as its uses from a cultural and scientific standpoint. The exhibit will travel to cultural centers, tribal colleges and school libraries throughout the ten Missouri River Basin states. A 250-page Native Water's Educators Guide will be disseminated nationally and impact over 500,000 individuals, both youth and adults. Finally, a 16-page student activity book and a Native Waters film will be produced to introduce youth and community members to water resource issues. The training materials will be used in cultural centers, museums, area water councils and schools. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sachatello-Sawyer, Bonnie Dennis Nelson Montana State University MT Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1805590 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104639 August 15, 2001 Teens Exploring and Explaining Nature and Science (TEENS). "Teens Exploring and Explaining Nature and Science" (TEENS) is a year-long, multi-component program serving Chicago public school students from 7th to 12th grade through three contiguous programs: (1) SMART Squad; (2) Science Explorers; and (3) Science Guides which focus on science education and job-skills training. The purpose of the project is to raise students' expectations for academic achievement, to enhance their scientific knowledge, and to increase their academic skills, occupational expectations, aspirations and self-esteem. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Widener, Douglas Chicago Academy of Sciences IL Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 284675 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104651 July 1, 2001 SEEK: Science and Engineering Experiences for Knowledge -- An ASCEND Project. This proposal seeks funding for a 3-year After School Centers For Exploration and New Discovery (ASCEND) project for middle school students and their families. The Science and Engineering Experiences for Knowledge (SEEK) project will enroll 60 students during Year 1, 120 students during Year 2, and 180 students during Year 3. The students will engage in investigative projects that explore the program theme, "Florida's Environment: Past, Present, and Future." Activities include individual and group projects, field trips, family projects at home, parental involvement, and project presentations at the museum for other middle school students and museum visitors. Project activities in the first year will engage the students in learning about Florida's geological and biological history and global change environment through the study of insects. In the second year students will be introduced to Florida's present environment through the study of insects. During the third year, students will investigate factors that will influcence Florida's future environment such as habitats, weather and recycling. The students will meet two times a week (3:30 p.m. - 5:30p.m.) during the school year. The project is a collaborative effort involving the University of Florida's Florida Museum of Natural History and its College of Engineering, The Alachua County School Board and the Gainesville Regional Utilities. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Dunckel, Betty Bruce MacFadden Jean Andino University of Florida FL Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 303765 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104652 September 1, 2001 Pattern Place -- A Traveling Exhibition. The ability to identify, recognize and manipulate patterns is fundamental to knowing the world. Brooklyn Children's Museum (BCM) is developing "Pattern Place," a new collections-based traveling exhibition, to introduce children ages 7 to 10 to the structure, meaning and importance of patterns. The exhibition will incorporate an array of objects from BCM's collections and open-ended, hands-on inquiry skills. The 1,200-square-foot trilingual exhibition will open at BCM in 2002 and then travel to eight other museums in the U.S. and Canada. A range of family programming, a Web site and a portable museum kit will provide further dissemination and support educators in incorporating object-based inquiry into the classroom curriculum. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pearson, Paul Brooklyn Childrens Museum NY David A. Ucko Continuing grant 587366 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104671 September 15, 2001 Kinetic City After School: An On-line Adventure. "Kinetic City After School" is a two-year project that will produce a web-based after-school program for children ages 9-11. The on-line adventure will enable users to enter a virtual universe where a computer virus (Deep Delete) systematically attacks a new area of science each month (analogous to one of the 12 Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy). As students battle the virus, they learn Benchmarks learning goals. Each unit invites children to think about the problem, take action and reflect on their experience. The activities accommodate different learning styles and are supplemented by live audio chats with scientists and a self-assessment enables students to earn Kinetic City Power Points. Power Points can be donated to after school programs without computers and Internet access. These sites may in turn, exchange their accumulated Power Points to obtain computers, Internet service and a site license for "Kinetic City After School." Although the program is web-based, most of the activity extensions are done off-line. "Kinetic City After School" will be introduced to after-school sites with a two-day training workshop, with follow-up via phone meetings and site visits. Supporting materials will include a Leader Guide, Journal and Kinetic City Home Crew activity pages for use in the home. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hirshon, Robert American Association For Advancement Science DC Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1350579 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104682 July 1, 2001 American Museum of Natural History ASCEND Project. AMNH ASCEND is a new model afterschool program of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. AMNH ASCEND focuses on the legal, ethical, social and cultural implications of new discoveries in genetics. Eighty New York City high school students will be involved in a two-year program that includes a series of courses, hands-on activities, laboratory experiences, field trips, career development opportunities and educational support. In the first year students will participate in seven-week laboratory courses on genomic technology followed in the second year by a research experience in genomics at the Museum. The project is a collaboration of AMNH with AAAS, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the City University of New York and the New York City Board of Education. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Gordon, Myles American Museum Natural History NY Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 407846 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104691 September 15, 2001 Cyborgs: A Natural History of Machines and Humans. The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will develop "Cyborgs: A Natural History of Machines and Humans." The Project will result in a national traveling exhibit, a web site, and a complement of related educational programs focused on the boundaries between humans and their machines and on recent scientific efforts to understand the human body and mind. The 6,000-square-foot exhibit will open at the SMM before traveling to the six large museums in the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative (SMEC), and then will be available for lease by other museums. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pohlman, Donald Science Museum of Minnesota MN David A. Ucko Continuing grant 1881283 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104695 August 15, 2001 INNOVATION. The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET in New York) is developing and producing a new public television project exploring cutting-edge technology. The project consists of an eight-part hourly broadcast component; six 60-second "mini-programs;" a World Wide Web component; and extensive educational outreach targeted to adults aged 25-39 and older. The topics for the eight programs in season one are: Replacements - prosthetic devices and biologically electronic artificial body parts In Search of Eve - the race to decode the human genome Light of the 21st Century - Fiber Optics Nanotechnology - molecular manipulation of materials Technospy - technologies used to gain information Sports Technology - the pursuit of better equipment and training regimes Artificial Intelligence - efforts to create computers the mimic human intelligence Appropriate Technologies - technologies that use local, inexpensive material Beth Hoppe, WNET's Director of Science Programs will serve as Executive Producer for the series. Each of the programs would be produced by an independent producer selected by WNET. Content advisors include: Angela Christiano, Departments of Dermatology, Genetics and Development, Columbia University; Sheila Sen Jasanoff, Harvard University JFK School of Government; Horace Freeland Judson, Center for History of Recent Science, George Washington University; Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist, CUNY and host, Explorations radio series; Wilfred Pinfold, Microprocessor Research Labs, Intel Corp.; and Barbara Wilson, chief technologist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hoppe, Beth Tamara Robinson William Grant Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1902760 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104697 September 15, 2001 Project SPLASH. "Project Splash" is a 24-month project targeting middle school students (grades 7-9) from predominately immigrant and refugee backgrounds. Although numerous partnerships are highlighted throughout the proposal, the main partnerships include the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the Lowell Heritage State Park, the Lowell Housing Authority, the New England Board of Higher Education AQUA Educators' Network, GEARUP, Salem State College, Lowell High School, the New England Aquarium, and Lowell's Youth Leaders, the River Ambassadors. Two cohorts of 25 youth (a total of 50 students) will participate in after school and summer academic activities. Activities will link culture and science through hands-on environmental experiences with science leaders and cultural representatives. Students will participate in "Project Splash" two hours a day twice a week during the academic year and summer. Transportation will be provided to all program activities. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Silka, Linda Cheryl West University of Massachusetts Lowell MA Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 269154 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104698 November 1, 2001 An Intergenerational Program in Science, Mathematics, and Technology. This creative project pairs grandparents or other senior citizens with children in grades K-7 for an intergenerational hands-on SMT program. The OASIS institute, which has a large national membership of adults 55 and older with centers based in 25 cities across the US, is the source of adults. Twenty intergenerational modules will be developed which address the learning styles of both children and older adults, half of which will be linked with the NSF-funded "Find Out Why" materials. Master training sessions will be conducted for OASIS trainers, who would then train volunteers at their local centers. Anticipated outcomes include increased knowledge of standards-based SMT concepts, enhanced problem-solving skills and a better understanding of how science, math and technology apply to everyday life. In addition to the modules, the program would also result in the creation of a supplementary guide for volunteers, materials kits and a comprehensive training program. It is anticipated that this exciting program will be piloted in the following nine states: MO, IN, OR, MD, AZ, TX, CA, IL and OH. Over 100,000 individuals will be impacted during the three years of the project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Morgan, Russell SPRY (Setting Priorities for Retirement Years) Foundation MD Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1870885 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104700 September 1, 2001 "Peep and the Big Wide World:" A Television Science Series for Three to Five Year Olds. WGBH is producing and disseminating two seasons of a daily, half-hour television science series and accompanying outreach for three to five year olds. The series will be carried nationally as part of Discovery Television's newly expanded Discovery Kids. The project, "Peep and the Big Wide World," will model a developmentally-appropriate process of inquiry and exploration, nurture young children's innate curiosity, catalyze further hands-on exploration of the world around them, and motivate parents and care-givers to support and encourage these activities. The television programs will combine animation and short, live-action segments. The animation will weave the early childhood science curriculum into stories about three birds and their animal friends as they explore the world. Science content, unifying concepts, and habits of mind will be reinforced through two-minute live-action segments that show kids engaged in science play relating directly to the previous story. The television series will be supported by a comprehensive "Anywhere Science" outreach component of the project. "Anywhere Science" reinforces the fact that opportunities to experience and enjoy science exist in most facets of life. It will offer a range of activities -- through both web and print materials -- that can be enjoyed by just about anyone, just about anywhere. "Anywhere Science" is being designed to show parents and caregivers how important it is to support children's curiosity and how easy it is to engage in activities that help develop their science "habits of mind." The outreach campaign will be built around the new National Association for the Education of Young Children professional development standards and Head Start's science framework. The content director for "Peep and the Big Wide World" is Karen Worth, Senior Scientist at the Education Development Center and the Co-Director of the Center for Urban Science Education Reform. She is also the Principal Investigator of "Tool Kits for Early Childhood Science Education" that is developing national standards for preschool science education. The Executive Producer for the project is Kate Taylor who has previously served as Executive Producer for"ZOOM," " Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego," and "Degrassi Junior High." The creator of PEEP and animation artist is Kai Pindal, former Head of Animation at Danish Television. The head writer is Kathy Waugh who has written four seasons of the Emmy winning children's series, "Arthur." Evaluation will be conducted by Rockman et al. Advisors for the series include Barbara Bowman, President of the Erikson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development; Diane Levin, Professor of Education at Wheelock College; Tera O'Hora, Consultant and Workshop Facilitator for "Science Beyond the Sandtable;" Kathy Paget, an early childhood educator working as a science curriculum developer and evaluator of science-related educational projects at the Technical Education Research Center; Diane Whitehead, a Quality Initiative Coordinator for the National Head Start Association; and Elizabeth Young, Director of Head Start Child Care in Cambridge, MA. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate Brigid Sullivan WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 5911050 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104703 July 15, 2002 Bringing Astronomy and Space Science to Shopping Centers. The Pacific Science Center, in collaboration and with support from the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium, proposes a three-year program to develop and test a model for delivering mid-scale, astronomy and space-themed exhibits and programming in a shopping center environment, especially in rural locations. The program targets an audience that does not have easy access to a science center or that may not be inclined to take advantage of such a facility. The exhibits and curriculum for this project will be based on Pacific Science Center's well-tested Space Odyssey Van Program, which presently tours elementary schools in Washington State. Phase One of the project will be a test delivery of the existing exhibits and programming to two malls. Phase Two involves construction and testing of the final, larger exhibits and reworking existing programming to better fit a mall delivery environment. Phase Three takes the newly tested devices to ten malls in suburban and rural Washington. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schatz, Dennis Pacific Science Center Foundation WA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1150190 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104704 September 15, 2001 Understanding Birds. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (CLO) will develop "Understanding Birds", a suite of exhibits and related programming in the new environmental science center to be opened in Sapsucker Woods in 2002. The new building will house the Lab's research, education, and outreach operations, including the Library of Natural Sounds, a new Library of Nature Videos, and Cornell's systematic collection of vertebrates. The building also will include a multi-media-based interactive Visitors Center providing both real and virtual learning activities for visitors of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels. Plans for replication of the exhibits will be made available broadly to museums, nature centers and other organizations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bonney, Richard John Fitzpatrick Cornell University - State NY David A. Ucko Continuing grant 1724545 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104710 August 15, 2001 The Worcester Pipeline Collaborative ASCEND Initiative. The Worcester Pipeline Collaborative ASCEND Initiative will offer Worcester youth long-term, academic research projects/partnerships, summer research projections for high school students and self-directed research projects for middle and high school students and a summer science camp and after schools science club for middle school students. The long-term project goal is to enhance scientific literacy in Central Massachusetts by preparing students interested in science skills with the necessary skills. This is especially important in an urban community whose traditional manufacturing base is being replaced by technological and health industries. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Hines, Deborah University of Massachusetts Medical School MA Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 313732 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104712 August 1, 2001 Tune In To Math. Education Development Center (EDC) is developing and implementing a three-year project to promote the informal learning of key basic mathematical concepts and skills among undereducated adults throughout the country. The effort will be part of EDC's Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA). The principal components of the project will be: Ten new, half-hour episodes of the television series, TV411, which is currently carried by approximately 100 public television stations. The new programs will shift the emphasis of the series from reading literacy to mathematics skills. In addition to covering a broad array of mathematical concepts, procedures and vocabulary, the programs will have an explicit focus on problem-solving strategies and attitudes about mathematics. A multi-level national outreach and marketing campaign to attract viewers and users to the materials and to increase carriage of the series. An in-depth implementation effort will be conducted with outreach partners is six large metropolitan areas. EDC will adapt the outreach, marketing and promotion aspects of this focused effort so that it can be used by all television stations that commit to carry the series. Formative and summative evaluation to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the materials and to inform the understanding of the impact on viewers and users of these types of materials. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Quinn, Alexander Alexander Quinn Education Development Center MA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 3035866 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104720 July 1, 2001 Master Science Educators. Oregon State University will expand its successful Master Science Educators program and create a national model for the delivery of natural science education to elementary and middle school youth. Master Science Educators are volunteers who undergo a rigorous 30-hour training and commit to 50 hours of service to a community site, such as a community center, housing project or school. Volunteers work in teams of two so that each site receives 100 hours of service devoted to the research and development of a natural science project. Volunteers and on-site and off-site scientists who act as virtual volunteers, guide youth ages K-8, in the design, development and evaluation of their project. Wildlife habitat projects provide a means for participants to learn inquiry and are tailored to address local science standards. A trainer's guide, a volunteer handbook, a guide for community sites and promotional and training videos will be produced, as well as a web-based science course. It is anticipated that 240 volunteers will be trained to work with over 12,000 youth during the course of the project. Dissemination will occur through the 4-H Extension service, impacting both urban and rural populations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hosty, Maureen Oregon State University OR Mary Ann Steiner Continuing grant 890636 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104724 September 15, 2001 The Accidental Scientist: Internet Resources Exploring Science in Everyday Life. The Exploratorium will develop a series of Internet resources on three popular topics -- cooking, gardening, and making music -- to encourage users in science education activities in relation to daily activities. The three-year project will include the development and testing of resources that explore the science behind these topics, using the notion that we all, consciously or not, are "accidental scientists" who engage in the scientific process in the course of everyday life. Target audiences include general public adults and youth. Components of the site will feature aspects of cooking, gardening, and making music that are intended to appeal to diverse communities. The resources will also serve formal education through the Exploratorium's national and local network of educators. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Semper, Robert Exploratorium CA David A. Ucko Standard Grant 1108551 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104726 September 1, 2001 Engagement in Learning. In Texas, 57% of incarcerated youths have prior offenses. Multiple organizations (Bell County, Central Texas College, Central Texas Workforce Board, ESRI, Inc., Killeen Independent School District, Texas A&M University System, and Texas Youth Commission) will demonstrate different and innovative learning methods to close this revolving door on the juvenile justice system. "Engagement in Learning" will stimulate learning through technology and engage the student in life-long learning through hands-on deliverables. Student engagement will be achieved by circumventing poor reading skills through hands-on applications of modern technologies. This three-year program is comprised of teacher and student training, classroom research and exploration projects, and the integration of students into the workplace. Killeen ISD will train teachers in basic computer skills and in project-based learning that integrates modern technology into the classroom through appropriate curriculum. Other trained teachers from the region will serve as mentors to the teachers that directly serve the incarcerated population. Several follow-up sessions will be incorporated to strengthen 'teachers supporting teachers.' Approximately 250 students will be selected and trained for 100 and 150 hands-on learning hours in aligned science education curriculum (e.g. Life Management Skills, Geographic Information Systems, Health and Safety, Horticulture and Food Sciences). Working in teams, students will utilize scientific processes to simulate real-world experiences that utilize science curriculum. Each project will be developed collaboratively through the student team and teacher facilitation and will utilize project-based management methods and hands-on learning to build and reinforce student learning and self-esteem. The evaluation process will examine the effectiveness of intensive project-based learning on the at-risk population of incarcerated juveniles and will study the power of technology in changing life direction. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Smith, MaryAnn Texas Agricultural Experiment Station TX Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 470732 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104732 January 1, 2002 Exploring Time Television. Twin Cities Public Television, in association with Red Hill Studios, is producing and disseminating an Exploring Time television special and associated outreach material. The project will augment and leverage the Exploring Time traveling exhibit now being developed by the Science Museum of Minnesota (NSF grant #99-01919). The goal of both the exhibit and the television special is to increase the public's understanding of our world by revealing the unseen world of natural change -- the multitude of changes that are occurring in the present but at rates too slow or too fast to be seen. The television special will provide visual explorations of changes that take place over a vast range of timescales -- from billionths of seconds to billions of years. The television series and exhibit will be supplemented by a range of materials. Both low- and high-bandwidth, web-based material will be available and a teacher's guide will be developed for middle school classrooms. A "Time Explorers Toolkit" will be available to both formal and informal learners. This CD-ROM includes detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to create time-lapse movies. The project also will coordinate outreach with the Community Technology Centers Network, the organization that supports technology centers that serve individuals from underrepresented and low-income groups. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Robert Hone Twin Cities Public Television MN Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1053135 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104736 September 1, 2001 ASCEND -- Galaxy Explorers: An Intensive After School Science Enrichment and Internship Program for Bay Area Youth. "Galaxy Explorers" submitted by the Chabot Space and Science Center (CSSC) will recruit 225 students from 75 East Bay high schools in the Oakland, CA area. The project engages students in extensive training over a three-year period. The major training components develop students' content knowledge and job skills training while providing internship and volunteer opportunities. The project model builds on lessons learned from two previous projects: "Giants of Science" and the "Teen Volunteer Program." As in these two projects, the "Galaxy Explorers" project will focus on helping students see the relevance of science to their everyday lives. Guest speakers and CSSC staff will use a variety of educational approaches, including hands-on lab activities, technology and interactive presentations to engage students in scientific investigations. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Diduck, Ryan Eileen Engel Chabot Space and Science Center CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 285686 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104742 September 1, 2001 ASCEND Project: Imperial Valley Agriculture Learning Center. This proposal seeks funding for an after-school program in science for 2,000 middle school students in grades 6-8. The proposed after-school Imperial Valley Agriculture Learning Center project is designed to engage underrepresented groups of middle school students in sustentative after-school activities in specific areas of science, mathematics and technology. The science content will focus on agricultural science and will include topics such as entomology, soils, meteorology and genetically modified crops. Four twelve-week programs will be offered each year and students will attend two sessions per week (after school). The project is a cooperative initiative between El Centro School District, The Valley Imperial Project in Science LSC, The San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus and the University of California, Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources, Desert Research and Extension Center. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Klentschy, Michael Leslie Garrison Paul Sebesta El Centro School District CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 342153 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104743 September 15, 2001 Community Science Workshops: Beginning a National Movement. "Community Science Workshops: Beginning a National Movement" is an extension of a successful, NSF-funded project that created a network of community science centers in California. The San Francisco State University will now take this successful venture to a national level by working with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) to establish a new Community Science Workshop (CSW) 8-10 in underserved communities over the next four years. Once sites are selected, CSW directors participate in an intensive two-week training program. This is followed by visits by site mentors, and ongoing support through the WWW and other media, which contributes to the establishment and eventual sustainability of the centers. Each site partners with larger, established museums and science centers locally to gain much needed assistance with exhibits and education programs. Community Science Workshops contain permanent exhibit space, a workshop area for student projects and classroom/storage space. They serve a variety of audiences through after school, family, school and summer science programs. Potential locations include Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fonteyn, Paul Daniel Sudran San Francisco State University CA David A. Ucko Continuing grant 2459202 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0104745 October 1, 2001 Science Technology Engineering Program (STEP) Up for Youth -- ASCEND Project. California State University-Los Angeles seeks funding for a 36-month endeavor for an after school "Science, Technology and Engineering Program (STEP) Up for Youth" ASCEND project. "STEP Up for Youth" is a community-based, informal science exploration and discovery initiative targeting middle school youths and their parents in disadvantaged communities of Los Angeles. The project provides participants with standards-based, hands-on science activities and opportunities for participation in science clubs. They are also provided the opportunity for leadership roles in building institutionalized programs for furthering science literacy in their respective communities. The project is a collaborative effort involving California State University-Los Angeles, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The California Science Center, The Boeing Company and the Los Angeles Unified School District, in partnership with community-based organizations, service providers and neighborhood businesses. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Ross, Anthony California State University-Los Angeles CA Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 300000 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0106194 September 1, 2001 On Being Explicit: Toward a New Pedagogical Synthesis in Science. How do children, especially children who traditionally have been unsuccessful in science, learn to see the relationships between their own and scientific accounts of phenomena and to work with these productively in support of understanding? Would all children benefit academically from close attention to the relationships between "everyday" and "scientific" meanings and ways of representing those meanings? What is the nature of these relationships, and how can they be built upon pedagogically in science? The overarching goal of this three-year project is to develop an understanding of how all children, as they develop understanding of scientific ideas, also learn to see "inside" the ways in which "everyday" and "scientific" accounts represent knowledge about the physical and biological world. It is motivated by our concern with the persistent achievement gap in science separating low-income ethnic, racial and linguistic minority children from more economically privileged students. To address our questions, we will engage in a series of design experiments, to be undertaken in close collaboration with practitioner researchers in heterogeneous and bilingual classrooms, grades 1-4. These will entail two main research activities. (1) We will iteratively develop a pedagogical approach that integrates "progressive" emphases on the centrality of students' ideas and questions in inquiry-based learning with "post-progressive" concerns on the importance of explicit teaching about the forms and functions of language and symbol use in organizing meaning-making in science. This new pedagogical synthesis will harness the diversity in children's ideas and ways of talking and knowing as an intellectual resource in science learning and teaching and make this diversity into an explicit object of discussion and inquiry in the classroom. In this approach, students and teachers will engage in active inquiry into the ways in which core ideas in physics (e.g., motion and force) and biology (e.g., organismal growth and development) are represented in "everyday" and "scientific" accounts (e.g. spoken and written descriptions, explanations, theories, arguments; graphs; drawings; models; tables; etc.). The focus of these inquiries will be on meaning and form as well as perspective and purpose. (2) Our main conjecture is that through participation in this approach to inquiry students will develop robust scientific understanding, begin to develop command over multiple discourses and their uses, and demonstrate high achievement. Toward this end, we will study what children learn as a result of their participation in such inquiry practices. We will examine children's learning as reflected in multiple kinds of performances, including classroom benchmark discussions, performance assessments, and achievement tests. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Warren, Beth Ann Rosebery TERC Inc MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1232836 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106338 July 1, 2001 ROLE: Contextual Vocabulary Acquisition: Development of a Computational Theory and Educational Curriculum. Many concepts in science and mathematics are learned in the context of reading scientific textbooks and popular writings on science. This study will investigate how the meanings of words are extracted from the context of text. It is aimed at understanding the process in which concept meanings are extracted from text. The research team seeks to (a) extend and develop algorithms for computational contextual vocabulary acquisition (CVA) (i.e., learning from context); (b) to unify a disparate literature on the topic of CVA from psychology and other fields, and (c) to use the knowledge gained from the computational CVA system to explore its implications for educational curriculum and learning. The knowledge gained from case studies of students using the CVA techniques will feed back into further development of computational theory. This project falls within Quadrant 2 (fundamental research on behavioral, cognitive, affective and social aspects of human learning) and Quadrant 3 (research on SMET learning in formal and informal educational settings). RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rapaport, William Michael Kibby SUNY at Buffalo NY Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 200000 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106552 December 1, 2001 ROLE: The school as a knowing organization - Knowledge management as a strategy for continuous teacher development. Organizations have knowledge. The knowledge is typically dispersed throughout the organization. Some of it is codified in documents and policies, some is embodied in projects and strategies, and some is tacitly held by individuals and small groups. The problem of knowledge management is that an organization's knowledge is often locally produced, haphazardly disseminated, and ineffectively indexed. It is inaccessible when and where it is needed. Knowledge management techniques take a participatory approach to identifying, codifying, and integrating knowledge resources throughout the organization. Their objective is to help people make sense of their organizations, to develop and maintain trust, to make commitments and take responsibility, to more effectively challenge, negotiate, and learn, and thereby to improve the quality of the contributions people make to their organizations. This project will adapt knowledge management concepts and techniques, and the information technology they employ, to understand and enhance knowledge management in school organizations. We will work with school administrators, but chiefly with teachers. First, we will investigate and characterize knowledge management practices as they exist today, and identify needs and opportunities to improve knowledge management. We will facilitate teacher-initiated development of organizational knowledge resources, and identify, and accessibly codify the critical knowledge of the school systems. We will assess the impact of this intervention on teachers, on the school system, and on the perception of the school by the community. We will compare and contrast this analysis and intervention to knowledge management interventions now becoming typical in business organizations. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Carroll, John Mary Beth Rosson Daniel Dunlap Frederick Morton, IV Robert McCracken Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 515351 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106654 September 1, 2001 Visualizing Statistical Relationships. This project addresses the growing importance of data literacy as a fundamental skill for living in a democratic society and the disheartening fact that few people have a solid understanding of data. It addresses this need by studying how advanced visualization tools can affect teachers' and students' develop understanding of several crucial statistical concepts. The project focuses on how people understand distributions of data, how they compare two groups of data, and how they think about convariation; it examines the ways in which powerful visualization tools can facilitate the learning of these concepts. As a collaboration betwee educational software developers and educational researchers, the project takes advantage of the expertise of both groups in order to 1) develop a research foundation that elucidates teaching/learning processes in the area of statistical covariation; 2) develop a set of design principles for statistical education tools that best support statistical learning; 3) use the largely untapped design expertise of commercial software designers in educational research; and 4) leverage NSF's investment in educational software development. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the development of both statistical education research and software in ways that would be impossible without such a collaboration. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rubin, Andee TERC Inc MA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 1200604 1666 SMET 9177 0106709 September 1, 2001 ROLE: Knowledge of Algebra for Teaching. We propose to undertake work on two components of this project, which was originally proposed as having three major components. We have redesigned this effort as a 24-month project primarily aimed at framework development and initial work on assessment tools; the attached budget would adequately support this work. Our original proposal included two research questions: Question 1. What knowledge of algebra for teaching (mathematical knowledge, beliefs, dispositions and conceptions of mathematics) do secondary school teachers of algebra draw upon to support their instruction? Question 2. How do preservice teachers' experiences in mathematics and in teacher education foster the development of knowledge of algebra for teaching? For this scaled-back version of the project we will address only the first research question. We had identified the several subquestions related to this; they are included below. We will meet as a project team to refine and narrow this list, and expect to focus on some subset of these: 1. How is teachers' knowledge of algebra organized and chunked, and how does this relate to their teaching? 2. How do teachers articulate what algebra is about? How do they describe the "big ideas" that structure the courses they teach? Can they compare and contrast the approach they take with others? How does this relate to their teaching? 3. What kind of knowledge do teachers draw upon in responding to students' ideas? 4. How do more general mathematical types of knowledge (reasoning, representing, problem solving) relate to knowledge of algebra for teaching? 5. What knowledge do teachers use in keeping their sights on longer-term mathematical goals or "big ideas" while also responding to student conceptions and interests? 6. What resources and strategies do teachers draw on for deepening their knowledge of algebra for teaching? In the 24 months of this project we will undertake the development of a framework for "knowledge of algebra for teaching" by doing the following: 1. Synthesizing literature, including: theoretical analyses of school algebra, research about the teaching and learning of algebra, research about knowledge used in teaching, investigations of how algebra teachers are using curricula. 2. Examining algebra curriculum materials and teachers' manuals, and analyses of those materials 3. Interviewing developers of contemporary secondary school algebra materials 4. Examining teaching through existing videotapes 5. Gathering data from inservice classrooms selected to span a range of curricular approaches, to support the framework development. In addition, we will begin the development and piloting of an assessment tool to assess and describe teachers' knowledge of algebra for teaching. Resources will not be available for full scale item development, piloting, and analysis. Rather we will design prototype tasks, probably in a relatively narrow content band within algebra, and conduct limited piloting efforts. The products of this work will be an analytic and empirically-derived framework describing algebra knowledge for teaching, and a set of prototype tasks that can be used as a basis for more extended task design in a subsequent project. In addition, we will use the framework as a basis for analysis of the algebra teaching in our teacher sample, and expect to produce a paper about teachers' knowledge of algebra for teaching as it relates to their classroom practice in a variety of curricular orientations. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Ferrini-Mundy, Joan Sharon Senk Daniel Chazan Michigan State University MI Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 601894 1666 SMET 9177 0106760 September 1, 2001 ROLE: Cognitive Styles and Individual Differences in Imagery. Proposal number: 0106760 PI: Stephen Kosslyn Institution: Harvard University Title: Cognitive Styles and Individual Differences in Imagery Award Abstract This is a study of cognitive styles (such as the visualizer-verbalizer distinction) people (both students and professionals) use in thinking through and learning science and mathematics (specifically in the topic area of kinematics). The project has two goals: (1) To investigate and revise the traditional verbalizer-visualizer cognitive style dimension, including the possibility that more than these two basic styles exist (such as object and spatial visual styles). This approach is based on findings and methods from cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience to conceptualize the nature of cognitive style and its neural underpinnings. (2) To examine the instructional implications of these cognitive styles and their relevance to educational practice. The research will proceed along three lines: behavioral studies, classroom-based studies, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Based on evidence from this research, the investigators will develop theoretically-based guidelines for teaching students to process visually/spatially and materials which build on the specific strengths of each type of thinker. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hackman, J. Richard Stephen Kosslyn Harvard University MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 2943614 V396 T821 T189 T054 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106771 September 1, 2001 ROLE: Researching the Role of Qualitative Analysis. We propose a research project to investigate the impact of qualitative analysis on undergraduate students' conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills within the realistic setting of large introductory physics courses. The impact of qualitive analysis (QA) will be investigated both within a web-based homework environment and during acttive-learning, in-class formative assessment activities facilitated by a classroom communication system. The applications of web-based homework, and classroom communication systems, are proliferating in large introductory science courses nationwide. Yet, little is known about how to structure web-based homework, and active-learning in-calss activities in ways that engage students in qualitive analyses that promote a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and skilled problem solving. The QA materials that will be ddeveloped and investigated will engage students in four types of qualitative analyses performed by skilled problem solvers corresponding roughly to four stages of expert-like problem solving: conceptual alnalysis, strategic analysis. quanititative analysis, and meta analysis. We will investigate the effectiveness of these materials and their impact on: a) students' understanding on concepts and their ability to analyze and solve problems, b) students' approach to, and level of success with, web-based homework, and c) students' attitudes as they relate tot their web-based homework and in-class experience. The proposed research will utlimately infor the design and implemention of qualitative analyses in large, techonology-assisted introductory science courses in order to promote deep conceptual understanding and skilled problem solving in students. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gerace, William Jose Mestre Robert Dufresne William Leonard University of Massachusetts Amherst MA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 864375 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106773 August 1, 2001 ROLE: Biomedical Engineering Thinking and Learning: The Challenge of Integrating Systems and Analytical Thinking. Biomedical engineering (BME) could be called an exemplar interdiscipline. An evolving field which applies engineering methods to biomedical problems, BME has broken down historical disciplinary barriers traditionally existing between the life sciences and engineering. While BME research activities frequently result in clinical therapies and medical treatments for the public, the field remains intimately tied to the engineering disciplines. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that as a novel field, biomedical engineering learning poses special challenges. Bioengineers must integrate a broad base of knowledge from several disciplines including engineering, computer technology, and cell and molecular biology. They must apply quantitative, analytical methods and representations to systems understanding. The challenge for cognitive science, if it is to play a significant role in 21st century science and engineering education, is to understand the nature of thinking and practice in interdisciplines such as BME, to investigate the developmental trajectory of expertise building, and to discover the ways that learning in such communities of practice can best be supported. To begin this foundational work, we seek NSF funding from the ROLE Program to conduct an in-depth, proof-of-concept case study of BME research and pedagogical practices in two related contexts. The study objective is to discover the salient questions related to BME learning and practice that can guided future work in other interdisciplines while setting a framework for more general thinking about the extremely important issue of cognitive development across disciplinary and epistemological boundaries. This is a three-year project aimed at both providing a base-line understanding of the cognitive practices employed within this interdiscipline and developing Biomedial Education (BME) learning environments enriched through this understanding of expert practices. The study will use a mixed method approach of cognitive-historical analysis and observational/interview studies. The study will examine the development of cognitive practices employed in the creation and use of representation in the domain of biomedical engineering. The goal is to investigate how the design and use of representational systems or external forms of cognitive mediation support the development of this community and advance the understanding of BME scientists doing work in laboratories. Further, the study will chronicle and describe the work conducted in two cardiovascular laboratories associated with the NSF-funded Georgia Tech/Emory Center for Tissue Engineering (GTEC). The goal is to understand how scientists create representations in the context of their lab work, their meetings and their private musings, and how these coordinate between the material substances of their work and the underlying concepts, structures and processes. The study will also investigate how students/novices in the labs are apprenticed to the representational and methodological practices of the BME community. Implications from this study will be used to make recommendations for the two ERC-based educational programs, for the undergraduate BME program slated for fall 2001 at Georgia Tech and for the inaugural Georgia-Tech Emory joint Ph.D. program in biomedical engineering. These implications will inform the design and refinement of problems to be used in a year long introductory undergraduate BME course titled Problems in BME that uses a PBL approach. These problems and findings from the lab focused activities will be distributed to the cognitive science, engineering education and BME communities for others to use and build upon. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Nersessian, Nancy Wendy Newstetter GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 596544 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106926 August 15, 2001 ROLE: An Infrastructure for Research on Online Teacher Communities of Practice. Researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers are converging on the view that online communities of practice (CoPs) in the teaching profession can be powerful catalysts for improving teaching and facilitating systemic reform. Although the promise of online CoPs is compelling and theoretically sound, the reality of online teacher communities has been less promising. The reason, we believe, is that research into the marriage of TPD pedagogy and online technology is missing a necessary third component-the infrastructure for online CoP (as distinct from particular online TPD strategies). Research cannot continue to treat community as a side effect of a TPD intervention or the inevitable outcome of a Web portal or electronic network. We must study online CoP as a valid component of the education system in its own right or risk continuing the same pattern of a few irreproducible successes and many redundant failures as practitioners and providers struggle to keep pace with emerging technologies and the rapidly changing Web landscape. To move beyond the CoP promise toward measurable benefits for SMET teacher professional development on a national scale, we must conduct the research needed to better understand the social and organizational structures of online CoPs as an integral component of the teaching profession. To embark on this research agenda, we must also break out of the constraints that popular "distance learning" technologies place on the research by designing and building technological infrastructures that reflect and augment the social and organizational structures of a CoP. We will apply what we and others are learning about online education CoPs and their applications to design and prototype a new technical infrastructure for supporting and studying online CoPs. We will adopt a participatory, scenario-based design approach to develop our prototype infrastructure. Our project brings together a design team representing researchers (SRI and Virginia Tech), teacher educators (Pepperdine University), technology developers (WebCT, PBS), regional education support providers (New England Aquarium, AEL, Inc.), national TPD organizations (PBS TeacherLine), and our core constituency, TAPPED IN members. The team will also include experts in Web-based systems development and graphical user interface design. The basic design will be modular to enable us to plug in new capabilities as they emerge. The prototype infrastructure will serve as a platform for online CoP research and further development by many different organizations over the next several years. We will also document the design process, artifacts, and commentary on a public Web site and solicit input from the research and practitioner communities to widely disseminate knowledge of online CoP design issues and generate design guidelines that will inform technology research and development aimed at supporting online education communities. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Schlager, Mark Patricia Schank SRI International CA Lee L. Zia Standard Grant 249983 1666 SMET 9177 0106959 August 15, 2001 ROLE: Teaching Strategies to Promote the Construction of Science Understanding in Urban Schools. tHE GOAL OF THIS WORK IS TO IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES SO THAT URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS, WHO HISTORICALLY HAVE NOT ACHIEVED AT HIGH LEVELS, CAN MEET SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS. FOR THIS PROJECT, WE DEFINE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES AS SCAFFOLDS AND CONTENT REPRESENTATIONS OF ABSTRACT SCIENTIFIC IDEAS. SCAFFOLDS INCLUDE STRATEGIES LIKE MODELING THINKING, STRUCTURING AND SEQUENCING TASKS, SUCH AS DATA ANALYSIS, SO THAT LEARNERS CAN EVENTUAOLLY TAKE RESPONSIBILITIY FOR THIE WORK (COLLINS, BROWN AND NEWMAN; 1989). CONTENT REPRESENTATION OF ABSTRACT SCIENTIFIC IDEAS WILL INCLUDE EXAMPLES, METAPHORS, AND ACTIVIEIS TO HELP STUDENTS LEARN IDEAS SUCH AS SCIENTIFIC MODELING AND CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIP. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Krajcik, Joseph Phyllis Blumenfeld Ronald Marx University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1685843 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106965 August 1, 2001 Developing Auto Tutor for Computer Literacy and Physics. The Tutoring Research Group at the University of Memphis has developed a computer tutor (called AutoTutor) that simulates the discourse patterns and pedagogical strategies of unaccomplished human tutors. The typical tutor in a school system is unaccomplished in the sense that the tutor has had no training in tutoring strategies and has only introductory-to-intermediate knowledge about the topic. The development of AutoTutor was funded by an NSF grant (SBR 9720314, in the Learning and Intelligent Systems program). The discourse patterns and pedagogical strategies in AutoTutor were based on a previous project that dissected 100 hours of naturalistic tutoring sessions. AutoTutor is currently targeted for college students in introductory computer literacy courses, who learn the fundamentals of hardware, operating systems, and the Internet. Instead of merely being an information delivery system, AutoTutor serves as a discourse prosthesis or collaborative scaffold that assists the student in actively constructing knowledge. AutoTutor presents questions and problems from a curriculum script, attempts to comprehend learner contributions that are entered by keyboard, answers student questions, formulates dialog moves that are sensitive to the learner's contributions (such as short feedback, pumps, prompts, assertions, corrections, and hints), and delivers the dialog moves with a talking head. The talking head displays emotions, produces synthesized speech with discourse-sensitive intonation, and points to entities on graphical displays. AutoTutor has seven modules: a curriculum script, language extraction, speech act classification, latent semantic analysis (a statistical representation of domain knowledge), topic selection, dialog management, and a talking head. Evaluations of AutoTutor have shown that the tutoring system improves learning with an effect size that is comparable to typical human tutors in school systems, but not as high as accomplished human tutors and intelligent tutoring systems. The dialog moves of AutoTutor blend in the discourse context very smoothly because students cannot distinguish whether a speech act was generated by AutoTutor or a human tutor. The proposed research will substantially expand the capabilities of AutoTutor by designing the discourse to handle more sophisticated tutoring mechanisms. These mechanisms should further enhance the active construction of knowledge. One enhancement is to get the student to articulate more knowledge, with more formal, symbolic, and precise specification; if the student doesn't say it, it is not considered covered by AutoTutor. Another enhancement is to set up the dialog so that it guides the user in manipulating a 3-dimensional microworld of a physical system; the student attempts to simulate a new state in the physical system by manipulating parameters, inputs, and formulae. The proposed research will develop AutoTutor in the domains of both computer literacy and Newtonian physics, so we will have some foundation for evaluating the generality of AutoTutor's mechanisms. AutoTutor has been designed to be generic, rather than domain-specific; an authoring tool will be developed that makes it easy for instructors to prepare new material on new topics. After the new versions of AutoTutor are completed, we will evaluate its effectiveness on learning gains, conversational smoothness, and pedagogical quality. During the course of achieving these engineering and educational objectives, the proposed project will conduct basic research in cognitive psychology, discourse processes, computer science, and computational linguistics. This research cuts across quadrant 2 (behavioral, cognitive, affective, and social aspects of human learning) and quadrant 3 (SMET learning in formal and informal educational settings). RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Graesser, Arthur Donald Franceschetti Natalie Person Xiangen Hu Max Louwerse University of Memphis TN Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 1274075 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106968 September 1, 2001 Virtual Reality Modeling-based Inquiry: The Role of Isomorphic and Behavioral Modeling on Knowledge Construction. This proposed research project is designed to analyze the strengths of four theoretically grounded model-use conditions. The investigation focuses on the process through which understanding emerges, evolves and diffuses through modeling-based inquiry and pedagogy and 3D technologies. These investigators will use a data acquisition system that allows them to record data (video, audio, screen shots, and computer log files) in the classroom setting and analyze the data through activity "nodes" and "links" to track the "process" by which students engage in the modeling process. The group then proposes to explore the possibility of doing similar analysis through web-base resources. Fundamentally, the project builds on the existing foundation of experience, technology, and curriculum materials in Virtual Reality modeling-based inquiry. The basic design of the project is congruent with the approach advocated by Stokes labeled "use-oriented basic research." The findings will be used to develop a conceptual model of how learners learn under these modeling conditions. The proposal is well written, detailed, and grounded in extant research on isomorphic and behavioral environments. The researchers, including the proposed subcontractor, have broad knowledge and experience in the areas of virtual reality, model building, and assessment. The work will have an influence on content areas beyond astronomy, providing insight into how students learn from modeling environments. The panel generally viewed this project as having high potential. However, several issues were raised during the discussion: 1. A significant portion of the proposal was devoted to the technology, and this technology-centered focus distracted from how the technology would be used to address the research questions. 2. The ROLE goals include integrating diversity into NSF programs, projects and activities. This proposal did not address this issue, and the panel felt that this detracted from the proposal. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hay, Kenneth J. Scott Shaw Charles Cohen University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 724770 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106976 June 1, 2001 ROLE: Social Creativity and Meta-Design in Learning Communities. Whereas much of teaching in our educational culture presumes an omniscient teacher transmitting knowledge to unknowing learners, most learning that takes place outside of the classroom is based on breakdowns in the context of real-world activities leading to reflection and learning. The traditional approach has some validity for situations in which "basic knowledge" needs to be communicated, but it is not well suited to the highly situated nature of lifelong learning and design problem solving. Although creative individuals are often thought of as working in isolation, the role of interaction and collaboration with other individuals is critical. Much of our intelligence and creativity results from exploiting the "symmetry of ignorance" (between different communities) as a source of power. Social creativity emphasizes that the heart of intelligent human performance is not the individual human mind but groups of minds in interaction with each other and in interaction with tools and artifacts. Meta-design characterizes objectives, techniques, and processes for creating new media and environments that allow users to act as designers and contribute to and benefit from the creativity of the group. The project will: (1) develop a theoretical framework and systems to support social creativity as a specific form of lifelong learning; (2) investigate principles of meta-design and how they support social creativity in the context of learning and working; (3) work with specific communities to demonstrate the scalability and sustainability of our approach; (4) focus on specific domains such as the collaborative design of course information environments; (5) explore the role of social creativity and meta-design in practice by changing classroom environments and undergraduate education; and (6) assess how our theoretical attributes of lifelong learning, social creativity, and meta-design map onto practice and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of our approach in realistic settings. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Fischer, Gerhard Hal Eden Michael Eisenberg Ernesto Arias University of Colorado at Boulder CO James S. Dietz Continuing grant 1282353 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106988 July 15, 2001 ROLE: Extending the Understandings of Consequence Project: Investigating Strategic Pedagogical Challenges. Extending The Understandings of Consequence Project: Investigating Transfer and Persistence Scientifically accepted explanations often require students to structure knowledge in ways that contradict their expectations about the nature of how causes and effects behave. Such explanations can involve: causal mechanisms that are inferred or abstract; causal patterns that extend beyond linear and unidirectional to cyclic, reciprocal, and non-sequential; correspondences between causes and effects that are in various respects probabilistic; and causal agents that are decentralized and involve aspects of emergence. These are ways of thinking and abstractions students typically are not familiar with. "The Understandings of Consequence Project" revealed that students and scientists' explanations tend to have very different types of causal structures at the core. The project demonstrated that impacting students' assumptions about the nature of causality is a promising approach for helping students restructure their knowledge and achieve scientific understandings. However, there are lingering questions to be answered, such as the transferability of learning about causal forms in one topic to another and the persistence of the subsequent restructuring. The current project extends "The Understandings of Consequence Project" to systematically investigate these questions. We will assess the transfer of understanding of causal forms to topics with isomorphic and non-isomorphic causal forms and to science learning more generally. The impact of minimal levels of student-focused and teacher-directed transfer support will be assessed. Persistence of learning will be examined later in the same school year and again two years later. Findings will result in revisions to the Understandings of Consequence curriculum units. This research has the potential to impact how deeply and lastingly all students learn science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Grotzer, Tina David Perkins Harvard University MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 885239 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0106994 August 1, 2001 Elementary Science Notebooks: Impact on Classroom Practice and Student Achievement in Science and Literacy. This study is a three year effort to examine what students learn in two different kinds of elementary science classrooms: traditional expository, text-oriented instruction compared with hands-on, inquiry-oriented instruction. The latter describes an approach to learning in which students acquire knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas as well as first hand experiential understanding of how scientists study the natural world. The emphasis is on learning by doing and discussing, and the priority is on scientific thinking skills and conceptual understanding. In a second phase, the study examines the teaching associated with high- and low-achieving classrooms for each of the two instructional conditions. Millions of dollars have gone into supporting hands-on inquiry science reforms over the past several decades. These large-scale efforts, particularly important for less affluent students across the country, are vulnerable however, for they are viewed by some as too expensive or too demanding of teachers. Furthermore, there is little evidence of the relative merits of the two approaches. The nationwide emphasis on accountability, with an intense focus on literacy and math and a bias towards easily tested factual knowledge, pressures schools away from hands-on inquiry science. This study will contribute substantially to our knowledge base on the relationship between elemetary science instruction and student learning, with important implications for practitioners, policy makers and the public. This study compares 5th grade students' learning in two instructional conditions, with 20 classes in each condition matched for key characteristics. In addition, the study explores connections between student performance and instruction, utilizing data from teacher surveys, interviews, assignments, and classroom observations. Student achievement is assessed with an array of measures, including standardized tests of language arts and math; standardized science knowledge items and a performance task from NAEP or TIMSS; other short science performance tasks; and extended science investigation tasks developed and validated for this research. The study will address long-term, important outcomes such as those called for in Project 2061: deep conceptual understanding, persistence at difficult problems, retention of important knowledge over time, and transfer of investigation strategies to challenging novel situations. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Aschbacher, Pamela Jerome Pine California Institute of Technology CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1652277 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0107008 July 1, 2001 ROLE: Understanding and Describing the Design Experiment. This project examines some of the research methods currently in use for educational research projects and produce a series of reports and publications on the Design Experiment method that was developed by Ann Brown. The researchers would host meetings, develop an online graduate course, and dedicate a web site to the purpose of explicating the design experiment methodology and characterize its power and limitations for making claims. This research method has gained wide support among some education researchers and yet the method itself is interpreted differently by those using it. The purpose of this project is to clarify and provide a basis for informed use of the method in the future. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kelly, Anthony George Mason University VA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 1111179 1666 SMET 9177 0107014 July 15, 2001 ROLE: Empirical Research on Critical Issues in Recruiting and Retaining the Mathematics and Science Teaching Workforce. This project is intended to examine statistical data bases for the cities of Miami and Detroit to apply a statistical model of teacher hiring practices to seek improved strategies for attracting high quality teachers. It would focus on determining leverage points for maintaining a high quality instructional work force, providing the basis for selecting a policy from among options of changing wage compensation, working conditions, or district policies. The team will use econometric analysis and dynamic-system modeling. Teacher turnover will be analyzed with a statistical model that includes teacher attributes, compensation, and school factors. Then school effects will be decomposed into specific attributes that affect turnover and measurable attributes that can be observed. Finally, the researchers will build a data set that links teachers to students to examine the effect of teacher attributes to student outcomes. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Burke, Daniel Linda Cavalluzzo The CNA Corporation VA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 857651 1666 SMET 9177 0107022 June 1, 2001 ROEL: Teaching and Learning of Science in Urban High Schools. This is a study of teaching learning science in three neighborhood high schools in Philadelphia, Pa. The study seeks to understand the teaching and learning of science in terms of student use of their existing social and cultural capital to make sense of the activities they participate in during school and after school. It would involve six teacher-researchers who are involved with a local systemic initiative in which the teachers are teaching courses in chemistry. The schools are also involved with the Philadelphia's Urban Systemic Initiative. The study would examine learning of science in different institutional settings "to ascertain how students and teachers interact to give meaning to their environment." It will seek to learn how teachers in poor urban environments gain the respect of and build rapport with their students. It will answer other questions such as, "when students act in ways that are resistant to the goals of the teacher, how do teachers adapt their teaching to provide opportunities." RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Tobin, Kenneth University of Pennsylvania PA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1161356 1666 SMET 9177 0107032 June 1, 2001 ROLE: Video Cases Online: Cognitive Studies of Preservice Teacher Learning. Researchers, professional developers, educational institutions, funding agencies, and commercial enterprises currently make huge investments in online systems to support teacher learning with video cases of classroom instruction. However, there is little scientific knowledge about how teachers learn from such cases, how case design affects learning, and how online systems are best designed to support that learning. Specific design features of case-based teacher learning environments, such as design of instructional activities and how the cases themselves are structured for presentation, probably significantly impact teacher thinking and learning from case analysis. Given the substantial expenditure in both human and nonhuman capital, scientific knowledge is needed to guide this enterprise. This program of experimental research, grounded in cognitive science theory about case-based learning and reasoning, aims to develop a pedagogy and theory of online video case study for teacher education. The research will be conducted in the context of two innovative psychological foundations courses taught for teacher education majors at two major universities. Both programs use STEP Web, a professional development web site being developed by the PIs for use in preservice secondary teacher education. STEP Web represents a hypermedia network of instructional resources designed to support teacher learning with video cases. The goal of instruction with STEP Web is to help teachers acquire instructionally relevant scientific knowledge about student learning and development. The STEP Web design is based on Cognitive Flexibility Theory. This theory of knowledge representation and instructional design focuses on case-based learning in multimedia environments, with the goal of promoting flexible transfer in fields of professional practice, such as medicine and teaching. Using STEP Web as a test bed, the researchers will create and test alternative theoretically motivated designs for online learning environments supporting video case study for preservice teachers. They will conduct controlled studies examining how different learning-environment designs affect the individual and group learning processes of preservice teachers, as well as the form and duration of teacher education students' case knowledge, and their abilities to combine and use that knowledge in reasoning about professional practice. The project will advance two integrated programs of research: 1. How to design video-based teaching cases, which consist of various components and can vary in terms of which components are included and how they are organized, segmented, and connected to learning material. 2. How to facilitate group case-based learning on line, which focuses on study and training of group facilitators, as well as design of online discussion environments. This project is expected to develop a more exact picture of what undergraduate education majors learn from video case study and to shed light on how to design good cases and online multimedia environments to support such study. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Derry, Sharon Cindy Hmelo-Silver University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1338422 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0107035 September 1, 2001 ROLE: Interactive Interned-Based Mathematics Courses with Geometric Visualization Software. Over the past five years, the Principal Ivestigator and student assistants have developed a series of Internet-based courses in a related set of undergraduate mathematics courses utilizing locally developed software for geometric visualization and for communication betwee students and instructors and among students. These new models for teaching and learning change the timing and the level of interactivity for instructors and students, and increase the ability of students to handle complex geometric phenomena. These innovations provide new models for teaching and learning which will be further developed, tested, and evaluated during the period of the proposal. The aim is to produce effective software that can be used in a wide variety of institutions with students at different levels, for mathematics and for its applications to physical science, computer science, and engineering. (Areas of concentration: quadrats 2 and 3.) RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Banchoff, Thomas Brown University RI Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 553678 1666 SMET 9177 0107077 August 1, 2001 ROLE: Learning and Knowledge Acquisition through Representation, Observation and Imitation in Neural and Cognitive Terms. This research will describe the neural and cognitive components of learning by observing, producing, and by imitating physical representations in the human brain. This will allow developing new learning tools and pedagogical approaches that may enhance education at all levels. It will use functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain to define the involvement of the observation/execution matching system in different aspects of learning by observation, production, and imitation. Specifically, the research will: - Describe mental representations underlying knowledge acquisition through representation, observation and imitation in neural and cognitive terms - Investigate the mechanisms of individual learning in relation to social and societal influences - The definition of psychological and physiological mechanisms of speech perception The findings of this research are also relevant to brain development and the relation between cognitive skill and developmental strategies. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Iacoboni, Marco University of California-Los Angeles CA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 494776 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0107150 August 1, 2001 Turtle Mountain Technical Assistance Center (TMTAC). The Turtle Mountain Technical Assistance Center project will conduct leadership development and capacity building activities for a group of tribally-controlled colleges in the Upper Great Plains. The activities will be determined by the goals of the individual colleges in conjunction wit judgements made by the expert staff of the reently expired Tribal College Rural Systemic Initiative. Findings will be disseminated through the professional outreach avenues of the key leadership. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG TRIBAL COLLEGE & UNIVERS PROGR SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Bennett, Wannetta Turtle Mountain Community College ND Lura J. Chase Continuing grant 888701 7366 1744 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0107416 August 1, 2001 Jumping Genes: Exploring the Use of Virtual Worlds for Online Science Exhibits. The Cornell Theory Center (CTC), the university's high performance computing center, will use a Small Grant for Exploratory Research to develop a prototype online exhibit entitled "Jumping Genes." The goal is to use interactive technologies to design a 3D virtual world that engages young audiences (ages 11 & up) and encourages further exploration. The content of the online exhibit will focus on transposons, small sequences of nucleic acids associated with the rice genome. The rice transposons are thought to play a part in evolution and are currently being studied for potential use in genetic engineering. By experimenting with a variety of open-ended and discrete activities, the CTC will design a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) that is comparable to exhibits found in science museums in terms of both quality and effectiveness. This final product will be disseminated via SciCentr.org, CTC's virtual science museum, as well as on Activeworlds, an online educational universe for middle and high school students that employs a virtual reality interface. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Corbit, Margaret William Winn Susan McCouch Cornell University NY David A. Ucko Standard Grant 99998 7259 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0109082 May 1, 2001 Planning Grant for Snow and Ice Research Experience to Provide Professional Development with Emerging Technologies and Promote Teacher Retention. This planning proposal recognizes the constraints imposed on Alaskan schools by geography and small school populations while at the same time recognizing Alaskan opportunities for learning in context. The Renewal component will consider the constraints on -- and solutions to -- problems associated with having a distributed cohort of experienced teachers participate in a brief but intense field experience using those ubiquitous Alaskan commodities, SNOW and ICE. The Retention portion will consider the constraints and procedures necessary to involve small populations of novice teachers from Alaskan Districts in 137 hours of close mentoring using the snow- and ice-field work along with appropriate curricular materials (NSF supported GLACIER) to provide learning in context. The final planning activities involve determining through pilot work the adequacy of follow-up work in short 1-2 day workshops during spring breaks, etc. as times when teachers from distributed districts can come together. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Jeffries, Martin Delena Norris-Tull Ron Reihl University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus AK Wayne Sukow Standard Grant 62368 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0109240 September 1, 2001 Pilot Educational Exhibits -- A Planning Grant. The planning project will design pilot educational exhibits for an informal education center, the "World Learning Center," located in the Presidio National Park at San Francisco. The exhibits will be designed to engage children and adults in activities which will highlight the integrated nature and scientific basis of agriculture, the environment and human societies. The design process will use site visits to observe interactive exhibitry, an iterative process by the team of conceptual formation to final design, and a review and evaluation by a national advisory group. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Linder, Mark Project Food, Land & People CA Orrin Shane Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0109277 May 1, 2001 'Earth Story' -- A Planning Grant for a Large-format Film. Irwin Shapiro, Director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is conducting a planning phase to develop a large format film about the formation, evolution and future of the earth. The goal of the film will be to convey to the public that the Earth is a dynamic body and to examine the current evidence that scientists have about the origin and possible future of the Earth. By presenting the current state of knowledge and by demonstrating the dynamic nature of science, the film will try to disabuse the beliefs held by many of the lay public that the Earth was created in the Big Bang and is virtually unchanging and that science is a collection of static facts that followed a series of "discoveries" by a few brilliant individuals. During the planning phase, Dr. Shapiro, the PI for the grant, will work closely with Bayley Silleck, Producer of the large format films "Cosmic Voyage" and "Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance" to develop both the science content and the cinemagraphic aspects of the film. They will call upon the expertise of a group of advisors that includes among others: David Baum, Assistant Professor of Biology, Harvard University; Alastair G. W. Cameron, Donald H. Menzel Research Professor of Astrophysics, Harvard University; Howard Dimmick, Earth Science Teacher and Chairman of the Science Department at Stoneham High School; Janice Gobert, cognitive scientist from Western Michigan University; Jim Head, Professor of Geological Sciences, Brown University; and Thomas Herring, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Specific activities to be conducted during the planning phase include: Convene three meetings of the advisors to develop an outline for the film that will assure that it maintains substantive science while, at the same time, presenting the subject in a dynamic, visual, and educationally provocative manner. Engage a third party evaluator to conduct focus groups to determine the audience reaction to the topic of the film. Form alliances with museum theaters. Develop a plan for ancillary material to support the film. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Shapiro, Irwin Harvard University MA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 49902 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0109961 April 15, 2001 Promoting Applications of R&D to Advance State Educational Policymakers. The State Leadership Center (SLC) is proposing to move forward with its collaborative venture fto foster the use of research in support of state policies that aim to advance systemic educational reform and improvement. Dr. Arthur Sheekey, the principal investigator, will continue to work with a team of state educational technology directors and a team of highly-qualified researchers to achieve the goals as stated in the original proposal to the National Science Foundation (REC 0000509). As a member of the SLC's professional staff, he will assume responsibility for developing and field-testing an instrument process for helping states in examining statewide policies for educational technology and determining whether or not the respective state poloicies complement and reinforce the state's goals to achieve standards-based reform and improvement. The principal objectives for the initial phase of this project (December 1999 - December 2000) involved the identification of a set of critical related to state educational technology decision-making and to engage a cadre of researchers that could communicate efrectively on what states need to know about what works and under what conditions. The product of out efforts to date is to draft assessment instrument - a CCSSO State Policy Chart, which is designed to assist teams of state officials to determine the extent to which state policies and investment strategies for technologies and telecommunications are strengthening curriculum officers and student achievement. The objective for the next or upcoming phase of the project, January 2001 - April 2001, will involve a critique and validation of the proposed Policy Chart [See Attachment] and assessment process. A long-term goal for this proiect is to incorporate and customize technology assessments into the ongoingStandard/Benchmarking reviews that are conducted by the Council's State Leadership Center. The SLC presently works with all states involved in the processes of changing and upgrading performance statards for teachers. Recent reports from states indicate that virtually all states are attempting to broaden and deepen the disciplanary and pedagogical knowledge of teachers, ijmproving their ability to deliver more challenging and difficult courses of instruction, paraticularly, courses in science, mathematics, and technology that are available to all students. Recent reviews of the states' five-year plans to attest to the fact that states recognize the integration of technology as a critical element for achieving higher performance standards. However, state officials need statewide practices and investment strategies. State policymakers want to know what legislative mandates, regulatory requirements and administrative directives are most likely to stimulate institutional reform and renewal. As advanced telecommunications infrastructures emerge and as virtually all schools and classrooms are "wired," state officials increasingly are directing their attention to human issues. By concentrating on policies and programs relating to teachers, the SLC is responding to one of the most pressing concerns of states: ensuring the quality of the next generation of classroom teachers. The SLC is committed to helping state officials to learn and share information on how a state, region or school system can develop collaborative and constructive relationships with institutions of higher education or other partners to ensure that teachers will operate effectively in new and different learning environments. The upcoming State Educational Technology Leadershipe Conference, as in the past, provides an excellent opportunity to promote a dialog between key state decision-makers and a group of researchers that are familiar with states and their role in setting and achieving higher standards for all students. Several of participants will work directly the principal invest8igator for this project, and all attendees at the conference will receive a progress report and plans for moving forward. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sheekey, Arthur Council of Chief State School Officers DC Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 29493 1666 SMET 9177 0112538 June 15, 2001 ASTC Seminar on Project Planning, Proposal Development and Grants Management; Washington, DC; Fall, 2001. The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) proposes to conduct a seminar for senior staff at science centers on project planning, proposal development and project management, including grant management. The overall goal is to build capacity within science centers to develop and manage fundable projects consistent with the guidelines of the ISE program. Presenters and discussants will include successful ISE PI's and reviewers. ASTC will stipulate that participation requires teams comprised of a top-level decision-maker, project planner and a development officer or other cognizant team member from each institution. Furthermore, teams from medium- and smaller-sized institutions will be encouraged to participate and given priority consideration. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Griffee, Ellen Association of Science-Technology Centers DC Barry A. Van Deman Standard Grant 90874 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0112997 October 1, 2001 ITR/IM: Labscape: Ubiquitous Computing for Experiment Capture in the Biology Laboratory. The objective of Labscape is to enable individual lab workers to contribute to a fine-grained formal representation of ongoing lab activities i.e., to build the database by doing the work, without having to stop and write things down in a notebook or to enter information into a computer. By eliminating the redundancy of doing the work and then recording it, accuracy and completeness will be improved. And, by capturing information at a finer detail than possible for manual entry systems, varied and novel applications can be supported. This research supports the development of both an effective scientific working environment and an effective scientific learning environment but supporting better artifacts arising from the work or learning.. There are two primary research thrusts of this proposal. The first is the highly domain specific question of how and what data should be captured in the physical context of performing an experiment -- this is both a data representation and a human-computer interaction problem. The required domain expertise is derived from close cooperation with the University of Washington's Cell Systems Initiative (CSI) and its corporate and academic affiliates. The second question is how to obtain good system properties in distributed laboratory environments characterized by high degrees of device and personal mobility. For this application, security, reliability, and functional extensibility are some of the most important properties. These issues will be investigated in concert with UW's Portolano program whose objective is to develop general device, networking, middleware, and programming technologies for ubiquitous computing applications. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Borriello, Gaetano B. Robert Franza University of Washington WA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 349219 1666 SMET 9177 1657 0113317 October 1, 2001 Creating One to One Learning Opportunities Across the Internet. Title: ITR Award: Creating One to One Learning Opportunities across the Internet We will study a new kind of "anytime" learning system, based on one to one peer interactions shielded by and facilitated on the Internet. Our pedagogical hypothesis is that students learn best when continually challenged in a diverse environment. Matching students with appropriate learning partners and curricular material can be done with today's Internet technology and peer to peer software. Existing technologies from machine learning and game theory - specifically those related to mediocrity as an equilibrium phenomenon in self organizing systems - will be implemented as practical technologies that can adapt automatically as students learn. The technology is based on simple techniques to bring humans together to learn, rather than domain-intensive knowledge-based tutoring of a single human, and can work with the existing technology infrastructure of most public schools. Internet multi-player gaming environments have been proven to scale to millions of users, as well as having high intrinsic motivation. The research incorporates fundamental research in Information Technology, sound experimental research on motivation in multi-player games, and a novel and scaleable distributed community for learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Pollack, Jordan Brandeis University MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 310888 1666 SMET 9177 1657 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0113669 November 15, 2001 Development and Evaluation of an Automatized Comprehension Assessment Tool. The goal of this project is to develop a nationally available fully automated web-based diagnostic system called ARCADE (Automated Reading Comprehension and Diagnostic Evaluation) that will be capable of assessing complex comprehension based upon student free response data. The technology used will be to combine information extraction (IE) technologies and advanced psychometric techniques in novel ways so as to provide detailed assessment and diagnostic information for use by teachers and students in the service of improving classroom instruction and learning. The ARCADE system will also contribute to a data infrastructure useable by other investigators. Specifically, computer scientists interested in the development of new information extraction technology and cognitive scientists and educators interested in the development of new theories of comprehension and assessment would be able to access the database that will be developed in the course of using ARCADE with students. Thus, in addition to improving educational effectiveness in classrooms on a national level, the ARCADE system has the potential to provide a nation-wide resource for facilitating the advancement of scientific research in both the fields of reading comprehension and information technology research. The specific research being pursued is to develop and empirically test the core mathematical algorithms of the ARCADE system with respect to their reliability and validity for assessing reading comprehension in foundational literacy in science and literature. The empirical database will consist of free response data generated by student examinees in grade school and junior high school classroom settings in response to open-ended probe questions. The core ARCADE system employs innovative combinations of information extraction and psychometric techniques to address a critical educational need, namely, ways to assess multiple dimensions of complex comprehension. Such dimensions of comprehension are specified by a set of special semantic networks (called "knowledge digraphs") which embody meaning relations among ideas in texts and documents as well as relations to prior knowledge and inferences. A new statistical model of examinee behavior is then defined which incorporates techniques from the fields of Item Response Theory (IRT), Hidden Markov Model IE technology, and Knowledge Digraph Contribution analysis. The important innovation of this new statistical model is that multiple dimensions of comprehension in conjunction with their respective standard errors can be directly estimated from examinee free response data using Monte Carlo simulation and econometric methods Moreover, using an approach analogous to that developed in IRT , these assessments of comprehension dimensions can be mathematically proven to be reliable across a given family of equivalent testing materials. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Golden, Richard University of Texas at Dallas TX John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 393793 1666 SMET 9177 1657 0116000 Human Subjects 0114431 September 15, 2001 Academic Achievement and Teacher Development in Science (AATDS). The Project will (1) focus on results of large-scale K-5 science education reform on student achievement to further understand what practices and curriculum facilitate learning and benefit all students. (2) the Project will use Tennessee's unique statewide, longitudinal database to develop a comparable longitudinal database that includes several culturally diverse California school districts. (3) Student achievement findings in Tennessee's standardized assessment will be linked to two NSF-LSC projects' teacher training databases. (4) An additional database will be developed using one or more appropriate assessment measures that may be better aligned with new science curriculum. (6) The TerraNova test will be used to allow value-added analysis in Tennessee and California and linked to the Stanford Achievement Test 9th Edition, used in California. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Vanosdall, Frederick Larry Hedges Tennessee State University TN Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 5433403 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0114463 September 1, 2001 Teaching Phonemic Awareness to Children in Head Start: A Randomized Evaluation of Two Approaches. This is a planning grant to develop a research plan to explicitly test the comparative effectiveness of an instructional approach that teaches phoneme manipulation versus and alternative approach emphasizing general pre-literacy skills. The project outcomes will provide systematic experimental data addressing the specific types of phoneme awareness instruction that could be effective in teaching disadvantaged preschool children the reading skills that will best prepare them for later academic success. The project will be based in Boston Head Start programs. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Connell, David Stuart Yeh Dimock Community Health Center MA Kenneth C. Whang Standard Grant 100000 7180 SMET 9177 1187 0116000 Human Subjects 0114734 September 1, 2001 Urban Systemic Program in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (USP): St. Louis Urban Systemic Program (SLUSP). The St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) serving 42,673 students, of which 81.7% are eligible for free/reduced lunch, 15.3% are students with disabilities, 80% are African American, 17.4% White-non-Hispanic, 1.5% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1.1% Hispanic, through the St. Louis Urban Systemic Program (SLUSP), proposes to build upon the substantial accomplishments realized under the St. Louis Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) to implement strategies that ensure effective teaching and student success in science and mathematics in all schools throughout the District. The District's policies bearing on mathematics and science graduation requirements, teacher and other staff professional development, and accountability programs conjoined to student achievement, student assessment and program evaluation, curriculum designs objectives/indicators coupled to explicit student learning outcomes, the annual performance standards for each school, school-based management, and infusion of technology into the delivery of instruction serve as the framework, enablers and direction for the overall reform process. The goals of the SLUSP include improving the implementation of standards-based, inquiry-centered science and mathematics education with technology infusion for all students, pre-K-12; increasing the competency of the science and mathematics instructional workforce; expanding the collaborations with colleges and universities for the production of science and mathematics teachers; and increasing the number of skilled entrants into the technology-based workforce. The District's program is informed by an implementation strategy that includes the following elements: - Full implementation of the standards-based, inquiry-centered science and mathematics education program with technology infusion for all students, pre-K-12; - Ensuring that the fully implemented program is a seamless, unitary teaching and learning sequence with regard to the continuum of the standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessments with distributed accountability for student learning; - Increasing the competency of the science and mathematics instructional workforce through professional development and teacher education programs characterized by demanding content and performance standards; and - Enhancing teaching and learning outcomes through the use of state-of-the-art technologies and student support programs. The SLUSP has defined Student Achievement Benchmarks/Targets, inclusive of baseline data, to be attained in four areas of student achievement: 1) performance on the mathematics and science portions of the statewide tests administered by the Missouri Achievement Program (MAP), 2) performance on the mathematics and science portions of the District-wide TerraNova achievement tests, 3) numbers enrolling in, and the percentage completing, selected advanced high school courses in mathematics and science, and 4) numbers taking, and the scores achieved on, college placement exams such as the SAT and ACT. In addition, even higher improvement benchmarks for the District's black students were formulated explicitly in order to narrow the existing differences between white and black students on higher level math and science courses and on college placement exams. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM ROBERT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PGM DRL EHR Bourisaw, Diana Lynn Spampinato Angelene Hayes Board of Education City of Saint Louis MO Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 5801500 7347 1795 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0114768 September 15, 2001 SGER: The Development of Students' Informal and Formal Algebraic Thinking: Case Studies of Intended K-8 Mathematics Curricula in China, Singapore and the United States. This project will analyze how algebraic concepts and representations are developed and introduced throughout the Chinese, Singaporean, and United States curricula for Grades K-8. Recent international assessments indicate that the level of achievement in algebra is quite different in the three countries, and this project will analyze how the differences in achievement are related to differences in curricula. Case studies of the Chinese and Singaporean curricula, as well as selected US curricula (including NSF-funded programs and others), will help explain these differences and provide guidance to curriculum developers. The project will be conducted in parallel with the comparative study organized by the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) entitled "Mathematics Education in Different Cultural Traditions: A Comparative Study of East Asia and the West." The ICMI study provides a broader mathematical context for the more specific work of this project on the algebra curriculum. It also provides a pool of international experts in the field who can advise this project and additional opportunities for dissemination. The results of the project will be used to improve the development of K-8 mathematics curricula in the United States. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Cai, Jinfa University of Delaware DE John S. Bradley Standard Grant 99861 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0114794 September 1, 2001 Urban Systemic Program (USP) in Science , Mathematics, and Technology Education : San Antonio Mathematics Science Project. The San Antonio Urban Systemic Program ABSTRACT The San Antonio Urban Systemic Program (SAUSP) plans to promote full implementation of K-12 standards-based, inquiry-centered curricula in a coalition of nine school districts through the organization of elementary, middle, and high schools in K-12 school-feeder patterns served by teams of coaches. In order to increase the competency of the instructional workforce to accomplish this goal, San Antonio plans to implement a comprehensive professional development program in close collaboration with local institutions of higher education. A Citywide Monitoring System will provide for evaluation of student understanding of mathematics and science. This system will include a set of performance tasks to evaluate instructional practices and curriculum implementation, a web-based curriculum network to support excellence in instruction providing high-quality assessments and examples of standards-based instruction, and the use of district-based equity teams to specifically address the achievement gaps between ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Consistent with this end, participating districts have proposed the development of a new assessment system that is fully congruent and supportive of effective implementation of standards-based curricula. Furthermore, in order to secure a permanent coordination of a community coalition comprised of K-12 educators, business and community members, and the university sector, the SAUSP will establish a K-16 Implementation Team. A comprehensive evaluation plan will enable the leadership to assess progress in every component of the Initiative; gather, interpret and use data to inform the planning and decision-making process. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Olivarez, Ruben Howard Peak Sandra Bloom San Antonio Independent School District TX Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 9100000 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0114830 July 15, 2001 Developing the Foundations for a New Test Theory of Cognitive Diagnosis: The Unified Model Applied to Concept Acquisition and Change in Science. This Special Grant for Exploratory Research is for the development of an item response model that better accounts for cognitive change. Towards this end, a core-unified model, called the DiBellow-Stout Unified model, is applied to two domains. The first is a high school AP chemistry course called ChemQuest that uses computer models and exercises to sustain and augment the students' mental models of chemical processes. The second is an AP Statistics course called "Statistics: The Craft of Data Collection, Description, and Inference". The result of this research will be a better understanding of the core-unified model, a better understanding of how statistics and chemistry are learned, and a roadmap to possible future applications of the model in a wide variety of settings. The ability to better assess student learning is a key component of the utility of high stakes testing as measures of standards of learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stout, William Bertram Bruce University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IL Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 0 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0114854 October 1, 2001 IERI: Teachers' Disciplinary Knowledge of Reading and its Relationship to K-3 Pedagogy and Student Achievement. Abstract Proposal number: 0114854 PI: Anne Cunningham Institution: UC Berkeley Title: Teachers' Disciplinary Knowledge of Reading and its Relationship to K-3 Pedagogy and Student Achievement This is a planning grant for a project that will investigate the current level of K-3 elementary school teachers. disciplinary knowledge, beliefs, and knowledge calibration in reading processes, development, and pedagogy. The project will use a set of workshops and development activities in the planning of how to conduct a series of experimental, longitudinal, and qualitative studies that will lead to a greater understanding of the type and depth of knowledge needed to be an effective teacher of reading (as evidenced by student performance) and the models of professional development that facilitate the growth of teachers. disciplinary knowledge, beliefs, and pedagogy in reading and literacy. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Cunningham, Anne University of California-Berkeley CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 99940 7180 SMET 9237 9177 0114949 September 1, 2001 Urban Systemic Program in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (USP): SciMaX. The goal of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) proposal entitled Science and Mathematics Excellence (SciMaX) is that all students will graduate with the capacity to pursue post-secondary studies and careers in science and mathematics. Its specific objectives are (1) To complete the implementation of standards-based K-12 mathematics and science program within the District establishing high standards for all students in all classrooms; (2) To increase K-8 proficiency by 4% in End-of-Grade [test] in mathematics, by 5% in 8th grade Algebra I, and by 5 percentile points in science each year; (3) To increase enrollment in upper level mathematics and science courses by 10% each year and achieve an overall completion of 80%; and (4) To partner with universities to ensure that new teachers arrive in the school system with the training needed to teach high-quality, standards-based science and mathematics curriculum. WS/FCS plans revision and compacting of the K-8 mathematics curriculum to ensure that all pre-algebra topics are addressed by the end of the 7th grade, which will facilitate successful student performance in algebra at the 8th grade. Similarly, the District has created a plan to infuse science standards-based, hands-on instruction at all grade levels through the implementation of reform instructional materials and to integrate this subject to mathematics and the Language Arts. A student safety-net program will be implemented consisting of bridge courses and pre-college programs. In order to ensure the coherent accomplishment of its objectives, WS/FCS will organize Vertical Leadership Teams (VLT) consisting of a cross section of represented schools, including school principals, counselors, curriculum coordinators, teachers, students, parents, business and post-secondary partners based on a three-cohort model. A comprehensive evaluation plan will enable the leadership to assess progress in every component of the Initiative; and gather, interpret and use data to inform the planning and decision-making process. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Martin, Donald Harold Martin Patricia Legrand Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools NC Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 5213896 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0115108 September 1, 2001 Urban Systemic Program in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (USP): San Diego Urban Systemic Program. The Urban Systemic Program for the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) aggressively targets the academic success of all students in K-12 mathematics and science through a comprehensive program of support for improved instruction. The San Diego Urban Systemic Program (SDUSP) engages the public and private sector community in building an infrastructure that will support quality mathematics and science education over the long term. The goals of the SDUSP are: 1. Substantial improvement in student achievement in the fields of science and mathematics. 2. Substantial improvement of the quality of instruction in science and mathematics. 3. System-wide implementation of high quality standards-based inquiry learning in science and mathematics using exemplary curriculum materials and technology tools. 4. Ongoing collaboration to improve teacher education and the district's science and mathematics programs through well-defined partnerships among the school district, the universities, educational centers, and the private sector. The San Diego Urban Systemic Program (SDUSP) builds leadership in every school by engaging principals and enhanced department chairs in understanding the content, pedagogy and curriculum of standards-based reform, and in supporting the classroom teacher and monitoring results. The teacher in every classroom receives exemplary curriculum materials, substantial professional development, and job-embedded coaching. The students in each science and mathematics class receive instruction that is pedagogically sound and content rich, with clear course expectations, standards-based materials, and the integrated use of technology. The end result is that each student is equipped with the mathematical and scientific knowledge, skills, and dispositions to make their own choices regarding post-secondary pursuits. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Bersin, Alan Anthony Alvarado Kathryn Bess San Diego Unified School District CA Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 9499921 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0115114 September 1, 2001 Urban Systemic Program in Science (USP), Mathematics, and Technology Education: Portland Urban Systemic Program. The Portland Public Schools (PPS) District is the largest district in the state of Oregon. It has an enrollment of almost 55,000 students in 64 elementary schools, 20 middle schools, 12 high schools and an increasing number of special focus and alternative programs. Of these schools 55 qualify for Title I assistance while approximately 49% of elementary students, 37% of middle school students and 28% of high school students participate in free/reduced lunch programs. Currently an estimated 38% of the students stem from minority backgrounds. PPS employs over 3,100 certified teachers and the district serves over 90% of Portland's eligible population. The district has used the PASS college entrance requirements as the academic target of all students for a number of years. The goals of the Portland USP are: 1. To enable the district's entire diverse student enrollment to meet rigorous K-12 standards in science and mathematics and prepare for post-secondary education and future careers. To significantly reduce disparities in participation and academic performance between various student populations. 2. To increase the district's capacity to develop, support, and sustain teacher and principal leadership in implementing standards-based curricular reform and continuous improvement of K-12 science, mathematics and technology education for all students. 3. To engage families and the community in supporting improved student performance in science and mathematics and improved access to high-quality, inquiry-based educational opportunities in science, mathematics and technology. 4. To establish ongoing, collaborative partnerships with higher education, business/industry, policy makers, and other key stakeholders in support of exemplary, research-based teaching and learning in science, mathematics, and technology within the context of a large and diverse urban school district. To reach these goals, some of the implementation strategies that will be used by the Portland USP during the first year are: a. After-school academic assistance/tutoring in both mathematics and science. b. Parent education on standards-based curricula and support for students at home. c. After-school workshops for teachers and principals on content knowledge and pedagogy. d. Science and math courses, workshops and lecture series. e. Annual summer institutes (5 days in math and 5 days in science). f. Preparation of science and mathematics leaders. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Scherzinger, James Susan Montag Andy Clark Patrick Burk School District No 1, Multnomah County, Oregon OR Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 6022086 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0115290 October 1, 2001 Early Learning and Technology for At-Risk Children. This planning proposal funds the design a study on the influence of information and computer technology based learning activities on the social behavior and academic achievement of urban, impoverished, minority children. The project will use an ongoing collaboration with the St. Louis Public Schools and an ongoing project that introduces technology to children in primary grades. The work envisions the use of technology in support of appropriate behavior and learning in primary (pre-K through 2nd grade) classrooms. The work capitalizes upon on-going efforts to both study and improve the level of teaching and learning in select SLPS classrooms, but requires substantial preparation in order to undertake a rigorous study to advance the knowledge base and have implications beyond the specific classrooms involved. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Espinosa, Linda James Laffey Tim Lewis University of Missouri-Columbia MO John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 99313 7180 SMET 9177 0115389 September 15, 2001 High Quality Teaching of Foundational Skills in Mathematics & Reading. This project focuses on high quality teaching of foundational skills in the areas of reading and mathematics in grades 4 and 5. This is an observational study and through a longitudinal study will develop and test multilevel models of how schools and teachers affect student achievement in reading and mathematics. A primary goal of the study is to understand how schools and teachers scale up and sustain effective pedagogy over time for multiple student populations. 20 schools in Montgomery County, Maryland will be studied - 10 from high poverty areas and 10 from moderate poverty areas. Data will be collected using standardized data collection instruments through 8 classroom observations/year over a period of three years in a total of 120 classrooms. The data will track changes in school policy/practices, teacher pedagogy, and student learning. The final year of the project will be devoted to data analysis and dissemination. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Valli, Linda Robert Croninger University of Maryland College Park MD Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 4536205 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115419 October 1, 2001 Scalable and Sustainable Technologies for Reading Instruction and Assessment. In this project a program of individualized, computer-aided reading instruction will be implemented and assessed. The computer-aided reading instruction is based on two classes of tools - one based on speech and animation technology and the other on language comprehension technology. An example of the former tool is Vocabulary Tutor which focuses on decoding practices. It includes a 3D animated talking head synchronized with recorder or synthesized speech, paired with illustrations and printed words that can be entered by the teacher or the child. Children look at the images, listen to the words, see their spelling, pronounce them, and receive feedback. An example of the second kind is Summary Street. Summary Street is based on a statistical theory of meaning, latent semantic analysis. Children write summaries, Summary Street automatically compares their summaries with the text they are summarizing and provides feedback about the content and the adequacy of their summaries. These tools are classroom tested. This project extends the foundation of technology and application development to a comprehensive reading program called Colorado Literacy Tutor that will be tested throughout the state of Colorado after testing in the Boulder School district. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Kintsch, Walter Lynn Snyder Richard Olson Ronald Cole Donna Caccamise University of Colorado at Boulder CO John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 6136395 7180 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115599 September 1, 2001 Columbus Urban Systemic Program (CUSP). COLUMBUS URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM The Columbus Public Schools (CPS) serving 64,339 students, in 144 schools, of which 62% are minority, 57% are poor, and 3% are Limited-English-Proficient, through the Columbus Urban Systemic Program (CUSP), proposes to build upon the results realized under the Columbus Urban Systemic Initiative (USI). During the USI, CPS developed a building-based, professional-development delivery infrastructure promoting standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment strategies in support of all students attaining high levels of academic achievement in mathematics and science. Through the CUSP, the District states commitments to achieving the four driving goals of the USP Solicitation, NSF 01-15, related to improved student achievement, enhanced implementation of standards-based-inquiry-centered science and mathematics, increased competency and diversity of the instructional workforce, and intensified substantive collaborations with institutions of higher education towards improved teacher education. The USP implementation process embraces three major components and attendant enabling strategies. Therein, the CUSP will: - Focus Efforts and Resources Identify and target schools that have not fully implemented the standards-based curriculum for on-site professional development, monitoring of instruction, and increased parent involvement at those sites; -Fund long-term professional development with interim follow-up, reflecting the success of past models and current technology standards; -Focus on reaching full implementation of the standards-based curriculum in the District's lowest-implementation schools each year; Sustain support for students through summer bridge activities, internships and summer camps in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology; and -Advocate and ensure that resources and facilities are sufficient to support the standards-based learning environment. -Nurture Building-Level Leadership Support existing K-12 instructional leadership teams and other in-service participants through on-going professional development and follow-up consistent with the National Staff Development Council standards; -Assure that Instructional Leadership Teams (ILT) provide professional development to their staffs, serve as resources for other teachers, and coordinate school-wide mathematics and science events; -Provide training for district-level curriculum specialists and Peer Assistance Review (PAR) consultants to ensure cohesive delivery of instruction; -Coordinate in-depth training in the principal walk-through process; -Expand incentives for the district's Performance Advancement System by encouraging university collaboration, action research, and dissemination of research related to improved student achievement in mathematics and science. -Collaborate with Universities to Improve Teacher Education Continue strengthening university alliances to impact the effectiveness of pre-service education, the diversity of the CPS workforce, the technological skill of CPS graduates, and classroom research on teaching and learning; -Support CPS classified personnel in the pursuit of degrees in mathematics and science education; -Provide a forum for cooperating and pre-service teachers in area universities to apply their knowledge of K-12 mathematics and science standards and technology utility; and -Contribute as a consequential partner in university initiatives, i.e., The Ohio State University Teacher Quality Institute, Project Discovery, the P-12 Initiative of the Ohio State University, and the Urban Academy, designed to increase student achievement by improving the quality of mathematics and science teacher education. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Harris, Gene Marvenia Bosley Columbus Public Schools OH Joseph Reed Cooperative Agreement 5287053 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0115606 September 1, 2001 Urban Systemic Program in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (USP): Boston's Math and Science Plan. Boston Public Schools Proposal Abstract The Boston Public School District (BPS) proposes to advance significantly the science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) education of all K-12 students through the Boston Urban Systemic Program (BUSP). The District plans to accomplish this task by building on the existing infrastructure developed by reform efforts that began in 1995. These efforts included a complete revision of the reading, Language Arts, and mathematics programs. The lessons learned from these efforts will be used to facilitate change in science and other core subjects. The foundational tenets of the extant infrastructure include a strong K-12 leadership team, a standards-based curriculum for science and mathematics based on the state's curriculum framework, an aligned assessment system, and policies specific to science and mathematics. The infrastructure also include the convergence of fiscal and intellectual resources to improve science and mathematics education, significant external support from multiple institutions of higher education, business partners, and the at-large community. The BUSP goals parallel those of the USP that seeks to: 1. Increase student achievement in science and mathematics as measured by higher scores on standards-based assessments, increasing enrollments in higher level courses, and greater articulation to institutions of higher education; 2. Advance the implementation of standards-based, inquiry-centered science and mathematics program for all students, and employ research and assessments as effective tools in improving the teaching and learning of science and mathematics; 3. Increase the competency and diversity of the science and mathematics instructional workforce; and 4. Promote collaborations with colleges and universities and the engagement of the community to improve teaching and learning for all students to meet high standards. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Contompasis, Michael Linda Davenport Ann Hamadeh Edward Joyce Sidney Smith Boston Public Schools MA Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 5597750 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0115609 October 1, 2001 Collaborative Research: Understanding and Cultivating the Transition from Arithmetic to Algebraic Reasoning. This is a collaborative research project between three universities. The project is a comprehensive, systemic research and development program addressing three inter-related tiers of study: student learning and development; teacher beliefs, knowledge, and practice; and professional development. The project is grounded in both sound theory of how students develop algebraic reasoning and acquire domain knowledge and skills and in the beliefs and existing practices of teachers. In the student tier a detailed developmental model of students' evolving algebraic reasoning and skill acquisition will be constructed concentrating on the transition from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning. In the teaching tier a promising pedagogical approach, Bridging Instruction, will be tested. In the professional development tier a teacher professional development prototype will be implemented. The prototypeT extends an existing technology based approach. It enables the evaluation of a scalable model of teacher professional development. Technology is a central aspect of this project. The findings of this research will be implemented into a coherent educational program for students and teachers using Algebra Cognitive Tutors and the STEP web teacher professional development environments. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Borko, Hilda Jeffrey Frykholm University of Colorado at Boulder CO John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 3049286 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115632 September 15, 2001 Exploring IDEAS: An Integrated Design Enhancing Academic Success in Science, Reading and Mathematics. This planning grant will develop a comprehensive plan to refine, broaden and implement an interdisciplinary curriculum model that has proven effective in accelerating learning for diverse student populations in science and reading at the upper elementary grades. Collaborators are the school districts of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The project will also contribute to the knowledge base about specific design features associated with quality teacher professional development. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Romance, Nancy Jerome Haky William Brooks Diane Baronas-Lowell Donald Ploger Florida Atlantic University FL John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 129596 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115635 October 1, 2001 Collaborative Research: Understanding and Cultivating the Transition from Arithmetic to Algebraic Reasoning. This is a collaborative research project between three universities. The project is a comprehensive, systemic research and development program addressing three inter-related tiers of study: student learning and development; teacher beliefs, knowledge, and practice; and professional development. The project is grounded in both sound theory of how students develop algebraic reasoning and acquire domain knowledge and skills and in the beliefs and existing practices of teachers. In the student tier a detailed developmental model of students' evolving algebraic reasoning and skill acquisition will be constructed concentrating on the transition from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning. In the teaching tier a promising pedagogical approach, Bridging Instruction, will be tested. In the professional development tier a teacher professional development prototype will be implemented. The prototypeT extends an existing technology based approach. It enables the evaluation of a scalable model of teacher professional development. Technology is a central aspect of this project. The findings of this research will be implemented into a coherent educational program for students and teachers using Algebra Cognitive Tutors and the STEP web teacher professional development environments. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Koedinger, Ken Carnegie-Mellon University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 783126 7180 SMET 9177 0115637 September 15, 2001 Examining the Effects of Highly Rated Science Curricula on Diverse Student Populations. This planning grant is a collaboration between George Washington University, Montgomery County Pubic Schools, AAAS Project 2061, and the Center for Applied Linguistics. The project's goal is to study how science curriculum materials and their implementation can be improved. The project will conduct a pilot study of student achievement, motivation, and engagement for a highly rated 8th grade curriculum unit (Chemistry that Applies-CTA). This unit was one of the few that rated highly in the evaluation procedure developed by AAAS' Project 2061. The study's purpose is to determine if there are different effects of highly rated curriculum materials and to identify the modifications that can be made for the highly rated materials to be more effective for subgroups of diverse learners. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Lynch, Sharon Joel Kuipers George Washington University DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 127825 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115649 October 1, 2001 IERI: Factors Influencing College Science Success (FICSS). The researchers propose to scale up a study they previously conducted in which they examined the backgrounds of college science students taking introductory science courses for predictors of performance, while controlling for demographic differences. They looked at 1,933 students at 19 colleges and universities in physics using epidemiological research methods. They plan to expand the study to 24,000 college students to examine the connection between the instructional decisions made by their high school physics, chemistry, and biology teachers and success in college science classes. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Sadler, Philip Harvard University MA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 3042078 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115659 October 1, 2001 Development and Evaluation of a Technology-Enhanced Success for All Reading Program. The goal of this project is to substantially increase the emerging reading skills of young children by employing technology to enhance the effectiveness of the Success for All (SFA) reading program. The project will develop DVD, video, and computer technology to improve the SFA reading, ESL, tutoring, and professional development components, and systematically evaluate each component separately and then together in an integrated program. By carefully integrating technology in various of aspects of the SFA program, the PIs' believe it is possible to double the effect size on reading measures from .5 to 1.0 and to halve the failure rate. A new format for instruction called DaViD (DVD incorporating assessment and instruction) will integrate DVD technology with teacher instruction, incorporating material from Between the Lions, a PBS program designed to enhance children's literacy. It will incorporate additional video/DVD presentations to present vocabulary used in Reading Roots (beginning reading) lessons and to preview the content of Reading Roots stories. Additionally, a computer-assisted tutoring program, the Reading CAT, will be created to support the performance of the student, the teacher, and the tutor, by providing an electronic skills development and information hub. The Reading CAT is being developed by Concordia University who is a subcontractor to Success for All. The Reading CAT will be used for practice (by students), for assessment (by tutors and teachers), for performance support (by tutors), and for communication (by tutors, teachers, and the facilitator). A large scale evaluation will compare schools using all technology elements to matched schools using standard SFA and to control schools over a two-year period. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Slavin, Robert Nancy Madden Philip Abrami Bette Chambers Success for All Foundation MD John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 5994273 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115661 October 1, 2001 Collaborative Research: Understanding and Cultivating the Transition from Arithmetic to Algebraic Thinking. This is a collaborative research project between three universities. The project is a comprehensive, systemic research and development program addressing three inter-related tiers of study: student learning and development; teacher beliefs, knowledge, and practice; and professional development. The project is grounded in both sound theory of how students develop algebraic reasoning and acquire domain knowledge and skills and in the beliefs and existing practices of teachers. In the student tier a detailed developmental model of students' evolving algebraic reasoning and skill acquisition will be constructed concentrating on the transition from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning. In the teaching tier a promising pedagogical approach, Bridging Instruction, will be tested. In the professional development tier a teacher professional development prototype will be implemented. The prototypeT extends an existing technology based approach. It enables the evaluation of a scalable model of teacher professional development. Technology is a central aspect of this project. The findings of this research will be implemented into a coherent educational program for students and teachers using Algebra Cognitive Tutors and the STEP web teacher professional development environments. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Derry, Sharon Martha Alibali Eric Knuth University of Wisconsin-Madison WI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 2276756 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115662 September 15, 2001 Teacher Professional Development in Facilitated Online Learning Communities: What Do We Know and Need to Know. This planning proposal is for the development of a full proposal to develop a new outline learning community, Scienceline II, for middle school teachers of science and for conducting studies based on data collected in Scienceline II field trials. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Derry, Sharon Peter Hewson Margaret Wilsman University of Wisconsin-Madison WI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 100001 7180 SMET 9177 0115669 September 15, 2001 Innovation Exchange: Exploring Portability of Systemic Reform. Four institutions working on technology-anchored curriculum reform propose to develop a collaboration to explore effective models of technology-anchored teaching and learning, determine how models can be transported and how teachers, administrators, and researchers can collaborate to support and sustain such reforms. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Honey, Margaret Barry Fishman Daniel Light Education Development Center MA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 100937 7180 SMET 9177 0115676 October 1, 2001 Testing the Effectiveness, Sustainability and Scalability of an Individualized Reading Program for African-American, Latino and Euro-American Inner City Children. This project extends an individualized reading program, IRM, based on a linguistic analysis of reading errors of inner city African American children, to Latino and Euro-American school populations. In the first year of the project a comparative study will be made of the reading errors of 720 children in the 3rd and 4th grades in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and East Palo Alto, equally divided among four racial/ethnic groups: African American, Euro-American, English-reading dominant Latino, and Spanish-reading dominant Latino. The analysis will lead to interventions modeled after those developed from the IRM program. In the second year these interventions will be tested for Latino and Euro-American struggling readers. In year 3 a randomized study will be done in Philadelphia and Atlanta testing the IRM intervention within the school day, during the school day and extended day care, and without IRM but with the standard reading curriculum in all four groups of children. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Labov, William University of Pennsylvania PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 2933628 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115699 October 1, 2001 Modeling Across The Curriculum. The project is a partnership between the Concord Consortium, Harvard, Northwestern, University of Michigan, the Center or Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS) and the Firtchburn, Hudson, and Lowell Public Schools to study the impact of modeling on secondary science learning. Tools called CIE models incorporate core science content that students learn through interaction and exploration. The project will explore the hypothesis that students learn more through such models by testing it in real schools. Data will be collected from Pedagogica (the technological environment), annual administration of a project-generated assessment, extensive interviews, and standardized tests. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Horwitz, Paul Robert Tinker Uri Wilensky Janice Gobert Concord Consortium MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 7024406 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0115716 September 15, 2001 IERI/REC: Planning an Infrastructure to Support Ambitious Science for Urban School Children. This planning grant proposal will examine the professional development experiences that are most likely to help children in urban settings to be more successful learners of "ambitious" science. To do so, the PIs will create a data system that allows for detailed articulation of the ways that teachers' opportunities for growth translate into learning outcomes for children. The model for the work begins with actual classroom practices, then examines student growth (defined by achievement test scores) and the kinds of development experiences that result in successful student learning. Specifically, the planning grant with refine and develop new measures of student learning; develop a coding scheme for professional development experiences; refine and codify the PIs existing scheme for analyzing classroom practice; and use test cases to explore the feasibility of the methodology. Panel Summary: The panel was enthusiastic about the importance and scope of the study and viewed the ideas about enactment and the conceptualization of change in the proposal particularly favorably. The concerns raised by the panel included: the project is very ambitious given the eighteen-month timeframe; and the proposal is short on detail in both methodology and theory. However, panelists understood that some of the conceptualizations would necessarily be somewhat vague in a planning grant. An additional concern included the commitment of the PIs in other research projects. Analysis: The panelists felt that this was a planning grant with potential to yield important new measures and understandings regarding links between teacher professional development and student learning. The PIs are highly qualified. In spite of concerns about the ambition of the project and the vagueness of some aspects of the underlying theory and methodology, the Program Officer agrees with the panel that this planning grant holds great promise for producing information that will be helpful to schools and those interested in science reform. However, the PIs should take care to address the concerns raised in the review in the submission of a full proposal. Program Director Recommendation: Based on the ratings received in the panel review, the comments contained in the written reviews, the panel discussion, and the analysis described above, I recommend that this proposal be funded for 18 months as a standard grant at the level of $278,504. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Gomez, Louis Brian Reiser Ronald Marx Anthony Bryk Gregory Shrader Northwestern University IL Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 278504 7180 SMET 9177 0115728 September 1, 2001 Urban Systemic Program in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (USP): Jackson Urban Systemic Program. The Jackson Public School District (JPS) proposes to significantly advance the science, mathematics, and technology education (SMT) of all K-12 students through the Jackson Urban Systemic Program (JUSP). The District plans to accomplish this task by building on the existing infrastructure developed primarily through the Comprehensive Partnership for Mathematics and Science Achievement, the Center for Research in Teaching and Learning funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the K-12 Higher Education Partnership funded by NSF in partnership with the National Institutes of Health. This infrastructure is characterized by an exemplary leadership team, content standards for science and mathematics, policies in support of SMT education for all, the convergence of fiscal and intellectual resources, and a shared vision for improving the capacity of principals, teachers, and students. To accomplish the goals and objectives of the USP, the District intends to provide all of its students with the fundamentals of mathematics and science so that their understanding, ability, and academic achievement will enable them to perform at or above their peers from around the world. The major goals are: (1) to increase student achievement in science and mathematics; (2) to increase competency in the science and mathematics instructional workforce; and (3) to strengthen the District's capacity to sustain SMT reform. Hence, JPS will use the USP to improve its capacity to enhance student achievement via an articulated K-12 science and mathematics curriculum, a more diverse and highly qualified instructional workforce, and stronger and more focused partnerships. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Watkins, Earl Martha Roberts Ron Sellers Jackson Public School District MS Celestine Pea Cooperative Agreement 5569986 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116014 May 1, 2001 Building an Agenda for Public Understanding of Science: Support of Planning Activities with Science Centers in China and Japan -- A Planning Grant. Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC is planning and coordinating a visit by Chinese delegates to designated United States Science Museums toward identifying cooperative endeavors related to public understanding of science. Planning also will be done for a separate delegation of informal educators from Japan. Discovery Place will work with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) to assist in planning and arranging portions of each delegation's visit in order to help science center professionals from all three countries meet and learn more about each other's institutions, programs and priorities. Through this networking, U.S. institutions will be encouraged to participate in exchanges and cooperative projects. The meetings also will help all sides identify potential partners and develop the relationships necessary to pursue joint activities such as staff exchanges, cooperative development of exhibits and programs and design of workshops. Specific planning activities to be undertaken by Discovery Place include: Identifying appropriate museum and media production sites for the Chinese delegation to visit; Coordinating the purposes of the visit with these sites; Working with The Institute of Pacific Asia (IPA is the NSF grantee that is handling the administrative aspects of the Chinese and Japanese visits) to develop a specific agenda for each site visit; Coordinating with ASTC to arrange such activities as: Presentations by members of the Chinese and Japanese delegation in ASTC conference sessions, Participation by members of the Chinese and Japanese delegations in ASTC conference events and sessions, and Assisting IPA in developing an agenda for a one-day US/China delegation meeting immediately following the conference. This project provides rare opportunities for informal science educators and policy makers to explore a wide range of program options for the United States, China and Japan to inform the public and build support for science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Nicholson, Freda Discovery Place, Inc. NC Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 48677 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116926 October 1, 2001 Examining student outcomes associated with undergraduate research participation at Wabash College. This is an SGER to do an exploratory study to assess the effects of student/faculty collaboration through a variety of quantitative and qualitative measures designed to determine the extent to which these interactions affect students' learning, critical thinking skills, career choices, and persistence. As an exploratory study, the goal is to identify characteristics that predict which students are most likely to benefit from an undergraduate research experience. The study will also examine different models of undergraduate research used by faculty and determine whether some approaches are more effective than others. Finally, the study will examine factors influencing students' decisions of whether or not to take part in a research opportunity, with special attention aimed at uncovering hindrances that may prevent members of underrepresented groups from participating. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Blaich, Charles Scott Feller Wabash College IN Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 36297 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0117006 August 1, 2001 Increasing the Number and Expertise of Evaluators of Programs with Emphases in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology. The Evaluator's Institute provides high quality short-courses taught by nationally recognized experts in the evaluation field. Courses are scheduled to allow participants to take 2-3 courses over the period of a week. However, SMET evaluators. This award will allow approximately 90 SMET professionals per year to receive $1000 tuition scholarships to take courses of their choice. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Smith, M. F. The Evaluators' Institute DE Conrad G. Katzenmeyer Standard Grant 297000 7261 SMET 9177 0118011 April 1, 2002 Development and Testing of a Tool for Judging Excellence in Science Museum Exhibitions. 0118011 PROJECT ABSTRACT Serrell and Associates requests an 18-month grant to conduct research that seeks a valid and reliable way for museum professionals to judge the excellence of science exhibitions in museums from a visitor-experience point of view. This is a novel and untested idea for practitioners of exhibition development in science museums. The need for this research arises from a lack of agreed-upon standards of excellence (or even competence) for science museum exhibitions. Museums that receive funding from the National Science Foundation are called upon to document the effectiveness and merit of their exhibit projects, yet they have few shared, standardized methods to help them do so. This grant would allow Serrell and Associates to conduct a series of meetings with local (Chicago) museum professionals and a national advisory panel to facilitate the development and testing of an audience-based, peer-reviewed criteria for recognizing excellence through empirical definition and exemplars. The research question for this project is: If different museum officials used the same set of standards to visit, review and judge the same group of exhibitions, would their ratings agree on the degree of excellence for each of the exhibitions? The proposed research methods will be informed by the science education research of John R. Frederiksen (University of California at Berkeley and the Educational Testing Service, California) who has developed techniques and criteria for performance evaluation of science teaching. His scoring methods incorporate direct and positive ways in which assessment can be used to improve science teaching. There are very clear parallels between Frederiksen's assessment techniques for science educators and the goals of this project for science museum exhibit developers. These include, but are not limited to: practitioner-developed and practitioner-trained criteria; criteria based upon a combination of ground-up and top-down theories; content-free, intention-free criteria; and criteria that benefit the process, the product and measurement of the impacts. The long-term goal of this research is to improve the quality of visitors' experiences in science museum exhibitions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Serrell, Beverly Serrell and Associates IL David A. Ucko Standard Grant 99500 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0118355 September 1, 2001 Evaluating Quality of Teachers and Teaching in Science and Mathematics Education: Use of Surveys and Data Systems to Evaluate Quality of Preparation, Development & Practices. This project proposed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) will collect and analyze data from sample surveys and data systems towards three goals: (1) evaluate the quality of initial preparation and professional development of math and science teachers in the nation and by state, and assess trends toward improved preparation, (2) assess change in the quality of teaching practices being used in schools in relation to science and math education standards, and (3) establish a web-based system for collecting data and evaluating the quality of professional development activities with science and math teachers, using criteria based on recent research on quality programs. This will be led by CCSSO with assistance from an expert panel, and a subcontractor organization, Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Blank, Rolf Wayne Martin Council of Chief State School Officers DC Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 565710 7365 7261 SMET 9177 0118969 September 1, 2001 Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education: Informal Learning Program Planning -- A PreConference Workshop. The Ameircan Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta (AAGBA) requests a 24-month conference grant for a professional development workshop, "Starting Right: Team Building and Project Planning," to be presented at all six of the AAGBA regional meetings. The emphasis of this worshop is on the critical early planning stages of an informal learning project. In order to increase the professional capacity of those working in botanical gardens and arboreta, the primary goals for this workshop are to enhance the ability of institutionally-based teams to work together and to define clear goals and objectives for a project on which they are working. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Allenstein, Pamela Carla Pastore American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta PA Barry A. Van Deman Continuing grant 73100 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119404 September 15, 2001 Developmental Planning Grant for the South Texas Mathematics, Science & Technology Center for Learning and Teaching (ST*MST*CLT). This developmental proposal aims to create an integrated South Texas CLT. The three institutional partners are The University of Texas -- Pan American, The University of Texas -- San Antonio, and The University of Texas -- Austin. The CLT will work primarily with school districts in San Antonio and the lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas. More than 70% of the K-12 students are economically disadvantaged and almost 80% are Hispanic. During the developmental phase they will explicitly assess the regional science, mathematics and technology (SMT) educational needs and the specific responsibilities of the participating institutions for meeting those needs within a CLT. They will also evaluate relevant existing models and project strategies dealing with defined goals and objectives (e.g., recruitment, professional development, and/or pipeline infrastructures/career pathways for SMT educator preparation) especially those appropriate for the preparation of teachers of Hispanic students from bilingual, bicultural and low socio-economic environments. Part of the developmental process will focus on developing models appropriate for meeting these goals and for identifying other institutional partners including community colleges and professional organizations. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Ramirez, Olga Lowell Bethel John Bernard Kathleen Mittag University of Texas - Pan American TX Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 200000 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119634 July 1, 2001 Billie & Miles: Planning Grant Proposal. WTTW, the public television station in Chicago, is developing a science education project targeted at children aged 6 to 10. The major components of the project will be a 13-part animated television series, an interactive webpage and multiple outreach components for individuals and families. The television series features a pair of animal astronauts -- an eager dog named Billie and a reluctant flea named Miles -- as they travel through space in search of science adventure. The two work together to explore problems, solve mysteries and survive adventures while aboard their doghouse-shaped spaceship and on the worlds they discover throughout the universe. In each episode, using an inquiry-based method of problem solving, Billie and Miles embark on a new adventure and explore a single science concept in depth, approaching it from many different ways appropriate to their respective personalities. Science content for the series is being developed by Ian Saunders, previously Head Science Writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy; Dr. Edward Atkins, President of Science Productions for TV who has developed science programming for Children's Television Workshop and WNET; and Dr. Jose Rios, Assistant Professor for Science Education at the University of Washington, Tacoma. The series will be produced by WTTW in partnership with Nelvana Ltd., the animation company for The Magic School Bus. Formative evaluation during the planning phase will be conducted by Dr. Barbara Flagg of Multimedia Research. The major activities during the planning stage include: 1) Convening the core advisors to develop the science content bible, finalize age-appropriate content goals, suggest ideas and strategies for presenting the science, and organizing principles consistent with the National Science Education Standards and the AAAS Benchmarks. 2) The group also will examine a range of creative issues that bear directly on the effective delivery of science content. 3) Development and formative testing for a short animation prototype that will illustrate one of the series' science concepts. This segment will be tested to assess the appeal of its style and its efficacy in communicating science. 4) Continuation of work with Nelvana to develop character sketches and background, create storylines and write a pilot script. 5) Validate and expand on the current outreach concept. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hughes, MaryBeth Edward Atkins Ian Saunders Frederick Schneider Window To The World Communications, Inc. WTTW 11 IL Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 49163 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119645 September 1, 2001 CLT: A Model Regional Urban Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning of 5th through 12th Grade Students. Submitted under the guidelines for "Developmental Centers for Learning and Teaching," this twelve-month project would do the developmental planning to establish a center for SMET education for grades 5-12 in greater Philadelphia. The project would be based at Temple University. The region served would be southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Other players in the collaboration include Millersville and Cheney Universities in PA, Delaware State, and several community colleges in PA and NJ. Also included are Philadelphia (PA), Salem County, Gloucester County, and Cherry Hill (NJ) school districts. The primary mission of the proposed center will be to examine the unique needs of teaching mathematics and science to urban and urban-fringe students. There are three major goals: 1) Enhance the content and pedagogical skills of current and future mathematics and science teachers and to increase both the numbers of, and quality of, these teachers by designing programs to attract, train and mentor pre-service, novice, experienced in-service and apprentice teachers. This will include the development of a model middle school Certification Program. 2) Reshape the institutional infrastructure of faculty and graduate students who instruct math and science pre-service and in-service teachers and the infrastructure of the school districts to support these teachers. This includes attracting, training and retaining doctoral students who will be future SMET professors. 3)Design and support research in relevant aspects of mathematics and science education, with a strong emphasis on determining the role of, and value of, technology in education. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Hillman, Nina Stephen Krulik David Zitarelli Penny Hammrich Temple University PA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 192825 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119679 September 1, 2001 CLT: Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment and Instruction in Mathematics. Submitted under the guidelines for Centers for Learning and Teaching, the Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment and Instruction in Mathematics (ACCLAIM) is a five-year project designed to build a mathematics infrastructure in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. ACCLAIM is a collaborative partnership among the University of Kentucky (UK), Ohio University (OU), the University of Tennessee (UT), and Marshall (MU) with the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI). The mathematics infrastructure in Appalachia will be enhanced through: (a) advanced degree programs in mathematics and mathematics education, (b) job-embedded teacher preparation and professional development programs, and (c) education research in a rural context. The two goals are to: (a) build mathematics capacity and expertise in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia through advanced degree programs in mathematics education and through research that connects mathematics and rural education; and (b) improve the quality of mathematics teaching at the middle and high school levels in the Appalachian region through the development of collaborative networks and innovative delivery systems. To meet these goals, ACCLAIM will create and implement four interconnected initiatives: 1. Capacity Building: Doctoral cohorts of 20 students every two years, masters/specialists cohorts of 30 students every year. 2. Professional Development: Professional Development Teams in middle and high schools. 3. Teacher Education: Appalachian Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators -- (AAMTE) fall and spring conferences and a listserv, needs assessment of teacher education programs, and undergraduate courses online and telelink. 4. Research: Research agenda focused on mathematics education in rural contexts: a) stimulate research, b) oversee and coordinate data collection and analysis, c) publish or disseminate best practices, d) serve as a clearinghouse for research findings, publish a newsletter -- "The Rural Mathematics Educator." CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Long, Vena Michael Mays William Bush University of Tennessee Knoxville TN John S. Bradley Continuing grant 10667090 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119707 September 1, 2001 Planning and Development of the Birmingham Center for Teaching and Learning in Science, Math and Technology. This project is to build the institutional capacity and partnerships needed to develop a full center for teaching and learning at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A full center as it is envisioned will focus on issues of importance for teaching middle school science and mathematics in an urban setting. Included are such issues as the recruitment of second career professionals, upgrading the knowledge and skills of existing teachers through improved professional development programs, learning how to take advantage of the abundant resources of informal science institutions that tend to be located in urban settings, and improving the undergraduate preparation of science and math teachers. During this developmental project relationships will be developed with business, industry, the military and other sources of second-career teachers; a program will be developed to provide high school students with opportunities to teach science and mathematics to younger students; a leadership training program will be established to begin building the capacity to provide professional development to the teachers of Birmingham; and relationships will be developed with the McWane Science Center, existing outreach programs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Birmingham Public Schools. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Radford, David Tommy Smith University of Alabama at Birmingham AL Cheryl L. Mason Continuing grant 195196 9150 7181 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119731 September 15, 2001 West Virginia Center for Rural Mathematics & Science Integration: A Development Grant Proposal. This proposal is to build the institutional capactiy and partnerships needed to develop a full center for teaching and learning at West Virginia University. A full center as it is envisioned will focus on issues of importance for teaching science and mathematics in rural settings. These issues include aspects of geography, the importance of indigenous knowledge, infrastructure needs and limited financial resources. The center will also focus on ways to integrate and coordinate the various sciences, mathematics and technology content areas at the middle and high school levels, both within and across subject areas. During this developmental project a study group will be formed to assess the needs at each of eight regional math and science consortia (RMSCs) and another set of study groups will be formed to study issues of concern to the project. These include research on learning and teaching in rural settings, characterizing indigenous knowledge, ways to provide learning support to students with special needs, legislative and industrial support, barriers to implementation, professional development programs and interdisciplinary math and science content. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Pyle, Eric Phyllis Barnhart Diane Furman West Virginia University Research Corporation WV David B. Campbell Standard Grant 199788 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119732 October 1, 2001 Diversity in Mathematics Education: Building Infrastructure for Learning and Teaching Mathematics with Understanding. The Diversity in Mathematics Education Center for Learning and Teaching (DiME-CLT) is building an integrated program to develop and enhance the instructional workforce from kindergarten through graduate school. The program consists of three interrelated components: a doctoral/postdoctoral component; a teacher education component for teachers and instructional leaders; and a comprehensive research agenda. These components are integrated by a strong focus on the ideas of algebra and issues related to learners with diverse cultural, language and cognitive backgrounds. The Center is a consortium led by mathematics and education faculty of three research universities, two school-system partners, and a group of teacher professional development providers -- the University of Wisconsin--Madison, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, the Madison Metropolitan School District, the Berkeley Unified School District, and the California Subject Matter Project. The University of Wisconsin is the grantee institution. Two cohorts of 15 students are being recruited into the doctoral programs at the three institutions (five per institution). Four new courses are being developed to become a common core for these programs. Master's programs and existing in-service work with the Madison and Berkeley schools and the California Subject Matter Project are preparing a diverse group of mathematics teachers to assume leadership roles in their schools, districts and states. The centerpiece of the DiME-CLT is the community of scholars, including the faculty, doctoral and masters students, participating teachers, and undergraduates, who engage in the collective analysis of cases of mathematical learning and teaching using Web-based software. Cases are developed and placed on the common Web site and participants analyze the cases in multiple ways using different sets of theoretical lenses. This cross-institutional, cross-disciplinary collaboration is being studied as part of the Center's evaluation; the results of that study are being published so that other institutions can launch their own efforts at preparing people to teach mathematics to an increasingly diverse student population. PRES AWARDS FOR EXCEL IN SCIEN CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Carpenter, Thomas Rogers Hall Megan Franke University of Wisconsin-Madison WI John S. Bradley Continuing grant 11568725 7345 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119735 September 15, 2001 National Center for Learning about Teaching Mathematics and Science in Rural and Urban Settings (The Rural-Urban Center). Submitted under the guidelines for Developmental Centers for Learning and Teaching, this one-year project is a collaboration among Appalachian State University, Louisiana State University, Rice University and the University of Houston, Downtown. The universities will partner with school systems, museums, observatories and industries to provide a support network that will enhance the preparation and continuing professional development of teachers, while involving mathematicians, scientists and their students in mutually beneficial collaborative activities with teachers, their school systems and their students. All the institutions already have working relationships with school systems that serve at-risk students. Support by a foundation grant in their professional development of mathematics and science teachers first brought the four institutions together. As research aims, the proposed Center will explore two recurring themes: the importance of context (geographic, social, economic, etc.) and of informal enrichment of formal methods of instruction in learning mathematics and science. Working with science museums, observatories, school districts and industrial partners, they will develop plans to integrate and expand their science and mathematics education activities to address critical national needs in the following ways: * increase the quality and number of teachers of mathematics and science being prepared at the four partner universities through scholarships and increased opportunities for meaningful field-based experiences; * strengthen and extend mathematics and science programs for in-service teachers, especially in the development of support teachers -- those who will take leading roles in interactions with novice teachers and university students; * increase the quality and number of doctorates of mathematics and science education being prepared at LSU through scholarships and through internships with the other partner universities; develop fertile environments for research in mathematics and science education in the partner universities, schools, museums, and observatories; and support doctoral dissertation studies within this research environment. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Cartledge, Frank Ronald Good Gregory Foley Elnora Harcombe Michael Dressman Louisiana State University & Agricultural and Mechanical College LA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 194241 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119750 September 1, 2001 St. Louis Center for Learning and Teaching in Informal Settings: Developmental Phase. This development grant is a collaborative effort of three informal science education institutions (St. Louis Science Center, The Missouri Botanical Gardenand the Saint Louis Zoo), Washington University in St. Louis and St. Louis Public Schools. The project will build on and learn from elements of informal settings and free-choice learning to enhance learning and teaching in formal settings. Specific goals for the developmental period are to (1) strengthen the collaboration among the institutions; (2) test and refine ideas related to the focus on informal science institutions as a primary vehicle for SMT education in an urban setting; (3) identify strengths and barriers to existing and proposed professional development models; and (4) evaluate the models. To accomplish the goals, the collaborating institutions will conduct a series of focus groups, identify and bring together other potential partners, commission a case study by the John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University for a supply warehouse to circulate hands-on science supplies for classroom use, and develop a model for reciprocal internships between schools and the informal sites. They will continue to refine their research goals of identifying the most appropriate combination of informal science institution and formal institutional attributes which will result in the most effective science and mathematics learning for students and professional development for teachers. The developmental project will also allow for the further development of graduate level courses focused on the effective use of informal science institution resources in formal settings. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Klein, Christine Phyllis Balcerzak James Jordan Barbara Addelson St Louis Science Center MO Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 199857 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119786 October 1, 2001 The Center for Learning and Teaching in the West. The Center for Learning and Teaching in the West (CLT-West) is a consortium of five universities -- Montana State University, Portland State University, the University of Montana, Colorado State University, and the University of Northern Colorado -- formed to meet the needs of underrepresented students who have traditionally not benefited from SMET educational reform. It includes partnerships with Ft. Belknap College in Montana, other community and tribal colleges, Portland Public Schools, and sixty-eight rural and reservation schools in Montana and Colorado. The project's goals are to increase the number of qualified mathematics and science teachers; provide professional development and support to math and science teachers in low-income and high minority schools in the West's inner city and rural schools; investigate how technology can improve graduate education programs; and prepare leaders in science and mathematics education. The project addresses CLT program goals in a variety of ways. It builds an infrastructure that is likely to be institutionalized in these states and supports new approaches to reaching a broader community. CLT-West establishes "Fellows", a multi-disciplinary group of pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students, and "Faculty Fellows" to conduct research, team teach new courses, work with colleagues on the reform of upper division science and mathematics courses for preservice teachers and/or provide professional development to schools and districts involved with the Center. The Center will educate 75 pre-doctoral and post-doctoral students. In addition, the professional development plan will impact 520 math and science teachers with programs consistent with the Center's goals yet catered to the local needs. Those teachers come from schools that serve just under 40,000 students, who are predominantly from underrepresented groups in SMET. The extensive collaborative effort across departments, campuses and states is a model for sharing expertise, curricula and reform methods, and the utilization of technology to maximize learning. CLT-West's work with targeted populations and districts should produce a national research base for connecting university and college faculties with the needs of underrepresented students in science and mathematics. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Swanson, Elisabeth Michael Cummings Kathryn Cochran Georgia Cobbs Montana State University MT Michael Haney Continuing grant 11195655 7181 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119787 January 1, 2002 Center for Informal Learning and Schools. The Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS) is a five-year collaborative effort between the Exploratorium in San Francisco, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and King's College London. The purpose of the Center is to study the intersection of informal science learning that takes place in museums and science centers and formal learning that takes place in schools, and to prepare leaders in informal science education. Through the efforts of the center, new doctoral level leaders will be prepared who understand how informal science learning takes place and how informal institutions can contribute to science education reform. A Ph.D. program will be offered to 16 individuals at King's College London (two cohorts of eight) and a post-doctoral program to six scientists interested in issues of learning and teaching in informal settings. A doctoral program is planned at the University of California at Santa Cruz for 24 students, 12 whose interests are primarily in education and 12 who come from the sciences. In addition to doctoral level training, there will be a certification program for existing informal science professionals to better enable them to support teachers, students and the general public. That program will provide 160 informal science educators 120 hours of professional development experiences, and an additional 24 informal science educators with a master's degree in informal science education at UC Santa Cruz. A Bay Area Institute will be developed to serve as a central focus for all CILS activities. It will bring together researchers and practitioners; it will offer courses and workshops for graduate students; and it will provide a central location for reporting research findings and methodologies that focus on how informal learning institutions can best contribute to science education reform. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Semper, Robert Lynda Goff Jonathan Osborne Rodney Ogawa Exploratorium CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 11656749 T245 7271 7259 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0119790 September 1, 2001 Center for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning. The Center for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning (CAESL) addresses the national need for increasing the assessment capacity within the K-12 science education system. Increasing "assessment capacity" means enhancing the expertise, designs, structures and supports that enable local districts and schools to use assessment as a critical tool for enhancing science learning. The primary focus of the Center will be classroom assessment practices. However, because of the enormous pressure that standardized and/or state-mandated assessments place on students and teachers, the project also seeks to better align large-scale assessments with ongoing formative classroom assessments that inform teaching and improve learning. The Center is a collaboration among: the Concord Consortium; the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST)/University of California, Los Angeles; Stanford University; Lawrence Hall of Science; the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley; and WestEd, who will act as the coordinator. There are several major school district partners that will collaborate with the Center and serve as testbeds for Center activities and resources. The project also works with San Jose State University, a major teacher preparation institution, to co-develop and integrate a variety of assessment resources into its preservice and graduate programs. The Center's graduate programs are aimed to make significant practical, conceptual and methodological contributions to the assessment of science learning and achievement. The Graduate Schools of Education at UC-Berkeley, UCLA and Stanford will develop a cooperative approach to the masters and doctoral programs to be called the Learning and Assessment Program (LAP) for 43 students. The LAP includes a series of core courses on science, learning, cognition and assessment; testing and assessment; and curriculum, teaching and assessment. Students can "telecommute" to take courses at institutions other than their own, and all students will participate in a practicum on assessment development. The professional development component will be led by the Lawrence Hall of Science, the Concord Consortium, and WestEd. Participating districts will be part of three-year cohorts and assemble teams of teachers and district administrators who will participate in 15 days of professional development each year over three years, along with follow-up sessions at school sites. The professional development focuses on testing and using formative classroom assessments. Experiences and products developed as part of this component will be disseminated widely to other schools or districts through the extensive networks of the Lawrence Hall and WestEd. The applied research component examines (1) the formative and summative assessment strategies that most effectively increase student learning and understanding; and (2) how educational technology can enhance assessment practices. Finally, the project targets public understanding of assessment and the Lawrence Hall of Science and CRESST/UCLA will mount a public outreach effort that translates the work of the Center for school administrators, parents and community members. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Schneider, Steven Richard Shavelson Robert Tinker Jacqueline Barber Joan Herman WestEd CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 12683403 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0120259 September 1, 2001 Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education: The Sacred Balance. The Wildlands Project is producing a four-hour television series for PBS and the CBC. The television series, "The Sacred Balance," will feature geneticist and environmental scientist David Suzuki as he examines a new vision of the human place in nature. The series aims to enrich and expand the scientific world view by looking at traditional knowledge, myth, literature and art, and by incorporating aspects of human spirituality into the insights presented by science. The aim of the project is to show that the world-view human beings have celebrated since ancient times is reemerging, transformed, from the laboratories of modern science. Moving away from reductionist techniques, researchers from many different disciplines are studying diversity, whole organisms, systems and relationships that begin in the individual cell and extend to the entire planet. The television series is designed to change the way the public acts in the world by demonstrating that what we do to the Earth we do to ourselves. Dr. Suzuki will work closely with an advisory committee in shaping the series. The members of this committee include: Lane Lubchenco: Professor of Marine Biology and Zoology, Oregon State University David Schindler: Environmental Ecologist, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta E. O. Wilson: Biologist, Harvard University Sylvia Earl: Marine Ecologist and "Explorer in Residence" at the National Geographic Society, Washington, DC James Parks Morton: Former Dean, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, currently at the Interfaith Center of New York The television series will be supplemented by a new, interactive Sacred Balance website and a teachers guide. Ancillary material also will include Dr. Suzuki's trade book, "The Sacred Balance." INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Suzuki, David Amanda McConnell Robert Lang The Wildlands Project AZ Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1144841 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0120282 May 1, 2001 ADOLESCENT HEALTH AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Muller, Chandra National Institute of Health Natl Inst of Child Hlth & Human Dev DC Larry E. Suter Interagency Agreement 50000 1666 SMET 9177 0120495 September 1, 2001 The Zoo Exhibit Collaborative -- A Planning Grant. The Indianapolis Zoo, in collaboration with the Metro Toronto Zoo, the Milwaukee Public Zoo, the Phoenix Zoo, the Oregon Zoo and the Fort Worth Zoo will engage in a planning effort to enable the group of zoos to form the Zoo Exhibit Collaborative. The Collaborative will develop a series of traveling exhibitions and collateral materials at member zoos and for the broader zoo and acquarium industry. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bonner, Jeffrey Paul Richard Indianapolis Zoological Society Inc IN Barry A. Van Deman Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0120542 September 1, 2001 The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program. The Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education initiated the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program in 1990. This program provides outstanding secondary mathematics and science teachers with an opportunity to serve in the national public policy arena. NSF funding will support an Einstein Fellow in the Informal Science Education (ISE) program. The Fellow will bring practical insight derived from being a classroom teacher to ISE and contribute to the program development and management. The ISE program supports large regional and national projects targeting informal learners that include linkages to formal education. The Einstein Fellow can contribute feasible suggestions on how those linkages can occur, while learning about the proposal development, submission, peer review and award process. The 11-month experience will enable the educator to learn about the field of informal science education from a national perspective through direct interaction with practitioners and participation in professional development. Collegial exchange occurs monthly as Fellows serving in other Federal agencies meet to discuss their experiences. Additionally, participants are required to submit three written reports to document their experiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR White, J. Patrick Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education VA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 76802 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0120829 August 1, 2001 Jewel of the Pantanal: A Planning Grant for a Large Format Film. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History is developing a large format film on the Pantanal in Brazil, the world's largest wetland. The film will focus on the Hyacinth Macaw, an indicator species whose health reflects the health of the entire ecosystem, and will explore the relationship between the climate, geology, hydrology and ecology of the region. It also will examine three threats to the region: a large scale river channeling project which would drain 50% of the marsh, gold mining activities that dump millions of tons of sediment into streams, and large-scale corporate farming which pollutes the region with pesticide and fertilizer run-off. Science content for the series will be under the direction of Dr. Richard Smartt, former Director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. The series will be co-produced by Timothy Aydelott, from the museum, and Constance Bennecke, an independent producer in Brazil. Barrie Howells will be executive producer and Rodney Taylor will be director of photography. Both Mr. Howells and Mr. Taylor have extensive large format film experience. Ralph Adler of RMC Research will conduct audience research during the planning phase The major activities during the planning stage include: Conducting audience research to determine the familiarity of the public with the ecosystem and with the concepts to be presented in the film. In addition to topic testing, the research will assess the audience's current knowledge or misconceptions about wetland ecosystems and the Pantanal. Convening the project advisors to develop the science content, finalize content goals, and to suggest ideas and strategies for presenting the science. Attending a regional planning conference in the Pantanal to establish working relationships with scientists in the field. Developing a script treatment for the film. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Aydelott, Timothy New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation NM Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 48814 7259 SMET 9180 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0121508 June 1, 2001 Design, Research, Re-Design: The Next Generation of Curriculum Implementation Centers -- A Three-day Conference to be held in Annapolis, Maryland, July 2001. This conference grant will conduct and document a conference that brings together teams from the eight NSF funded Implementation and Dissemination Centers and key leaders from curriculum development projects, to share "lessons learned" as they have made efforts to increase the use of research-based curricula across the country. These are relatively new projects and there is great interest in them as possible vehicles for assistance to states and school districts. The conference, to be held in July 2001, is therefore extremely timely. A white paper will be produced that captures successful approaches and strategies. This paper will be helpful to the field in providing documentation about successful and promising approaches to implementing curriculum reform. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR St. John, Mark Inverness Research, Inc. CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 115406 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0122038 September 15, 2001 Developing a Coherent View of Models of Research-based Urban Systemic Reform in Science and Mathematics Education using Technology: An invitational working meeting. This is a proposal for a two-day meeting. The meeting will host system reform researchers in science, mathematics emphasizing technology. These researchers represent a number of distinct disciplines including mathematics and science education, organization research, technology and policy. The goal of the meeting is to produce a working research framework by taking stock of the research from these cross-disciplinary fields. The framework will bring some coherence to the systemic movement from the perspective of research. The deliverable will be a report that compares and contrasts what research models work and don't work in an effort to better map this now burgeoning field. The ultimate deliverable will be a series of adaptation studies that will shed light on the possibility for research based systemic studies fundable in ROLE's quadrant IV. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Confrey, Jere Jill Marshall University of Texas at Austin TX Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 44035 1666 SMET 9177 0122935 April 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Resources for Environmental Literacy -- A Planning Grant. This is a proposal for a planning grant that aims to prepare a full proposal in the future to develop professional development materials for teachers in the area of environmental science. Most of the funds requested in the planning grant are to assemble a group of scientists, science educators (some of whom have led the development of national standards in science, math, and geography) and teachers for a two-day conference. The purpose of the conference is to develop a synthesis of best practices toward education about the environment. The ultimate goal is to produce a publication (tentatively titled "Resources for Environmental Literacy') that will identify the concepts and principles every American should know in order to make thoughtful public and private choices; to participate in a rational discourse about issues related to the environment; and to appreciate the interrelation of the human and natural worlds. This publication will assist teachers by demonstrating how environmental knowledge can be achieved through the integration and application of learning across the disciplines, on issues that are of considerable interest and great importance to students TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Wheeler, Gerald Shirley Ireton National Science Teachers Assoc VA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 48203 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0122948 September 1, 2001 Rural Systemic Initiatives in Science, Mathematics,and Technology Education - RSI: Leadership Development for Master Teachers. ABSTRACT--TMCC LDMT The project would work with teachers who are involved in the RSI reform. It would provide professional development opportunities to the teachers in the RSI schools, and would develop and institutionalize standards-based curriculum for reservation schools. These activities are strongly aligned with the goals of the RSI project. The professional development offered to teachers would be heavily content-oriented, with some pedagogical training. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Davis, Carol Turtle Mountain Community College ND Lura J. Chase Standard Grant 749107 7366 1538 SMET 9177 9150 0122974 September 1, 2001 Rural Systemic Initiatives in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education - RSI: SKC Leadership Development for Master Teachers. ABSTRACT The project would work with teachers who are involved in the RSI reform. It would provide professional development opportunities to the teachers in the RSI schools, and would develop a culturally-relevant, standards-based curriculum for reservation schools. These activities are strongly aligned with the goals of the RSI project. The professional development offered to teachers would be heavily content-oriented, with some pedagogical training. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR McClure, Roger Regina Sievert Salish Kootenai College MT Lura J. Chase Standard Grant 884444 7366 1538 SMET 9177 9150 0123072 September 1, 2001 Rural Systemic Initiatives in Science, Mathematics,and Technology Education - RSI: Leadership Fellows for the Texas Rural Systemic Initiative. Abstract The Texas Rural Systemic Initiative (TRSI) currently has 450 Teacher Partners roughly divided into 5 regions. The Leadership Development Project intends to select 15 members of this group to give them three years of training to become Leadership Fellows. The group will be diverse in geography (around the state, distributed among the regions), area of expertise (science or mathematics) and grade level (elementary or secondary). The members will commit to the three-years of training up-front. Given the dire need for science and mathematics teachers, especially in rural areas, the Leadership Project opted not to seek the release of teachers from the classroom any more than necessary. The potential Leadership Fellows would participate in the TRSI Leadership Academy for the 3 years. They would be required to participate each year in three four-day intensive sessions, and in addition a one-week summer session at the Texas A & M campus in Corpus Christie. These leadership sessions would emphasize leadership strands as well as major topics associated with systemic reform. The Fellows will form regional groups mentored by regional science and mathematics specialists. The Fellows will be under a learn, implement, share dictum, and thus will be encouraged to communicate with and support each other, especially within regional groups. Electronic communication on a regular basis will be encouraged. There will be a TRSI Leadership Fellows Advisory Board and each of the Fellows will select an advisor from this board. Under the guide of this advisor, the Leader will work on a Fellowship Project with the intent of impacting their school or district. The first year each Fellow will develop their project, which will be implemented in each of the following two years of the project. The evaluator for the Texas RSI will act in the same function for the Leadership Academy. The main source of dissemination is intended to be the Fellows themselves-both through their pronouncement of learn, implement, share, and their expected return to the Leadership Academy to help train future leaders. H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS DRL EHR Spaulding, Angela Judy Kelley Norma Neely Eddie Henderson Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Lura J. Chase Standard Grant 750000 1748 SMET 9177 0123112 September 1, 2001 Rural Systemic Initiatives in Science, Mathematics,and Technology Education - RSI: Leadership for Science and Mathematics Program Improvement Through Master Teachers. ABSTRACT The project would work with teachers who are involved in the RSI reform. It would provide professional development opportunities to the teachers in the RSI schools, and would develop a sustainable leadership component for the central Appalachian region. These activities are strongly aligned with the goals of the RSI project. The professional development offered to teachers would be heavily content-oriented, with some pedagogical training. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS DRL EHR Zeidler, Kimberly University of Kentucky Research Foundation KY Lura J. Chase Standard Grant 1205450 7366 1748 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0123284 September 15, 2001 Collaborative Research: Developing Pedagogy for Wireless Calculator Networks. This SGER is to investigate "to what degree it is feasible, given to the constraints of a typical in-service teacher enhancement program, to teach high school mathematics teachers to use a CCS [Classroom Communication System] effectively and make their teaching become more learner-centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered." The research is tied to the release of a new generation of networkable calculators within the past few months and a unique opportunity to work with teachers this summer who are being introduced to this technology. The PIs are researching how readily teachers change their teaching to incorporate some of the opportunities provided by this technology. Follow-up visits to classrooms are included. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Abrahamson, A. Louis Better Education Inc VA Michael Haney Standard Grant 17865 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0123391 July 1, 2001 Collaborative Research: Developing Pedagogy for Wireless Calculator Networks. This SGER is to investigate "to what degree it is feasible, given the constraints of a typical in-service Teacher Enhancement program, to teach high school mathematics teachers to use a CCS [Classroom Communication System] effectively and make their teaching become more learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered and community-centered." The research is tied to the release of a new generation of networkable calculators within the past few months and a unique opportunity to work with teachers this summer who are being introduced to this technology. The PIs are researching how readily teachers change their teaching to incorporate some of the opportunities provided by this technology. Follow-up visits to classrooms are included. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Owens, Douglas Franklin Demana Ohio State University Research Foundation OH Michael Haney Standard Grant 78369 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0123530 December 15, 2001 US-Russian Working Forum on Elementary Mathematics: "Is the Elkonin-Davydov Curriculum a Model for the U.S.?" -- A Conference to Convene at the University of Hawaii, January, 2002. This project will carry out an invitational conference for 35 U.S. and Russian experts in mathematics education, mathematics, materials development and psychology in late January, 2002. The conference will determine the usefulness of the Elkonin-Davydov mathematics curriculum for the U.S. The conference, a collaborative project of a non-profit organization with expertise in international education (Best Practices in Education) and the University of Hawaii's Curriculum Research and Development Group, is expected to be the first phase of a multi-year effort in curriculum analysis, materials development, field testing and professional development. The project will investigate how the key features of the Russian (Elkonin-Davydov) curriculum, with its emphasis on mathematics as an integrated whole and its foundation in Russian research on mathematics learning, make it responsive to concerns that traditional U.S. curricula are fragmented and lack a sound basis in research. The results of the project will be published by Information Age Publishing Company. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE PROGR DRL EHR Richardson, Gail Best Practices in Education NY Karen D. King Standard Grant 216271 7355 5979 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0123719 July 30, 2001 Intergovernmental Detail. Interagency Detail DRL EHR Davis, Anselm Bureau of Indian Affairs NM Celestine Pea Personnel Agreement 81415 0119 OTHR 0000 0124010 October 1, 2001 Enhancing collaborative learning among researchers, practitioners, and students at CSCL 2002. This request would support college students (graduate and undergraduate) to attend an international conference on "Computer Support for Collaborative Learning" (CSCL) of about 700 researchers and practitioners in Boulder Colorado in January 2002. The theme for the conference is: foundations of the research field in theory, technology, methodology, and community building. The requested funds will support activities at conference such as creating a "community memory" which involves digital video, the Web, and DVD media to capture and disseminate ideas from the conference. It will also support activities that involve teachers directly in the conference process in order to provide the other participants with the perspective of practitioners. Also, it will support a doctoral consortium to introduce graduate students to the research community as they explain their dissertation work. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Fischer, Gerhard Hal Eden Gerry Stahl University of Colorado at Boulder CO Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 49860 1666 SMET 9177 0125087 January 1, 2002 Earth & Sky's 'I Wonder' series. EarthTalk Incorporated will be producing three seasons of "I Wonder," 225 ninety-second radio programs that answer listeners' questions about science. Questions will be collected from listeners via the projects' web site, by mail, and during special "field recording events" in which questions are solicited from museum visitors at nine science centers across the nation. Each program will feature a listener's science question with its answer provided by interviews with scientists/experts. "I Wonder" will be carried on the over 700 public and commercial radio stations that currently broadcast the producers' "Earth and Sky" radio series. Ancillary support for the series will be provided by a special "I Wonder" section of Earth & Sky Online and direct mailing of the nine "I Wonder" CDs to 90,000 classroom teachers. Promotion for the series will include placement of print ads that are timed with the field recording events. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Byrd, Deborah Ryan Britton Earth & Sky, Inc TX Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 820564 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125171 January 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Nature in the City -- A Planning Grant. The Bell Museum of Natural History is seeking a planning grant to begin the exhibit development process for a national traveling exhibit on nature in urban settings. "Nature in the City" will be designed to encourage the exploration of diversity of life in the city in the same way ecologist study ecosystems. The overall goal of the exhibit is to improve the public's understanding of ecology and biodiversity, and the relevance of these concepts to their lives in creating healthier and ecologically sustainable communities. The project will include front-end evaluation, identification of key themes and take-home messages, and a survey of potential host sites. The target audience assessment will examine interest, knowledge and attitudes about nature and the environment among urban audiences. Methodology will include interviews with community members, focus groups and surveys, all conducted in collaboration with museum staff and community groups. The results will be applied to the design of the 3000 sq. ft. "Nature in the City" traveling exhibit, mini-kiosks and supporting programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Luce, Donald University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN David A. Ucko Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125287 October 1, 2001 ROLE: Facilitating the Understanding of Complex Adaptive Systems Through Computer Simulations. Interactive computer simulations are increasingly being used to teach students scientific principles, but relatively little systematic research has done on the factors that make a simulation pedagogically effective. This research explores how to design a computer simulation so that students learn the scientific principle underlying it, and transfer this principle to new domains. Principles from the interdisciplinary science of complex adaptive systems are chosen because these mathematical formalisms are applicable across a wide range of domains. Laboratory experiments with students will explore how active exploration of one simulation benefits or hinders understanding of a subsequently presented simulation based on the same principle. Experiments will explore the roles of concreteness and idealization, simulation similarity, and individual differences in abstract transfer. The scientific goal of the inquiry is to gain an understanding of how perceptual experience can lead to abstract conceptual understanding, and how conceptual understanding can change perceptual experience. The practical goal is to translate this understanding into general educational principles for integrating computer simulations into classroom activities. DRL EHR Goldstone, Robert Kelly Mix Indiana University IN Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 330910 7256 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0125350 January 1, 2002 The Educational Attainment of Asian Americans: A Generational Approach. The researcher would conduct studies of the educational attainment of Asian Americans of different generations from existing longitudinal data bases of high school and college students. School performance includes the outcome of science, mathematics, English, and social studies learning. The intent of the study is to help understand whether and how Asian immigrants and their succeeding generations achieve educational mobility in particular to help identify factors that contribute to the differential outcomes of science and mathematics learning among different generations. The study should help inform policies regarding the role of public education institutions in providing education for new Americans. This project will produce papers that will be published in academic literature and distributed to government agencies. It will be of interest to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Yang, Philip Texas Woman's University TX Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 57013 1666 SMET 9177 0125363 June 1, 2002 Enhancing and Assessing Spatial Cognition through Computational Craftwork. When professional mathematicians and scientists discuss the nature and origins of their own creativity, they often mention the central role played by visual and spatial thinking. But despite the apparent importance of visual/spatial cognition in mathematics and science education, there is still relatively little research aimed at understanding, enhancing, and assessing spatial reasoning in math and science students. Even more, there are few efforts that seek to blend novel computational media with the sorts of spatially and mathematically rich hands-on crafting activities that influenced and motivated earlier generations of scientists. We believe that progress can be made on both these fronts--on both basic cognitive research and pedagogical development--by an effort at integration. That is: by designing playful, creative, and technologically sophisticated educational materials for exercising and enhancing spatial cognition, we can use those materials as the means to explore and understand fundamental issues in spatial cognition as well. In the course of this project, then, we plan to: * Characterize the nature of spatial expertise in the understanding of three-dimensional forms, while creating flexible assessment techniques to measure development of that expertise; * Devise a practical spatial curriculum of materials designed to enhance and exercise spatial cognition. This curriculum will be based on a combination of both hands-on work and creative computational papercrafting activities. * Extend our current software research environments (HyperGami and JavaGami) to incorporate online spatial advisors that assist students in reflecting upon, understanding, playing with, and interpreting three-dimensional polyhedral forms; and * Create new software to explore both traditional and novel realms of mathematical papercrafting, such as pop-ups, flexagons, anamorphic art, and surface models. In exploring these areas, we seek to expand the landscape of traditional mathematical papercrafts by exploiting the creative potential of computational media. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Eisenberg, Michael University of Colorado at Boulder CO Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 305620 1666 SMET 9177 0125417 June 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: "Invention at Play". The Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention in cooperation with the Playful Invention and Exploration Network (a consortium of six museums) will develop "Invention at Play." This will be a traveling exhibit in two sizes (3,500 sq. ft. & 1,500 sq. ft.) exploring the value of play and its critical role in the development of creative human beings. Audiences will a) learn how play fosters creative talents among children as well as adults; b) experience their own playful and inventive abilities; and c) understand how children's play parallels processes used by innovators in science and technology. The exhibit will be divided into three sections: 1) the "Invention Playhouse" where visitors will be offered a variety of creative play activities to help them understand how playing builds creative and inventive skills; 2) "Case Study Clusters" where visitors will learn about the playful habits of five inventors, and 3) "Issues in Invention and Play" where visitors learn about ideas and debates among theorists who have linked inventive processes to children's play. This exhibit is based on documentation collected by the Lemelson Center since 1995 from and about inventors of the past and present, and symposia they have organized to examine the characteristics of innovative processes. This research has led to new insights into remarkable parallels between children's play and the way inventors approach their work. A series of complementary educational activities and programs will be developed and documented in an Educational Manual. These programs will be aimed at diverse audiences including families, parents, teachers and other groups in science and children's museums nationwide and will help extend the impact of the exhibit theme beyond the exhibit itself. Teacher workshops will be developed and arranged for each venue along with a special teacher's manual that will be distributed during exhibit-related school events offering a variety of activities on the themes of inventive play, creative model of problem solving, and exemplary tales of playful events and habits in the lives of interesting American inventors. RK & Associates have done the front-end audience surveys for this project and will do the summative and remedial evaluation work. The exhibit prototyping will be done by the Science Museum of Minnesota exhibit contractors. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Smith, Monica Smithsonian Institution VA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1593241 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125471 May 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Greek Odyssey. MacGillivray Freeman Films is producing and distributing "Greek Odyssey," a large-format film presenting archaeology as a sophisticated, precise science that utilizes highly advanced technologies to reconstruct the past. The film will examine research in Athens, the Greek islands and beneath the Aegean Sea where archaeologists, geophysicists and conservationists collaborate to solve and record the mysteries of ancient civilizations. Audiences will discover the process and importance of scientific research to our understanding of Greece's past and its extraordinary influence on our world today. Outreach will include a Museum Resource Guide, Family Fun Sheet, Teacher's Guide, Website and a Scientist Speaker Series. Greg MacGillivray will serve as Co-Producer/Director/Director of Photography, Alec Lorimore will be Co-Producer, and Stephen Judson will be the film editor. The Lead Science Advisor is Mark Rose, a member of the Archaeological Institute of America and Managing Editor of Archaeology magazine. Science advisors include: George Bass, Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Texas A & M University; Sandy MacGillivray, Co-Director of Palaikastro excavations on Crete; and Floyd McCoy, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaii. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR MacGillivray, Greg MacGillivray Freeman Films CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2200000 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125485 February 15, 2002 "Rough Science" -- A New Science Series for Television. The Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association (WETA) in partnership with BBC2 and the Open University, is producing ten half-hour television programs that explore the reality of scientific discovery. In each episode, five scientists who have been abandoned on a deserted island solve science-based challenges using only their collective expertise, wits, the island's resources and a few basic tools. In one episode, for instance, the scientists will need to: 1) calculate their location with the exact latitude and longitude, 2) create insect repellant, and 3) design and build a homemade radio. The programs capture both the disappointments of experiments that go wrong as well as the joy and excitement of success. The television series will be supported by "Rough Science Adventures," field experiences where members of the public solve challenges similar to those facing the scientists in the television program, and by a Rough Science website. Outreach partners include the New York Hall of Science, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the International Educational Technology Association. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bieber, Jeffrey Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association VA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 495607 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125545 April 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Investigating the Long Term Impact of a Science Center on Its Community. The goal of this project is to make a fundamental contribution towards a nationally shared understanding of the role and impact of a science center in facilitating enhanced public understanding, attitudes and behaviors toward science by means of informal learning activities. To accomplish this, this research project will investigate the following questions: 1) What are the specific long-term changes in science understanding, attitudes and behaviors that result from visiting a science center exhibition? 2) What are the factors that contribute to these long-term changes? 3) What is the relationship between science center visits and subsequent reinforcing educational experiences? This study will build on previous work conducted by ILI at the California Science Center aimed at understanding how a science center impacts its community. These studies are known collectively as the Los Angeles Science Education Research Project (LASER). A sample of participants in one of the LASER studies has expressed their willingness to participate in subsequent interviews. These interviews will be designed to capture both small and large changes in science understanding, attitudes, behaviors and other informal learning experiences subsequent to the visit to the science center. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Falk, John David Bibas Institute for Learning Innovation Incorporated MD Dorothea W. Hanchar Continuing grant 162364 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125547 October 1, 2001 ROLE: An Engineering Design Expertise Continuum: Filling it in and Linking it to Education Practice. This project will take a research-informed approach to understanding how undergraduate engineering majors progress in their studies of engineering design. Its goal is to better understand and describe design expertise and a learner's growth towards acquiring that expertise. In this work, the investigators intend to undertake research in three areas: (1) The development of a continuum of design expertise as a way of describing learners' growth toward acquiring expertise, (2) A study of design expertise that will provide information to help populate the continuum, and (3) The demonstration of a research-informed approach in design education through the use of the continuum to enhance and assess student learning of engineering design during their cooperative (coop) experiences. This research should help us to better understand how students learn design principles in engineering, and the continuum, itself, may be of great help to engineering faculty in their efforts to teach design. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Atman, Cynthia Jennifer Turns Robin Adams University of Washington WA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 538196 1666 SMET 9251 9177 9152 0116000 Human Subjects 0125582 January 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Garden Mosaics. The Garden Mosaics program will develop and test a model in which youth conduct research on community and home gardens in urban settings. Youth ages 11-18 will be recruited to participate in gardening activities in conjunction with elders from their communities. Students learn the science content associated with organismal biology, community ecology, ecosystems and the physical environment, as well as culturally-related food growing practices. Participants then take part in guided research; using methods such as transect walks, mapping, ecosystem models and soil tests, to document food-growing practices of immigrant minority and traditional gardeners. Expanded research investigations will be open to students who want to continue their explorations using the Internet and other resources. Students contribute to new and existing databases of ethnic and heritage gardening practices in the United States. Materials to be developed include an Educator's Manual, a Youth Handbook and a Garden Mosaics website. During the pilot phase a national leadership team will be established to test the program and materials at 10 sites in different cities across the U.S. including San Antonio, Baltimore, Boston, Sacramento, New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. It is anticipated that the dissemination of this model will reach more than 750 educators and 13,000 youth. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Krasny, Marianne Alan Berkowitz Gretchen Ferenz Cornell University - State NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1539891 7298 7259 SMET OTHR 9177 7259 5976 1066 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125633 January 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Birds in the 'Hood / Aves del Barrio. "Birds in the Hood" or "Aves del Barrio" builds on the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's (CLO) successful Project Pigeon Watch, and will result in the creation of a web-based citizen science program for urban residents. The primary target audience is urban youth, with an emphasis on those participating in programs at science centers and educational organizations in Philadelphia, Tampa, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Participants will develop science process skills, improve their understanding of scientific processes and design research projects while collecting, submitting and retrieving data on birds found in urban habitats. The three project options include a.) mapping of pigeon and dove habitats and sightings, b.) identifying and counting gulls and c.) recording habitat and bird count data for birds in the local community. Birds in the Hood will support CLO's Urban Bird Studies initiative by contributing data on population, community and landscape level effects on birds. Support materials are web-based, bilingual and include downloadable instructions, tally sheets, exercises and results. The website will also include a web-based magazine with project results and participant contributions. A training video and full color identification posters will also be produced. The program will be piloted at five sites in year one, and then field-tested at 13 sites in year two. Regional dissemination and training will occur in year three. It is anticipated that 5,000 urban bird study groups will be in place by the end of the funding period, representing nearly 50,000 individuals. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bonney, Richard John Fitzpatrick Melinda LaBranche Cornell University - State NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1019603 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125641 February 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: ZOOMsci Club (ZOOM Season V). The ZOOM children's television series, which reaches over 5.4 million children each week, teaches viewers the scientific processes as well as delivering science and mathematics content. The outreach materials and activities provide viewers with opportunities to explore, experiment and share their creativity. WGBH is requesting $1,303,776 of a total budget of $3,977,936 to produce 20 new shows for the ZOOM series. There also will be a new ZOOM campaign, the ZOOMsci Club, which will provide a unique way for kids to deepen their science and math knowledge while engaged in ZOOM's hands-on activities. The campaign includes: the new television programs, new print materials and outreach activities, and a new area of the ZOOM website that includes an on-line forum for kids to share results of their experimentation. ZOOM has been chosen by PBS as the first children's "local/national" show. This PBS initiative capitalizes on the strength of local public television stations and provides the opportunity for stations to customize ZOOM to serve the needs of their local markets. The stations can produce and insert segments that honor local kids for their volunteer activities and feature local kids answering questions. Stations also can localize outreach activities, producing their own local ZOOM websites and launching ZOOM Into Action campaigns to motivate kids to volunteer. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sullivan, Brigid Kate Taylor WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1303776 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125652 July 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education: Conceptualizing and Assessing Web-based Informal Science Learning. The Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh has designed a research project to examine the process of and outcomes of informal (out of school) web-based learning. "Conceptualizing and Assessing Web-based Informal Science Education" will be a three-year research study to document and analyze how the informal learner, both as an individual and in a social group, uses and learns from web-based activities. The PIs will also develop a framework and tools for evaluating informal web-based learning environments and guidelines for effective web-based learning activities. This research will use web sites developed by museums and that are complementary to exhibits in those museums. These sites are being selected because according to the PIs, "museums and other nonprofit developers are already going beyond traditional content to create true virtual informal learning environments." The outcomes of this research will include a better understanding of the cognitive and social processes that occur as learners engage in web-based activities; a framework and tools for evaluating informal web-based learning activities; and a web-based annotated bibliography relevant to this research. PROGRAM EVALUATION INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Crowley, Kevin Gaea Leinhardt University of Pittsburgh PA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 785615 7261 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125661 February 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: A Media and Discussion Project: The Research Revolution and the Shaping of Modern Life. National Video Resources, in collaboration with the American Library Association and the History of Science Society, is developing and implementing six-week discussion programs at 100 libraries across the country. The "Research Revolution and the Shaping of Modern Life" discussions will illuminate the organization and goals of scientific-technical work, the critical outcomes of research and development, the material and social byproducts of such work, and the ethical issues that sometimes result. During the program participants will screen and discuss documentary films on topics such as: an introduction to the rise of organized laboratory research and its results; new developments in quantum technologies and nanotechnology; recent developments in materials science and how artificially created materials have defined a modern way of life; the impact of genetic engineering and the Human Genome Project; medical imaging from x-rays to MRIs and CT-scans; and the science of meteorology and the problems of global climate change. Discussions will be lead by local scholars from Universities and research laboratories located near a participating library. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mason Robinson, Sally National Video Resources, Inc. NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 664302 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125693 January 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Forging Partnerships with Libraries: 'Explore!' and 'Fun with Science'. The Lunar and Planetary Institute will expand a successful pilot program in which libraries in Texas and Louisiana are used as community learning centers. The program is two-fold and includes both "Explore!" resource materials and "Fun with Science" modules. "Explore!" materials are a collection of space science posters, brochures, fact sheets, videotapes and references. These resources are disseminated to librarians for use as part of their collections and to support the "Fun with Science" modules. "Fun with Science" consists of eight space science modules that librarians are trained to use in after-school and summer youth programs. Module topics include rocketry, comets, impact cratering, remote sensing and space capsule design. Each year, 3-4 new modules will be produced. Librarians receive training on content, activities and NASA resources in 2-3 day sessions. The dissemination plan would enable the program to expand to include public libraries in Texas, Illinois (Chicago) and South Carolina, as well as school libraries as a secondary audience. Rural sites will be targeted and distance learning will be used for training when possible. CD ROMs containing the modules, training videos and a website will be developed to support this project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Shipp, Stephanie Mary Noel Mary Hager Universities Space Research Association MD Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 555332 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125702 January 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: What If? Models, Predications, and Scenarios. SoundPrint Media Center is producing a testing a pilot of a radio project that would examine mathematical models used to simulate phenomena, make predictions and generate scenarios. During the "What If: Models, Predications and Scenarios" pilot phase, SoundPrint will produce and test two half-hour documentaries, follow-up radio updates, and a plan for a web-based model simulation and educational resources. Educational Support Services will conduct evaluation of the pilot materials to determine: the programs' ability to translate complicated mathematical and scientific ideas through a storytelling approach, the types of models that best lend themselves to illustrate those concepts, and the degree to which the documentaries as stand alone stories have an impact on listeners. The formative evaluation also will test a website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Rankin, Moira Anna Maria de Freitas Soundprint Media Center, Inc. MD Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 115617 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125726 January 15, 2002 ChemSense: Investigating Learning and the Impact of Sustained Integration of Representational Tools and Chemical Investigations in the Classroom. A multidisciplinary program of research and development that examines the impact of the sustained integration of representational tools and chemical investigations on chemistry learning and teaching in high schools and colleges will be undertaken. A team of chemists, cognitive scientists, computer scientists, and science educators will focus on three critical and interrelated issues: chemical understanding, scientific investigations, and discourse and representation. The project will generate new knowledge about the relationship between students' understanding of chemical phenomena and their generation and use of various representations at the macroscopic (physical, aggregate) and microscopic (atomic and molecular) levels and in the context of collaborative laboratory investigations. Additionally it will evolve new knowledge about the relationship between teacher activities, scaffolding, and support and students' use of representations in collaborative laboratory investigations. It is planned to extend the development of a learning environment, the ChemSense Knowledge Building Environment that both supports and benefits from research activities. This environment allows students and teachers/professors to collaborate in the sustained investigation of chemical phenomena, collect data, build representations of these phenomena, and participate in scaffolded discourse to explain these phenomena in terms of underlying chemical entities and mechanisms. The project team will work with chemistry professors and high school chemistry teachers to implement this environment for an entire semester in a range of college and high school chemistry courses. These activities and assessments will be designed around key dimensions associated with the particulate nature of matter and chemical reactions: change in molecular geometry, connectivity, aggregation, state, and concentration. In high school classrooms, these dimensions will be employed within fairly standard first-year high school chemistry topics: electronegativity and bond formation, solubility, gas laws, and chemical reactions. Undergraduate studies will focus on integration of ChemSense into two types of classroom situations: a first-year lecture course designed to convey general chemical principles through organic chemistry, and a first-year, integrated "studio" course that combines lecture and wet-lab experiences. With appropriate laboratory activities and teacher guidance, the extended use of student generated, static and dynamic representations of chemical processes, along with instrument generated representations of their investigations, should result in deeper discourse and understanding that connect physical phenomena with underlying chemical entities and mechanisms. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Schank, Patricia Brian Coppola Vera Michalchik Anders Rosenquist SRI International CA N. Hari Narayanan Standard Grant 1158750 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0125738 March 15, 2002 DragonflyTV, Seasons Two and Three. Twin Cities Public Television is producing the second and third seasons of Dragonfly TV, the science television series targeted at children ages 9 - 12. The series presents children showing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. Adult scientists are interspersed among the several groups of children who present research. They present their own research, their discoveries and their love of science. These adult reports are laced with home movies and snapshots of the adults when they were kids, linking childhood experiences to successful careers in science. Outreach for Dragonfly TV consists of a Dragonfly insert in the magazine Explorations, an interactive website where children can share their science investigations and programs at selected Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 4H Clubs. Teacher's Guides will be developed by Miami University of Ohio and distributed through the journals of the National Science Teachers Association. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Christopher Myers Twin Cities Public Television MN Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1961933 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125740 September 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: "My Place by the Bay" -- Prepared Environments for Early Science Learning. The Bay Area Discovery Museum will expand their "My Place by the Bay" theme with new programmatic elements that "reinforce the theme that people, plants and animals live together and depend upon each other to survive." Three new activity areas will be developed that focus on science learning: A) an outdoor "Tot Lot" for early science learners; B) an outdoor "Discovery Cove" focusing on place-specific elements of their bayshore site; and C) an indoor recreated "Research Vessel" outfitted with a simulated navigaion station and marine biology laboratory. The learning goals for these three areas are: 1) "The Bay environment is home to many living things"; and 2) "I can do science to explore and learn about my world". The "Tot Lot," built into a hill, will be a one-half acre, multi-sensory, outdoor, prepared environment for children under five to learn about animals living in three distinct Bay habitats: woodland, stream and meadow. The "Discovery Cove" will be a two-acre area prepared environment for children up to age eight. Learners will be encouraged to see the bay as an integrated system that includes animal adaptations, ecological relationships and human activity. The "Research Vessel" is inspired by the R/V Questuary and is the place where visitors will use authentic tools to do science. Other features of this project include an integrated system of Parenting Messages that includes special signage for parents and a Families Ask Guide for families with children ages seven and under that is a joint effort of DABM, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Golden Gate National Parks Association. They will also develop a series of teacher workshops that will link this informal learning space with the needs of formal education. One specific school group with whom they will work is the Junipero Serra, an NSF Urban Systemic Intiative site. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Petitpas, Janet Robin Moore Alissa Arp Catherine Eberbach Bay Area Discovery Museum CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1479751 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125750 September 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Huntington Conservatory for Botanical Science. The Huntington Library will develop the Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science to engage visitors of all ages in the study of plants. Conceived as a synthesis of a traditional conservatory and an interactive science center, the Conservatory will be a 16,000-square-foot permanent exhibition featuring spectacular plants in a family-oriented setting. Using a living collection of plants from around the world, visitors will explore the diversity of plants. Interactive exhibits will encourage visitors to make observations and comparisons of plant structures. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Folsom, James Kathleen Connolly Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1876928 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125757 December 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: The Real Astronomy Experience: An Exhibit for ISE Centers. The Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California at Berkeley will develop the "Real Astronomy Experience (RAE)" in which science center visitors will explore the universe by controlling and viewing robotic telescopes via the Internet; by using image processing software to understand the images they capture; and by capturing images with a hands-on, functional telescope equipped with a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera to learn how a modern telescope image-capture system works. Guided by project materials, visitors learn about the cosmos, tools and methods of scientific research, data analysis and the general progress of modern astrophysics. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pennypacker, Carlton Alan Gould University of California-Berkeley CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1584402 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125762 August 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education -- Stardust: Our Search for Origins (A Travelling Exhibition). The Space Science Institute (SSI) seeks to develop the "Stardust Project," designed to introduce the public to concepts related to the birth of stars, the search for planets beyond our solar system and the search for life beyond earth. The project's three components include a 2,500 square-foot travelling exhibition called "Stardust: Our Search for Origins;" a comprehensive education program for museum staff and grades 4-9 school teachers and a public Web site that incorporates and builds on the exhibit and education content. The project proposes to assemble standards-based educational materials for dissemination through workshops conducted at museums that host the exhibit. The educational programs -- particularly professional development workshops for teachers -- target, among other groups, underserved Native American and Hispanic teachers associated with a partnership between SSI and the NSF Rural Systematic Initiatives in the American West. The project is built around strong partnerships with two NASA Origins Program missions and with established informal education institutions including the New York Hall of Science, the Lawrence Hall of Science, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, TERC and the SETI Institute. Its goals are to make it possible for teachers, students and the public to learn about: The formation of stars, planets, and the solar system; The conditions necessary for life; The effect of life on Earth's environment; The methods used to detect planets orbiting distant stars and The scientific tools used in origin research -- from space-based telescopes to microscopes. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dusenbery, Paul SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE CO Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1222278 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125765 May 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Thinking SMART. "Thinking SMART" is a comprehensive five-year program that will encourage young women to pursue careers in science, mathematics and technology. The project focuses on girls ages 12-18, and will especially target those who are underserved and underrepresented in the sciences, including girls from diverse backgrounds and persons with disabilities. Key elements include four science/engineering module options, a two-tiered mentoring component, training, resource materials, online activities and an awards program. The modules (Material Girls, Eco Girls, Galactic Girls, Net Girls), focus on engineering, ecology, physics and computer science respectively, and will be aligned with national standards. The modules are implemented during the school year and include weekly programming, a summer camp and a spring "Women in Science and Engineering" conference organized by girls. Weekly meetings are augmented by online activities, in which girls interact with other participants and mentors, publish reports and obtain career information. Additionally, participants who complete all four modules are eligible to become paid mentors for younger participants. Five publications will be produced to support the program, including manuals for mentors (both adults and youth), module activities, a parent guide and a guide for implementation sites on community partnerships. Thinking SMART materials will be developed and piloted tested at eight sites in conjunction with Girls, Inc. affiliates in Nashua, NH, Worcester, MA, Oakridge, TN and Shelbyville, IN, with input from the Society of Women Engineers. Extensive training will also be provided for pilot programs and future dissemination. Finally the E3 Awards Program will motivate implementation sites to create high quality local programs. It is anticipated that more than 1,500 Girls, Inc. affiliates will adopt "Thinking SMART." INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Stegall, Brenda Heather Johnston Nicholson Shalonda Murray Girls Incorporated NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2312418 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0125868 January 1, 2002 A Developmental and Contextual Perspective on Identity and Leaning in Reform-Oriented Mathematics Classrooms. This study will provide a three-year, in depth, longitudinal analysis of students' development as mathematical learners in reform-oriented mathematics classrooms during the middle school years. For the purposes of this study, reform is defined as a teacher's use of instructional practices and curricular materials that aligned with the NCTM's Curriculum and Teaching Standards and the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. The overall purpose of this research is to examine the ways in which mathematics reform affects students' development as mathematics knowers and learners. The study will document changes in students' learning and self-conceptions, as well as the processes by which this change occurs. The primary research questions guiding the work are: 1. What are the direct and indirect effects of teacher practice, classroom and student level processes on students' conceptual understanding, achievement and identify development in mathematics? 2. How are the effects of teacher practice, and classroom and student level processes on students' conceptual understanding and identify development moderated by gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status? RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Malloy, Carol Judith Meece Jill Hamm University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 1242531 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126064 December 15, 2001 Exploring Scientific and Mathematical Thinking Skills in TIMSS. The investigator would apply a method of expert-knowledge and statistical technique to the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data set to identify and measure latent competencies that students must use to get correct solutions to test problems. The TIMSS was conducted in both mathematics and science, but the final negotiated project will be conducted in mathematics only. The purpose of this investigation is to provide a technique that can help classroom teachers and administrators make better use of test score data. The investigator has developed a technique (Rule Space method) to enable the creation of a scale score on underlying knowledge states. This process will test through statistical analysis the existence of attributes of the test items that identify cognitive processing skills and knowledge underlying student performance. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Tatsuoka, Kikumi James Corter Teachers College, Columbia University NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 690196 1666 SMET 9177 0126070 January 15, 2002 ROLE: Contexual Cues, Associative Memory and Learning of Physics. In real world learning situations, a wide variety of contextual cues become associated with gradually formed common sense knowledge. In contrast, school learning often emphasizes abstract symbolic manipulations, which can lead to students' difficulties in applying their knowledge to real world examples. To help students make intuitive sense of physics, it is necessary to address sensory stimuli that are explicitly or implicitly associated with students' common sense knowledge from experience. To do this, it is important to understand what contextual cues are involved in learning and how they affect the learning process. For selected topics in introductory physics, we will conduct systematic qualitative studies to identify and investigate specific context cues that affect students' learning; we will develop methods to measure, evaluate and represent the involvement of context cues in different stages of learning; we will also develop physics activities in virtual environments to investigate experimentally how low-level sensory cues such as haptic feedback affect learning and how such cues may be addressed in instruction. The resulting insights into the interplay between context and learning, and integration of contextual and sensory information into virtual environments will broaden the horizon of active engagement teaching methods and inform the development of teaching technologies. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Bao, Lei Alan Van Heuvelen Ohio State University Research Foundation OH Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 269305 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126088 September 15, 2001 Improving Item Construct Validity by Illuminating Student Cognitive Processing. Abstract Proposal 0126088 PI: Steve Ferrara and Marianne Perie Institution: American Institute for Research, Washington Title: Improving Item Construct Validity by Illuminating Student Cognitive Processing This is a study of middle school science assessment test items. It intends to develop test items that have high levels of validity. The investigators would create a framework to guide writing valid science items that elicit intended knowledge, skills, and cognitive processes that are valid for women, men, and minority groups. The goal is to develop a strategy that can be used by other test developers to develop such tests rather than develop the test itself. They are seeking items that require the students to use the same knowledge and skills as intended by test developers and that work the same way regardless of ethnicity or gender. The framework also involves attention to student motivation, content exposure, and attitude toward response strategies and uses a taxonomy developed by Richard Snow as the basis for their study. The product will be a series of reports that will serve as a guide for middle school science assessment developers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Ferrara, Steve Marianne Perie American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences DC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 752177 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126104 January 15, 2002 Toward a Descriptive Science of Learning Practices. Rigorous understanding of teaching and learning practices requires the development of a descriptive science that captures multiple cognitive and social aspects of complex learning situations. This project builds upon available micro-analytic methods, both cognitive and sociological, with a careful regard for the established standards of rigor applied within these traditions. We will explore the promise and limitations of these methods by analyzing a particular set of practices (referential practices) in a particular learning situation. Reference is a fundamental feature of all human communication. It is the means by which we initiate and achieve a common orientation to objects in our shared environment and as such is an integral part of learning. By providing an account of how interactants accomplish reference in a particular situation, we hope to contribute to our developing understanding of how people do learning. Our intent is to study learning practices in the operating room (OR) of a busy teaching hospital, focusing on medical students' early experiences with endoscopic surgery. In such surgeries, surgeons use fiber-optic lenses to view and operate within the patient's body. This poses multiple perceptual challenges, particularly to newcomers. Pilot work shows that this is a rich site for examining referential practices as they relate to learning. Furthermore, these surgeries represent an analytically compact cycle of activity, helping to make manageable the highly ambitious task of describing the content and methods of learning. Preliminary investigations have revealed that establishing shared reference is not always easily accomplished. Participants may proceed as if a common reference has been established even though they are orienting to different aspects of the scene. Post-surgical interviews highlight some of the complexities of studying how participants display their understandings in natural settings. This project will consist of a series of six sequential studies, each involving phases of fieldwork, participant interviews, and analysis. Standard methods for ethnographic fieldwork will be employed when taping in the OR. Post-surgical interviews will be conducted with the participants, using the video from the surgery as an object for discussion. These interviews will serve both to augment our interpretations of the referential practices utilized in the OR and to document the forms of anatomical and professional expertise displayed. Biannual project teams meetings will be conducted to do collaborative analysis of the data. These data sessions will be structured to encourage a disciplined form of noticing. Community building activities are planned to foster the development of descriptive skills by other researchers working in other learning settings. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Koschmann, Timothy Southern Illinois University School of Medicine IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 490778 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126141 April 1, 2002 Introducing Indivisibles into Calculus Instruction. The PI's Bronislaw Czarnocha and Vrunda Prabhu, will conduct two year-long cycles of teaching experiments to introduce the intuition of "indivisibles" into calculus instruction and integrate it with standard ways of instructing via Riemann construction. They plan to study closely the conceptual and computational development of students who receive this instruction. It As part of this project, the PI's will investigate: (1) What is the process of transformation and development of the intuition of lines (the indivisibles) into a precise, mathematical concept? (2) Does the introduction of the W-C construction based on indivisibles, the interplay of that construction with the standard Riemann construction, and the instruction that integrates both, strengthen students' understanding of the concept of the definite integral? In the proposed project, they will conduct and coordinate Calculus instruction at six institutions, assess students' performance via tests, essays and clinical interviews, collect data resulting from the different assessment and analyze the data in preparation for a refinement of the teaching strategy. As a general framework they will adopt Vygotsky's theory with its emphasis on the cognitive processes in the zone of proximal development, which dictates important consequences on the instruction and assessment. Students will be guided by the activities of the class to enable them to experience the process of mathematical thinking and to reveal its content to the teacher. The role of the instructor will be to provide systematization of their spontaneous development grounded in the precise mathematical understanding of the concept in question. The directions their spontaneous thought processes take, will be under investigation during the course. The project is a balance between various aspects: (1) the natural intuition of the learner vs. the academic instruction, (2) computational mastery vs. conceptual understanding, (3) teaching and research. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Czarnocha, Bronislaw Vrunda Prabhu CUNY Hostos Community College NY Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 399954 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126155 September 1, 2001 Enabling TIMSS to Meet the Information Needs of the 21st Century. This proposal from Boston College seeks funding to continue the preparation of prototype inquiry task items for the TIMSS 2003 international assessment and to provide a website for teachers that documents students' approaches to responding to the prototype problems. The second set of activities includes a Questionnaire Development Group that would consider the most useful types of contextual information for TIMSS to gather and identify the best vehicle(s) for gathering it. Support for this project ensures that the 2003 international study can continue the planning and staff work necessary for the 2003 TIMMS administration. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Martin, Michael Ina Mullis Boston College MA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 707411 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0126167 October 1, 2001 Science Achievement and Health Behavior: High School Curriculum, Social Context, and Opportunity to Learn. A three-year research project is proposed with the following goals: 1. To fully describe the science and mathematics curricular exposure of high school students and differences resulting from curricular variations, social context and opportunities to learn, and students background. 2. To analyze how curricular exposure and social structure influence students persistence through the science and mathematics pipeline. 3. To analyze how curricular exposure and academic progress through the science pipeline affect students choice to major in science-related fields, including teaching. 4. To analyze how science curricular exposure shapes students health behavior and health-related science literacy. Three major areas that influence students progress through the science and mathematics pipeline and their health choices and literacy even if they leave the pipeline are identified and analyzed: (1) curriculum content, performance expectations and perspectives (2) formal, structured opportunities to learn and (3) the informal social contexts of students learning environments. Quantitative methods are employed. This study takes advantage of a unique and timely opportunity to analyze nationally representative, longitudinal data from the 1990s, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and its transcript supplement. A third wave of Add Health is currently being gathered, and students high school transcripts and supporting school documents (course catalogues, syllabi, textbook lists) are being collected and coded. For this study, course curriculum (content, performance expectations, and perspectives) will also be coded and analyzed along with the transcript data and longitudinal survey data from approximately 19,000 respondents who were in grades 7 through 12 in the1994-1995 school year. This data set contains extensive measures of many sources of influence from the contexts of students lives that can be linked to adolescents health behavior, academic performance, and science and teaching aspirations. This study is set within Quadrant III of the ROLE program: irResearch on SMET learning in formal and informal educational settings,ll and has major implications and links to Quadrants II and IV. The study directly targets the question of how recent mathematics and science educational reforms in approaches and curriculum materials affect students academic progress and learning. It explicitly distinguishes between formal and informal processes to assess the effects and interactions of each. The study addresses the concentration of Quadrant II since the research questions are framed to recognize how the complex, multilevel aspects of students backgrounds and lives interact with the structure and social context of schools to affect learning. The concentrations of Quadrant IV are also addressed by the multilevel approach to analysis of longitudinal, nationally representative data. The data sets depth allows for analysis of how reforms in curricular content (including textbook adoptions) and structure are related to students progress within the context of schools and curriculum-based subsets of students (such as tracks). Consistent with common themes across ROLE concentration areas, this study will model these processes and analyze large-scale effects of curricular and social structuring inherent in mathematics and science reform efforts. Finally, it assesses how science education is related to the everyday lives of the U.S.s diverse population by examining how exposure to science in high school is related to health choices and behaviors. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Muller, Chandra Pedro Reyes University of Texas at Austin TX Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1752756 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126197 January 15, 2002 Handheld Assessment: Portable Scaffolds for Project-based Learning in Science?. In recent years, researchers have developed and studied a variety of instructional materials that can support students learning how to conduct investigations in project-based science classrooms, but few classroom assessment materials and tools have been developed to support these materials. Ideally, such assessments would give teachers a better understanding of what students know at any point in a project in order to adjust and improve instruction. This project will develop, test, and evaluate classroom assessments for extended science projects that are supported by handheld computers. To develop the assessments, the investigators will create on teams of teachers, assessment specialists, software developers, and researchers to develop these tools. The project will rely on a small group of teachers in the Beaufort County Public Schools to try out the assessments. SRI researchers will evaluate factors associated with adoption of the handheld tools in a variety of classrooms and measure its effectiveness in improving teaching and learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Penuel, William Jeremy Roschelle Louise Yarnall Deborah Tatar SRI International CA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 1822042 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126227 May 1, 2002 Integrated Simulation and Modeling: Using Participatory Simulations to Investigate the Complementarity of Object-based and Aggregate Reasoning for Making Sense of Complexity. The PI's propose to conduct an in-depth study of the learning of secondary students engaged in making sense of complex system through participating in classroom participatory simulations. In particular, the PI's will study the complimentarity of two forms of reasoning: object based and aggregate reasoning. These forms of reasoning will be used to as resources to in making sense of complexity. To do so, the PI's will extend the functionality of the HubNet Participatory Simulations architecture by building an integrated simulation and modeling environment (ISME). This environment will be built to couple the networked simulations with object based (NetLogo) and aggregate Model-It) modeling tools. Finally, the PI's will extend and refine the Participatory Simulation Activities (PSA) and through iterative curriculum design incorporate the PSA inot curricular units targeted for secondary classrooms. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Wilensky, Uri Walter Stroup Northwestern University IL Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 1673691 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126237 October 1, 2001 Developing a Practice-Based Theory of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. This project seeks to examine what it is about mathematics that elementary teachers need to know and appreciate, and where and how in teaching such understandings and appreciation are used. Two enduring questions are at the heart of contemporary efforts to improve mathematics instruction: o What mathematical knowledge is entailed by the work of teaching mathematics? o Where and how is mathematical knowledge entailed, and how would it be useful and used, within the work of teaching mathematics? How is mathematical knowledge intertwined with other knowledge and sensibilities in the course of that work? Within the term "knowledge" the project includes content (e.g., topics, theorems, definitions, algorithms) as well as practices and sensibilities. What it might mean, and what it would take, for elementary teachers to teach in ways that are respectful of both students and the mathematics. What could it mean to have "mathematical integrity" as an elementary teacher? The project will also seek to locate the mathematical aspects of elementary teaching -- the tasks, moments, and challenges -- where what a teacher can hear, see, do, and say depends on mathematical knowledge. Rather than asking these questions by examining curriculum frameworks or standards of what teachers are supposed to teach, the project works in and from practice. Our investigations take us first into investigations of the practices of teaching and learning mathematics, as well as into the practices of mathematics itself. Central to this work is a large longitudinal NSF-funded database, documenting an entire year of Ball's third grade public school teaching during 1989-90. By analyzing these detailed records of practice, we seek to develop theory of mathematical knowledge as it is entailed by and used in teaching, to consider instruction over time, examining the work of teachers in developing mathematics and their students across the school year. Products of this project will include detailed analyses of the mathematics entailed in elementary school teaching, as well as grounded theory about the nature and uses of mathematical content, practice, and sensibilities in the day-to-day work of teaching. Written products will target different audiences with interests in this work. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Bass, Hyman Deborah Ball University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 1147306 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126265 January 1, 2002 ROLE Proposal: Understanding in Science: Eyetracking Studies. Habits of mind that support the analysis, evaluation, synthesis, and integration of information are increasingly important in the information age. This project focuses on how, when, and why such habits of mind might be acquired and developed. Prior research has shown that inquiry-based learning environments can support deeper understanding of science content, but there is little systematic work thus far on the process by which students achieve deep understanding in these contexts. Even less is known about how to support the development of a critical stance. A critical stance supports the active evaluation of information and the detection of inconsistencies that in turn help direct deeper processing of information through explanatory reasoning. This project explores the role of learning environment and task in supporting a critical stance toward scientific information. We go beyond current efforts by employing a variety of processing measures that tap on-line representation and understanding, including verbal reports (gathered by having students think out loud as they read and write) and eye movement patterns (monitoring the fixations of the eye on different parts of texts as students read). In combination, these measures along with a number of comprehension measures will provide a particularly rich set of data as we pursue two lines of research. Our goal in the first line of research is to examine when people develop a critical stance toward scientific subject matter, and the specific behaviors that promote better understanding. In the second set of studies, we are interested in whether the adoption of a critical stance toward scientific subject matter can be supported through a computerized collaborative tutor. These studies represent an important first step in identifying the cognitive processes that are enabling understanding as students read scientific web pages, and the contexts and tasks that will allow novice readers to become critical consumers of scientific communications in both formal and informal learning contexts. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Wiley, Jennifer Arthur Graesser Susan Goldman University of Illinois at Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 849586 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0126344 January 1, 2002 Cognitive, Sociolinguistic, and Psychometric Perspectives in Science and Mathematics Assessment for English Language Learners. This two-year proposed project will investigate the cognitive and sociolinguistic influencesthat shape the performance of English language learners [ELLs] on science and mathematicsassessments. It will address the fact that performance of ELL students in science andmathematics is inconsistent both across test items and across languages. The knowledge gainedfrom this project will inform practitioners, researchers, and policy makers about new approachesfor attaining equitable testing and obtaining valid measures of the achievement of ELLs in science and mathematics. It will provide valuable information relevant to both classroom-basedtesting and the inclusion of linguistic minorities in large-scale testing. We will compare the inferred cognitive activities of ELL students, the problem solutionstrategies they use, and the scores they obtain on the same set of science and mathematics itemsadministered both in English and their native languages. In addition, we will investigate whether and how performance differences across languages and items are reduced when students are tested with locally-adapted versions of tests that reflect their first languages dialects. We will examine the performance of ELLs across languages and items from three perspectives: cognitive, psychometric, and sociolinguistic. These perspectives will allow us to: (1) determine how the language in which ELL students are tested influences their cognitive activities and the problem solution strategies they use on science and mathematics items; (2)determine whether ELL students perform better on local dialect than standard dialect versions of tests; and (3) examine the inconsistency of ELL student performance across items and across languages as an interaction of three sources of score variability: student, item, and language (i.e., a given ELL student performs better in his/her native language than in English for some items but better in English than in the native language for other items). We expect to improve our understanding of the cognitive and sociolinguistic processes that operate below the surface as ELL students interpret and solve problems. We also expect to gain knowledge on how these processes are reflected in the performance of these students and the variability of their scores across languages and items. This knowledge will contribute to improving both classroom-based and large-scale assessment practices. Goals Ultimately, our goal is to contribute to attaining more valid measures of ELL academic achievement and more equitable testing practices by offering a fresh approach to the testing of linguistic minorities. This approach recognizes the complex relationship between language and cognitive phenomena, and the social nature of language. From the knowledge we gain in this investigation we expect to be able to formalize a set of recommendations for improved testing policies for ELLs. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Solano-Flores, Guillermo WestEd CA Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 516466 1666 SMET 9177 0126350 December 15, 2001 Coordinated, Innovative Designs for Innovative International Information Communication Technology Assessment in Science and Mathematics Education. This project would develop an assessment framework and performance assessment practices after an analysis of frameworks from many countries for the purpose of assessing Information Communication Technology (ICT) as it is used in elementary and secondary schools. The project would identify issues of large-scale implementation of performance assessments in information technology and develop performance assessment scenarios and specifications. Moreover, the project would develop performance assessment tasks and test them in 4 countries and develop administrative and training manuals. The results of this project would be used in an international studies called the Second International Technology in Education Study (SITES) sponsored RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Quellmalz, Edys Robert Kozma SRI International CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 657563 1666 SMET 9177 0126352 December 15, 2001 Validities of Standards-Based Science Inquiry Assessments: Implementation Study. To gather evidence about large-scale assessment practices, SRI International proposed a research study to NSF to examine the validities of standards-based science inquiry assessment. In response to negotiating questions from the REPP program, SRI restructured the scope of work of the originally proposed study into two phases: Design and Implementation. SRI was funded to conduct the Design Study in July, 1999. Teams of nationally recognized experts studied the validities of science item formats used in three of the nation's most influential large-scale science assessments-NAEP, TIMSS, and New Standards. The research teams conducted three distinct, but coordinated, studies including an Alignment Study, a Cognitive Analysis Study, and an Empirical Study. When completed, the Design Study will integrate methodologies and preliminary findings from the three studies. Results of the Design Study have contributed to the design and methodologies of the proposed Implementation Study. The Implementation Study will permit an intensive analysis of science items and tasks that have been used in large-scale science assessments at the national, as well as the state level; an in-depth examination of the performances of a large and diverse sample of students; and the application of powerful methodologies that were refined during the Design Study. The specific goals of the Implementation Study are to: (1) develop a framework for characterizing the design features of item/task formats that aim to elicit different types of science learning, (2) conduct a study of the alignment of selected assessment questions and exercise formats from existing reference and extended investigation assessments with the National Science Education Standards, (3) conduct analyses of the cognitive demands placed on learners when solving different types of items/tasks, (4) conduct an empirical study of the validities of different types of assessment formats, in particular, the instructional sensitivity of the different assessment formats, and (5) develop prototype designs of multi-level assessment systems that would provide more comprehensive measures of students' science knowledge and inquiry strategies. Benefits that are likely to flow from the Implementation Study will include robust methodologies and procedures to support the conduct of future studies of inquiry-based science assessment. Procedural pitfalls and item and test design considerations will be identified that can guide the research community and state and local education agencies in the design of better validity studies. In addition, we will draw implications of student learning opportunities for the design of science inquiry achievement studies. The Implementation Study will provide confirmatory evidence of what particular items and item/task formats intend to test and student's actual reasoning and explanations of how assessment formats call on different kinds and levels of science knowledge and inquiry. Finally, we intend to integrate these findings to develop guidelines for how educators may combine reference exam results with data from other exam formats to communicate science achievement levels and make policy decisions about professional development, curriculum, and assessment reforms. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Quellmalz, Edys Geneva Haertel SRI International CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1824999 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0128062 January 1, 2002 Supporting Teachers and Encouraging Lifelong Learning: A Web-Based Integrated Science Environment (WISE). The Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE)was founded in 1997 with a 3-year grant from the National Science Foundation.This invited proposal for an Accomplishment Based Renewal (ABR)describes planned WISE activities for 3 additional years at the current rate of funding.Our document conforms to the four-page ABR proposal limit;much more can be learned about WISE activities at http://wise.berkeley.edu. WISE capitalizes on the synergies between Internet connectivity and integrated science to advance our understanding of inquiry science instruction.In the first 3 years,WISE has created the following elements of inquiry: o The WISE learning environment that incorporates recent cognitive and social research and gives new authoring partnerships a headstart on effective inquiry designs. o Over 30 WISE projects that meet our design criteria and can be used by teachers everywhere. o The WISE mentored professional development model that guides teachers to implement inquiry practices. o WISE server technology that collects and stores both student work and teacher activities such as lesson plans, contributions to discussion, and reflection notes. o WISE Knowledge Integration Assessments that measure progress in inquiry and can be used to detect transfer from the topic where inquiry was taught to new topics. o WISE science, technology, and language literacy measures, and connections to standards-based measures of inquiry from NAEP,TIMSS,and state testing programs to establish broader impacts. The proposed ABR will research how these elements of inquiry instruction jointly contribute to sustained improvement of science learning.We prepare to address four research themes:(a)What is the longitudinal impact on students of one or more WISE projects?(b)What are typical trajectories of teachers from diverse schools (urban, rural,and suburban)who adopt inquiry practices such as WISE?(c)What value do new technologies for visualization and modeling, including our new grant of Palm technologies, bring to inquiry instruction with WISE? And (d)How do Curriculum Design Partnerships progress in response to the design review and classroom trials of their curriculum projects? Establishing and sustaining technology-enhanced inquiry science instruction requires a powerful learning environment that takes advantage of cognitive and social research as well as effective professional development,rigorous design of urriculum and assessments,and continuous monitoring of student progress. Our research will characterize trajectories of teachers as they adopt WISE inquiry projects and identify ways to make professional development more effective. We will refine our design principles and test their effectiveness in guiding partnerships that design new WISE curriculum.We will incorporate emerging technologies into the WISE learning environment,adjust professional development practices,and test the effectiveness of these improvements on student learning. We will research the impact of WISE projects on students,both immediately and longitudinally,as a function of the expertise of the teacher and the extent of exposure to WISE projects. We will look specifically at the needs of diverse learners and identify ways to ensure that all students succeed in WISE. Proposed studies will inform the design of curricula,professional development,and science assessment. Our work will inform the setting of policy for equity and assessment. To communicate our findings,we plan a book-length monograph,research publications,and conference presentations, as well as workshops for teachers, netcourses, and extensive on-line materials. We have already attracted over 3000 teachers to join our web-based community. As participating teachers provide information about their customizations and insights into inquiry teaching,we expect this community to grow. We will connect teachers to mentors according to our WISE mentoring model for professional development. We appreciate the contributions of our advisory board over the past 3 years and have identified some continuing and some new advisors for the ABR. The longitudinal impact theme will be advised by Paul Holland,ETS,and will continue to draw on the methodological expertise of Mark Wilson, University of California, Berkeley; David Rogosa, Stanford University; Robert Linn, University of Colorado, and Lorrie Shepard, University of Colorado. The teacher trajectory theme will be advised by Jane Bowyer, Mills College;and Louis Gomez, Northwestern University who both have experience with urban systemic reforms. The value of new technologies theme will benefit form collaborations with CILT Post Docs Eric Baumgartner,Michelle Spitulnik,and Yael Kali;in addition,we will be advised by computer scientists Michael Clancy,UC Berkeley,and Elliot Soloway,University of Michigan;and by Nancy Songer,University of Michigan. The Curriculum Design Partnership theme will be advised by Philip Bell,University of Washington; Louis Gomez, Northwestern University; Roy Pea, Stanford University; and Nancy Songer, University of Michigan,all of whom bring experience in forming and sustaining partnerships. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Linn, Marcia James Slotta University of California-Berkeley CA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 1197453 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0128949 June 1, 2002 Building an Infrastructure for Generative and Sustained Change in Science Instruction in Urban Schools. In 1997, the National Science Foundation support created the Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS); a unique partnership focused on improving opportunities for challenging learning for urban children. LeTUS brings together two urban school districts, Detroit and Chicago, and research groups from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. This partnership has created an infrastructure for developing and sustaining broad-based collaboration among professionals from public schools and university contexts, committed to improving teaching and learning in urban schools. This ABR proposal summarizes LeTUS' four years of accomplishments and charts plans for an additional eighteen months of work. ADVANCED LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gomez, Louis Brian Reiser Joseph Krajcik Clifton Burgess Juanita Clay-Chambers Northwestern University IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1400000 1707 1666 SMET 9177 0128970 October 1, 2001 IERI: Enhancing Literacy Outcomes for Young Children. The proposed study will target Focus area I by examining preschooler's acquisition of the emergent literacy skills that provide the foundation for skilled reading in elementary school. Children from low-income backgrounds and families in which Standard English is not their first language face particularly high hurdles as they transition into early reading instruction. Moreover, teachers' understanding of the developmental processes involved in learning to read are critical for successful implementation of literacy curricula and successful use of formative assessment to tailor instructional strategies to children. Following on these needs this project will provide teachers with state of the art research based knowledge about how emergent literacy skills are directly linked to, and form the foundation for, skilled reading in the elementary school. Additionally, the project will provide important data on the validity of assessment procedures used to inform curricula. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Farver, Jo Ann Christopher Lonigan University of Southern California CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 6212993 W144 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0128981 September 15, 2001 SGER-ISE-PUR: Internet-based Informal Science Education to Increase Public Understanding of Research -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER). The Exploratorium is testing new methods of using Internet-based programming to increase the public understanding of current scientific research. Exploratorium staff, working with a group of advisors, will assess the current status of projects that focus on conveying information about research. They then will develop and test a prototype website. The exploratory research will examine such questions as: What information about research is important and critical to convey to the public? How do you build a Web presence that can rapidly accommodate new findings? What is an appropriate oversight process to assure inclusion of appropriate research? What are sufficient update intervals? How does such a Web site build an audience? How can the Web effort be coordinated with other PUR projects? How can the Web site provide opportunities for public input and discussion? How do you develop buy-in and participation from researchers? Is the additional interpretation/annotation sufficient to give the public a deeper level of understanding? These planning and prototyping efforts will be coordinated with other simultaneous Public Understanding of Research planning projects. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Semper, Robert Exploratorium CA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 99998 7259 SMET 9237 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0128985 October 1, 2001 Earth & Sky's "Edge of Discovery" Radio Series for NSF's Public Understanding of Research Program. EarthTalk Incorporated is producing and distributing 282 "Edge of Discovery" radio programs. Each of the 90-second programs will explore an area of on-going research and will feature "actualities" or recorded voices of scientists explaining their work. The programs will be carried on 700+ public and commercial radio stations. The broadcast programs will be supplemented by an "Edge of Discovery" web presence that will contain the radio programs themselves plus a "More Info" section for each program that includes references to printed articles and links to other web sites on the day's topic as well as supplementary background material such as transcripts of interviews with scientists. The "Edge of Discovery" web page also will feature a "Meet the Scientists" section in which a new scientist will be profiled each month, and it will feature live online "chats" with scientists six times each year. The producers/hosts for the series are Deborah Byrd and Joel Block who created, produced and hosted the highly successful radio series Earth and Sky. The Senior Producer is Marc Airhart who will be primary liaison with the team of researchers and writers. Review of all material developed for the projected will be done by the project's review committee of 95 scientists. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Byrd, Deborah Ryan Britton Marc Airhart Earth & Sky, Inc TX Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 858344 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0129256 September 15, 2001 A Planning Grant for a Culturally Relevant Math and Science Summer Evaluation Training Institute for Mid-Level Experienced Evaluators. This proposal is submitted with the acknowledgement that project and program evaluations are indispensable to those agencies and organizations that emphasize mathematics, science, technology and staff and funders with valuable information to make informed decisions about the implementation, progress and success of a project or program. Therefore, it is imperative that the evaluators responsible for planning, collecting and analyzing evaluation data are trained to be both technically competent in their work efforts and sensitive to the cultural context in which the project or program takes place. This planning grant would provide the structure for the development of a summer training institute for participants to broaden thier knowledge of evaluation models, methods, and standards, as well as raise both their awareness and understanding of a very important aspect of evaluation - its cultural context. That is, a fundamental aspect integrated throughout all the institute's training activities will attend to the reality that evaluations do not occur in a vacuum but instead are contextual because of the variety of racial, cultural, socio-economic, and other settings in which the project or program is operating. As such, there is a pressing need to develop a framework for identifying the many "hidden" variables (e.g., stereotypes, attitudes, ecpectations) that frame the cultural contex of evaluation. A major focus of this planning grant would be to develop a culturally relevant evaluation training model and plan for its utilization at a summer training institute so that mid-level evaluators will appreciate and understand the need for a cultural context of educational evaluation of math and science and other projects. Upon completion of the Institute, the participants will be able to effectively transfer theoretical knowledge learned to procedural knowledge, and then to actual evaluation practice within a responsive and relevant context. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Thomas, Veronica Vinetta Jones Howard University DC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 95432 7261 SMET 9177 0129331 January 1, 2002 IERI: A System of Principled Assessment Designs for Inquiry: Implementation Study.. This project, building on a planning grant, provides a practical, theory-based approach to developing high quality assessments of science inquiry. The project will produce: (1) a system for developing reusable assessment-task templates organized around schemas of inquiry; (2) generally stated rubrics for recognizing and evaluating evidence of inquiry skills; (3) an organized set of assessment development resources; (4) an initial collection of schemas, exemplar templates and tasks produced in the contest of the BioKIDS and FOSS projects; and (5) a statistical model that supports rigorous analyses of student learning. Rigorous quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to document the process. A "quality of evidence" study will be conducted to determine if the information yielded by these assessments provides more useful and descriptive information of student learning than traditional assessments. REESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Haertel, Geneva Robert Mislevy SRI International CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 6048434 W144 7625 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0129365 July 1, 2002 Data Research and Development Center. In the terms of this cooperative agreement, the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) will establish a Technical Center that will enhance the IERI program at the level of individual projects and at the meta level of theory building around the scaling up of effective educational interventions. The Center will be organized around three functions: (1) technical assistance, training, and ongoing needs analysis in service of IERI grantees, (2) community building, and (3) research and theory building related to core IERI priorities. All Center activities will contribute to a larger purpose that is consistent with the mission of IERI: To bring demonstrably effective interventions to scale in order to enhance student learning, and to more fully understand the nature of the scaling-up process. The activities of the Technical Center will be carried out in close and ongoing consultation with the cognizant NSF program officer and with the larger IERI Working Group. All strategic decisions of the Center will be joint decisions between the Technical Center, NSF, and the larger program leadership of IERI. REESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Schneider, Barbara David Sallach Larry Hedges Colm O'Muircheartaigh Sarah-Kathryn McDonald National Opinion Research Center IL Janice M. Earle Cooperative Agreement 7343573 7625 7180 SMET 9251 9177 0129398 October 1, 2001 IERI: Improving Mathematics Teacher Practice and Student Learning through Professional Development. The research questions for this proposal are designed to explore the interactions of teaching practices, curriculum materials, and professional development to understand how they can be optimized to improve student learning. The University of Delaware and Texas A&M University, working in partnership with Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, will study how to provide, on a large scale, the professional development and continuing support teachers need to improve student learning of key ideas and skills in middle-grades mathematics. Over five years of a longitudinal study, the research team will examine how the use of specific research-based instructional strategies in the classroom-supported by professional development and highly-rated curriculum materials-relate to lasting improvements in student learning. An experimental study in years 4 and 5 will test the feasibility of delivering professional development and ongoing support cost-effectively on a large scale. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Roseman, Jo Ellen Gerald Kulm George DeBoer Jon Manon American Association For Advancement Science DC John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 5823988 W144 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0129406 January 1, 2002 IERI: Assessments to Support the Transition to Complex Learning in Science. This project will bring together knowledge and technology and refine them into an Assessment Design and Delivery System (ADDS) for science learning. ADDS provides both a set of tools and a testbed to investigate factors the impact implementation, effectiveness, and scale-up. Specifically, ADDS provides (1) utilities for individual teachers or teams of teachers to become designers and users of assessments that actionable information to guide their practice and student learning; (2) embeds content, assessment and pedagogical knowledge to assist teachers in both designing assessments and interpreting student progress; and (3) valid results for classroom-based inferences with the potential for aggregation of results for policy uses. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Baker, Eva David Niemi University of California-Los Angeles CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 4723706 W144 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0129421 March 15, 2002 Revised Version - IERI: Scaling Up Instructional Improvement. This project will conduct a five-year study on the scale up of complex instructional innovations. The PIs construe scale up to mean both widespread adoption and high quality implementation. Using three large whole-school projects-Success for All, America's Choice, and Accelerated Schools, the project will examine two issues: 1. To what extent do design and environmental factors influence attempts to bring high-quality implementations of educational innovations to large numbers of schools? 2. How do the designs and educational environments affect the problems of scaling up, and how do interventions and implementers manage these problems? EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Cohen, David Deborah Ball Carol Barnes University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 4862073 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0129442 October 1, 2001 Handheld Diagnostics: Enhancing and Scaling Rigorous Observational Reading Assessments through Handheld Computing. This planning grant is a collaboration between the Education Development Center's for Children and Technology (CCT) and Wireless Generation, a technology development company. Together, the collaborators are building a suite of handheld diagnostic tools that make it possible for teachers to conduct observational assessments and collect the process data necessary to effect changes teaching and students' learning. The planning period will be used to conduct a thorough review of the literature, strengthen the research design, and focus on designing an assessment system. During the planning process, CCT will draw on an interdisciplinary team and a nationally recognized board of advisors to guide the work. Staff Analysis PI: Honey EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Honey, Margaret Cornelia Brunner Mary Walsh Gregory Gunn Karen Brobst Education Development Center MA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 99973 7180 SMET 9177 0129554 September 15, 2001 Relevance of Culture in Evaluation Workshop. The proposed workshop is a follow-up activity to a pilot effort funded by the EHR/REC as a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) in FY 2000 that focused on evaluator capacity building and the importance of cultural context in conducting evaluations. This proposal builds on the strategies and activities implemented in the pilot workshop and will incorporate lessons learned and feedback from the pilot workshop participants. Major objectives for this workshop would be to provide participants with: 1. an introduction to the role and importance of program evaluation in urban school settings 2. a general overview of major evaluation theories/approaches that have defined the field of educational evaluation 3. a closer look at a few emerging evaluation theories/approaches that accept cultural context as an important factor in program evaluation. 4. preliminary considerations of culturally responsive approaches in the design and implementation of program evaluations. 5. A videotape and accompanying CD of the workshop will be developed by a professional media company for use in future professional development workshops and recruitment. The workshop participants and evaluation facilitators will receive copies of the videotape and CD. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hood, Stafford Arizona State University AZ Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 126616 7261 SMET 9177 0129656 September 15, 2001 Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education: Science InSight -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER). The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET) is researching and testing an experimental, short format television broadcast and Web project entitled, "Science InSight." The goal of this experimental research is to determine if short-format television segments can successfully increase Americans' understanding of and interest in new research in science and technology and, if they can, which of several possible formats is likely to be most successful. During this research and development phase, WNET will test the viability of the project model and develop and refine the model for use in a selected group of media venues such as the forthcoming PBS weekly public affairs program, "Public Square." The specific activities to be undertaken in the research phase include: assembling an expert board of up to six advisors with expertise in science, science journalism and media; producing three experimental, short-format, "program concept" video segments of varying lengths for use as science information pieces in other media programs; conducting formal and informal testing and evaluation of these test formats for appeal, credibility, clarity, and comprehensibility of style and content; and identifying additional key potential distribution partners from television media, print, Web and science centers outlets. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hoppe, Beth Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 100000 7259 SMET 9237 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0129775 September 15, 2001 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education Conference: 'Museums, Media, and the Public Understanding of Research,' Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, September, 2002. The Science Museum of Minnesota is requesting $279,577, of a total budget of $339,074, to plan and conduct a four-day international conference exploring issues, current practices and future directions related to furthering public understanding of current research in science and technology. The conference will bring together leading museum professionals, scientific researchers, science journalists, television producers, web developers and others who are already engaged in preliminary work for such an effort and who stand to learn from each other's experiences. The conference will center on the role of museums in informing the public about research, but will include representatives from other media and institutions crucial to its success. The specific goals of the conference are to: Explore challenges and barriers that hinder the development of public understanding of research programs. Identify "best practices" and promising models, tools and technologies for presenting current research to the public. Develop partnership strategies for creating public understanding of research program collaborations across the museum, media and research communities. Identify strategies for selecting significant research stories that are relevant to the public. Develop funding strategies and operational approaches that help sustain a consistent public understanding of research effort. The project will be under the direction of David Chittenden, Vice President for Education at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Advisors to the project include: Carol Lynn Alpert, Museum of Science, Boston; John Beatty, Distinguished Teaching Professor, University of Minnesota; Graham Farmelo, Head of Science Communications, Science Museum of London; Richard Hudson, Twin Cities Public Television, St. Paul; Ken Keller, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota; Rob Semper, The Exploratorium; David Ucko, Koshland Science Center and Science Outreach, National Academy of Sciences; and Bonnie VanDorn, Executive Director, Association of Science-Technology Centers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Chittenden, David Donald Pohlman Anne Hornickel Science Museum of Minnesota MN Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 285327 7259 5978 SMET OTHR 9200 9180 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0129834 September 15, 2001 Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education: Dragon Skies: Astronomical Instruments of Imperial China -- A Planning Grant for a Traveling Exhibit. Chabot Space and Science Center is developing and organizing a major traveling exhibit called "Dragon Skies: Astronomical Instruments of Imperial China." The exhibit will consist of nine Chinese astronomical instruments, dating between 1439 and 1744, as well as 25 smaller artifacts. In addition, a variety of interpretive materials and activities will be developed to enhance the exhibit. The PI, Michael Reynolds, has visited the Ancient Beijing Observatory and begun initial conversations with the staff there, resulting in tentative collaboration agreements. Subsequent to that visit, the Ancient Beijing Observatory has already determined which original instruments will be able to travel, has replicated several exhibits, and has compiled a collection of additional artifacts that will enhance the exhibit. The planning phase will be carried out by staff from Chabot, the Beijing Ancient Observatory, the Chinese Astronomical Society, and a team of advisors. Planning activities will include: Decide which aspects of exhibit development will be taken on by each partner. Determine what ancillary materials will need to be developed. Establish what interactive activities, such as hands-on activities or computer kiosks, will enhance the project. Determine what multimedia programs, such as an audio tour or planetarium shows, will increase the impact of the exhibit. Determine the translation needs for the exhibit and for the supplemental materials and programs. Arrange the logistics for the traveling exhibit. Establish criteria for venues that might display the exhibit and identify potential sites. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Reynolds, Michael Chabot Space and Science Center CA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 49967 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0129898 October 1, 2001 SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN RURAL AMERICA: Evaluative Study of NSF's Rural Systemic Initiatives. Systemic Research, Inc. proposes to conduct a 24-month evaluative study (from October 2001 to September 2003). During the initial phase, comprehensive secondary data collection will be conducted from various sources, including past Core Data Elements (CDE) reports, Annual Reports submitted to NSF, other key indicators obtainable from the RSIs' own web sites and relevant rural project reports. Systemic Research will develop a Rural Key Indicator Database (RKID) to organize both quantitative and qualitative longitudinal achievement databases over the project period of individual RSI sites. The study team will conduct two site visits each year to confirm reform implementation and to write relevant case stories based on observation. Based on completed RKID, both quantitative and qualitative data analysis will be performed to explore an inferential causal model. Study results will be disseminated in three publications: a two volume Rural Key Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education (Volume I for individual RSI progress report and Volume II for overall RSI progress reports); a rural education report in booklet format; and a RSI Evaluative Study Report including case stories of the four sites that were visited. All publications will be available in three different formats-- printed copy, CD-ROM, and web-based publication. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Kim, Jason John Haas Systemic Research, Inc. MA Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 574022 7366 7261 SMET 9177 0129998 September 15, 2001 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: SGER: Leading Edge. WGBH is conducting research and testing an innovative science magazine television series dedicated to the public understanding of research. The show will present both breaking research news and reports on underlying trends and issues in science. It will also feature stories that follow experiments or lab work over extended periods, profiles of scientists, stories of invention and discovery, and more purely entertaining items. The project places strong emphasis on a collaborative approach with other media developers, notably web and museum exhibit designers, to deepen the impact of the show beyond its immediate broadcast. During the research phase, WGBH will convene a group of scientists, informal educators and other potential collaborators to investigate the parameters involved in a collaborative approach. They also will produce and test sample program segments to determine what formats may be most effective. In addition, WGBH will begin looking for on-camera talent who has the knowledge and presentation ability to carry such a program. The questions that will be examined in the research phase include: how research and production efforts can be coordinated across different media, how facilities and infrastructure might be shared among different organizations providing public information about research, how the new television format might be customized to allow local television stations and science centers to link it with local events, and what formats may be most effective in engaging the public, holding their interest over multiple programs, and conveying substantive information about research. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 100000 7259 SMET 9237 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0130004 October 1, 2001 CLT-Net Requirements and Prototype Project. This is a project to determine the specifications for a collaborative electronic environment that would support distal CLT researchers, educators and others interested in learning about the research and practices emerging from the CLTs. Each CLT includes a doctoral degree granting university and a school district, but typically many other types of institutions are included such as colleges, community colleges, developers, education resource centers, private institutions and others, all of whom have contributions to make and specific needs. Under this project, a needs analysis of the CLT stakeholders will be carried out and specifications for a full system detailed CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Schlager, Mark Melissa Koch SRI International CA Michael Haney Standard Grant 297665 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0130318 September 1, 2001 Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education: Advancing the Public Understanding of Research Through Science and Technology Centers -- A Planning Grant. The Museum of Science in Boston is proposing to work with eight other science centers to investigate how science centers might collaborate to enhance the public understanding of research. The purpose of the planning effort is to identify and elaborate on promising approaches to increase the public understanding of the nature of scientific research, the process of technological innovation, and the interaction between science and technology and societal issues. Planning will be conducted in the context of three topics (tentative): global climate change, alternative energy sources, and genetically modified foods. Questions to be explored include: what it would take for each science center to offer exhibits and presentations on all three topics, how can the exhibits be kept current, what is the best mechanism for keeping science centers informed about current research, what would motivate visitors to return in order to follow a single line of research, how can visitors best continue their connection with the science centers after their visits, what will science centers change in the way they develop exhibits and programs in order to present current science and technology, what costs and logistical factors will need to be taken into consideration, will "one size fit all" or will different designs be needed for different science centers, and how might the exhibits and programs be designed to encourage the incorporation of local resources. The project will be coordinated with other media that are developing efforts to convey on-going science to the public. Evan Hadingham, Science Editor for NOVA at WGBH, will bring the perspective of television production; Rob Semper from the Exploratorium will represent the Internet; and Bruce Lowenstein, Editor of Public Understanding of Science, will represent print. The science centers participating in the planning effort include: Museum of Science, Boston New York Hall of Science Science Museum of Minnesota Arizona Science Center Tech Museum of Innovation California Science Center The Exploratorium Pacific Science Center American Museum of Natural History INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sneider, Cary Museum of Science MA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 44265 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0130603 September 1, 2001 German/American Early Career Research Exchange Workshop; October 2001 Germany, <br>May 4 - 6, 2002, Tampa, Florida. This project will support a conference on research on learning technologies and technology-supported education in Tampa/St. Pete on May 4-6, 2002 and will support the participation of US researchers at a related Tuebingen conference to be held in Germany in October 2001. The conference is organized to pair senior researchers with early career researchers on actual research projects that will be discussed and refined at the two conferences. The work of the Tampa conference in 2002 will be a direct extension of the work completed at the Tuebingen conference. The research will result in papers published in two special issues of the International Journal of Educational Policy, Research, and Practice. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Borman, Kathryn University of South Florida FL Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 191320 1666 SMET 9177 0130605 October 1, 2001 Development of a Public Policy Program Within the American Evaluation Association. The American Evaluation Association (AEA) is the only National professional association for evaluators in the U.S. and, as such, should speak for the profession on National policy issues. However, AEA has never before provided guidance to the broader community on public policy issues and therefore lacks the procedures to do so. Having such a voice is particularly critical now with the current debate of the Bush Administration's proposal to test all 4th and 8th grade public school students in mathematics and reading. Because the testing proposal deals specifically with actions that to be taken with regard to public schools based on the outcomes of the tests, this is primarily an evaluation issue and would benefit from an analysis by evaluators. AEA will create a process for developing a policy statement on the Bush Administration testing issue and on three other issues to be selected later that also address concerns of the mathematics and science community. The aim is to establish an ongoing capability within the AEA organization to mobilize the organization's resources to deal with policy questions. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Sanders, James Western Michigan University MI Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 69720 7355 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0131424 October 1, 2001 Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education: Research News for Local NBC Newscasts -- A Planning Grant. ScienCentral, with major support from NSF, has been developing and distributing short science stories for inclusion in local ABC news broadcasts. They are now developing a plan, in cooperation with NBC News Channel, to produce stories about cutting edge research to be carried on local NBC stations during their local news broadcasts. During this planning phase, ScienCentral will produce, distribute and evaluate three stories about current research in the area of global climate change. Specific planning tasks include: determining the technical and editorial processes for working with NBC News; conducting formative evaluations for topics, format and desired frequency of stories; and developing an auditable cost sharing process. The Editorial Board for the project includes Eliene Augenbraun, PI/Executive Producer and former research scientist; Besty Rosenfield, Vice President of ScienCentral; Jack Penland, News Director; and Curt Epstein, Senior Producer. They will work closely with an advisory panel consisting of Greg Kohler, Senior Producer, NBC News Channel; Leon Lederman, Office of Strategic Initiative, Illinois Institute of Technology; Jane Lubchenco, Environmental Scientist, Oregon State University; and Danielle Gray, Deputy Director for Emory University Integration of Education and Research, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience. Members of the advisory board will review scripts and roughcuts of all segments. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Augenbraun, Eliene Betsy Rosenfield ScienCentral Incorporated NY Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 49687 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0132231 September 1, 2001 Planning a Mid-Atlantic Center for Teaching and Learning/ (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics by Design). A Center for Learning and Teaching in Technology Education would provide a focus for educating teachers and teacher educators who could implement the ideas of technology education as described in the recently produced Standards for Technological Literacy, as well as in the AAAS Benchmarks and the National Science Education Standards. This planning grant is for the collaboration of the technology teacher education community and research communities in science and technology education. The planning determines a structure for graduate education in science and technology education, creates an agenda for research into how students learn technological concepts and how to use the information to implement the ideas of technological education in classrooms, and develops a technology teacher education curriculum. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Todd, Ronald The College of New Jersey NJ Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 99982 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0132382 August 15, 2002 The Representation of Number in Infancy. The broad goal of this proposal is to gain a deeper understanding of the adult human mathematical mind by studying its development in infancy. A major goal is to test the hypothesis that infants rely on analog magnitude representations of number similar to those used by adults, young children, and non-human animals. Previous studies suggest that infants may rely on two distinct systems for representing number; an object-file system for representing small values and an analog magnitude mechanism for representing large numerical values. This hypothesis will be tested by studying the psychophysics of number discrimination over a wide range of numerical values, testing whether infants are sensitive to ordinal relations between numerosities, and taking the first step to determine whether the enumeration process(es) that infants use involves serial or parallel processing. The proposed experiments will use the time that infants look at various displays and the location of infants. eye movements as dependent measures. The results of the proposed studies should provide a strong foundation for the development of a coherent model of the development of non-verbal numerical representations and will contribute to the principal investigator.s long-term goal of studying both the evolution and the development of numerical cognition. DEVELOP& LEARNING SCIENCES/CRI RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Brannon, Elizabeth Duke University NC Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 196029 1698 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0132784 September 1, 2001 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: The Brain: The Final Frontier -- Planning Proposal. The Massachusetts General Hospital is developing a large format film that will take an interdisciplinary look at brain science and raise questions about the nature and biological basis of consciousness. For the past two decades, the field of cognitive neuroscience has begun to explore and understand some of the most complex brain functions and, for the first time, research is pointing to answers to such questions as, "What makes intelligence possible?" and "What makes consciousness possible?" This film will examine the basic functions of the brain and explore some of the cutting-edge research that is reaching into the realms of intelligence and consciousness. The large format film will be supported by outreach components that will include an educator's guide, a family pamphlet, a poster and a website. Science content for the series will be developed by Anne Buckingham Young, Chief of the Department of Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital; Dennis Selkow, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School; and Gary L. Gottlieb, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. They will work closely with advisors with expertise in cognitive neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, philosophy and biology. The project will be under the direction of JoAnna Baldwin-Mallory, Director of the Office of New Ventures at Partners HealthCare System. The film will be directed and produced by Peter Georgi who is currently producing and directing the NSF supported large format film, The Human Body, with the BBC. Front-end and formative evaluation will be conducted by Ralph Adler of RMC Research. As they have developed the conceptualization and preliminary plans for the film, the staff has identified several issues that would benefit from further, more in-depth planning. These activities that would be conducted during the planning stage include: Convening the scientific advisors and production staff to develop the science content further and to design an approach for presenting substantive content that is appropriate for the large format film medium. Conducting front-end evaluation of popular understandings of and interest in brain science. Carrying out formative testing of preliminary script ideas. Investigating the potential for supplementing the already planned outreach materials with additional components such as a guide specifically designed for classroom teachers, an activity guide for students, a CD-ROM and short radio spots that present stories from the front lines of brain research. Developing a film script, print and web components. Establishing partnerships in research and academic communities and with science centers and natural history museums. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Baldwin-Mallory, JoAnna Massachusetts General Hospital MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 49545 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0133185 October 1, 2001 Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program: Evaluation Activities. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Directorate for Education and Human resources proposes to develop program evaluation models and tools that will be used to collectively and individually assess the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program. Under the AGEP Program, NSF supports a portfolio of projects that serve as effective models for addressing issues related to increasing the number of minority students pursuing advanced degrees; obtaining doctoral degrees; and entering the professoriate in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) disciplines. Products will include the AGEP Evaluation Framework; evaluation models; and evaluation tools and protocols. Dissemination of evaluation information and materials will be done in print and web site format. In addition, AAAS will host 3 AGEP evaluation workshops to help Alliance members understand how to use the AGEP Evaluation Framework, models, and tools. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR George, Yolanda American Association For Advancement Science DC Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 438922 7261 SMET 9177 0133212 February 15, 2002 CAREER: Exploring Cognitive, Social, and Cultural Dimensions of Visualization in Computer Science Education. An approach in which students become teachers by using algorithm visualization technology not only to construct their own visualizations, but also to present those visualizations to their instructor and peers for feedback and discussion will be studied within the context of a third-year, undergraduate computer science course on computer algorithms. This approach will be used to develop a studio-based algorithms course in which the construction and discussion of visualizations are the central activities of the course. Specifically, students will use algorithm visualization technology to construct their own visual solutions to algorithm design and analysis problems. In a variety of regularly scheduled review sessions, they will present their solutions to instructors and peers for feedback, discussion, and evaluation. This research will yield several products and outcomes from which science educators, educational researchers, visualization technologists, and cognitive anthropologists stand to benefit. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hundhausen, Christopher University of Hawaii HI WALTER C. ERMLER Continuing grant 241054 1666 SMET 9177 9150 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0133246 April 1, 2002 CAREER: A mediated action study of learning object us. This research and education program is directed at devising theoretical frameworks and methodological strategies for designing and employing learning objects in scalable online learning environments that are rich with human-to-human interaction. To develop these new frameworks and strategies, empirical program based on qualitative analyses of existing online learning communities will be done. Rather than viewing learning objects as decontextualized artifacts existing independent of learners interactions with them, Wertsch's (1991) analytic method will allow the research to focus on the ways in which resources mediate the achievement of online learners' goals in the context of existing online learning communities. The research will be integrated into several educational activities. Three full graduate assistantships are provided for the five years of the grant, which will engage students in Utah State University's Instructional Technology graduate program in real-world application of skills they are learning, as well as prepare them for future research projects of their own. Additionally, the grant will serve as a real-world context for assignments in a variety of courses such as qualitative methods courses and a Learning Objects Seminar. Thirdly, as portions of the framework become available courses will be designed around the framework, giving both myself and the students the opportunity to engage reflectively in their own integrated learning and research activities. This project is co-funded by Division of Undergraduate Education. NATIONAL SMETE DIGITAL LIBRARY RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Wiley, David Utah State University UT Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 570166 7444 1666 SMET 9177 7444 1187 1045 0133346 June 1, 2002 CAREER: The Role of Self-Regulated Learning in Students' Understanding of Science with Hypermedia. This project focuses on the role of self-regulated learning (SRL) in students' understanding of science with hypermedia. SRL is emerging as a significant issue in educational and psychological research. SRL is an active, constructive process whereby learners set goals for their learning and then attempt to monitor, regulate, and control their cognition, motivation, and behavior in the service of those goals. SRL is guided and constrained by both personal characteristics and the contextual features of the environment (Pintrich, 2000). The focus of SRL research over the last three decades has been on learners' academic learning and achievement and has progressively included emphases on cognitive strategies, metacognition, motivation, and task engagement (for a recent review see Paris & Paris, 2001). The broad scope of SRL appeals to educational researchers who seek to understand how students become adept and independent in their educational pursuits. Whether SRL is viewed as a set of skills that can be taught explicitly or as developmental processes of self-regulation that emerge with experience (within a domain, topic, or task), teachers can provide information and opportunities to students of all ages that will help them become strategic, motivated, and independent learners. There are, however, several theoretical and empirical issues that need further research before practical classroom implications can be put forth. How do students' regulate their own learning when using a hypermedia environment to learn about complex science topics? Which processes related to self- and co-regulation do student pairs and teachers use during collaborative learning of complex science topics with hypermedia? What kinds of instructional conditions are more effective in fostering SRL? How can science teachers provide information and opportunities to students of all ages that can help them become more strategic, motivated, and independent learners? Can SRL be taught explicitly as a set of skills or is it a developmental process that emerges from experience (within a task, topic, or domain).This NSF Career project will explore these questions through research that forges new directions in the area of students' self-regulated learning of two complex science topics (the circulatory system and ecological systems) with hypermedia environments (CircSysWeb and RiverWeb). In doing so, the research goals will be: (1) To scale-up research on self-regulated learning across developmental levels and contexts; (2) To examine the role of self- and co-regulation during individual and collaborative learning with hypermedia environments; (3) To examine the effectiveness of co-construction of goals (between teacher and students) during learning of science with hypermedia environments; (4) To examine the effectiveness of strategy instruction training in fostering students' self- and co-regulated learning with hypermedia; and, (5) To examine the effectiveness of adaptive web-based hypermedia environments in detecting, modeling, and fostering students' self- and co-regulated learning of science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Azevedo, Roger University of Maryland College Park MD Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 615663 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0133446 January 15, 2002 CAREER:Investigating Critical Thinking In Multimedia Environments To Improve Public Utilization Of Science. The investigator would investigate the role of context in critical thinking (making sure an author's points are clearly backed by evidence) across popular media. What are the needs of everyday critical thinkers and how can their needs be fulfilled? It will develop tools and training based on this research and train parents and teachers on the use of these tools. Then it will evaluate whether participation affects user practice. The researcher will examine the personal and social impact of scientific information from three studies of evolutionary science as perceived by college students and adults. It will concentrate on public understanding of the human genome project and human learning strategies. The project will use web-based forums as a vehicle for investigating these understandings. The interactions of teachers and students with the Web will be evaluated to determine whether informative tools that support student strategies and reflective exercises are needed. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Brem, Sarah Arizona State University AZ Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 331405 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0133533 May 1, 2002 CAREER: Representational Tools to Support Understanding of Complex Biological Systems. Life science is often about understanding complex systems- from human body systems to ecosystems to evolution. These are hard to understand because it requires understanding how structures relate to functions and what the behaviors of the system are. Some interactions between parts are invisible and have a time sequence that makes them difficult to perceive. Even adults struggle to learn about complex systems. Yet such understanding is often critical to scientific analysis. These difficulties may be aggravated by the static depictions found in typical textbooks that focus on structures without considering the dynamic behaviors and function. One possible approach to teaching about complex systems involves the use of a conceptual representation drawn from Structure-Behavior-Function (SBF) theory but we need to first investigate how people come to understand complex biological systems. Much of life science instruction tends to focus on structural aspects of complex systems. I will use this framework to develop both static (hypermedia) and dynamic approaches (a simulation construction kit, the virtual construction kit - the VCK) to help middle-school students learn an SBF schema, and in particular, support their understanding of system behaviors and functions. This research addresses three main questions: 1) What does it mean to understand a complex system?; 2) How can providing an explicit conceptual representation (i.e., SBF) support learning about complex systems?; and 3) How can dynamic representational tools (i.e., hypermedia and the VCK) support learning about this conceptual representation? The teaching plan has three main components. First, there will be an opportunity for a research mentorship for graduate and undergraduate students as they become involved in research and instructional design. Second, I will contribute to masters and doctoral course development through developing and enhancing existing graduate course offerings in Cognition and Technology and Model Development and Reasoning in Science. Third, there will be an impact on preservice teacher training. Because the VCK models can be used as windows into children's thinking, this work will provide contexts that will be integrated into preservice teacher education. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hmelo-Silver, Cindy Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 677164 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0133619 June 1, 2002 CAREER:Reasoning in High School Geometry Classrooms: Understanding the Practical Logic Underlying the Teacher's Work. This project seeks to understand how students build mathematical reasoning skills through working with teachers on geometric proofs. Although the NCTM Standards put an emphasis on students' development of these skills, teachers often do not know how to effectively use proofs to assist students. This project will focus on understanding the dynamics of working with proofs that occur between teachers, students, and the subject matter. The proposer will conduct classroom observations, interviews, and focus groups with teachers. Replacement units will be used by the teachers during some observations that will allow for both descriptive observation as well as flexibility in the treatment conditions. The researcher will use this research in his teaching in several ways. Preservice teachers will be invited to spend part of their practicum in the observation classes. Several courses will be created including a master's-level course on teaching and learning of geometry. The research will also infuse an existing course on conceptualization in mathematics. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Herbst, Patricio University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 561893 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0133621 March 15, 2002 PECASE: Research on Students' Mental Models, Learning and Transfer as a Guide to Application-Based Curriculum Development and Instruction in Physics. Proposal Title: PECASE: Research on Students' Mental Models, Learning and Transfer as a Guide to Application-Based Curriculum Development and Instruction in Physics Institution: Kansas State University The development of student's mental models has not been studied extensively in Physics education research. Initial evidence indicating that mental models and their application are strongly context dependent is particularly relevant to application-based curriculum. In this PECASE project, I investigate students' mental models of real-world devices, how these models evolve through instruction, and whether they transfer across contexts. Next, I utilize my research results to develop application-based curriculum, organized into versatile weeklong instructional modules that are pilot-tested in introductory classes that I teach. I assess the impact of the model development on the students, as well as issues of transfer of learning from one context to another. As a spin-off from this investigation, I develop instruments that are transferable to other research on student mental model development. This research is also integrated into a graduate level course that I team-teach. The course focuses on current Trends and issues in physics education research. Students in this course are involved in my research through a capstone project in this course. Two experienced faculty members facilitate my professional development through the project. A pioneer in physics education and head of the department mentors my growth as a researcher and teacher in the graduate course. An award-winning teacher at the introductory undergraduate level mentors my pilot testing of the application-based curricula in the introductory courses that I teach. Overall this project builds a strong foundation for a lifetime of contributions to research and education in physics pedagogy. This project was originally funded as a CAREER award, and was converted to a Presidential Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists (PECASE) award in May 2004. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rebello, N. Sanjay Kansas State University KS Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 436796 1666 SMET 9177 9150 1076 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0133662 March 1, 2002 CAREER: Shared Scientific Sense-Making and Bilingual Student Advancement in Science: Linking Family and School Learning Through Informal Learning Research. This CAREER grant interweaves research and teaching focused on understanding how social groups construct meaning during scientific conversations across different learning contexts, such as classrooms, museums and the home. This work will be translated into formal educational settings and used to inform teaching practices within pre-service University and in-service school district settings. The research and educational emphasis will be on creating conceptual links between social learning in diverse settings and the creation of corridors of opportunity between formal and informal learning institutions. To date there has been little research with families from cultural and linguistic minority populations, such as Latino families, at informal learning settings and virtually none that integrates formal and informal learning, or impacts teaching. The five-year project will: 1. Conduct Study 1, aimed at making fundamental cross-cultural comparisons of family conversational meaning making at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and linking this work with family interviews, reflective conversations and visits to family homes; 2. Review the theoretical framework and conduct Study 2, which will incorporate lessons learned from Study 1, and linking this research to formal classrooms; and 3. Use the findings (at each stage) to inform teaching practice with UCSC undergraduate (Science majors) and graduate (Science credential, MA and Ph.D.) students, and, in collaboration with teacher research groups for new and experienced teacher in schools that serve predominantly Latino students. This research plan provides an opportunity for viewing several inter-connected mechanisms, including family interactions and conversations, compelling science content, naturalistic learning in museum settings, and, finally, analyzing these factors in order to inform teaching practices that promote bilingual minority students to the rank of scientists. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI ENGINEERING EDUCATION DRL EHR Ash, Doris University of California-Santa Cruz CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 663877 7259 1666 1340 SMET 9177 7259 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0133900 March 1, 2002 CAREER:Understanding the Role of Video in Teacher Learning. This project will study the role that video can play in how teachers learn and how they develop a professional vision of their craft. The use of video based lessons of various sorts has become popular in the professional development of teachers. Meanwhile, research has sought to focus on the notion of a "professional vision" for teaching as researchers work to refine our understanding of how good teachers optimize their blend of pedagogical and content knowledge in the context of specific instructional tasks. This project will examine the use of video in the context of teacher professional vision. It will develop, apply, and refine a new organizing and analytic framework for studying this phenomenon, and will include the analysis of video content, professional development program design, interviews with teachers, and observations of video clubs. The research will be the source of several new and revised courses on learning sciences, teaching and pedagogy, mathematics teaching methods, and alternative certification. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sherin, Miriam Northwestern University IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 641990 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0133989 February 15, 2002 CAREER: Exploring Representations of Structure: The Impact of Visualization on Conceptual Understanding in Chemistry. The broad aim of this project is to conduct research over a five-year period that investigates the link between visual representations and conceptual understanding of atoms and molecules in simple inorganic and organic molecules. Specific goals of the project are to investigate learners' understanding of simple inorganic and organic structures at the atomic and molecular levels, explore how visual spatial-ability relates to the formation of representations of atomic and molecular structure, and develop an Internet-deliverable, multimedia package that has instructional and assessment functions in promoting conceptual understanding of atomic/molecular structure through visualization. Specific objectives of the study are to survey student understanding of the difference between atoms and molecules at the microscopic level in relation to their understanding of elements and compounds at the macroscopic level, determine the conditions under which learners invoke the particle nature of matter when explaining chemical phenomena such as phase changes or chemical reactions, describe the nature of students' two-dimensional and three-dimensional understanding of atomic and molecular structure in simple molecules, determine the nature of the relationship between visual-spatial ability and the formation of representations of atomic and molecular structure, investigate the efficacy of visual-spatial training in the development of the particle nature of matter using handheld models and molecular modeling applications, and examine the effect of visual-spatial training using handheld models or molecular modeling software on the ability of students to alternate between two- and three-dimensional representations of molecules. Research methods include semi-structured interviews, paper-pencil and on-line tasks, and video recording of student performance. Subjects will be enrolled in chemistry courses for majors, non-majors, and for future elementary teachers. Results from the research will lead to a better understanding of the relationship between cognitive skills and conceptual development leading to improved curricular design and pedagogy in the chemistry classroom. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gonzalez, Barbara California State University-Fullerton Foundation CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 531093 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0134608 March 1, 2002 Rural Systemic Initiatives in Science, Mathematics,and Technology Education - RSI: Fort Peck Community College Rural Systemic Initiative. The proposers plan to implement the Improved Student Performance model of school reform, developed by the Ventures Education System Corporation (VESC), in the reservation schools. This model was chosen by the teachers and administrators of the participating districts. Supporting the Ventures implementation, as well as the other objectives, the project leaders plan to conduct professional development for in-service teachers, and include pre-service student teachers in the activities as well. The project will also provide modest funding for extracurricular content-focused activities for students, and to better involve parents, as well as contracting for services to increase the cultural content in the curriculum. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Campbell, Margarett Fort Peck Community College MT Lura J. Chase Standard Grant 1325770 7366 1538 SMET 9177 9150 0134680 September 1, 2001 Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education: Behind the Screen Traveling Exhibition Tour Extension. The American Museum of the Moving Image is refurbishing the traveling exhibit, "Behind the Screen: Making Motion Pictures and Television." The exhibit, which focuses on the science and technology underlying movies and television, opened at the World Financial Center in New York City and subsequently traveled to the Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Sweden and the Technisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. It currently is at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and is scheduled to travel to COSI Toledo, Ohio in October 2001. The American Museum of the Moving Image has requests for the exhibit from the Science City, Kansas City; the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia; and the Museum of Science, Boston. However, in order for the exhibit to travel to venues beyond the Exploratorium, it needs to be refurbished and upgraded. This grant provides the funds for the exhibit to remain viable and to travel to additional venues. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Slovin, Rochelle American Museum of the Moving Image NY Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 219510 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0135062 July 1, 2002 CAREER: An Integrated Approach to Researching Teacher Change. The purpose of the proposed work is to coordinate the activities of testing and refining a trajectory for supporting teacher change with that of testing and refining an interpretive framework as a lens for analyzing that change in both pre- and in-service teachers' perceptions of what it means to teach mathematics effectively and how they develop an understanding of the complexities involved. Following Simon (1997), a hypothetical learning trajectory for teachers is proposed that builds from the current literature on teacher change by incorporating the following: 1. the importance of a deep understanding of the mathematics to be taught, 2. a focus on pedagogical strategies to support students' learning of significant mathematics, 3. a focus on students' diverse ways of reasoning on tasks, 4. lesson planning and design that takes account of students' current understandings, and 5. teacher-developed cases from the classroom as tools for reflection and critique. The trajectory therefore involves conjectures about both a learning route and the means of supporting that learning. The research will test an interpretive framework referred to as the Critical Aspects of Teachers' Knowledge: knowledge of content, knowledge of pedagogy, and knowledge of institutional context. This framework builds from Shulman's (1986) notion of pedagogical content knowledge to take account of the importance of both content and pedagogy in teaching for understanding. It extends this work by also acknowledging the importance of the institutional context of the teachers and its implications for their decision-making. Numerous scholars have noted the lack of carefully constructed and empirically grounded frameworks for characterizing the process of teacher change. Thus, research is needed that more fully explicates the criteria for conducting rigorous analyses of teacher change. This study addresses the need by combining the efforts of testing and revising the conjectured learning trajectory with analysis framed in terms of the Critical Aspects of Teachers' Knowledge. This process is therefore positioned to make a significant contribution and provide the opportunity for development of new theories in the field. The proposed work takes place in two phases. The first entails collaborating with a cohort of in-service teachers (grades six through eight) with the goal of supporting and analyzing their practice in order to document change. The activities of the cohort will build from the conjectured learning trajectory to include a focus on 1) an in-depth exploration of mathematics, 2) development of lesson sequences to address the mathematics, and 3) development of cases from the teachers' classrooms where the teaching of these lessons is the focus. The second phase of work involves taking the teacher-developed cases as resources for modifying a mathematics methods course for pre-service teachers so that it focuses on the Critical Aspects of Teachers' Knowledge. In this way, the cases first serve as a vehicle for the in-service teachers' change and then later as the tools for supporting an emerging practice in the pre-service teachers. As a result, this process provides a rich setting in which to investigate the utility of the interpretive framework as a lens for analysis of both pre- and in-service teachers' growth and change, tightly integrating the research and education activities. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR McClain, Kay Vanderbilt University TN Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 643676 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0135145 April 15, 2002 Rural Systemic Initiatives in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education-Ozark RSI. This project conducted by the Southwest Center for Educational Excellence will work with ten districts to implement systemic reform strategies through content-based professional development, action research, standards-based curricula, reallocation of resources, formulation of supportive policies, and development of local partnerships. Four catalyst schools will partner with smaller districts, and key staff work will be organized by the schools' five-year improvement plans. H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Gordanier, Arch Martha Henry Garry Keltner Michael Horvath David Wallace Southwest Center for Educational Excellence MO Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 3634444 1748 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0135385 March 15, 2002 Assessing the Impact and Effectiveness of the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program. This three-year continuation of assessing the ATE Program will address four major questions: 1) To what degree is the program achieving its goals? 2) Is it making an impact, reaching the individuals and groups intended? 3) How effective is it when it reaches it constituents? 4) Are there ways the program can be significantly improved? The project will be comprised of three components. The first is the continuing collection and reporting of monitoring information for the ATE program through a database this project developed. Second is the design and implementation of four studies examining critical issues for ATE: the value added by ATE as determined by business and industry, the quality of materials development and their impact, the quality of professional development, and the nature and extent of sustainability of ATE project. The third component is dissemination of the evaluation project's findings through traditional and innovative approaches. ADVANCED TECH EDUCATION PROG PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Gullickson, Arlen Frances Lawrenz Western Michigan University MI Gabriel M. Della-Piana Continuing grant 1766741 7412 7261 SMET 9178 9177 1032 0135526 March 1, 2002 Rural Systemic Initiatives in Science, Mathematics,and Technology Education - RSI: Arizona Rural Systemic Initiative. The Arizona-Rural Systemic Initiative (AZ-RSI) proposes to create a learning environment to improve science, mathematics and technology education in 22 rural, economically disadvantaged K-12 schools/communities with high American Indian and Hispanic enrollments. The 22 schools are located within the boundaries of 7 public school districts and 2 Bureau of Indian Affairs agencies with a total student enrollment of 9,698. The AZ-RSI is a partnership among the 22 rural schools, 2 County School Offices, Arizona State University East, and WestEd Education Laboratory. Memoranda of Agreement with school boards support the proposed implementation plan to improve mathematics and science education for nearly 10,000 students by focusing on comprehensive and cohesive capacity-building at the local site. The AZ-RSI has designed an implementation plan that emphasizes reform at the school level. The plan is flexible and full of technical assistance and leadership training for all stakeholders to help build requisite capacity for implementing and sustaining lasting reform. The AZ-RSI has formed a highly qualified management team to oversee the implementation plan. Field specialists with expertise in classroom implementation of effective instructional strategies and experience in education reform will provide on-site support to Local Leadership Teams. Said teams will implement school-wide plans to improve mathematics and science for all students with the help from field specialists. The AZ-RSI anticipates that the overall impacts will be improved student achievement in mathematics and science in participating schools, increased capacity of schools to sustain improvements, and a significant contribution to rural education research. H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Brighton, Karen Yvonne Billingsley Phillip Huebner Nora Ramirez Roberto Canchola Arizona State University AZ Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 4634444 1748 1538 SMET 9177 0135641 October 1, 2001 SGER: Overcoming Barriers to Success in Higher Level Mathematics for African American and Latino Students. The proposers will catalog and analyze classroom barriers-attitudes, concepts, skills, instructional strategies-that prevent students' egress to higher level mathematics classes, and to study and compare parental attitudes and interventions between majority and minority parents toward their children's course-taking habits and decisions. The mathematics specialists involved in the exploratory phase of the work will compile school-specific and network composite lists of barrier concepts, and will then develop a set of instructional strategies and resources to redress the barriers. Minority and majority parents of students in grades 5-7 will be interviewed as to their understanding of the role of higher level coursework, and access to such courses; the effectiveness of district communications; their understanding of district policies; and their relationship with schools. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM DRL EHR Diamond, John Minority Student Achievement Network IL Lura J. Chase Standard Grant 100000 7365 SMET 9177 0135822 March 1, 2002 Rural Systemic Initiatives in Science, Mathematics,and Technology Education - RSI: Coalfield Rural Systemic Initiative: Building Bridges to the Future. This project is organized around six Interventions, each with implementation strategies targeted at the various administrative and teaching levels. Superintendents, school board members, and principals will participate in Leadership Institutes that will enhance the leaders' abilities to support the resource, policy, and instructional alignments and revisions necessary to accomplish the reform. Math and science specialists will provide guidance and technical assistance in the development and implementation of standards-based programs in math and science, and will assist district personnel to review and analyze data and other information necessary to gauge progress. They will work with and through the district and school improvement plans, and will help develop collaborations with higher education institutions and other reform projects. ITEST H-1B K-12 PARTNERSHIPS SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Smith, Keith Phyllis Barnhart Patricia Wright James Scott Robert Moore Edvantia, Inc. WV Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 4855871 7227 1748 1538 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0136024 September 15, 2001 Optics Education: A Blueprint for the 21st Century -- A Planning Grant. Using a five-month planning grant, the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) will develop a comprehensive 10-year, educational initiative to address the needs of the optical science and engineering communities. A series of workshops will be held at professional meetings of SPIE and the Optical Society of America (OSA) to assess regional needs and resources. Workshop recommendations will be used to create a plan to enhance the scientific and technological literacy of the public and raise the level of awareness about career options in this exciting and expanding field. The meetings will incorporate a diverse array of stakeholders including optical engineering and science professionals, formal and informal educators, as well as representatives from industry and underrepresented groups in science and engineering. Strategic emphasis will be placed on informal science education and efforts to recruit and retain minorities and women in optical engineering and related sciences. The resulting education blueprint will be disseminated to the field in electronic and print media, and subsequently implemented by SPIE and OSA. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Soileau, Marion SPIE-The International Society for Optical Engineering WA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 48725 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137298 April 15, 2002 SGER: Quest Atlantis Project. This project will take advantage of advanced technologies and strategies proven successful in online role-playing games to create exciting opportunities for children in an after school context. There are almost no examples of learning environments that build on lessons and strategies from the commercial success of 3D online, role-playing games, environments that are populated by tens of thousands of users each day. Leveraging 3-D technologies and principles so successful for the gaming community to develop educationally meaningful environments is a topic of which we, as an educational community, know very little and which has much potential to engage typically underrepresented groups in SMT learning. This work is exploratory and has exciting potential both in terms of its direct service to the disadvantaged children at the local Boys and Girls Clubs and in terms of the broader implications of the research to inform the education community. Our 18 month relationship with the Boys and Girls Clubs is currently strong and recently Compaq and Microsoft donated $100,000 in equipment, software, and service to both local Boys and Girls Clubs to create Technology Centers. The Quest Atlantis program is viewed as an exciting opportunity to integrate the computers in Club programming, and staff, and space will be committed to the project. Continuing this relationship and leveraging this still-new technology and the current interest in innovating with this equipment and software creates a timely opportunity. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Barab, Sasha Indiana University IN Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 87316 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0137305 September 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Show-Me Project (renewal). This project continues the work of the Show-Me Center. The center consists of a Middle School Mathematics Center (University of Missouri) and four Curriculum Satellite Centers (University of Wisconsin, Michigan State University, University of Montana and the Education Development Center in Newton, MA. The goals of the center are fourfold: 1) disseminate information supporting awareness, examination and implementation of comprehensive, standards-based middle school mathematics curricula; 2) develop a leadership infrastructure to support curriculum reform utilizing Show-Me Regional Associates, experienced teacher users of curricula (Show-Me Master Teachers) and district leadership teams to carry the message and work at local levels; 3) provide professional development and teacher renewal. Center staff help school districts design and implement coherent and long-term professional development for teachers organized around standards-based curriculum adoption; and 4) monitor the impact of standards-based curricula on student learning. The Center initiates data collection through the Show-Me Postdoctoral Fellow Program so that the extent and quality of implementation and its effects on student learning and teacher development are documented and disseminated. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Reys, Barbara Ira Papick Robert Reys Fran Arbaugh James Tarr University of Missouri-Columbia MO John S. Bradley Continuing grant 5092677 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137414 December 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Revision of the "Mathematics in Context" Materials. Staff at the University of Wisconsin are developing the next version of the middle school instructional program, "Mathematics in Context." Materials are also developed for teachers, administrators and parents. The work is done is in collaboration with the Freudenthal Institute at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands and the Encyclopedia Britannica. Some units will receive only minor changes and corrections and others will be completely revised. Among the more significant changes are: streamlining the fifth-grade units to facilitate the transition from elementary school reform materials; reducing the number of units at each grade level to facilitate more complete coverage; and the development of technology-based project units that could be used by groups of students outside regular class time. The revisions are based on reviews by experts and the experience of use in classrooms. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Romberg, Thomas Margaret Meyer David Webb University of Wisconsin-Madison WI John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1690000 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137682 August 15, 2002 Middle Grades MATH Thematics Phase II. This project involves revising the Middle Grades MATH Thematics curriculum, a comprehensive grades 6-8 mathematics curriculum developed with NSF funding from 1992 through 1997. Revisions will be informed by data collected from various stakeholders, including MATH Thematics teachers, research mathematicians and mathematics educators. Revised student materials will take advantage of new technologies and will be field tested in diverse middle-school settings. The professional development component of the curriculum will be greatly expanded. Materials for parents and administrators that are tailored to MATH Thematics will be developed. New materials will be designed that can be used with special learners, and existing multicultural materials will be evaluated and revised. Formative and summative evaluation of the project will be conducted. Cost sharing includes substantial contributions from the University of Montana and the publisher. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Billstein, Rick University of Montana MT John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2411224 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137718 August 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Core-Plus Mathematics Revision Project. This award supports a major revision of the Core Plus Mathematics Project (CPMP; marketed as Contemporary Mathematics in Context) student materials for high school mathematics, the development of more informative teacher materials, and the development of materials for parents and other community stakeholders in mathematics education. The revision of student and teacher materials will be based on studies of student achievement conducted over eight years; a large collection of suggestions from teachers who have used the materials in their classrooms; results from expert panels, including the U.S. Department of Education, the American Association for the Advancement of Science; recommendations in the Principals and Standards for School Mathematics and a special review by university mathematicians sponsored by the developers. The development is done by a team that includes teachers, mathematics education specialists, mathematicians and statisticians. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Hirsch, Christian Harold Schoen Western Michigan University MI John S. Bradley Continuing grant 5099476 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137730 April 15, 2002 ADVANCE Fellows Award:Implementing Inquiry Pedagogy in Elementary and Middle School Science Classrooms. In the current climate of nationwide education reform, a strong movement is afoot to place inquiry at the center of science education. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996), which recommend that students be ieengaged in inquiryld that involves combining ioprocesses and scientific knowledge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of scienceln (p. 105). Clearly, if teachers are to promote meaningful learning as advocated by the Standards, some of their instructional practices will have to change, and such changes must be supported by strong, research-based professional development programs. The proposed study will document the ways in which specific professional development opportunities influence science teachers beliefs and knowledge and, consequently, their instructional practices. Several factors influence teachers instructional decisions, including their beliefs about the nature of science, their theories about teaching and learning, and their knowledge of scientific concepts. Through a series of week-long summer institutes, teams of elementary and middle school science teachers will gain understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry, the role of models in scientific inquiry, and various strategies for creating robust inquiry opportunities in diverse classrooms. Ongoing monthly meetings throughout the academic year will provide teacher teams with opportunities to discuss issues related to implementing inquiry pedagogy, share materials, and seek assistance with particular concerns. A variety of professional development interventions will be employed to help alter teachers beliefs and develop their knowledge about scientific inquiry and conceptual models. These interventions include: collaborative study of a theoretical framework describing scientific inquiry; eflective writing; ongoing collegial interactions; and quality curricular materials. The analytical method employed for the study will be that of the collective case study. One focus teacher from each teacher team will be the subject of a case study. Collectively, the case studies will be formulated to shed light on the processes that teachers undergo in their attempt to adopt inquiry pedagogy and the types of professional development and support that have positive influences on these processes. Qualitative data such as interview transcripts, field notes, and teacher journals will be examined using QSR NUD*IST, a theory-building qualitative analysis tool. It is undeniable that national and statewide reform initiatives, bolstered by renewed emphasis on standardized testing, are putting pressure on teachers to adopt inquiry-based instructional techniques. Unfortunately, utilizing inquiry-based curriculum materials and providing hands-on learning experiences in classrooms are not enough to enable students to ioengage in the same activities and thinking processes [italics added] as scientists who are seeking to expand human knowledge of the natural worldll (NRC, 2000, p. 1). To accomplish this tall task, teachers will need support in developing greater understanding about the nature of scientific inquiry and ways of implementing inquiry instruction into their classrooms. The proposed study will make an important contribution to our knowledge of how specific professional development opportunities enable teachers to adopt more inquiry-based practices. ADVANCE - INSTITUTIONAL TRANSF DRL EHR Cartier, Jennifer University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 308977 1738 SMET 9177 1681 0116000 Human Subjects 0137733 April 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Teachers Domain: Support Materials Development. This project will capitalize on the availability of an organized data set consisting of thousands of video clips from the WGBH and PBS digital library. This resource is a searchable, Web-based repository of contextualized multimedia materials teachers can access easily and productively for their own professional development. With this award WGBH will produce a set of supporting resources to amplify the relevance and impact of this digital library for both students and teachers. These supporting resources include multimedia presentation features for curriculum units that feature self-contained video and interactive modules; descriptive annotations and background essays to accompany each asset in the collection; and detailed lesson plans and discussion questions for using these resources to support deep learning of the content. It is anticipated that five curriculum units will be produced, with each unit consisting of two or more modules. The curriculum units will be developed for the high school level and the five units will include genetics, ecology, evolution, cells and biochemistry. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Korf, Michele WGBH Educational Foundation MA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 500263 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137735 July 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Video Resources for In-Depth Investigations of Pond Organisms. The overall aim of this project is to develop a set of videos on a CD-ROM centering on the investigations of pond organisms to be used by elementary and middle school teachers as complements to existing life science curricula and environmental education programs. This product will be published nationally by a commercial publisher. During the three years of the project the videos will be pilot tested by EDC and the New England Aquarium staff and then field-tested in a range of school districts. The collaborators in the project will be the Education Development Center and the New England Aquarium. Peace River Films and Squid Country Safari will be subcontractors producing the videos and adapting them for a CD-ROM. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Zubrowski, Bernard Alexander Goldowsky Education Development Center MA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 688769 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137772 September 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Advancing the Work of COMPASS: A Secondary Mathematics Implementation Project. The "Curricular Options Programs for All Secondary Students (COMPASS)" Center focuses on issues related to the implementation of five national comprehensive secondary school mathematics curriculum programs as a means of initiating systemic change within a school district. The five programs are: Contemporary Mathematics in Context; the Interactive Mathematics Program; MATH Connections; Mathematics: Modeling Our World; and SIMMS Integrated Mathematics. The structure of COMPASS includes a Central Site and five Satellite Sites, one for each curriculum program. The primary functions of the Central Site are to inform various constituencies about these curricula, to assist school districts in developing the capacity for change by helping them formulate an implementation plan, and to coordinate requests for additional information and assistance from the Satellite Sites. The primary goals of the Satellite Sites are to provide curriculum program-specific information and to assist school districts with program-specific implementation strategies, including professional development for teachers. The work of all six sites involves working with policy makers at the school district, regional and state levels, as well as with parents, businesses and community leaders as they seek to institute or understand the kind of educational reform embodied in these curricula. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Robinson, Eric John Maceli Margaret Robinson Ithaca College NY John S. Bradley Continuing grant 3599861 7355 7300 SMET 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137805 September 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: IMP for the 21st Century. This project involves revising the Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP), a four-year, integrated, problem-based, college-preparatory, high-school mathematics curriculum developed with funding from the State of California and the NSF. Revisions will build on successful elements of the program in ways that respond to the changing context of mathematics education. The revisions will focus on three objectives. First, the curriculum will be strengthened by making changes that give the program greater flexibility. This will be accomplished by adding a major technology component, and by making content changes that respond to recent state and national policy documents. Second, the professional development program will be strengthened through leadership programs that produce more professional development leaders and by creating consistency and sustainability through a Professional Development Handbook that articulates IMP's vision of successful professional development. Third, dissemination and implementation efforts will be strengthened by developing new materials about all aspects of IMP that will inform and address concerns of educational decision makers such as school boards, administrators, parents, and teachers. These efforts will be carried out with the guidance of a broad-based steering committee. There will be general evaluation of all project components, as well as analysis of the mathematical content of the revised curriculum materials. Cost sharing includes substantial contributions from the publisher and from San Francisco State University. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Robinson, Eric Sherry Fraser Jean Klanica San Francisco State University CA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 2099935 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137807 December 15, 2002 Middle School Science Curriculum Materials: Meeting Standards and Fostering Inquiry through Project-based Inquiry Science Units. This comprehensive, project-based, inquiry-driven, middle school, science curriculum builds upon modules developed for Learning by Design at Georgia Institute of Technology and by LeTUS at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University. The latter were specifically designed for urban settings. The 15 units address national science content and process standards, focus on helping students acquire a qualitative understanding of the science principles and moves them toward a quantitative understanding. The time per unit is long enough that students can change their ideas in light of the evidence. The project develops a framework to assure complete coverage of fundamental topics. The pedagogy, use of software and the development of a scientific and collaborative culture are consistent, persistent and pervasive across the entire curriculum. The materials cover topics in physical, Earth/space and life sciences appropriate to the middle school and provide experience with diverse modes of scientific investigation -- experiment, observation, modeling, data mining, and history -- and standards of evidence are covered. Instructional technology is infused throughout and science is connected to the students' world by the use of engineering design. Assessments are embedded. The student and teacher materials are pilot tested locally and field tested more broadly. Materials for professional development of teachers are also developed. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Kolodner, Janet Brian Reiser Joseph Krajcik Rebecca Schneider GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 3496434 7355 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137811 June 1, 2002 Visualization in Technology Education (VisTE). Visualization in Technology Education (VisTE) is a standards-based initiative designed to promote the use of graphic visualization tools among students in grades 9-12. By using simple and complex visualization tools, students can conduct research, analyze phenomena, solve problem and communicate major topics identified in the Standards for Technology Literacy (STL) as well as topics aligned with national science and mathematics standards. VisTE has forged a national coalition of institutions and individuals committed to the development of these materials, including North Carolina State University, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Research Triangle Institute, the Southern Regional Education Board, and the International Technology Education Association, among others. Over three years, partnership members will create 12 modules reflecting the 20 STL standards and corresponding benchmarks. Combined, the modules will form a discrete course in graphic visualization. However, each of the 12 modules could be used in existing technology education courses as a stand-alone activity. Modules will be piloted in SREB "High Schools that Work" sites, selected to provide student diversity and to facilitate the collection of evaluation data. VisTE's final products and outcomes will include 12 standards-based modules (in electronic and print formats) written for a diverse student audience; national dissemination of the materials through teacher training workshops, local and national presentations, and a web site; and a formal evaluation of the project's process and student outcomes. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Clark, Aaron Eric Wiebe Tom Shown North Carolina State University NC Karen F. Zuga Continuing grant 1108063 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137826 August 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: K-12 Mathematics Curriculum Center: Phase III. The Education Development Center is continuing the work of the K-12 Mathematics Curriculum Center. The Center continues to offer seminars designed to build capacity in the field. In particular, this work will assist mathematics coordinators, lead teachers and staff developers design professional development programs that support teachers using Standards-based materials; help districts consider the alignment between their new curriculum, classroom assessment and high-stakes tests; and help school districts develop plans for collecting and analyzing data and reporting results in order to evaluate the impact of their curriculum implementation. The Center will draw upon its experience with delivering seminars to districts in the past to develop on-line courses as a way of extending the services of the center to a wider audience. Another strong focus of the Center is to support the work of other mathematics implementation projects by developing materials and other products of use to these projects, by studying successful approaches and barriers to implementation and by facilitating communications among these projects INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Mark, June Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 1143627 7355 7300 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137855 December 15, 2002 Raising the Floor: The Development of Selected Experientially Based Mathematics Instructional Modules for Previously Under-Served Target Populations. Two high-school algebra modules will be developed consistent with current research on student learning. Each module will span from four to six weeks of classroom instruction; incorporate the use of technology; and include a curriculum unit, teacher guide, assessment materials and materials to support community-based mathematics literacy events. One module will use the "Road Coloring Problem" to introduce students to functions and lay the groundwork for matrix multiplication. The other module will use games to enhance students' mathematical understanding, and will help students learn polynomials and introduce elementary counting and probability concepts. The materials will embody a pedagogical approach whereby mathematics emerges from students' careful observation and systematic analysis of familiar events that are mathematically rich. Teachers using the materials will form professional communities by collaborating online. The materials will be pilot- and field-tested in several geographically and demographically diverse sites. The project will have formative and summative evaluation components. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Moses, Robert Gregory Budzban Alan Shaw Algebra Project Inc MA David C. Royster Continuing grant 575337 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137861 July 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Facilitating Mathematics Education Reform: Developing a Toolkit for Change Agents. Using assessment as the entry point, the Mathematics Assessment Resources Service (MARS) group at Michigan State University, University of California-Berkeley and the Shell Center at the University of Nottingham will create a set of assessment-related "tools" for educators engaged in reforming mathematics education in K-12 schools. Using a process of "co-development" with participating client systems (e.g., New York City, Clark County, Pittsburgh, El Paso, El Centro, Rhode Island) the project will create a set of specific tools that address critical issues such as how to use assessment information productively, designing effective professional development support around assessment and communicating effectively with parents about data and testing. The process of tool identification and development has been pilot-tested through a prior grant. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Wilcox, Sandra Michigan State University MI Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2293349 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0137872 August 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: "Active Chemistry" -- An Inquiry-based Secondary Chemistry Curriculum. "Active Chemistry" is a modular, one year, stand-alone, inquiry-based, secondary school chemistry course. It is modeled in design and pedagogical strategies on "Active Physics" and is meant to follow it or to be used in conjunction with it to become a physical science course. "Active Chemistry" is aligned with the National Science Education Standards and State Frameworks that directs all students, grades 9-12, to learn the science necessary to solve real-world problems. The four chapters on Sports Science and Health, Environmental Issues, Entertainment, and Energy contain three modules. Each module includes a chapter challenge, a scenario, activities, and a final project assignment. Students work together in groups to acquire the knowledge needed to address the challenge. Chemical concepts are introduced on a need to know basis and topics reappear in various chapters providing multiple exposures in different contexts. The teacher resources provide a scope and sequence presented in matrix format with unifying and fundamental concepts identified, suggested instructional strategies and techniques, and other resources including precautions on safety issues, equipment lists and assessment tools. A professional development video for one chapter is provided. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Zahm, Barbara Arthur Eisenkraft Darlene Schuster Gary Freebury It's About Time, A Division of Herff-Jones Inc. NY Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 2572702 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138030 July 1, 2002 Enhancing Natural History Museum Visitor Understanding of Evolution: A National Conference. This award will support two years of work to plan and implement a national conference of approximately 30 participants representing the major research-based natural history museums in America to consider best practices for enhancing museum visitor understanding of evolution. Evolution is the central paradigm of the life sciences, and natural history museums are of fundamental importance to an understanding of the paradigm of evolution. Despite this fact, recent surveys indicate that the majority of the American public, including visitors to natural history museums, neither understands nor believes in evolutionary theory. The three-day conference to be held at the Florida Museum of Natural History in 2003 will be preceded by a pre-conference planning workshop in 2002 and a synthesis of literature and practices pertinent to the understanding of evolution in museums. The conference will bring together chief scientists, directors of education and exhibits, and directors of research and collections as participants in a program professionally facilitated by informal science education experts. Findings and outcomes of the conference will constitute 'best practices' for the field and will be published in the professional literature and disseminated via the Florida Museum website. With more than 10,000,000 visitors to natural history museums per year, once implemented in museum exhibitions and programs the results of this conference will have a broad impact on science literacy in America for years to come. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dunckel, Betty Bruce MacFadden University of Florida FL Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 144847 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138285 October 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: West Virginia Reach Out: Expanding the WV-Handle on Science Project to Grades 7 and 8. The West Virginia Pilot Local Systemic Change project will build upon an NSF-funded teacher enhancement project targeting K-6 grade teachers. The proposed project will provide content enhancement and leadership development in science for sixteen seventh and eighth grade science teachers over a two-year period of time. Two participants from each of the five counties in the region served by the Northern Regional Consortium for science, mathematics and technology, and three rural counties outside of the Northern Panhandle will participate in the project. The six rural county teachers will be involved via distance learning technologies. Participants will experience a 10-day summer workshop, on-line chat sessions, informal science workshops during the academic year, and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) technology. Four informal science education providers will help to expand upon the participants' content knowledge and to link real life experiences to the study of science. During the two hundred professional development hours over two years, teachers will field test and evaluate modules from the STC/MS, FOSS and SEPUP curricula. Appropriate teaching techniques and a redesign of the current curricula are required to allow all of the area's middle level students to learn concepts that will serve them well in their changing economy. As a result, science content, especially physical science, and materials will be the primary focus of this Pilot LSC project. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Cook, H David Goodwin West Liberty State College WV David B. Campbell Continuing grant 151656 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138556 July 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Getting to the Core: Supporting Teachers' Implementation of Contemporary Mathematics in Context. This Pilot Local Systemic change project is a partnership between the University of Missouri-Columbia and the Columbia Public Schools. It supports forty mathematics teachers (grades 8-12) as they implement Contemporary Mathematics in Context (Core Plus). Using a model of professional development designed around four important issues (building teachers' knowledge base about content and pedagogy, supporting teachers in both the planning and implementation phases of instruction, and helping teachers reflect on the entire process), project staff and a Core Plus author design and implement over 200 hours of professional development over a two-year period. The project seeks to understand the professional development support and its influences on teacher knowledge and practices. The project supports building a continuing educational infrastructure in which preservice mathematics teachers can actively participate and learn about teaching mathematics in classrooms where reform curricula are being faithfully implemented. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Arbaugh, Fran Chip Sharp University of Missouri-Columbia MO Paola Sztajn Standard Grant 199682 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138561 May 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: A Graduate Program for Secondary Physics Teachers. This is a three-year national Teacher Enhancement project that leads to a Master of Natural Science degree from Arizona State University. It can be completed within three summers. The physics and integrated chemistry-physics courses for the degree program are tailored to meet the needs of inservice teachers and have three main categories of: 1) Research-based physics pedagogy and peer community building in accord with the NSES; 2) Interdisciplinary courses to promote collaboration among teachers in different sciences; and 3) Major advances in 20th century physics taught by research faculty. The courses are complemented by a Leadership Workshop offered one day a week. All courses will be offered in the summer to make the program accessible to teachers nationwide. Teaching Associates drawn from the Hestenes' Modeling Physics project will share in the course instruction. During the three years the project will enroll 75 residential teachers and 75 local teachers. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Hestenes, David Otto Sankey Arizona State University AZ Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1200000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138587 September 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: CourseMap: On-line Courses to Enhance Precollege Mathematics Teaching. The project "CourseMap: On-line Course to Enhance Precollege Mathematics Teaching" proposes to create and disseminate a new set of on-line teacher development courses to enhance the skills and subject-matter understanding needed in our nation's mathematics classrooms. Over the proposal two-year period the PIs plan to create 8 one-credit-hour graduate courses, four at the middle school level and four at the high school level. Understanding that the distinction between content and methods can be artifical, they intend that all methods courses will reinforce important new content, and similarly, the presentation of content courses will model best pedagogical pratice. Consequently, there will be significant integration of the standards-based content and methodologies across the courses. This proposed project looks at new and emerging technologies to begin to address these concerns, with a team of some of the most prominent mathematics educators in the country. More specifically, the design and production teams comprise leading mathematics, educators, technology specialists and instructional video specialists. Moreover, Teachers College Columbia will offer the courses for graduate credit, with Lesson Labs to provide an authoring system, and with WebCT to provide expertise in course management and on-line community building, as well as to promote and host the courses. Their goal is to reach the largest possible in-service teacher audience. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Garfunkel, Solomon Sheila Sconiers Consortium For Mathematics & Its Applications Inc MA David C. Royster Continuing grant 845372 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138617 June 1, 2002 Rural PTRA. "Rural PTRA" is a five-year national Teacher Enhancement project to accommodate physics and physical science teachers in a rural environment. Rural PTRA has a faculty member at a university as a Rural PTRA Coordinator to facilitate arranging and hosting PTRA instructional sessions. PTRAs from the previous PTRA and PTRA Plus projects will conduct the workshops as per the PTRA model. Following a phased plan for implementation, there will be 3 rural sites in year one, 10 in year two, 20 in year three, 33 in year four and 26 in year five. Rural physics and physical science teachers will be able to enroll in 36 workshop hours per year. During the course of the project 655 participants will receive a minimum of 108 hours and another 375 a minimum of 72 hours. Following the PTRA model the project will identify rural participants with leadership capability and content knowledge and will encourage them to apply for PTRA leader training to establish a cohort of Rural PTRA teacher leaders that can continue to serve science teachers from rural communities. In the pattern of previous PTRA projects this has led to long term sustainability. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Nelson, James Toufic Hakim George Amann Jan Mader Karen Matsler American Association of Physics Teachers MD Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 5038569 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138644 March 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Earth Science by Design: Visualizing the Big Ideas. In this project, TERC and the American Geological Institute have distilled the Earth science curriculum down to the essential knowledge and skills by focusing on the core ideas of the discipline, which they call the "big ideas of science." The approach is based on "Understanding by Design" and aims to help teachers cover less material but do so more thoroughly and with the learning goals clearly in mind. It includes two-week summer institutes in content and pedagogy, trial teaching with peer observations and two mini conferences. Materials are developed to help middle school teachers use the freely-available scientific visualizations from NASA, NOAA, USGS and others. Two years of middle school field tests for the materials will be done in New England. In the third year, staff developers will work with ten districts to field test a handbook and launch "Earth Science by Design" in their districts. The deliverables include the Handbook, the website and at least 120 hours of inservice experiences for 250 teachers. The materials will be disseminated by print and on the World Wide Web. They will be complete, containing everything needed by school districts, museums and others to institute professional development programs for middle school science teachers to be entitled "Earth Science by Design." TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR McWilliams, Harold Ann Benbow TERC Inc MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1360331 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138668 May 1, 2002 Applied Research on Implementing Diagnostic Instructional Tools. Talaria, Inc., proposes a three-year project to increase understanding of how to get research results on teaching and learning into teachers' minds and actions. To accomplish this, a teacher professional development program will be designed to implement DIAGNOSER, a computerized diagnostic instructional tool. The DIAGNOSER is a web-delivered system in which students answer assignments/questions and teachers access the report on the students after they have completed the assignments. DIAGNOSER focuses on physical sciences, force and motion at the middle-school level. The professional development program will provide teachers with opportunities to use formative assessment tools, interpret student data, interact with and reflect on each other's practice, and access research and science resources. Participating teachers include those involved in three middle-school Local Systemic Change Projects in Washington State. The program involves one workshop, teacher networks, face-to-face meeting with teachers and resource teachers for in-class coaching. The improvement of the program will be done through iterations (design-testing-redesign). The research will focus on two questions: What are the effects of the professional development and diagnostic instructional tools on teachers' teaching and students' learning? What are the teacher and system factors related to the effective implementation of the tools? The premise of the proposal is that at the end of the study there will be a prototype program that can be scalable nationally. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Minstrell, Jim Pamela Kraus Talaria Inc WA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 505377 7300 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138671 September 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Technology Teacher Inservice Education. This project will create, pilot, field-test and disseminate standards-based Professional Development materials that will support in-service needs of practicing technology education teachers. The Standards for Technological Literacy have been published, and this project will help teachers to implement them in the classroom. A consortium of institutions will develop the materials. The materials to be produced include two content primers in biotechnologies and medical technologies, and a curriculum vision monograph that details what technology teachers must know and do to be effective in teaching. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Post, Paul Theodore Lewis Ohio State University Research Foundation OH David B. Campbell Continuing grant 645421 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138680 June 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Math and Science Teacher Enhancement Project. This project will develop six mathematics and six science graduate level courses. The goal is to provide science and mathematics content for teachers with elementary certifications who now teach at the middle school level. Each summer participants will take either two math or two science courses during an intensive four-week program. It is expected the same participants will return for three years, eventually taking all six courses. 150 teachers will be served over a three-year period. Teachers will receive follow-up support through the internet and/or on-site support. Competitive $500 grants will be available for supplies and travel. In addition, the PI will establish a professional development support group, the Northeastern Oklahoma Math and Science Teacher Association (NOMSTA). TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Adams, April Monica Macklin James Buell Deborah Carment Northeastern State University OK Glenn C. Markle Continuing grant 797727 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138715 April 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Assessing Technological Literacy in the United States. The National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council Center for Education propose a two-year project, the goal of which is to determine the most viable approach or approaches for assessing technological literacy. Technological literacy, as defined in the proposal, includes an understanding of the nature of technology, the design process and the history of technology; a capacity to ask questions and make informed decisions about technology; and some level of hands-on capability related to the use of technology. The project will focus on three distinct populations in the United States: K-16 students, K-16 teachers and out-of-school adults. It is to be overseen by a committee appointed by the National Research Council in consultation with the National Academy of Engineering which is to be comprised of experts in such fields as cognitive science, assessment, curriculum development, technology education and teacher education. The committee will collect and analyze relevant literature and get information through workshops and commissioned papers prior making a recommendation for assessing technological literacy. The primary product will be a report that describes the committee's work, findings and conclusions, and then presents its recommendations. The outcome will be a widely disseminated, visible, well-supported document that will: (a) increase the ability of educational researchers and policy makers to critically evaluate established and new methods for assessing technological literacy; (b) encourage the inclusion of technology-related items in established assessments (e.g., NAEP); and (c) help develop new approaches for determining what various subsets of the U.S. population know about technology. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Pearson, Greg Naomi Chudowsky National Academy of Sciences DC Karen F. Zuga Standard Grant 710578 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138733 June 1, 2002 ESIE: NAEP Mathematics Assessments: Interpretive Analyses and Materials Development. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) proposes a three-year project, the goal of which is to prepare reports on the 8th grade NAEP mathematics assessment conducted in 2000, any NAEP items to be released in 2002 and several earlier NAEP assessments. The project concentrates on two issues: (1) Focus 1 which will be the preparation of the interpretive reports that include content and process analyses, comparison studies and trend analyses; and (2) Focus II which will be the creation of materials for teachers. Products for Professional Development and Teaching will be: (1) three sets of materials based on 4th grade, 8th grade and 12th grade student responses. The first set will be directed toward teachers of grades 3 through 5, the second toward middle school teachers and the third toward high school teachers. Materials will be organized around the five NAEP content strands (i.e., number sense; properties and operation; measurement; geometry and spatial sense; data analysis, statistics and probability; and algebra and functions) to correspond with the framework used for Focus I; and (2) facilitator's guides that will contain suggestions and strategies to be used by the workshop leaders. Materials for professional development will be piloted in the NCTM meeting and through the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE). Data will be collected in the form of surveys and interviews with participants, as well as copies of participants' work. In addition, case studies of teachers sampled from elementary, middle and high school levels will be conducted in order to obtain a sense of the impact of the materials on teachers' instruction. Evaluation will focus on the progress of Focus I and the impact of materials on teachers' classroom practices (Focus II). An advisory board will oversee the analyses, process and products. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rubillo, James Catherine Brown Frank Lester Peter Kloosterman National Council of Teachers of Mathematics VA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1304388 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138766 July 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Tufts' Pre-College Engineering for Teachers. The "Tufts' Pre-college Engineering for Teachers (PCET)" project will provide professional development experiences for K-12 teachers in the state of Massachusetts to help them address the Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework adopted by the state in 2001. This framework clearly states that schools should provide a comprehensive science and technology/engineering program enrolling all students preK-12. The project will build upon work that has already been done to infuse engineering literacy into K-12 schools. PCET is a collaboration between Tufts University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Each of these engineering schools will act as a local resource for the teachers participating from that section of the state, with Tufts University serving as the lead institution. The project model involves developing a cadre of 96 mentor teachers through a series of annual Summer Institutes, and assisting these teachers in the development of curriculum materials and adoption strategies for their local contexts. These mentor teachers will also, with the help of project staff, design and deliver similar training sessions to an additional 384 "satellite teachers" in their home institutions. Science and technology teachers have been identified as the target audience for these professional development experiences. Project work will begin with teachers in grades 9-12, and work backward through middle and elementary grade bands (6-8, 3-5, K-2) over the life of the project. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Cunningham, Christine Tufts University MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1738424 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138788 September 1, 2002 Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics, Phase 2. "Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics, Phase 2" is a three-year Professional Development Materials project. Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), in partnership with CAST, proposes to create professional development materials to help teachers enable all students, including those with cognitive, sensory, physical and emotional disabilities, to be successful with standards-based, middle-school mathematics. The proposed work is based on a two-year NSF "proof of concept" project (Addressing Accessibility in Middle School Mathematics, Phase 1). The proposed materials comprise six components: (1) an Accessibility Toolkit, (2) Workshop Modules, (3) Collaborative Planning Group Resources, (4) an Addressing Accessibility Implementation Guide, (5) a Guide for Writing Accessible Mathematics Curriculum, and (6) an Addressing Accessibility Website. The project's audience will be mathematics and special-education teachers, school and district leaders, professional-development and technical-assistance providers, curriculum developers and publishers because each is a key stakeholder in ensuring that students with disabilities receive the best possible mathematics education. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Gross, Fred Judith Zorfass Education Development Center MA Ron Tzur Continuing grant 1849592 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138796 June 1, 2002 A Pilot LSC Designed to Expand Delaware's Science Education Reform Initiative into High School. The Delaware Science Coalition is a systemic partnership consisting of higher education, businesses, the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) and local districts. With this proposal they are continuing their collaboration to expand their prior K-8 efforts into high schools. The pilot proposal will initially be limited to a focus on improving the science program in the 9th and 10th grades. Ten schools (45 teachers) representing the statewide range of geographic distribution, demographic characteristics and size of student body will be active participants in the process of developing models of successful classroom practice. These schools will be charged with the responsibility of designing an educational system that recognizes their particular characteristics and needs. Common features of models for the selection of instructional materials and teacher professional development are anticipated and lessons learned from this pilot will serve to scale up the project to inform the future development of a comprehensive statewide LSC. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Wood, Rachel Delaware State Dept of Public Instruction DE David B. Campbell Standard Grant 200000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138806 October 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Newark Public Schools Systemic Initiative In Mathematics. The "Newark Public Schools Systemic Initiative in Mathematics" is a five-year Local Systmeic Change project targeting K-8 mathematics. In association with higher education partners Rutgers University and Montclair State University, the project will effect change in three broad areas: the implementation and institutionalization of standards-based curricula, instruction and assessment in every K-8 mathematics classroom in Newark; professional development for the existing cadre of mathematics resource teachers as well as K-8 teachers and administrators; and intensive collaboration with parents, higher education partners and community agencies. The project targets 1040 elementary teachers, 260 middle school teachers, 30 mathematics resource teachers, and 60 school administrators. Teachers will participate in two-week summer institutes, monthly follow-up sessions and mathematics/mathematics education courses at the universities. In addition, teachers will receive ongoing classroom-based support for their work. The mathematics resource teachers will receive professional development aimed toward enhancing their ability to provide instructional support to the classroom teachers. School administrators will participate in professional development to enhance their understanding of current mathematics educational practices, providing a basis for leadership and support of standards-based mathematics instruction. Project partners will also develop after-school centers to serve as laboratories for collaboration among unversity partners, prospective teachers, undergraduate/graduate students, classroom teachers, mathematics resource teachers, administrators and parents. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Samuels, May Anthony Piccolino Marion Bolden Roberta Schorr Newark Public Schools NJ David B. Campbell Continuing grant 6184417 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138807 July 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: A Distance Learning Model for High School Statistics Teachers. "A Distance Learning Model for High School Statistics Teachers" proposes a collaboration between the American Statistical Association, university faculty (Cal Poly and UCLA), and secondary teachers to develop and pilot a sequence of two courses for high school mathematics teachers whose training has not adequately prepared them to teach statistics. The primary professional development resource currently available for enhancing statistics knowledge is a weeklong workshop, which lacks a mechanism for continued learning and sustained support. By combining a workshop with a yearlong distance education component, this project provides a model of professional development in content areas mandated by curricular change. More specifically, the project will have two parts: a Content Course and a Practicum Course. The two courses have a common format comprised of a weeklong workshop followed by a yearlong, online distance learning component. Both courses also include additional components. This three-year project will enroll a total of 108 high-school teachers. Upon completion of the project, efforts will be focused on the dissemination of (1) the content course and (2) a model for improving teacher qualifications in other SMET content areas undergoing curricular change, such as physics and chemistry. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Peck, Roxy William Smith Robert Gould California Polytechnic State University Foundation CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1001601 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138814 June 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Lesson Study Communities in Secondary Mathematics. "Lesson Study Communities in Secondary Mathematics" is a three-year Teacher Retention and Renewal project proposing to provide 21 teams of teachers -- or a total of 114 secondary mathematics teachers from varied school settings in New England -- with 150 hours of substantive professional development in mathematics and pedagogy within the framework of "Lesson Study." This project will provide training and support for novice teachers as well as quality renewal for veteran teachers. Stipends of $1,000 will be offered to all participants, in addition to money for materials and food. "Lesson Study" is a collaborative form of lesson planning and observation, central to much of the professional development activity in Japanese elementary and middle schools. In a first phase, the school faculty selects a research theme or goal. Small groups of teachers then plan detailed "research lessons" and each lesson is taught and observed. Following the observations, the lesson is discussed in detail, improved and taught again. Finally, a detailed written record of the lesson is produced and shared with other teachers. "Lesson Study Communities in Secondary Mathematics" will build on several prior projects, including the NSF-funded "Watertown Pilot," "Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI)," and the NSF-funded "PROMYS for Teachers," whose results are promising regarding "Lesson Study's" potential as a powerful vehicle for professional development in American secondary schools. Finally, recognizing that this is one of the first secondary-level "Lesson Study" implementations in the United States, the project will include a significant research component. The project's research and evaluation efforts will develop images of "Lesson Study" in the American secondary school that will help us understand how best to implement and support it. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Gorman, Jane Education Development Center MA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 1546420 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138819 June 1, 2002 Teacher Retention and Renewal through Visualization and Immersive Technologies in Rural Education. The goal of this project is to support teacher retention and renewal through professional development institutes for two cohorts of rural teachers over 42 months. The first cadre will consist of 56 teachers, 28 from North Carolina and 28 from Illinois, constituting 7 teams in each state. The second cadre will consist of 104 middle and high school mathematics and science teachers from North Carolina and Illinois, 52 from each of the two states. Thus there are 13 teams from North Carolina and 13 teams from Illinois in each cadre. The following workshops and institutes will be conducted: Summer Institutes 2002-2005; Fall Workshops, 2004-2005; and Spring Workshops, 2003-2006. The project addresses four interrelated elements for the revitalization of rural communities: 1) building and sustaining a community of master teachers who support novice teachers through mentoring programs; 2) providing resources and training to develop teachers' use of visualization technologies and content expertise to create pedagogically sound conceptual models for student learning; 3) enhancing standards-based curricula through the use of visualization technologies to encourage student engagement; and 4) developing a sustainable and scalable model that continues to assist teachers to become effective leaders and agents of change. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Sheerer, Marilyn George Francis Edee Wiziecki Robert Gotwals George Reese East Carolina University NC Michael Haney Continuing grant 1461684 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138877 June 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Using Student-generated Strategies in Instructional Interactions to Build Multiplicative Structures in Urban Schools. The goal of this three-year project is to model the development of children's multiplicative reasoning in urban classrooms in grades K-5. The project proposes to analyze teacher-student interactions during instruction to understand how students' productions (e.g., strategies, invented notations, arguments, claims, and explanations) are used for collective construction of complex mathematical knowledge that can lead to enhanced student outcomes. The project proposes, through observation at elementary classrooms in urban, low-income schools, to: (1) identify and classify teacher-student interactions that help generate student productions and the sequence that lead to significant mathematical understandings and practices; and (2) create models of thinking - a space of possible teaching and learning actions - that can help teachers adapt or reproduce effective teaching actions. The models created will be tested with other teachers in the last phase of the study. The research will use two types of cases: longitudinal cases of the development of individual student's thinking, and cross-sectional cases in which the focus is the sequence of teacher-student interactions. A secondary goal is to understand how children's reasoning about the strand of multiplicative structures - including fractions, rations, proportions, and multiplication and division - become integrated. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Empson, Susan University of Texas at Austin TX Ron Tzur Continuing grant 730941 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0138900 September 1, 2002 CIPS Professional Development Project. The intended three-year project will produce a robust Professional Development package for school districts to support the implementation of the middle school curriculum, "Constructing Ideas in Physical Science (CIPS)." The package will include a program to engage teachers in 120 hours of substantive professional development over a period of two years. The materials will consist of a weeklong "getting started" workshop to introduce teachers to CIPS, materials for seven follow-up workshops, a CIPS user's site and two CIPS discussion forums. The follow-up workshops address teachers' emergent needs during the first two years of teaching CIPS and introduce and support the use of the users site and forums. The latter will support web-based discussions about science teaching, student learning and physical science. The package will be developed by an experienced team of university physical science education researchers, middle school science teachers and other experts, and will be piloted and field tested at three large school systems throughout the United States. Project evaluation will include classroom observations for the purpose of monitoring teacher practice and student learning. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Goldberg, Fred Patricia Heller Sharon Bendall Robert Poel San Diego State University Foundation CA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 2889489 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138916 September 1, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: The MENTOR (Mathematics Education for Novice Teachers: Opportunities for Reflection) Project. In the Pacific region served by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), lack of access to four-year degree granting programs, coupled with a rapidly growing student population, resulted in the increased hiring of inexperienced and under-qualified teachers. The MENTOR Project addressed this problem by establishing a mentoring program for novice teachers aimed at developing in them the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to be effective teachers of mathematics, thereby decreasing the length and trauma of their induction into teaching and increasing their commitment to the profession. Based on training led by PREL personnel, Project mentors provide summer institutes as well as in-class nentoring, inquiry group sessions, and lesson study for novice teachers. The Project includes two cadres, one a group of well-trained and effective mentors of novice teachers, and the other a group effective novice teachers who have an understanding of how to implement standards-based mathematics instruction and who exhibit a strong commitment to the profession. Working together these two groups will generate a collection of exemplary standards-based lesson plans, make presentations at three Pacific Education Conferences (in 2003, 2004 and 2005), and prepare for publication a set of narratives describing novice teachers' and mentors' professional growth in the MENTOR Project. The MENTOR Project contributes significantly to the development of culturally responsive and appropraite mentoring models for neo-indigenous cultures characterized by linguistic diversity and geographic isolation. The insights gained inform attempts to establish mentoring and other professional development programs in cross-cultural settings in the Pacific and beyond. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Dawson, Alexander Pacific Resources for Education and Learning HI David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1977972 9150 7300 SMET OTHR 9177 9150 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138920 June 1, 2002 Improving Alaska Native Elementary Students' Math Performance. This three-year Teacher Retention and Renewal project seeks to improve the mathematics performance of Yup'ik Eskimo and urban Native students through four basic strategies: (1) improving teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge, (2) involving teachers in action research, (3) recruiting (and retaining) mentor/novice Alaska Native teachers, and (4) researching teacher training effects and its relationship to teachers' knowledge and student performance. The principal vehicle to accomplish these goals is a National Science Foundation sponsored curriculum, "Adapting Yup'ik Elders' Knowledge." This curriculum includes culturally relevant topics such as salmon fishing, kayaking, orienting and navigating. Including Native knowledge in the classroom may decrease the long-standing tension between school and community, which often leads to high teacher turnover. The instructional components of the project include three-week Summer Institutes, follow-up workshops in the communities, online support and community math activities. The Summer Institutes are devoted to the integration of culture, pedagogy and content knowledge through the use of the Adapting Yup'ik Elders' Knowledge curriculum. Through hands-on and inquiry-oriented sessions, participants generate questions, work in peer-assisted groups and keep journals as they explore mathematics, teaching and culture. As a teaching tool, the project uses videotapes from Alaskan classrooms, from other classrooms using culturally-based math programs and from international studies on math teaching and learning. Participants of the Summer Institutes receive credit for three University courses: Geometry and Spatial Reasoning; Algebraic Thinking; and Pedagogy, Content and Culture. The follow-up workshops occur in each community and involve teachers, elders, students and families. To further support the mentors and novice teachers, there are three audio conferences during the school year and on-line support via the use of Blackboard. The project also involves a large research study. The Principal Investigator uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods to investigate (a) the relationship between the teacher training component and teacher knowledge, attitude and performance, and (b) the effects of these processes on Alaska Native and Yup'ik student mathematics learning. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Lipka, Jerry University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus AK Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 1228673 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0138945 August 15, 2002 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Developing Leadership and Support for Professional Learning Communities for Urban Science Teaching. Retention and renewal of accomplished science teachers in urban schools depend on opportunities and support for learning. This project will establish and maintain Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) focused on disciplinary knowledge of core scientific theories and models, on scientific ways of generating and validating knowledge; on students' understanding and ways of learning; on standards and research based teaching; and on qualities of exemplary curricula that support teaching/learning. In Phase I, Michigan State University (MSU) science education faculty and graduate students will work intensively/collaboratively each summer and school year with a core group of 48 K-8 science teachers and principals from the Lansing School District (LSD). These individuals will become master teachers and co-leaders for Phase II. In Phase II, teacher leaders and principals will coach and mentor 45 new teachers and teachers new to standards-based, inquiry-oriented teaching, each year. It is expected that 200 new teachers will be mentored during the life of the project. Lansing School District will contribute $25,000 each year of the grant for teacher stipends, principal release time, meetings and coaching. Documentation of inquiry in Phases I and II will provide resources for the district's work with other teachers focused on inquiry into challenging, high-quality teaching and learning; exemplary curriculum matched to state and national standards, revised for local urban contexts; and experienced mentors and coaches for supporting teachers new to the district. Project impact will be assessed by student performance on district, state and national assessments; quality of units and assessments developed by teacher participants; quality of support provided by school administrators; and additional professional development opportunities sought by participants. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Richmond, Gail Michigan State University MI Julia Clark Continuing grant 2308267 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0140104 December 1, 2001 An International Perspective on the Role of Algebra in Elementary School Mathematics. The Algebra Problem: US Mathematics Education has an increasingly difficult in Algebra Problems to solve. The standard indicators of student achievements international comparisons, NAEP and other national measures, as well as state test results all point in the direction of lower achievement as grade levels increase. Well-known TIMSS analyses of US curricula point in the direction of repetition of elementary skill building and superficiality of topic coverage as important contributors to the problem, combined with tell-and-drill pedagogy that puts students in overly passive position as learners. And, of course, high failure rates in first year algebra courses contribute to alienation on the part of students and low morale among teachers. Responses involve a wide variety, but largely ineffective tactics involving middle and early high school curricula: pre-algebra courses of various kinds, screening and diagnostic tests, district and state mandates that all students take Algebra I, lengthened courses, modifying the definition of if algebra, creating different versions of if algebra, end-of-course exams, among others. Each adjustment produces small improvements, although, since the tactics tend to be ad hoc and implemented independently, improvements do not accumulate or multiply. NCTM recommendations for integrating the development of algebraic reasoning across K-12 are implemented only in a few of the standards-based curricula, and these mainly at the middle school level. Research Towards Solutions: Several research teams studying the development of algebraic reasoning in the early (K-5) grades, who are represented in this proposal, have formed an informal research collaborative, renewing a prior collaboration funded by the US DoE OERI in the early/mid 1990. These researchers share broad hypotheses regarding the large positive potential of building algebraic reasoning in the context of elementary mathematics, the need to exploit untapped student learning capacities among younger students, the powerful role of generalization and formalization in deepening students experience and understanding of elementary mathematics especially arithmetic and the potential for using changes in the curricular relationships between algebra and elementary mathematics as a catalyst and vehicle for faculty development of elementary teachers. These researchers are engaged in several complementary lines of work focusing on different aspects of the challenges student learning, classroom practice, curriculum development, professional development, capacity building, and so on. Proposed Combination of Travel, Conferences and Monograph: The collaborating researchers have all been invited to present papers to an important conference to be held December 8-15, 2001, in Melbourne, Australia on The Future of the Teaching and Learning of Algebra which is being sponsored by the International Commission on Mathematics Instruction. Professor Kaput has been designated to Co-Chair the Early Algebra Group at the conference. We request funds to exploit, in 3 ways, this unique opportunity to bring an intensely international perspective to bear upon our active research program: (1) To support travel to the international conference. (2) To hold two meetings in the US, one prior to and one following the Melbourne conference, involving a slightly larger group of mathematics educators working in this area. (3) To write and publish a monograph expressing our findings in order to inform policy makers, curriculum developers and assessment builders of the latest developments in this rapidly changing field. Hence we also request a small amount of funding for editorial work to pull together and publicize the monograph, which in turn will point to additional web resources illustrating relevant research. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kaput, James David Carraher University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth MA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 61872 1666 SMET 9177 0140488 February 1, 2002 Testing a Model of Instructional Strategies to Enhance Prekindergarten Children's Language, Literacy, and Math Skills. This proposal seeks funds to implement and evaluate a model of instructional strategies for prekindergarten teachers in order to enhance their ability to support young childre's learning in language, early literacy, and math. The model will be experimentally tested across Head Start and public school educational settings and is guided by a strong body of recent research. As the two settings have different goals for children, funding of this proposal will provide important information on the conditions under which the model is effective. The outcomes of this research will determine critical elements for models of instructional approaches such as intensity and duration, teacher background characteristics, role of mentor teachers, and the importance of including a home literacy component. The model is based on research that has clearly established a group of key elements for prekindergarten language/literacy programs (e.g., expressive language, vocabulary, early reading skills). Results will answer a critical remaining question regarding how a model of instructional strategies can support teachers to implement a comprehensive set of teaching practices supporting language/literacy development in ways that are sensitive to the broadest range of social, emotional, and cognitive needs of young children. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Landry, Susan Paul Swank Karen Smith University of Texas Health Science Center Houston TX John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 100000 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0196044 August 31, 2000 Participatory Simulations Network-based Design for Systems Learning in Classrooms. DRL EHR Wilensky, Uri Walter Stroup Northwestern University IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 574351 7256 SMET 9177 0196127 December 31, 2000 Science Teacher Enhancement in the Pikes Peak Region (STEP-uP). TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Mooney, Linda Paul Kuerbis Harrison School District #2 CO Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 6183684 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0196149 January 22, 2001 Scaffolding Young Children's Data-Based Scientific Research:Narrowing The Gap Between Children's and Scientists' Inquiry. RESEARCH IN TEACHING & LEARNIN DRL EHR Metz, Kathleen University of California-Berkeley CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 65342 7258 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0196191 July 1, 2000 Planning for Professional Development in Pre-School Mathematics: Meeting the Challenge of Standards 2000. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Sarama, Julie Douglas Clements SUNY at Buffalo NY Kathryn B. Chval Standard Grant 29103 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0196211 January 1, 2001 PRIMES: Parents Rediscovering and Interacting with Math and Engaging Schools. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Goldman, Shelley Jennifer Knudsen Stanford University CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1250000 7355 7300 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0196225 August 15, 2000 Engagement, Assessment & Epistemological Reconciliation in Technology Supported Learning Environments. DRL EHR Hickey, Daniel University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 404272 7256 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0196238 December 7, 2000 Inventing to Prepare for Learning: Instruction that Increases Student Readiness for Deep Understanding in Statistics. DRL EHR Schwartz, Daniel Gautam Biswas Joyce Moore Stanford University CA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 414964 7256 SMET 9177 0196240 March 1, 2001 An Evaluation of the Impact of Georgia Science Olympiad. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Stombler, Milton Georgia State University GA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 415900 7261 SMET 9177 0196307 February 1, 2001 What are the 'Developmental Needs' of Young Children in Science?: Revision of Developmental Constraints on K-3 Science Education. EDUCATION/HUMAN RESOURCES,OCE DRL EHR Metz, Kathleen University of California-Berkeley CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 667338 1690 SMET 9177 7180 2816 0196429 June 30, 2001 Project ICAN: Inquiry, Context and Nature of Science. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Lederman, Norman Illinois Institute of Technology IL David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1424212 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0196453 October 1, 2000 Exhibition Layout and Visitor Movement in Science Museums -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Wineman, Jean John Peponis University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Barry A. Van Deman Standard Grant 95334 7259 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0196460 August 1, 2001 Science Teaching and Learning in Economically Disadvantaged Urban Areas.. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Calabrese Barton, Angela Teachers College, Columbia University NY Bernice T. Anderson Continuing grant 324304 7256 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0196471 July 1, 2001 Sources of Mathematical Thinking. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI CHILD LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT DRL EHR Spelke, Elizabeth Nancy Kanwisher Harvard University MA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 1512949 1666 1358 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0201155 March 1, 2002 NOVA Minutes. ScienCentral, Inc. is producing and distributing one two-minute television science story per week based on NOVA, the long-format PBS science series. Each segment will be produced using footage from the award-winning NOVA series as well as original and archival footage. They will be distributed by ABC News to its 200+ local affiliates for their use in their newscasts that run throughout the day. NOVA Minutes also will be integrated into WGBH NOVA's extensive web and outreach materials. All NOVA Minutes will contain the following: A sentence stating: "As reported (or explored) by PBS NOVA" A lower third notification of footage from PBS NOVA. 30 - 80 seconds of WGBH footage 30 or more seconds of non-WGBH footage A PBS NOVA branded element with a graphic, animation, or video that is integral to the story. Two versions, with/and without pre-recorded voice over (both have interview, natural sound) A script with a list and cures for lower-third supertitle of names, institutions and footage sources for stations to use in their own graphic style. The script will include a line for the news anchor to read that states "Watch PBS NOVA for more information." A catalogue number and ScienCentral copyright notice. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Augenbraun, Eliene ScienCentral Incorporated NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2366657 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0202878 May 1, 2002 Planning Grant: Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People. The James Agee Film Project is conducting planning to facilitate the integration of insights from a wide range of scientific disciplines into a filmscript for a four-part television series on the environmental and social history of the Appalachian region. "Appalachia: A Story of Mountains and People" will be the first film to weave the findings of the natural and social sciences into a story that examines the impact of landscape on culture and of human culture upon landscape. The planning phase will include the following activities: The film producers/writers will work with a science content director to develop an outline of the themes and general organization of the film. The project staff will meet with scientists in small groups to brainstorm ways to integrate ideas and content into the script. The science content director and the producer/writers will draft a script using input from the small groups. A large group meeting of the science advisors will review the script focusing on the overarching themes and to refine ideas. The script will be revised based on the recommendations from the meeting. The project director will review the scripts with rural school districts and get reactions and suggestions to guide the development of outreach projects and materials to support use of the film in formal educational settings. Review of the script and outreach plans will be conducted with two general audience focus groups, one in Appalachia and one outside the region. The principals for the project bring a background of filmmaking and science. Ross Spears, the producer/director/writer, has produced a number of award-winning films. The co-producer/writer is Jamie Ross. She is a free-lance writer and consultant with expertise in ecology, history, literature and culture of Appalachia and the American South. George Constantz, the content director, is a biologist, naturalist, ecologist, educator, watershed administrator and science writer/editor. The 15-person advisory committee includes members whose expertise includes: archaeology, anthropology, economics, geology, geography, sociology, ecology and evolutionary biology. A professional science writer also is a member of the committee. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Spears, Ross James Agee Film Project TN Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 49720 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0203566 January 15, 2002 Planning Grant for the Public Understanding of Research Initiative in the Informal Science Education Program: Public Square. The Mathematical Science Research Institute is developing and producing a 15-minute pilot for a regular mathematics slot in a new PBS magazine format program that is being developed. Keith Devlin will be responsible for the mathematics content as well as appearing as the on-camera host. The segments will be based on Devlin's popular radio "Math Guy" segments that have been appearing on NPR's Weekend Edition. The topic for the pilot is the Clay Millennium Problems. The pilot is being produced by Jon Palfreman, an award-winning science documentary producer. Evaluation of the pilot will be conducted by Rockman et. al. If successful, a future segment would explore a range of mathematics topics including mathematics education, epidemiology, scientific visualization, uses and misuses of statistics, how the brain acquires and processes mathematics, and the mathematics of voting. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Eisenbud, David Mathematical Sciences Research Institute CA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 49999 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0203641 June 15, 2002 Planning Grant for Online Magazine in the History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching. The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) proposes to investigate the feasibility of developing an online magazine in the history of mathematics and its use in teaching, with a target audience of grades 9-14 teachers of mathematics. The online magazine, a new component of the NSF-funded Mathematical Sciences Digital Library, is intended to be a living, growing resource, and will incorporate features such as hyperlinks and interactive graphics. A range of materials will be included in the magazine including expository articles, translations of original sources, historical problems, a mathematical calendar, reviews of books and websites, teaching materials and translations of articles previously published in other languages. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Katz, Victor Frank Swetz Mathematical Association of America DC Monica B. Mitchell Standard Grant 50373 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0205319 July 1, 2002 Enhancement of Marine Biology Internship Program. The River Project provides an opportunity for high school students in Manhattan, New York, to become directly involved in the study of urban wildlife, habitats and water quality. Each year 50 students will participate in an internship for up to100 hours under the supervision of professional scientists and graduate students. Previous projects have included fish occurrence and distribution, inventory and monitoring, uptake route of pollutants in tomcod, water quality monitoring, etc. Students learn techniques for observation, recording, manipulating and analyzing data, species identification and field methods. Students are trained to use scientific instrumentation and laboratory equipment, including computers for data analysis and presentations. Participants are also trained to conduct interpretive tours of the Estuarium and interact with the public while describing the facility and research in which they are involved. At the conclusion of this three-year project, 150 students from Manhattan will have participated in this program. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Drew, Catherine The River Project NY Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 360030 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0205382 July 1, 2002 Journey to Planet Earth: An Annual Report. Screenscope, Inc. is producing three annual "state of the environment" reports. The reports will consist of a yearly, ninety-minute, prime-time public television program and an extensive outreach initiative to engage families and the public in a variety of educational activities. The television programs will: Present an up-to-date "state of the environment" assessment of ecosystem performance and human health. Feature the year's most important environmental incidents. Highlight the year's most cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs and research dealing with environmental issues. Focus on community programs that have helped improve the quality of the environment over the past year. The outreach initiative will include: A Citizen Science Project with strong emphasis on family participation Neighborhood workshops and coalitions organized by local PBS stations in association with the American Association for Advancement of Science and the World Resources Institute. An interactive web component including real-time environmental satellite data and visualizations. Local and national media events featuring the yearly release of a "State of the Environment" report. Partnerships will be developed with environmental organizations to help promote and implement the initiative's informal education activities. The project will be under the direction of Marilyn and Hal Weiner with the television programs being produced by their company, Screenscope. Anthony Janetos, Vice President and Chief of Programs at the World Resources Institute will have oversight responsibility for the science information presented in the Annual Report. Project advisors include: Bonnie Cohen, former Under Secretary of State for Management and Board member of CARE Chet Cooper, former Deputy Director, Emerging Technologies, Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Robert Fri, Senior Fellow Emeritus at Resources for the Future and former Director of the National Museum of Natural History Edward Frieman, Director Emeritus at of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Vice Chancellor of the University of California Nay Htun, Dean of the University of Peace and former Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations Development Programme. Thomas Lovejoy, Science Advisor to the World Bank and the UN Foundation Jessica Tuchman Mathews, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Director-General, International Food Policy Research Institute Maurice Strong, Chairman, Earth council and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro There also will be science advisors for each of the individual episodes. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Weiner, Marilyn Hal Weiner SCREENSCOPE, Inc. DC Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1988319 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0205820 August 15, 2002 Fossil Mysteries at the San Diego Natural History Museum. The San Diego Society of Natural History (SDSNH) will design, fabricate and install a 9,000 square foot permanent exhibition exploring the fundamental scientific concepts of paleontology, geology, biology and ecology as they pertain to prehistoric southern California and the peninsula of Baja California. Playing the role of paleontologist, visitors will be invited to ponder a mystery, explore the setting, examine the evidence, and use scientific tools to discover answers. Carefully crafted settings will support exploration that engages learners of all ages at levels for both novice and experienced learners. Visitors will discover how natural patterns reveal natural processes, and examine the relationship between past, present and future. Focused activities will enable visitors to exercise their skills of observation and critical thinking, with exhibits that promote learning in a family context. The exhibits and activities focus on the Museum's collections and research, and are grounded in comprehensive visitor research supporting exhibit development. The exhibition and related science education materials will demonstrate how these fundamental concepts can be investigated in a regional setting. Visitors will extend their learning experience beyond the museum through a content-rich interactive website, a popular book on regional geology and paleontology, and related public programs and fossil displays at regional nature centers near the actual discovery sites. Exhibition planning, program evaluation and visitor research will be widely disseminated as contributions to the literature on best practices for interpretation of prehistoric life and landscapes INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Cato, Paisley San Diego Society of Natural History CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2000000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0205843 September 1, 2003 Assessing the Impact of a Visit to a Zoo or Aquarium: A Multi-institutional Research Project. "Assessing the Impact of a Visit to a Zoo or Aquarium: A Multi-institutional Research Project" will create a functional taxonomy of zoo/aquarium visitors' entering knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. This taxonomy, in conjunction with data about the specific experiences visitors have during their visit, will enable investigators to understand and predict the contribution of zoos and aquariums to the public understanding of animals and their conservation. The results will clarify the role of zoos and aquariums as centers of informal learning and point to ways to strengthen their educational impact. The AZA convened a national advisory committee that commissioned and completed a thorough review, confirming a critical need to conduct more research, particularly research that attempts to ask broad questions, collect data systematically, and includes sufficient number and types of institutions to permit community-wide generalizations. Twelve AZA institutions of various sizes, geographic regions and types will participate in the study. The net result of the study will be a descriptive model of zoo and aquarium visitor learning experiences and development of a set of diagnostic tools to help zoo and aquaria staff understand and enhance the nature and extent of their public impact. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Boyle, Paul John Falk Cynthia Vernon American Zoo & Aquarium Association MD Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 901686 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0205883 June 1, 2002 Explore It! Science Investigations in Out-of-School Programs. The Educational Develpoment Center (EDC) and National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST), in collaboration with science centers in AZ, MA, TX, NY, NC and CA, will develop and implement a science curriculum for informal audiences targeting children ages 8-12. Each science center will work with six community centers that serve youth in after-school programs. Science center staff will train after-school program leaders from the 36 community centers at monthly sessions, in addition to holding monthly events for families. Curriculum development will use interesting topics aligned with national standards and structure investigations as games using simple materials. The units will enable children to work in teams, and include follow-up, discussion and extended investigations using websites. It is anticipated that each child will complete 4-6 related investigations. While the six science centers will provide the content expertise, EDC and NIOST will develop the training and assessment program and provide additional technical support for the community centers. The result will be a model to support out-of-school programs that combines science centers and community resource people, centered around an activity-based curriculum focused on inquiry. Up to 1,000 children will be involved in field tests each summer. This proposal builds on "Design It!" (ESI 98-14765), which created an informal science curriculum focused on engineering principles. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Zubrowski, Bernard Education Development Center MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2106707 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0205889 July 1, 2002 Newburgh ASCEND. The Newburgh ASCEND program will provide 220 students per year in grades 7-9 with an opportunity to engage in inquiry-based science activities using units called "Workplace Simulations." The "Simulations" will focus on earth and life sciences in year 1 and physics and chemistry in year 2, and will emphasize career exploration in addition to the science content. All content is aligned with New York State Learning Standards and emphasizes topics of interest to youth such as ecology, botany, aquatic science, paleontology, ornithology, archaeology and forensic science. Students will also learn how to utilize GIS software and the use of a scanning electron microscope. Many activities will focus on problem-solving skills and research methodology. One Saturday per month participants will be engaged in field trips and field-based research. During the summer, half of the students will participate in two-week summer sessions that enable them to explore topics in more detail, engage in career explorations and meet face-to-face with scientists and engineers in a relaxed setting. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Saturnelli, Annette Newburgh City School District NY Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 373773 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0205992 July 15, 2002 "Forces of Nature" -- A Large-format Film. National Geographic Television, in Collaboration with Graphic Films, is producing a 40-minute, large-format, documentary film about the scientific quest to understand some of the most dramatic geological and meteorological events we experience -- volcanoes, earthquakes and violent storms. The goals of the film are to inform audiences about geological and meteorological forces which greatly impact our planet, present the scientific research being performed in an effort to understand and predict these forces, portray scientific role models and to stimulate a greater appreciation and interest in the Earth sciences. Informal education outreach will include: A "Forces of Nature" website that will include educational resources targeted to the general audience as well as to students and teachers. Museum and Family Activity Guides The National Geographic Society will support public programs at science-technology centers by providing access to scientists who work in the areas of science covered in the film. National Geographic's cable program Explorer (carried on MSNBC) will produce a themed show around "Forces of Nature" to coincide with the launch of the film. A companion book In addition, outreach materials for formal education will include: A "Forces of Nature" Teacher's Guide A teacher training seminar to be conducted at the first 20 theaters in the U.S. that lease the film Workshops at the national conferences of the National Science Teachers Association, the National Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for Geographic Education. Instructional information in National Geographic for Kids, the classroom magazine for elementary school students in grades 3-6. The Executive Producer for the film will be Lisa Truitt. George Casey will be the Producer/Director. The Lead Science Advisors are Stephen Schneider, Professor of Environmental Biology and Global Change, Stanford University; James Shymansky, Professor of Science Education, University of Missouri-St. Louis; and James Walker, Professor Emeritus, Space Physics Research Lab, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Science, University of Michigan. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Truitt, Lisa George Casey Paul Novros National Geographic Television DC Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2158846 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206007 July 1, 2002 Milwaukee Public Museum "Science Explorations" After School Program. Milwaukee Public Museum will provide underrepresented, economically-disadvantaged, minority, urban girls in grades 6 to 8 an opportunity to participate in hands-on science learning activities and mentoring by scientists in botany, geology, zoology and biodiversity studies. The participants will have the opportunity to learn directly from the scientists, join them at field studies, conduct mini-research under their guidance and find out what inspired their career choices. In addition to the expertise of the scientists, "Science Explorations" program will utilize the exhibits, collections, live animals, scientific laboratories and computer/distance learning laboratory during a series of 12-week after school sessions in the fall and spring semesters. A total of 141 girls will receive 96 hours of instruction over three years. "Science Explorations" activities will promote learning of biological and geological forces that have formed the present natural environment with a focus on the local area where the participants reside. Parental involvement in the "Families and Friends" event and a complimentary museum and Clue Crew membership will sustain, support and encourage future visits to the museum. Participants' change in science knowledge and attitudes, performance in science subjects, career planning and support system to pursue interest in science will be monitored as part of the project evaluation. The evaluation design could serve as a model for studying informal science learning in a museum setting. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Borkin, Susan-Sullivan Allen Young Patricia Coorough Niki Espy Milwaukee Public Museum WI Mary Ann Steiner Standard Grant 259495 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206022 May 1, 2002 Whitney M. Young Scholars in Science (WYSci). The Louisville Science Center in collaboration with The Lincoln Foundation plans to: (1) establish WYSci's continuance as part of the Whitney M. Young Scholars Program, (2) extend the program to include 35 additional hours of instruction in a week-long summer program, (3) expand opportunities to involve parents and other caregivers, and (4) provide significant evaluation data. The evaluation component would be used to determine the program's effect on participating students and parents and to inform others as to what factors are important for melding informal and formal science education. The program is designed to positively affect the learning of young people in the seventh grade who are academically talented, but socio-economically disadvantaged. Over the three-year period, 150 students will receive over 50 hours of instruction by the staff. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Lowen, Amy Faye Owens Louisville Science Center KY Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 303600 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206043 August 1, 2002 The Development of Cognitive Skills to Support Inquiry Learning. Many of the kinds of inquiry activities that have become increasingly prevalent as educational tools assume that certain basic understandings are in place, for example the understanding that multiple variables may act simultaneously to codetermine an outcome. Recent research, however, suggests instead that this and related forms of meta-level understanding are hard-won cognitive achievements that require support if they are to develop during the elementary and middle-school years and provide a needed foundation for more advanced inquiry learning. The goal of the proposed project is to better understand the basic cognitive skills that underlie inquiry learning and to examine how they develop. As part of their science curriculum, middle-school students will engage in a 10-week software-based inquiry curriculum under several different conditions offering different kinds of cognitive support. Employing a microgenetic method, researchers will closely observe development, maintenance and transfer of cognitive skills. The proposed work stands to inform both the design and use of educational technology to support inquiry learning, and in addition should help to provide a clearer conceptual base for teachers regarding the cognitive goals of inquiry curricula. The project is situated at the intersection of quadrant II and quadrant III in terms of the objectives identified in the ROLE RFP. DEVELOP& LEARNING SCIENCES/CRI RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kuhn, Deanna Teachers College, Columbia University NY Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 517161 1698 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0206046 September 1, 2002 The Brain: The Final Frontier (Production Proposal). Massachusetts General Hospital, representing Partners HealthCare System, Inc., is producing a large format film on the brain that is designed to increase the popular understanding of brain biology and recent advances in neuroscience. Framed within the larger question of the unique abilities of the human mind, the project will take an interdisciplinary look at brain science and raise questions about the nature and biological basis of diverse aspects of human experience including consciousness. By following a rider in the Tour de France, the film will illustrate how the brain functions in both normal and stressful situations. Major sequences will explore vision, memory and emotion. Slightly shorter sequences will delve into imagination and creativity, language, dreams and pain. Brief "interludes" will allow the film to reflect on the brain as it is represented in a range of human capabilities. Finally, the film turns it attention to consciousness, self-awareness and the totality of experiencing life as a human. Outreach components of the project include: A weeklong national symposium for museum educators, teachers, and community organizations from all regions of the country. Follow up regional "Brain Workshops" designed to provide more focused project support. "The Brain: Exploratory Trips Into the Final Frontier" -- An Educator/Student Activity Guide Fun Facts Family Guide to "The Brain" An Educational Lobby Kiosk "Head Trip: A Voyage Through the Young Human Mind" -- An illustrated instructional brochure A Brain Website The film will be directed by Bayley Silleck whose prior large format films include "Cosmic Voyage" and "Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance." The lead scientific advisors are Dr. Dennis Selkow, Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Anne Young, Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. There also will be a seven-member advisory committee composed of neuroscientists, psychologists and philosophers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Baldwin-Mallory, JoAnna Massachusetts General Hospital MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2836683 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206080 July 1, 2002 UPCLOSE. "UPCLOSE" is an after-school program designed to engage and develop the interest of underserved, inner city, middle school girls in the areas of science, engineering and technology. Working with an early adolescent population, the "UPCLOSE" program recognizes the developmental needs of this group and has structured its curriculum to provide a holistic approach to learning. Although the focus of the workshop inquiry activities is to increase knowledge and understanding of science, engineering and technology, the program goals include enhancement of self-esteem and self-confidence, development of teambuilding skills, refinement of communication and interpersonal skills, and enhancement of critical thinking skills. Each year 26 girls in grades 7 and 8 will be recruited to attend the fall and summer sessions of the three-year program. Fall sessions will be conducted two hours twice each week and one Saturday per month; summer sessions will operate five weeks. Participants will be required to make a commitment to attend the program for at least two years. Girls with satisfactory performance during the fall and summer sessions will be invited to join the Junior Discovery Leaders to assist in the summer camp. Six inquiry-based workshops that incorporate science, engineering and technology with training on workplace skills will be used. Professionals from the partner institutions and older students in the pre-engineering high school will teach the workshops. Partners institutions include the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, The Family Learning Center and the Toledo Technology Academy. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Beredo, Elizabeth Katrina Klaphake COSI Toledo OH Julia Clark Standard Grant 358951 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206101 July 1, 2002 QCC TechASCEND. Over three years, in consultation with high school personnel, QCC Tech-ASCEND will select seven groups of high school students judged to be likely candidates for high technology industries or science careers. The project begins with 25 students and expands to 75 students by the end of the third year. These students will attend weekly two-hour sessions for 30 weeks during the academic year in which they will participate in sustained experiences that explore fiber optics, lasers, CAD/CNC machining and mathematics in a three-cycle program. Experiences will be in an informal setting designed to excite as well as educate. Participants will use a variety of high technology devices and instruments in both structured and non-structured activities. Nontraditional students will be encouraged to participate, and several strategies will be employed to help them succeed. In addition, there will be two mathematics anxiety workshops and twenty mathematics skills workshop sessions. Faculty and student role models will be present. Careful evaluation of attitudinal changes in participants and their parents, together with participant skill mastery, will occur throughout the project. A sourcebook for parents and one for high school counselors and college advisors will be prepared and distributed, as well as videotapes describing career opportunities and educational issues. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Engelberg, Don James Valentino Amy Bieber CUNY Queensborough Community College NY Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 369926 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206124 June 1, 2002 UMass Lowell DESIGNCAMP's After School. The Francis College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, will provide 126 middle school students with a series of challenging learning opportunities at an after school "DESIGNCAMP" program. The students, particularly females, will be recruited from Lowell and Lawrence communities with large Hispanic and Southeast Asian populations. Three "DESIGNCAMP" modules will be used during the summer term and the following two trimesters at an after school program where students participate for two hours once a week. The three "DESIGNCAMP" modules are Electrical and Mechanical Gizmos, Flight School, and Building a Better Contraption. The activities in these modules will immerse the students in inquiry, design-based, and hands-on problem-solving environments. The Francis College of Engineering offers the facilities for instruction and the access and use of engineering tools, equipment and technology as integral to the learning experience. Parents will be organized into a Parents' Council to provide continued support of students at home and to serve as an advisory body to the project. The project will utilize the existing partnership among U Mass Lowell College of Engineering, school districts, and business and industries. The results of this three-year project will be disseminated nationally through publications of youth and community-based organizations and presentations at science and engineering education conferences. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Prime, Douglas University of Massachusetts Lowell MA Julia Clark Standard Grant 325149 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206136 September 15, 2002 Jellies: The Once and Future Kings -- A Traveling Exhibition. The New England Aquarium proposes to develop a traveling exhibition based on recent research implicating human activities in the worldwide increase in jellies. Humans are changing oceans so that they are becoming more suitable for jellies than for fish. The exhibition is expected to reach 12 million people -- primarily families with school-aged children -- across the nation. No jelly exhibit to date has shown jellies as important indicator species and ecosystem linchpins. Dissemination will include materials and programs for school and community outreach. A Sea Jelly Activity Kit and a community art/science program will be developed. In each year of the project approximately 100 urban teens will intern in the jelly culturing facility, where they can learn about the science of culturing jellies and present their experiences to the public. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Epstein, Bonnie Steve Bailey New England Aquarium Corporation MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1871228 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206155 July 15, 2002 ISE-ASCEND: PEERS (PACTS Enviromental Education, Research, and Service). Project PEERS builds on the PACTS program for minority middle school and high school students in the District of Philadelphia. It is designed to offer a citywide model for service learning in environmental research and public engagement that meets the promotion and graduation requirements of students at grades 8-12. The students will meet at the Franklin Institute for a maximum of six hours per week. During the summers students will attend a six-week intensive program (including five mornings per week for three and a half-hour sessions on environmental science workshops, laboratory and online research, and webspace/video development). For two afternoons a week students will conduct research at the Centennial Lake Research site. This project has three components to service learning: science learning and research, community service, and public engagement. The project will engage approximately 300 students, 150 of whom will complete the district requirements for service learning. An additional 2,000 students and adults will participate in the activities. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Burch, Michael Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Julia Clark Standard Grant 383765 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206178 September 15, 2002 Project: Science Unveils Mysteries (Project SUM). "Project SUM" is a new, community-based initiative intended to provide unique opportunities for 250 local middle and high school girls and boys to explore science, mathematics, engineering and technology through after-school, weekend and summer programs. The project is based on the A-MAN program located at their 7,500 square-foot international discovery and learning center. The program encourages young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to consider entering the fields of science, mathematics, engineering or technology. The program combines a multi-faceted informal science education experience with a strong link to the formal education programs in local schools. The program will operate Monday through Saturday with two 84-student cohorts (named, Mercury and Gemini) and one 82-student cohort (Apollo) each participating in Project SUM activities two days per week for 3.75 hours each day. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Walker, Bettye African American Male Achievers Network, Inc. CA Julia Clark Standard Grant 378015 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206184 August 1, 2002 Commercial Television News as a Vehicle for Enhancing Public Understanding of Research (PUR). Over three years, Science Central is producing 624 television segments that will present current, ongoing research through local newscasts on ABC and NBC stations nationwide. In addition to the regular research segments, ScienCentral will produce six "sweeps" series per year focusing on important new fields of research including: nanotechnology, genetics/genomics, ocean science, global climate change and brain sciences. An advisory board of scientists, teachers, science journalists and public information officers help inform the producers about individual stories and evolving fields of research, and they provide access to scientists and field research. They also provide scientific input and check the stories for accuracy. To facilitate production and to assure that research is covered on an international basis, ScienCentral will establish a footage consortium to exchange science news video with major Canadian and European newscasters. They also will provide the news stories to science centers for use in their interactive exhibits and web sites. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Augenbraun, Eliene ScienCentral Incorporated NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 3999513 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206195 June 1, 2002 CYBERCHASE SEASON II. The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET, New York) is producing 14 half-hour episodes of "Cyberchase," with accompanying outreach, to extend the new animated television series into a second season. " Cyberchase," which began airing on PBS in January, 2002, engages children ages eight to eleven years old in the fun and challenge of mathematics. Its goal is to demonstrate the usefulness of mathematics and empower children to become mathematical problem-solvers by fostering a positive attitude toward mathematics, reinforcing basic mathematics concepts, modeling reasoning skills and motivating children to approach mathematics with confidence. The funds will also support the design and implementation of an outreach program, including materials for parents; a workshop activity kit for schools, libraries and museums; and ten pilot after-school programs. Specifically, outreach components include: A web component that provides mathematical activities and content for the target audience and their parents; A 12-page Cyberchase Magazine (50,000 copies); A 20-page Teacher's Guide (15,000 copies); Collector Cards (50,000 sets of six cards each); and a Poster Peer review, extensive evaluation and a national advisory board will inform all components. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Sandra Michael Templeton Carey Bolster Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2630000 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206221 August 1, 2002 Predicting the Future: The Science and Technology of Weather Forecasting. Building on an institution-wide strategic initiative to interpret the process of science for informal learners of all ages, the Museum of Science will work over four years to develop, evaluate and implement a project to communicate the processes of science through weather forecasting. The project is based on the idea that processes involved in short-term weather forecasting are basic to the process of science. MOS proposes to create a 1,800 square foot exhibit, programs for students and teachers, an interactive website, and one-minute television spots aimed at helping people understand weather forecasting. The project is grounded in MOS strategic commitment to engaging people in the activity of science and the use of new technologies. The major component of the project is an exhibition of weather in which visitors will learn how to forecast the weather over the next few hours using different levels of technology, including naked eye observations, data from weather maps, and real-time images from space satellites and ground radar stations. Ancillary programs include educational materials for over 100 WeatherNet schools in New England, an interactive website that will reach several hundred thousand users, and television spots on the process of weather forecasting to be aired on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Over the course of its life the project will engage several million children and adults in the process of science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sneider, Cary Daniel Barstow Mishelle Michaels Museum of Science MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2048027 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206228 July 1, 2002 Designing Youth: Teens Engaging Children in Design Engineering. The project proposes to target substantial numbers of African-American, low-income youth to provide opportunities for academic and career advancement in science, math, engineering and technology (SMET). The project has three phases: Phase 1) meet at the science center each week while engaging in 5 learn and teach project cycles involving the design and building of simple technological devices; Phase 2) uses experienced science educators to help teens with additional inquiry science investigations; Phase 3) teens will visit design clubs at preselected after-school program sites. EDC will regularly develop curriculum booklets for three levels: entry, coach and experienced teachers level (abstract). SLSC will develop workplace competency materials to assist other science centers in teaching career confidence and qualities to teens, etc. A total of 240 participants will participant in the program. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Miller, Diane St Louis Science Center MO Julia Clark Standard Grant 372766 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206268 July 1, 2002 Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas. This project will provide for a national tour of a 5,000 square-foot exhibit about the great Inca archaeological site of Machu Picchu, and will give a national public audience the opportunity to view one-of-a-kind and seldom exhibited Inca artifacts, while also learning about archaeological science through engaging interactive exhibits and displays. The exhibit demonstrates how understanding the past through science has made it possible to determine the purpose, activities and the nature of daily life on a royal Inca estate. Laboratory research is at the core of the visitor experience, which will include osteology, paleopathology, astronomy, stable carbon isotope analysis, faunal analysis of animal bones, compositional and structural analysis of metals and ecological analysis of the flora and fauna of the Machu Picchu National Researve in Peru. Project funding will also create a Website including a virtual exhibit tour, a self-guided tour of Machu Picchu and web-based archaeological science curriculum for classroom use. The larger project also includes an international scholarly symposium entitled "The Archaeology of Inca Cuzco." The exhibit will open at the Yale Peabody Museum in January, 2003, and after six months, will travel to Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Denver, Washington, DC and Chicago, before it returns to New Haven for long-term installation at the Peabody. The project will reach an audience estimated at well over 2,000,000 visitors, school children, and Website users. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Burger, Richard Lucy Salazar Yale University CT Orrin Shane Standard Grant 345410 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206287 October 1, 2002 After School Science Adventures. The Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC), in collaboration with the Cleveland Municipal School District, corporations and universities, proposes a three-year "After School Science Adventures" program. To address the developmental needs of youth, the program will use multi-level mentoring and a learning cycle approach to engage participants in learning, doing and presenting science. Science content will center around six themes: (1) information technology, (2) environmental science, (3) polymers/materials science, (4) engineering, (5) biotechnology and (6) biomedical research that are directly relevant to local scientific research and industry. Each year a team of 20 High School Science Ambassadors will facilitate science activities for at least 100 middle level students. Middle level students will participate in a series of eight weekly sessions for each theme. In year one there will be three themes, and an additional three themes in years two and three. Science experiments, team projects, youth mentoring, presentations by research and industry scientists, and fieldtrips are key program activities. Participants will present science to their families in family science events throughout the project. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Andres, Blake Great Lakes Museum of Science, Environment and Technology OH Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 291578 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206324 October 1, 2002 National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation Science Friday. The long-running and highly successful National Public Radio series "Science Friday" is venturing in new directions. Given that basic research underlies all of the technological advances influencing our world and that tax dollars pay for that research, the public needs to be informed about the basics of research. To address this need for public education, "Science Friday" will examine the importance of research as a theme underlying all science and technology changes by: Finding the research roots at the bottom of each story; Exploring the cooperation among corporations, private institutions, and research foundations and illuminating how each plays a role in the research process; Following the research "bumps" along the road to illustrate that research success depends upon failures -- not all research produces positive results; Illuminating the barriers to successful research; Helping listeners understand the thought process of researchers; Scaling the "ivory tower" by enabling listeners to question and talk directly with researchers; and Helping listeners understand the role of basic research in policy-making. Ira Flatow, the host, will take "Science Friday" on the road and produce programs in Oklahoma, Iowa, Michigan, Massachusetts, Arizona and other locations. He also will visit schools and universities and will speak at public events. NPR also will reactivate the "Science Friday Kids Connection" which will take each week's program and its guest scientists directly into classrooms across the country. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY DRL EHR Klose, Kevin National Public Radio DC Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1060000 7259 1332 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206350 September 1, 2002 Skyscraper: Achievement and Impact -- A Permanent Exhibition. The Liberty Science Center, located across the Hudson River from the former World Trade Center, will develop, evaluate and install an 8,000 square foot, five-story permanent exhibition about the architectural design and engineering, physics, and urban-related environmental science of skyscrapers. The exhibit will use a vertical space that includes a view overlooking southern Manhatten, the former World Trade Center, and one of the most famous urban skylines in the world. The exhibition is organized around three basic theme areas and is balanced between the advantages and disadvantages of skyscrapers. Visitors enter the exhibit through SKYSCRAPER WORLD, an advance organizer that sets the stage for the exhibit and identifies possible wayfinding pathways through other areas. BUILDING THE BUILDING (second and third levels) addresses principles in the design and construction of skyscrapers, while HABITAT AND IMPACT (fourth level) describes patterns of adaptation in the ecosystems created by skyscrapers. An outdoor observation deck (fifth level) facing the Manhattan skyline and the former World Trade Center, provides the opportunity for skyline programming. What is a Rooftop, Rooftop Garden, and Skyline Clock, assisted by binocular telescopes for observing detail, are interactive programs that use the skyline as a teaching tool. Taking advantage of the dramatic skyline seen from the Science Center, the project will document changing public attitudes about skyscrapers and analyze patterns of visitor traffic and wayfinding in a five-story exhibition tower. The exhibit is supported by mediated public programs in LSC and by experiences for school audiences, both at LSC and in local schools. Although "Skyscraper" is primarily an informal learning experience, it has significant linkages to formal in-school programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR LaBar, Wayne Liberty Science Center, Inc. NJ Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1674618 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206377 July 1, 2002 Windows on Research. The University of California, Berkeley is developing "Windows on Research," a two-year experimental exhibit project at the Lawrence Hall of Science focused on engaging and informing the public about current scientific research. The project will develop and evaluate different media to translate the leading edge of nanotechnology research for the science center audience by featuring live demonstrations and presentations, physical- and technology-based exhibits, and Internet-based exhibits. Formative evaluation of all products, including ongoing public focus groups and surveys, will be used to establish which of the several media, alone or combined, work best to communicate research content. The project team also is developing new assessment tools to test usability and effectiveness of the artificial intelligence and technology-based components in conveying content. The results of this prototype effort to present ongoing research in a museum setting will be disseminated to the informal science education field. The PI, Marco Molinaro, and the team from the Lawrence Hall of Science will work closely with scientists representing research in a number of nanotechnology fields. These scientists bring expertise in the areas of materials science, chemistry, education, bioengineering, mechanical engineering, molecular and cell biology, geochronology and isotope geochemistry, and psychology. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Molinaro, Marco University of California-Berkeley CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1488216 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206382 September 1, 2002 Community Partnerships Serving Science. The Science Museum of Minnesota would like to create a network of partnerships between the museum and small community-based science organizations (CBSOs). CBSOs will receive professional development workshops to increase their capacity to produce high quality exhibits and publications and offer effective science programming. A team from each science organization will participate in a 12-hour skills development workshop to cover such topics as exhibit development, audience research, science communication and program development. A workshop "tool kit" will capture the essence of the training workshops and be made available to other museums. Each team will develop a small traveling exhibit and supporting materials. Annual Science Summit programs will showcase the CBSOs to the general public, museum visitors and students, while a CBSO Roundtable will invite the participants to explore collaborations and programming strategies. An online database will be created and a complimentary printed resource guide of all local CBSOs will be available to the public. The model will be tested at two small science centers, the Kirby Science Discovery Center in Sioux Falls, SD, and at the Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji, MN. It is anticipated that 72 organizations and 450 CBSO staff members will be served by this project, in addition to over 5,000 members of the general public. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Chittenden, David Science Museum of Minnesota MN Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 779949 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206397 June 15, 2002 Urban Mathematics and Science Student Service Corp. The Fresno Unified School District, in partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, will build on the strengths of existing district and after-school partnerships and programs to create a model for an Urban Mathematics and Science Student Service Corp. High-school juniors and seniors, recruited from underrepresented groups, will receive intensive, ongoing specialized training to serve as mentors of science, mathematics and technology for at-risk, middle-school students. Mentoring sessions will engage middle-grades students in problems drawn from existing curricula that are aligned with national standards. The goal of the program is to enable both mentors and mentees to improve and advance in their formal school setting, while maintaining an informal environment during the after-school mentoring sessions. Career education will be addressed throughout the program. Strategies are planned for involving parents in a substantive way, including workshops and events at the school sites. Middle- and high-school students will present examples of their work to the community. Evaluation will focus on the academic progress of mentors as well as mentees. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Valadez, Jerry Madeleine Long Fresno Unified School District CA David C. Royster Standard Grant 390131 1537 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206399 June 15, 2002 Build Your Internet: An Exhibition to Foster Public Understanding and Participation. The Tech Museum of Innovation is producing a 3,000 square-foot permanent exhibition, complementary online acitivities, and a Design Challenge curriculum to engage visitors in the exploration of Internet techologies. The goals of the project are to enhance the technological literacy of middle school students, provide the general public with tools, experience, and confidence to participate in shaping the future of the internet, and advance the informal science education community through applied research in networked exhibit technology. Two distinct features of the exhibit are: 1) The Smart Museum, a computer network linking gallery and online expereinces, and 2) "dynamic content," a set of strategies for rapid exhibit updates that will mirror the changing Internet for the life of the exhibition. The Design Challenge curriculum will be used at the museum, in outreach to classrooms and community centers, and in training sessions for science educators. The summative research will be shared with the science education community via The Tech's web site as well as professional seminars, publications and conferences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Monahan, Peggy Greg Brown Craig Baker Tech Museum of Innovation CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 981928 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206403 September 1, 2002 Technoquest. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will design, develop, evaluate and install "Technoquest," a permanent 6,000 square foot interactive technology exhibition for families, underrepresented groups, school groups and OMSI's general audience. "Technoquest" will fill OMSI's Technology Hall with a suite of highly interactive, exciting and engaging hands-on educational exhibits, computer simulations, audio and video components, text, graphics and artifacts. The exhibition hall will be divided into five thematic areas: industrial technology (robotics), medical technology, transportation technology, computer technology and communications technology. Other experiences will include a quick-change area for rapidly exhibiting emerging technologies and a Technology Lab where activities conveying a deeper understanding of the general principles of technology will be presented. Ancillary educational materials will be disseminated to the general public and to educators via print, the exhibition website, teacher workshops and professional development workshops for informal science educators. Content of the exhibition and ancillary materials will focus on general educational principles established by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) that emphasize the processes common to all forms of technology and that align with state and national science standards. Principal concepts include The Nature of Technology, Technology and Society, Design, Abilities in a Technological World, and The Designed World. These principles will be reinforced throughout the exhibition. Each thematic area will highlight all five key principles of technology as defined by the ITEA. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Vandiver, Raymond Benjamin Fleskes Oregon Museum of Science and Industry OR Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1821569 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206411 June 15, 2002 The Living Machine. Sea Studios Foundation is developing a five-hour television-based project that will examine "Earth System Science," which will be produced in association with the National Geographic Society (NGS). Geologists, biologists, oceanographers, climatologists, social scientists and others are joining forces to understand the planet's rapidly changing environment. The series will follow the on-going research of these scientists as they investigate the links between Earth's geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. These programs are planned as the first season of an annual series on the topic. Educational outreach will include a hands-on traveling exhibit to be developed and tested by the Maryland Science Center; an Educator's Guide for print and electronic distribution to informal science centers and community organizations; a "resource toolkit" to augment the Educator's Guide and an Internet site hosted by NGS that provides links to existing and new environmental resources. The series content also will be integrated into several NGS venues including: National Geographic Today, the daily news program on the National Geographic Channel; National Geographic Magazine, which will create a "global report card" as an annual feature; and National Geographic for Kids magazine, which is distributed to children in grades three through six. The project advisory board includes: Richard Barber, Professor of Biological Oceanography, Duke University Robert Costanza, Professor of Zoology, University of Maryland Gretchen Daily, Interdisciplinary Research Scientist, Stanford University Robert Dunbar, Specialist in Global Environmental Change, Stanford University Habiba Gitay, Senior Lecturer, National Centre for Development Studies, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Management, Canberra, Australia Michael Glantz, Senior Scientist, the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group, National Center for Atmospheric Research John Katzenberger, Executive Director of Aspen Global change Institute Jane Lubchenco, Professor of Marine Biology, Oregon State University J. R. McNeill, Professor of History, Georgetown University Harold Mooney, Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University Steven Schneider, Professor of Environmental Biology and Global Change, Stanford University Brian Walker, Coordinator of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization's Biodiversity Sector, Adelaide, South Australia INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Shelley, Mark David Elisco Tierney Thys Sea Studios Foundation CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2263515 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206412 May 1, 2002 Northwest Corps of Re-Discovery. Students in grades 6-9 will be recruited to participate in the "Corps of Rediscovery," conducted by the Portland State University in partnership with the Oregon Historical Society, the Center for Columbia River History, the Metro Regional Greenspaces & US Forest Service and the Jackson Bottom Wetland Preserve. Students will gain a cultural, historical and ecological understanding of the impact of the settlement of the lower Columbia River, beginning with the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Students will study the environment using past and current techniques and technologies. Activities include studies of plant and animal species, navigation and mapping using GPS, in addition to land use practices. It is anticipated that up to 72 students will participate in years 1-2 of the project meeting bi-weekly after school, supplemented by a monthly field day and a summer institute. During the final year of the project, Leadership Teams will be formed with a subset of 24 students who participate in advanced ecological studies and site planning while developing products for use in dissemination. A CD ROM showcasing student products and a website will be produced, as well as student posters and mapping data. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Becker, William Lauri Shainsky Portland State University OR Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 325455 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206683 July 1, 2002 Investigation of Diverse Representational Modes in the Learning of Physics and Chemistry. The goal of this project is to investigate the role played by diverse representational modes in the learning of physics and chemistry concepts. We will explore the relationship between the form of representation of complex concepts in physics and chemistry, and students' ability to learn these concepts. We will determine the specific learning difficulties that arise as students struggle to master concepts posed in different representational forms, and we will apply our findings immediately to the development of improved curricular materials and instructional methods. We will then assess the effectiveness of these new materials and methods in bringing about greater student mastery of the targeted concepts. The issues we will investigate include the following: 1) What subject-specific learning difficulties may be identified with various forms of representation of particular concepts in the introductory physics and chemistry curriculum? 2) What generalizations may be possible regarding the relative degree of difficulty of various representational modes when compared with each other, in learning of particular concepts? 3) Do individual students do consistently well or poorly with particular forms of representation, with widely varying types of subject matter? 4) Are there any consistent correlations among students' relative performance with different representational modes, and parameters such as major field, gender, age, learning style, etc.? 5) Does the overuse or under-use of certain types of representational forms in standard instruction have any potential impact on members of traditionally underrepresented groups? Test instruments, consisting of sets of closely matched problems presented in several different forms of representation, will be administered simultaneously to all students in a class. Analysis of students' responses will allow us to determine whether the learning difficulties are concept-related or representation-related, or both. We will develop and validate many of these closely matched problem sets, dealing with a wide variety of basic topics in the introductory curricula. These will be administered to students enrolled in both algebra-based and calculus-based courses, at Iowa State University and at other institutions. We will also conduct and record many clinical interviews with individual students in order to probe in more depth their understanding of multiple representations. As we identify widespread learning difficulties related to representational mode, we will develop and test curricular materials specifically designed to address and remedy these obstacles to learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Meltzer, David Thomas Greenbowe Iowa State University IA WALTER C. ERMLER Standard Grant 99949 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0206816 September 1, 2002 SkyTellers: A Resource for Smaller Community and School Planetariums. The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) will use $286,915, or 67% of a $430,373 total project budget, over three years to develop "SkyTellers," a space science and astronomy resource for small informal (and formal) learning settings such as planetariums, museum classes, school and community libraries, youth groups and home school settings. LPI educators and science staff, in consultation with a Native American master story teller, evaluation consultants, and an advisory board, will develop 12 SkyTeller topics. Each SkyTeller topic pairs a myth or legend (primarily but not exclusively Native American) with a relevant science story (Sky Story/Science Story) that explains our current understanding of the phenomenon that the ancient tale sought to explain. Ancillary materials (illustrations produced by LPI graphics staff, images from the latest in space science missions and research) will complete the 12 story sets to be used by informal and formal science educators at a variety of venues. Extensive formative and summative evaluation (alpha and beta testing) at multiple test venues is designed to insure high quality informal science education products. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mackwell, Stephen Stephanie Shipp Joseph Hahn Lynn Moroney Universities Space Research Association MD Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 278558 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0206917 June 1, 2002 Science Education Resource Center. The Morehouse School of Medicine proposes to develop a unique framework for stimulating and increasing interest in science, mathematics, engineering and technology within the predominantly minority K-12 student population of Atlanta. The program provides a formal structure for coordinated science enrichment activities concentrated in the summer, and for year-round science outreach and partnership programs with schools in the Atlanta, Fulton and Dekalb school districts. The project builds on several well established programs at the medical school such as Elementary Science Education Partners (ESEP). Ten Saturday Academy sessions per year providing 22.5 "contact hours" per student combine with a four-week Summer Science Camp of six hours per day, five days per week providing an additional130 "contact hours" per student for 25 elementary and middle school students in grades 6-8. The program expands to include the high school student population by providing experiences in the laboratory with medical school faculty and research scientists. The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) will serve as a conduit for the delivery of inquiry-based educational experiences and hands-on science materials. A parental support group is involved via the Ben Carson Science Academy Parent Association. ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Allwood, L. Vernon Morehouse School of Medicine GA Julia Clark Standard Grant 362945 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0207109 August 15, 2002 Mothers' Interactions with Children Doing Mathematics. Experts continue to decry the poor performance of American children on standardized mathematics tests. Hundreds of studies have investigated mathematics learning in the formal setting of the school, including analyses of teacher-student interactions and best methods for teachers to use in instruction. In contrast, informal mathematics learning in the home has received little research attention, and direct analyses of parent-child interactions involving math problems have seldom been attempted. The primary purpose of the proposed research is to study mothers as they help their 5th and 7th grade children with math problems. The researchers developed a standardized mathematics task that can be administered in the home using a laptop computer. Mother-child interactions will be videotaped and coded. The approach is based on cognitive social learning theory and Vygotsky's premise that the child's intellectual development is heavily rooted in the child's social environment, or what Rogoff calls an apprenticeship in thinking. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hyde, Janet Marilyn Essex University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 805248 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0207259 December 1, 2002 Lesson Study: Case Studies of an Emerging Reform. This project would study the issues and complexities involved in the implementation of six lesson study programs in diverse settings including one that is for pre-service teachers. The goals of the project are 1) to understand the implementation progress and challenges at each site; 2) to share information about lesson study models, progress and problems; 3) to investigate lesson study's impact on teachers and students; 4) to contribute to the basic research knowledge on instructional imporvement, professional development and systemic change; 5) to contribute to the methods for studying emerging reforms and 6) to develop video and print materials for practitioners and policmakers. The primary hypothesis is that lesson study will be adapted by US practitioners operatin gin unique local contexts, that the nature of these adaptations will influence the development of lesson study. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lewis, Catherine Rebecca Perry Mills College CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1544913 1666 SMET 9177 1666 0207394 July 15, 2002 Access to Technical Education Through Sign Language Interpreting. More than 23 million people in the United States have chronic, significant hearing losses. More than 4.5 million of those individuals acquired their hearing losses prior to 18 years of age. Recent evidence indicates that educational challenges associated with are largely due to the lack of effective communication between deaf students and their hearing parents and teachers. Previous studies have described the need for sign language interpreters in educational settings and the nature of the interpreting process, but little is known about the factors actually influencing the comprehension of interpreted material by deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. Such investigations are essential if deaf individuals, or others with communication challenges, are to have full access to available educational programs. The proposed research will (1) examine factors thought to influence comprehension of educational interpreting, (2) identify characteristics of students, teaching situations, and interpreters that can foster comprehension of material in postsecondary technical education, and (3) contribute to very limited knowledge about the education via sign language interpretation in technology and science-related classrooms. The project will take advantage of the unique setting of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college of Rochester Institute of Technology, which focuses on science, mathematics, and technical education. Participants will be drawn from more than 1300 deaf and hard-of-hearing students and more than 120 sign language interpreters. Eight experiments will examine the impact of learners' language fluencies and content knowledge, interpreter skills and preparation, interpreter knowledge of technical content, interpreter-learner familiarity, and the effects of visual presentation formats on learning (e.g., distance learning). Of particular interest will be the impact of matching communication skills/preferences and background knowledge of students and interpreters in technical education classrooms, where complex material taxes the impoverished background reading and educational levels typical of most deaf students. Such settings also are challenging for sign language interpreters, relatively few of whom have educational backgrounds in science and technology. Both the amount learned and students' satisfaction/comfort with classroom experiences will be considered in terms of the above factors. The findings will directly facilitate the access of deaf learners to educational programs, improve our understanding of ways to effectively communication technical material to deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, and describe the impact of new visual technologies on access to educational programming by individuals with significant hearing loss. More generally, the research will provide valuable new information for optimizing technical education for students with language or communication challenges and help to expand the pool of individuals with training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Marschark, Marc Michael Stinson Rochester Institute of Tech NY Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 781374 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0207545 July 1, 2002 Using NAEP Mathematics Items to Understand State Education Policies: A Multilevel Analysis. This project seeks to investigate State-to-State differences in National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test items to determine how state policies have affected changes in NAEP scores. The study addresses the problem of assessing the contributions of State policies on student achievement. The purpose of the project is to develop empirical measures for the effects on student achievement of reform practices. It would analyze the content of individual items to better measure specific aspects of student learning that might have been affected by the policies of that State. Also, they would build a mathematical model of the value-added of state policies. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Camilli, Gregory William Firestone Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 788318 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0207623 July 1, 2002 Research-Based Design Framework for Mathematics and Science Teacher Induction. Under this grant, the researchers will create a detailed framework for designing teacher induction programs that emphasize learning about mathematics and science teaching. The framework will be derived from the profiling of 25 induction programs for middle and high school teachers. Based on this profile, seven to eight intensive case studies will be conducted, collecting data on context, content, effects on teacher behavior and on student outcomes. The set of programs selected for study will represent a variety of induction strategies, activities and providers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Britton, Edward Lynn Paine WestEd CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1344589 1666 SMET 9177 0207649 September 1, 2002 Developing Teacher's Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. Despite repeated calls for improved scholarship and more empirically grounded policy recommendations, research into teacher learning has suffered from a number of chronic methodological difficulties. Most importantly, this research has been constrained by what scholars have been able to measure: the processes of teacher learning as they appear in in-services or study groups; teacher attitudes and beliefs which result from those processes; and, to some extent, teacher practices which emerge after such encounters. Left unmeasured, however, is a component which threads through all these observable outcomes and, ultimately, which proves the most significant target of interventions designed to improve teaching: teachers knowledge of content matter and content-specific teaching methods. Without direct measures of this knowledge, researchers have had few opportunities to learn which teacher education practices contribute to its development. In a recent review of teacher preparation, Wilson, Floden, and Ferrini-Mundy (2001) show the vast gaps in the field's knowledge of the content required for good teaching and of the ideal combination of pedagogical and content. The situation is equally weak with respect to knowledge about professional development (Wilson & Berne, 1999). The study we are proposing would aim to help redress the lack of disciplined study of teachers' learning. The study will take advantage of measures developed recently at the Study of Instructional Improvement (Ball, Cohen & Rowan, Principal Investigators) to identify effective professional development practices, and pioneers new methods for evaluators and scholars in this field. These items are designed to tap three constructs critical to teachers' capacity to deliver high-quality mathematics instruction to students: teachers ability to understand fundamental topics in elementary mathematics; teachers' ability to use mathematical knowledge to interpret students' thinking; and teachers' ability to make sound choices when faced with common problems of teaching mathematics. In all three cases, items are drawn from realistic dilemmas facing teachers of mathematics. The study will use these measures in a longitudinal study of programs designed to improve teachers' knowledge of mathematics and its teaching, tracking a large number of teachers before, during, and after their involvement with professional development, teacher-supportive curriculum materials, and innovative site-based initiatives. We will also use this opportunity to conduct a small validation study of our measures of mathematical learning opportunities and teachers' knowledge for teaching. Finally, we will interview and observe a small group of teachers before, during and after their participation in intensive mathematics professional development, hoping to better understand, from teachers' perspectives, what and how one can learn mathematics content for teaching. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hill, Heather Deborah Ball University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1112498 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0207651 July 1, 2002 The Influence of lst-and 2nd-Hand Investigations on Learning Opportunities and Outcomes in Inquiry-Based Science in the Elementary School. This three-year project explores the influence of two modes of investigation, 1st- and 2nd-hand, on student development of scientific knowledge and reasoning. In 1st-hand investigations students have direct experience with phenomena. In the 2nd-hand investigations students interact with informal text, either in a traditional format or an innovative format modeled after the notebook of a scientist. The project proposes to conduct a series of three studies in schools with diverse populations: rural, urban-poor, and urban bilingual. In Study 1 and 2, the instruction of the unit will be done by the investigators and will be conducted with groups of 12 students during the school day. In Study 3 the instruction will be done by the teachers and it will involve four whole classes. Study 1 is a mixed experimental design in which 48 students will participate. Students, matched for general achievement, will be randomly assigned to four sequences. Sequence varies mode of instruction (1st- and 2nd-hand investigations) and topic (force- and mass-motion). Instruction will be videotaped, and interviews will be conducted to a randomly selected sample of 4 students on each group. Study 2 includes a third variable: mode of 2nd-hand investigations, traditional or notebook. It is a five-condition study involving different sequences. During this study, a classroom observation instrument will be developed. Study 3 will involve the implementation of the conditions that proved to have the best outcomes in Study 2. The study will try to identify individual differences that may interact with the type of condition. Instruction will be documented (taped) twice during the course of each mode of investigation. The classroom observation instrument will be administered during each investigation. A random sample of 8 students within each class will be interviewed twice in each instructional phase. The study will advance understanding of how instruction can maximize student learning in different inquiry contexts. A new classroom observation tool will be developed RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Palincsar, Annemarie University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 855835 1666 SMET 9177 0207723 September 1, 2002 Collaborative Research: Cognitive and Physiological Effects of Stereotypes on Problem Solving: Causal Mechanisms and Prescriptive Measures. The failure of large groups of students to perform to their potential.such as females in math, or African Americans across a variety of academic disciplines.is one of the great tragedies in our educational system. The significance of this problem has inspired numerous investigations of its scope, nature, and potential causes. A recent breakthrough points to the power that social context can have in creating, perpetuating, or eliminating the underperformance that has hindered these groups. Steele, Aronson, Spencer, and their colleagues have demonstrated the crucial role of stereotype threat, a situational phenomenon that occurs when individuals who are targets of stereotypes alleging intellectual inferiority are reminded of the possibility of confirming these stereotypes (e.g., Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999; Steele, 1997). For example, Spencer et al. (1999) showed that high-achieving female college students performed significantly worse than males on a standardized math test when the stereotype about their math ability was made salient (.Males have performed better than females on this test in the past..). However, this gender gap was eliminated simply by changing the words used for introducing the test (.Males and females have performed equally well on this test in the past..). A counterintuitive finding is that only individuals who are highly identified with success and achievement in given stereotyped domains are the ones who show deficits under threat, in contrast to stigmatized individuals who are not achievement oriented in these domains (Steele, 1997). Thus, it is the people in the vanguard of their group who are the most vulnerable to situations in which stereotypes about their ability become salient. The detrimental effects of stereotype threat extend to African Americans (e.g., Steele & Aronson, 1995), Latinos (e.g., Aronson & Salinas, 1997), and students of low socioeconomic status (e.g., Croizet & Claire, 1998), who are concerned with academic success. We hypothesize that the priming of a stereotype results in heightened physiological arousal. According to the classic Yerkes-Dodson (1908) law of physiological arousal, performance is optimal at intermediate levels of arousal and decreases when arousal is either low or high, resulting in an inverted-U shaped function. More recent neurophysiological research has corroborated and expanded on the classic findings of the Yerkes-Dodson law in animals and in humans. For example, Lupien and McEwen (1997) provided evidence for an inverted-U shape relationship between the level of the corticosteroid, cortisol, and cognitive processes in a variety of animal and human studies. We hypothesize that high-achieving individuals in stigmatized domains approach a problem-solving task in the given domains with an optimal level of arousal for performing well. Stereotype threat may interfere with these individuals. performance by leading to arousal that exceeds an optimal level, causing performance deficits. By trying to uncover the role of physiological arousal in mediating stereotype threat and the cognitive nature of the resultant deficits, we are hoping to contribute to understanding the theoretical underpinnings of stereotype threat as well as to help stigmatized high-achieving students to overcome its effects. In the psychometric literature, Gallagher (1992, 1998) has shown that females performed more poorly than males on math-SAT problems that required the use of meaningful mental short cuts and estimation (versus problems that required standard calculation). There is reason to believe that cortisol reactivity may be implicated in defaulting to rote algorithmic versus meaningful problem solving (Forget, Lacroix, Somma, & Cohen, 2000). We will test interventions for combating stereotype threat by reducing arousal, improving the use of meaningful problem-solving strategies, and creating a practice of self-affirmation. In sum, the proposed research is designed to examine: (1) the role of physiological arousal as a mediator of stereotype threat; (2) whether reasoning becomes more algorithmic and less meaningful under stereotype threat; and (3) ways in which the detrimental effects of stereotype threat can be mitigated or eliminated. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY DRL EHR Fein, Steven Talia Ben-Zeev Williams College MA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 92339 1666 1332 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0207842 September 1, 2002 An Investigation of Secondary Students' and Teachers' Conceptions of Variation. This project targets the investigation of middle and secondary school students' conceptions of variation and explores how those conceptions develop over time. The investigation proceeds as students explore data sets and sampling problems in their mathematics classes. Likewise, the investigation will shed light on teachers' ideas about statistical variation, how those ideas change with experience, and how they affect teaching strategies. Attempts to understand teacher knowledge include an investigation of their pedagogical content knowledge-that is, knowledge specifically about how statistical variation can be taught effectively. These understandings-of student and teacher cognition-will in turn be used to help teachers design their own new approaches to teaching statistical variation. The effectiveness of these teacher-designed and research-based approaches will be tested against the performance of comparison groups of teachers and students. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Shaughnessy, J.Michael Portland State University OR Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 804404 1666 SMET 9177 0207946 September 1, 2002 Collaborative Research: Cognitive and Physiological Effects of Stereotypes on Problem Solving: Causal Mechanisms and Prescriptive Measures. The failure of large groups of students to perform to their potential.such as females in math, or African Americans across a variety of academic disciplines.is one of the great tragedies in our educational system. The significance of this problem has inspired numerous investigations of its scope, nature, and potential causes. A recent breakthrough points to the power that social context can have in creating, perpetuating, or eliminating the underperformance that has hindered these groups. Steele, Aronson, Spencer, and their colleagues have demonstrated the crucial role of stereotype threat, a situational phenomenon that occurs when individuals who are targets of stereotypes alleging intellectual inferiority are reminded of the possibility of confirming these stereotypes (e.g., Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999; Steele, 1997). For example, Spencer et al. (1999) showed that high-achieving female college students performed significantly worse than males on a standardized math test when the stereotype about their math ability was made salient (.Males have performed better than females on this test in the past..). However, this gender gap was eliminated simply by changing the words used for introducing the test (.Males and females have performed equally well on this test in the past..). A counterintuitive finding is that only individuals who are highly identified with success and achievement in given stereotyped domains are the ones who show deficits under threat, in contrast to stigmatized individuals who are not achievement oriented in these domains (Steele, 1997). Thus, it is the people in the vanguard of their group who are the most vulnerable to situations in which stereotypes about their ability become salient. The detrimental effects of stereotype threat extend to African Americans (e.g., Steele & Aronson, 1995), Latinos (e.g., Aronson & Salinas, 1997), and students of low socioeconomic status (e.g., Croizet & Claire, 1998), who are concerned with academic success. We hypothesize that the priming of a stereotype results in heightened physiological arousal. According to the classic Yerkes-Dodson (1908) law of physiological arousal, performance is optimal at intermediate levels of arousal and decreases when arousal is either low or high, resulting in an inverted-U shaped function. More recent neurophysiological research has corroborated and expanded on the classic findings of the Yerkes-Dodson law in animals and in humans. For example, Lupien and McEwen (1997) provided evidence for an inverted-U shape relationship between the level of the corticosteroid, cortisol, and cognitive processes in a variety of animal and human studies. We hypothesize that high-achieving individuals in stigmatized domains approach a problem-solving task in the given domains with an optimal level of arousal for performing well. Stereotype threat may interfere with these individuals. performance by leading to arousal that exceeds an optimal level, causing performance deficits. By trying to uncover the role of physiological arousal in mediating stereotype threat and the cognitive nature of the resultant deficits, we are hoping to contribute to understanding the theoretical underpinnings of stereotype threat as well as to help stigmatized high-achieving students to overcome its effects. In the psychometric literature, Gallagher (1992, 1998) has shown that females performed more poorly than males on math-SAT problems that required the use of meaningful mental short cuts and estimation (versus problems that required standard calculation). There is reason to believe that cortisol reactivity may be implicated in defaulting to rote algorithmic versus meaningful problem solving (Forget, Lacroix, Somma, & Cohen, 2000). We will test interventions for combating stereotype threat by reducing arousal, improving the use of meaningful problem-solving strategies, and creating a practice of self-affirmation. In sum, the proposed research is designed to examine: (1) the role of physiological arousal as a mediator of stereotype threat; (2) whether reasoning becomes more algorithmic and less meaningful under stereotype threat; and (3) ways in which the detrimental effects of stereotype threat can be mitigated or eliminated. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY DRL EHR Ben-Zeev, Talia San Francisco State University CA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 148116 1666 1332 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0207961 September 15, 2002 ROLE Proposal: Formative Assessment in Science through Technology (FAST). The FAST proposal seeks to integrate developmental mappings of students understanding of science topics with formative assessment. The basic idea is that developmental maps can form the framework for assessing students' knowledge of science concepts and for the design of follow-up student experiences. The project extends the Minstrell Diagnoser concept down to the elementary level. The project would involve generating mappings of two science concepts and then collecting data to validate student's classification. Later phases of the work would lead teachers to use the results of the formative assessment to improve student learning. To do this, they would employ hand-held computers to record individual students' states within the facet map. This diagnostic placement would then become the basis of teacher reflection. The investigators are cognizant of the reality of limited time on the part of the teacher. The hand-held computers will display information about possible instructional strategies given the state of the learner's understanding. Data collection devices will be teacher journals, classroom observation, and student assessments RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Camins, Arthur Kathy Long Marco Molinaro Hudson Public Schools MA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 807985 1666 SMET 9177 0208029 August 15, 2002 ROLE: Fostering Understanding of Chemistry through MORE Metacognitive Instruction. The research goals of this project are (1) to determine how the metacognitively-focused instructional tool called the Model-Observe-Reflect-Explain (MORE) Thinking Frame can be used in both high school and college chemistry laboratory courses to enhance metacognition, understanding, and problem solving, (2) to investigate how instructor professional development experiences can be designed to sustain the effective use of the MORE Thinking Frame, as well as specifically what instructors learn from such experiences, and (3) to augment and refine the model of how people use their metacognitive skills in the contexts of chemistry learning, problem solving, and instructor professional development. Design experiments will be employed to study the complex and dynamic interplay between instructor and student cognition (understanding, beliefs, metacognition); instructor professional development experiences; and classroom practices of communities of learners using the MORE Thinking Frame as instructional and professional development designs are simultaneously refined. Throughout the course of the project, a sequence of instructional and curricular developments that centrally involve the Model-Observe-Reflect-Explain (MORE) Thinking Frame will be implemented, studied, and refined. During the first year of the project, high school and college instructors will collaborate with the developers of the MORE Thinking Frame to learn about, adapt, and implement the MORE Frame in their own laboratory courses (without changing the experiments used in their existing curricula). In the second and third years of the project, the project team (including many of these instructors) will design problem-based laboratory modules to complement the use of the MORE Thinking Frame and to infuse more authentic inquiry into the chemistry laboratory courses. Throughout the professional development experiences and successive implementations of the MORE Frame in various instructors' classrooms, data will be collected from a broad range of sources (both qualitative and quantitative) and analyzed to address the research questions and to inform future practice. In addition, a website will be constructed to provide information and support for implementing MORE curricula and instruction as well as to provide instructional materials for the problem-based modules developed. Finally, the project team will conduct workshops to disseminate information and materials. This project will generate new knowledge about how metacognitively-focused instructional tools can be used to enhance students' science learning in various instructional contexts; how to structure effective professional development experiences and what instructors learn from such experiences; how laboratory teaching practices are linked to students' chemistry learning; and the relationships among metacognition, chemistry teaching, and chemistry learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rickey, Dawn Colorado State University CO Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 975884 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0208059 September 1, 2002 Micro-Analysis of Transfer in the Project-Based Science Classroom: The Influence of Classroom Practices and Culture on Scientific Reasoning. The science education community and the published American standards about science literacy call for students to learn important science concepts and the skills involved in scientific reasoning in ways that allow them to apply what they are learning in new situations. The science education literature has identified classroom practices that seem essential to such deep and transferable learning. Several approaches to inquiry-driven project-based science have been designed based on these recommendations, and results show that when carried out by masterful teachers, both science content and practices are well learned. But we don't know the developmental course of scientific reasoning skills when they are learned in a classroom context engineered for their transferable learning. Nor do we know the conditions that need to be in place to allow teachers and students to make best use of project-based learning's affordances. For the past five years, the Learning by Design group at Georgia Tech has been designing an inquiry-oriented project-based approach to middle-school science learning informed by research on how people learn. Our team has designed sequences of classroom practices that, as a system, promote deep understanding and lasting and reusable learning. The trends in our data suggest that science learning in our LBD classrooms is more comprehensive and more likely to transfer than the learning in more standard inquiry-oriented science classrooms. We propose to use the infrastructure of LBD, our local LBD classrooms, and our cross-disciplinary team to investigate issues with respect to promoting transfer using a project-based inquiry approach, focusing especially on the learning of scientific reasoning skills and practices. Our Quadrant 2 questions ask about the development of scientific reasoning skills in a project-based science classroom, aiming to provide a bridge from basic research in cognitive science on transfer, scientific reasoning, and learning to the pragmatics of transfer and learning in the real world of the classroom. Our Quadrant 3 questions ask about conditions that need to be in place in the classroom for learning and transfer of science practices to occur. Scientific reasoning skills are difficult to measure, but we have had some success in showing the acquisition of these skills by the students in our LBD classrooms. The challenge we take on here is to explore the development of this type of reasoning in middle school children at a fine-grained level. We will use a combination of design experiments and micro-genetic analysis. We are aiming to use our LBD classrooms to find out more about the cognitive and socio-cognitive processes involved in learning science practices with several goals in mind: (i) better understanding of the processes involved in learning to reason scientifically; (ii) better understanding of classroom practices that will promote transferable learning; and (iii) the generation of guidelines for project-based science classrooms, about how to promote transferable learning of science practices. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kolodner, Janet GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1448764 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0208066 July 1, 2002 Model-Assisted Reasoning in Science: Effects of Model-Centered Instruction on Middle School Students' Modeling Abilities. The Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh will conduct a longitudinal study in which researchers will create a three-year sequence of model-centered instruction in the context of the Model-Assisted Reasoning in Science (MARS). MARS current topics will be extended from sixth through eighth grades. The project seeks to: (1) understand how working external models support content and process learning, (2) develop an evaluation model to tap strengths and weaknesses of different kinds of external models, and (3) identify pedagogical strategies that elicit and support model-assisted reasoning. Student content knowledge and process skills will be measured through different test formats that include paper-and-pencil (TIMSS, NAEP, and Test of Scientific Reasoning items), written tests, class work, and classroom computer exercises. Student motivation will be measured at the beginning of each year. A small sample of students will be interviewed and given some transfer tasks twice a year. Interviews will focus on two aspects: properties of the different model types and student's metacognitive understanding of the function of models in science. Information on classroom implementation will be collected by direct observation, videotapes, and interviews with teachers. Results of the study are expected to help extend theories of model-based reasoning and its applicability in classrooms. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Raghavan, Kalyani Christian Schunn University of Pittsburgh PA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1021343 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0208103 July 15, 2002 Acquisition of relational concepts: Pathway to proficient thinking in mathematics and science. The proposed project is located in the second quadrant of the ROLE description with links to the third and fourth quadrants. It focuses on acquisition, representation, processing, learning and transfer of relational concepts. The study of relational concepts is important because relational concepts are ubiquitous in mathematics and science: ratio, proportion, and function, velocity, acceleration, and density, mutation, evolution and growth rate, probability and statistical interaction, and correlation and contingency are just a few examples. The study will be guided by our hypotheses about representation, processing, learning, and transfer of relational concepts across ages and knowledge domains. The proposed project aims to answer several fundamental questions. What are the basic cognitive mechanisms underlying acquisition of relational concepts, and how are relational concepts represented in the cognitive system? How do these mechanisms and representations change in the course of development? Do these mechanisms differ across knowledge domains? And how can we facilitate learning and transfer of relational concepts within and across domains of mathematics and science? To pursue these questions, we propose a three-year-long research project that will be conducted by a team of researchers collaborating through the Ohio State University Learning Research Initiative and interested in cognition, cognitive development, and the learning of biology, physics, and mathematics. The project would be a systematic empirical study of conceptual development across several knowledge domains. The team will use a wide variety of methods and tasks, ranging from simple tasks allowing participation of young children to relatively complex tasks requiring sophisticated knowledge. The project will generate new basic knowledge increasing our understanding of acquisition and processing of relations, as well as our understanding of learning and transfer of relational concepts in mathematics and science. The proposed project will be an important step towards better understanding of conceptual development and of learning of important concepts in mathematics, physics, and biology, and it will inform practice of teaching of mathematics and science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sloutsky, Vladimir Aaron Yarlas Ohio State University Research Foundation OH Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1302516 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0208146 July 15, 2002 ROLE : Combining New and Mature Data Collection Technologies to Better Understand Factors that Encourage and Discourage African American Women in SMET Education. The researcher is concerned that the number of women who participate in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) education is lower than that of young men. This study seeks to understand better how young African American women, who appear to be interested and engaged in science during high school years, remain underrepresented in STEM courses in college. The project creates new data collection technologies to find unique gender subcultures of African American communities that contribute to their decision-making. It is hypothesized that factors that discourage young women involve interactions at the university that reflect gender and race bias. The study will first analyze a national data set (NELS) to obtain national estimates of rates of transition of women and men in the science pipeline. Then it will create a method to assess the perceptions of science experiences and factors involving interactions with other people that encourage, or discourage, women to enter science professions. She would develop measures of perceptions of science experiences that might help explain why trends in attitudes toward science observed with NELS data were found. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hanson, Sandra Catholic University of America DC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 172121 1666 SMET 9177 0208287 September 15, 2002 ROLE: Story Listening Technologies for Emergent Writing Literacy. While multiple, and technological literacies have become the topic of considerable research, reading and writing literacy remain the basis of education, and the prerequisites to science, mathematics, and technology fluency. Reading and writing do not start in school, however. Children prepare themselves for later literacy long before first grade. And preparation for literacy consists of more than becoming aware of text. Children learn to treat language as an object (metalinguistic awareness), and to create and maintain cohesive text (decontextualized language) first in oral language. Many of these emergent literacy skills are acquired in language play and in storytelling among peers. In general, however, very few technologies are available for supporting children's storytelling and story writing in sociocultural context for later literacy, despite its importance in children's cognitive, communicative, and linguistic development as a whole. This project lays out a program of research designed to address a specific need of young children -- to learn how to write -- based on one specific ability of young children -- the ability to tell stories. Current views of the relationship between oral and written literacy hold that the development of children's written literacy is intertwined with the development of their oral literacy skills. We believe that technology, and particularly tangible non-screen-and-keyboard based technology, can play a unique role in supporting the emergence of writing literacy by building on one particular aspect of oral literacy, children's story telling. We propose that Story Listening Systems that actually listen to children's stories and interact with them about the stories not only support the development of emergent oral literacy skills but also foster writing skills and the transition from oral to written literacy. The model behind the Story Listening System embodies four essential traits that enable it to effectively scaffold written literacy. The four traits are to (a) depend on children's oral storytelling skills to bootstrap literacy, (b) introduce peers as playmates in the system or with the system, (c) invite the kind of embodied play away from the desktop that is most comfortable for young children, (d) allow children to construct their own personally meaningful content. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of these systems, children between the ages of 4 and 7 will engage with Story Listening Systems and we will assess changes in three crucial predictors of written literacy: (i) use of decontextualized language (language removed from its original context, and reworked for a new audience), (ii) metalinguistic awareness, (iii) collaboration with peers to make meaning. We will also evaluate an additional implication of the SLS: that support for emergent literacy can be made culture-inclusive and therefore can be used to invite more children into emergent writing literacy because the language forms with which they are familiar are embedded in the system. The outcome of the proposed work will be four-fold: (i) a suite of story listening literacy technologies, (ii) a substantive body of data evaluating the role of these technologies in children's writing, (iii) a fuller understanding of the general mechanisms underlying children's development of literacy skills, (iv) a generalized set of design principles that link features of technology with features of children's written literacy acquisition. The design principles will be for two audiences: the design community creating children's digital technologies (e.g. everyone from mainstream toy industries making physical artifacts to game designers to traditional educational/learning software designers) and those actively studying and teaching written literacy (e.g. developmental psychologists, educators). This work has implications, then, for the communities of academics, educators, technologists, and policy organizations concerned with placing technology in school contexts. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Cassell, Justine Susan Goldman Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 717581 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0208290 July 1, 2002 ROLE: Closing the Race Gap in Math and Science Achievement through Improving Parental Involvement in the Course Selection and Placement Process. The purpose of this project is to enhance African American parental involvement with high school student children by developing skills and strategies for effectively managing the educational careers of their children. It would create a capacity for collaborations with the schools that service African American children by developing the social and organizational infrastructure for continued parental involvement in educational careers. It seeks to increase enrollment and success of Black students in higher-level mathematics and science courses to diminish the race gap in math and science track placements. It uses a quasi-experimental design to implement a series of community workshops designed to enhance knowledge, skills, and strategies for managing placements of children in science and math tracks. The research would create an intervention designed to change the outcome of students. It would conduct ethnographic work to map successful pathways to enrollment in higher-level math courses. It would use findings from these studies to implement workships within the Black communities, and conduct statistical analysis of the growth in achievement as a result of the reduction in course taking. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Mickelson, Roslyn Linwood Cousins University of North Carolina at Charlotte NC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1042677 7259 1666 SMET 9177 0208402 July 1, 2002 Tracking Practices, Opportunity to Learn, and Achievement in Mathematics: An International Perspective from TIMSS. The goal of this 25-month project is to provide a cross-national perspective on tracking practices in mathematics as they relate to opportunity to learn and achievement using data from TIMSS and TIMSS-R. More specifically, the questions to study are: Prevalence and Trends -- How prevalent is the practice of tracking in mathematics? What are the trends over time and across grades? Profiling Tracked and Untracked Math Classes - Within each country, what indicators are statistically associated with tracked and untracked mathematics classes? Tracking, Opportunity to Learn, and Achievement - Within each country, how does the use or non-use of tracking practices in mathematics relate to opportunity to learn and achievement, both overall and for particular student groups (e.g., gender, race)? Implications for the US - What are the implications of results for policy makers and educators in relation to OTL and issues on equity? School data files on tracking will be linked to the student data file. A classroom-tracking index will be created to identify within school tracking classrooms. The Mathematics Teachers Questionnaire will be used to explore issues on OTL. The number of mathematics topics listed in the questionnaire will be used to test OTL differences between tracked and non-tracked classes. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Clarke, Marguerite Boston College MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 465024 1666 SMET 9177 0208470 June 1, 2002 The Human Condition: Knowledge and Values in the Age of Science. SoundVision Productions is developing and distributing a series of ten, hour-long public radio documentaries that will explore the turbulent boundary between science and the humanities, capturing the present moment of tremendous scientific and scholarly ferment with the unique and intimate power of radio. By introducing the radio audience to the thoughts and voices of some of the world's most accomplished scientists, in conversations with the counterparts in the humanities, the series will look at recent developments in science including physics, molecular and cell biology, environmental science, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and the multiple disciplines of the life sciences reflecting the increasingly subtle and widespread application of evolutionary theory. In each program, a careful account of new scientific ideas and discoveries will be placed within the context of historical and contemporary thought about the human and natural worlds. Barinetta Scott, the Executive Producer, has most recently been the Executive Producer for the highly regarded NSF funded NPR series, "The DNA Files." In developing this project, she will work closely with an advisory committee that includes: John Avise, Research Professor, Dept. of Genetics, University of Georgia Samuel Barondes, Professor and Director of the University of California San Francisco's Center for Neurobiology and Psychiatry Terrence Deacon, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Boston University Anne Foerst, Professor of Computer Science and Theology, St. Bonaventure University Ursula Goodenough, Dept. of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis William Irons, Professor of Anthropology, Northwestern University Gordon Kane, Professor of Physics, University of Michigan Jim Miller, Senior Program Associate for the AAAS Program of Dialogue Between Science and Religion W. Mark Richardson, Episcopal Priest, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, General Theological Seminary Holmes Rolston, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Colorado State University Michael Ruse, Professor of the Philosophy of Biology and Ethics, at Florida State University Mary Evelyn Tucker, Professor of Religion at Bucknell University Dorothy Wertz, Senior Scientist; Social Science, Ethics, and the Law; The Shriver Center. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Scott, Barinetta SoundVision Productions CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1103443 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0209393 August 1, 2002 Psychology of Mathematics Education: An International Conference to be Convened in Honolulu, Hawaii in July, 2003. This grant will support Pacific island scholars attendance at the joint meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics (PME) and its North American Chapter (PMENA) to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii in July, 2003. The Pacific island scholars will be selected mathematics specialists from the departments and ministries of education and college level mathematics instructors from the colleges and universities in Hawaii and on the U.S. affiliated Pacific island communities of American Samoa, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and the Republic of Palau. NSF support will enable the Pacific island scholars to engage with the PME community for the first time, thereby enhancing national and international collaboration among mathematics educators. The Pacific island scholars and mathematics specialists will be introduced to the international mathematics education community at a reception to be held in conjunction with the opening of the conference. Following the delivery of the first plenary, which will be given by a Pacific islander, the Pacific scholars and mathematics specialists will present an overview of their islands' culture and the challenges faced in teaching mathematics in their island communities. During the conference a special panel discussion will give the participates the opportunity to obtain feedback from the international community of mathematics educators concerning these challenges. Daily "Theory to Practice" sessions will provide opportunities for the Pacific scholars to actively contribute and receive professional development throughout the conference. The Principal Investigators will attempt to establish a Pacific Network of Mathematics Educators as a result of the conference activities. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Zilliox, Joseph Barbara Dougherty Alexander Dawson University of Hawaii HI Karen D. King Continuing grant 95748 9150 7300 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 9150 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0209641 July 15, 2002 SGER: Intelligent Computer-Assisted Instruction: The Benjamin Banneker Project. A one-year study of computer-assisted instruction in the third grade classroom at two urban schools is proposed. This project will use advanced technology to enhance mathematics and science instruction in elementary classrooms with computer activities that allow students to use the information problem-solving process. The Benjamin Banneker Project, named for a famous African American mathematician and scientist, involves the design and use of computer software that allows students the opportunity to engage in culturally relevant simulations, and an intelligent tutoring system will monitor their progress. The main objectives are to design and field-test culturally relevant computer simulations and to provide professional development to support computer usage in the classroom. To accomplish this goal, the Temple University PI/Co-PI team of mathematics, science, early childhood, and social policy teacher researchers will collaborate with software developers and elementary teachers to carry out this one-year project. During Phase I two engineers will design the software which will be pilot-tested with third graders. The software will provide students with grade-level specific simulations and intelligent tutoring. During Phase II the PI/Co-PI team will provide professional development activities for teachers participating in this study to help them learn how to use software to solve and integrate technology into culturally relevant lessons. The project will be conducted in two urban, predominantly African American, charter schools. In Phase III research (classroom observations) and project evaluation will occur to measure the effectiveness of the project. Findings will be reported to refereed journals and presented at conferences. This project has the potential to "hook" the interest of African American students by contextualizing mathematics and science computer tasks with the culture of the community. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Leonard, Jacqueline Chin-Tang Liu Smita Guha James Davis Temple University PA WALTER C. ERMLER Standard Grant 99250 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0210002 May 15, 2002 Ontological, Epistemological, Linguistic and Pedagogical Considerations of Language and Science Literacy: Empowering Research and Informing Instruction; Canada, September 2002. A conference on "Ontological, Epistemological, Linguistic and Pedagogical Considerations of Language and Science Literacy: Empowering Research and Informing Instruction" is proposed. The emphases of the conference are (1) the development of theoretical framework for understanding and developing language-science literacy connections and (2) establishing a group of researchers interested in classroom-based research projects focused on critical, practice-derived issues language and science literacy issues. A premise is that research needs to focus on determining what science literacy practices work in the classroom and build explanations of why these work. The conference will address (1) clarification of the roles of speaking, reading, writing, and listening in authentic science learning communities in elementary, middle, secondary, post-secondary, and post-graduate settings, (2) exploration of the influences of information technologies on language and science literacy, (3) the establishment of a contemporary theoretical framework involving language, information technology, science and science literacy, and (4) the consolidation and extension of international, interdisciplinary and intergenerational network of professional scientists, applied cognitive scientists, language and science researchers, graduate students, and teacher educators. The conference will begin by exploring the nature of science, the linguistic components of doing science, the ontological and epistemological considerations in science literacy, the influence of information technology on language production and processing, and the critical relationships between language, science, and science learning. It will continue by summarizing the results of recent explorations of oral and written discourse on science literacy. The conference will conclude by outlining some avenues for future research, some implications for classroom practice, and some applications for teacher education. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hand, Brian Iowa State University IA WALTER C. ERMLER Standard Grant 63000 1666 SMET 9177 0210090 January 15, 2002 SGER--A Synthesis of Projects Funded by the Division of Research, Evaluation, and Communication. This study will synthesize findings of the portfolio of research projects funded by the ROLE program. Research methods include the analysis of survey findings, document analysis, and interviews with appropriate elite informants. Dissemination plans include presentations at conferences (including the ROLE PI meeting) and scholarly publication. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gregory, Kelvin Boston College MA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 95008 1666 SMET 9177 0210928 July 1, 2002 Bridging the Digital Divide by Using Self-Directed Learning Communities. The purpose of this project is to describe an exploratory research project that focuses on technology and learning. The research addresses critical issues related to improving how technology is utilized in underserved populations to improve its pedagogical impact. This is accomplished by studying how self-directed learning communities (SDLC) are formed and sustained, as well as the motivational issues related to technology access and implementation. These issues are vital to maximizing the potential benefits of current efforts to bridge the digital divide, which have primarily focused on providing access to hardware, software, and content. Self-directed learning communities are defined as a vibrant, participative, and culturally aware human environment that promotes learning opportunities to enhance the potential of its members. This definition has been adapted from "learning cities" definition of the European Lifelong Learning Initiative (ELLI). Through this exploratory research, I will be able to begin to establish an empirically based repository for research and practices related to the digital divide and the impact of self-directed learning communities. For this SGER research project, I will focus on a single learning community for a year in and effort to develop concrete data and techniques that may be used in future research. To this end, I will seek to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the essential factors of a self-directed learning community? 2. How should we assess student progress? 3. What kinds of implementation models are valid and replicable? Because self-directed learning communities emerge spontaneously instead of being created formally, I will observe and document their formation. Investigating the formation to these self-directed learning communities is crucial and requires the analysis of the roles, relationships, attitudes, and needs of the stakeholders involved. In an effort to establish a benchmark, extant data, which may include standardized test scores, will be used. As the self-directed learning community emerges, the factors effecting its formation will be identified and analyzed. Once the factors are investigated, the researcher will work with the stakeholders of the learning community to create assessment measures. The assessment measures will be used to validate the factors and test for their generalizeability to multiple self-directed learning communities. Because self-directed learning communities are innovative in the way that I am applying them, some of the research effort will be spent identifying and analyzing what these constructs are and how they impact learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Clark, Kevin George Mason University VA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 97005 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0211102 April 1, 2002 EARTH STORY: Exploratory Research for Visualizations about Geology for a Large-Format Film on the History of the Earth -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER). The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET) is researching and testing an experimental, short-format television broadcast and Web project entitled "Science InSight." The goal of this experimental research is to determine if short-format television segments can successfully increase Americans' understanding of -- and interest in -- new research in science and technology and, if they can, which of several possible formats is likely to be most successful. During this research and development phase, WNET will test the viability of the project model and develop and refine the model for use in a selected group of media venues such as the forthcoming PBS weekly public affairs program,"Public Square." The specific activities to be undertaken in the research phase include: -assembling an expert board of up to six advisors with expertise in science, science journalism and media; -producing three, experimental, short-format, "program concept" video segments of varying lengths for use as science information pieces in other media programs; -conducting formal and informal testing and evaluation of these test formats for appeal, credibility, clarity and comprehensibility of style and content; and -identifying additional key potential distribution partners from television media, print, Web and science centers outlets. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Shapiro, Irwin Harvard University MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 99999 7259 SMET 9237 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0211611 August 15, 2002 The Music of Nature and The Nature of Music -- A Planning Grant. National Musical Arts is requesting a planning grant of $50,000 to conduct initial planning and research toward the development of a traveling exhibition and related educational programming on the subject of biomusic -- the musical sounds produced by living things. The work will be performed by the BioMusic project, a program of National Musical Arts, in collaboration with the Association of Science Technology Centers and a national team of informal science educators. The goal of the project is to develop a 2,500 square-foot traveling exhibit and related programs targeted to md-sized science centers, zoos and aquaria across the country. During the proposed one-year planning phase, the Biomusic Project and ASTC will work with an interdisciplinary team of scientists, musicians, exhibit developers and educators to understand the current state of biomusic research; to identify concepts and phenomena that could make strong visitor experiences; and to develop initial plans for the exhibit and programs. The result of the work of the planning phase will include a Biomusic Groundwork Report, a Biomusic Program presented at the annual ASTC Conference and a detailed Exhibition Prospectus. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Gray, Patricia National Musical Arts DC Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0213065 April 15, 2002 Bringing Research on Learning to the Geosciences: A Workshop Proposal. The investigators would host a two-day workshop of 20 leaders in geoscience education, learning sciences, and the application of learning science to STEM disciplines. The goals of the workshop are to define the compelling research issues about learning in the geosciences, discuss avenues for disseminating existing research on learning, and initiate broad-based planning and coordination of activities. The participants in the workshop will discuss classroom experiences that are believed to be critical barriers to learning, define existing research that is applicable to learning geosciences, define new work on learning in the geosciences, and agree on specific steps. The meeting will produce a report with recommendations for disseminating research on learning. This workshop is believed to be the first step in a series of activities to integrate research on learning into undergraduate geoscience education. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES DRL EHR Manduca, Cathryn Neil Stillings David Mogk Carleton College MN Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 57081 1666 1575 SMET 9177 0219284 September 1, 2002 ITR: Using Portable Computing to Build Observational Assessments for Mathematics Learning. This project is aimed at how to create and use elementary mathematics diagnostic tools in classroom contexts. An established diagnostic framework, the Diagnostic Test of Arithmetic Skills, that enables teachers to assess students' procedural and conceptual approaches to mathematical problem-solving. The specific goals of the project are to: Revise, modify, and update the Diagnostic Test of Arithmetic Skills to bring it into alignment with the most current research on mathematics teaching and learning. Build a mathematics diagnostic application focused on multiplication, a content areas that is pedagogically and conceptually complex Identify the required professional development supports, and build prototype materials for the multiplication application Conduct research studies on the reliability of the diagnostic tool and on whether the use of the tool affects teachers' thinking about mathematics and instruction. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Honey, Margaret Herbert Ginsburg Gregory Gunn Education Development Center MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 450000 1666 SMET 9177 1686 1666 1657 0116000 Human Subjects 0219347 August 15, 2002 ITR: Evaluating education -- what are we measuring and how?. The educational system can be viewed as a dynamic environment influenced by many factors. In this project a multi-agent interaction and simulation model will be investigated as a tool for evaluating educational systems as dynamic environments. The long term aim of the tool will be to model the interaction between education policy and human learning by first using typically measured factors such as test scores and economic status and they exploring other factors that are harder to quantify but which may result in a more accurate model. The proposed work involved three phases: (1) constructing an initial model and calibrating it against historical data; (2) examining how other, less typical characteristics can be quantified and expanding the model to include these additional measures; and (3) introducing the model to education policy makers, building a user-interface that they can use and understand; and conducting a pilot study with potential users. The research team consists of computer scientists, dynamical system theorists, multi-agent researchers, school system experts, and AI researchers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sklar, Elizabeth Columbia University NY John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 370377 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1686 1658 1657 0220412 April 15, 2002 The Impact of ICT on Learning: An International 2002 Conference on OECD Studies. The United States and other industrialized nations in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have made large investments in information communication technologies (ICT) for schooling and expect these investments to advance not only school reform but life-long learning as well. For these aspirations to be realized, policy makers require information on how ICT impacts schooling and learning and how ICT might best be used to achieve a range of educational goals. This proposal requests partial financial support for an international conference to disseminate results of major research efforts of these issues in 23 OECD countries. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Wong, Kenneth Vanderbilt University TN Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 39037 1666 SMET 9177 0221415 December 1, 2002 Using Data Project: Building Mathematics and Science Education Reform Leaders' Data Literacy. This project attacks the problem of how to help those in states and districts understand and use data accurately and effectively. The project uses a multi-dimensional approach to achieve three goals. It: (1) targets training for 300 mathematics and science education reform leaders, (2) creates a national cadre of 50 data facilitators; and (3) provides intensive implementation support in four sites to build the knowledge base about the conditions that support the effective and collaborative use of data to guide educational improvement. The project builds on the publication "Using Data/Getting Results," developed by TERC, and the materials synthesized in this publication will inform the workshops that the project implements. Professional development activities will be carried out by WestEd, and the Goodman Research Group will conduct the summative evaluation. There are partnerships with the Eisenhower Consortia, TIMSS-R Benchmarking jurisdictions, and NSF-funded systemic initiatives, including local systemic change projects, and dissemination and implementation sites who will work with this project. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Love, Nancy TERC Inc MA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1717708 7645 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0222310 August 15, 2001 CAREER:Performance Enhancement for African American Students in Science (PEASS). This CAREER grant seeks funding for a systematic research program aimed at investigating the root causes of the underachievement of African American students in science. An important part of this project will be to use the research findings to propose and field test classroom intervention programs aimed at enabling teachers to help African American Students improvement their achievement. The work builds on that of Ogbu who has written extensively on the question of academic performance of minority students in American schools. A specific research question is how the performance of these students in science is affected by their language use. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used. Individual students and teachers as well as classrooms will be used as units of analysis RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Norman, Obed San Jose State University Foundation CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 303434 7256 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0222599 May 15, 2002 SGER Grant Proposal: Design of DVD Research Reports as Teaching-Learning Tools. DVD research reports can bring coherence to teachers and researchers perspectives on pedagogy that are very difficult to convey in written text, by embodying them as active learning supports. The research proposed here will explore the design and technological issues in making such DVDs imbedded in an ongoing NSF-sponsored research study of urban children's mathematical thinking. This new line of research draws on the substantial progress that was made in understanding of student mathematical thinking in inner city classrooms. Furthermore, this project will allow for dissemination efforts that will reach teachers in ways that allow them to change their own teaching in constructive ways. Additionally, researchers will be able to use the DVD material to support new research avenues. The research will generate 3 successive versions of the DVD with field-testing among audiences with each iteration/version. Products of the research include the DVD's and a design framework for further work in the domain. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Fuson, Karen Northwestern University IL John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 98537 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0222673 September 1, 2002 GLOBE: Learning Links for Professional Development. This project will maintain and enhance the GLOBE teacher's guide in print, on the Web and on CD-ROM. The teacher's guide is a nearly 1,000 page document containing detailed instructions for setting up study sites, collecting data, and implementing math and science learning in the classroom. In addition, two teacher's enhancement guides will be developed for elementary and middle school teachers who participate in the GLOBE program. One guide will help teachers accomplish the Inquiry and Personal and Social components of the National Science Education Standards, and the other will help teachers develop their student's literacy and language arts through participation in GLOBE. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR McWilliams, Harold Gillian Puttick TERC Inc MA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 636029 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0222740 September 1, 2002 Students and Scientists: Together Advancing Science Knowledge. This project will develop four new instructional units for GLOBE: a middle and high school unit on Urban Atmosphere and a middle and high school unit on Coastal Ecosystems. These units will meet the needs of school systems for standards-based instructional units that also meet the needs of the research community for data from regions undergoing high rates of environmental change. In addition, the project will develop an on-line tool, "Assemble an Inquiry," that will coach educators through the process of developing their own customized, standards-based units with the existing GLOBE materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR List, Henrietta Stephan Zeeman Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance ME Glenn C. Markle Continuing grant 565014 7355 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0222783 July 15, 2002 The Institutionalization of NSDL: Multi-Institutional IT Systems in Evaluative Research. The National Science Foundation began the development of the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) several years ago and it is scheduled to come online this coming year. The NSDL is a connection or system of separate data or information sources. Bringing these disparate sources together is a complex issue, from both the technical perspective and organization dynamics This study will focus on the institutionalization of NSDL from both a technical and contextual perspective. The latter includes such factors as priorities and culture of the participating organizations, how they interact with the technical considerations. A comparative case study will be used, with the internet serving as a comparison, a system that has already been institutionalized and studied. The study will provide an evaluative framework to employ with the NSDL as it is implemented but will be applicable to large-scale IT systems, as well. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Rogers, Juan GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 99937 7261 SMET 9177 0223053 September 1, 2002 GLOBE in the Urban Environment. This project will integrate GLOBE activities sponsored by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) with environmental research projects at UCLA's Institute of the Environment. A research program in air quality and human exposure that utilizes GLOBE data collected at LAUSD schools will be created. In addition, an innovative teacher training program will be implemented that reflects GLOBE research themes and includes new professional development extension courses offered by UCLA. Advanced placement environmental science courses that reflect GLOBE protocols will be established in a number of low socio-economic status schools in the Los Angeles area. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Turco, Richard William Hamner Arthur Winer Robert Fovell Noel Enyedy University of California-Los Angeles CA Sharon M. Locke Continuing grant 449295 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0223068 September 1, 2002 Evaluation of the Global Learning to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program: A Systemic Approach. This project will conduct an overall evaluation of the GLOBE program. The evaluation will document the program's progress in achieving its objective of improving student understanding of science by involving students in real science. SRI will conduct an implementation evaluation and an outcome evaluation. The implementation evaluation will analyze the GLOBE educational materials, teachers' access to technology, the influence of standards and teaching practice. The outcome evaluation will measure the impact of GLOBE on student learning. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Penuel, William Perry Samson Lionel Hinojosa Louise Yarnall SRI International CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 910659 7355 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0223541 July 1, 2002 Predator/Prey Relations Giant Screen Film: A Planning Grant Proposal. National Wildlife productions is developing a large format film, "Predators and Prey," and related educational resources. The film will introduce audiences to cutting-edge scientific research through a topic that already captures their imagination and will use visually exciting scenes to present the science behind predator/prey relations. A preliminary conceptual structure, general approach and potential storyline have already been developed. The planning phase will include the following activities: -Further define the conceptual structure of the film -Conduct preproduction/front-end audience research -Refine the approaches to the film based on feedback from front-end research -Plan educational resources -Conduct a front-end survey of large-format film theaters to evaluate the title, approach and relevance of proposed educational resources. -Draft a film treatment The principals for the project bring a background of filmmaking and science. Christopher Palmer, President and CEO, National Wildlife Productions (NWP), will serve as Executive Producer for the film. Educational resources will be designed by Jim Stofan, Vice President, Education, NWP; and the Chief Science Consultant will be Sterling Miller, Senior Wildlife Biologist, NWP. Treatments and scripts will be written by Mose Richards and evaluation will be conducted by Robert Russell. A committee of scientists and science educators will help guide the project during the planning phase. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Palmer, Christopher National Wildlife Federation VA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 49500 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0223584 June 1, 2002 Da Niao and Big Bird Look at the Sky -- A Planning Grant. Sesame Workshop, in collaboration with the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum and the Beijing Planetarium, is planning a planetarium show and complementary materials for preschool-age children and their families, teachers and other caregivers. The planetarium show will be designed for use in the United States and China and will have the following goals: -- promoting positive attitudes among young children towards science; -- providing age-appropriate information about astronomy in an engaging, entertaining format; and -- fostering am understanding of one another among children in the two countries. During the planning phase, there will be three face-to-face meetings among the principals: at the Beijing Planetarium, at Sesame Workshop in New York, and at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The purpose of these meetings will be to determine: -- What is the appropriate educational content for the show and complementary materials and what does research with children say about it? -- How does this type of project best reach preschool audiences? -- Is there a need or opportunity for producing alternative language or dialect versions of either the English or Mandarin versions of the show and complementary materials? -- What issues or problems affect the design of the show and complementary materials? -- What are the implementation issues? Particular attention will be given to exploring how the project might include cross-cultural information in the show and complementary materials, and how the cross-over characters (Da Naio appearing in the English version; Big Bird in the Mandarin version) might be included in the design. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schneider, Joel Sesame Workshop NY Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 49999 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0224574 January 16, 2002 Family Science: Expanding Community Support for Inquiry-based Science Education. "Family Science: Expanding Community Support for Inquiry-based Science" is the University of Washington's innovative five-year plan for reaching youth and families in the Seattle school district. This program represents an enhancement of the NSF-funded Family Science program targeting grades K-5 and expansion of this successful program to include middle and high school students. The proposed activities, Science Explorations, Inquiry Science Conferences and Community Celebrations, are designed to help parents understand inquiry-based science instruction while heightening students' confidence in their ability to understand science processes. The hands-on activities also support and complement Seattle's Local Systemic Change project by enlisting teachers, parents and community members to champion science education outside of the formal school setting. The implementation strategy includes workshops to train Family Science Lead Teachers and Parent/Community Leaders to coordinate Family Science programs. Subsequent partnerships between teachers and community organizations are designed to establish regional clusters of community networks to support programmatic activities during and beyond the funding period. It is estimated that Family Science will result in the presentation of nearly 300 school and community-based events impacting 10,000 individuals. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hood, Leroy Dana Riley Black Institute for Systems Biology WA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 947778 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0224723 June 15, 2002 Cognitive Neuroscience Across the Lifespan. This proposal focuses on the development of a conference on Cognitive Neuroscience Across the Lifespan. The conference will be a satellite to the Cognitive Neuroscience Meeting in April 2002. The primary objective is to push development in this emerging area with the ultimate goal of understanding how to maintain lifelong cognitive function, and how to maintain a healthy mind. The conference will focus on understanding the link between overt cognitive behaviors and underlying neural functions across the lifespan. The conference is designed to bring together for the first time, leading researchers in the cognitive neuroscience of aging, to highlight emerging issues, methodological challenges, and the small body of existing research in this domain, and to foster the exchange of ideas. COGNEURO DEVELOP& LEARNING SCIENCES/CRI RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Park, Denise University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 15000 1699 1698 1666 SMET 9177 0224773 August 15, 2002 Project LEAP: Learning Environmental Activities Pays. A $50,000 Planning Grant will be awarded to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to develop an environmental science education program that targets adult learners in literacy programs. The planning grant will support a survey of literacy agencies, a pilot program and a focus group evaluation. AAAS will first survey literacy programs across the U.S. to assess the need for science related programming. Using the results, they will then modify and pilot previously developed environmental science activities at the Learning Bank in Baltimore, a community literacy center. Participants will then take part in focus groups to determine the effectiveness of the materials used. The overall goal is to develop a program model that can be disseminated at literacy centers throughout the country. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kass, Judy American Association For Advancement Science DC Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0224900 September 1, 2003 Using Traditional Paradigms of Native Science to Structure Informal Science Education Materials -- A Planning Grant. Tapestry: The Institute for Philosophy and Religion will plan the dissemination of the results of a conference entitled "Stories from the Circle: Science and Native Wisdom." "Stories from the Circle," initiated in May 2002, brought together 32 native and non-native leaders in education in native and western science to discuss the range of ideas and practices that constitute Native Science and to consider how native ways of learning may be applied to informal science education. The proposed planning activity would plan multimedia dissemination of conference outcomes. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Adams, Dawn Tapestry Institute NE Orrin Shane Standard Grant 49869 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0227502 November 1, 2001 Teachers' Earth Science Institute. 99-11894 OTUONYE This unusual five-year Teacher Student Development through Research Experience (TSD) project brings together real life miners, research scientists, and teachers in a working mine and inactive mines to participate in mining activities and the associated laboratory research activities surrounding minerals. In year-one, 24 teachers from the Upper Peninsula of MI will participate in a six-week program that includes: content and skills preparation; working with scientists and engineers, in working and inactive mines, collecting specimens and cataloging them; and, hone leadership and change agent skills to enhance the transfer of the research/high tech mining experience back to the classroom. The six-week summer research and field experiences are complemented by professional development activities over a 12-month period. In years two and three the participant pool will include teachers from neighboring states: WI, MN, IN, OH, and IL. Each year 24 additional middle and high school teachers will participate. In years four and five teachers will come from a national pool focusing on those regions that have extensive mining activities. Teachers may earn five (5) graduate credits from MTU. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES DRL EHR Otuonye, Francis Tennessee Technological University TN Sharon M. Locke Continuing grant 1228852 7300 1575 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0227557 October 1, 2002 Center for Learning and Teaching with a Focus on Research for Developing Instructional Materials in Science. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), through its education reform initiative Project 2061, will partner with Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University to create a Center for Learning and Teaching that focuses on research and development issues related to improving curriculum materials for K-12 science. This new Center for Instructional Materials in Science will serve a critical national need to help all students achieve science literacy. It will help to foster a new generation of leadership with specific expertise in the analysis of curriculum materials and in their development, evaluation and implementation. The new Center will focus on three main goals: 1) to develop the national instructional materials development infrastructure at the doctoral and postdoctoral level; 2) to provide relevant inservice and/or preservice training to science teachers and other professionals; and 3) to conduct research on questions related to instructional materials for science at the highest level. The project plans to enroll 30 Ph. D. students (most of whom will be supported for three years under this award) and support the professional development of an additional 30 postdoctoral students. The professional development program will impact 400 science teachers and will foster the professional development of 30 other teachers, training them to become teacher leaders. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Roseman, Jo Ellen Edward Smith Brian Reiser Joseph Krajcik George DeBoer American Association For Advancement Science DC Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 10494009 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0227558 January 1, 2003 Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education. The Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE) at the University of Washington is advancing the scholarship of engineering learning and teaching through a partnership with Stanford University, Colorado School of Mines, the University of Minnesota, and Howard University. CAEE is a multifaceted Higher Education Center for Learning and Teaching clustered around three core elements: Scholarship on Learning Engineering, the Program for Enhancing Engineering Teaching, and Annual Engineering Education Institutes. The Center's Scholarship on Learning Engineering includes cross-institutional longitudinal research studies on learning to engineer focusing on the development of engineers from undergraduate education through entry into the engineering workforce and targeted studies of core competencies and concepts central to engineering. Professional development activities under the Center's Program for Enhancing Engineering Teaching (PEET) include the identification of resources to help engineering faculty address teaching challenges, thematic and research-to-practice workshops for future and current faculty, an engineering teaching portfolio initiative for graduate students, and the development of the Engineering Teaching Source, a web-based tool to enable engineering educators and instructional developers to locate high quality teaching resources. Annual Engineering Education Institutes for engineering faculty and graduate students build and sustain the community of engineering education scholars. The Institutes are advancing the engineering education research infrastructure by increasing the number of people able to conduct rigorous research and to become leaders in engineering education research and change agents in engineering education. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Undergraduate Education in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources and the Division of Engineering and Education Centers in the Directorate for Engineering. REESE HIGHER ED CTRS FOR LEARN&TEACH CCLI-NATIONAL DISSEMINATION RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI ENGINEERING EDUCATION DRL EHR Atman, Cynthia Larry Leifer Ronald Miller Sheri Sheppard Reed Stevens University of Washington WA Susan H. Hixson Continuing grant 12382777 7625 7466 7429 1666 1340 SMET 9232 9178 9177 1666 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0227586 November 1, 2002 Center for Proficiency in Teaching Mathematics. The University of Georgia and the University of Michigan are leading the development of a Center to implement a potentially powerful professional development model for pre-K-16 mathematics education. The Center will establish a research agenda to examine the nature of the mathematical knowledge that is important to teachers' proficiency in teaching mathematics, and will use the knowledge gained to strengthen both the pre-service education and the in-service professional development of teachers . The Center will combine practice, research and professional development to build resources and capacity for the preparation of teachers of mathematics. The other higher education partners are the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Henry Ford Community College. School district partners in Georgia are Gwinnett County Public Schools, Morgan County Public Schools and Social Circle city Schools; and in Michigan, the large Washtenaw Intermediate School District. Connections are also established with a number of professional mathematics organizations, including the American Mathematical Society and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, to enable the Center to collaborate with and support collegiate teachers of mathematics and teacher educators on a broad scale across diverse settings. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Wilson, Patricia James Wilson Jeremy Kilpatrick Hyman Bass Deborah Ball University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 10876014 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0227592 January 1, 2003 Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning. The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in collaboration with Michigan State University and Pennsylvania State University, is creating an interdisciplinary program to prepare graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and current faculty to meet the challenges of STEM higher education. This Higher Education Center for Learning and Teaching is based on a teaching-as-research concept that enables future and current STEM faculty to engage in teaching in the same way they engage in their research. The project integrates teaching-as-research and interdisciplinary learning communities in a professional development program that addresses the educational responsibilities of current and future faculty. The professional development program includes a curriculum that provides a foundation for teaching-as-research and improved classroom practice, experiential learning in informal education and instructional materials development, internships in a variety of learning environments, and preparation for teaching and learning with diverse student populations. The focus of the research component is on promoting best practices in post-secondary STEM teaching and learning, fostering change in STEM graduate-through-faculty cultures, and transferring successful strategies between departments and across universities. Through national implementation of the professional development program, CIRTL is expected to serve approximately 2,000 STEM graduate students and post-doctoral researchers annually while establishing learning communities for graduates-through-faculty at 10 research universities representing 10% of the major U.S. graduate institutions. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Undergraduate Education in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. CCLI-Phase 3 (Comprehensive) HIGHER ED CTRS FOR LEARN&TEACH CCLI-NATIONAL DISSEMINATION OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC DRL EHR Mathieu, Robert Judith Burstyn James Fairweather Carol Colbeck Aaron Brower University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Susan H. Hixson Continuing grant 10259467 7493 7466 7429 1253 SMET 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0227619 January 1, 2003 St. Louis Center for Inquiry in Science Teaching & Learning. The St. Louis Center for Inquiry in Science Teaching and Learning (CISTL) combines a focus on research into science teaching and learning with a focus on professional development and support needed to bring inquiry-based teaching and learning into K-12 science education in both formal and informal settings. Joining together in this effort are three informal science institutions, two universities, five school districts, one community college system and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). CISTL will address the full continuum of science educators -- those entering the field, those in the field and those retooling from one area of expertise to another. Their research agenda focuses on the effect of varying types of collaboration on professional development and the interfaces among the collaborators (education and scientific; formal and informal). A diagnostic tool for assessing strengths and weaknesses in science and inquiry backgrounds will be developed for teachers and other science educators. In addition, the project will create a synergy between research and practice through research based in practice, practice based on research and the translation of results into practical suggestions for educators. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Tate, William James Jordan Rowhea Elmesky Deborah Frank Washington University MO Michael Haney Continuing grant 10264219 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0227627 September 1, 2002 Conference and Proceedings: "Best Practices in Science Exhibition Development" -- A Conference to be Held at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California. The Exploratorium will host an invitational three-day conference on best practices in science exhibition development. At the conference practitioners will identify best practices in conceiving, designing, managing and developing science exhibitions. The conference will highlight current issues such as responding to diversity, providing access to current science and balancing the considerations of market and mission. The ideas and issues raised at this conference will culminate in a publication for dissemination to the field that includes conference proceedings as well as interviews with and essays by practicing exhibition professionals INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McLean, Kathleen Exploratorium CA David A. Ucko Standard Grant 166019 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0228158 March 1, 2003 Phase-I Study of the Effects of Professional Development and Long-term Support on Curriculum Implementation and Scaling Up. This Phase 1 study consists of two components: the Curriculum Research and Development Group (CRDG) at University of Hawaii at Manoa will prepare a one week introductory teacher institute and an expanded and improved version of long-term support. In the second component the CRDB will develop and validate instruments needed for a Phase 2 study. The Phase 2 study will compare the new professional development program, using a randomized clinical trial approach, to the existing Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching program to test for both teacher improvement and student achievement scores. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Brandon, Paul Donald Young University of Hawaii HI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1102161 7180 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0228295 December 1, 2002 Scaling Up Standards-Based Accountability. Arguably the largest scale-up of an educational program occurring in the United States at the present time is the implementation of standards-based accountability (SBA) in all 50 states as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). SBA involves several elements including content and performance standards, aligned assessments, and a set of consequences tied to assessment results. The utility of standards-based accountability was demonstrated in a few pioneering states in the 1990s, and a number of studies suggest that SBA systems may influence both student learning and instructional practices. The government cited the success of these accountability systems as justification for requiring SBA in all states. This investigation is designed to identify factors that enhance the implementation of SBA systems, foster changes in school and classroom practice, and promote improved student achievement. It addresses four broad questions: What strategies are used in implementing SBA at the state, district, and school levels? Which state, district, and school implementation strategies are associated with changes in classroom practice? How valid are the standards-based test scores as indicators of changes in student achievement? Which features of SBA implementation are associated with student attainment of academic standards? The study involves three states that vary in their approaches to SBA. Data will be collected from state and district officials, principals, and teachers using a combination of questionnaires, interviews, and artifact examination. The data collection approach is longitudinal, and is designed to provide information on SBA implementation at all levels, as well as on factors that influence implementation, such as the clarity of the standards and the methods for promulgating them, teachers. and principals. understanding of the SBA policies, and the professional climate of the school. Student achievement data will also be collected to address the third and fourth research questions. The evaluation of the validity of standards-based test scores involves examination of the content and format of test items as well as a comparison of score trends on the standards-based test and on other tests such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Relationships among implementation, practices, and student achievement will be explored using longitudinal multilevel modeling techniques. Answers to the four research questions will help policymakers, educators, and researchers understand the ways SBA policies are implemented at all levels of the system; explain relationships among implementation, instructional practices and student achievement; and identify successful practices that can be promulgated to make SBA function more effectively. Over the next three to five years, SBA will affect every public school student in the country, so insights gained from this research will have wide applicability. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Stecher, Brian Laura Hamilton Rand Corporation CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 5534731 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0228343 January 1, 2003 Scaling Up Mathematics: The Interface of Curricula with Human and Social Capital. This project will study scaling-up of curriculum adoption in elementary school mathematics. The researchers propose to develop a theoretically-driven model of the conditions necessary for successful scale-up of interventions using a human and social capital approach. Specifically, the investigators will explore: 1. How human and social capital within the school interact to affect the breadth, depth and endurance of curricular implementation; 2. How the characteristics of the curriculum moderate the relationship between human and social capital and implementation; 3. How district strategies influence the human and social capital in schools via the structure and organization of professional development opportunities and curriculum roll-out strategies; 4. How the breadth, depth and endurance of implementation of a research-based curriculum ultimately influence student achievement. To assess these questions, the investigators propose to examine the scale-up of two research-based elementary-level mathematics programs in four urban school districts (including three conventional districts and the Edison Schools). They will use a quasi-experimental, nested, mixed method design to examine the conditions and factors that support and impede the successful large-scale implementation of promising programs as well as the changes in student achievement that ultimately result from implementation. The design leverages the multiple levels at which scale-up plays out (teacher, school, and district). The interdisciplinary team of researchers undertaking the study at LRDC and RAND is forging connections across multiple disciplines, including cognitive psychology, educational sociology, organizational behavior, human resource management, statistics, and public policy. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Resnick, Lauren Mary Kay Stein Carrie Leana University of Pittsburgh PA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 5999817 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0228353 October 1, 2002 Validation of a Multi-Phase Scale-Up Design for a Knowledge-Based Intervention in Science and Reading Comprehension. The goal of the proposed project is to extend the science and reading comprehension intervention known as Science IDEAS to larger scales. The intervention combines science inquiry with reading comprehension and writing activities in two-hour daily time blocks in grades 3 through 8. The proposed project would expand the program to almost 40,000 students and would study the implementation and its effects. To help to insure its effectiveness, the project also provides the necessary infrastructure of leadership training, mentorship, and coaching. The proposal thereby addresses capacity issues in schools as mitigating the success of interventions and perpetuating deficiencies in students' science and reading achievement. A twofold research design is proposed, involving a school-level randomized experiment and a multiple baseline study of intervention efficacy in terms of maintaining previously attained student performance outcomes of the intervention during its scale up. Investigators anticipate advancing the process of educational reform through this research by validating and disseminating a multi-phase design for scale up. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Romance, Nancy Jerome Haky Michael Vitale Florida Atlantic University FL Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 5969351 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0228440 September 15, 2002 Scaling Up the Implementation of a Pre-Kindergarten Mathematics Curricula: Teaching for Understanding with Trajectories and Technologies. The proposed focuses on teachers and students in Head Start and State funded pre-K programs that serve predominately low income and minority populations. The assumption is that this is a key age group in that lagging proficiency in school subjects, mathematics included, often has roots in the preschool years. The intervention is a pre-K mathematics curriculum that is based on knowledge of human development and that employs technologies fitting for multiple levels. A randomized experimental design will be used to investigate the efficacy of the curriculum for students served by Head Start and state-funded pre-K programs. The proposed study will increase knowledge of scaling up pre-K intervention across programmatic contexts for diverse low-income students in their growing knowledge of mathematical ideas. They research design will permit inferences about what contextual variables contributed to outcomes. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Clements, Douglas Prentice Starkey Alice Klein Julie Sarama SUNY at Buffalo NY John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 999672 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0228447 October 1, 2002 Scaling up highly-rated curriculum units for diverse student populations: using evidence to close achievement gaps. The project builds on a planning effort to examine the effects of highly rated science curricula on diverse populations of students in a large school district. The proposal now plans to study the effects of 3 highly rated curriculum units on student outcomes (achievement, motivation, and engagement) in the same large, diverse school system. Data will be disaggregated to find out if the curricula produce different effects on various subpopulations of eighth grade students. In addition to achievement data, a study will be conducted of video analyses of student interactions. Finally, a scaling study will examine factors likely to have an impact on the curriculum units' effectiveness, including fidelity of implementation. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Kuipers, Joel Michael Szesze Curtis Pyke George Washington University DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 5765835 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0228515 September 1, 2002 Scaling Up SimCalc: Professional Development for Integrating Technology to Teach More Complex Mathematics (Phase 1). The investigators posit that students' mastery of complex and conceptually difficult mathematics in the middle and high school years can be vastly improved. The tools they have chosen to advance this goal include (1) access to powerful hardware and software and (2) a strong professional development that focuses on the mathematics content, knowledge of how students learn, and the use of powerful technological tools. The proposed intervention includes both components by building on comprehensive teacher professional development to support teaching with SimCalc, Geometer's Sketch Pad, and Fathom-data analysis. There is evidence supporting the efficacy of SimCalc to improve learning outcomes; this project would test the robustness of the intervention for teachers whose content and technology background varies in representative ways. The focal topic in this intervention is rate of change. The experimental design proposed in this Phase I proposal is cast as pilot work for Phase II research because it uses a design that would be fitting for a Phase II project. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Roschelle, Jeremy James Kaput Bill Hopkins Deborah Tatar SRI International CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 997608 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0229063 June 15, 2003 Sea Floor Science. The Ocean Institute will design, develop, evaluate and install "Sea Floor Science," a 5,200 sq. ft. site-wide exhibition designed in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University. "Sea Floor Science" will provide opportunities for families, students and the general public to use authentic oceanographic equipment, tools and technology to recreate a world of ocean research and discovery. Visitors will experience how oceanographers are exploring the largely unknown sea floor to permit better understanding of the origin of sediments and rocks, paleoclimate reconstruction as evidenced by marine microfossils, and the dynamics of oceanic lithospheres and margins. The project is a new approach to museum exhibits. It will test innovative convertibility solutions that enable public areas to serve as both teaching stations and effective exhibits. It will also implement cost-effective update strategies to keep visitors at the forefront of scientific research. "Sea Floor Science" will reach 4,000,000 people in 22 states including on-site and on-line visitors, multi-state teacher networks, videoconferencing participants, science professionals, and replication sites at science centers and aquaria nationally. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Helling, Harry Wolfgang Berger Ocean Institute CA Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 862984 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229219 December 1, 2002 The Writing Project. Ways of Knowing, Inc. is producing two one-hour film documentarties for public television on the origin, nature and history of writing. "The Writing Project" (working title) is about the study of writing as a technology. The goal of the films is to explain how writing systems work and to make people aware of the importance of writing in societies. The programs will address what reading and writing is, how writing was invented and how it is used in dozens of different systems around the world. The focus is on the diversity, yet sameness, of writing systems and on the grand variety of its uses. The target audience is the PBS television audience, with follow-up educational viedocassette distribution to schools and colleges to be used as an introduction to linguistics "basic text." The program's outreach will be enhanced by a companion website and book. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bauman, Suzanne Gene Searchinger Ways of Knowing, Inc. NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 604740 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229268 February 15, 2003 Connections: An Interactive Exhibition on Networking. The New York Hall of Science will develop "Connections," a 3,500-sq. ft. interactive exhibition and related learning resources that will introduce visitors to the fundamental technology of networks. "Connections" will offer diverse audiences opportunities to explore networks, both natural and human-designed. The exhibition will highlight the fundamental characteristics of networks such as their structure, function and adaptability. The project will also produce supporting educational resources for families, after-school programs, community groups, students and teachers. Audio-tours will be produced for general visitors and for visitors with visual impairments. The Connections Discovery Lab, a 750-sq. ft. enclosed space adjacent to the exhibition, will offer scheduled workshops and drop-in programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Friedman, Alan New York Hall of Science NY David A. Ucko Continuing grant 1392319 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229294 June 1, 2003 Explore Evolution. "Explore Evolution" is a three-year project that uses a combination of traveling exhibits and activity kits to introduce the concept of evolution to museum audiences and 4-H groups. Six museum partners will collaborate on the development of eleven interactive exhibit modules on the following topics: disease in humans, eye development in animals, fruit fly diversity, sexual selection, hominoid development and extinction. The museum consortium includes the Kansas Museum and Biodiversity Center, Museum of the Rockies (MT), Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Science Museum of Minnesota, University of Nebraska State Museum and the Exhibits Museum of the University of Michigan. The inquiry-based activity kits will be modeled after the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's "Wonderwise" kits, funded in part by NSF, and designed for middle school audiences. An "Explore Evolution" website will be launched to support the exhibits and activity kits. Dissemination will occur through museum education programs as well as a consortium of 4-H programs in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Michigan, Nebraska and Wyoming. It is anticipated that more than 1.8 million museum visitors and 800,000 4-H members will participate in this project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Diamond, Judy University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2851409 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229297 June 1, 2003 NOVA: Leading Edge. WGBH is producing twelve quarterly television magazine-format programs devoted to the public understanding of current scientific research. The programs will consider the significant areas of on-going research, present the scientists who are conducting the research, portray research as an on-going endeavor and discuss the social impact and ethical implications of major areas of research. Each program will include segments such as the following: Research news update - (5 to 7 mins.) Feature stories about on-going research - 3 (8 to 12 min. each) In-studio discussions following many of the feature stories - ethical, policy and social implications Point/Counterpoint - 2 commentators presenting social, ethical, political and economic aspects of research "Then and Now" segments showing changing nature of scientific research In-studio demonstrations Interstitial moments -- Showcases of interesting and surprising aspects of research Close -- update stories from previous programs, read viewers' input or answer viewers' questions, preview upcoming story. In addition, WGBH will produce three one-hour "Year in Review" programs that report what major research has occurred over the past year and puts it in a context that will help viewers understand the role of current research in all aspects of life. Other major components of the project include on-going collaborations with other Public Understanding of Research Projects, an interactive web site, communication training for scientists to help them explain their work to the public, "Science Cafes" with on-going public programs about cutting-edge research in informal settings, a resource guide for teachers, "Leading Edge" articles in magazines targeted to teens, a "Leading Edge" science contest for students conducted through PBS stations and a station resource kit with information about how to establish local collaborations with researchers, science museums, schools and others. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 5098289 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229308 October 1, 2002 A Grant Proposal for a Contextually Relevant Mathematics and Science Evaluation Training Institute for Mid-Level Experienced Evaluators. The proposed project would provide for completing the development and the implementation of a two-week summer training institute for practicing evaluators at Howard University, Washington, D.C. beginning in Summer 2003. The goal of the Institute would be to provide intensive professional development for mid-level evaluators focusing on the impact of contextually relevant factors (ethnic group, language, culture, etc.) on the entire evaluation process, from design to data analysis to dissemination of results. The Institute would enhance participant knowledge of critical relevant issues in science and mathematics and their relationship to contextual factors in the learning process. Further the Institute would provide participants with the skills and methodology to conduct an evaluation within a cultural context. The goal is to create a new model of evaluator training based on the influence of contextual factors, which would increase participant awareness of and competency in educational evaluation, particularly in math and science programs. The goals would be accomplished through: (a) a series of instructional activities that include the analysis of on-going and completed evaluation projects, (b) discussions with nationally known practicing evaluators who utilize a contextually relevant approach in their work and, (c) the implementation of a real-time project using appropriate methodology by each participant. As part of the planning grant an administrative team, instructional faculty and an external advisory committee have defined the participant group, are finalizing the curriculum and completing logistical arrangements (obtaining housing, course credit, etc.). The project evaluator is completing the development of the evaluation plan. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Thomas, Veronica Vinetta Jones Howard University DC Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 1099089 7261 SMET 9251 9177 9152 0229390 December 1, 2002 Implementing Program Theory Across Informal Environmental Education Providers -- A Planning Grant. The goal of this Planning Grant is to use program theory as a tool in two informal science education communities and compare the processes and models that result. Program theory is built on the principle that learning and social behavioral change is the result of the cumulative effect of multiple programs, rather than a single experience. The participating communities are the Tucson Association of Museums (TAM) and the Terrific Resources for Environmental Education (TREE) organization in Columbus, Ohio. Each organization will work collaboratively using cross-group program theory and logic modeling to initiate a discussion on program planning and an intra-group evaluation. It is anticipated that this project will result in collaborations between the Tucson and Ohio informal science education communities and the creation of a plan for evaluation of the processes involved with this work. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Heimlich, Joe Ohio State University Research Foundation OH David A. Ucko Standard Grant 49711 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229512 May 1, 2003 Seeing in the Dark. "Seeing in the Dark" will be a prime-time PBS special about stargazing -- described in the proposal as "the interaction between starlight and human beings who have a look for the love of it, whether just learning the constellations or doing amateur astronomy so advanced that it sometimes rivals professional research." The project teaches "hands-on" astronomy drawing heavily on new technology (large, inexpensive "Dobsonian" telescopes; charged-coupled light-sensing devices [CCDs}; and the Internet) that make astronomical observing practical for millions to whom it has previously been at best a remote possibility. The video will be supported by an extensive outreach effort that includes informal, family projects and formal, in-class exercises. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be a major outreach partner. There also is a companion book, "Seeing in the Dark," published by Simon & Schuster. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ferris, Timothy ClockDrive Productions CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1333955 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229516 January 1, 2003 Emerging Science of Environmental Change. The World Media Foundation is producing and distributing "Emerging Science of Environmental Change." This radio-based project presents new and cutting edge research to the public through National Public Radio broadcasts, Internet radio broadcasts, multi-media web presentations, Internet-based discussion, formal school curricula and public lectures. The goal of the project is to provide the public with a longitudinal view of how those engaged in cutting-edge science formulate theories, structure their inquiries and monitor the ongoing processes, pitfalls, unexpected results and successes of their research. The production team will closely follow the work and processes of one or more research teams over major portions of the 36-month project in order to provide an in-depth understanding of the research process. The project will deliver nine one-hour radio specials and nine additional hours of shorter program segments that will be included in the NPR "Living on Earth" series. The online component of the project will present expanded versions of the audio through its daily web radio service, as well as multi-media web pages with references and discussions linked to the core subjects of the specials. School outreach will be directed primarily at largely urban, under-served middle and high schools. It will use the audio and multi-media web presentations of current research as frames of reference for student instruction in environmental science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Curwood, Stephen World Media Foundation MA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1282804 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229595 January 1, 2003 LifeTrek. The Brooklyn Children's Museum (BCM) will develop "LifeTrek," a 6000-sq. ft. permanent exhibition and related educational extensions. LifeTrek will be an integrated learning environment comprised of a series of immersive indoor habitats where children will investigate natural phenomena and processes. Designed for urban children ages 4-11 and their families and teachers, LifeTrek will provide a range of open-ended and challenging opportunities to practice science skills, and facilitate greater awareness of and respect for the natural world. Reflecting the ecological framework in which New York City resides, a northern estuary system, the exhibition will feature twelve object-rich habitats: stream's edge, flowing stream, freshwater pond, salt marsh, tidal pool, shore, dune, cliff, cave, meadow, fallen log and living tree. ERE General INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pearson, Paul Brooklyn Childrens Museum NY Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2477758 7304 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229625 February 1, 2003 Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches. The Miami Museum of Science, in collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota, will develop a 5000-sq. ft. interactive, bilingual traveling exhibition titled "Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches." The exhibition will immerse visitors in the Amazon's rich diversity through direct contact with some of its most (ill-deservedly) notorious denizens. Spotlighting the rarely seen research conducted by renowned North- and South American scientists, "Amazon Voyage" will present visitors with the scientists' ongoing work. Visitors will discover that economy and ecology of the Amazon are intertwined, and explore their own connection to this region through the global trade in ornamental fish, arriving at a heightened appreciation of how personal choices can influence environmental outcomes. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Duran, Sean Miami Museum of Science Inc FL Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2372328 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229661 May 15, 2003 MOSI Natural Hazards Exhibition. The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida, will develop a permanent exhibition and associated educational programs on natural hazards, phenomena that become "natural disasters" when they interact with the human community and its built environment. The exhibition, 9000 square feet in size, will address the science of these phenomena, the science and technology of forecasting and mitigation strategies and techniques. The exhibition features floods, hurricanes, wildfires, lightning, hail, tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanoes. The exhibition begins with an overview and a focus on the dynamic earth. It then presents a streetscape of buildings devastated by the phenomena and eight interactive areas dealing with each of the hazards. The concluding sections include a demonstration stage and a series of elements that focus on communications, community preparedness and response and forecasting. Ancillary materials include: a family exhibition guide, teacher preparation materials, classroom materials on forecasting, a distance learning program and a brochure for the public (to be developed by IBHS). Central to the project is MOSI's partnership and campus neighbor, Institute for Business and Home Safety, a nonprofit arm of the insurance industry with a mandate to educating Americans about natural disasters and ways to mitigate loss and suffering. Other partners include FEMA, USGS, Red Cross, NFPA, local schools and community based organizations. The Institute for Learning Innovation will conduct the evaluation, supplemented by action research investigations by the University of South Florida. A local high school emphasizing design and art will participate in the exhibition development process. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Conley, Dave Museum of Science and Industry FL Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1583409 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229696 April 1, 2003 To Mars with MER. Geoff Haines-Stiles Productions is producing and distributing a project that will follow the upcoming NASA 2003 Mars Exploration Rover project. To Mars with MER consists of three prime-time PBS programs scheduled to be broadcast to coincide with key events in the MER project: the day before the launch, the day before landing and after the 90 day surface mission. These programs will examine such mission milestones as key engineering tests and selecting where to land based on the scientific questions we have about Mars. The prime time specials will be edited and, along with additional live and taped video, distributed to science centers, planetariums, educational cable networks and schools with satellite or high-bandwidth Internet connections. Passport to Knowledge, a partner in the project, will adapt NASA's public domain materials and its own Live from Mars resources (teacher's guide, websites, etc.) to provide customized resources for teachers and students and for the parents and families who will be watching coverage of the mission on broadcast and cable. All materials will be made available online. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Haines-Stiles, Geoffrey Erna Akuginow Geoff Haines-Stiles Productions NJ Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1138117 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229700 October 1, 2003 Science and Technology of Canals and Inland Waterways. The Hugh Moore Historical Park and Museum will develop an integrated framework of exhibits on the science and technology of canals and inland waterways at the National Canal Museum (NCM) in Easton, PA., which will serve as a model for interdisciplinary public education and exhibit programs at other canal history organizations in more than 28 states, primarily east of the Mississippi River. Representatives from major waterway and industrial history sites and museums across the nation will work with NCM staff and a national advisory panel of leading informal science educators to develop, design and disseminate a series of interactive science exhibits that can travel or be replicated in museums, parks and organizations that interpret inland waterways and related industrial sites INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mooney, Edward Hugh Moore Historical Park and Museum, Inc PA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1629998 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229721 May 1, 2003 The Franklin Air Show. The Franklin Institute Science Museum will develop, install and evaluate "The Franklin Air Show," a 5,000-sq. ft. interactive, permanent exhibition that explores the science and technology of aviation and aeronautics. Taking advantage of nationwide interest in the 100th anniversary of powered flight occurring in 2003, and the institute's collection of Wright Brothers Aeronautical Collection (including a restored 1911 Model B Flyer), "The Franklin Air Show" presents aviation and aeronautical technology as a vehicle for demonstrating basic science principles and the practical application of scientific and technical knowledge through invention, innovation and design. To extend the reach of "The Franklin Air Show," the Institute will disseminate parent and teacher curriculum guides through partnerships with the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Federal Aviation Administration. The exhibit is supported by innovative World Wide Web programming on The Franklin Institute Online, including "Flights if Inspiration" and digitized artifacts from the Wright collection. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hammer, Philip Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 1221177 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229723 January 1, 2003 Bringing CoCoRaHS to the Central Great Plains: An Informal Science Education Project for Rural Communities. CoCoRaHS or the Community Collaborative Rain and Hail Study builds on previously funded NSF research on precipitation patterns in the western portion of the US. This award will expand the current citizen science efforts to include those living in the Great Plains including Eastern Colorado, Western Nebraska, Northwest Kansas and Southeast Wyoming. Participants gain experience in data collection and analysis while working with scientists and contributing to a national research study. CoCoRaHS volunteers will learn about the impact of regional weather patterns on agriculture, water resources and environmental quality while collecting rain, hail and snow data. Participants are also invited to take part in other activities to build on the research experience including a series of seminars, field trips and workshops. The project will result in the development of the following materials: graphic depictions of data using ARC-GIS software, a teacher curriculum, an upgraded website and a quarterly newsletter. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Cifelli, Robert Steven Rutledge Nolan Doesken Colorado State University CO Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 897341 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229733 July 1, 2003 Sugar from the Sun. The Garfield Park Conservatory will develop, install and evaluate "Sugar from the Sun," a living plant exhibition that explores the fundamental biological process of photosynthesis. The exhibit addresses common misunderstandings and misconceptions about photosynthesis by engaging children and adults in activities that explore the primary concepts that plants require air, water and light to produce sugar, and that the sun is the energy source. The exhibit will be constructed in the Conservatory's Sweet House, where tropical plants such as mangos and bananas will provide the stimulus to engage visitors in learning how plants manufacture sugar from the sun. Exhibits convey the science of photosynthesis and inspire appreciation for the critical role plants play in sustaining life on earth. Supplementary educational materials (self-guides, exploration backpacks and an interactive website) will be layered into the visitor experience, enabling visitors to develop a deeper understanding of photosynthesis. The project also will develop a non-exhibit based model dissemination package for teaching photosynthesis in other conservatories, promoting active science learning about photosynthesis nationwide. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Antonio, Thomas David Snyder Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance IL Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1652287 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229782 January 1, 2003 Building Mathematics Momentum in Science Centers. TERC and ASTC will collaborate with thirteen science and technology centers around the country to create and implement a professional development program for science center staff. The goal of this project is to use exhibits and educational programs as a vehicle for building a presence for mathematics in science centers nationwide. The participating science centers will develop mathematics initiatives while working with TERC and ASTC to create workshops on topics such as data, measurement, algebra, national standards and visitor accessibility. Start-up sites will create training networks in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas. Workshops will be offered on-line and also at local and national conferences. The project will produce a publication entitled "Promising Math Practices in Science Centers" that will highlight best practices for the incorporation of mathematics into museum programs. It is anticipated that the number of participating institutions will increase to 120 during the life of the project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mokros, Janice Andee Rubin DeAnna Beane Marlene Kliman TERC Inc MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1999891 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229796 January 1, 2003 "ZOOM"-- Season Six. WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting $1,261,934, or 33% of a total project budget of $3,835,236, to produce 20 new shows and new outreach and Web activities for" ZOOM." Targeted to kids ages 8 to 11, "ZOOM" is a daily, half-hour PBS series featuring an assortment of games, riddles, investigations, recipes and poems -- all based on materials sent in by its young viewers. Uniquely by and for kids," ZOOM" gives its viewers a chance to explore, experiment and share their creativity. "ZOOM's" science and math segments (30% of each half-hour show) give kids opportunities to explore scientific and mathematical ideas, concepts and phenomena. The goals for Season VI are to: (1) expand "ZOOM's" engineering curriculum; (2) develop two new content areas--Sports Science, and Perception and Sensation; (3) create new partnerships with FIRST LEGO League and Girl Scouts of USA; and, (4) conduct summative evaluation to continue to gauge "ZOOM's" effectiveness at teaching math and science to targeted audiences. Outreach for the project will include print materials for kids, families and educators. "ZOOM"-related activities at community-based organization include 590 ClubZOOM science afterschool programs and 21 ZOOMzone science museum exhibits. The 2,400-page interactive web site is updated weekly. "ZOOM" currently is carried by 170 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by close to 6 million children per week. The program receives 24,000 letters and e-mails per week; the web site attracts an average of 14,000 visitors per month. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1261934 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229812 May 1, 2003 Dragon Skies: Astronomy of Imperial China. Chabot Space and Science Center is developing an exhibit of Chinese astronomical artifacts and organizing a United States tour of the exhibit. "Dragon Skies: Astronomy of Imperial China" consists of 31 exhibit pieces, including seven large astronomical instruments, chronographs, stone carvings and star maps. Many of these artifacts have never before left China. In order to increase the awareness and understanding of students, teachers and the public about Imperial China's rich astronomical achievements, Chabot will develop a variety of interpretive materials and programs that address interests and learning styles, present scientifically and historically accurate information, and serve both informal and formal educational audiences. These materials will include a planetarium show, an audio tour, special signage, multimedia animations/interactive kiosks, a web site, student activities, community events, a science drama program, activities for the general public and a variety of printed materials. Many components will be developed in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Barnett, Alexandra Michael Reynolds Cynthia Ashley Chabot Space and Science Center CA David A. Ucko Continuing grant 2635495 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229817 February 1, 2003 Facing the Wild: The Crittercam Chronicles. National Geographic Television requests $1,121,583 (35%) of a total project budget of $3,192,249, to produce a documentary series in 13 half-hour and one hour-long special, "Facing the Wild: The Crittercam Chronicles," with associated informal science education materials and programs. This project will feature the natural histories of some of the Earth's most enigmatic and charismatic marine species, highlight the groundbreaking technology employed to study these extraordinary creatures and celebrate the scientists who devote their lives to understanding marine creatures. The project's goals include: to educate audiences about the vital importance of the world's oceans to the health of the planet; to celebrate the ingenuity of novel technology developed for science and exploration; to illustrate that many tantalizing mysteries remain yet unsolved and a great deal of exciting science and exploration has yet to be done; to provide viewers with scientific role models and help motivate them to pursue careers in science. Employing cutting-edge remote imaging tools, including "crittercam", and National Geographic's trademark storytelling, Facing the Wild's strong conservation message is designed to appeal to a national and global audience. A robust web site, virtual teacher workshops and Student Ocean Conferences will augment the impact of the series. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Marshall, Greg Keenan Smart National Geographic Television DC Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1121583 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229872 September 1, 2003 Round and Round. Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, CA, will develop a three-pronged project called "Round and Round" focused on the geometry, science and technology of circles and wheels. All three project products (one permanent and one traveling version of a 2000-sq. ft. exhibition; an array of complementary educational programs for children ages 3-10; and published research on patterns of interactions among families of diverse backgrounds in museum settings) will be developed in cooperation with developmental psychologists from the University of California at Santa Cruz and advisors from Latino and Vietnamese communities in San Jose. "Round and Round" exhibits and programs will offer a trans-cultural, gender-neutral, and multi-disciplinary look at the ingenuity and ubiquity of circles. Together they will provide a comprehensive array of interactive experiences that help children, ages 3-10, and adults explore the mathematics, physics, physical properties and engineering advantages of circles and wheels. The project is expected to serve three million visitors in science and children's museums across the nation within four years of implementation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Martin, Jennifer Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1262853 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229875 September 1, 2003 Outdoors Indoors -- An Interactive Natural Science Exhibition for Young Children. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will develop "Outdoors Indoors, an Interactive Natural Science Exhibition for Young Children," ages 3-8, and their families. Two 2,500 sq. ft. versions of the exhibition will be developed -- one to be installed at OMSI and the other to travel. Building on children's innate curiosity about the natural world, the exhibition invites visitors to explore a woodland environment where they can develop process skills and learn natural science concepts. The exhibition will also focus on ways that parents can help encourage their children's science learning, both through exhibit activities and through exploration of the natural world outdoors. Bilingual text (English and Spanish) will help make the exhibition accessible to a diverse audience. Ancillary materials for families and educators will further enhance learning. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bertschi, Karyn Oregon Museum of Science and Industry OR Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1397839 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229892 April 1, 2003 The MarsQuest Exhibit: Extending the National Tour. The Space Science Institute will refurbish its 5,000 square foot traveling exhibition, "MarsQuest: Exploring the Red Planet" (ESI-9705377), enhancing the exhibition with new components that incorporate recent data from ongoing Mars missions, and extending its national tour for an additional three years. Enhancements include exhibits on Mars' weather, exobiology and the addition of a photo-realistic rotating Mars globe. Additional improvements include models of the NASA Mars exploration rover and an online kiosk to make additional information available to visitors after they leave the exhibition. MarsQuest is fully booked and there is a waiting list for a second three-year tour. The proposed refurbishment and enhancements will occur at the end of the current tour in 2003, with the new tour beginning early 2004. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dusenbery, Paul Cherilynn Morrow James Harold SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE CO Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 429555 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0229918 September 1, 2003 Water is Life: Immersing the Public in Aquatic Diversity. The California Academy of Sciences will produce"Water is Life," a 30,383 square-foot permanent exhibit with educational programming. The exhibit is designed to engage the public with the living world of water, to foster environmental stewardship and increase science literacy. Three habitat components -- Philippine Coral Reef, California Coast and Global Rainforests -- are conceptually and experientially linked through "Water Planet," which explores water's physical properties and how they impact living organisms and lead to aquatic diversity. Each component also reinforces the importance of conserving aquatic resources. Educational programming takes "Water is Life" to local schools and community events and onto the World Wide Web, as well as provides venues for formative evaluation of exhibit design elements. The development of lending kits, plus supporting manuals and workshops, will extend the reach of "Water is Life" regionally and nationally. Similarly, instruction manuals and workshops for creating desktop, living reefs will have national impact. The compelling draw of live organisms, hands-on activities, and exhibit enrichment through educational programming provide accessibility to a large, diverse audience. The exhibit will reach over one million annual visitors, and a larger audience will experience distributed educational programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Burke, Margaret Terrence Gosliner Linda Kulik Christopher Andrews California Academy of Sciences CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2467240 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0230435 January 1, 2003 Building Evaluation Capacity with Theory-Based Evaluation. This proposal will advance the state-of-the art of evaluation by applying theory-based evaluation in STEM education. The grant will design and refine a theoretical framework for an innovative evaluation design of STEM education programs and provide meta-analyses of how different approaches in teacher professional development affect teaching practices and student learning. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR OReilly, Fran ABT Associates Inc MA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 1162443 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231037 January 1, 2003 Supporting and Sustaining the Learning of Professional Teaching Communities in the Institutional Setting of the School and School District. This is a five-year longitudinal study of the process of supporting and sustaining the learning of professional teaching communities by building on a collaboration that has been established over the past two years with two groups of middle-school mathematics teachers who work in contrasting urban districts. In one district, administrators have responded to high stakes accountability testing by attempting to monitor and regulate teachers' instructional practices whereas in the second district administrators have responded to accountability pressures by providing teachers with access to new tools and new forms of knowledge. The first goal of the proposed project is to develop an analytic framework designed to situate mathematics teachers' instructional practices in the institutional setting of the school, the school district, and the broader policy environment. A major purpose of this framework will be to assist, within the institutional setting, in scaling up innovations. As second goal, the framework will be pilot tested and refined through ongoing collaboration with the teachers and administrators in the two districts by using it to guide the formulation of specific strategies for supporting substantial change in mathematics teaching in the two contrasting districts. In doing so, strategies and conjectures will be tested and revised on an ongoing basis, thereby revising the framework in the context in which it is designed to be used. The third goal of the project will be to investigate the travel of an innovation by testing, modifying, and revising a conjectured trajectory for the development of professional teaching communities, in the process relating the actual learning trajectories of two professional teaching communities to the contrasting organizational contexts at the two sites. The fourth goal will be to investigate the organizational conditions necessary for sustainability by documenting the development of the two professional teaching communities when the researchers' direct support is withdrawn in the final year of the proposed project. The goal in analyzing these data will be to develop longitudinal accounts of the initial emergence and subsequent development of the professional teaching communities over a five-year period. In doing so, the two communities will be situated within the institutional settings of respective districts, thereby locating the collaborating teachers' evolving instructional practices in both the social contexts of the professional teaching communities and the organizational settings of the districts. The student outcome data will allow the researchers to document the consequences of changes in the teachers' instructional practices for the students' mathematical learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Cobb, Paul Kay McClain Vanderbilt University TN James S. Dietz Continuing grant 1475442 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231147 December 1, 2002 A Framework and Network for Evaluating the Impact of Ubiquitous Computing in K-12 Schools. To guide large investments of time, effort, and money, policymakers need more evidence about the impacts of educational technology, but little information useful to them has yet been derived from evaluations of ubiquitous computing initiatives. SRI International is working with six partner organizations to develop a common framework for evaluating the impacts of ubiquitous computing on K-12 mathematics and science education. The framework is based on existing frameworks developed for other purposes (e.g., the EnGauge model developed by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and the Metiri Group) and on findings from a policy study conducted for this project designed to clarify policymakers information needs and their expectations about ubiquitous computing. Experienced evaluators from SRI International, the Metiri Group, the University of Virginia, the University of Minnesota, ROCKMAN ET AL, EDC's Center for Children and Technology, and Kent State University's Research Center for Educational Technology are also working as separate organizations conducting evaluations of many ubiquitous computing initiatives in several states. The framework to be developed by the group will be used to strengthen the individual evaluations and make them more responsive to policymakers' needs. By using a framework in which a variety of important evaluation questions about the impacts of ubiquitous computing on mathematics and science education can be framed and understood, we greatly increase the chances that knowledge will accumulate. The project team is posting the framework, evaluation findings, and syntheses of these findings on a project Web site. In addition, a number of new evaluation tools are being developed, and these, too, will be available through the Web. Information is also being disseminated through conference presentations and journal articles. Other evaluators, policy-makers, and practitioners are invited to make use of any of these products, which are intended to help strengthen evaluation work in the field of ubiquitous computing. A better understanding of ongoing ubiquitous computing initiatives, derived from evaluations, is expected to lead to improvements in mathematics and science education practices that use educational technology. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Zucker, Andrew Raymond McGhee SRI International CA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 1124689 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231644 October 1, 2002 Building Evaluation Capacity from the Inside Out: A Model for Funding Agencies. The proposed project is designed to develop and test a model to build evaluation capacity in agencies, organizations and programs focused on increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce. Specifically project goals are to improve the funding agency's ability to assess the effectiveness of their efforts, to identify effective innovations, to develop a replicable model to facilitate capacity building and to disseminate the model widely. Objectives are focused on strengthening/improving the data collection process and testing the resulting model in several agencies (NSF, NIH, GE Foundation) that fund efforts to increase the diversity of the STEM workforce. Activities include document review, the development of an evaluation template and preparation of technical manuals to guide agency efforts. ALLIANCES-MINORITY PARTICIPAT. PROGRAM EVALUATION RES IN DISABILITIES ED MINORITY GRADUATE EDUC ACTIVIT DRL EHR Clewell, Beatriz Patricia Campbell Urban Institute DC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 575362 9133 7261 1545 1515 SMET 9251 9231 9177 0231678 September 15, 2002 Distance Learning Graduate Program In Evaluation for the U.S. Affiliated Pacific. The Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) is requesting a planning grant for the development of a Masters of Science degree program in Program Evaluation as a distance learning program. The two-year program will offer approximately 36-semester credits for courses focused on program evaluation theory and techniques, research methods and statistics. The program will be modeled after PREL's distance learning MS degree program in Instructional Technology and Telecommunications. Courses will be offered in an asynchronous online format. Instruction will be self-paced and students will interact with faculty and each other through e-mail, videoconferencing and web boards. The PI believes that training in evaluation for personnel in educational settings will increase organizational capacity to assess the effectiveness of their educational efforts in STEM and lead to improved educational outcomes. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hammond, Ormond Pacific Resources for Education and Learning HI Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 96000 7261 SMET 9177 9150 0231771 January 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Exploring the Value of Learning by Teaching. It is a common intuition that one of the best ways to learn something is to attempt to teach it to others. The research project is testing this intuition and its usefulness for educational practice. Central to the work are web-based "teachable agents" that students teach as a way to learn themselves and that permit studies of the active ingredients of learning by teaching. The project will use the agents to help students learn science and mathematics content and help teachers learn content-specific pedagogy. The intellectual merit of the work is that the agents provide a method for developing and testing a learning theory that helps explain the motivational and cognitive benefits of learning by teaching. By manipulating a teachable agent's available features and use (something that is hard to do with actual pupils), it is possible to experimentally isolate different components of the learning by teaching interaction. A primary measure used to evaluate whether students learn by teaching includes assessments of students' abilities to subsequently learn from resources once they have completed their teaching activities. The broader impacts include a new way of helping teachers understand the learning of their students, and the development of easily distributed, software that embodies new learning principles so that others in schools and industry can learn from those artifacts and create new ones of their own. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Biswas, Gautam Vanderbilt University TN Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 944411 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231774 January 15, 2003 Assessing Cognitive Diversity: Implications for Hispanic, Native American, and White Children's Mathematics Learning. This project seeks to provide new understanding of the cognitive and assessment conditions that support learning of culturally and linguistically diverse children. The study would examine some prevailing myths about the cause of differences in mathematics performance. The theory for the study is drawn from cognitive science theory, constructivism, and socio-cultural theories of learning and thus investigates the interaction among cognitive processes and the cultural context. Multiple forms of assessments would be designed. It will show whether assessment formats and design influence the measurement of performance, how different assessment methods that reflect the linguistic and cultural background of students affect performance, and it will conduct multivariate analyses to detect other performance factors. One goal of the study is to provide systematic examination of several explanatory factors of student achievement in mathematics for grades 4 to 8. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Moreno, Roxana Richard Duran Joseph Stevens University of New Mexico NM Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1378726 1666 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0231779 January 1, 2003 Mathematics Proficiencies in Elementary School: Effects of Family, School, and Policy. The objectives of this study are to examine the role that state instructional policies play in shaping school learning environments. The PI we use a multi-level random effects model to evaluate differences in state mathematics instructional policy, including content standards, curriculum frameworks, and teacher professional learning, with particular emphasis on the implications for low income children. Examine how differences in state mathematics instructional policy are associated with school learning environment, especially in high poverty schools. The PI will also examine how school learning environment is associated with classroom instructional practices. And finally, the PI will identify the relationships between family income, parental investment, school learning environment, and classroom instructional practices on growth in mathematical proficiencies through the third grade. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Georges, Annie Mary Clare Lennon Columbia University NY Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 500000 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231780 October 1, 2003 Learning Sciences and Brain Research - A Focus on Research in Literacy, Mathematical Thought and Lifelong Learning. One of the main barriers to progress in creating synergy between discoveries in cognitive/brain sciences and innovation in educational practice has been a lack of well orchestrated exchanges between communities of researchers and practitioners who can enact change. For the past two years, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and more specifically its Centre for Educational Research Innovation (CERI), with a financial and substantive support from NSF, have been actively engaged in a programme which has endeavoured towards translating the findings from brain research into the formation of public educational policy. Thus far, relevant and targeted neuroscientific findings have emerged from the project. Research in reading has begun to demonstrate that comprehension of written documents can be improved with new teaching strategies. Mathematical skills, linked to both linguistic competence and visuo-spatial representations, can be addressed more efficiently. Neuroplasticity is more prevalent than previously recognised: this has a tremendous importance for educational policies on lifelong learning, especially in adults. The project is now in its second phase (July 2002 - June 2005), with the focus on forming innovative networks that seek synergistic points of contact between current domains of research in cognitive and brain science on the one hand, and education practice and policy on the other. That might be particularly relevant to the creation accessible theories of expertise and development of foundational educational abilities, and might help address recurring educational problems and difficulties. In order to meet the challenges of the second phase, the project will undertake a three-dimensional approach: firstly, it aims to be problem focused (grounded on particular educational challenges that may be considered foundational in education), secondly, trans-disciplinary (involving a wide collection of researchers from different disciplines), and thirdly to maintain an international scope (involving researchers from over 20 different countries). Three separate networks of leading scientists have been formed. They are to work on inter-related topics. The two first will address the fundamental abilities in comprehending written materials and numerical information. The major activities of these networks will be centred around three global goals: - Synthesis of existing and emerging findings from cognitive and brain science that represent consensus knowledge about brain mechanisms of foundational skills in literacy and numeracy. - Dissemination of information to a wide audience of educational policy makers, curriculum designers, educational researchers, educators, and other brain and cognitive researchers. This effort will result in several publications, an open website and open web forum. - Innovation, in providing a forum for educators to challenge cognitive neuroscientists to tackle questions of direct educational relevance and providing a forum for policy-makers to challenge cognitive neuroscientists and educators to advise on questions of educational investments at national and local levels. The project also aims to actively pursue data sources from research to synthesise existing and emerging findings from cognitive and brain science, and to dispel popular misunderstandings of the brain and its relationship to learning and teaching. There will be a strong emphasis on broad dissemination and communication of the research findings by way of establishing collaborative focus groups and forums for educators and policy-makers whereby they may challenge cognitive neuroscientists and exchange questions of educational relevance. The project will capitalise on OECD/CERI.s proven track record in record in (a) convening meetings of leading international experts (which are to be held throughout the duration of the project); (b) communicating findings to senior policy-makers; (c) disseminating best practices; (d) informing decision making; and (e) translating complex research findings into practical application. The rich and complex research findings will be translated into practical application, in order to build more specific curricula based upon brain research that will be accepted by educational policy-makers as well as practitioners and end-users. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Della-Chiesa, Bruno Organization For Economic Cooperation & Development none Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 388800 1666 SMET 9177 9150 0231788 January 1, 2003 Development of a Certificate in Program Evaluation. This project would develop a twenty-credit certificate program in evaluation that students could complete in 9 months to1 year. In addition to regular course work in evaluation, this certificate program would include a practicum to give students the opportunity to work directly on evaluation projects. Students would be recruited from the surrounding area, which has large minority populations. It is expected that many students would be employees of State and Federal government agencies in the region and letters of support from many of these agencies were included. There are no other certificate programs in evaluation known to exist at this time. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Kuehn, Phyllis Sharon Brown-Welty California State University-Fresno Foundation CA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 275678 7261 SMET 9177 0231807 April 1, 2003 Investigating the Interrelated Development of Mathematics and Literacy in Urban Secondary Schools. The central idea in this proposed work is to conceptualize the nature and development of teachers' knowledge as they, in turn, learn about how students in culturally diverse urban secondary schools negotiate the literacy demands of reform-based mathematics curricula. We make three central claims as a rationale for this proposed work. First, the mathematical tasks that students and teachers encounter in the reform-based secondary school curricula represent a significant shift from traditional curricula in terms of the literacy demands they make on students and teachers. Second, students in urban settings, where literacy and mathematics achievement often lags behind achievement of students in other settings, are at great risk for not being able to meet the increased literacy demands of the reform-based curricula and of the communications standard put forward by the NCTM. Third, secondary mathematics teachers are underprepared to mediate the intersections between mathematics and literacy. Our driving perspective in this work will be to understand the nature of what teachers need to know to support students' development of mathematical communication in ways that lead to effective learning of algebra and to understand how it is that this knowledge is developed among a community of urban mathematics teachers. In this project, we will investigate these research questions: How do teachers understand student use of the language of algebra for mathematical communication when using reform-based mathematics curricula in diverse, urban settings? How do teachers' understandings about the language of algebra for mathematical communication develop in ways that lead to the effective teaching of algebra? We will use qualitative research methods to explore the sociocultural aspects of mathematics communication. These analyses will describe the nature and development of the teachers' learning, in the context of the students' learning of algebra, using reform- based curricula. We will use quantitative measures of mathematics and literacy performance to discern relative effectiveness of teachers' instructional strategies that attend to the literacy demands of the curricula. This study will address important theoretical issues in understanding the underlying structures of language in the acquisition of algebraic thinking and learning. The analyses of the data on the learning and growth of teachers through an examination of the artifacts of practice will contribute to theoretical issues as well as pragmatic issues in the use of reformed-based curricula by secondary mathematics teachers. The broader impact of this project will be: (1) a model and underlying principles for how teachers acquire knowledge in areas in which they are underprepared; (2) processes for teachers to analyze mathematical tasks and their contexts in terms of their literacy demands; (3) principles for transforming their analyses into practice; (4) principles for ways of using multimedia cases of practice to support teacher RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Doerr, Helen Joanna Masingila Kelly Chandler-Olcott Kathleen Hinchman Syracuse University NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1062084 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231808 September 1, 2003 Understanding and Fostering Model Based Learning In Science. This project will study learning and teaching processes in several exemplary science curricula in different subject areas. All of them use new approaches to teaching that are unique in the way that they foster active learning of conceptual models on the part of the student. At present many of the general principles underlying the learning that occurs in these lessons are poorly understood. However, advances in cognitive science have produced a very promising new theory of model-based learning which can help to analyze and describe these teaching techniques. The investigators will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to study these innovative units and analyze them using these new cognitive science concepts. The overall goal is to find principles of instruction for developing students' visualizable models in science. Central to the project will be case studies of skilled teachers who are adept at fostering model construction by students. The problem is to identify the strategies by which teachers are able to do this. The project will analyze teaching strategies and resulting student learning processes in detail using protocol analysis techniques. Follow up studies will make quantitative comparisons between groups that complement the qualitative case studies, and pre and post testing will measure the size of learning gains in different areas. In a second part of the project, key elements of model-based learning theory will be elaborated via the analysis of expert learning protocols. Similarities and differences between expert and student processes will be examined that highlight new ways of understanding student learning processes that suggest new teaching strategies. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Clement, John University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 956126 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231826 January 1, 2003 Perceptual Learning in Mathematics and Science: Structure Discovery, Fluency, and Integration. Perceptual learning is defined as experience-induced changes in the way information is extracted by these researchers who intend to investigate how perceptual learning occurs and whether it has implications for mathematics and science learning. It is the process by which learners differentiate relevant structure from irrelevant variation. The methods of research involve experimental investigations of conditions affecting perceptual learning, effects of structure discovery, and structure mapping variants of learning procedures on transfer. Experiments will employ objective measures of learning such as speed, accuracy, and transfer to novel problems. They will test and apply new learning technology such as automated sequencing algorithms that use a learner's speed and accuracy to assess learning and to sequence events for optimal efficiency. The panel reviewers noted that an investigation that might clarify perceptual learning might help supplement or even challenge prevailing constructivist theories of learning. This way of thinking about learning could be an important discovery for mathematics and science learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kellman, Philip Christine Massey University of California-Los Angeles CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1655242 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231838 January 1, 2003 Developing Capacity-Based Evaluation Approaches to University Science Programs: Comparing Interdisciplinary Centers and Traditional Academic Units. This evaluative research project seeks to evaluate the capacity of research units in academic settings. Capacity is determined by by the fit of the human capital available in the research unit and the infrastructure available to support them. Emphasis will be placed on information technology where much current interest exists. The researchers will look at three setting: research centers in majority institutions, science and engineering in HBCUs and EPSCoR institutions, and traditional disciplinary-based departments. The study will be carried out with a variety of methodologies, including case studies, questionnaires and review of existing materials. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Rogers, Juan Barry Bozeman GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 693886 7261 SMET 9177 0231859 September 15, 2002 Enhancing Evaluation Methods and Capacity: Principled Discovery,Evaluation Portfolio Management,and Taking Evaluation to the People. This proposal outlines three lines of work to build evaluation capacity. The first line of work involves applying the techniques of "principled discovery" to determine the complexities of contingent intervention effects using selected EHR/STEM data sets. The second line of work is the design of a strategy for evaluation portfolio management. The expected result is a guide for the allocation of evaluation resources to different types of evaluation studies. The third line of work is the development and institutionalization of effective ways to report and disseminate key evaluation findings to the press at AEA meetings. Collectively these three activities should contribute not only to evaluation capacity, but also to research and evaluation in general. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Mark, Melvin Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 510814 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231871 November 1, 2002 Evaluative Research Capacity Building in the Mississippi Delta. The purpose of this project is to develop an interest in and capacity for evaluative studies of critical STEM issues among faculty at five regional colleges in the Mississippi Delta, including three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). These colleges were chosen because, although they graduate most of the teachers and administrators working in the Delta schools, the graduates l have not been routinely involved in the comprehensive evaluation of STEM policies and practices. Of particular importance for these personnel are issues surrounding student assessment and performance, especially in light of new stringent assessment guidelines. The project will prepare faculty to investigate large-scale student assessment issues through the development of a faculty professional "learning community" mentored by nationally recognized evaluators/ researchers. These mentors will serve initially as instructors and later as collaborators/consultants to the faculty members as they design and implement research proposals on issues in student learning through current high stakes testing and accountability procedures. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Brown, Robert Ronald Love University of Mississippi MS Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 1355333 7261 SMET 9251 9177 9152 0231878 April 1, 2003 IS SCIENCE ME? Tracing the Roots of Girls' Decisions to Pursue Science. This 3-year longitudinal project studies how diverse girls' attitudes, perceptions, and experiences in grades 7-12 influence both subtle and explicit choices leading towards or away from a college major in science. Participants come from 4 urban and suburban districts whose students represent a range of economic background and ethnicities. The design would follow two cohorts of students, one from 7th to 10th grade and one from 10th grade into the first year of college. The middle school cohort allows a broad look at student experiences before they formally enter the pipeline, while the high school cohort focuses on those students who are most likely to pursue science and engineering careers. The study includes an annual large-scale survey of the full cohort and an annual in-depth interview with a continuing subset of students. Contextual interviews with selected parents, science teachers, guidance counselors, and others are also included. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques are used. This project seeks to explore the linkage between school and extracurricular experiences of female students to their decision to pursue a science college major. These variables have been found to be related to the gender gap in achievement and attitudes about science, but a formal linkage between them and girls' decision to pursue a science major has not been established. This research has the potential to identify factors that might facilitate the recruitment of females in science majors. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Aschbacher, Pamela Jerome Pine California Institute of Technology CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1694200 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231879 January 1, 2003 Coordinating Students' and Teachers' Algebraic Reasoning (COSTAR). Research in education and psychology has demonstrated that adults and children often understand shared experiences in very different ways, but much less is known about how teachers and their students understand shared lessons, or how classroom learning occurs as teachers' and students' understandings interact over sequences of lessons. The research proposed here will focus on the interplay between teachers' and students' understandings of shared classroom interactions, and on ways that teachers and students work together to shape the teaching and learning of middle school algebra. The methodology used will be qualitative in nature - employing the video analysis of lessons. Data will be collected in three classrooms in Morgan County Georgia (a diverse racial and social setting), and the study will have a longitudinal focus where students will be followed over the course of their middle school algebra experiences. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Izsak, Andrew John Olive Chandra Orrill University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 1110310 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231881 September 15, 2002 SGER: Development and Validation of a Model For Team-Based Learning in Engineering. This is a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) to explore the effects of team-based effects on learning engineering at the undergraduate level. The work will be undertaken in two main phases. The first phase includes the development, validation, and testing of a new student assessment protocol for team-based learning in engineering. The second phase includes the development and use of an observation protocol in assessing team behaviors, which will be used in refining the model of team design offered in the proposal. Several propositions have been put forth as to what factors affect the outcomes of group learning experiences. The work will take place at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Pennsylvania State University, and with students participating in electronic teams as part of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). The team represents expertise in engineering and educational psychology. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Adams, Stephanie University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE James S. Dietz Standard Grant 99237 1666 SMET 9237 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0231884 June 1, 2003 Teacher Professional Development in Mathematics and Science: Do the Policies Add Up?. The project would focus on examining aspects of in-service professional development of elementary and secondary teachers. The researchers propose to use existing national surveys, such as the Schools and Staffing Survey and the Eisenhower Professional Development Program to analyze how state and school district policies influence teacher participation in professional development. The study would also address how the content covered in professional development is associated with the content covered in teachers' instruction and student achievement. One hypothesis is that school organization influences the teacher's participation in professional development and that the content-focus of professional development influences the content of instruction which is associated with student achievement for particular content areas. The study is intended to emphasize the role of professional development within the causal framework of affecting the adoption of reform efforts and student achievement. The proposal seeks to use large existing databases about teachers to learn more about linking state and local policies to improving professional development and how it is linked to student achievement, if at all. The researchers will conduct extensive analysis of large databases. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Smith, Thomas Laura Desimone Vanderbilt University TN Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 592384 1666 SMET 9177 0231886 January 1, 2003 Developing Subject Matter Knowledge in Mathematics Middle School Teachers: A Cross-National Study of Teacher Education as a Follow-Up of TIMSS. ABSTRACT Proposal number: 0231886 PI: William Schmidt Institution: Michigan State University Title: Developing Subject Matter Knowledge in Mathematics Middle School Teachers: A Cross-National Study of Teacher Education as a Follow-up of TIMSS The project studies in countries how middle school mathematics teachers learn to teach subject matter content as a result of their preparation. Specifically, the study will address: (1) What is the general structure of teacher preparation in the countries selected? The study will select six countries using criteria such as high levels of achievement in TIMSS, challenging 8th grade curricula, distinctive teacher preparation approaches and "map" the structure of teacher preparation in each country. (2) What is the mathematical and pedagogical content those preparing to teach eighth graders have an opportunity to learn? The project will select a probability sample of teacher preparation institutions in each country and within it a sample of students in their last year of study to probe their curriculum experiences and mathematical and pedagogical knowledge. (3) What is the cost-effectiveness of different approaches to teacher preparation? It is anticipated that results from the study will provide a conceptual framework for comparative study of teacher preparation; help understand the greater diversity of approaches; provide a methodology, indicators and analytic tools to study the influence of teacher preparation on prospective candidates; and provide policy insight on how to improve the preparation of middle school mathematics teachers. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Schmidt, William Maria Tatto Michigan State University MI Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1557490 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231892 January 1, 2003 Turning to the Evidence: What Teachers Learn About Using Classroom Records and Artifacts in Mathematics Instruction. In this project, the researchers propose to examine how teachers use student created artifacts of mathematics learning in their own professional development. The conceptual framing for the proposal comes from two strands of work. The first strand involves theory and research about the conceptual systems teachers use to understand student thinking. Several investigators have recently described cognitive schemata for mathematics education as "lenses" through which educators perceive, organize, and enact their practice. The researchers posit that two lenses are particularly relevant to the way teachers identify and interpret evidence of student thinking from classroom artifacts and records: a "mathematical content" lens and a "mathematical epistemology" one. The second conceptual strand comes from theories of the situated nature of practice, which emphasize that knowledge itself is a function of the contexts in which it develops. Although practice-based professional development seeks to narrow the distance between the learning teachers do in professional development settings and tasks of classroom practice, the differences between the two contexts can nonetheless be significant. The project will investigate two overarching questions: (1) what do teachers learn by participating in professional development that uses classroom records and artifacts? and (2) what aspects of their learning do teachers apply to their classroom practice? The study will investigate teachers' learning as they participate in either one of two professional development programs that focus on analysis of classroom artifacts, Fostering Algebraic Thinking Toolkit (TK) or VideoCases for Mathematics Professional Development (VCM). Four sites have been selected, two TK and two VCM seminars. Comparisons to teachers not in the treatment will be included. Seminars will meet monthly for three semesters. Data bearing on questions about teachers' learning in the seminars will include: pre/post measures of teachers' algebra understanding, pre/post interviews focusing on teachers' analysis of student work samples, video records and field notes of seminar sessions, and embedded assessments of teachers' analyses of student thinking. Data about the application to classroom practice will include videotaped pre/post classroom observations of all teachers in the study (observations include briefings with teachers before and after the lesson) and monthly observations of a sample of target teachers. A comparison on some of these measures will be made with teachers who do not participate in the professional development programs. Data analysis will involve a combination of cross-case analyses and quantitative comparisons, where appropriate. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Goldsmith, Lynn Nanette Seago Education Development Center MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1669696 1666 SMET 9177 0231893 January 1, 2003 Strategic Use of Classroom Discourse in Mathematics Instruction: Studies of Student and Teacher Learning. This study proposes to conduct rigorous research on the strategic use of classroom talk for teaching mathematics to middle grade non-English speaking students. They will seek to learn whether discourse-intensive mathematics instruction between teachers and students, and between students and students, is effective in a three-year micro-analytic study of student learning in four discourse-intensive versions of connected Mathematics. Paper and pencil tests of the concepts in the lessons will be collected, students will be videotaped in clinical interviews, and a detailed analysis of the videotapes will be conducted. The same teachers will deliver the teaching modules in two different formats to matched classes of 7th grade students. The student population will be mostly non-English speaking students of low-income backgrounds. Teachers will receive training in the methods. The panel considered this proposal to be an outstanding proposal because it was based on a previous study by the author of the proposal, cites other relevant research, and has a strong group of advisors. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR O'Connor, M. Catherine Suzanne Chapin Trustees of Boston University MA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 735999 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231907 January 15, 2003 ROLE: Understanding the Impact of Handheld Computing Devices on Science. Drawing on the experience of the Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools, especially through its work in Detroit's middle schools over the past five years, a cornerstone experiment is proposed. A classroom-based study will examine the use of palm-sized computers, in comparison to pencil-and-paper, in supporting students carrying out two key science learning activities - concept mapping and explaining. While there are good reasons to believe that these learning activities, uniquely supported by the palm-sized computers, may well lead to student achievement gains and improved attitudes toward science, the data from this study will be most revealing. The proposed experimental study, then, should help researchers and practitioners of the educational community develop a deeper understanding of the educational costs and benefits of the emerging handheld technologies. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Soloway, Elliot Phyllis Blumenfeld Joseph Krajcik Ronald Marx University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI N. Hari Narayanan Continuing grant 561495 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0231943 January 15, 2003 Studying the Role and Influence of Standards on K-12 Mathematics Education: A SIRG Research Catalyst. NCTM's standards impact research group proposes a research catalyst conference designed to make progress on understanding the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning. They will attend to this by hosting a conference around key questions related to the impact, implementation and influence of standards in schools (and the related instruction, instructional materials, assessment, teacher education, and policy issues that follow). The second intent of the conference is to build and strengthen the possibility for interdisciplinary research in mathematics education. Consequently, invitees to the conference will represent many and varied disciplines (including but not limited to: mathematics, mathematics education, sociology, measurement, and policy). RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rubillo, James Joan Ferrini-Mundy National Council of Teachers of Mathematics VA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 124911 1666 SMET 9177 0231946 January 1, 2003 Collaborative Research: Exploring the Value of Learning by Teaching. It is a common intuition that one of the best ways to learn something is to attempt to teach it to others. The research project is testing this intuition and its usefulness for educational practice. Central to the work are web-based "teachable agents" that students teach as a way to learn themselves and that permit studies of the active ingredients of learning by teaching. The project will use the agents to help students learn science and mathematics content and help teachers learn content-specific pedagogy. The intellectual merit of the work is that the agents provide a method for developing and testing a learning theory that helps explain the motivational and cognitive benefits of learning by teaching. By manipulating a teachable agent's available features and use (something that is hard to do with actual pupils), it is possible to experimentally isolate different components of the learning by teaching interaction. A primary measure used to evaluate whether students learn by teaching includes assessments of students' abilities to subsequently learn from resources once they have completed their teaching activities. The broader impacts include a new way of helping teachers understand the learning of their students, and the development of easily distributed, software that embodies new learning principles so that others in schools and industry can learn from those artifacts and create new ones of their own. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Schwartz, Daniel Stanford University CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 866034 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0231972 September 1, 2002 Building Evaluation Capacity Among Native American Indians. Influence By Design: Culture Based ABC'c of Evaluation to Impact Public Policies. This is a planning project that focuses on evaluation capacity building for Native Americans in the area of environmental science. It proposes to develop a culture-based curriculum on evaluation in Native American contexts through a partnership between Kansas State University and Haskell Indian Native University. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Steichen, Marie Stephen Benton Kansas State University KS Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 99980 1666 SMET 9177 9150 0231981 March 1, 2003 Exploration of a Social Capital Framework for Evaluative Studies of Technology Integration. This proposal aims to investigate an approach to measuring the success of school strategies for reform to be used by evaluators. It tests whether a social network analysis of professional interactions among teachers can provide a useful indicator of school leaders effectiveness in supporting reform. It will demonstrate techniques for measuring networks of professional interactions, changes in social networks as the innovation is initiated, and the relationship between both and previous capacity, and the criteria for representing capacity. The study would use technology integration and describe how the capacity for technology influences classroom practice, such as the speed of the reforms in increasing use of the Internet. Thus, the study is intended to show whether ties that form among teachers by talking about technology use creates enduring collegial ties within schools. It will give information about the similarities and differences in formation of social networks on technology and other reforms supported by school leaders in the school. The project is an exploratory study intended to explore ways of developing a fine-grained tool that measures interaction within a professional community, such as teachers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Penuel, William Barbara Means Margaret Riel SRI International CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1346733 1666 SMET 9177 0231995 January 1, 2003 Predictively Improving the Problem Solving of Science Students. This proposed three-year study will investigate how undergraduate and high school students make and use strategic choices as they engage in complex problem solving in chemistry. The researchers will then use this to develop effective collaborative approaches for modifying unproductive strategies. IMMEX software will sequentially capture the students' actions while they perform a series of related chemistry cases, and extract common strategies using artificial neural network technologies. These strategies will be aggregated into strategy types using evidence of the quality of student understanding, related to student ability, by Item Response Theory analysis. These analyses will suggest directed case delivery sequences for audiences with different abilities and provide an organizing framework for linking ability, and preferred problem-solving approaches. Steady state models of the development and persistent usage of particular strategies and strategy types within classrooms of students with different abilities (i.e. regular high school, AP, undergraduate) will then be developed through Hidden Markov Modeling. Here, additional student performances are predicted to have little change on the distribution of strategies used previously within a particular classroom. These models will provide baseline probabilities that students will transit from one strategy type to another on a subsequent series of IMMEX cases. These models are baseline in the sense that no particular interventions will be suggested or tested. Collaborative learning activities will then be constructed around these models to perturb these steady states. The most refined interventions will use the Intelligent Collaborative Learning System that will relate the interaction sequence details of student's communication behaviors/skills with the effectiveness of these activities in modifying strategic approaches. The research will be used to develop practical, yet effective classroom interventions that teachers can use in conjunction with IMMEX performance data to accelerate the acquisition of their students' problem-solving skills. While targeted to chemistry, the studies may be applicable to many scientific educational activities. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stevens, Ronald University of California-Los Angeles CA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 1487581 1666 SMET 9177 0233718 January 15, 2003 Enhancing Biodiversity Education and Communication -- A Planning Grant. The Biodiversity Project is requesting funds to plan a national conference on the topic of global biodiversity. The goal of the conference is to build an education agenda for biodiversity that will identify successful programs, provide strategies for reaching underserved and underrepresented groups, foster collaboration and coordinate financial support for biodiversity across agencies. The planning process will yield a conference agenda, a list of invitees, a list of potential speakers, goals, themes and activities, as well as identification of model projects. A budget and fundraising plan will also be developed. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Elder, Jane The Biodiversity Project, Inc. WI Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0234408 September 1, 2002 EGAMES PLANNING GRANT. WGBH is conducting preliminary work on an untested and novel idea for a new multimedia project, EGames. The target audience for the project is children ages 9-12. The project envisions a 13-part television series which combines the appeal of a game show with the drama of real-world challenges to engender enthusiasm and promote understanding of engineering in kids nationwide. The television programs will be complemented with materials and training for engineers to mount EGames events in public venues and run workshops in schools, afterschool programs and libraries, and an extensive companion website. During the research phase, WGBH will convene a Content Advisory Board which would include professional engineers, curriculum developers, classroom teachers, professors of engineering and informal educators, and a Funding Advisory Board. They will also write the series curriculum, design the game, develop outreach, Web, and evaluation plans, and develop and test a sample engineering challenge with a group of contestants to work out logistic and production questions. This will inform the next stage of project development. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 49531 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0234456 September 15, 2002 DIVER: Distributed Collaborative Analysis of Video Records in the Human Sciences. This award supports the design and prototype development of a Web-based application for collaborative analysis of video records in the human sciences. This application, DIVER (Digital Interactive Video Exploration and Reflection), addresses a critical need for .collaboratory. functions in the human sciences, where common tools and a shared corpus of human interaction datasets can be used for investigating questions of theory and practice. The proposed effort will leverage an NSF-MRI Award (NSF-0216334) for related work and capitalize on an NSF-funded Center for Innovative Learning Technologies (CILT) workshop on Digital Video Inquiry in late November 2002. The CILT workshop will enable the introduction of the tool to a community of NSF project researchers, graduate students, and teacher-researchers, and to engage them in the further design and development of DIVER. This feedback is crucial for an application that is intended to help constitute and serve a community of users. The DIVER application will consist of a server holding analyses of video data, consisting of video sources and a series of annotated selections cropped in both time and space. Viewers of a DIVER analysis will be able to respond using threaded discussions attached to particular scenes from the original analysis, and they can return to the base video clip to create their own selections as their responses warrant. Several substantial technical issues, primary among them the manipulation of multimedia records in a web browser environment, and the storage, indexing, and retrieval of complex annotated multimedia documents need to be resolved. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Pea, Roy Stanford University CA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 97133 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0234844 January 1, 2003 Visualization in Science and Education. This Conference on Visualization in Science and Education brings together practitioners from four sectors: scientists, cognitive psychologists, educators, and evaluators to examine the teaching of science and the science of teaching. All four sectors are needed to ensure that the next generation of visualization tools are accurate (the scientists' role), convey the intended message (the cognitive psychologists' role) and minimize barriers to learning (the educators' role). Evaluators, the fourth sector, form the essential base for the other three groups by determining that the student has assimilated the intended message and evaluating whether the visualization facilitated the process. The primary purpose of the conference is to lay the foundation for images that are ever more effective at conveying the intended meaning. To bring participants up-to-speed on the latest hardware and software developments, the project contains a pre-conference Workshop. Workshop participants will be provided with hands-on experience with cutting-edge hardware and software. Finally, to ensure a lasting change from the newly formed collaborations, conference participants will be invited to apply for Mini-Grants. Mini-Grants consist of modest funds that are intended to assist with development of larger scope proposals to either create new technology or improve existing tools for visualization to deliver on the promise of reconceptualizing instructional delivery. In addition, a session is planned that specifically addresses alternate learning styles, a subject that is expected to appeal to a broad audience. As part of the Gordon Research Conference Organization, the conference is well advertised, recruiting participants from all members of the science research and education enterprise. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Shultz, Mary Jane Tufts University MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 131916 1666 SMET 9177 0236520 September 1, 2002 ICSU CCBS: Conference on Science and Mathematics Education as a requirement for Global Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 21-23, 2002. The American Association for the Advancement of Science, on behalf of theInternational Council for Science (ICSU) Committee for Capacity Building in Science(CCBS), requests support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the planning and implementation of an international conference to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from September 21-23, 2002. The 3 day conference would be organized by the ICSU (ICSU) Committee for Capacity Building in Science (CCBS) and would be held in conjunction with the ICSU General Assembly, also in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The premise of the conference is that high quality basic science and mathematics education is a requirement for sustainable development around the globe. To meet this requirement, the very poor quality of science and mathematics education must be addressed, particularly in developing countries. The focus of the conference is to discuss, develop and initiate programs of action to promote the improvement of science and mathematics education around the world. The conference is primarily intended for educators, scientists and policy makers in both developing and developed countries who work at the K-8 levels. The conference will provide examples of collaborative models that connect scientists and educators such as through informal groups, professional science organizations and academies of science. It will also address and analyze international science and mathematics reform efforts and continue the work of ICSU to build a community of scientists deeply engaged in and committed to the improvement of basic education. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Malcom, Shirley Rohini Rao American Association For Advancement Science DC N. Hari Narayanan Standard Grant 159000 1666 SMET 9177 0236581 February 1, 2003 The Path to Fission: The Lise Meitner Story -- A Planning Grant. Rosemarie Reed is producing a one-hour documentary film about the life and accomplishment of Lise Meitner, the Austrian born physicist whose pioneering work in nuclear physics contributed to the discovery of nuclear fission, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Rosemarie Reed Productions, Ltd., is requesting a planning grant of $50,000 to conduct research, secure visuals, develop a treatment, and do preliminary formative evaluation of the treatment for this film. An examination of Meitner's life and work will help correct the inaccuracies and injustices that have distorted the legacy of one of the founders of the modern nuclear age and address the need for the recognition of women in science. The film will also offer stufents insight into the social, political and scientific events of the first half of the twentieth century and will introduce audiences to the work and thought of such key figures as Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Niels Bohr, Max Planck and Otto Hahn. The project will be informed by an advisory board comprised of leading experts in Meitner studies and theoretical physics; formative evaluation will be conducted by Georgia Institute for Technology. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Reed, Rosemarie Rosemarie Reed Productions, Ltd. NY Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0237525 October 1, 2002 Mathematics Achievement Partnership (MAP). Achieve, Inc. plans to work with a group of Mathematics Achievement Partnership (MAP) states to plan a set of challenging mathematics activities that includes a new mathematics assessment, professional development, and curriculum selection. The strategic plans that are created will allow each state to assess the degree of alignment between existing states standards and tests, and MAP standards and assessment. Achieve, Inc. has been actively working with states over the past several years to help states transition to more challenging mathematics curricula and assessment. Through other funding sources, Achieve, Inc. is creating a extbook guide, professional development models and a website library of mathematics lessons. It is anticipated that an assessment will be produced as well. There are fourteen states that have been associated with the MAP effort. This planning effort will provide a small number of MAP states with an opportunity to actively plan for a transition from current standards and assessment to a more ambitious and internationally benchmarker endeavor. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR McGiffert, Laura Achieve, Inc. DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 250000 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0237604 August 1, 2002 TIMSS 2003 Project. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gonzales, Patrick Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics DC Larry E. Suter Interagency Agreement 1708203 7355 7300 1666 SMET 9177 0237629 June 1, 2003 CAREER: Visualization Processes in Learning Physics. The project revolves around the idea that learning physics is the most effective in an interactive learning environment involving two related components that are usually kept separate: a real-world experiment and a computer-based visualization. In this project, we will create a learning environment that combines microcomputer-based laboratories (MBLs) with immersive virtual-reality technology. While MBLs will provide students with the possibility of real-world experimenting and data collection, supported by real-time graphing tools, virtual reality technology will be used to support the visualization of both visible and invisible physical processes and abstract concepts (e.g., vectors of forces, field lines or energy levels) underlying the same experiment students observe in MBLs. The research objective of the current project is to investigate how different aspects of computer-based visualization, supported by immersive virtual reality and MBLs, affect and interact with student-generated visual/spatial representations and students' qualitative understanding of abstract physics phenomena. In terms of broader impacts, the project will bring new insights as to how to use visualization to facilitate student' conceptual understanding. In addition, the project will give a theoretical basis for design and evaluation of educational materials involving different visual/spatial representations. Tools and materials we develop in the project will make it easier for faculty around the country to develop students' visualization skills and qualitative reasoning in introductory physics classes. The educational objective of the proposal is to develop educational software and curriculum materials in the area of introductory mechanics with a focus on visualization processes, which allow students to participate actively in their own learning and to construct scientific models. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gilchrist, Alan Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 261451 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0237922 March 1, 2003 CAREER: Teaching Elementary School Science as Argument (TESSA). Renewed emphasis on scientific inquiry in school science has shifted attention from science as exploration and experiment to science as argument and explanation (NRC, 1996, p. 113). Increased interest in argumentation in school science stems from the potential to engage students in authentic scientific practices, situate knowledge in its original context, help students learn about science and scientific practices, and engage students reflective, sense-making activities that support meaningful science leaning. Unfortunately, argumentation practices in school science are rare, even more so in elementary school that high school. The reality is that most beginning elementary teachers have not learned science in this way and are unlikely to have the subject matter and pedagogical understandings and abilities needed to support children in giving priority to evidence and argument as part of their science learning experiences. The Teaching Elementary School Science as Argument (TESSA) project is investigating the development of an electronic learning environment designed to support beginning teachers in learning science content and learning to teach science. These resources include an argument articulation component (i.e., tools for assisting prospective teachers in constructing evidence-based arguments as part of their science learning) and a teaching science as argument component (i.e., tools that explicitly connect prospective teachers' science learning experiences to the development of pedagogical knowledge and abilities for teaching science to children in ways that give priority to evidence and argument). TESSA resources are being integrated into science courses and science methods courses for prospective elementary teachers. In these contexts, we are examining how prospective teachers use the electronic resources and how the resources mediate participants' development as they learn to teach science as argument. Results of these design studies will inform the revision of TESSA resources, as well as modifications to course assignments and activities. In addition, the project is investigating two aspects of beginning teachers' learning: (a) how beginning teachers learn science concepts and learn about science as they engage in constructing evidence-based arguments, and (b) how beginning teachers learn to give priority to evidence and argument when teaching science to children. The differences in foci reflect distinctions in teacher knowledge (i.e., subject matter knowledge versus subject-specific pedagogy). These learning studies track beginning teachers over time, from a specialized life science course, to a science methods course that is part of an intensive, field-based, internship program, and finally into their first years of teaching. Continued research in this area will contribute to the development of substantial theory about learning to teach science as argument and how electronic resources support teacher development. This work is being undertaken with the assistance of science education graduate students who are receiving training in both science teacher education and research methods appropriate for studying teacher learning. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Zembal-Saul, Carla Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 579740 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0238129 February 1, 2003 CAREER: Comprehension Strategy Support in Inquiry-based Science. The investigator proposes to conduct design-based research to examine teachers' understanding and use of inquiry-based methods in science, children's emergent conceptual understanding of science content, and strategies embedded in inquiry-based activities to support metacognitive reading comprehension of fourth-grade students. In this research, a series of qualitative and quantitative studies will be undertaken that examine the intersection of metacognitive comprehension strategies and inquiry-based methods in developing a technology-based system designed for fourth grade elementary school science. Comprehension skills are crucial to support elementary school students' learning of science content particularly when employing inquiry-based methods and expository text. The results are expected to improve understanding of reading comprehension strategy supports in science activities. This research will be closely integrated with several educational activities in collaborative instructional design and elementary school science teaching. Two graduate assistantships will be supported across the five years of the grant in addition to tuition or stipend support for the participation of six teacher-designers who will co-construct an inquiry-based strategy support system with researchers. Research output from this effort will encompass multiple publications, Web-based curriculum artifacts and videotaped examples of the instructional approach disseminated on the Web for teacher review and comment. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Bannan-Ritland, Brenda George Mason University VA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 599132 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0238269 June 1, 2003 CAREER: Understanding and Supporting the Acquisition of Manufacturing Automation System Integration Skills. The principal goals of this project are to: (1) understand how automated manufacturing system integration expertise develops; (2) develop a web-based system - called the System Integration Problem-Solving Environment (SIPSE) - that can be used both to monitor the development of system integration skills and to teach them; (3) develop a pedagogy for teaching system integration concepts and skills that can be used as a basis for developing curricula and materials for education in system integration and other similar domains; and (4) develop a curriculum for a undergraduate-level course on Automated Manufacturing System Integration. The proposed effort will build upon existing cognitive skills acquisition research in investigating how expert engineers develop automated manufacturing system integration skills and how to help novices develop these skills more efficiently. The project will integrate research and education by (1) involving graduate and undergraduate students in data collection and analysis, programming, interface design, and graphics design tasks; (2) inviting manufacturing automation students to participate in evaluating SIPSE; (3) adding an instructional module to SIPSE; (4) developing and evaluating a syllabus and curriculum materials for a new course on manufacturing automation system integration; and (5) presenting research results and investigating opportunities to make SIPSE available in high school and informal education settings. It will broaden participation of underrepresented groups by involving students and faculty from minority and/or rurally located institutions in using and evaluating the results of the proposed research. It will enhance the research infrastructure in the area of manufacturing automation by making SIPSE available over the Internet for use by researchers. Research results will be broadly disseminated in academic journals and professional conferences, on the Web, and by making presentations to high schools and in informal education settings, such as children's museums. Direct beneficiaries of this effort will include automated manufacturing system end users, system integrators, and automation product manufacturers. The Division of Engineering Education & Centers (ENG/EEC) has agreed to co-fund this project. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI ENGINEERING EDUCATION DRL EHR Hsieh, Sheng-Jen Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 473675 7625 1666 1340 SMET OTHR 9177 1187 1045 0000 0238319 April 15, 2003 CAREER: Investigating mathematics teacher preparation across five institutions of higher learning. This CAREER project would follow the teacher preparation efforts of five community colleges in Mississippi. The investigator will examine the policy of institutions, the classroom and teacher educator, and the learner's development from student to teacher. The intent is to develop better knowledge of how teachers develop mathematics ability and understanding by conducting a longitudinal study of a cohort of pre-service teachers through various programs. The study is intended to explicate what mathematics educations think is important for students, how students are learning mathematics content and pedagogy, and what ways to faculty develop across institutions as they collaborate in defining goals, course content, and classroom practice. The study will monitor 375 student teachers through their early courses in 4 community colleges and the University of Southern Mississippi. The career goals of the young investigator are three: To make a significant local contribution to mathematics education in the State of Mississippi and guide her own practice and pursuit of inspiring future teachers to critically analyze the way they think about mathematics. To conduct research studies which contribute to national conversation about teacher preparation and the importance of mathematics reasoning. The researcher expects to help define and describe what teacher preparation should look like. Finally, the researcher intends to contribute to a state that is poor in wealth and human resources to help improve the system of mathematics education. Her publications address both the practice of preparing teachers in classrooms and the policies of institutions that provide that guidance. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Cwikla, Julie University of Southern Mississippi MS Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 489367 9150 7625 1666 SMET 9177 9150 1187 1045 0238385 January 1, 2003 PECASE: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice in Teacher Education: Guided Interactive Virtual Environments (GIVEs) for Case-Based Learning. Proposal Title: PECASE: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice in Teacher Education: Guided Interactive Virtual Environments (GIVEs) for Case-Based Learning Institution: University of New Mexico The purpose of this PECASE proposal is to study how to help science teachers prepare to think effectively and apply principles of educational psychology to classroom experiences. The author expects it to contribute to understanding of the cognitive processes that support the teacher efforts to solve novel and complex problems in the classroom. The project also has implications for the design of educational technology that promote student higher level reasoning skills through case studies. In particular, this project is expected to help show ways of meeting the needs of the New Mexico schools with large populations of Native American and other minorities. She would develop virtual environments for preparing teachers with case learning so that cognitive skills are learned as concrete procedures in the context of everyday life. The virtual environments allow a focus on a few issues at a time thus reducing the cognitive load on the teachers. This study will explore several hypotheses about how case-based methods provide higher order thinking skills that help students solve problems. The researcher will collect data from teachers on student performance by following three cohorts of students for 3-years each. The cohorts will be pre-service teachers in year 3 of the project and will be followed into their classrooms as teachers. One cohort will serve as a control group to the others that will go through the training program developed by the investigator. Education Plan The investigator's career plans are directly related to the project outlined in this PECASE proposal. The investigator is interested in how people think and learn and how to apply that knowledge to classrooms. This project is very closely woven into the investigators career plans. As she noted in an e-mail to L Suter on December 12, 2002, this project is a "direct reflection of my interest in teaching, which stems from my commitment to research how people think and learn." The materials will be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum that she teaches and she plans to offer special graduate classes based on the result of her research. This project was originally funded as a CAREER award, and was converted to a Presidential Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists (PECASE) award in September 2004. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Moreno, Roxana University of New Mexico NM Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 974558 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 9150 1187 1076 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0238392 July 1, 2003 CAREER: Using Portfolios to Promote Knowledge Integration in Engineering Education. The central idea of the proposed work is to explore portfolio creation as a means of promoting (and studying) knowledge integration by engineering students. The portfolio activities will build on existing strengths of the engineering curriculum by providing students with opportunities to reflect on their accomplishments, see and articulate connections between engineering and their accomplishments, and develop more integrated conceptual structures associated with engineering. Three objectives are to (1) document the nature of engineering students' conceptual structures in their engineering discipline, with specific attention to how integrated the conceptual structures are, (2) use what is known about portfolios in education to develop an intervention that makes it possible for engineering students to document and refine their conceptual structures in engineering, and (3) identify the learning affordances and cognitive challenges associated with the intervention. The work will be accomplished through a longitudinal study and a series of classroom studies. In the longitudinal study, two student cohorts will be set up in which each student will develop one portfolio per year of participation. Longitudinal study participants will construct portfolios as part of participation in an extracurricular program. In the classroom studies, the effects of portfolio construction will be explored in the context of individual courses. The education plan builds on the portfolio and knowledge integration emphases of the work. The plan includes commitments to: a) continue using portfolio assignments in the PI's courses, b) support portfolio development by faculty and students interested in portfolios, c) provide mentoring/research experiences for undergraduates, and d) create teaching modules that build on the portfolios. In terms of the broader impacts of the project underrepresented minorities will be over-sampled from the available student populations. The portfolios will represent a unique and useful information source for employers, students, and others with interest in engineering education. Also, the impact of the work will be on the engineering graduates who are better prepared to contribute to the engineering profession. The Division of Engineering Education & Centers (ENG/EEC) has agreed to co-fund this project. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI ENGINEERING EDUCATION DRL EHR Turns, Jennifer University of Washington WA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 532503 7625 1666 1340 SMET OTHR 9177 1187 1045 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0238485 February 1, 2003 CAREER: Using Multimedia Digital Technology to Advance Understanding of the Achievement Motivation and the Life Stories of Successful African American Scientists. The primary goal of the proposed project is to use digital technology to construct the life stories of successful African American STEM professors at Howard University, the largest producer of African American STEM Ph.D.s in the nation, in order to develop psychological theory about motivation and achievement. It can be argued that, within the field of psychology, research on the achievement motivation of African Americans has failed to yield consistent support for existing achievement motivation theories, suggesting that new achievement motivation theory development is warranted. Although life stories have been widely used in psychology to understand complex self and identity processes, life stories have not been used to generate new knowledge about the achievement motivation of African Americans, a group for whom identity, particularly identity related to race, is extremely complex and not well understood. The proposed project will be carried out using an integrated education and research model developed by the investigator to cultivate synergistic and sustained research collaborations between electrical engineering and psychology researchers at Howard University. A multimedia digital technology research and learning laboratory will be established. Within this research and learning laboratory, engineering and psychology faculty and students will collaborate on the development of new life story data collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination. This model is structured not only to facilitate an increase in understanding of the achievement motivation and life stories of African Americans in STEM, but also advance the research and mentoring training of graduate and undergraduate students at Howard University. Moreover, it is a model that can be replicated within other institutions, disciplines, and research projects. Among the potential broad impacts of the project is the development of research instrumentation, analysis, and findings, which will be disseminated in peer review engineering and psychology journals. In addition, plans call for the life stories to be disseminated broadly to teachers, parents, and educators through the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) and will be archived at the Howard University Moorland Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) for use by scholars who study African Americans. Collectively, the integrated education and research activities of the project will build a firm foundation for the early career development of the investigator and would facilitate the establishment of a national center of research on African American success in science at Howard University. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Winston, Cynthia Howard University DC Celestine Pea Continuing grant 799997 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0238524 May 1, 2003 CAREER: Advancing Technological Fluency of Underrepresented Youth and their Teachers through Project-Based Learning Opportunities. This five-year research program is designed to advance our understanding of how to effectively engage diverse groups of youth in learning core IT concepts in ways that motivate them to continue learning in their future education. Basic research and design-oriented research will be conducted in three inter-related phases. The first phase will focus on expanding what we know about students' access, interest, and experiences with new technologies-with an emphasis on identifying barriers to equity and revealing learning resources. Survey and interview work will be carried out with a large and diverse group of students across socio-economic strata in California's Silicon Valley region to investigate their access to, and interest in, various kinds of learning opportunities. The research will document how creative learning opportunities are distributed across different communities and their effects on student interests. It will also contribute to defining different profiles of student fluency and how these are associated with learning ecologies constituted by the interweaving contexts of self, family, peer group, school, and community. The second phase of the work will focus on co-developing courses with teachers. A core guiding principle of these courses will be a primary focus on the student as designer and a learning goal will be to help students understand design as a human process in which everyone can be involved. The course material will build fluency in the context of projects in which students design, program, and implement information systems that address issues of youth interest. This approach will allow students to be authentic contributors of knowledge and processes while simultaneously building understanding of the core concepts and capabilities outlined in the NRC Fluency report-such as programming, information design, and human-computer interaction. In the third phase, the teaching and learning processes in these courses will be studied systematically, with a particular focus on collaborative design work. A key goal of this research is to contribute to theories of collaborative learning. Productive collaborative design practices will be identified and the ways that such collaborations are often less than productive and can be made more productive will be articulated. Learning properties of collaborative technology design work beyond cognitive outcomes will be identified for empirical study, including motivational, relational, and meta-communicative outcomes. Beyond the intensive co-development of courses with local teachers, the educational component of this project will include the creation of a library of video case studies that highlight exemplars of more and less productive small group collaborative interaction. These will be used to help teachers (both pre-service and in-service) and novice researchers see ways of engaging students in learning that support fluency and increase interest and the ability to use and understand technology broadly. The use of video cases will support conversations about teaching and learning processes as they provide concrete references that can be revisited and reflected on from multiple perspectives. The video cases will be used to improve existing courses and in dissemination activities directed at the broader community of information technology teachers and researchers. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Barron, Brigid Stanford University CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 558827 7625 1666 SMET 1187 1045 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0240646 September 1, 2003 Biology--A Capstone Science Course: Proposal for a Conference. A conference is planned to investigate the opportunities and difficulties that exist in changing the typical high school science course sequence from Biology - Chemistry - Physics to Physics - Chemistry - Biology. In 1998, Dr. Leon Lederman developed a project called "American Renaissance in Science Education (ARISE)" in which he proposed that the traditional sequence of science courses in high school was an outdated idea that no longer fits our modern understanding of these disciplines. Project ARISE advocates a revised physics-chemistry-biology science sequence as one that better accommodates the dramatic advances that have occurred in science over the past century. The physics community has best addressed this shift in sequence by developing curriculum materials specifically for the ninth grade science student, but no one has yet addressed the changes necessary for a biology course that follows physics and chemistry. As increasing numbers of school systems adopt the physics-chemistry-biology sequence, they must consider the appropriate content and approach for the biology capstone course. The conference will bring together the voices of those teachers, scientists, and science educators most familiar and experienced with the challenges and opportunities of the revised science curriculum sequence; synthesize the implications for a biology course within this new sequence; specify the goals for a biology capstone course designed to follow physics and chemistry instruction; and develop a set of recommendations for those individuals and institutions who implement the revised science sequence, for curriculum developers who would create the biology capstone course, and for professional development providers who would work with biology capstone teachers. The recommendations developed at the conference will inform not only curriculum developers and teachers of a capstone biology course, but also those who provide professional development for teachers and science education researchers seeking to evaluate the impact of the physics-chemistry-biology sequence on the scientific literacy of high school students. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Gardner, April Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO David B. Campbell Standard Grant 60000 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0241144 August 15, 2002 Promoting Active Reading Strategies to Improve Students' Understanding of Science. The problem addressed by this project regards high-school students' understanding of and ability to learn from difficult science texts. The first purpose of this project is to examine high school students' and teachers' knowledge about metacognitive reading strategies to better ascertain the need for strategy interventions, as well as teachers' ability to provide such training to students. The second purpose is to compare the effectiveness of three reading interventions and to thereby identify more effective methods for improving students' comprehension skills. The third purpose is to determine whether the benefits of reading interventions depend on students' skills, knowledge, or cultural environment. The fourth purpose is to develop a computerized training program that adaptively assigns a student to an appropriate training regime, and interactively provides reading training. Hence, this project bridges the two focus areas of the IERI initiative concerning reading skill acquisition and students' understanding of increasingly complex scientific ideas. Within these areas, this project will address issues regarding instructional practices in reading, the role of teacher learning and performance on student learning, optimal interventions for students at-risk of reading or academic failure, the development of better assessment techniques of knowledge and skill, and the use of technology to improve assessment and learning. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR McNamara, Danielle University of Memphis TN John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 2348008 X702 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0242294 September 15, 2003 Analyzing Economic Performance: An Instructional Module for High School Students. This project would develop a module in economics for high school students. The module would be structured as 12 investigations on national economic performance, linked to various sets of economic education standards. Starting with well publicized economic indicators, such as the Gross Domestic Product or the Consumer Price Index, the module will investigate the meaning of these indicators, then get students to ask questions about the economy which may (or may not) be answered by an examination of these statistics. Materials will be developed to work best with an interactive instructional mode, as students play roles or engage in simulations about the behavior of the economy. The project will be "teacher-driven:" the writing team will consist of three classroom teachers, three economics educators on the university level and an experienced curriculum writer. The materials will be pilot tested, revised, then field tested and published. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Davis, James Social Science Education Consortium Inc CO Ron Tzur Continuing grant 286437 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242416 September 1, 2003 Resources for Performance-based Achievement in Mathematics. This is a two-year project to create a series of supplemental curriculum packages aimed at aligning recent reform curricula with state standards and high-stakes exit level state tests. Twenty supplements are planned including activities, homework, 'tips' sheets and teacher materials. The materials will be suitable for use with a wide range of textbooks and will be disseminated on the World Wide Web. A review panel of university faculty with assessment background will guide the work. Authors will include teachers with experience with students at risk of failure in exit examinations. The materials will be field tested in Texas. A professional development program will be prepared. Evaluation will examine both the materials themselves and their implementation by teachers and students, and will use classroom ovservation, teacher and student questionnaires, teacher interviews and analyses of student works. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP INTERNATIONAL PLAN & WORKSHOPS TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Garfunkel, Solomon Gary Froelich David Eschberger Consortium For Mathematics & Its Applications Inc MA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 580572 7355 7299 7271 SMET OTHR 9177 5980 5948 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242476 April 1, 2003 Mathematical Themes. The Education Development Center is developing "Mathematical Themes," a four-year high school mathematics curriculum organized along the more traditional lines of Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and Pre-calculus. Probability and statistics will be integrated into these courses. The primary goal is to develop in students a robust mathematical proficiency as defined in "Adding It Up." Mathematical proficiency is defined by the following characteristics: * Conceptual understanding: comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations and relations. * Procedural fluency: skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently and appropriately. * Strategic competence: ability to formulate, represent and solve mathematical problems. * Adaptive reasoning: capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation and justification. * Productive disposition: habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and one's own efficacy. The materials strike a balance between the common wisdom and tradition that students need to focus on one piece of mathematics at a time and what has been learned about the added value of seeing connections among mathematical topics and to fields outside mathematics. The work builds on and makes use of materials developed with previous NSF support, namely: "Connected Geometry" and "Mathematical Methods." INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Cuoco, Albert Education Development Center MA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 2540212 7355 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242510 June 1, 2003 Assessing Science Knowledge. The Lawrence Hall of Science will conduct a four-year project to: (1) define, field test, validate and produce formative and summative classroom assessments in grades 3-6, based on the FOSS science materials; and (2) create professional development materials that promote their effective use by teachers. The project is timely in that it brings together curriculum developers at the Lawrence Hall of Science, eight diverse national centers that include teachers, education leaders and students, and the most recent research on assessing student learning from UC Berkeley, SRI and the NRC report, "Knowing What Students Know." The development process will create construct maps that describe major ideas in science, construct sub-maps that describe the elements of a major idea taught in a FOSS unit, and develop progress maps that track learning through the several construct maps that constitute a complete module. Products resulting from the work include valid and reliable formative and summative assessments, management software and professional development tools. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Malone, Larry Linda De Lucchi University of California-Berkeley CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 3266791 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242596 March 15, 2003 BSCS Science: An Inquiry Approach -- A Phase II Proposal. Under Phase I, BSCS has developed two semesters of instructional materials -- one for grade nine and one for grade ten -- using an assessment-driven development process. Classroom based field trials produced evidence that students had significant gains in student learning across different school settings and different ability groups. BSCS also developed a curriculum framework for materials for grade 6-11 that addresses the National Science Education Standards. Each year students learn fundamental concepts in life, Earth/space and physical science. In addition, in each year, there is a short unit on scientific inquiry and a unit that presents the learner with a new context for applying understandings and integrating the sciences. In this project BSCS completes the research based module development for grades nine and ten, and continues the work for grade eleven, so that the standards for high school science are addressed in a multidisciplinary approach that exposes students to both Earth/space science and physical science to greater depth than traditionally. In addition to the student materials, annotated teacher editions and a teacher resource CDROM are developed. A comprehensive teacher development guide for implementing multidisciplinary science is produced along with comprehensive implementation support for school districts. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP NANOSCALE: SCIENCE & ENGIN CTR NANOSCALE: INTRDISCPL RESRCH T DRL EHR Van Scotter, Pamela Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 4470291 7645 7355 1675 1674 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242609 July 1, 2003 Teaching to the Big Ideas of Early Algebra. This project designs, produces and tests two professional development modules on the big ideas of early algebra. The modules, on themes of generalization and functions, are part of the "Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI)," a series designed for K-8 teachers of mathematics. DMI seminars support teacher learning of mathematics and of children's mathematical thinking. Five modules have already been produced on themes of arithmetic, geometry and data. The modules on early algebra would complete the series. The materials include print and video cases, mathematics activities for adults, investigations into the mathematical thinking of participants' own students, analyses of lessons drawn from a variety of curricula, homework assignments, assessment items and an essay on highlights of related research. The materials are packaged in three pieces: the Facilitator's Guide, the Casebook and the Video. Each module is designed for 8 three-hour sessions. In addition to the development of the professional development materials, the project includes the pilot and field testing of professional development seminars TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Schifter, Deborah Susan Jo Russell Virginia Bastable Education Development Center MA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1898981 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242626 April 15, 2003 Foundational Tools for Data Literacy. This two project would revise and expand an existing software package, TableTop, as well as field test and disseminate tools that support students in K-12 in data representation and analysis. It specifically deals with data literacy and provides tools that are age appropriate. Both a general-purpose data tool that would be usable across a range of student activities and the supporting instructional and assessment materials will be developed. The project builds on the earlier TableTop that is used in an estimated 85,000 classrooms. The original package is user-friendly and depends on visual representations, icons, and batched operations. The proposed project will produce an expanded set of version for various platforms and at level appropriate for different grade levels. It will include a revised and expanded interface that incorporates many of the features requested by teachers. It will support sharing across the web, easy access to many formats of data, an interface with Google, and the capability to work with various data collection devices such as PDA's. This project has the potential to reach large numbers of students through a dissemination plan that supports curriculum developers incorporating these materials in their courses. The letters of support and the list of curriculum collaborators indicate that the project could be wide reaching, including both mathematics and science, K-12. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP ITEST DRL EHR Hancock, Christopher TERC Inc MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 2525317 7355 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242636 May 1, 2003 High School Environmental Science: Understanding our Changing Earth. This project will create a textbook with integrated laboratory, field and classroom activities, teacher guide and a teacher professional development guide to support the teaching of an environmental science course for grade 10-12. The materials will be designed for a course that has a focus on the relationship between humans and their geological surroundings. A learning cycle pedagogical design will be used to help students develop concept understandings and skills through concept exploration, development and application phases. Concept application will feature student-driven inquiry into environmental issues that require application of geological, geographical and technological understandings and tools. Embedded and performance-based assessments will elicit students' conceptual understanding of core environmental and earth systems concepts, unifying concepts and processes, applications of technology to societal problems and the nature of science and technology. Print materials for each unit will integrate application of USGS global GIS data sets and tools to student research. Appropriate supplemental web content will be provided to enhance teachers' understanding of science content, facilitate data acquisition and support student inquiry. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Benbow, Ann Christopher Keane American Geological Institute VA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 998070 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242666 June 1, 2003 Classroom BirdWatch Development. This proposal will develop a middle-school curriculum designed to facilitate inquiry projects in biology, ecology, animal behavior and natural history. "Classroom Birdwatch" will be developed by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (CLO) and the Lawrence Hall of Science. The curriculum will guide students as they collect data about local birds, submit the data to CLO, use the project database to answer questions about birds and conduct original bird research projects. Usable in all schoolyards, "Classroom Birdwatch" will cover biological topics including flight, migration, nesting behavior, and habitat utilization, and will incorporate math and statistics through data analysis, geography through online mapping, and technology through online data submission and retrieval. Twenty-five explorations that investigate bird biology and behavior, explore the process of scientific investigation, and help students conduct research will be developed. Students can submit their findings to a student journal produced by CLO, "Classroom Birdscope," and will have continued access to CLO scientists, who will answer questions about birds and guide participants through the scientific process. Materials will include a student handbook, teacher's guide, reference guide, and a web site incorporating software for data submission, retrieval and analysis. Assessments include tools for evaluating students' current and ongoing understanding of science content and inquiry process skills. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Bonney, Richard Cornell University - State NY David A. Hanych Continuing grant 765620 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242701 April 15, 2003 Molecular Logic: Bringing the Power of Molecular Models to High School Biology. The Molecular Logic project is designed to improve the ability of all students to understand fundamental biological phenomena in terms of the interactions of atoms and molecules. The project does this by enhancing biology courses with guided explorations of powerful atomic and molecular computational models. These models are embedded in eight modules that are linked both to standards and to typical textbooks, and they are easily implemented in diverse educational settings. The models are designed to cover basic science concepts using an approach that is accurate, grade-appropriate, and accessible to students with different learning styles. Exploration of the models requires problem solving and fosters critical thinking. Collaboration around model-based challenges is used to strengthen student communication skills. The associated materials provide connections to technology, engineering, social questions and scientists. Computational models are central to the project. The models are also available at no cost online as hybrid materials that include text and additional computational resources. Student assessment is embedded. Teacher professional development and ongoing support are provided online. An advisory board of scientists, teachers and researchers helps oversee and guide the project. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP ITEST DRL EHR Berenfeld, Boris Concord Consortium MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1416623 7355 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242704 September 1, 2003 Research, and Revision of the TIMS/Math Trailblazer Elementary Mathematics Curriculum. Developed with NSF funds through the "TIMS (Teaching Integrated Mathematics and Science)" project, "Math Trailblazers" is a K-5 mathematics curriculum integrating a significant science component. This five-year project will undertake a study of the use of "Trailblazers" as well as a revision of the curriculum. The study will involve researchers from five universities (U. of Illinois, Chicago; U. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; U. of Minnesota; St. Xavier U. and Kansas State U.). It will investigate student achievement, video study of lessons, and an investigation of the school and community contexts of implementation. The revision will involve updating problem-solving contexts, a review of assessment strategies, an update on the use of technology and the rewriting of several lessons. New classroom materials will be field tested. Other materials to be developed are a revision of the teacher enhancement modules and a parents' guide. Evaluation will be conducted as part of the research component. The reviews of the orginal proposal and the IMD budget could not support the work plan first proposed. After some negotiation the proposers submitted a revised work plan and timetable which are documented in the jacket. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Kelso, Catherine Alison Castro Superfine University of Illinois at Chicago IL John S. Bradley Continuing grant 3574841 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242733 June 15, 2003 Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading: Effective Tools for Developing Literacy through Science in the Early Grades. This three-year pilot project will develop and field-test three 2nd-3rd-grade modules incorporating science and literacy. Each module will consist of a cluster of inquiry-centered science investigations and a set of nine readers. These research-based resources for literacy development will emphasize science content related to the investigations. The staff of the Lawrence Hall of Science and faculty from the Graduate School of Education at the University of California-Berkeley will work with literacy experts from the School of Education at the University of Michigan to develop the readers. The science materials will be based upon successful GEMS (Great Explorations in Math and Science) units, revised to enhance their alignment with the National Science Education Standards. Teachers involved in the field test will receive professional development in the use of the resources. They will also have access to an assessment system, developed as part of this project, that will provide formative feedback on students' progress in both literacy and science. The research component of this project will examine teachers' responses to these materials, to their effectiveness in a variety of classroom settings and to merging science with literacy instruction. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Barber, Jacqueline P. David Pearson University of California-Berkeley CA Glenn C. Markle Continuing grant 2038187 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0242838 April 1, 2003 Planning Grant: Exciting Girls, Minorities, and Rural Youth about Engineering through 4-H. This Planning Grant will enable the Ohio State University to address the shortage of professional engineers in the United States by designing an engineering curriculum for dissemination through the 4-H system. Planning activities include the establishment of a nationwide advisory committee, solicitation of input from the target audience via focus groups and the development of a plan for the curriculum and its content, designed to address the needs of young women and underserved groups. Pilot testing of sample units will occur in Ohio, Louisiana and Indiana. A recruitment plan will also be developed to aide with national dissemination. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Reeder, Randall Ohio State University Research Foundation OH Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 47906 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243196 March 1, 2003 Dynamic Mathematics Visualization for Young Learners: Sketchpad in Grades 3 to 8 -- A Conference Grant. This proposal is for a conference to bring together researchers, curriculum developers, teachers and educational technologists interested in developing the potential for broad impact of dynamic geometry visualization technology in elementary and middle school mathematics classrooms. The results of the conference will be disseminated through the publication and distribution of its proceedings, in printed, CD-ROM and Web format. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Rasmussen, Steven Andrew Isaacs Catherine Kelso KCP Technologies CA Mark Saul Standard Grant 53005 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243330 June 15, 2003 Wisconsin Academy Staff Development Initiative -- Teacher Retention and Renewal. Wisconsin Academy Staff Development Initiative -- Teacher Retention and Renewal (WASDI-TRR), a four-year Teacher Enhancement project, is designed to increase teacher retention in K-12 mathematics and science by providing 90 novice teachers with teacher induction experiences, developing 90 subject-specific mentor teachers, building school and district capacity to support teacher induction and mentoring programs, engaging 90 school principals, and creating relationships between teachers, schools, districts and disciplinary faculty at universities. Preference is given to urban and rural schools with significant staffing needs and underachievement. Project participants attend summer academies available throughout the State on mathematics and science content, pedagogy and instructional materials. On-going and sustained support is provided through school-based mentoring sessions, online learning communities, mentor and novice teacher follow-up sessions, electronic conferencing with mathematicians and scientists, and sessions for school administrators. Electronic conferencing is prominently featured as a vehicle for professional development to reach teachers and schools in remote communities. Over the course of the project, novice teachers will receive 268 professional development hours with approximately 50% delivered electronically. One-hundred forty-five professional development hours are planned for the mentor teachers with approximately 30% representing online delivery. The school administrators' component includes 30 professional development hours augmented by additional electronic conferences and on-line communication opportunities. Project evaluation focuses on teacher retention, teacher content knowledge, change in classroom practice and examination of the project as a model for teacher induction and mentoring. The project is housed at the Wisconsin Educational Partnership Initiative and works collaboratively with colleges and universities, school districts, state agencies and local businesses. An advisory committee representative of important stakeholders including representatives from the State Department of Education provides guidance and direction to the project. With new State teacher licensing requirements mandating teacher induction and mentoring experiences for novice teachers, project replication is likely. As a result of the program, mentor teachers will implement teacher induction and mentoring programs in their home districts and schools upon program completion. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Stafford, Julie Wisconsin Academy Staff Development Initiative WI Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1600594 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243460 March 1, 2003 Java and Object Oriented Design: Professional Development for Secondary Computer Science Teachers. This is a proposal to provide 25 experienced Massachusetts computer science teachers with the foundation needed to teach Java-based courses. This is done in anticipation of the shift in the Advance Placement as well as other courses, which should ultimately change many related offerings. Teachers attend a two-week workshop, followed by several school-year meetings, and then a culminating in a one-week summer workshop. During these, they will learn enough Java and Object Oriented Programming (OOP) and Design so as to feel comfortable and competent in teaching an introductory course using Java and OOP. The funded activities include creating a local peer group of computer science teachers and providing local computer science teachers with access to computing facilities, network connections and faculty expertise. In addition to addressing the local need, the project staff and participants develop materials and resources for dissemination to other secondary school computer science teachers. A nationally publicized conference is scheduled near the end of the project, during which experienced OOP teachers present their experiences, lesson plans and student work. Through the web page development, an Internet News Group and the regional conference, the project will reach a much needed national audience of secondary school computer science teachers. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Bravaco, Ralph Shai Simonson Stonehill College MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 158368 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243467 June 1, 2003 Project TRUST: Teacher Renewal for Urban Science Teaching. This 48-month project is a collaboration between AMNH and Lehman and Brooklyn Colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY). It fuses formal and informal learning experiences to support a Master's program for Earth Science teachers. Ninety Master's program teachers will be recruited and sustained. Thirty school administrators will be engaged to support science instruction. Two Earth Science courses for teachers will be designed and offered by Brooklyn and Lehman Colleges. Two-week summer institutes at AMNH for teachers and administrators will serve as the required complements to the two courses. The courses and institutes will provide 120 hours of professional development as part of their teacher education Master's program requirements. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Macdonald, Maritza Wayne Powell Eleanor Miele Heather Sloan American Museum Natural History NY Sharon M. Locke Continuing grant 1083324 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243479 October 1, 2003 Preparing, Inspiring and Connecting Students to College and Opportunity: Increasing the Quality and Intensity of Professional Development for Mathematics Teachers. The College Board, in partnership with LessonLab, Inc. and several urban school districts, seeks NSF funding for a three-year project to develop, pilot and evaluate the effectiveness and scalability of a blended offline/online professional development program for mathematics teachers of grades 6-12. This intensive PD program will provide teachers with the content knowledge and pedagogical skills necessary to deliver quality mathematics instruction to underserved students, so that a larger percentage of low-income and minority students may enroll and succeed in advanced-level mathematics courses, including AP Calculus and AP Statistics. The proposed project is the third component of a comprehensive mathematics system under development. Support from the GE Fund has enabled the College Board to develop the first two system components: the instructional materials for grades 6-12 (in the pilot phase at the time of proposal submission), and the embedded diagnostic assessments (under development at the time of proposal submission). Increasing the percentage of underserved minority students in upper-level classes requires a long-term commitment. But, for teachers' content knowledge and instructional skills to improve and classroom practices to change, intensive high-quality PD needs to be provided in a sustainable and scalable way. That is the challenge to which this project responds directly. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Choike, James Kenneth Hay Michael Johanek Susan Kornstein Arthur VanderVeen The College Board NY Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 3544855 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243485 May 1, 2003 Launching the Teacher Research and Mentoring ARMADA. This is a comprehensive, national, 5-year project to develop a system for fostering sustainable partnerships between ocean science researchers, teachers and professional scientist-educators. Partners in the collaboration include: The University of Rhode Island Graduate school of Oceanography, the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education and the Jason Foundation. The goals of: 1) fostering SMT teacher retention and renewal through pedagogy and content training, research experiences and mentoring activities, and 2) to advance and sustain the integration of the ocean science research enterprise with the K-12 education will be achieved through: 1) Training and Research; 2) Mentoring New Teachers; 3) An ARMADA Framework and Resource Dissemination. Each year twelve Master Teachers (MT) will join the ARMADA. Each MT will subsequently mentor two new teachers for two years. There are a total of 216 participants. A one-week preparation workshop will precede the ship-based summer research experience. This will be followed by active participation in a 10-20-day summer ocean science research experience. Structured sessions for ARMADA teachers at professional meetings, such as NSTA, will strengthen the professional learning community of teachers interested in oceanographic research and education. CENTRES FOR OCEAN SCI EDU EXCE TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM OCEANOGRAPHIC TECHNICAL SERVCE ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR PALEOCLIMATE PROGRAM DRL EHR Hickox, Sara Robert Ballard Gail Scowcroft Kathryn Moran University of Rhode Island RI David B. Campbell Continuing grant 2064817 7437 7300 5415 5130 1530 SMET OTHR 9177 9150 4444 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243521 April 1, 2003 Resources for Environmental Literacy: Professional Development for Middle and High School Teachers. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the Environmental Literacy Council (ELC) are collaborating on a twenty-four month project to produce a professional development resource and a related website that draws on the best existing material to help teachers improve their own understanding of the connections between science and the environment. This project also seeks to provide teachers with effective science-environment teaching strategies and materials on which they can draw for themselves and their students. A collaboration among scientists, curriculum developers and teachers will result in the development of two related products. The first product is Resources for Environmental Literacy: Professional Development for Middle and High School Teachers. It will contain a collection of conceptually organized resources, including six modules that demonstrate how core science ideas can be effectively taught in the context of environmental issues. The second product will be an interactive website that will include the content of the print version and will supplement it with databases, research materials and additional modules. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Rutherford, F. James Environmental Literacy Council DC David B. Campbell Continuing grant 688853 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243523 September 15, 2003 Teacher Retention and Renewal through Bioregional Outdoor Education. The bioregion of the Colorado Plateau is an expansive rural area in need of keeping teachers in the region to serve the many Native American students and other communities who have close ties to the land. This project uses a two-tiered mentoring model and school-based science resource centers to help teachers stay in teaching and encourage elementary teachers to use inquiry science approaches with their students. All teachers learn how to adapt math and science outdoor education skills to the local environments of their schools. This not only enriches their work but also inspires their students to see the everyday contexts of their school and homes in a new way. One strength to this approach is to connect parent volunteers to the program, to the school and to their children with the aim of improving student outcomes in mathematics and science. The project will develop culturally sensitive, Native American science materials that will be shared through the web, at conferences and in outreach activities with other districts. The development and implementation model for these science resource centers and for sustaining teachers through master teacher professional development and mentoring may become an important model for rural districts that need to enhance and retain their teaching professionals. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Ross, Janet Rebecca Monhardt Four Corners School of Outdoor Education UT David A. Hanych Continuing grant 1439172 7645 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243527 July 1, 2003 Mathematics for All: Multimedia Cases on Inclusion. This project increases the availability of materials and resources for pre-service and in-service professional development to better prepare teachers for serving students with and without disabilities within a standards-based mathematics curriculum. Building on the lesson study approach and utilizing the case method, this project develops five modules of professional development materials. Each module consists of at least two three-hour multimedia case studies of teaching events involving students with disabilities in mathematics classrooms as well as activities that guide users in their interaction with the case materials. Each module focuses on one of the five NCTM content standards (number and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis and probability), integrates one or more of the five process standards (problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, connections and representation) and highlights key issues that need to be addressed in broadening the preparation of teachers of students with a variety of disabilities. By focusing on individual differences, this project will highlight aspects of teaching standards-based mathematics curriculum for all students. This project will have an impact on participating teacher educators and teachers, helping them to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes to more effectively support students with varying needs and strengths. The publication and dissemination of the professional development materials will benefit teachers and teacher educators nationwide. As a result of improved classroom practices this project hopes to impact a larger number of students, including students with disabilities, so that they will achieve standards-based learning outcomes in mathematics. This project will also make important contributions to the knowledge base about how to effectively prepare teachers to support students with different abilities and disabilities in a standards-based curriculum. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Dubitsky, Barbara Babette Moeller Bank Street College of Education NY James T. Fey Continuing grant 1723147 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243536 July 1, 2003 Science Education Online (SEO). Contributing to the national agenda to improve science education and science literacy, this project will investigate distance learning and specifically web-based instruction as a means to prepare and enhance middle level science teachers. The project starts with one cohort group of 30 teachers from districts known to have severely under-performing eighth grade students. Subsequent cohorts are added in each year as the project courses and materials come on-line, drawing on teachers who might not otherwise pursue science-specific liscensure. As the significant development and implmentation work is completed the project should be self sustaining and institutionalized, attracting additional tuition-based cohorts to sustain the courses and degree program. A strength of this project is its commitment to including school-based practitioners, scientists and science educators in all phases of the development and delivery of this program. Consequently, this project holds great potential to also impact the partner institutions by grounding science teacher preparation and certification programs in the real world of the practitioner, enhancing science faculty in their instructional practices and educators in their breadth and depth of content knowledge and fostering collaboration between K12 and higher education. Specifically, this project builds on a unique partnership between the University of Massachusetts - Amherst and Lowell Schools of Education and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Institute to develop, deliver and evaluate a web-based middle level science teacher certification program leading to a Master of Science Education degree. Aligned with both national and state standards, this program has the potential to reach both urban and rural middle level teachers concurrently by offering the program at a distance so that teachers can study from their own location on their own schedule. Incorporating both face-to-face and web-based instruction, the project design facilitates teacher learning of both content and appropriate pedagogy while they are in teaching positions and can implement what they are learning and to reflect on the experiences of doing so. The project evaluation includes formative and summative components to investigate the development and implementation of the teacher certification program as well as to understand the distance learning technologies used to deliver the program. This project may serve as a model research, development and dissemination process for teacher professional development and to meet requirements for SMT certification. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Davis, Kathleen Stephen Schneider Anita Greenwood University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 1200003 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243538 October 1, 2003 "Convergence: Where Mathematics, History and Teaching Interact" -- An Online Magazine on the History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching. The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) proposes to create an online magazine on the history of mathematics and its use in teaching, entitled "Convergence: Where Mathematics, History and Teaching Interact." "Convergence" will make available to teachers and teacher educators (Grades 9-14) a continuous flow of new material in the history of mathematics, which they can easily use in the classroom to enrich their courses, spark student interest and make mathematics more accessible. The types of materials appearing in the magazine will include: (i) Expository articles with corresponding discussion groups; (ii) Translations of original sources, both Western and non-Western; (iii) Reviews of resources (books, articles, websites, etc.) on the history of mathematics; (iv) Lesson plans; (v) Three attractive special sections, updated daily: "A Historical Problem of the Day," "A Mathematical Quotation of the Day," and "What Happened Today in History?" (vi) An up-to-date guide to what is happening around the world in the history of mathematics and its use in teaching; and (vii) Historical illustrations The magazine will be a part of the MAA Mathematical Sciences Digital Library (MathDL). Most of the technical work on "Convergence" will be done at "Math Forum," now housed at Drexel University. "Math Forum," which provides similar services to MathDL, will host the magazine's web pages, maintain the site and develop the software for the discussion groups. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Katz, Victor Frank Swetz Donald Albers Ivars Peterson Mathematical Association of America DC Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 801470 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243557 August 1, 2003 Retaining and Mentoring Teachers through Math and Science in School Gardens. This model science teacher retention and mentoring project will involve more than 300 elementary teachers in "Lesson Study" of inquiry science around school gardens. Drawing on the rich resources of the University of California Botanical Garden and the science educators at the Lawrence Hall of Science this project will develop Teacher Leaders and provide science content professional development to colleagues in four urban school districts. Using the rich and authentic contexts of gardens to engage students and teachers in scientific inquiry opens the opportunity to invite parents to become actively involved with their children in the learning process. As teachers improve their classroom practices of teaching science through inquiry with the help of school-based mentoring they are able to connect the teaching of science to mathematics and literacy and will be able to apply the lesson study approach in their teaching of other innovative projects. Teacher leaders and mentors will have on-going learning opportunities as well as engage participating teachers in lesson study and reflection aimed toward improving science content understanding and the quality of science learning in summer garden learning experiences and having context rich science inquiry experiences throughout the school year. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Barrett, Katharine University of California-Berkeley CA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1523858 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0243558 May 1, 2003 Developing Facilitators of Practice-based Professional Development. The project is a three-year project to develop facilitator capacity and leadership for scaling up the use of "Video Cases for Mathematics Professional Development (VCMPC)" materials for professional development as well as adapting the materials for use in pre-service courses. Using teacher written work, video clips from VCMPD seminars and other PD sessions, an online forum for facilitators and other materials as tools, the project staff will design a Facilitator Institute to engage participants in experiences as learners and to consider implementation issues. The first Facilitator Institute will be conducted during the summer of 2003 with recruitment to emphasize districts with large numbers of underrepresented students, district teams and Mathematics and Science Partnership projects. Using feedback from the first FI, additional FIs will be held the following two summers, with the development of a leader guide and responsibility for leading such institutes shifted toward participants in previous institutes to develop a larger leadership capacity culminating in technical assistance to sites wishing to offer their own FIs. One member of the project staff will establish a framework for using PD curriculum, beyond just VCMPD, as a vehicle for developing the skills and sensibilities of secondary teachers to take on roles of leadership in mathematics professional development. This framework will be tested in Seattle and Philadelphia. All FI participants will be subscribed to the online facilitator forum using the LessonLab web-based, course builder software and portal and will participate in a lesson-study approach to preparing, enacting and reflecting on the use of the VCMPD materials with teachers. The project PIs will also provide technical assistance to MSPs and districts that have had facilitators trained to use VCMPD. The materials will also be customized to meet the needs of teacher preparation programs by creating a supplemental guide and initially tested at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Washington for use in elementary and secondary methods courses. The project will study teacher learning, teacher integration into practice and facilitation, as well as identify areas for future research. Horizon Research, Inc., will conduct formative evaluation focusing on the quality of the DFPBM institutes and the development of the pre-service supplement materials and summative evaluation on the quality and impacts of the project. The project will impact at least 75 facilitators, 1000 teachers, and pre-service teachers at four universities. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Mumme, Judith Nanette Seago WestEd CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1496633 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0296001 July 1, 2001 Museum-Related Multimedia and Virtual Environments for Teaching and Learning Science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Dede, Christopher Lynn Fontana Jim Chen David Allison Kevin Ruess Harvard University MA Kenneth C. Whang Continuing grant 359510 1666 SMET 9177 0296149 June 30, 2001 Parents Involved/Pigeons Everywhere Project (PIPE). INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bonney, Richard Cornell University - State NY David A. Ucko Continuing grant 193588 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0296168 December 15, 2001 School District Capacity to Support the Mathematics Standards in Secondary Classrooms. DRL EHR Sanders, Nancy Education Commission of the States CO Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 100694 0302169 October 1, 2002 CAREER: Broadcast and the Bits: Enhancing Educational Television with Digital Justification. This research focuses on children's television and how it can be enhanced with digital technologies. We envision the convergence between television and computing leading to new types of learning interactions between children and parents around television content. In particular, we may be able to borrow features from educational reform movements to develop novel, informal learning around television. For instance, if we can model question-asking and inquiry strategies to parents and children, they may be able to adopt and use them to structure learning conversations in the home. We add a new layer of digital information to the analog television experience, justification structures that explain how and why a television program is intended to facilitate learning. By providing additional meta-information about the educational intentions of a program, we hope to engage parents and children in critical reflection and inquiry around television content. The justification structures are digitial design rationales, capturing elements of the production process that would otherwise be hidden from viewers (e.g., historical justifications for the inclusion of content, alternative viewpoints and additional questions that were omitted from the final program). To develop the justification structures, we will examine how television producers currently design and develop their programming. As we understand their practices and conceptions of learning, we will define justification structures that make explicit the tacit assumptions underlying their programming decisions. We will then design and deploy digital television technologies to families in low-income housing projects with the goals of: o Developing a theory of justification that describes the content and rationale behind children's television programming o Assessing the impact of justification structures on parent-child interactions and learning o Rethinking the content of educational television in light of these justification structures DRL EHR Smith, Brian Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 284763 7256 SMET 9177 1045 0303570 June 15, 2003 National Invasive Species Monitoring: A Citizen Science Project -- A Planning Grant. The Chicago Botanic Garden, in collaboration with five major botanic gardens, will plan a citizen science invasive species monitoring program that will engage participants in active, meaningful data collection on populations of invasive plants at a national scale. The planning team will identify effective program approaches based upon front-end and formative evaluation and a professionally facilitated planning workshop involving prominent scientists, botanic garden professionals and informal science educators. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR DeBuhr, Larry Chicago Botanic Garden IL Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 49523 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0303818 August 1, 2003 Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform - Phase II. The National Science Resources Center (NSRC) proposes a one-year renewal of the K-8 "Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER)." LASER operates through eight regional centers around the country and supports: Development of a theory of action for increasing student achievement in science Development of services and products informed by research and based on best practices Establishment of partnerships to work to accomplish shared goals Dissemination of services and products for initiating and implementing research-based science programs for all students. LASER is having a significant impact on participating districts. To date, 446 districts serving more than 2.5 million students have begun implementing research-based science curricula. The renewal will permit LASER to continue to support districts as they move to reform, develop partnerships with additional districts, permit the model to be refined and to deepen the partnerships to ensure sustainability. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Shuler, Sally Wendy Binder Smithsonian Institution VA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1247671 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0304104 September 1, 2003 EDC K-12 Science Curriculum Dissemination Center Renewal. The Center for Science Education at the Education Development Center (EDC) proposes a renewal of the EDC K-12 Science Curriculum Dissemination Center for a final year. The Center has supported the dissemination and implementation of research-based science materials in small, rural, geographically isolated and poor K-12 school districts. The Center works through eight regional hubs to reach rural areas in or adjacent to the following states: Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Iowa, South Dakota, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. In the original grant the Center worked to (1) increase the number of school districts knowledgeable about research-based K-12 science curriculum and help them to critically assess the materials; (2) increase the number of districts piloting, adopting or implementing such materials; and (3) enhance the capacity of local resource providers to support curriculum implementation. The renewal will shift the Center's work to building the capacity of district and regional science education leaders to support the high-quality implementation of these science curricula. In the final year the Center will: 1. Increase the science leadership capacity of teachers and administrators from strategically selected school districts to address high-quality curriculum implementation. 2. Increase the capacity of the hubs and regional resource providers to support and sustain improvements in science education in their regions. 3. Increase outreach to national educational associations to influence their support of science education. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Sandler, Judith Barbara Berns Education Development Center MA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 1380516 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0306256 September 1, 2002 ADVANCE Fellows Award:Implementing Inquiry Pedagogy in Elementary and Middle School Science Classrooms. In the current climate of nationwide education reform, a strong movement is afoot to place inquiry at the center of science education. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996), which recommend that students be ieengaged in inquiryld that involves combining ioprocesses and scientific knowledge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of scienceln (p. 105). Clearly, if teachers are to promote meaningful learning as advocated by the Standards, some of their instructional practices will have to change, and such changes must be supported by strong, research-based professional development programs. The proposed study will document the ways in which specific professional development opportunities influence science teachers beliefs and knowledge and, consequently, their instructional practices. Several factors influence teachers instructional decisions, including their beliefs about the nature of science, their theories about teaching and learning, and their knowledge of scientific concepts. Through a series of week-long summer institutes, teams of elementary and middle school science teachers will gain understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry, the role of models in scientific inquiry, and various strategies for creating robust inquiry opportunities in diverse classrooms. Ongoing monthly meetings throughout the academic year will provide teacher teams with opportunities to discuss issues related to implementing inquiry pedagogy, share materials, and seek assistance with particular concerns. A variety of professional development interventions will be employed to help alter teachers beliefs and develop their knowledge about scientific inquiry and conceptual models. These interventions include: collaborative study of a theoretical framework describing scientific inquiry; eflective writing; ongoing collegial interactions; and quality curricular materials. The analytical method employed for the study will be that of the collective case study. One focus teacher from each teacher team will be the subject of a case study. Collectively, the case studies will be formulated to shed light on the processes that teachers undergo in their attempt to adopt inquiry pedagogy and the types of professional development and support that have positive influences on these processes. Qualitative data such as interview transcripts, field notes, and teacher journals will be examined using QSR NUD*IST, a theory-building qualitative analysis tool. It is undeniable that national and statewide reform initiatives, bolstered by renewed emphasis on standardized testing, are putting pressure on teachers to adopt inquiry-based instructional techniques. Unfortunately, utilizing inquiry-based curriculum materials and providing hands-on learning experiences in classrooms are not enough to enable students to ioengage in the same activities and thinking processes [italics added] as scientists who are seeking to expand human knowledge of the natural worldll (NRC, 2000, p. 1). To accomplish this tall task, teachers will need support in developing greater understanding about the nature of scientific inquiry and ways of implementing inquiry instruction into their classrooms. The proposed study will make an important contribution to our knowledge of how specific professional development opportunities enable teachers to adopt more inquiry-based practices. ADVANCE - INSTITUTIONAL TRANSF DRL EHR Cartier, Jennifer University of Pittsburgh PA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 308977 1738 SMET 9177 1681 0306474 August 1, 2003 The ARC Center Renewal Project. The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) is continuing for eighteen months the work of the Alternatives for Rebuilding Curricula (ARC) Center. The project will maintain its current institutional organization with a national center at COMAP and satellite centers at TERC, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The role of the national center is to oversee the entire project and to guide efforts that reflect common visions across the three curriculum projects (Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Everyday Mathematics and Math Trailblazers). Satellite centers focus their resources on school and districts that are using their curricula and they collaborate with one another and the national center on projects that advance the common objectives of all ARC sites. The goals of the ARC Center are the following. *To complete the development and testing of a Building Capacity for Change program that is intended to introduce a range of improvement options to school districts in underserved areas of the country. *To augment the findings of the Tri-State Student Achievement Study (Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington) in order to probe the findings in greater depth. *To conclude the individual pilot projects at each satellite. Two satellite centers are seeking alternative ways to provide staff development to large numbers of teachers. The third satellite is identifying critical factors in urban implementations. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Sconiers, Sheila Consortium For Mathematics & Its Applications Inc MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1618590 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0306601 August 1, 2003 Scientific American Frontiers. The Chedd-Angier Production Company is requesting support for the long-standing, highly acclaimed PBS series, "Scientific American Frontiers," now in its 13th season. Alan Alda hosts the program. NSF funds will leverage existing PBS support and expand the series from five to six programs and increase the scope and depth of the science covered in each program. Topics in the new season cover a broad range of disciplines including cutting edge scientific efforts in cosmology, anthropology, global warming, brain research, obesity and weight loss, and hydrogen fuel cell research. The funds will also be used to expand the "Frontiers" web site and raise the visibility of the program by enhancing the promotional campaign. These efforts will aim to improve the value of the series to science teachers as well as to the general audience. Formative evaluation will be undertaken by Multimedia Research; summative evaluation, by Knight-Williams Research Communications. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Chedd, Graham The Chedd-Angier Production Company MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 800002 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307027 January 1, 2003 TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT OF DISTANCE LEARNING WORKSHOP. This is an award for a workshop on the Technical Assessment of Distance Learning. The workshop will be held in the Los Angeles Area in late January or Early February and is jointly sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation. A workshop report and recommendations on a research agenda for distance learning will be the outputs of the workshop. Participants will be invited from a broad range of researchers and funders of research in distance learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lane, Kenneth California State University-San Bernardino Foundation CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 49510 1666 SMET 9177 1686 0307280 May 1, 2003 Light and Mind: A Planning Grant. Independent Communications Associates will develop a five-part television public television series on light, optics, and perception, entitled "Light and Mind." The series explores both the outer, physical world of light and optics and the inner world of the mind that processes visual information. The programs examine the history of the subject as well as the frontiers of current research. The project is designed to be accessible to a wide range of audiences: the series is planned as a PBS primetime special aimed at adults while the ancillary educational materials are targeted to high-school students. During the first phase of planning the producers will work with their advisors, research and write a fuller treatment of the five episodes and a full script for the first program, create a budget, and develop an educational strategy and outline of the educational materials. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Stork, David David Kennard Independent Communications Associates CA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307465 July 15, 2003 The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Science Unit. MacNeil Lehrer Productions is adding a significant science presence to the nightly "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" program by creating a Science Unit as part of their production staff. Each year for three years, the unit will produce at least 12 long-form documentary reports (8 to 12 minutes each), shorter (4 to 5 minute) videotape background reports to set up studio interviews, and brief (2 minute) news summary reports when appropriate. The NewsHour science production team also would collaborate with the NOVA team at WGBH through such means as production of a NewsHour companion report related to a planned NOVA documentary and use of a NOVA segment as a lead-in to a policy discussion on the NewsHour. Selection of story topics, information about developments in different fields of science, and validation of science content would be guided by a core advisory group that includes: Stephen Sass, Cornell University (Material Science, Nanotechnology) Ken Miller, Brown University (BioScience) Larry Smarr, Director of the California Institute of telecommunications and Information Technology (Infotechnology) Maria Ghirardi, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Energy) John Logsdon, George Washington University (Space) The project will be supported by "The Online NewsHour." This web site will notify viewers via email of upcoming segments; provide public forums with scientists, researchers, ethicists and policy makers; and allow viewers to obtain transcripts of the broadcasts. The forums, conducted after the broadcast, include one or more of the principals who appeared in the program responding to questions and/or issues raised by viewers. Formative evaluation will be conducted by Rockman Et Al and summative evaluation will be conducted by the Goodman Research Group, Inc. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Crystal, Lester Franmarie Kennedy MacNeilLehrerProductions VA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2927745 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307473 June 15, 2003 Forensic Science Traveling Exhibition -- A Planning Grant. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History proposes to develop a 5,000 sq ft traveling exhibition, along with educational material and programs. Motivated by the challenge of solving a crime, visitors will become engaged in a scientific investigation that cuts across the multiple disciplines of forensic science. This project builds upon the successful implementation of "Whodunit? The Science of Solving Crime," funded by a prior NSF grant (ESI-9253370). The proposed exhibition will travel to the member institutions of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative, where the primary target audiences will be children in the upper elementary and middle school years. The proposed 12-month planning grant would enable research, front-end evaluation, project team meetings, and the development of a conceptual plan and a business plan for the new exhibition beginning. The Museum will develop specific plans to reach underserved audiences and to examine the feasibility of creating a version for small science centers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Walter, Charlie Fort Worth Museum of Science and History TX David A. Ucko Standard Grant 49933 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307544 April 15, 2003 Scholarship Support to Enable School District Chief Technology Officers to Participate in the 2003 Consortium for School Networking Conference and the 2nd Annual Int'l Symposium. This award supports 25 Chief Technology Officers from urban and rural school districts to attend the CoSN conference to receive technical training in the management of school networks. The meeting is being held February 25th to February 27th in Arlington, Virginia. The applications for support will be evaluated by the Consortium for School Networking and the Council of Great City Schools. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Krueger, Keith Consortium for School Networking DC John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 34000 1666 SMET 9177 0307550 October 1, 2003 Mystery Solved: A Traveling Exhibit in Mathematics. The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science will develop "Mystery Solved," a 1500-sq. foot traveling mathematics exhibition with companion take-home materials. Two copies will be made of the traveling exhibit: one for the eleven members of the North Carolina Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative reaching over 500,000 visitors, and a second for travel nationally to nine science centers reaching an estimated 750,000 additional visitors. A take-home packet will be developed for visitors to continue informal mathematics explorations at home. The activities included therein will expand and extend the exhibit themes, offering multiple levels to meet the needs of K-5 students and their families. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR MAY, DEBORAH North Carolina Museum of Life and Science NC Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1607730 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307602 September 1, 2003 Eliminating Communication and Technological Barriers to STEM Education. The researchers propose to study the impact that new display technologies in classroom have on hearing-impaired students. They will conduct a series of experiments using videotape and eye-tracking technology that will investigate the extent to which visual technologies may place additional cognitive burdens on such students in STEM classrooms. They draw on the literatures on divided attention, interference, and the effects that utilizing competing modalities has for integrating information. The investigators will be able to track individual students' attention and document, for example, precisely what information they receive when gazing at the interpreter, when they look away to view the visual display, and what information they receive from it. The researchers can compare these informational transcripts against those received by other students (hearing and hearing-impaired) as well as against the complete record of communication. They will be able to compare the efficacy with which different students deal with these competing input-streams. They hope to identify strategies by which learners and educators can enhance learning through the coordination of visual technologies and interpreting. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Marschark, Marc Jeff Pelz Rochester Institute of Tech NY Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 899723 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0307615 July 15, 2003 APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People. The James Agee Film Project is requesting funds to produce a four-part series of one-hour films on the environmental and social history of Appalachia. "APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People" will be the first series of films on the history of Appalachia and the first environmental history film ever made about a region in the United States. The project will demonstrate the dynamic interaction and inseparability of natural history and human history. By interweaving the discoveries and insights from scientific disciplines, including geology, ecology, biology and environmental science, with those of the humanities, the series will explore how the mountains have shaped human cultures and how people have shaped the mountains. "APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People" is made for national broadcast on PBS and is being co-sponsored by six Appalachian state PBS networks. The series is being produced in conjunction with the upcoming "Encyclopedia of Appalachia." Outreach programs include partnerships with many regional grassroots organizations, PBS stations and educational institutions to extend the film into a wide range of rural communities and schools. The Project Director/Writer of the series will be the Academy Award nominated filmmaker Ross Spears. Jamie Ross is co-producer/writer; Dr. George Constantz, the Science Writer/Content Director. Dr. Constantz is also currently the principal science and ecology editor of The Encyclopedia of Appalachia, which will be published in 2005. A distinguished group of scholars and scientists will contribute to the project. Dr. Gary Henry, Director of the Applied Research Center in Atlanta, will oversee the project evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Spears, Ross James Agee Film Project TN Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1034628 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307709 July 1, 2003 Yellowstone Old Faithful Visitor Education Center. The Yellowstone Park Foundation will work over four years to develop, evaluate and install exhibits and integrated educational programs for a state-of-the-art visitor education center at Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park. This facility will help the nearly 2.6 million on-site annual visitors and the tens of millions of on-line visitors understand and appreciate the most significant display of geysers and hot springs on Earth and the unique microbial life forms that live in these thermal waters. The exhibits and programs will focus on current and emerging research critical to understanding issues and solving environmental problems facing society today. Visitors and distance learners will understand why research on Yellowstone's hot springs has spurred advances in various scientific and technological fields, and how the natural processes occurring there affect their everyday lives. In addition to the various scientific perspectives presented, the ideas about Yellowstone held by early explorers and visitors, artists and Native Americans will help make the exhibits and related programs relevant to a broader audience. The exhibits and audiovisual media will be multi-lingual, using the most appropriate current technology to present information in the four major non-English languages spoken by Yellowstone visitors. A special emphasis will be placed on the development of curriculum-based activities that serve school groups from the tri-state area surrounding the park, including virtual field trips for students. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pickall, Molly Linda Young Yellowstone Park Foundation MT Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2753500 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307763 September 1, 2003 CYBERCHASE -- SEASON 3. Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET New York) is producing twelve new programs for the third season of Cyberchase, the first national math series for children in over a decade. The daily, half-hour programs currently are viewed by over 1.5 million viewers for each broadcast. The associated website has had over 140 million page views. Summative evaluation of previous seasons has determined that Cyberchase increases children's positive attitudes about mathematics as well as their content comprehension and confidence in their problem-solving skills. In the third season the content of Cyberchase will be enriched by the addition of more complex mathematics concepts. Grouped by their related NCTM standard, these include: Number & Operations: Percent, Zero, Mixed Number Fractions, Factoring Geometry: Circles, Perspective, Tessellations, Navigation: Angles and Distance Algebra: Body Math (Ratio & Proportion); Mathematical Modeling Data Analysis and Probability: Experimental Probability, Stem & Leaf Plots Reasoning & Proof: Reasoning Representation: Drawing to Scale During the third season WNET also will upgrade the web site to offer more math challenges to frequent visitors and will create math games with varying levels of complexity and challenge to provide more learning opportunities and to bring children back online more often. In addition, WNET will intensify the project outreach to key constituencies through an integrated campaign of community outreach, materials and promotion. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Sandra Michael Templeton Carey Bolster Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 2200000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307843 May 1, 2004 Understanding Race and Human Variation: A Public Education Program. The American Anthropological Association will develop a 5,000-sq. ft. traveling exhibit, website and educational materials on "Understanding Race and Human Variation." Through an integrated, comprehensive and learner-focused educational program, visitors will be presented with the idea that human variation is part of nature and that race is a dynamic and sometimes harmful cultural construct. The project will advance knowledge across the sciences by bringing together scientists and scholars in translating research to the public and developing a common language. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Overbey, Mary American Anthropological Assoc VA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2964744 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307858 September 1, 2003 Archaeology Pathways for Native Learners. The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center will implement a three-year, research-based community program entitled "Archeology Pathways for Native Learners." This comprehensive program consists of four components or pathways that are designed to increase participation of Native Americans in science. Pathway #1 invites students and teachers from New Haven Public Schools to participate in archaeology field research, which expands to include youth throughout the northeastern US. Students will be involved with site excavation, documentation and analysis of findings in an archaeology laboratory, working with scientists to interpret findings, and communicating the results of research to their peers and through the project Web site. Concurrently, in the first year of the project, Pathway #2 will focus on the expansion of museum programs for youth and community members in addition to the creation of related professional development programs for educators. Pathway #3 calls for replication of the research model at Navajo sites in New Mexico and Arizona during year three, while Pathway #4 emphasizes leadership training workshops for Native Americans from over 50 tribal communities. Workshops will focus on the creation of research-based youth programs in native communities across the country, using a train-the-trainer model to disseminate the model. It is anticipated that this project will reach more than 60,000 youth and community members, in addition to over 450,000 individuals via the Archeology Pathways website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McBride, Kevin Marc Blosveren Geoffrey Brown Trudie Lamb-Richmond Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center CT Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1851063 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307862 October 1, 2003 Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science: Science TV News That Matters. Each month, the American Institute of Physics (AIP) will produce twelve, 90-second television news reports that demonstrate the relevance of research to society, including animated descriptions of the underlying science principles. The peer-reviewed reports are offered for sale on an exclusive basis to one station in each of the 211 principal television markets. The service currently has 84 subscribers with the potential to reach approximately 62% of the total US television households. AIP is actively seeking additional stations that will purchase the service. They have plans for the service to become self-sustaining when 170 stations become subscribers. AIP has a working coalition with numerous scientific societies including American Geological Institute, American Mathematical Society, American Meteorological Society, American Society for Mechanical Engineers, and Universities Research Association. The television production staff relies on story ideas provided by the range of scientists represented in these societies as well as from journal articles, university press releases, and other findings from research institutions. Once a treatment is developed for a story, outside science experts are asked to review it for accuracy and to comment on its validity and reliability. A "Know More" web component offers audiences an opportunity to find out more information about a science story. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Torres, Alicia James Stith American Institute of Physics MD Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2348603 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307875 September 1, 2003 Traveling Exhibit on Technology, Imagination and the Future Using the Fantasy Technologies in the Star Wars Movies as Examples. Over a three year period, the Museum of Science, Boston will develop a national traveling exhibition and associated programs that will support the goals and standards for technological literacy that were recently articulated in reports by the National Academy of Engineering and the International Technology Education Association. Intellectual Merit. The exhibit will take advantage of the widely known characters and images of future technology from the Star Wars movies to attract visitors and to engage them in learning about potential technologies that may impact our lives. It incorporates new and adapted interactive devices that will involve visitors in inquiry-based learning about technologies related to frictionless land vehicles, robotic mobility mechanisms, and habitats for living underwater and in space. Broader Impact. The exhibition will reach a large national audience by traveling to the members of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative as well as other institutions. Use of popular culture, science fiction and futuristic technology will help attract those who may not be traditional science center visitors. Educational impact will be extended through programming for the public and school groups, including materials for institutions that do not host the exhibition, along with a website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bell, Lawrence Janice Crocker Museum of Science MA David A. Ucko Continuing grant 2738060 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307886 August 1, 2003 Da Niao and Big Bird Look at the Sky. Sesame Workshop is creating a new planetarium show and outreach activities for children ages 5 and 6 and their families, teachers and other caregivers. Sesame Workshop, the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, the Beijing Planetarium and the Liberty Science Center will collaborate in this bi-national, China-U.S. cooperative project to produce and distribute a planetarium show and ancillary material and to develop a demonstration outreach program targeted at children ages five and six and their parents. The planetarium show, based around the theme "sharing the sky," will be designed to help Chinese and American children identify differences and similarities in their respective associations to astronomy as exemplified in their own language, stories, lore, and traditions and, through this understanding, develop positive attitudes about one another. Specific science goals include: Children will become familiar with readily observable properties and changes exhibited by the sun, the moon, and stars. Children will acquire meaningful additional knowledge about objects in the sky that satisfies and sustains their curiosity. Children will know that astronomy is an activity that they can do and enjoy, and that astronomers are scientists. The English and Spanish versions of the program will feature Big Bird and Grover from Sesame Street and Hu Hu Zhu from Zhima Jie (the Chinese adaptation of Sesame Street) who will play the role of a guest from China. The Mandarin version will feature Big Bird, this time appearing as his Chinese equivalent, Da Niao, as well as Hu Hu Zhu and Grover. In this version, Grover will be cast as a guest from America. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Truglio, Rosemarie Sesame Workshop NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1900172 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307925 September 1, 2003 Listening: Making Sense of the Sonic Soup. The Exploratorium will conduct a four-year project to explore the physical nature of sound, the physiology of hearing and the perception of sound, and the process of attentive listening. "Listening" creates 30 exhibits, three listening spaces, and related visitor experiences to complement the Exploratorium's existing "Sound and Hearing" collection. Listening encourages visitors to explore the scientific, physiological, and cultural content of sound, from the physics of sound waves, to the mechanics of the inner ear, to the information, mood, and emotions sound can convey. Listening will inform the public of the scientific, physiological, and cultural content of sound, as well as the negative impact of ambient sound on their health and environment. Listening integrates public programming, exhibit development and visitor studies, representing a new model of collaboration and communication among educators, scientists, artists and the public. At the conclusion of the Exploratorium venue for "Listening," a traveling exhibition of 30 exhibits will circulate to science museums nationwide, supported by materials and training for education programs. A workshop at the annual meeting of the Association of Science-Technology Centers and additional conference presentations and publications will present science center professionals with Listening strategies. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Humphrey, Thomas Kathleen McLean Sue Allen Exploratorium CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2098873 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307927 July 1, 2004 Attention, Emotion and Judgement: How Do Minds Figure Out What to Do? An Exhibit Development Project at the Exploratorium. The Exploratorium will develop an exhibit focusing on three areas of mental activity that process perceptions and enable human action: attention, emotion and judgment. Developers will create 32 new interactive exhibits and rebuild six to eight old ones to be part of the museum's permanent collection. The Exploratorium will develop a new area in the museum dedicated to exploring the processes of the human mind and brain, experiment with new ways of creating meaningful mind experiences for visitors and help establish a sense of collective experimentation among science centers in neuroscience and psychology exhibits and programming. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pearce, Michael Richard Brown Exploratorium CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1749906 7259 SMET 9177 1674 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307939 September 15, 2003 Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold. The University of Oregon, Eugene, is producing "Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold," a three-hour television documentary series about the field of low-temperature physics, the field in which one-third of all physicists are working today. The series explores key concepts, significant individuals and events in the field's turbulent history, and the enormous impact that the mastery of cold has had on society through technologies such as air-conditioning, refrigeration and liquefied gases. The film, based in large part on Tom Shachtman's book of the same name, will document how four centuries of research into lower temperatures has produced stunning scientific insights and applications that have revolutionized the world we live in. Planned outreach includes public programs, museum activities, and an interactive web site. The PI's for the project are Russell Donnelly of the University of Oregon, Richard Hudson of Twin Cites Public Television, and Meredith Burch of Meridian/Windfall Productions, Inc. Other key staff members include Thomas Shachtman, author of the book upon which the series is based; David Dugan, Co-Producer/Director of Windfall Films; David Heil of David Heil and Associates; Barbara Flagg of Multimedia Research; and Irene Goodman, of Goodman Research Group. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Donnelly, Russell Richard Hudson Meredith Burch University of Oregon Eugene OR Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1756698 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307949 September 1, 2003 Hands-On Optics: Making an Impact with Light. "Hands-On Optics" is a comprehensive, national level program that introduces middle school youth to the science of optics using hands-on kits, modules and related activities. Six optics modules will be developed for use in after-school and weekend programs. Modules will focus on engaging topics such as kaleidoscopes, optical illusions, magnifiers and solar telescopes while exploring the principles of reflection, refraction, light and vision. "Hands-On Optics" will be introduced at four MESA sites in California and then disseminated to 13 other sites in California, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, New York and Maryland. Additional dissemination venues include four science centers and two NSF-funded research centers. Students will also develop optic projects for competitions and participate in Industry Shadow Days, while parent workshops and a supporting website will provide guidance on careers. "Hands-On Optics" is projected to serve 39,500 students over a three-year period. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Johnson, Anthony Eugene Arthurs Stephen Pompea SPIE-The International Society for Optical Engineering WA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1738903 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0307967 September 1, 2003 The Botany of Desire Television Documentary. Kikim Media requests $743,316 to produce four half-hour television documentaries and associated outreach programs based on Michael Pollan's best-selling book, The Botany of Desire. The project explores the reciprocal nature of people's relationship with plants. The programs focus on the connections between apples and the human desire for sweetness; tulips and the desire for beauty; marijuana and the desire for intoxication; and corn and our desire for control over nature. The project will increase public understanding of diverse subjects including genetics, evolution, cognition and biochemistry as well as biodiversity, genetic diversity and the consequences of their loss. The project will have a broad impact through a national primetime PBS broadcast, an outreach program targeting adult audiences, and an educational module delivering appropriate content (excluding intoxication) to middle and high school audiences. Knight-Williams Research Communications will conduct the evaluation for The Botany of Desire television broadcast and outreach efforts. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schwarz, Michael Kikim Media, LLC CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 743315 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0308371 February 15, 2003 International Conference on Research & Development in Mathematics and Science Education; Kiel, Germany; March 6-8, 2003. WestEd is providing travel for U.S. participants in a German-American workshop devoted to research issues of interest to project teams associated with the NSF workshop is to be held in Kiel, Germany, March 6-8, 2003. The living expenses of American and German participants in Kiel are to be paid by a grant from the Deutsche Forshungsgemeinschaft (DFG), which is the German equivalent of the National Science Foundation. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Raizen, Senta WestEd CA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 62891 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0308828 May 15, 2003 SGER: The Development of Assessment Instruments for the Study of Quantitative Literacy: Supporting the Importance of Baseline Data and Evaluation Capacity Building. Two parts of this project will contribute specific items of intellectual merit for the evaluation community: the development of a new type of assessment tools, and compilation of significant baseline data in a new area. In particular, the assessment items to be developed as part of this study will be appropriate not only for the study of QL, but for other areas that utilize multiple disciplines, institutional centers, and other non-conventional forms of curricular organization. Developing such assessment items will be challenging, but essential to collecting data that are aligned with the goals and standards of QL. New assessment items in combination with existing items from other projects will create a rich resource for data collection. The baseline data will include the collection and evaluation of pilot data on QL Centers at their institutions. These data will focus on curriculum and course development, and faculty development. Because curriculum and faculty development are common to many educational innovations, the data collected-and methods used-will be directly transferable to other evaluation projects. However, the unique multi-disciplinary, center-based nature of QL means that other non-conventional endeavors will have new resources for data collection. Experiences from curricular reforms in calculus and other disciplines reveal that a supportive network can be used to promote buy-in by all affected individuals and groups. Therefore, an important part of the QL movement is the design and formation of the National Numeracy Network (NNN) to assist locales in which efforts are underway to translate QL from aspiration into educational practice, to disseminate promising practices, and to exchange information among existing and potential network sites. Planned activities of the network include professional development experiences and opportunities to learn about QL for educators and others and a Web site through which resources, information, and exchange of ideas regarding QL will be made accessible to the broadest possible audience. However, critical to the success of NNN are the development of standards for assessment of QL-both in terms of student learning and institutional programs. This project will begin this important process with the collection of baseline data necessary to judge the effectiveness of QL programs. By focusing on different aspects of policy, practice, professional development, dissemination, and assessment, the National Numeracy Network will provide a catalyst for quantitative literacy, especially in grades 10 to 14. QL programs participating in the network already are working with organizations that can directly influence a wider audience to create public pressure for QL. NNN institutions and organizations are developing QL course materials and programs to share through professional development opportunities, the QL Resource Library, and the QL Web site. This project will play an important role in providing the information necessary to make QL education a reality. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Ganter, Susan Jack Bookman Clemson University SC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 99922 7261 SMET 9237 9177 9150 0309062 July 1, 2003 Research on Informal Mathematics Learning. The purpose of the proposed three-year research project is to investigate characteristics of mathematics learning and its facilitation in an informal, after school, and urban environment. The research project consists of two interconnected studies, one focusing on the learning of middle-school students and the other inquiring into facilitator interventions. The first study focuses in-depth on (1) the mathematical ideas and forms of mathematical reasoning that middle school students develop and use as they investigate well defined, open ended tasks; (2) the patterns of discourse among the students as they build solutions to each task; and (3) over the course of the study, changes that occur in students' views about mathematics and about themselves as mathematical thinkers. The second study documents and analyses facilitator interventions and their consequent influence on student-to-student discursive interactions and individual student learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Maher, Carolyn Arthur Powell Keith Weber Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1149020 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0309388 March 1, 2003 Workshop Proposal: Developing a Productive Agenda for US-Japan Educational Research: A Cross-National Workshop. The PI proposes a workshop to develop an educational research agenda with Japan and US specifically in the areas of Math, Science and Technology education. She proposes to bring leading researchers in mathematics, science and technology education together from the two countries a fruitful cross-national research agenda. This agenda would then be published and disseminated in the workshop proceedings. The PI requests funds for hosting this workshop in the US. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lewis, Catherine Mills College CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 99402 1666 SMET 9177 0309401 July 1, 2003 Optimizing the Impact of Online Professional Development for K-12 Teachers (Resubmission). Many changes in K-12 education have created an increased and critical need for effective professional development for teachers. These changes include new standards; new curriculum and assessments; changes in student demographics; advances in classroom technology; and a growing shortage of qualified teachers. To address this need, many educational organizations are turning to web-based, online professional development, which can provide teachers with flexible scheduling and access to resources, mentors, and peers that would not be available otherwise. A significant body of research enables us to define principles of effective professional development in face-to-face settings, and some research is available showing that online courses can be effective at the college and high school levels. However, very little research is available about the effectiveness of online professional development in which the goals are to impact both the content knowledge and the classroom practices of K-12 teachers. The proposed project will begin to establish a solid research base about online professional development by addressing three major questions, which fall under ROLE Program Quadrant III, Research on STEM Learning in Education Settings: 1. What is the comparative impact on teachers' content knowledge and instructional practices of alternative models of online professional development, face-to-face models, and hybrid models that combine the two? 2. How do the types of interactions among participants and between participants and workshop leaders differ across different online professional development models, and are these differences related to participants' satisfaction, knowledge acquisition, and changes in practice? 3. What are the factors that maximize the impact of online professional development on teachers' content knowledge and instructional practices? To address these questions, the project will develop and implement a series of contrastive professional development workshops, including several online models, hybrid models that integrate some face-to-face meetings into the context of online workshops, and a more traditional onsite workshop model. The workshops will focus on topics selected from the middle school mathematics curriculum, and seek to both deepen participants' understanding of the mathematics and enhance their approaches to teaching this content. Within each content area, the goals, learning activities, teaching approach, and time requirements for participants will be held as constant as possible across workshop models. Multiple measures, including assessments of participants' content knowledge within the context of teaching tasks, participant surveys and interviews, analyses of lesson plans and student work, classroom observations, student surveys, and discourse analyses will be employed to address the three main research questions. The results will inform educational policy makers, school and district administrators, professional development providers, faculty in teacher preparation programs, and teachers, as well as the research community. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kleiman, Glenn Education Development Center MA Celestine Pea Continuing grant 1775212 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0309689 July 1, 2003 Reading and Comprehending Science Texts: The Combined Influence of Reader and Text Characteristics. This project's goal is to examine how reader and text characteristics combine to influence the comprehension of science texts. The study will make use of recent advances in psychometrics on hierarchical linear models in order to assess the predictive values of a large number of linguistic properties, reader characteristics, and the structure of those factors. Through analyses of individual differences in readers and analyses of text difficulty, the researchers hope to be able to make progress toward using computer systems to customized complex texts to individual readers. This, they hope, would make such texts generally readable to a heterogeneous group of readers. The intellectual merit of the project is in the multidisciplinary approach that the researchers adopt in order to address problems in reading comprehension. Bringing psychometric tools into contact with sentence processing paradigms from cognitive science has the potential to yield new findings of interest to the scientific community. The broader impact of the study if successful is that more people would be able to read and understand science. The development of diagnostic test to measure the required reading skills for complex texts would also be beneficial. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Long, Debra Keith Widaman Shelley Blozis University of California-Davis CA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 213111 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0310128 July 1, 2003 DNR-Based Instruction: A Model for Professional Development of Math Teachers, with a Special Attention to Justification and Proof and Algebra Teachers from Low Performing Schools. Drawing on prior work and a pilot study of DNR based instruction. The PI observed that such instruction has brought about positive change in teachers' knowledge of algebra, in their use of justification and proof, in their understanding of how students learn, and in their practices of teaching mathematics. Consequently, the general goal of this proposed research is will, and if so how will, a DNR-based instruction be effective in developing the knowledge base of algebra teachers, particularly with respect to mathematical, cognitive, and instructional aspects of proof schemes? Teachers will be randomly assigned to treatment and in the last year of the study explicit links to student achievement will be estimated. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Harel, Guershon Alfred Manaster University of California-San Diego CA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1489192 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0310171 July 1, 2003 Algebra in Early Mathematics (Final Project - Prelim #6197259). Many policy makers and researchers believe that early algebra has the potential to make mathematics substantially deeper and more challenging for young students while narrowing the performance gap between ethnic groups. The study proposed here grows out of a strand of research investigating algebra development with young minority and low SES students. The goals of this research are to clarify (a) how early algebra relates to issues of long term mathematical learning and development; (b) how thinking about contexts contributes to or hinders mathematical learning; and (c) how critical conventional representational systems such as algebraic-symbolic notation contribute to how students reason mathematically. The work will be supported by a mixed methodology suitable to addressing the questions as posed. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Carraher, David Analucia Schliemann TERC Inc MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1509852 1666 SMET 9177 0310188 June 15, 2003 Studying Situated Learning and Knowledge Transfer in a Multi-user Virtual Environment. (1) classroom-based situated learning and (2) the ways in which virtual environments may aid the transfer of learning from classroom contexts into real world settings. Situated learning, a major theory about cognition and education, centers on apprenticeship in "communities of practice" (moving from newcomer to expert within a sociocultural structure of practices). MUVEs are a promising medium for fostering and assessing classroom-based situated learning because they can support immersive, extended experiences incorporating modeling and mentoring about problems similar to those in real world contexts. This project will extend an educational MUVE developed with prior NSF funding; its curriculum is based on a problem-solving community in which students gain knowledge through co-interpreting data with other participants who have varied levels of skills. This project will study whether such a virtual environment can sufficiently replicate authentic contexts and multi-leveled communities of practice to provide students with classroom experiences in situated learning. In addition, the limited ability of students to apply school-acquired knowledge to real world settings is a longstanding, crucial problem that a controlled study of instructional design for situated learning could help to clarify. "Transfer" is the application of knowledge learned in one situation to another situation and is demonstrated if instruction on a learning task leads to improved performance on a transfer task, typically a real world setting requiring expert performance. MUVEs provide a unique experimental vehicle for studying how situated affordances (supports for particular activities created by relevant properties of the situation) and constraints (regularities that are invariant under the transformation that changes the learning situation into the transfer situation) affect students' capabilities for learning and transfer. Situated learning involves constellations of architectural, social, organizational, and material vectors that shape particular settings. This project will develop and study multiple variants of a learning environment in which these vectors are manipulated, allowing investigation into near and far transfer. The project will develop MUVE-based curricula centered on alternative models of situated or constructivist learning and will assess their differential outcomes for student motivation and learning, as well as interface usability and classroom implementation. The project will implement these alternative curricula in Boston Public School (BPS) classrooms with high proportions of ESL and free-and-reduced-lunch students, matching experimental to control classrooms to determine the relative efficacy of our approach. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Dede, Christopher Harvard University MA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 784244 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0310268 September 1, 2003 Building the Research Infrastructure to Conduct Large-Scale Quantatitive Studies of Education Policy and Practice. This program seeks to build, through the American Educational Research Association, an educational education statistical analysis infrastructure to conduct scientific quantitative studies of education policy and practice. The program awards small grants of $15 to $35 thousand to researchers for field initiated studies and awards fellowships for researchers to reside in federal agencies while conducting statistical studies. The focus of this grant is the building of capacity to conduct analysis of large-scale national and international datasets. The proposal includes activities for funding Federal Agency Fellows, Postdoctoral Fellows, Small Grants, Training, Grants, and Think Tanks for issues of concern to federal agencies. The grants are administered by an active Governing Board composed of 17 prominent researchers from a wide range of fields related to education, science, mathematics, and psychology. SCIENCE RESOURCES STATISTICS RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Levine, Felice American Educational Research Association DC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 2191500 V566 V153 T097 8800 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0310360 July 1, 2003 Linking Assessment to Science Achievement. This two-year investigation on Linking Assessment to Science Achievement (LASA) will be conducted by researchers at University of Washington. The investigators will address cognitive validity of large-scale science test items by developing a working definition of science achievement and applying it to analyze test items. In particular, the LASA project will explore what assessment methods are best suited to measure different aspects of science achievement by attending to the supports (affordances) and constraints embedded in assessment items, comparing students' performance on items, and investigating examinees' cognitive activities when they respond to those items. Classroom observations and the analysis of students' work will also be performed in order to explore the application of the model to classroom-level assessment. The project will include three research components: (1) a logical analysis will examine the assessment items conceptually and then use a coding theme to identify what affordances and constraints each item offers to examinees and accordingly classify the item by the type(s) of knowledge it taps; (2) a cognitive analysis will analyze concurrent and retrospective verbalizations of examinees (varying in proficiency level) while they respond to the assessment items in order to determine whether examinees' inferred cognitive activities and their strategies correspond to the item classifications; and (3) a statistical analysis will examine and compare statistical models of item scores to determine whether items classified as measuring one type of knowledge will cluster together and whether the knowledge factors will be associated with variations in instructional practices. Intellectual Merit: The proposed framework for science achievement draws upon three branches of the literature ((1) research on science curriculum and standards addressing what students should know and be able to do in science, (2) research on cognitive psychology addressing how students learn science, (3) and research on educational measurement addressing how students' science learning should be measured) to fully address the connections between standards, learning and instruction, and assessment. Specifically, the investigators conceptualize science achievement as four interdependent types of knowledge: (1) declarative knowledge, (2) procedural knowledge, (3) schematic knowledge, and (4) strategic knowledge. The investigators assert that, in order to assess science achievement validly, tests varying in their methods for eliciting students' performance regarding different types of knowledge should be examined. Broader Impact: The investigators believe that the proposed project will have significant impact for science assessment in specific, and educational research and practice in general. The knowledge gained from LASA will inform researchers, educators, test publishers, and policymakers about new theoretical and practical approaches to conceptualizing and assessing students' learning in the domain of science. In addition, this proposed work will contribute to studies of human cognition and learning by exploring how test takers use knowledge and strategies to solve problems in the assessment context. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Li, Min University of Washington WA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 287457 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0310420 June 15, 2003 ROLE: Implementation of an American-German Research Network in the Field of Technology-Supported Education. The goal of the proposed work is to redress a need in the educational technology and cognition community for a broad, institutionalized, sustainable research network in support of technology enhanced education. Consequently, the PI is organizing an invitational conference to run in parallel with a similar conference funde by the DGF. The two workshops will begin the process of teaming researchers cross nationally and setting up a collaborative research agenda for technology supported education. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Koedinger, Ken Roy Pea Vincent Aleven Carnegie-Mellon University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 97468 1666 SMET 9177 0310721 September 1, 2003 Making Visible the Science in Science Teaching: Using TIMSS-R Conceptual and Video Tools to Support Teachers' Inquiries of Science Teaching, Content, and Student Learning. The researchers would study a pllan for professional development of elemtary level teachers in science. This study would use the TIMSS-R Science Video public use tapes to create and compare two professional development programs for elementary teachers. The programs focus on developing science content by engaging in long-term collaborative inquires. It would provide a training session for 4th and 5th grade teachers during the summer months in which they would see and discuss lessons videotaped from 8th grade teachers in TIMSS for discussion and learning. The central question in the research study is to discover how teachers "draw from different comunities of knowledge to represent science in their classrooms"? The investigators will examine the role of science community (what is the science?), the education community (what counts as evidence?), and the classroom community (what actually happens) in effective professional development activities for teachers. In particular, the investigators intend to compare two perspectives: a "teacher-guided" that engage teachers in collaborative inquiries of practice around a common set of artifacts and a "framework-guided" approach that assumes that working with common artifacts of practice is insufficient and that teachers need explicit guidance and tools to see the links among the communities. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Roth, Kathleen Catherine Chen Nicole Wickler LessonLab, Inc. CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1738459 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0311835 July 1, 2003 Helping districts respond to new science assessments--A partnership model for integrating technology, professional development and curriculum planning. The project will study how teachers, schools, and districts use evidence to plan their science curriculum in response to new assessments in the context of how state science tests require students to learn topics and design investigations. Partnerships of forms of professional development will be established that produce evidence to guide curriculum customization. The project will include an investigation of how schools incorporate evidence-based planning by contrasting two districts that have incorporated standards-aligned technology-enhanced inquiry projects. The objective is to learn how teachers, schools, and districts plan programs and how they can be transferred to new districts by specifying how teachers add learning technology to their science curriculum. The study will include understanding how technology materials improve student outcomes, whether they offer advantages for students at risk, and whether they improve curriculum materials that impact performance on state science assessments. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Linn, Marcia James Slotta University of California-Berkeley CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1734008 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0313202 August 15, 2003 Adaptive E-Learning for Middle-School Mathematics. This project explores the benefits of adaptation in developing e-learning environments for middle-school mathematics. Two complementary forms of adaptation will be studied - macro and micro. Macroadaptation uses incoming student information to recommend differences in the way in which content is presented - things such as student inductive reasoning capabilities or various physical disabilities are examples of macroadaptation conditions. Microadaptation bases decisions on student behavior during the learning process. The project will look at 8th grade algebra and the study of patterns - arithmetic and geometric sequences. The project will culminate in a controlled trial testing tutor adaptation against no tutor adaptation. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Shute, Valerie Aurora Graf Educational Testing Service NJ John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 399996 1666 SMET 9177 1686 1666 1657 0313990 March 15, 2003 Coupling Theories of Learning and Research on Practice. This is an award for a workshop on "Coupling Theories of Learning and Research on Practice". The workshop will consist of three panels each focusing on a single position paper related to one of three conceptual learning theories for studying learning practices, participation/identity theory as developed in the writings of James Greeno, the dialogic theory of learning as duscussed in the writings of Jim Wertsch, and transactional inquire as described in the writings of Bill Clancey. The work of each panel will be threefold: to summarize a particular framework in such a way as to facilitate comparison, to demonstrate how the framework might be applied to the analysis of interaction within a concrete setting, and finally, to illuminate how the framework might contribute to a larger practice-based proram of research. The broader impact of this research will be in improved instructional practice grounded in strong theory RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Koschmann, Timothy Southern Illinois University School of Medicine IL John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 67487 1666 SMET 9177 0314019 May 15, 2003 Travel to Attend the Tenth International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-10) in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 4-11, 2004. This project will provide travel grants to enable 50 participants to attend the Tenth International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-10) in Copenhagen, Denmark, from July 4-11, 2004. Awardees will include mathematics teachers and supervisors, mathematics teacher educators and researchers. The major objectives of the project are to provide U.S. representatives with the opportunity to acquire knowledge of mathematics education world wide, interact with leading contributors to mathematics education from other countries, establish liaisons and begin to build networks with foreign mathematics educators, bring problems in the U.S. into better focus by learning from the experiences of others, derive insight into new ways to approach and solve U.S. problems in mathematics education, widely disseminate information from the Congress to the U.S. mathematics education community, and to share knowledge of the current and future plans of U.S. mathematics education with foreign colleagues. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Rubillo, James Gail Burrill National Council of Teachers of Mathematics VA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 192322 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0314132 September 15, 2003 The Trail of Time at Grand Canyon: Planning and Implementation. The University of New Mexico, in collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS) and the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP), will plan the "Trail of Time," a signed and scaled walking trail with exhibits that interpret the geologic history of the Grand Canyon. Scaled so that one meter equals one million years of earth history, the "Trail" will engage visitors in learning about deep time and how geologic history is recorded in the rock record. The planning activity will involve defining specific learning goals based on visitor studies and work with the NPS Interpretation Division. The "Trail" will help 5,000,000 annual visitors to the Canyon learn about the scale of geologic time, the local geology of the Canyon and the process of science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Karlstrom, Karl Laura Crossey University of New Mexico NM Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 49984 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0314484 April 15, 2003 CLTNET Online Environment. This five-year project builds a national network with the supporting tools and mechanisms needed to share knowledge, resources and to disseminate findings and expertise to the STEM teacher education community at large. The network provides information on the training, professional development and job opportunities for teacher education researchers and practitioners. This project establishes the protocols for disseminating current research that informs both teaching practice and the ongoing preparation of teachers. It links the CLT projects as well as provides a public presence for the program and a gateway to current research. This project will add a layer of communication and public access to the CLT program. In addition, it solves some logistics and communications problems for the Centers themselves. It is designed in direct response to the needs survey of the CLT PI's; consequently, it provides them with an internal collaboration tool as well as an outreach vehicle for their work. At a programmatic level, CLT-Net provides a public window into the research that is underway and a tool for monitoring the investment in the program. The project will significantly improve the visibility and accessibility of the CLTs to those who use the research and employ the researchers they produce. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Koch, Melissa Patricia Schank SRI International CA Michael Haney Continuing grant 2399370 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0317670 May 15, 2003 SGER: Eye Tracking for the Study of Seeing and Imagining. A central theme of the "Math in Motion project is the relationship between seeing and imaging in mathematics learning; through our work we have become deeply interested in conducting studies based on eye movements. This SGER proposal fulfills an opportunity cost in the sense of taking advantage of an ongoing prjoect that will provide a timely conceptual background and practical need for the proposed work. I t will allow us to conduct interviews with high school students in whichg they will interpret and draw graphs for the motion of an imaginary object. We will analyze the data collected with an eye tracker in conjunctions with the videotaped interview and its transcription. We will examine how thte interviewee's scanpaths change as she tries to see and imagine different aspects of the motion symbolized by the graph. These exploratory studies will illuminate the following research questions of the project included in the Math in Motion proposal: "How does bodily action/perception become part of imagining the mothion and shape of mathematical enitities? In which ways do students' understanding of properties come to mold their bodily action/perception?" As far as we know, the existing studies in mathematics education tracking eye motion have focused on ascertaining how experts and novices pay atteention to different aspect of videotaped episodes or to validate formal models of information processing. Our aim is different and more in the tradition of Yarbus (1967): the conduction of case studies analyzing patterns of indivi8dual canpaths depending on the viewer's questions and what she is trying to imagine. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Nemirovsky, Ricardo TERC Inc MA Finbarr C. Sloane Standard Grant 48535 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0318435 September 1, 2003 The Lion's Mane. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project is derived from work funded by research grant DEB-9903416 entitled "LTREB: Long Term Studies of African Lions." In partnership with the Bell Museum of Natural History, Craig Packer at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities will develop a 500 sq ft traveling exhibition and associated website on the factors that contribute to the successful survival and reproduction of individual lions. Intellectual Merit: This exhibit builds on public interest in lions and the intriguing question of why males have manes to educate visitors about the process of scientific research. Its content is based on seven years of observations and experiments by a leading researcher on the behavioral ecology of lions. The exhibit will include a life-size "model" lion (actually a plush toy made to exact specifications) that was used in the field to test responses by real lions. Broader Impact: In addition to being displayed by the Bell Museum, "The Lion's Mane" exhibit will travel to zoos with lion exhibits and to museums with lion dioramas. By highlighting a female researcher, the exhibit provides an entry point and a role model for girls. This exhibit will benefit from and build upon extensive national publicity received by the Lion Research Project and its lionresearch.org website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Packer, Craig University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 74933 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0318783 September 15, 2003 Jewels of the Jungle. This project will produce "Jewels of the Jungle," an hour-long film for public audiences documenting the discovery of new species of endophytes and the isolation of their medicinal compounds. The film presents an exciting story of scientific discovery that takes the viewer around the world from Montana to Madagascar, in search of new species of plants important for medical research. Compounds isolated from endophytes have proven vital in the treatment of many diseases including cancer, AIDS, malaria, and drug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections. "Jewels of the Jungle" aims to enhance viewers' understanding of bio-chemical research and cultivate a better appreciation of scientific research in general. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Strobel, Gary John Shier Laura Boyd Montana State University MT Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 70137 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0318868 October 1, 2003 In Principle, In Practice: The Second Annapolis Conference on Museum Learning. The Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) requests support to conduct the second conference on museum learning, "In Principle, In Practice," following their successful NSF-funded conference of a decade ago entitled "Public Institutions for Personal Learning: Establishing a Long-term Research Agenda." The goals of the conference and two related publications are to advance shared knowledge within the field about current research concerning learning in and from museums, to promote effective practice, to identify and disseminate research-based best practices for developing evaluation frameworks and to enhance the infrastructure for research and education. The four components of the project include: 1) a special supplement of the journal "Science Education," 2) a two-day national conference, 3) a post-conference white paper on informal science learning, and 4) a post-conference book on research-based understandings of learning from museums. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Falk, John Lynn Dierking Kirsten Ellenbogen Institute for Learning Innovation Incorporated MD David A. Ucko Standard Grant 176848 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322214 August 1, 2003 The Research Ambassador Program: Empowering Scientists to Communicate Research to Public Audiences. This project will develop a "Research Ambassador" program whereby a small cadre of scientists will be trained to communicate rain forest canopy ecology to underserved public audiences in the northwest U. S. and elsewhere. A set of collaborating academic researchers and informal science educators will draw from successful dissemination experiences in the field of forest canopy studies. An interdisciplinary research/education team will recruit six "research ambassadors" and provide tools to help them effectively speak and write directly to the public. The team and the ambassadors will create dissemination materials for each ambassador, and contribute to a canopy research website for public audiences. In addition to communicating research to public audiences, this project will provide innovative connections between science and society that can present pragmatic solutions to problems of scientific communication to the public. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Nadkarni, Nalini Evergreen State College WA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 74955 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322262 May 1, 2003 Planning for STEM Education Reform in the Greater Mohawk Valley. This is a two-year planning project that will support planning activities to provide a basis for further STEM education reform in the Greater Mohawk Valley of New York. These include different workshops for school administrators and teachers preparing them to support student research and venues for students to present the results of their research. Perhaps even more importantly it will provide an alternative path for assessment of districts' STEM educational goals. The 25 years of Utica College's support and programming of student research activities will provide a rich background for assessment of the effectiveness of student learning in science, mathematics and technology through such activities. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Aaronson, Lawrence Utica College NY Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 60245 7300 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322566 September 1, 2003 Eyes in the Sky: Applied Information Technology Project. This project creates a comprehensive program for students and teachers designed to prepare underserved minority teachers in the southwestern United States to facilitate student use of Geographical Information Technology (GIT) for research within existing STEM courses. "Eyes in the Sky" is a five-stage program that supplies this preparation by engaging high school teachers in 136 hours of professional development over 18 months. These teachers work with 120 students attending 20-hour summer workshops, providing IT training for students and experience for teachers with integrating IT into the classroom. The program provides effective, appropriate training for teachers enabling them to implement authentic research using expertise and resources from business, industry and government agencies. ITEST DRL EHR Dahlman, LuAnn Jeffrey Lockwood Carla McAuliffe TERC Inc MA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1088212 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322573 September 1, 2003 New Mexico Adventures in Modeling: Integrating IT into the Curriculum through Computer Modeling Approaches. This project will train New Mexico science, mathematics and technology teachers at the secondary level (grades 6-12) to integrate IT concepts and computer modeling, especially of complex adaptive systems, into their curricula using StarLogo simulation software, participatory simulations using handheld computers and related computer technologies. Students and teachers will analyze and explore (and later design and build) models of complex adaptive systems using a computer programming environment (StarLogo), and accompanying curriculum (Adventures in Modeling) specifically built for and tested in middle and secondary schools. Students will learn 1) design and presentation of information as they develop computer simulations that must convey certain principles; 2) system design and analysis, as they design and conduct experiments using their simulated systems; 3) data analysis tools and techniques as they collect data from their experiments and analyze it using spreadsheets, graphing tools and statistics, and; 4) computer modeling and simulation techniques that have broad applicability across many scientific and technological domains. The existing StarLogo community will be an immediate national audience for the revised free software resulting from this project. ITEST DRL EHR Klopfer, Eric Ellen Goldberg Santa Fe Institute NM Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1005881 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322665 August 15, 2003 Design IT Studio. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History promotes fluency in information technology through self-directed design experiences for 160 urban minority and underserved students in middle school. Each student is engaged in at least 180 hours of creative skill building experiences with information technologies in a wide range of scientific contexts. As part of the project, four design studios are installed--one at the museum, two at Boys and Girls Clubs and one at the Applied Learning Academy, a magnet middle school. Each of these organizations will recruit their own students. A blueprint for design, IT studios and a one-year basic skills curriculum are developed, evaluated and disseminated as part of the effort. Engineers from area industries participate in a one-week workshop to learn how to serve as mentors. Parents are engaged in special activities to support the youth. ITEST DRL EHR Dean, Samuel Kit Goolsby Kevin Foster Joyce Baker Fort Worth Museum of Science and History TX Michael Haney Standard Grant 891243 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322847 September 1, 2003 Delta Agriculture Middle School Applied Life Science (DAMSALS 2). This is a 3-year Information Technology (IT) project, "DAMSALS," to provide 140 contact hours of professional development for 72 science, technology and mathematics teachers who in turn will provide 30 hours of staff supported IT instruction for 180 students. The project uses the integrated science approach of past professional development efforts to deliver agriculture-related concepts. Participants use GPS devices and graphing calculators with CBLs to collect data. On-site visits, compressed video meetings and Blackboard discussions support implementation during the academic year. Participants include students and teachers in grades 7-12 from rural schools in the Mississippi River Delta of northeast Louisiana. ITEST DRL EHR Eaton, Virginia Camille Michael Natalie Campbell The University of Louisiana at Monroe LA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1182749 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322934 September 1, 2003 DAPCEP Engineering and Information Technology Education Project. The Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) is a request for a Youth-Based project to engage students in activities that will increase their access to information technology within the context of engineering and increase their opportunities to explore related college and career paths. The students use information technology to solve engineering problems. The focus of the project is on promoting fluency with information technology concepts and skills within the context of engineering. The project targets 120 African American and Latino students and 180 parents in a series of planned courses for 7th and 9th grades in automotive engineering. Students will receive 136 contact hours per year while parents receive 18 contact hours per year. DAPCEP is a three-year initiative to implement a two-year curriculum, with the third year of NSF support being used to support year one of the two-year curriculum for a new cycle. Students participate in the program for two years, 3 hours each Satruday for 6 weeks and for 4 weeks during the summer. Students will have the opportunity to stay on the University of Detroit campus for one of the two years of the project. The project has four major components: recruitment strategies, student courses, parent/guardian workshops and information dissemination. ITEST DRL EHR Tucker, Margaret Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program Inc MI Julia Clark Standard Grant 896333 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322958 February 1, 2004 Place-based Geospatial Learning and Applications in Rural Alaska. This collaborative research project entitled "Place-based Geospatial Science Learning and Applications in Rural Alaska" is a youth-based ITEST program addressing math, science and cultural content areas. With the support of ten partner organizations, program participants engage in the application of marketable geospatial information technology (IT) fluencies situated in culturally relevant contexts, resulting in more informed decision-making regarding the sustainable use of natural resources in rural Alaskan communities. In regions characterized by high dropout rates, poor standardized test scores and struggling cash economies, 160 secondary students -- mostly Native Alaskans -- and 16 teachers work closely with scientists for a total of 19,200 and 1,920 contact hours, respectively. By project's end 3,319 students -- including 2,025 Native Alaskans and 243 teachers -- will have access to locally and culturally relevant IT curriculum facilitated by web-served imagery, geographic information systems (GIS) data and field kits available for loan. The program integrates geospatial IT and local traditional knowledge of landscape features into cartography, geomorphology, topographic and geologic map interpretation, remotely sensed data interpretation and GIS during a capstone field experience emphasizing landscape evaluation. The project incorporates the expertise of teachers, education researchers, remote sensing specialists, geoscience professionals, Native Elders and others with traditions-based knowledge into innovative pedagogical approaches meeting the needs of rural Alaskan communities. Analyses of these approaches and practices by researchers will provide new models for enhancing learning in meaningful contexts. ITEST DRL EHR Stevens, DeAnne Patricia Burns Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys AK Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 335631 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0322980 February 1, 2004 Place-based Geospatial Science Learning and Applications in Rural Alaska. This collaborative research project entitled "Place-based Geospatial Science Learning and Applications in Rural Alaska" is a youth-based ITEST Program addressing math, science and cultural content areas. With the support of ten partner organizations, program participants engage in the application of marketable geospatial information technology (IT) fluencies situated in culturally relevant contexts, resulting in more informed decision-making regarding the sustainable use of natural resources in rural Alaskan communities. In regions characterized by high dropout rates, poor standardized test scores and struggling cash economies, 160 secondary students -- mostly Native Alaskans -- and 16 teachers work closely with scientists for a total of 19,200 and 1,920 contact hours, respectively. By the project's end 3,319 students -- including 2,025 Native Alaskans and 243 teachers -- will have access to locally and culturally relevant IT curriculum facilitated by web-served imagery, geographic information systems (GIS) data and field kits available for loan. The program integrates geospatial IT and local traditional knowledge of landscape features into standards-based curriculum. Students synthesize concepts from Native American cartography, geomorphology, topographic and geologic map interpretation, remotely sensed data interpretation and GIS during a capstone field experience emphasizing landscape evaluation. The project incorporates the expertise of teachers, education researchers, remote sensing specialists, geoscience professionals, Native Elders and others with traditions-based knowledge into innovative pedagogical approaches meeting the needs of rural Alaskan communities. Analyses of these approaches and practices by researchers will provide new models for enhancing learning in meaningful contexts. ITEST DRL EHR Olsen, Timothy Thomas Lillesand Samuel Batzli University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 409999 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0323036 October 1, 2003 IMMEX Fayette Consortium: Community Integrated Problem Solving. This project is designed to position students competitively for multiple career paths, including information technology and engineering. IMMEX problem solving engages students in scientific inquiry where students frame problems from a descriptive scenario, distinguish relevant from irrelevant information, plan a search strategy, gather information, and reach a decision that demonstrates understanding. These simulations integrate standards-based curricular content and technological issues commonly encountered in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The "IMMEX-Fayette Consortium" is a comprehensive project for students and teachers providing students in grades 7-12 a solid foundation in science and mathematics. This is a community-integrated model in which teams of teachers, students, business partners and higher education faculty construct interactive, problem-solving simulations. Summer technology institutes for teachers and students are followed by integration of technology and IMMEX problem solving during the school year. Business partners conduct presentations to provide students with real-world applications of science and mathematics. To foster continued involvement in STEM-related careers, a student fellowship program is an integral part of the program in grades 12-14. Students interested in technology careers and who demonstrate proficiency in problem solving get to explore their interests further through internships with business partners during their senior years and first two years of college. ITEST DRL EHR Drake, Gregory Fayette County Public Schools KY Karen F. Zuga Standard Grant 1120009 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0323098 October 1, 2003 The ITEST Resource Center. This project will create the Learning Center to assist ITEST projects, both Youth and Comprehensive, in achieving their goals. It provides help in implementing best practices and building on achievements to produce knowledge that can be shared among projects and with the broader community. The center offers each ITEST project support with planning, implementing and evaluating. It models sophisticated IT practices, provides technical assistance, engages grantees in action research, increases opportunities, and disseminates research and models through networks in both the formal and informal communities. The project goals are as follows: 1. To provide technical assistance opportunities and leverage lessons learned into knowledge. This includes selecting four topics each year for online dialog with experts. It includes efforts to address the special needs of women, minorities, and underrepresented populations. 2. To tighten the research/practice cycle and promote data-based decision making. This includes studying the effects of IT exposure and training in different environments and at different points in its life span. 3. To create a national presence for ITEST as a primary source for information on IT in STEM. This includes outreach to more than 10,000 practitioners. 4. To build grantee capacity to use technology as a tool for learning and working and to lead others. This includes web-based resources, collaboration, data sets and other expertise. PROGRAM EVALUATION ITEST DRL EHR Malyn-Smith, Joyce Sarita Nair-Pillai Anthony Streit Education Development Center MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 5836227 7261 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0323127 September 1, 2003 Ocean Explorers: GIS, IPA, and Ocean Science for IT Literacy and Skills. This project will provide 60 middle and high school teachers from the greater Los Angeles area with training in information technology and applications related to the study of ocean habitats. The Center for Image Processing in Education, in collaboration with the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the Environmental Systems Research Institute, will work with the teachers and 200 of their students over a period of three years to develop and pilot information technology-based curriculum units based upon ocean study. The target population of teachers and students will be drawn from populations currently underrepresented in the technology workplace. The project leadership, consisting of scientists, educators and technology specialists, will instruct the teachers in Geographic Imaging Systems and Image Processing Applications during 8-days of school year workshops and a 7-day summer field experience at a Santa Cruz Island research facility. Staff and teachers will work together designing the curriculum units, which will be piloted during a 4-day field experience with local students. These units, following field tests and revisions, will be disseminated nationally through fee-based workshops. ITEST DRL EHR Moore, Steven Center for Image Processing in Education AZ David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1176250 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0323155 September 1, 2003 MyBEST: Mentored Youth Building Employable Skills in Technology. The "Mentored Youth Building Employable Skills in Technology (MyBEST)" project, a collaboration of the Youth Science Center (YSC) and Learning Technology Center (LTC) at the Science Museum of Minnesota, is a three-year, youth-based proposal that seeks to engage 200 inner-city youngsters in learning experiences involving information and design technologies. The goal of the project is to develop participants' IT fluency coupled with work- and academic-related skills. The program will serve students in grades 7 through 12 with special emphasis on three underrepresented groups: girls, youngsters of color, and the economically disadvantaged. Project participants will receive 130 contact hours and 70% will receive at least 160 hours. Each project year, including summers, students participate in three seasons consisting of five two-week cycles. Project activities will center on an annual technology theme: design, engineering and invention; social and environmental systems; and networks and communication. The activities that constitute project seasons include guest presenter workshops; open labs facilitated by guest presenters, mentors and adult staff; presentations of student projects; career workshops and field trips. The project cycles feature programming (e.g., Logo computer language; Cricketalk), engineering and multi-media production (e.g., digital video; non-linear editing software). Each cycle will interface with an existing museum-related program (e.g., the NSF-funded traveling Cyborg exhibit). Mentors will work alongside participants in all technology-based activities. These mentors will be recruited from university, business, community partners and participant families. Leadership development is addressed through teamwork and in the form of internships and externships. Participants obtain work experience related to technology in the internship and externship component. The "MyBEST" project will serve as a prototype for the Museum to test the introduction of technology as central to the design and learning outcomes of its youth-based programs. An advisory board reflecting expertise in youth development, technology and informal science education will guide the program's development and plans for sustainability. Core elements of the "MyBEST" program will be integrated into the Museum's youth-based projects sponsored by the YSC and LTC departments. The Museum has a strong record of integrating prototype initiatives into long-standing programs. ITEST DRL EHR Braafladt, Keith Kristen Murray Science Museum of Minnesota MN Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 847819 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0323170 September 1, 2003 Salmon Camp Research Team: A Native American Technology, Research and Science Career Exposure Program. The "Salmon Research Team: A Native American Technology, Research and Science Career Exposure Program" is a three-year, youth-based ITEST project submitted by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The project seeks to provide advanced information technology and natural science career exposure and training to 180 middle level and high school students. Mostly first-generation college-bound students, the target audience represents the Native American community and those with Native American affiliations in reservation, rural and urban areas. Students will investigate computer modeling of complex ecological, hydrological and geological problems associated with salmon recovery efforts. Field experiences will be provided in three states: Oregon, Washington and northern California. The participation of elders and tribal researchers will serve as a bridge between advanced scientific technology and traditional ecological knowledge to explore sustainable land management strategies. Students will work closely with Native American and other scientists and resource managers throughout the Northwest who use advanced technologies in salmon recovery efforts. Student participation in IT-dependent science enrichment and research activities involving natural science fields of investigation will occur year round. Middle school students are expected to receive at least 330 contact hours including a one-week summer research experience, a one-week spring break program, and seven weekends of residential programs during the school year. The high school component consists of 460 contact hours reflecting one additional week for the summer research experience. In addition to watershed and salmon recovery related research, students will be involved in other ancillary research projects. A vast array of partners are positioned to support the field research experience including, for example, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Redwood National State Park, College of Natural Resources and Sciences at Humboldt State University, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, University of Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Washington Columbia Basin Research project, the Northwest Center for Sustainable Resources at Chemeketa Community College and the Integrated Natural Resource Technology program at Mt. Hood Community College. The project is intended to serve as a model for IT-based youth science programs that address national and state education standards and are relevant to the cultural experience of Native American students. Two mentors will provide continued support to students: an academic mentor at the student's schools and a professional mentor from a local university or natural resource agency. Incentives will be provided for student participation including stipends and internships. Career exposure and work-related skills are integrated throughout the project activities and every program component. Creative strategies are used to encourage family involvement including, for example, salmon bakes and museum discounts. ITEST DRL EHR Southworth-Neumeyer, Travis Daniel Calvert Oregon Museum of Science and Industry OR Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 728561 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0323175 September 1, 2003 Inquiry-based Marine Biotechnology and Bioinformatics for Teachers and Students. The goals of this information technology (IT) project include familiarizing students and teachers with use of the technology resources, developing standards-based STM curriculum materials that incorporate these resources, preparing teachers to use the curriculum and exposing students to technology-related career options. This project will introduce teachers and students from the Monterey Bay area of California to information technology skills through research experiences at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Working with marine biologists from laboratory's research staff, 30 participating middle and high school teachers will participate in 2.5-week biotechnology research investigations and learn how the technology is used to analyze data and answer scientific questions. Teachers will be supported with follow-up meetings and classroom visits during the school year. During the three-year project technology-based instructional units that include DNA isolation and sequencing, biodiversity studies and environmental policy will be developed, field-tested and prepared for national dissemination through an interactive website. The technology resources needed to support these units will be available to participating teachers, exposing over 5,000 local students, many from currently underserved populations, to relevant experiences with information technology. ITEST ENVIRONMENTAL GENOMICS DRL EHR Bartl, Simona Henrik Kibak San Jose State University Foundation CA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 378661 7227 1693 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0323178 September 1, 2003 Environmental Science Information Technology Activities. The "Environmental Science Information Technology Activities (ESITA)" based at the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) at UC-Berkeley is a three-year, youth-based proposal that seeks to engage 144 inner-city ninth and tenth graders in learning experiences involving environmental science and information technology. The goal of the project is to develop, field-test, and disseminate an effective student-centered, project-based model for increasing understanding and interest in information technology. Program components included an afterschool program, summer enrichment and an internship program. An extensive partnership involving community based agencies, environmental science organizations, a local high school and industry support the project by serving as host sites for the afterschool program and internship component. Student participation in project-based, IT-dependent research activities related to environmental science will occur year round. Students will research air and water quality in their local communities and study attitudes toward -- and use of -- information technology among their peers. The focus of the research activities is based on the results of a students-needs assessment. Students participate in the program over a two-year period and are expected to receive at least 240 total contact hours. The afterschool program serves as the project's principal mechanism for content delivery. The five-month afterschool program consists of inquiry-based mini-courses on the following topics: Information Technology tools and concepts, earth and physical science, data compilation and modeling, and publication of research results. The summer enrichment component encompasses a series of workshops at LHS; excursions to IT-related exhibits, environmental facilities, and IT-based companies; and an annual student robotics fair. During the second year of program participation students will complete 12-month internships to support the application of concepts and skills learned the first year. The LHS Student Geoscience Research Opportunities program will serve as a model host site for the program. Stipends are provided throughout the program to encourage student participation and retention. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Cuff, Kevin Marco Molinaro University of California-Berkeley CA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 975575 7259 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0323191 February 1, 2004 Place-based Geospatial Science Learning and Applications in Rural Alaska. This collaborative research project entitled "Place-based Geospatial Science Learning and Applications in Rural Alaska" is a youth-Based ITEST Program addressing math, science and cultural content areas. With the support of ten partner organizations, program participants engage in the application of marketable geospatial information technology (IT) fluencies situated in culturally relevant contexts, resulting in more informed decision-making regarding the sustainable use of natural resources in rural Alaskan communities. In regions characterized by high dropout rates, poor standardized test scores, and struggling cash economies, 160 secondary students -- mostly Native Alaskans -- and 16 teachers work closely with scientists for a total of 19,200 and 1,920 contact hours, respectively. By project's end 3,319 students -- including 2,025 Native Alaskans and 243 teachers -- will have access to locally and culturally relevant IT curriculum facilitated by web-served imagery, geographic information systems (GIS) data and field kits available for loan. The program integrates geospatial IT and local traditional knowledge of landscape features into standards-based curriculum. Students synthesize concepts from Native American cartography, geomorphology, topographic and geologic map interpretation, remotely sensed data interpretation and GIS during a capstone field experience emphasizing landscape evaluation. The project incorporates the expertise of teachers, education researchers, remote sensing specialists, geoscience professionals, Native Elders and others with traditions-based knowledge into innovative pedagogical approaches meeting the needs of rural Alaskan communities. Analyses of these approaches and practices by researchers will provide new models for enhancing learning in meaningful contexts. ITEST DRL EHR Stephens, Sidney University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus AK Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 162100 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0324685 August 1, 2003 Yup'ik Science and Survival: Old Tools, New Knowledge -- A Planning Grant. The Anchorage Museum Association, in collaboration and partnership with the Yup'ik Calista Elders Council, will work in one year to plan exhibits, educational programs and a web site for a traveling exhibition of 19th century Yup'ik technology. The exhibit will combine masterworks from the Berlin Ethnographic Museum with Yup'ik technology from the Smithsonian Institution and present them in ways that will allow Native and non-Native visitors to gain new under-standings of Yup'ik technology from the Yup'ik point of view. The planning process will bring together with Yup'ik elders, scientists and museum professionals for a series of planning meetings, demonstrations of Yup'ik technology and workshops on raw materials and traditional manufacturing techniques, culminating in a exhibit development workshop integrating front-end evaluation, learning goals and design parameters, and formative evaluation planning. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fienup-Riordan, Ann Anchorage Museum Association AK Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 49980 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0325447 September 1, 2003 Catalyzing & Nurturing Online Workgroups to Power Virtual Learning Communities. The Math Forum website (www.mathforum.org) combines educational activities, a digital library of resources, automated and manual mentoring, discussion forums and other mathematics-related services for students, teachers and the public. As an intellectual haven for about a million people, it demonstrates how the Internet can host large global learning communities. However, learning here has been primarily oriented toward individual learning. In this project the Math Forum now aims to bring together some of its visitors with similar interests to work on common issues: students exploring a math issue together, teachers developing curriculum, or technologists and educators designing interactive math applets and support tools. Collaborative learning in small workgroups can be particularly effective in motivating interest in math and in building and communicating deep understanding. A proliferation of small groups will heighten the sense of a vital community and increase its ability to become self-sustaining and vigorous. The groups will help people increase their community participation and their interest in mathematics. The Project will investigate these questions and related issues through a series of pilot studies, controlled experiments, prototypes and field studies using group-formation and group-scaffolding software that is designed, implemented and assessed in collaboration with an international, multidisciplinary group of leading HCI, CSCW and CSCL researchers. In particular, three different kinds of groups will be formed and supported: (a) groups of students who visit the site and work on a collaborative problem of the month, (b) groups of teachers, student teachers and mentors who develop new problems and curricular approaches, and (c) multidisciplinary groups of international researchers and developers who design and assess the technologies and interventions of the Project. An unfulfilled promise of the Internet is to bring together systematically people who do not live close by, but who could benefit from interacting within knowledge-rich contexts. This Project addresses core issues of computer support for collaborative learning (CSCL): how best to form and structure intimate learning workgroups within global knowledge-building communities and how to effectively scaffold their interactions. The Math Forum model has substantial broader impact. The automated formation of small groups and support for interactions developing deep understanding of mathematics will be suggestive for virtual learning communities in other domains, taking advantage of other digital libraries. This model provides opportunities for students and teachers excluded from collaborative learning due to geographic isolation, disadvantaged schools, physical disability, discrimination and other physical or social factors. The model stimulates both student motivation and teacher development, transforming interest in mathematics from a social stigma into a bridge to global friendships. Additionally, the Project builds on the PI's prior work on a EU grant. Core aspects of the Project including technology design, pedagogy and assessment will be conducted by workgroups of American and European leaders of the CSCL community in collaboration with Project staff. Annual week-long intensive workshops will bring these collaborators together with each other and with teachers and Project staff. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Stahl, Gerry Stephen Weimar Wesley Shumar Drexel University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 2299978 7180 SMET 9177 1687 1657 0116000 Human Subjects 0325872 September 1, 2003 IERI: Tools for mathematics communication in education. This project will develop software to support the high-volume mathematical communication of MathForum, an internet-based learning community headquartered at Drexel University. MathForum involves thousands of middle school and high school students from across the nation and hundreds of teachers and volunteers. All of them spend much of their time communicating mathematical content without any support from specialized tools: the learning curve of even the best existing tools being too steep for widespread adoption. This situation not only impacts the appearance and clarity of the communication; it also isolates the community from state-of-the-art computer algebra tools and makes it unsuitable for the next generation of communication devices. Moreover, it prevents sophisticated reuse of archived materials because there is no structure that can be used as a basis for search other than character strings. This project will remedy the situation by developing tools that support the creation of mathematical content, improve the retrieval of existing material, provide a link to computer algebra systems, and prepare MathForum for the introduction of new communication technologies. The development of the tools will be coordinated with MathForum, and continuous user assessment will be done to ensure that the tools produced will be useful to the target audience. These communication goals are achieved by making our human-computer interface exploit domain-specific information and context, and by allowing it to draw on data derived from MathForum's extensive archive of past interactions. By linking tutorial information with the capabilities of a computer algebra system the system will allow the inclusion of example generators, interactive exploration for studying multiple instances of a problem, and graphics and equation manipulation for illustration and enhanced understanding. Finally, ways to make smart phones, wireless PDAs and other convergence devices useful for mathematics communication are investigated. The extent to which various devices can support mathematical communication will be determined and ways of optimizing this support will be sought. The MathForum is a highly visible and successful web-based service for the mathematics education community, receiving approximately 1.7 million visits per month. A key portion of this service is "Ask Dr. Math", which receives and answers thousands of questions a month via email. The answers are provided by a volunteer team of "math doctors", and become part of an archive of over 450,000 Q&A items. The nature of mathematical communication within the context of "Ask Dr. Math" will be investigated tools built in support of such communication. The mathematical communication tools developed for the MathForum community will have more general applicability to the large community of technical educators, and to anyone engaged in learning or training activities involving mathematics. Another important class of users would be the distributed communities of researchers using the Internet to support their collaboration. We regard software supporting such functionality as being an important component of the national cyberinfrastructure for scientific/engineering research and education. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Krandick, Werner Bruce Char Jeremy Johnson Thomas Hewett Stephen Weimar Drexel University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1030694 T200 7180 SMET 9177 1687 1657 0116000 Human Subjects 0326153 September 15, 2003 IERI: Integrating Speech and User Modeling in a Reading Tutor that Listens. How can interactive systems model their users better by listening to them? Conversely, how can systems listen better by exploiting user models? We propose to investigate these questions in the context of a inter-disciplinary challenge problem: developing a computational student model of children's oral reading -- that is, a model of individual student knowledge, behavior, and learning that can guide a tutor. This work will integrate and extend methods from speech technology, cognitive psychology, user modeling, and intelligent tutors. The proposed work will draw on, contribute to, and test and refine the scalability of an innovative, technology-enabled intervention and unique research platform developed with previous NSF support: an automated Reading Tutor that displays stories on a computer screen, uses a speech recognizer to listen to children read aloud, responds with spoken and graphical assistance, and helps them learn to read. Its ability to listen enables novel continuous assessments of students' reading progress. As of 2003, the Reading Tutor was used daily by hundreds of children on 216 computers in nine schools. The proposed work will use speech and other valuable data captured by the Reading Tutor. Children who use the Reading Tutor have improved significantly more in reading comprehension and other skills than statistically matched controls. However, its current effectiveness is limited by inability to accurately hear and model the student. The challenge is to analyze children's oral reading and estimate various component literacy skills at a sufficiently fine grain size to guide the decisions of an intelligent tutor, so as to adapt to students' individual or collective educational needs. The challenge of developing a student model of oral reading will provide a problem-driven basis for guiding the work and quantifying its success. Incorporating successively better models in the Reading Tutor will both test their accuracy and put them to immediate use in improved literacy tutoring. Controlled studies will investigate how much successive versions of the Reading Tutor increase learning gains for different types of students. Automated experiments embedded in the Reading Tutor will help analyze which tutorial actions help in which cases. The proposed research combines broad technical and direct societal impact. Expected technical contributions of this work include advances in speech recognition (especially for young and disfluent speakers), user modeling, intelligent tutoring, and automated assessment of comprehension and other literacy skills. Broader impacts include improved literacy for thousands of children who use the Reading Tutor during the study, and many more thereafter. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Mostow, David Albert Corbett Joseph Beck Mosur Ravishankar Carnegie-Mellon University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 6042230 7180 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1687 1657 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0326214 September 1, 2003 IERI Collaborative Research: Automating Early Assesment of Academic Standards for Very Young Native and Non-Native Speakers of American English. To help meet the increasing demand for high quality, efficient and accurate diagnostic assessments of children's academic skills, a new paradigm for automatic assessments is proposed. The project aims to advance the state of the art in speech processing, wireless communications, data mining, and human-computer interface (HCI) design so that effective child-friendly conversational interfaces can be designed and developed. These technologies will be researched in the framework of early learning and integrated with a progressive understanding of the components of academic performance to develop a literacy assessment system and explore the use of analogous assessment in math. The impact of the proposed approach will be studied with native speakers of American English (AE) and non-native AE speakers of Mexican-Spanish background in a longitudinal fashion starting from pre-K, and in partnership with the Los Angeles and Long Beach Unified School Districts, and UCLA's University Elementary School. These schools have a highly diverse economic and ethnic student body with more than half of the population being Hispanic. The project will analyze children's speech as they grow; develop speech recognition (ASR) algorithms for automating assessments that measure essential emerging literacy and some math skills; create a query-based, longitudinal database for each student; derive instructional guidance from the analysis of an ongoing professional development program for teachers of native and non-native speakers; and develop a nomadic interface among different computers and a central database. No feedback or tutoring will occur. Instead, teachers will use the results to make more timely and appropriate decisions about curriculum and instructional interventions. Technical Impact: The project will address several fundamental research issues: (a) acoustic modeling: documenting and accounting for inter- and intra-speaker variability cross-sectionally and longitudinally; (b) pronunciation modeling and speaker adaptation techniques that are scalable to children who are 4-8 years old and who are native and non-native English speakers; (c) child-specific language modeling: syntax, non-lexical events, and discourse phenomena; limited-domain natural-language processing (comprehension); (d) novel noise-robust and distributed ASR algorithms; (e) HCI: age-appropriate ways of displaying information and eliciting responses; (f) data mining: mining sequential patterns to discover trends over time, and user-specified associations; and (g) pedagogic issues: investigate early emerging literacy measures for native and non-native speakers, and discover reliable predictors of short- and long-term literacy success. Innovative aspects of the proposed approach include: a focus on literacy assessment that considers not only word recognition, but also phonetic and phonological awareness, comprehension and fluency; an exploratory study of automating math assessment tasks; a longitudinal and cross-sectional acoustic modeling study of very young native and non-native English speakers; extensive and longitudinal validation of the system, children's performance, and teachers' practices; correlating literacy measures to later reading performance; and pioneering research efforts involving system deployment in wired and wireless environments. Educational Impact: The project will foster interdisciplinary activities at: the U. of California, Los Angeles (Electrical Engineering [EE], Computer Science, and Education), U. of Southern California (EE, Linguistics, and Neuroscience), and U. of California, Berkeley (Education), in partnership with local elementary schools. Several renowned experts, including international experts from Mexico and Sweden, from academia and industry will act as advisory board members and consultants. Team members have a track record of working together, and the project will serve as a vehicle to train students, postdocs, and school teachers in novel cross-disciplinary research areas of technological and educational significance. Broader Impact: The proposed project will have a profound impact on relieving much of the burden of testing from teachers (allowing them to focus more on what they do best), automated testing for very young children (allowing a greater leverage point for potential intervention), and inclusion of an increasingly diverse population (enabling unbiased assessment and furthering the goal of universal access). National educational priorities are emphasizing testing to a greater extent than ever before, but increased testing leads to less time for teaching. The proposed system can reduce the test burden and increase the frequency of high-quality, intuitively consumable information about students so that individuals, programs, and schools can evolve more quickly by understanding which methods are working best for which children. Educational policy is also pushing downward to earlier ages to begin formal literacy instruction. This system will provide a useful aid to learn how to help young children succeed and to monitor their progress. The rapid expansion of student groups, reflecting diverse, non-native speakers of English, presents a challenge for fair assessment. The system helps ensure unbiased assessment of competence in a timely and useful way. It is expected that the project will have a profound impact on improving assessment and instructional material in the classroom. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Alwan, Abeer Eva Baker University of California-Los Angeles CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 2338000 7180 SMET 9177 7218 1687 1657 115E 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0326228 September 1, 2003 IERI: Collaborative Research: Automating Early Assessment of Academic Standards for Very Young Native and Non-Native Speakers of American English. To help meet the increasing demand for high quality, efficient and accurate diagnostic assessments of children's academic skills, a new paradigm for automatic assessments is proposed. The project aims to advance the state of the art in speech processing, wireless communications, data mining, and human-computer interface (HCI) design so that effective child-friendly conversational interfaces can be designed and developed. These technologies will be researched in the framework of early learning and integrated with a progressive understanding of the components of academic performance to develop a literacy assessment system and explore the use of analogous assessment in math. The impact of the proposed approach will be studied with native speakers of American English (AE) and non-native AE speakers of Mexican-Spanish background in a longitudinal fashion starting from pre-K, and in partnership with the Los Angeles and Long Beach Unified School Districts, and UCLA's University Elementary School. These schools have a highly diverse economic and ethnic student body with more than half of the population being Hispanic. The project will analyze children's speech as they grow; develop speech recognition (ASR) algorithms for automating assessments that measure essential emerging literacy and some math skills; create a query-based, longitudinal database for each student; derive instructional guidance from the analysis of an ongoing professional development program for teachers of native and non-native speakers; and develop a nomadic interface among different computers and a central database. No feedback or tutoring will occur. Instead, teachers will use the results to make more timely and appropriate decisions about curriculum and instructional interventions. Technical Impact: The project will address several fundamental research issues: (a) acoustic modeling: documenting and accounting for inter- and intra-speaker variability cross-sectionally and longitudinally; (b) pronunciation modeling and speaker adaptation techniques that are scalable to children who are 4-8 years old and who are native and non-native English speakers; (c) child-specific language modeling: syntax, non-lexical events, and discourse phenomena; limited-domain natural-language processing (comprehension); (d) novel noise-robust and distributed ASR algorithms; (e) HCI: age-appropriate ways of displaying information and eliciting responses; (f) data mining: mining sequential patterns to discover trends over time, and user-specified associations; and (g) pedagogic issues: investigate early emerging literacy measures for native and non-native speakers, and discover reliable predictors of short- and long-term literacy success. Innovative aspects of the proposed approach include: a focus on literacy assessment that considers not only word recognition, but also phonetic and phonological awareness, comprehension and fluency; an exploratory study of automating math assessment tasks; a longitudinal and cross-sectional acoustic modeling study of very young native and non-native English speakers; extensive and longitudinal validation of the system, children's performance, and teachers' practices; correlating literacy measures to later reading performance; and pioneering research efforts involving system deployment in wired and wireless environments. Educational Impact: The project will foster interdisciplinary activities at: the U. of California, Los Angeles (Electrical Engineering [EE], Computer Science, and Education), U. of Southern California (EE, Linguistics, and Neuroscience), and U. of California, Berkeley (Education), in partnership with local elementary schools. Several renowned experts, including international experts from Mexico and Sweden, from academia and industry will act as advisory board members and consultants. Team members have a track record of working together, and the project will serve as a vehicle to train students, postdocs, and school teachers in novel cross-disciplinary research areas of technological and educational significance. Broader Impact: The proposed project will have a profound impact on relieving much of the burden of testing from teachers (allowing them to focus more on what they do best), automated testing for very young children (allowing a greater leverage point for potential intervention), and inclusion of an increasingly diverse population (enabling unbiased assessment and furthering the goal of universal access). National educational priorities are emphasizing testing to a greater extent than ever before, but increased testing leads to less time for teaching. The proposed system can reduce the test burden and increase the frequency of high-quality, intuitively consumable information about students so that individuals, programs, and schools can evolve more quickly by understanding which methods are working best for which children. Educational policy is also pushing downward to earlier ages to begin formal literacy instruction. This system will provide a useful aid to learn how to help young children succeed and to monitor their progress. The rapid expansion of student groups, reflecting diverse, non-native speakers of English, presents a challenge for fair assessment. The system helps ensure unbiased assessment of competence in a timely and useful way. It is expected that the project will have a profound impact on improving assessment and instructional material in the classroom. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Narayanan, Shrikanth University of Southern California CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 600000 7180 SMET 9177 1687 1657 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0326246 September 1, 2003 IERI: Collaborative Research: Automating Early Assessment of Academic Standards for Very Young Native and Non-Native Speakers of American English. To help meet the increasing demand for high quality, efficient and accurate diagnostic assessments of children's academic skills, a new paradigm for automatic assessments is proposed. The project aims to advance the state of the art in speech processing, wireless communications, data mining, and human-computer interface (HCI) design so that effective child-friendly conversational interfaces can be designed and developed. These technologies will be researched in the framework of early learning and integrated with a progressive understanding of the components of academic performance to develop a literacy assessment system and explore the use of analogous assessment in math. The impact of the proposed approach will be studied with native speakers of American English (AE) and non-native AE speakers of Mexican-Spanish background in a longitudinal fashion starting from pre-K, and in partnership with the Los Angeles and Long Beach Unified School Districts, and UCLA's University Elementary School. These schools have a highly diverse economic and ethnic student body with more than half of the population being Hispanic. The project will analyze children's speech as they grow; develop speech recognition (ASR) algorithms for automating assessments that measure essential emerging literacy and some math skills; create a query-based, longitudinal database for each student; derive instructional guidance from the analysis of an ongoing professional development program for teachers of native and non-native speakers; and develop a nomadic interface among different computers and a central database. No feedback or tutoring will occur. Instead, teachers will use the results to make more timely and appropriate decisions about curriculum and instructional interventions. Technical Impact: The project will address several fundamental research issues: (a) acoustic modeling: documenting and accounting for inter- and intra-speaker variability cross-sectionally and longitudinally; (b) pronunciation modeling and speaker adaptation techniques that are scalable to children who are 4-8 years old and who are native and non-native English speakers; (c) child-specific language modeling: syntax, non-lexical events, and discourse phenomena; limited-domain natural-language processing (comprehension); (d) novel noise-robust and distributed ASR algorithms; (e) HCI: age-appropriate ways of displaying information and eliciting responses; (f) data mining: mining sequential patterns to discover trends over time, and user-specified associations; and (g) pedagogic issues: investigate early emerging literacy measures for native and non-native speakers, and discover reliable predictors of short- and long-term literacy success. Innovative aspects of the proposed approach include: a focus on literacy assessment that considers not only word recognition, but also phonetic and phonological awareness, comprehension and fluency; an exploratory study of automating math assessment tasks; a longitudinal and cross-sectional acoustic modeling study of very young native and non-native English speakers; extensive and longitudinal validation of the system, children's performance, and teachers' practices; correlating literacy measures to later reading performance; and pioneering research efforts involving system deployment in wired and wireless environments. Educational Impact: The project will foster interdisciplinary activities at: the U. of California, Los Angeles (Electrical Engineering [EE], Computer Science, and Education), U. of Southern California (EE, Linguistics, and Neuroscience), and U. of California, Berkeley (Education), in partnership with local elementary schools. Several renowned experts, including international experts from Mexico and Sweden, from academia and industry will act as advisory board members and consultants. Team members have a track record of working together, and the project will serve as a vehicle to train students, postdocs, and school teachers in novel cross-disciplinary research areas of technological and educational significance. Broader Impact: The proposed project will have a profound impact on relieving much of the burden of testing from teachers (allowing them to focus more on what they do best), automated testing for very young children (allowing a greater leverage point for potential intervention), and inclusion of an increasingly diverse population (enabling unbiased assessment and furthering the goal of universal access). National educational priorities are emphasizing testing to a greater extent than ever before, but increased testing leads to less time for teaching. The proposed system can reduce the test burden and increase the frequency of high-quality, intuitively consumable information about students so that individuals, programs, and schools can evolve more quickly by understanding which methods are working best for which children. Educational policy is also pushing downward to earlier ages to begin formal literacy instruction. This system will provide a useful aid to learn how to help young children succeed and to monitor their progress. The rapid expansion of student groups, reflecting diverse, non-native speakers of English, presents a challenge for fair assessment. The system helps ensure unbiased assessment of competence in a timely and useful way. It is expected that the project will have a profound impact on improving assessment and instructional material in the classroom. REESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Pearson, P. David University of California-Berkeley CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 332028 7625 7180 SMET 9177 1687 1657 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0327374 December 1, 2003 Develop Strategies for Informal Science Educational Programming and Public Involvement in Research at the Hacienda La Esperanza Nature Reserve in Manati, Puerto Rico. The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico will plan a program of broad public involvement in education about the Trust's ecological and anthropological research and land management activities at the Hacienda La Esperanza Nature Reserve. The planning activity will bring together internal and external teams of scientists, informal science education program developers, citizen science practitioners and citizens. With strong visitor studies input, the teams will plan and test approaches to interpreting the natural and cultural history of Puerto Rico's premier nature reserve. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR James, Fernando The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico PR Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0328383 September 1, 2003 On-Line Games for Middle School Science: Planning Grant Proposal for Design and Collaboration-Building. This 12-month planning grant will create the foundation for a project based on meaningful, online, game-based learning. Specifically, it will enable the proposer to develop and validate story lines and game characters with middle-school aged children in two summer design institutes. In addition, the proposer will build partnerships with museums and informal learning institutions and develop a plan to work with these partners for the dissemination, promotion, use and evaluation of the future games. Intellectual Merit: The project will develop standards-linked design specifications for play scenarios, game characters and real-world, problem-based activities across STEM domains. These design specifications should be of significant value for future educational game development. Children will serve as "informants" during game design, providing input where most effective. This involvement in the planning process is critical to the success of the games, and should ensure the desired "kid appeal." Broader Impact: The strategy of involving advisory groups of children, including those at-risk, will allow the project to factor in ways to engage audiences underrepresented in the sciences by tailoring characters and activities that ensure broad appeal. In addition, the approach of solving puzzle-like problems embedded in a game's story narrative should appeal to both boys and girls. This project will generate a report for publication on the design process and resulting specifications. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kinzie, M University of Virginia Main Campus VA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 49990 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0328895 December 1, 2003 The Science Behind the History. This planning grant will enable The Indiana State Museum (ISM) to develop "The Science Behind the History," a program of live interactive video distance learning that includes multiple components and state-wide partners. The project is based on "ISM Live!," which uses a satellite van with video broadcast system to deliver programs from diverse historic settings throughout Indiana. Intellectual Merit. This project will add scientific components to interpretations of settings that usually are presented from social or cultural perspectives, including hands-on experiments at the remote broadcast-receiving sites. Scientists and historians will both be involved in the activities along with the audience participants. Broader Impact. Diverse, multigenerational audiences throughout Indiana will be reached through this project. In addition, it will provide a new model for interactive distance learning, as well as help establish partnerships among educational and community organizations that may lead to other beneficial long-term outcomes. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Smyth, Colleen Leslie Lorance Indiana State Museum Foundation, Inc. IN David A. Ucko Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0329669 June 1, 2004 Geoantiquities Video Project. This project will communicate to public audiences the results of NSF grant DEB-9817777, "Earth System History in the Urban Landscape -- Implementing Geosystem Resource Management in Regions of Rapid Urban Growth." Building on prior experience producing NSF-funded video productions, the PI will produce a 10-15 minute video presenting the concept of "geoantiquity," defined as a natural record of earth history that documents environmental change. The video will highlight the steps taken by earth scientists to achieve geoantiquity designation for geologic landforms created by Pleistocene Lake Bonneville in the Salt Lake City, Utah area. The target audience is the general public, but also those actively engaged in land use issues, such as government land management and planning officials, politicians, developers and landowners. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Chan, Marjorie University of Utah UT Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0329960 October 1, 2003 Statistics/Mathemematics TEAMS Conference. The project is an inaugural conference on statistics in teacher preparation by The American Statistical Association (ASA), with additional sponsorship and organizational support from The University of Georgia's Department of Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Mathematical Education, College of Education is developing the conference. The dates of the conference are October 30 - November 1, 2003. A major goal is to create awareness among teacher-educators of necessary preparation for K-12 teachers to give instruction in probability and statistics. Another goal of the conference is to build a leadership team that can periodically meet to examine issues and provide guidance in methods to improve teacher preparation. CCLI-ADAPTATION AND IMPLEMENTA TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Smith, William Robert Taylor Christine Franklin American Statistical Association VA Karen D. King Continuing grant 20000 7428 7271 SMET 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0330624 December 1, 2003 Trouvadore Documentary Project Planning. Houston PBS with Windward Media is planning to develop a one-hour documentary for NOVA entitled ?Trouvadore, the Last Voyage of an African Slave Trader." The film will chronicle the scientific archaeological excavation of an illegal slave ship that wrecked in the British West Indies in 1841. Planning activities will include archival research and consultation with archaeologists, DNA and curriculum specialists and local descendents of the slave ship. Deliverables will include an advanced treatment for the documentary and script outline. Intellectual Merit. The Trouvadore will be the only slave ship ever recovered that was actually carrying slaves at the time it sank in 1841. The project will show how modern science can help uncover and interpret this event as well as the trans-Atlantic slave trade of which it was part. The PI will work with archaeologists from Ships of Discovery (Corpus Christi, Texas) and the Turks and Caicos National Museum. DNA studies of possible descendents will be carried out in cooperation with the National Human Genome Center at Howard University. Broader Impact. Because NOVA has indicated its support for this project, the documentary that results from this grant will have the potential to reach significant audiences. In addition, the products of this planning process will further efforts to produce a web site, a traveling exhibition and ancillary materials. A report summarizing the results of the research during this phase will make the findings available to others as well. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lawrence, Ken Veronica Veerkamp Association For Community Television TX Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0331438 June 1, 2004 Virtual Stowaway on an Oceanographic Cruise. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will create "Virtual Stowaway," a website designed to be a segment of the WHOI web series "Dive and Discover." Based upon NSF OCE-0002540, a research project investigating two species of fragile gelatinous zooplankton (salps), the web site will communicate this research to public audiences by allowing learners of all ages to become stowaways on a research vessel studying the biology of these filter-feeding herbivores living in the upper layers of the ocean. The site will use innovative virtual reality panoramas (VR) of research vessel labs and submersibles with hot links as portals to layered levels of learning about ocean exploration, scientific work on a research vessel, the role that animals like salps play in the ocean and the diversity of jelly animals as successful adaptations to ocean life. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Madin, Laurence Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MA Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 74988 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0332499 March 1, 2004 Materials World Modules 2002. The Materials World Modules (MWM) are inquiry-based, supplementary materials that bridge the gap between traditional science curricula and real-world applications. The original modules were content based. The MWM-2002 modules are concept-based modules designed to develop "enduring understandings" through a series of hands-on learning experiences culminating in a design task, which serves as evidence of the conceptual understanding. Five modules have been developed and tested: Structure and Properties of Matter, Forces and Motion, Materials and the Environment, Properties of Solutions, and Bonding and Polarity. To be developed and field tested are Nanotechnology, Electrical Conductivity, Kinetics in Catalytic Reactions, Biotechnology, and Light and Color. The modules are developed in partnership with teachers. The inquiry-based, design modules are integrated with digital resources, video-based teacher training workshops, real-time teacher evaluations, comprehensive student assessments and cyberinfrastructure support. Teachers can customize on-line the modules for local conditions. Evaluation of the materials includes student outcomes, teacher satisfaction and alignment to standards. Other support is sought for large-scale dissemination. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP OFFICE OF SPECIAL PROGRAMS-DMR OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC DRL EHR Chang, R. P. H. Northwestern University IL Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 750000 7355 7222 1253 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0333002 July 15, 2003 CAREER: Making Culture Visible: Using Technology to Foster Culturally Responsive Instruction. Contemporary views of learning (Cole, 1996; Gardner, 1991; Perkins, 1992; Saxe, 1991; Wertsch, 1991) have emphasized the importance of attending to the interactions among learners their contexts, and tools they use to mediate their interactions. However, in the transformation of these views of learning into classroom instructional materials and practices under the banner of constructivism little attention has focused on the dimensions of culture and context that are influenced by the experiences of ethnicity, language variation, or race (Lee, 1994). Attention to these cultural dimensions are of central importance, particularly to learning in school contexts, considering the increasing diversity of students in U.S. schools and the continued performance gap between minority and majority. The research focuses on understanding the complex interrelationship among culture, technology, instruction, design and student engagement and cognitive gain. This CAREER proposal seeks to provide an avenue for this exploration in the context of designers', teachers', and students' use of the Lyric Reading Authoring Tool (described below) and its products. Lyric Reader is a tool that enables designers to build culturally responsive beginning literacy learning environments that use oral text (i.e. song lyrics, playground chants) drawn from children's cultural capital as sources of reading material. Specifically, this research will focus on the development of a conceptual framework of the complex interrelationship among culture, technology, instruction, design and student engagement and cognitive gain by exploring the following questions: What are the cognitive and motivational benefits of using culturally responsive learning environments with emergent readers from diverse ethnic and language backgrounds? How can Lyric Reader, a software-authoring tool, scaffold designers in the construction of culturally responsive computer-based learning environments? In what ways can accessibility to on-going assessment data about students performance in culturally responsive learning environments influence teachers' design of classroom learning supports and their perceptions and expectations of low achieving, low income? Through the exploration of these three questions, this research hopes to contribute to an understanding of how technology can support designers and teachers in drawing on the cultural capital of all students. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Pinkard, Nichole University of Chicago IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 253519 7256 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0333753 January 1, 2004 Mathematics in America's Cities: Children, Teachers and Communities. This Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) project focuses on the best approaches to teach urban students mathematics. The Center will form an interdisciplinary scholarly community from the perspectives of mathematics and mathematics education, urban studies, urban education and social and environmental psychology. The CLT is a partnership between the State University of New Jersey, the City University of New York, the University of Pennsylvania and local school districts in New York City, Newark, Plainfield and Philadelphia. Other partners include Lincoln University, University of Pittsburgh LRDC, Bank Street College of Education, Education Works and the Merck Institute for Science Education. The Center will develop a comprehensive, research-based framework to achieve effective mathematics education for all students. The framework will include multiple perspectives on urban children's mathematical learning and development; urban teachers' learning, development, beliefs and expectations; community interactions with influences on children, teachers and schools in relation to mathematics; and the preparation of doctoral-level mathematics education leaders with the knowledge, experience base and long-term support to bring about success in the nation's urban schools. The Center's flagship program is a two-year, intensive, multi-university Seminar/Practicum on mathematics in urban environments. This Mu Seminar will be a team-taught, multidisciplinary experience that includes mentored field internships. The Center will also offer an in-depth MILE program (Mathematics Institutes for Leaders in Education) designed to develop urban teachers' knowledge of mathematics, how it is learned, how it may be best taught, and to enhance their leadership skills and understanding of urban communities. Over 300 teachers from participating school districts will participate in the MILE program over the life of the CLT. While the MILE program and the Mu Seminars will address the full range of school mathematics, there will be special emphases on rational numbers and discrete mathematics as contrasting domains. REESE CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Goldin, Gerald Janine Remillard Roberta Schorr Laurel Cooley Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 10500000 7625 7181 SMET 9251 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0333879 January 1, 2004 Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum. The "Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (CSMC)" will advance the research base and leadership capacity supporting K-12 mathematics curriculum design, analysis, implementation and evaluation. It will serve the K-12 educational community by focusing scholarly inquiry and professional development around the issues of mathematics curriculum, examining and characterizing their role and influence on both teaching and student learning. The Center partners are: Michigan State University; University of Missouri; Western Michigan University; Battle Creek Public Schools; Columbia Public Schools; Kalamazoo Public Schools; Novi Public Schools; the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project Group; and Horizon Research, Inc. The Center will test strategies and produce new knowledge about the impact of curriculum materials on student and teacher leaning. The Center will examine the potential of curriculum materials as tools for teacher learning. The work of the center will contribute to teacher knowledge through the professional development activities while at the same time creating opportunities for research on these issues. The diversity that exists in the school partners will also provide opportunities to gain better understandings of ways instructional materials can be designed to improve learning among underserved groups. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Reys, Barbara Glenda Lappan Christian Hirsch Kathryn Chval University of Missouri-Columbia MO John S. Bradley Continuing grant 10978294 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0334101 June 15, 2004 The Ice Age Trail in Maine: An Experience for Geo/Eco-travelers. This project will design and produce 200,000 copies of an Ice Age Trail map that interprets for informal learners (tourist travelers, local residents, school students) the late Quaternary history of eastern coastal Maine, glaciated North America and the north Atlantic region. The map will lead geo/eco-travelers along public roads to critical stops where they can observe glacial, glaciomarine and vegetation features, as well as historical and human events described and interpreted on the map in photos, diagrams and text. The travelers will be drawn from the approximately 4 million visitors to Maine's coastal state and national parks. Additional dissemination will be via web cast through at least five separate websites. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Borns, Harold University of Maine ME Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 74999 9150 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0334199 September 15, 2003 The Educational Accelerator: Technology-Enhanced Learning in Science (TELS). "Technology-Enhanced Learning in Science (TELS)" is designed to undertake large-scale, collaborative applied research based on technology-enhanced, standards-based curricula materials. The Accelerator's research projects utilize software tools and simulations embedded in online curriculum-based activities that are designed to teach central topics in introductory science through student inquiry and collaboration. The curricula are being tested in numerous schools that serve diverse student populations using sophisticated online assessment strategies. Graduate student research studies involve nationwide collaboration with experts in various aspects of their research, utilize a sophisticated technology infrastructure to gather data from large numbers of students anywhere, and incorporate advanced software technologies. This effort will guide educators and policymakers in the implementation decisions being made daily about technology. The products include useful research results for educational professionals, valuable research experience for graduate students, free proven technology-based materials, and professional development grounded in theory and built on articulated design principles and a curriculum framework. "The Education Accelerator" uses a collaborative style of research borrowed from the sciences that is essential to progress toward the full use of technology in education. This approach could well provide a model for other research centers. TELS provides graduate training for 20 PhD students and 100 Certificate students. It also provides professional development for 1,000 pre-service students and 500 teachers engaged in Center workshops and on-line courses. Partners include the University of California at Berkeley, the Concord Consortium, Arizona State University, Berkeley Public Schools, Boston University, Cambridge Public Schools, Mills College, Mount Diablo Public Schools, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University, Pennsylvania State University, the Technion Institute of Technology, Tempe Public Schools and Maynard Public Schools. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Linn, Marcia James Slotta University of California-Berkeley CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 10851114 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0334875 September 1, 2004 Shark Tracker: Demonstrating the Use of Acoustic Telemetry to Track Sharks. This project communicates to public audiences a body of research using state-of-the-art acoustic technology to monitor the long-term movement patterns of juvenile sharks in a coastal nursery. Aquarium visitors will experience an interactive live shark exhibit designed to mimic shark monitoring. Interactive animations of shark movements from the research study are integrated into the exhibit and will be explained on video monitors while a shark swimming in an exhibit tank activates detectors showing its location and movement. Designed for visitors of all ages, the exhibit demonstrates how the research project works and explains how sharks use coastal bays as nursery areas and how these areas are critical to the survival of young sharks. Dissemination is through the Mote Marine Aquarium that receives over 400,000 visitors annually, and through web cast and distance-learning elements. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Heupel, Michelle Mote Marine Laboratory FL Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 74954 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0335523 January 1, 2004 Alternate Routes to Teacher Certification in Missouri:. This proposal seeks funds to evaluate alternate routes to teacher certification in Missouri. The policy dilemma that drives the study is: How to address teacher shortages in secondary mathematics and science, without sacrificing high teacher quality. The proposal is designed to provide a knowledge base from which to consider policy options. Methodology includes clarification of alternative routes to certification, examination of classroom practices of teachers in the programs, and comparison of characteristics and program outcomes of teachers in the different certification patterns. Intellectual Merit The application of a theory-based approach in this field is unique and will provide valuable new information to the field. A general model of ATCPs has been developed to guide instrument development or adaptation. The goals and general strategy for addressing this important problem is a multi-measure multi-method study focusing on the alternative certification programs preparing the greatest number of mathematics and science teachers. Both case studies and comparative outcome research studies are planned. Broader Impacts The study has local practical importance but also has potential for generating guidelines for practice and hypotheses for further study. The use of an external group of scholars to address the study outcomes in an invited forum is one of many dissemination approaches that combine critical analysis with informing a broader audience of the contemporary findings. The combination of deep description with comparative analyses provides the kind of knowledge that can inform practice in different settings. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Scribner, Jay Robert Reys Sandra Abell Motoko Akiba University of Missouri-Columbia MO Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 894744 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0335545 September 1, 2003 Science Out There (Planning-2). The Chedd-Angier Production Company requests a planning grant to develop a popular new television series together with integrated outreach and online components. The series, "Science Out There" (working title), will feature the work of field scientists as it happens and where it happens, anywhere in the world. The target audience for the series is the young, adventure-seeking adult. The work of the development phase of the project includes refining the creative approaches to the series; producing a ten-minute demonstration tape; developing a list of suitable research projects for the series; developing a business strategy and conducting formative evaluation of the pilot. An advisory group and Connecticut Public Television will support the planning work. Multimedia Research will conduct the evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Angier, John Graham Chedd Rich Blundell The Chedd-Angier Production Company MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 49993 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0335581 January 15, 2004 Building Faculty and Institutional Evaluation Capacity through Communities of Learning and Integrated Practice (CLIPs) at Community Colleges. The proposers plan to develop a system for building evaluation capacity at both the instructional and institutional level of a community college that will have the potential to be disseminated to other community colleges. The CLIP process will help college faculty develop and apply assessment and inquiry sills to (a) identify meaningful student learning outcomes, (b) assess student learning sensitive to issues of women and minorities in science and mathematics, and (c) assess programs and courses to determine the relationship between instructional practices and student learning. At an institutional level, administrators and faculty will learn to apply student and program assessment and system change knowledge as they adjust institutional program review systems and identify other policies, practices and structures to support the evaluative work of the faculty. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Parsons, Beverly InSites, 'A Support Network for Educational Change' CO Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 999141 7261 SMET 9177 0335593 January 1, 2004 Estimating, Improving, and Measuring the External Validity of Effective STEM Programs. The gap between what is known to be effective in STEM education and what is actually practiced in U.S. schools and colleges is growing. The present research applies concepts drawn from theorizing about the external validity of programs and pairs them with diffusion of innovation theory to conceptualize and operationalize the Model for Accelerated Diffusion. This model will be applied to the topical domain of effective STEM education programs as a promising means to close evidence-practice gaps. After conceptualizing a best fit between program external validity and diffusion theory, the research team will define an applied field test of the new model's predictive utility for effective STEM education programs. The team will then specify a STEM topic of study, identify the program population, derive a purposive sample of effective STEM education programs, identify STEM teacher networks, and determine the research design for a field test. The research team will also seek out STEM education researchers as potential collaborators for a follow-up field test of the model and its approach for accelerating the diffusion of proven pedagogical innovations. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Dearing, James Mary Casey R. Sam Larson Arvind Singhal Nagesh Rao Ohio University OH James S. Dietz Standard Grant 292149 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0335621 June 1, 2004 Advancing the State-of-the-Art in Evaluation: Developing a Comprehensive, Value-Engaged Approach to Evaluating STEM Educational Programs. Intellectual Merit: The investigators propose to develop an evaluation model that will (1) include multiple methodological traditions, multiple evaluation theories, and multiple stakeholder perspectives and interests; (2) explicitly engage complex, socio-political issues of diversity, difference, equity, and justice, specifically as they relate to historical underrepresentation of individuals from particular demographic groups in science and mathematics related educational and career tracks-notably, females, people of color, people with disabilities, and residents of rural and other under-served areas; (3) engage critical contexts of contemporary educational reform and emphasize challenges of context for meaningful STEM program designs and activities; and (4) incorporate meaningful applications of technology. Broader Impacts: The model will further understanding of how to enable and enhance meaningful student learning among all students, with particular attention to those traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields and thus to issues of equity and fairness in STEM policies, programs, and practices. The evaluation model has unique potential to not only assess the quality, effectiveness, and equity of STEM educational programs, but also to help constitute better, more equitable programs PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Greene, Jennifer Lizanne DeStefano University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IL James S. Dietz Standard Grant 310530 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0335644 November 1, 2003 Enhanced Evaluation of Learning in Complex Domains (DEEP). This proposal seeks funds to validate a Dynamic Evaluation of Enhanced Problem-solving (DEEP) methodology that has shown promise in limited studies. The overall aim is to advance knowledge in assessment methods for complex domains in SMET disciplines. The DEEP methodology is based on a view of learning as becoming more expert-like and more skilled in higher-order causal reasoning and problem solving. In this view learning is treated as a continuous process of growth and assessment involves tapping that process. Intellectual Merit The panel felt that this was a very strong proposal. The approach was seen as novel. It was judged to be addressing an important type of student learning:-- complex problem solving.) characterized as Dynamic Evaluation of Enhanced Problem Solving (DEEP). The DEEP process itself is grounded in literature on solving ill structured problems and involves (briefly stated): 1) identifying characteristic complex problems in appropriate modules of a problem-centered curriculum; 2) eliciting expert patterns of problem solving in that curriculum; 3) representing expert patterns in both textual and graphic formats; 4) determining salient features of these representations; 5) establishing measures of similarity in salient features of expert representations; 6) eliciting novice patterns for the same problem-solving activities; 7) representing novice patterns in the same formats as used for experts; 8) identifying the presence or absence of salient features (from experts responses) in novice representations; 9) establishing measures of distance from expert patterns for each salient feature; and 10) tracking and analyzing changes in learner responses over time and through instructional interventions. Broader Impacts The DEEP project has the potential for broad applicability of the approach to assessment of complex domains of problem solving. By development in multiple subject matter areas and educational levels generalizability is enhanced. By developing formal frameworks for analysis of expert and novice problem solving and a technological base for representations, the potential for tracking student progress is enhanced. By building on research with less complex problems the potential for tackling the complex domains is enhanced. The project thus has the potential to provide the foundation for further research and development of tools for assessment of progress of student learning in important complex domains. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Koszalka, Tiffany A. Syracuse University NY Gabriel M. Della-Piana Standard Grant 350000 7261 SMET 9177 0335653 December 15, 2003 An Evaluation Framework for Data Driven Instructional Decision Making. The PI proposes a three -year project for the examination of technology-based, data driven instructional decision-making tools, their implementation, their effectiveness and impact on different levels of school systems (i.e., administrators and teachers). Research questions include can tools facilitate decision-making and how to use such tools and data to enhance instruction. The Investigators will leverage work from three current projects, each focused on the development/implementation of a different tool available for teachers to assess student progress. They are: o Grow Network - a web-based test reporting system, which disaggregates state test data o IBM Reinvention Education Warehousing project - offers educators, etc. access to a broad range of data from attendance to test scores and grades. o Wireless Generation - handheld technology for teachers for on-going diagnostic assessment of student math learning at grades 3-4-4 The plan is to develop and validate an evaluation framework, which will be developed within the context of a systems perspective, using multiple methodologies (formative and summative) at multiple levels, including systems analysis. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Mandinach, Ellen Margaret Honey Daniel Light Education Development Center MA Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 964314 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0335656 September 1, 2003 Causal Inference in Instructional Workforce Research. The proposal will synthesize existing studies of the connection between teacher training and student achievement. Studies of experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental design will all be included in the synthesis. The goal is to produce a meta-analysis not limited by research method. Intellectual Merit The study will create improved evaluation capacity building. By concentrating on research on teacher qualifications . things like whether people have majored in particular subjects, achieved high grade point averages, been granted certification in specific areas. The studies that will be evaluated will include a relationship of teacher qualifications to student achievement. Broader Impact This project has the potential to substantially enhance future research and evaluation and will provide a framework for designing and interpreting non-experimental studies and estimating their validity. It will provide empirical advances by estimating the magnitudes of differences among effect estimates generated under various design conditions. PROGRAM EVALUATION MSP-OTHER AWARDS DRL EHR Kennedy, Mary Betsy Jane Becker Michigan State University MI Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 1031086 7261 1793 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0335670 September 1, 2003 Building an Indigenous Framework for Evaluation: The American Indian STEM Evaluation Resource Center. The goal of the project would be for evaluation to "become a vital tool for high quality and sustained STEM learning and improvement in Indian Country." That is, the project will provide a model for the design and evaluation of culturally responsive educational interventions. The proposer explains "... as American Indian communities develop and implement new strategies for improving the educational attainment of their youth that draw from traditional values and culture, an equally compelling need exist to establish new evaluation processes that are robust enough to accommodate and value different "ways of knowing", build ownership and a sense of community within groups of Indian educators; and efficiently contribute to the development of high quality and sustainable STEM education programs. These goals would be accomplished through the development of four specific products, all stemming from the (1) development of an indigenous framework for the evaluation of STEM education. Related products include (2) the development of the American Indian STEM Evaluation Resource Center, which will provide technical assistance and support resources to tribal college staff and faculty and administrators and teachers in K-12 tribal schools; development of an Evaluation Institute to include (3) a four-day regional evaluation seminar for Indian educators and (4) a graduate level evaluation practicum on-line for graduate credit. The PI also plans to work with the University of Michigan to develop an on-line portal to support distance learning and collaborative work. The project portal will be designed to facilitate the delivery of training and other support services, to disseminate resource materials, to establish a forum for an on-going dialogue re: evaluation theory practice and standards and to provide access to related websites. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Billy, Carrie Richard Nichols American Indian Higher Education Consortium VA Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 247936 7366 7261 SMET 9251 9177 9152 0335674 August 1, 2003 SGER: Training to Minimize the Decay of Knowledge and Skills. The focus of this project is to develop training procedures for knowledge and skill that will survive primary task or background changes and, thereby, produce flexible, as well as efficient and durable, performance in emergency situations both in civilian life and in the military. The proposed experiments examine performance in dynamic and changing task environments. A complex set of concurrent tasks will be created analogous to those encountered by digitally proficient operators who have available fully computerized control and communication systems. Two experiments will be conducted within this paradigm. One of them will focus on a concurrent duration estimation task, specifically the different forgetting functions for declarative and procedural information in this task. In the second experiment, a proposed memory constriction principle will be tested, according to which the time span from which knowledge can most easily be retrieved and used in a given context shrinks as stress level increases. The broader impacts of the proposed experiments are in the effective utilization of training skills for emergency response and reaction that persist over time. This is especially important for everyone involved in homeland security since training is likely to be sporadic. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Healy, Alice Lyle Bourne University of Colorado at Boulder CO John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 100000 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0335699 September 1, 2003 Relevance of Culture in Evaluation Institute (RCEI): An Institute and Organizational Change Project Building Culturally Responsive Evaluation Capacity. The overall focus of the project is to develop an empirically-based conceptual framework operationalizing "culturally responsive evaluation", investigating the efficacy and utility of this framework in a professional development workshop of school personnel (principals and teachers), and critiquing the evaluation designs which result from application of the framework. The Relevance of Culture in Evaluation Institute (RCEI) includes a professional development workshop to equip teachers and principals with basic skills in culturally responsive program evaluation and an opportunity to utilize those skills in developing a design for use in their school. The project additionally provides participating schools with four months of technical support by an expert evaluator supporting development of evaluation plans linked to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Legislation. The RCEI is based on a model developed and implemented by Dr. Stafford Hood (Relevance of Culture in Evaluation Workshop RCEW) and previously funded by NSF. Upon successful completion of this research and development activity, the project will have significantly impacted capacity within the field of evaluation by increasing both the number of evaluators who employ evaluative practices that are culturally responsive, and the number of evaluators of color practicing in the field. The project will also provide beginning validation of a tool for building culturally responsive evaluation capacity. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hood, Stafford Melvin Hall Arizona State University AZ Gabriel M. Della-Piana Standard Grant 341262 7347 7261 SMET 9251 9177 9152 0336585 February 1, 2004 Tracking the Course of Mathematical Learning. The goal of this project is to improve our ability to track how students learn to solve mathematical problems and how better to instruct mathematics in the context of intelligent tutoring systems. The underlying model of cognition informing the research program is Anderson's ACT-R. The researchers will look both at the potential of eye tracking and of brain imaging to improve the tracking of learning. It will focus on a computer-based algebra tutor that is currently in use in high school and is being adapted for use in middle schools. Past research has shown that instructional interventions based on eye movements can improve learning by detecting when students are having problems and by disambiguating the nature of their confusions. The current research will focus on developing interventions based on using a practical web-based camera that might be deployed in the classroom. The goal is to devise a system that will respond to the course of learning in the individual. They propose three project lines: The first project, involving fMRI brain imaging, will identity brain correlates of critical aspects of mathematics learning (e.g., whether there is a different pattern of activiation when students have simply made a computational error as opposed to when are they confused). The second project will conduct brain imaging studies during tutorial interactions. The research team will attempt to confirm that the Regions of Interest identified in the first line will generalize to learning with the tutor. They will also attempt contingent tutoring in which they branch instructional decisions depending on the brain signal. The third project will focus on advancing eye tracking methodology to the point where it can be used for instruction in the classroom by means of a web-cam. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Anderson, John Ken Koedinger Cameron Carter Carnegie-Mellon University PA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1802533 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0336744 April 1, 2003 Cognitive, Sociolinguistic, and Psychometric Perspectives in Science and Mathematics Assessment for English Language Learners. This two-year proposed project will investigate the cognitive and sociolinguistic influencesthat shape the performance of English language learners [ELLs] on science and mathematicsassessments. It will address the fact that performance of ELL students in science andmathematics is inconsistent both across test items and across languages. The knowledge gainedfrom this project will inform practitioners, researchers, and policy makers about new approachesfor attaining equitable testing and obtaining valid measures of the achievement of ELLs in science and mathematics. It will provide valuable information relevant to both classroom-basedtesting and the inclusion of linguistic minorities in large-scale testing. We will compare the inferred cognitive activities of ELL students, the problem solutionstrategies they use, and the scores they obtain on the same set of science and mathematics itemsadministered both in English and their native languages. In addition, we will investigate whether and how performance differences across languages and items are reduced when students are tested with locally-adapted versions of tests that reflect their first languages dialects. We will examine the performance of ELLs across languages and items from three perspectives: cognitive, psychometric, and sociolinguistic. These perspectives will allow us to: (1) determine how the language in which ELL students are tested influences their cognitive activities and the problem solution strategies they use on science and mathematics items; (2)determine whether ELL students perform better on local dialect than standard dialect versions of tests; and (3) examine the inconsistency of ELL student performance across items and across languages as an interaction of three sources of score variability: student, item, and language (i.e., a given ELL student performs better in his/her native language than in English for some items but better in English than in the native language for other items). We expect to improve our understanding of the cognitive and sociolinguistic processes that operate below the surface as ELL students interpret and solve problems. We also expect to gain knowledge on how these processes are reflected in the performance of these students and the variability of their scores across languages and items. This knowledge will contribute to improving both classroom-based and large-scale assessment practices. Goals Ultimately, our goal is to contribute to attaining more valid measures of ELL academic achievement and more equitable testing practices by offering a fresh approach to the testing of linguistic minorities. This approach recognizes the complex relationship between language and cognitive phenomena, and the social nature of language. From the knowledge we gain in this investigation we expect to be able to formalize a set of recommendations for improved testing policies for ELLs. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Solano-Flores, Guillermo American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences DC Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 668638 1666 SMET 9177 0336928 March 1, 2004 The Arctic and Global Change: Informal Science Education Opportunities. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project from the University of South Carolina (USC) is based on the ongoing multidisciplinary investigations of Eugene Karabanov and Douglas Williams (OPP-0229737) in the Russian Arctic. The scientific objective of the 2003 expedition was to reconstruct the variability of freshwater discharge and terrestrial carbon flux to the Artic Ocean from the Lena River during the last 500 to 1,000 years, improving understanding of the impact of climate change. As part of that undertaking, the team collected broadcast quality digital video. This project will interpret the research findings and documentation through collaboration with EdVenture Children's Museum (ECM) in Columbia, South Carolina. Deliverables will include: Meet-the-Arctic Scientist programs; Artic Discovery Weekends; Arctic Discovery Boxes (three hands-on units); and Arctic CyberLoft Experiences. Content will include the role of the Arctic in global climate change; watersheds, fresh water systems and ocean circulation; human adaptations and culture. BROADER IMPACT: The CRPA project will share the results of the research expedition with children and families attending EdVenture through this university-museum partnership. In addition to visitors from the six-county Midlands area of South Carolina, the project will reach an extended audience through an Arctic Science website at USC with links to the EdVenture site. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Williams, Douglas University South Carolina Research Foundation SC Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 72513 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337036 March 1, 2004 Sisters in Science in the Community. Temple University's "Sisters in Science in the Community (SISCOM)" is a constructivist-based, inclusive youth/community project targeting underrepresented urban middle and high school girls in grades 6-10 and their families; it supports inclusion of girls with disabilities. It engages girls and their parents in hands-on, inquiry-based sports science in after-school, Saturday, and summer programs co-hosted by community-based organizations and Temple University. Girls will also be engaged in student-centered research projects guided by female scientists. With regard to intellectual merit, SISCOM is based on previous research done by Temple on methods for engaging girls and their parents in STEM activities. The infrastructure of research and practices in education will be facilitated through the sharing of information between the network of partners and the national community of formal and informal educators INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hammrich, Penny Temple University PA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 415439 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337055 July 1, 2004 Sources of Mathematical Thinking. The proposed project continues current work to examine non-human primates, children, and adults and investigate the foundations of mathematical thinking. Past research has converged on the identification of three 'building-block systems' on which mathematical thinking is based: 'exact small number system,' 'approximate large number system,' and the quantification and counting functions of natural language. The proposed studies continue to investigate these three systems in non-human primates, children, and adults through a variety of primate and developmental research techniques (e.g., studies that investigate what stimuli primates or infants can discriminate through measures of attention, gaze, and so on.). The proposed research is a strong program of four strands of research that investigate each of these foundational systems: (1) number representation in monkeys, (2) number representation in preschool children (e.g., examining learning first number words), (3) number representation in adult humans (using mental addition, multiplication etc. to examine the capabilities of the approximate large number and exact small number systems without symbolic manipulation), and (4) mapping between linguistic and number systems in children learning formal mathematics. The studies are well designed and exciting in the attempt to pull together primate and developmental research to construct a model of the foundational systems on which mathematical reasoning is based. What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? In general, the studies have the potential to provide important contributions to the foundational theories that underlie mathematical thinking. The synergy between the primate, infant, and preschool developmental research has been exploited in past work to advance the state of understanding of the basic cognitive mechanisms on which mathematical thinking is built. The fourth strand of research attempts to make the connection to education, looking at how the formal symbolic mathematics taught in school brings together the three systems in these studies. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Spelke, Elizabeth Susan Carey Marc Hauser Harvard University MA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1673864 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337061 February 15, 2004 Examining Teacher Preparation: Does the Pathway Make a Difference?. This project will examine factors that influence teacher career choices including whether to enter teaching, where to teach and how long to stay as well as teachers' contribution to student learning in mathematics. It seeks to provide answers to two major questions: 1) How can elementary and secondary schools attract and retain highly effective mathematics and science teachers? and 2) How can traditional and alternative teacher preparation programs best prepare people to teach math and science? The research design will extend and connect existing research on teacher preparation and teacher labor markets. The career choices of aspiring and practicing math and science teachers will be analyzed using models drawn from the labor market literature including multinomial logit models of teacher choices and two-sided matching models that incorporate both school preferences and teacher preferences, supplemented with statistical and descriptive analyses of interview data. Teachers' contributions to student math learning will be analyzed using value-added econometric models that incorporate attributes of teacher preparation pathways as independent variables, with appropriate attention to issues of selection bias and data issues. The project will focus on NYC and use existing data plus new data. The existing databases include: 1) data describing career paths, qualifications and characteristics of aspiring and practicing math and science teachers from State and NYC Education departments; 2) data on school environments; 3) surveys of participants in major math and science teacher preparation programs; 4) surveys of newly entering school teachers; 5) detailed data describing teacher preparation programs; 6) student level data from grade 3 -5 citywide standardized math scores. This project is jointly funded by the Research on Learning and Education Program and the Division of Undergraduate Education's Teacher Professional Development Program Teaching & Mstr Tchng Fellows TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Wyckoff, James Hamilton Lankford Susanna Loeb Donald Boyd Pamela Grossman SUNY at Albany NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 2127081 7908 7271 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337087 January 1, 2004 The World Around Us (WAU) -- An Exhibition Project. The Louisville Science Center (LSC) proposes to develop "The World Around Us (WAU)," an 8,000 sq ft exhibition, plus programs and materials designed to increase environmental awareness of citizens, inspiring greater understanding and respect for earth's natural resources. INTELLECTUAL MERIT Exhibition components are CenterStage; AtmoSphere: Air that Surrounds Us; TerraSphere: Environments that Support Us; and AquaSphere: Water that Sustains Us. The exhibition integrates hands-on activities and media-based visitor experiences with approximately 1,000 specimens from the LSC collections. The project takes an interdisciplinary thematic approach founded in educational goals and STEM content that is closely linked to national science standards. BROADER IMPACT Target audiences are children in grades 3-8, parents, caregivers and teachers. LSC expects to reach some five million visitors over ten years after opening the exhibition. The project focuses on reaching rural and underserved audiences in Kentucky and Indiana. Its impact will be extended through strong ties to the schools and with ancillary materials. The distance learning capability of the Collections Discovery Gallery will extend the reach of the exhibition beyond the museum walls. In addition, the application of PDAs and handheld GIS technology will add to experience of the field in these areas. Dissemination of "green" fabrication techniques will help other science centers follow similar approaches. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mattei, Theresa Beth Nolte Louisville Science Center KY David A. Ucko Continuing grant 1580119 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337090 March 1, 2004 The Gender Chip Project. The Media Working Group is producing a one-hour documentary about a group of undergraduate women at Ohio State University who are pursuing non-traditional paths of study in a variety of technology and science fields. The Gender Chip Project is designed to provide role models and encouragement for girls (ages 14-18) and young adults who wish to enter STEM careers; and to raise general public awareness about the continuing need to develop STEM education and career opportunities for young women. The broadcast documentary will be complemented by distribution of the program with additional material on DVD. The project will also design a website for Guidance Counselors and young women contemplating STEM education. Project evaluation will be conducted by Kathleen Tyner, Lead Evaluator from Hi-Beam Consulting in San Francisco. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Donohue, Jean Media Working Group KY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 237078 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337116 December 1, 2004 A Study of The Relationship between Learning Style and Preference for Online Informal Educational Activities. Educational Web Adventures LLP, representing a collaboration of two educational Web developers and two museum researchers, will conduct research to explore the role of learning style in online informal learning experiences. The study will develop ways of measuring learning style among children ages 10 to 12 and test hypotheses about learning style, activity preferences, engagement and satisfaction. The researchers hypothesize that, when the shape of the learning experience fits an individual's preferred learning style, the experience will be more engaging and more satisfying. The study will examine the following questions through laboratory and online testing: How can children's learning styles be identified? How do children's learning styles affect their preferences for online activities? Do activities that match the individual's preferred learning style result in greater engagement and satisfaction? How can the research findings be applied to the development and design of more successful online learning activities? INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schaller, David Steven Allison-Bunnell Educational Web Adventures LLP MN Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 126612 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0337128 January 1, 2004 The River Ganga -- A Radio Series. Independent Broadcasting Associates, Inc., is producing a series of twelve radio features for National Public newsmagazines about the Ganges river basin in South Asia. The purpose of this series is to examine the relationships between science and culture as they converge and diverge over issues concerning the Ganga: through (a) examination of the ecology of the river in two key areas; and (b) study of the relationships between scientific and religious attitudes applied to the environmental issues raised in both reaches of the river. The radio series is complemented by a Web site and extensive educational outreach through 11 state Geographic Alliances, an AP Environmental Science module and a pilot Virtual River program developed and tested in collaboration with the Museum of Science in Boston. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hollick, Julian Crandall Kelly Alley Graham Chapman RK Sinha Vinod Tare Independent Broadcasting Associates, Inc. MA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 671849 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337143 January 1, 2004 Earth System Science Initiative: Pulse of the Planet Radio and National Geographic Online. Jim Metzner Productions Inc, in collaboration with ETCOM and National Geographic, is requesting support for the production of "Pulse of the Planet/Pulso del Planeta" radio programs and an educational website that present current research questions, techniques, and findings in earth system science. The goal of the project is to introduce Earth as a dynamic, complex, global system and to convey basic concepts of systems and the elements of scale, change and interconnection on our planet. "Pulse of the Planet" reaches over one million listeners daily on over 300 public and commercial stations worldwide. The 300 new programs produced in English will be adapted and co-produced in Spanish by ETCOM for broadcast with its 106 radio affiliates. Each radio segment will be supported and extended on the National Geographic Online website with news commissioned to accompany the radio programs. The NGO feature will also include an audio program archive, links to NationalGeographic.com guides, related stories, photo galleries, maps and links for additional listener research. Learning Experience Design Research will conduct formative and summative evaluation services in English and Spanish. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Metzner, Jim Jim Metzner Productions Inc NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 781885 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337204 January 15, 2005 The Health Education Centers' Interactive Videoconferencing Programming Collaborative. IDSolutions, in partnership with the National Association of Health Education Centers (NAHEC) and eight NAHEC member organizations will develop an original project to provide informal science education experiences to children, families and the local community via visual communications' technology. This initiative includes building a technical infrastructure that will connect participating Health Education Centers. It will expand beyond the installation of a network and will focus the bulk of its energy on the technology's application -- generating inquiry-based science experiences through active engagement with content that originates from remote locations. Through the creation of an Interactive Videoconferencing Programming Collaborative (IVPC), IDSolutions, NAHEC, and NAHEC Members will produce and disseminate to our target audience of school-age children, families, community groups and teachers, a high volume of science-related programming. The core content of the initial set of programs will be extracted from one of the nation's most popular life science traveling exhibits called "Grossology." These distance-learning programs will originate from a central "studio" location and will be available during the day, after school, on weekends, during summer breaks and holidays. Supporting this effort will be Advanced Animations (designers of "Grossology" and "Experience Science!"), a science education consulting company. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Barshinger, Timothy David Midland Interactive Digital Solutions, LLC IN Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1589981 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337216 March 1, 2004 After-School Math PLUS (ASM+). "After-School Math PLUS (ASM+)" uses the rapidly growing field of informal education as a venue to develop positive attitudes, build conceptual knowledge, and sharpen skills in mathematics for underserved youth in grades 3-8. "ASM+" brings families and children together in the pursuit of mathematics education and future career interests and directly addresses the NSF-ISE's four areas of special interests: (1) builds capacity with and among informal science education institutions; (2) encourages collaborations within communities; (3) increases the participation of underrepresented groups; and (4) models an effective after-school program. " ASM+" is being developed in collaboration with the New York Hall of Science and the St. Louis Science Center with support from after-school centers in their communities. "ASM+" incorporates the best practices of existing programs, while adding its own innovative elements that have proven successful in the NSF-funded "After-School Science Plus" (HRD #9632241). "ASM+" is aimed at underserved youth and their families, as well as after-school group leaders and teenage museum explainers who will benefit from training and participation in the project. It has facilitated the creation of alliances between museums, after-school centers, schools and the community INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Froschl, Merle Barbara Sprung Diane Miller Preeti Gupta Educational Equity Concepts Inc NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 240842 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337236 January 1, 2004 Coastal Communities For Science: A Bering Sea Partnership. "Coastal Communities for Science: A Bering Sea Partnership" is a 3-year program of collaboration among the WWF-US, four Alaska native rural communities and regional scientists investigating the ecology of the Bering Strait. Its primary purpose is to advance youth interaction with science and it proposes to achieve this by engaging young people from high school and beyond to conduct research with scientists. The project which involves training community youth on science and research methods, capacity building of informal educators in these rural communities to lead and encourage field-based programs, inclusion of community elders in the overall learning and communication of science concepts and the creation of a model of collaboration. The science content, an amalgam of community interest and researcher interest, is grounded in local environmental and economic issues. With WWF's support and electronic technology, this has the potential of being a model project that is broadly disseminated at local, regional and national levels. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hansen, Lara World Wildlife Fund US DC Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1200352 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337243 January 1, 2004 Survivor: The Place of Humans in the Natural World -- A Traveling Exhibition. The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will work over three years to design, develop and fabricate "Survivor, the Place of Humans in the Natural World," a 3,000 sq. ft. traveling exhibition for audiences ages nine and older which explores the process and consequences of human evolution in the context of its implications for our daily lives. Using hands-on interactive devices, flexible exhibit designs with multimedia capabilities, and interactive "Web-chats" with an open community of scholars, UPM will engage visitors with the discovery of the place of humans on the planet Earth. The exhibition, along with ancillary educational materials and programs, is scheduled to open in 2006, then subsequently travel for three years to nine widely distributed institutions, ultimately serving a national audience of several million viewers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hodges, Richard Janet Monge University of Pennsylvania PA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1875030 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337266 March 1, 2004 Community Ambassadors in Science Exploration (CASE). Community Ambassadors in Science Exploration (CASE) is a new model for encouraging the appreciation and understanding of science among underserved families through: a corps of teen and adult peer presenters; a curriculum of hands-on learning experiences for families of diverse ages and backgrounds; a regional network of museum-community collaboration; integration of community and museum resources through joint programming; and a longitudinal research study of program impacts. CASE will serve over 20,000 people over three years with peer-presented family learning opportunities and museum experiences. In addition, CASE will train a total of 108 science ambassadors who will offer science workshops at community-based organizations in the languages spoken by their constituencies. Through CASE, the ambassadors will gain training and experience in informal science education that can open the door to possible future career opportunities in community and museum settings. Building on a ten-year history of museum-community collaboration, CASE will be conducted by PISEC, the Philadelphia/Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative. PISEC includes four major Philadelphia informal science institutions: The Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, The Academy of Natural Sciences and The New Jersey State Aquarium. This organization conducts research and outreach projects in support of family science learning. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Borun, Minda Kathleen Wagner Angela Wenger Naomi Echental Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 958225 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337269 December 15, 2003 DINOSAURS!: A Large Format Film Experience. The Maryland Science Center is producing a 40-minute large format film about the discovery and scientific interpretation of dinosaurs based on fossil finds from the Gobi Desert. The film will follow the summer 2004 expedition of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the Mongolian Academy of Science led by paleontologists Dr. Michael Novacek and Dr. Mark Norell. It will present the scientific evidence for how we know what we know about dinosaurs and will examine such questions as what types of dinosaurs roamed the Gobi, what their environment was like, and what they tell us about the evolution of life on Earth. Greg Andorfer will be Executive Producer. The film will be produced by David Clark and co-directed by Clark and Bayley Silleck. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Andorfer, Gregory Michael Novacek James O'Leary Bayley Silleck David Clark Maryland Science Center MD Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2200000 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337286 January 1, 2004 The Black Hole Project. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is producing "Realm of the Black Hole," a one-hour high definition television program for the PBS science series NOVA and "Black Hole: The Other Side of Infinity," a twenty-minute full motion program for planetarium theaters. Both of these media products will draw upon a large-scale visualization effort conducted by leading scientists in collaboration with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The shows will examine the broad revolution now taking place in high-energy astrophysics by using scientific simulations and data-based animations to illustrate the life cycle of stars and the birth of galaxies. The two presentations will be supported by a website designed for use by the general public and by outreach materials and resources for teachers and informal educators. The media production will be under the direction of Thomas Lucas, President of Thomas Lucas Productions, Inc., and co-produced by Donna Cox, Professor, School of Art & Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Paula Apsell will be the Executive Producer for the NOVA program and Joslyn Schoemer will be Executive Producer for the planetarium show. The Science Advisors include Roger Blandford, Professor, Theoretical Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology; Laura Danly, Space Science Curator, Denver Museum of Nature and Science; Michael Norman, Professor, Astrophysics, University of California, San Diego; Harvey Tannanbaum, Director, Chandra X-Ray Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; and David Thompson, Astrophysicist, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lucas, Thomas Andrew J. Hamilton Donna Cox Joslyn Schoemer Denver Museum of Nature and Science CO Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1149134 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337323 April 1, 2004 "ZOOM" -- Season Seven. WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting $1,709,863 to produce 20 new shows and new outreach and Web activities for ZOOM. ZOOM is a daily half-hour PBS series targeted to kids ages 8 to 11. Uniquely by and for kids, ZOOM gives its viewers a chance to explore, experiment and share their creativity. The series, along with its far-reaching outreach, offers its audience an innovative curriculum that promotes the acquisition of basic math and science knowledge and the development of problem solving skills called "Habits of Mind." The goals for Season VII are to: (1) develop three new content areas-"Survivor Science," "Sleuth Science," and "Conservation Science"; (2) launch "ZOOM Into Action and Conserve," a new campaign designed to give kids conservation activities to fuel their volunteerism and help them understand the science behind their efforts; (3) create new science training materials for afterschool program leaders; and, (4) conduct summative evaluation to continue to gauge ZOOM's effectiveness at teaching math and science to targeted audiences. Outreach for the project will include print materials for kids, families and educators. ZOOM-related activities at community-based organizations include 1,450 ClubZOOM science afterschool programs and 23 ZOOMzone science museum exhibits. ZOOM currently is carried by 261 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by close to 5 million children per week. The 2,400-page interactive web site is updated weekly and attracts almost 43,000 visitors per day. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1549897 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337349 September 1, 2003 SGER: Complex Skill Acquisition and Retention and Minimizing Skill Decay: An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Instructional Design and Post-Training Strategies. The PI proposes to explore a range of factors implicated in the maintenance or reacquisition of a set of complex skills. He focuses on those skills that are not used or reinforced for long periods of time after their initial acquisition. The project is designed to test the efficacy of interventions, during initial training and post-training, manipulating such factors as (a) massed versus distributed practice, and (b) observation-based rehearsal. It will also examine cognitive as well as personality individual difference factors. Many professionals, including those central to emergency preparedness, receive little to no follow-up training. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Arthur, Winfred Texas A&M Research Foundation TX Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 99991 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337350 March 1, 2004 DragonflyTV -- Season 4. Twin Cities Public Television is producing 13 new episodes and new outreach and Web activities for the fourth season of DragonflyTV, the weekly science television series targeted at children ages 9-12. The series presents authentic inquiry-based investigations, created by and for children. The programs focus on children doing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. The programs also include real scientists doing research on related themes and snapshots and home movies of the scientists when they were kids. Outreach for DragonflyTV consists of an interactive website where children can share their science investigation, programs at selected Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 4H Clubs, Teacher's Guides distributed through the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and PBS stations, and the development of new community partnerships with established informal science organizations. Multimedia research and Rockman et al will conduct formative and summative evaluations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Christopher Myers Twin Cities Public Television MN Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1499877 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337354 August 15, 2004 TexNET: Texas Network for Exhibit-based Learning and Teaching. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and Technology will partner with The Exploratorium and with three smaller science museums that have strong connections to rural and Spanish-speaking populations in Texas: Discovery Science Place, Loredo Children's Museum, and Science Spectrum to develop TexNET, a four-year project modeled on the Exploratorium Network for Exhibit-based Teaching (ExNET). TexNET builds on lessons learned from past exhibit outreach models and addresses the needs of small, rural partners for exhibits and capacity-building workshops. Each small museum partner will host a set of ten exhibits for one year. Exhibit topics are 1)motion, 2)weather and 3)sound. Workshops focus on inquiry learning techniques, science content, programming and workshop design, as well as the institutional needs of each partner. Inverness Research Associates will conduct the project evaluation. They will examine the success of this project by looking at the effectiveness of the TexNET model, the success of the individual exhibit elements to engage rural communities, the effectiveness with which this project has enhanced the abilities of local rural communities to sustain their own educational improvements and the effectiveness of the training components in increasing the capabilities of the local museums to serve their rural audiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Walter, Charlie Joe Hastings Samuel Dean Fort Worth Museum of Science and History TX Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1310602 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337360 December 15, 2003 Understanding and Teaching Spatial Competence. The focus of the program is on the acquisition of spatial representation and reasoning. The researchers believe that in order to achieve their long-term goal of devising optimal education programs in spatial competence, they must first come to understand the nature of spatial learning and determine the types of experiences that lead to higher achievement in the domain, about which relatively little is known. Their previous research indicates that the development of spatial cognition is highly sensitive to input and thus is malleable. The current project brings together researchers from across cognitive science. They will explore three, presumably interrelated, aspects of spatial intelligence: First, one part of the team will investigate how spatial expertise can be enhanced directly by training the mental processes that operate on spatial representations. Second, another part of the team will investigate how spatial reasoning can be enhanced through maps and language. Third, the remaining part of the team will investigate how spatial reasoning can be enhanced by applying measurement and graphs to quantitative information. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Huttenlocher, Janellen Nora Newcombe Larry Hedges Susan Levine Dedre Gentner University of Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 992471 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337384 February 1, 2004 Thinking with Data. The project would investigate the different cultures in social studies and mathematics classes to create a better understanding of the mathematics used for investigating real-world problems. The theory of transfer called "Preparation for Future Learning" seeks to increase the attention to argumentation in social studies class and increase focus on formal techniques in mathematics classes. Instead of teaching students to directly transfer skills from one situation to another, instruction is created to prepare students to learn in new settings and contexts. The researchers seek to increase "data literacy" which is defined as formulating questions, using appropriate representations, and developing and evaluating inferences. The researchers will examine their question of whether or not an approach applied to quantitative reasoning in social studies classes will be applied in mathematics classes and thus increases the student's data literacy. The instructional methods include a significant amount of use of modern technology. The researchers at SRI will work with Kent State Research center for educational technology and the Green Middle School in Ohio. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Vahey, Philip Charles Patton Karen Swan Daniel Zalles Louise Yarnall SRI International CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 324972 1666 SMET 9177 0337389 April 1, 2004 Presenting Current Science and Research: A New Model for Exhibit Making. The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will carry out a museum-wide initiative to distribute exhibits and programs about new science and research among its core exhibits. INTELLECTUAL MERIT. The project goal is to redefine science for visitors as a dynamic human endeavor that is rich in discovery and relevant to their lives, as well as to position SMM as a resource for complex science and science issues. The project includes Current Science Central (500 sq ft) plus three Current Science Zones (250-300 sq ft) distributed among existing galleries (Mississippi River, Human Body, Experiment). Standardized formats (e.g., newscast scripts, quiz questions, multimedia kiosks, bulletin/graffiti boards) will provide frameworks that simplify the constant need for updating content and increase the ability to respond quickly. BROADER IMPACT. Target audiences are families, school groups, teachers, teens and lifelong learners from among the 850,000 annual visitors; involvement of the Youth Science Center will engage underserved audiences. Project collaborators are researchers (University of Minnesota, Augsburg College, Gentra Systems, 3M and JPL), as well as media (Physics Today, television and radio). The science museum field will benefit from the experience gained through this project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pryor, Liza Paul Martin Mark Dahlager Science Museum of Minnesota MN Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1547901 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337398 January 1, 2004 World of Ecology--The Extreme Zone. The California Science Center (CSC) will develop the "World of Ecology," a 45,000 sq ft permanent exhibition that involves the large-scale fusion of interactive science exhibits with the immersive live-habitat concept of zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens. INTELLECTUAL MERIT The focus for this project is the Extreme Zone, which will explore how species adapt to their environment. It contains four habitats: the Sonoran desert, deep sea hydrothermal vents, polar regions and rocky shores and will include more than 259 terrestrial and aquatic animal and plant species. The overall goal is to communicate that in every ecosystem the physical and living worlds are connected and shaped by the same fundamental ecological principles. It will be achieved through the integration of science center exhibits with immersive habitats on a large scale. This approach provides an interesting model for the science center, museum, zoo and botanical garden fields. BROADER IMPACT The target audience is the 1.6 million annual CSC visitors, 57% of whom are from minority populations, with an emphasis on families, elementary and middle school students. In addition, CSC will enhance the exhibition through outreach programs that serve at-risk students. All audio-visual programs will be available in Spanish as well as English, and a Spanish language audio guide will be produced. Collaboration with the Santa Barbara Zoo will bring valuable expertise as well as enhance prospects for dissemination. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kopczak, Charles California Science Center Foundation CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2203901 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0337487 February 1, 2004 Identification of Curriculum and Other Factors Associated with Student Achievement in Science. The investigators seek support to continue analysis of a project that has merged information from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) with the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY). The LSAY is a longitudinal study that concentrates on the high school experience for learning mathematics and science of a national sample of students from public high schools. This proposal would concentrate on the learning of science by analyzing the content of textbooks used by the students during their high school years. These textbooks have been identified and coded according to a framework that permits correlation of exposure to curriculum with other factors in the student's educational experiences. The purpose of this project is to identify and model the primary factors associated with U.S. student achievement in science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Miller, Jon Linda Kimmel Northwestern University IL Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 401024 1666 SMET 9177 0337543 March 15, 2004 Understanding Factors that Sustain STEM Career Pathways. The proposed one and a half-year research program addresses a national need to develop an understanding of how individual student occupational career lines in STEM are either nourished and sustained or inhibited and attenuated during the course of student careers in secondary and post-secondary settings. Research includes two interrelated studies. The Cohort Study of STEM Career Outcomes tracks students longitudinally in terms of course taking patterns and post-secondary outcomes to examine career pathways taken by the 1993/94 cohort of 82,000 Florida high school graduates to understand demographic and experience variables associated with successful and unsuccessful outcomes related to STEM. The Retrospective Study of STEM Career Outcomes provides a detailed look at the range of motivations, opportunities, obstacles and structural constraints that either sustained or curtailed STEM career mobility through interviews conducted with 150 individuals who have moved successfully into STEM careers. These data will be compared with a matched group of 150 individuals with similar credentials who have not pursued STEM careers. Based on available research on career decisions and pathways, we will collect information on the key background factors, experiences and career cognitions affect STEM career persistence, looking in detail at differences in the career paths for individuals who have pursued different types of STEM careers. Intellectual Merit Currently, there is little in-depth understanding of how individuals effectively orchestrate school and work-related experiences over time from high school through college and beyond to pursue careers in STEM in contrast to those who do not. While other research has investigated institutional impacts on individual outcomes (c.f. Bowen & Bok, 1998; Massey, Charles, Lundy, & Fischer, 2003), neither of these studies (1) documents career decision making processes; (2) focuses systematically on career pathways and outcomes or (3) relies upon a mixed methods approach. Both studies are informed by an interest in economic outcomes of affirmative action policies in higher education. Results will offer an understanding of how structural supports and barriers affect student outcomes including student motivation to excel and embark upon STEM career pathways. Results will also show differences in factors that enhance or impede participation in STEM education and occupations for different demographic groups, providing a foundation for practices likely to increase motivation and opportunities to participate in STEM, particularly for women and other underrepresented minorities. Broader Impacts Our program of research addresses an imperative national need for recruiting skilled and talented U.S. workers into STEM careers. Contemporary U.S. society is characterized by an absence of structured supports, making career decision-making in adolescence particularly significant. Furthermore, while approximately 60 percent of high school graduates obtain some college education only about 25 percent actually graduate with 4-year degrees. This research can provide guidance to NSF in building and sustaining a well-prepared STEM workforce representative of the American populace. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI RES ON GENDER IN SCI & ENGINE DRL EHR Borman, Kathryn Mary Ann Hanson University of South Florida FL Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 942545 1666 1544 SMET 9178 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337595 June 15, 2004 Knowing Mathematics for Teaching Algebra. Concerns about the quality of the mathematics achievement of K-12 students in the United States continue to dominate national dialogue in the academic and popular press. Students' performance in algebra is particularly worrisome, and this may be due in part to lack of appropriate teacher knowledge. The RAND Mathematics Study Panel (2003) notes the need for: clarification of the knowledge demands of teaching, tools for assessing mathematical knowledge for teaching across grade levels and mathematical domains, and deeper understanding of the ways in which prospective and practicing teachers have opportunities to acquire this kind of knowledge; they also single out algebra as a key area. Consequently, the proposed research project has three main objectives: 1. Instrument Design: To develop items and design reliable and valid instruments to measure knowledge in large scale settings for teaching algebra among pre-service and in-service secondary school mathematics teachers. 2. Framework Validation: To produce an empirically validated and comprehensive framework for knowledge for teaching algebra. 3. Status Study of Teacher Knowledge. To study the status and variation of knowledge for teaching algebra among pre-service and in-service teachers drawn from across the nation. An interdisciplinary MSU-based research team with collective expertise in mathematics, mathematics education, research design, psychometric analysis, and secondary school mathematics teaching and curriculum will lead the project, with the support of research collaborators around the country, a national advisory board, and item writers. Intellectual merit of the proposed activity: The study will contribute an empirically validated and comprehensive framework for knowledge for teaching algebra at the secondary school level, together with items and assessment instruments to measure this knowledge in large-scale settings. The result will be clarification and description of teacher knowledge in a crucial and problematic area of the K-12 mathematics curriculum. Broader impacts resulting from proposed activity: The items and assessment tools developed here will be of value for teacher educators, mathematicians who prepare teachers, designers of professional development, and evaluators interested in teacher learning in the area of algebra. Ultimately this work could have substantial impact on the improvement of secondary school algebra teaching and learning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Floden, Robert Sharon Senk Raven McCrory Michigan State University MI Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1745640 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337598 January 1, 2004 Designing Learning Environments for Teaching Scientific Argumentation and Mathematical Reasoning with Geographic Data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide opportunities for teachers and students to conduct scientific inquiry with large amounts of data, including geographically referenced observational research in fields spanning the natural and social sciences. The complexity of these investigations can provide opportunities for deep learning in critical areas of science and mathematics identified in national and state standards. However, these inquiry projects can also confuse students and overwhelm teachers. Prior formative design research with data-visualization inquiry environments suggests that students' manipulation and annotation of the intermediate artifacts of inquiry can promote student reflection on domain concepts, data interpretations, and inquiry processes, as well as provide opportunities for teachers to assess, engage, and further these understandings. This project is a three-year study that systematically investigates the claim that GIS inquiry projects that have iterative designs will increase student reflection on data artifacts, domain concepts, and inquiry processes, and help students relate data to the world around them. Iterativity is the instructional strategy of building later phases of an investigation on manipulation, annotation, and reconsideration of artifacts generated from data analysis in earlier phases. This building on earlier artifacts may also increase opportunities for teacher assessment of student understandings. The project tests the hypotheses with four inquiry projects using a GIS environment. Four learning outcomes are compared for iterative and non-iterative versions of the same projects: (1) reflective engagement in small-group inquiry activity with data, (2) scientific argumentation with data, (3) conceptual understandings in the inquiry domain, and (4) mathematical reasoning with multiple representations of data. The prediction is that the effect of iterativity will be greatest for reflective engagement and scientific argumentation, but that it will also impact science concepts and mathematical reasoning. The four GIS projects (two in natural science and two in social science) build on existing curricula developed by researchers and teachers in Chicago public schools, and are grounded in research on reflective inquiry and scientific argumentation with data. The specific natural and social science inquiry projects also differ in terms of the immediacy of the geographies and topics studied (e.g., local school garden versus global tectonic processes). A summative assessment for all participating students, and a summative and process assessment for targeted small groups of students in each classroom will be conducted. Student learning will be documented within and across the four inquiry projects over the course of the academic year, enabling comparisons across design conditions. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Radinsky, Joshua James Pellegrino Susan Goldman University of Illinois at Chicago IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 921189 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337629 May 1, 2004 Studies using the Multiple-Institution Database For Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD). The investigators propose creating a statistical model of engineering education that identifies difficult student stages for entry into the field. The study would use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including records of all degree-seeking undergraduate students for 9 institutions. They say that the proposal is intended to identify the "holes in the pipeline for the production of professional Engineers. It will provide an estimate of how big each hole is and how it developed. The intent of the study is to pave the way for increasing retention of minorities in engineering. This project is co-funded by the ROLE program in the Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication and the STEP program in the Division of Undergraduate Education. STEM TALENT EXPANSN PGM (STEP) RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Ohland, Matthew Timothy Anderson Clemson University SC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1470391 1796 1666 SMET 9178 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0337675 February 15, 2004 Constructing Data, Modeling Worlds: Collaborative Investigation of Statistical Reasoning. This project have two general themes: 1) develop a new method of doing research in education which they refer to as collaboration and 2) conduct research statistical reasoning amount middle school students. The effort intends to conceptualize teaching and learning of statistics as a form of data modeling. It will conduct studies of statistical practices as used by professionals and then carry out classroom studies of students at late elementary and middle grades. The investigators intend to develop new formative and summative assessments of student learning in statistical reasoning and establish partnerships with participating teachers and develop materials. They will do comparative case studies of statistical consulting in a quasi-experimental design where client domains and local work practices are selected to serve as independent variables in the analysis, and the achieved generality of concepts that lie behind statistical procedures serves as the dependent variable. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lehrer, Richard Rogers Hall Mark Wilson Leona Schauble Vanderbilt University TN Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1639014 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337703 December 15, 2003 RUI/ROLE: Invigorating The Early Undergraduate Mathematics Experience: Understanding Linkages Between Social and Cognitive Aspects of Students&#8217; Transition To Mathematical Pro. This project will investigate the development of students' understanding of proof during the undergraduate experience. It will include first a broad analysis of undergraduate students' conceptions of proof in diverse academic settings followed by a design study to examine social and cognitive aspects of undergraduate students' transition to mathematical proof during the early part of their mathematics course sequence. The stages of internalization of mathematical proof through which students progress, as well as the role of symbolic, visual, and discursive psychological tools in this process will be examined. As part of this work, a series of classroom-grounded case studies will be developed to identify pedagogical and curricular strategies that can support the learning of mathematical proof and that can be transported into other mathematics programs in typical universities. Faculty resources will be drawn upon to restructure content, pedagogy, and assessment practices in early coursework so that opportunities for mathematical proof are integrated in ways that are viable and instructive. The faculty professional development that occurs through this collaboration will also be examined. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies will be used to trace student learning of mathematical proof and the effect of the proposed innovations on faculty practice. A national research collaborative will be developed to share and expand on an emerging knowledge base about mathematical proof across grades K-16. This collaborative will be used to identify and pursue further areas of research needed to build a coherent and connected story of mathematical proof across elementary, secondary, and tertiary grade levels. The proposed work will open new avenues in the learning and teaching of mathematical proof in early undergraduate mathematics, which resonate with overall progressive trends in the mathematics and mathematics education community. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Blanton, Maria Despina Stylianou University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth MA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 613451 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337710 February 1, 2004 Representation, Participation and Teaching in Connected Classrooms. This project will investigate the potential of combining the representational innovations of SimCalc in the core mathematics of change with the new affordances of wireless Classroom Connectivity (CC). An intense program of exploration has yielded dramatic new forms of classroom activity structures that offer students newly participatory ways to be mathematical in group and classroom activities, and teachers flexible new pedagogies that, together, may point the way to standard classroom practice of the future when CC is common. Student participation structures and attention are newly manipulable, and teacher ability to manage the interplay between individual learning/cognition and public social participation is likewise enhanced, especially through the teacher's ability to selectively aggregate, manipulate and publicly display individual or group constructions, as well as rebroadcast objects to the class for further investigation and new cycles of harvest, aggregation display and discussion. Two streams of inquiry are proposed: Stream 1 is convergent and systematically experimental on stable technologies in sets of common teaching experiments, producing carefully developed evidence on participation, teaching, learning and relations among them, and new instrumentation that enables researchers to measure/compare forms and levels of participation in CC contexts and potentially relate these to teacher characteristics. Stream 2, continuing the invention and exploration of the prior project, consists of three sub-streams, systematically, but opportunistically, exploiting the expanding affordances of evolving technologies to explore (a) new participation structures, (b) the growth in teacher capacity to use CC productively, both as individuals and as members of peer communities, and (c) dynamic representational supports for effective teacher understanding and use of CC. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hegedus, Stephen University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth MA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 1567717 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337715 February 15, 2004 Biological Bases of Alphanumeric Learning Interventions. The proposal describes a cross-disciplinary research project that will investigate the learning of symbol processing. The research team brings cognitive neuroscientists with strengths in studying brain mechanisms and the behaviors underlying the development of fundamental symbol processing activities together with educational psychologists and educational technology researchers who are skilled in designing and studying the impact of interactive software within school settings. The project focuses on changes in skill and brain activity associated with learning the linkage between visual symbols and their associated perceptually-based referents. The researchers will compare the neurological and behavioral changes that are predicted to result from different instructional techniques (by means of web-based software) and then see to what extent those differences are in accord with different theories of instruction and the development of symbol processing. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR McCandliss, Bruce Daniel Schwartz Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University NY Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1632700 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337753 January 1, 2004 Classroom Formative Assessment: Investigating Models for Evaluating the Learning of Scientific Inquiry. The investigators propose to develop computer software for scoring and analyzing student task performances in science classes. The project is intended to create ways for validating and scoring student science work accurately and for supporting student self assessment in science. Current assessment scores do not provide sufficient evidence about the impact of the curriculum on student learning. The project would create statistical models for evaluating task performance on how well goals for student learning are met. The general goal is to understand how participation in performance assessments contributes to student learning and to the improvement of general learning abilities. The assumption of the investigators that measurement of student quality of work in performance assessment must be valid and those current procedures are not yet in place to assure the validity of scoring techniques. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Frederiksen, John Barbara White University of Washington WA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1168528 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0337793 December 1, 2003 The CATAALYST - Planning a Rigorous Study. Prior research on a group of similar technologies that the investigators call "CATAALYST" (Classroom Aggregation Technology for Activating and Assessing Learning and Your Students' Thinking) suggests that these rapid response learning and instructional technologies can produce sustained improvements in achievement and participation when coupled with an appropriate pedagogy of questioning. Yet research on CATAALYST-like technologies is limited in quality and quantity. As a result, the investigators propose, through planning activities and a workshop, to devise a methodologically rigorous study of CATAALYST effects in K-12 math and science education. The proposed work seeks to resolve issues of experimental design, recruitment, instrumentation, and analysis so that a well-designed study subsequently can be proposed. The central research question is: Does a CATAALYST intervention that combines an appropriate pedagogy and teacher professional development with the enabling technology increase participation among diverse students in K-12 math and science classrooms and increase student achievement? The workshop will bring together, for the first time, researchers who have investigated CATAALYST (and closely-related approaches) at different educational levels and for the teaching of different subject matters. Intellectual Merit: The controlled, experimental study that the investigators intend to develop will be appropriate for evaluating the inference that CATAALYST enables these outcomes. It may additionally differentiate among possible factors contributing to the outcomes and explanations of the mechanisms involved. Further, it will enable the researchers to evaluate whether prior outcomes reported in undergraduate education can be replicated in K-12 settings. Given decreasing costs and increasing capabilities of the technology, adoption is increasingly within reach for K-12 and university educators in STEM, but decisions to adopt should be based on evidence. Further, implementations should be based on understanding of the factors and mechanisms involved. Broader Impacts: The investigators will hold a workshop to bring together researchers from different disciplinary communities who have not yet cross-pollinated their work. We intend this workshop to elicit comprehensive research summaries of what is known, to interrelate practice-based and theory-based accounts, and to encourage other researchers to form teams to plan additional rigorous studies. A report will be disseminated, documenting both the knowledge base and how interdisciplinary teams of scientists could proceed in greater alignment. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Roschelle, Jeremy A. Louis Abrahamson William Penuel SRI International CA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 231607 1666 SMET 9177 0337795 July 1, 2004 A Longitudinal Study of the Development of Rational Number Knowledge in the Middle Grades. This is a proposal for a 3-year longitudinal study of developmental trajectories in middle school students' learning about rational numbers. The goals of the proposed work include: 1. Uncovering patterns and mechanisms of development in students' understanding of rational numbers and proportional reasoning; 2. Integrating the current piecemeal body of research on rational number into a coherent developmental model by examining how understanding of rational number sub-constructs evolve concurrently and interactively; 3. Developing insight into the ways in which classroom instruction, especially teacher questioning techniques and tasks, impact students' ability to think about, represent, and communicate their understanding of rational number concepts and operations as it develops over time; and 4. Generating transportable models of rational number development that can be factored into teacher pre- and in-service staff development to promote quality instructional practices in the future. Broad Impact: The conduct of the work will affect the lives of 160 middle grade students of diverse backgrounds throughout the life of the project. The results of the project will influence pre-service and in-service teaching nationally. Finally, the study will reframe math education issues longitudinally and deliver high quality software products I support of student learning. Panel Summary: Intellectual Merit: This is a proposal for a 3-year longitudinal study of developmental trajectories in middle school students' learning about rational numbers. The panel believes the aims of the project to be very worthwhile, with the longitudinal focus on this age group making a unique contribution to existing research on the understanding of rational numbers. Reviewers were also enthusiastic about detailed modeling of individual students' knowledge and understanding being combined with detailed, rich, contextual examination of learning opportunities, discourse, and inscriptions in classrooms, especially in multiple classrooms over several years. The research team is strong and presents an organized plan for accomplishing the proposed research. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Middleton, James Marilyn Carlson Alfinio Flores Jae-Meen Baek Robert Atkinson Arizona State University AZ Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 1740195 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0340914 June 1, 2004 Planning Grant for Sea Monsters: A Large-Format Film. National Geographic Television is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a 3D large-format film, "Sea Monsters," which will focus on current scientific and paleontological research into ancient ocean life. The film will provide audiences the chance to follow men and women working in diverse disciplines within the Earth Sciences including Paleontology, Oceanography and Marine Biology, and the film will illustrate the interplay between science and technology. Standards-based lesson plans for the classroom and informal activity guides for families will augment the impact of the film. During the planning phase the production team will conduct further research into the scientific themes and stories for the film, identify the scientists who will appear in the film, perform front-end topic testing and evaluation in order to assess the public's interest and current knowledge about the topic, write a full film treatment, develop a detailed budget and assess potential CGI studios. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Truitt, Lisa National Geographic Television DC Valentine H. Kass Fixed Price Award 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0341059 August 1, 2003 Meeting for Research, Evaluation and Communication- Principal Investigators and Contractors. The Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs (EHR) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) proposes to organize and facilitate the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Research, Evaluation and Communication (REC) Principal Investigators and Contractors' Meeting to be held October 27-28, 2003. AAAS will work cooperatively with NSF's Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication to organize this one and one-half-day meeting. AAAS/EHR will: (1) develop the agenda in cooperation with NSF staff; (2) host the approximately 250-member PI/PD meeting; (3) oversee all meeting logistics; (4) assemble "nuggets" from REC PIs; (5) organize a post-meeting discussion with NSF staff to interpret findings from discussions and presentations and prepare a brief report of important ideas that emerge from the meeting and develop a set of research and evaluation questions related to issues of importance both to the NSF Education and Human Resources Directorate and its grantees. PROGRAM EVALUATION RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Long, Madeleine American Association For Advancement Science DC Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 86394 7261 1666 SMET 9177 0341932 September 1, 2003 From Quarks to the Cosmos -- A Planning Grant. Twin Cities Public Broadcasting is developing a two-hour prime time PBS television special on complementary advances in particle physics and cosmology. The program will present the dramatic recent history of the two disciplines, striking discoveries in both fields, and the cutting-edge research under way today. The format of the programs will be modeled on Michael Riordan's book, "The Hunting of the Quark," which presented a rich, personal story of working scientists with their struggles and their successes. The following activities are among those that will be conducted during the planning phase: 1. Develop strategic partnerships among the principal research institutions and organizations involved in physics/astronomy education 2. Develop detailed treatments of the television programs 3. Research sources for program graphics with universities, national laboratories, and other research institutions 4. Meet with the advisory board 5. Produce a video sampler from taped interviews of selected scientists Key staff with include: Richard Hudson, Director of Science Production at KTCA-TV; Les Guthman, Executive Producer and Vice President of Outside Television for S2 Media; and Michael Riordan, physicist, science historian, and author. Advisors for the project are: Donna Cox, National Center for Supercomputing Applications and School of Art and Design, University of Illinois; Peter Galison, Department of History of Science, Harvard University; Leon Lederman, Director Emeritus, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; Dennis Overbye, science writer; Randal Ruchti, Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame; George Smoot, Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley; and Michael Turner, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Twin Cities Public Television MN Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 49967 7259 SMET 9180 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0342150 September 1, 2003 Planning grant for the Science Fiction Experience [w.t.]. Experience Learning Community plans to open a museum dedicated to science fiction in the summer of 2004. The Science Fiction Experience (SFX) will be an interactive, media-rich museum combining artifacts and information that immerse visitors in science fiction's alternative worlds. They are implementing a planning phase to assure that the museum's exhibits and programming content will illustrate the relationship between science and science fiction. Specific tasks during the planning phase include: 1. Conduct front-end research of the public's perceptions of science fiction vs. science fact. 2. Conduct formative testing of proof-of-concept materials for one of the museum's premiere exhibits, "Mars, Then and Now." 3. Convene leading science and museum educators, scientists, science communications researchers and science fiction practitioners to inform and shape the museum's exhibit concepts and approaches relevant to the public's understanding of science through science fiction. 4. Create and disseminate a document that will inform of the development of exhibits and programs. Advisors to the project include: Greg Bear, best-selling author of more than 30 science fiction books; Gregory Benford, Professor of Plasma Physics and Astrophysics at the University of California at Irvine; David Ellis, President Emeritus of the Museum of Science, Boston; Lawrence Krauss, Chair of the Department of Physics at Case Western Reserve University; and Donna Shirley, for manager of the Mars Exploration Program at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and currently Professor at the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hutton, Richard Donna Shirley Experience Learning Community WA Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0342483 October 1, 2003 STEM Leadership Institutes for Systemic Initiatives Principal Investigators and Project Directors. Project Abstract NSF 0342483 Systemic Research, Inc is seeking support to host an Annual Invitational Urban Key Indicator Data and Evaluation workshop in the spring of 2004. The workshop will target PI/PDs data managers, evaluators, and selected NSF funded study group members. This workshop intends to build on previous workshop by focusing exclusively at the classroom level to high local districts use data from student achievement scores, school and classroom profiles, and evaluations to extend their understanding of science and mathematics. This workshop will target approximately 130 participants with the potential to reach hundreds of teachers and thousands of students through the information gained from the plenary and other workshop sessions and activities. Intellectual Merit Systemic Research, Inc, (SR) intends to host an invitational workshop to promote the use of data and evaluation to enhance NSF-funded urban sites in their understanding and use of data. For several years SR has held workshops for PI/PDs data managers, and other district and national leaders to facilitate the use of data as a management and planning tool for improving science and mathematics education. Therefore, SR has been a leader in helping school districts establish and enhance how they collect and use data. This approach has greatly. With prior knowledge of collecting data for several urban-focused programs and working with representatives in over the years adds immensely to the likelihood that strategies and practices shared and learned at the workshop will greatly enhance how districts use data to improve practice. Broader Impact Building on past efforts (See www.systemic.com) this workshop intends to promote further dissemination of lessons-learned by helping local district leaders effectively address local issues regarding the use of data and evaluation. In addition to sharing information and best practices at the workshop, SR maintains a website with conference proceedings, copies of presentations, links to other relevant sites, and links to research studies on urban reform. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR McKenzie, Floretta McKenzie Group DC Celestine Pea Standard Grant 276744 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0343196 February 15, 2004 Inquiry Conference on Developing a Consensus Research Agenda. The proposal seeks to bring together for a 3 day conference scholars from 3 academic communities: 1) the learning sciences; 2) science studies; 3) educational research. The structure of the conference has two parts. The sessions on the first day of the conference will be devoted to discussion of issues about the nature of scientific inquiry and inquiry models of learning. The sessions on the second day will continue the focus on inquiry models but also begin to ask questions and raise issues about aligning models of scientific inquiry into curriculum, instruction and assessment models. There will be representation from each of the 3 scholarly communities: learning sciences, science studies, and educational research. There will be two summary panel groups composed of educational researchers. The entire proceedings of the conference (e.g., presentations, comments, and discussions) will be published as an edited volume and made available as a CD. Symposium session presentations on the outcome of the conference will be submitted to American Educational Research Association, National Association for Research in Science Teaching, and the History of Science Society. In addition, the recommendations and issues emerging from this conference will inform the framework and content for the Critical Issues Conference of the 2005 International History and Philosophy of Science and Science Teaching, Leeds, England. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Duschl, Richard Richard Grandy Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 91790 1666 SMET 9177 0343434 September 1, 2003 Aligning Math & Science among K-12, Higher Ed, and Business/Industry. Over six months, the University of Texas at San Antonio will bring a team of high school mathematics and science teachers together with college and university mathematics and science teachers to align curricula. The objectives of the three-day seminar are: (1) to identify difficult topics in algebra and physics and design strategies to ensure mastery by all students; (2) to establish the foundation for an ongoing dialogue between K-12 and higher education; (3) to engage the broader business community in the articulation of the needs for science, mathematics, and technology skills for the future economic development of the city region; and (4) to develop a community campaign to encourage higher standards in mathematics, science, and technology. This proposed activity will directly impact the entire 9 area San Antonio school districts and indirectly impact other urban school districts in Texas. This effort is based on a documented need for providing curriculum alignment of high school math and science courses with college level courses. This project focuses on aligning high school Algebra II with college algebra and developing strategies for teaching high school physics. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Lazor, Joseph University of Texas at San Antonio TX Thomasena H. Woods Standard Grant 57612 7347 SMET 9177 0343578 August 15, 2003 Investigating the Feasibility of Scaling up Effective Reading Comprehension Instruction using Innovative Video-Case-Based Hypermedia. The purpose of this Phase I IERI proposal is to investigate the feasibility of scaling the knowledge base on the effective teaching of reading comprehension in a manner that is accessible, reflective of the complex nature of this instruction, focused on advancing students understanding of general and domain-specific informational text, and informed by a theory of learning consistent with the task at hand. Despite recent reading initiatives, students in the upper elementary grades are not sufficiently prepared to interpret and learn from informational text, precluding full attainment of reading competence and interfering with their ability to learn from subject matter text. This is particularly the case for poor urban youth. The most likely explanation for this situation is the absence of opportunities for students to learn how to comprehend text, reflecting teachers uncertainty about how to teach reading comprehension, especially with respect to supporting learning in subject matter areas with ambitious educational goals. Paradoxically, there is a significant and robust knowledge base regarding effective reading comprehension instruction. The challenge is to represent and disseminate this knowledge base effectively and powerfully. The intervention we propose integrates the resources accumulated by three programs of comprehension research with strong evidentiary bases (Reciprocal Teaching, Questioning the Author, and Guided Inquiry supporting Multiple Literacies). Specifically, we propose to conduct controlled experiments in which we compare two models of professional development. One model, informed by cognitive flexibility theory, features the use of hypermedia-based videocases, while the second features the same information, presented via traditional video-based cases. In addition to supporting teachers learning of the targeted instructional techniques, the content of these cases will address assessment, individual differences, teacher mediation, and text- and domain-specific (to science) comprehension instruction. In each year of the proposed project, participants include 60 teachers from 30 schools (1500 students), randomly assigned to one of two conditions. SES data for targeted districts indicate that students qualifying for free- or reduced-cost lunch range from 12% to 66%; and ethnicity data indicate that 7%, 51%, and 75% of the students in the targeted districts are African-American, while the remainder are principally White. Measures of teacher knowledge/beliefs/orientations and practice, as well as student measures of general and domain specific reading achievement will be collected to answer the following research questions: (1) What are the effects of using hypermedia-based videocases versus traditional video-based cases on the development of teachers knowledge/beliefs regarding reading comprehension instruction; (2) What are the relative effects of these tools on teachers reading comprehension instruction practices; (3) What are the relative effects on students comprehension of general and specific subject matter text, measured by standardized assessments; And (4) How are outcomes mediated by teacher characteristics (e.g., knowledge, self-efficacy), student characteristics (demographics, achievement), and features of school and policy contexts that relate to successful buy-in. Throughout the study, a central focus is on identifying features of successful professional development that are scalable. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Palincsar, Annemarie Rand Spiro Shirley Magnusson University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 995462 7180 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0343639 September 1, 2003 A Proposal to Host an Invitational Urban Key Indicator Data and Evaluation Workshop, Spring 2004. Systemic Research, Inc is seeking support to host an Annual Invitational Urban Key Indicator Data and Evaluation workshop in the spring of 2004. The workshop will target PI/PDs data managers, evaluators, and selected NSF funded study group members. This workshop intends to build on previous workshop by focusing exclusively at the classroom level to high local districts use data from student achievement scores, school and classroom profiles, and evaluations to extend their understanding of science and mathematics. This workshop will target approximately 130 participants with the potential to reach hundreds of teachers and thousands of students through the information gained from the plenary and other workshop sessions and activities. Intellectual Merit Systemic Research, Inc, (SR) intends to host an invitational workshop to promote the use of data and evaluation to enhance NSF-funded urban sites in their understanding and use of data. For several years SR has held workshops for PI/PDs data managers, and other district and national leaders to facilitate the use of data as a management and planning tool for improving science and mathematics education. Therefore, SR has been a leader in helping school districts establish and enhance how they collect and use data. This approach has greatly. With prior knowledge of collecting data for several urban-focused programs and working with representatives in over the years adds immensely to the likelihood that strategies and practices shared and learned at the workshop will greatly enhance how districts use data to improve practice. Broader Impact Building on past efforts (See www.systemic.com) this workshop intends to promote further dissemination of lessons-learned by helping local district leaders effectively address local issues regarding the use of data and evaluation. In addition to sharing information and best practices at the workshop, SR maintains a website with conference proceedings, copies of presentations, links to other relevant sites, and links to research studies on urban reform. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Kim, Jason Systemic Research, Inc. MA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 107287 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0343712 October 1, 2003 Accomplishment Based Renewal Funding Proposal To Mathematics and Science Education in Rural America: An Evaluative Study of NSF's Rural Systemic Initiative [REC-0129898]. Proposal No. 0343712 is a continuation of an existing evaluation study designed to review the impact of the Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI) Program. Since October 1, 2001, Systemic Research, Inc. has been working on this two-year NSF grant titled "Mathematics and Science Education in Rural America: An Evaluative Study of NSF's Rural Systemic Initiative." Hence, the proposal requests support to continue collecting data through the 2002-03 school year. The collection and analysis of the 2002-2003 data will complete a decade of ongoing research and evaluation of the RSI. The current activities of the grant to be expanded as a result of a one-year extension are: Development, collection, and compilation of RKID-2004 Rural Math and Science Indicator Report:2004 Publication of updated RSI Case Stories with additional indicator data RSI/RKID web site upgrade for enhanced communication, RKID management, and dissemination RSI/RKID Annual Workshop RSI Advisory Panel Meeting Dissemination of study results through printed copy, CD-ROM, and web. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG DRL EHR Kim, Jason Systemic Research, Inc. MA Lura J. Chase Standard Grant 298976 7366 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0343836 November 15, 2003 Lessons Learned from Research on Systemic Reform. Project Abstract 0343836 Horizon, Inc. proposes to organize a conference to bring together key researchers most active in monitoring, assessing, evaluating, and conducting research studies on the NSF-funded systemic initiatives (SIs). An organizing committee will meet to develop a framework for capturing what can be learned from current research followed by a conference in Washington, DC for representatives for each site that participated in a research study. The intent is to bring together researchers and implementers to discuss perspectives and evidence of the impact of systemic reform. Intellectual Merit The aim of the conference is to use findings from research to determine if systemic reform was effective in narrowing the achievement gap among subpopulations of students. Thus, by looking at the impact of the building a better education infrastructure and on assessing the impact on teaching and learning science and mathematics, the results can be used to advance methodologies and in identifying reliable measures for gauging progress of system wide reform. Broader Impact Horizon, Inc. envisions that the outcomes from the conference to be useful in guiding the science and mathematics community and assisting those who do research on large-scale science and mathematics programs. Moreover, jointly synthesizing the studies in one place will enhance their overall use while building a consensus framework and instruments of demonstrated reliability and validity are likely to be used by other researchers nationally. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Weiss, Iris Horizon Research Inc NC Celestine Pea Standard Grant 349210 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0345194 September 1, 2003 CONNtinue. Through an established partnership between the Connecticut (CT) Academy for Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology, and Danbury Public Schools and Stamford Public Schools, CT intends to directly impact 4,020 students and 205 teachers to improve the teaching and learning of science. Goals: CONNtinue will expand the capacity of two Connecticut urban public school districts to: Make regular use of student achievement information to improve standards-based curricula materials, instructional strategies, and professional development activities; and Continuously improve classroom teachers' content knowledge and instructional skills to maximize each student's mathematics and science achievement. Intellectual Merit: Aiming to bring about change by impacting schools as the unit of change, CT intends to involve classroom teachers, institution of higher education faculty, and educational administrators in improving science and mathematics for all students. Leading research studies and reports on educational policy and practice will guide activities and events planned by CT to assist the districts. Broad Impact: The scope of work engages school district leaders, school principals, and teams of teachers in the use of student performance data, is driven by measurable goals, and is executed with standards-based guides, strategies, and program evaluation. CT will work to provide a student achievement model that can be replicated aimed at producing system-wide improvements in other urban school districts throughout CT and beyond. The project's process and results will be disseminated through state conferences, a project website, and other websites within the public domain. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Cole, Richard Eddie Davis Theodore Sergi Connecticut Academy for Education CT Celestine Pea Standard Grant 199859 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0345284 January 1, 2004 EDC's USP Technical Support Project. This proposal was submitted to request support to provide Technical Assistance (TA) for urban districts that comprised the remaining portfolio. Recognizing the importance of reform at all levels of a district, the Education Development Center (EDC), will focus on efforts that directly impact classroom instruction. The aim is to sustain accomplishments and advance the knowledge based at the level where it is most vulnerable. Thus, for a period of two years, (beginning January 2004 through January 2006), EDC will provide activities and events aimed at improving teaching and learning for all students in science and mathematics. TA will be provided through the use of face-to-face training structures, online approaches, and localized consultation that enhances the impact by combining approaches. The TA will focus on the following three areas: 1. Supporting and sustaining the teacher leader model in science and mathematics, K-12; 2. Sustaining students' engagement in high school science and mathematics while advancing their enrollment in rigorous courses; and 3. Ensuring science is on the "front burner" in classrooms, schools, and districts, K-12. Intellectual Merit Building on research findings, EDC plans to provide specific activities and organize conferences aimed at improving teacher quality and building leadership for change. Several strategies will be used to help districts bring about that change. First, teacher leaders will be targeted to help sustain and advance their work in classrooms throughout the SI districts. Second, EDC will focus its efforts on help the USPs' continuing struggle to bring about change at the high school level. Third, an effort will be made to include science more centrally in local district reform efforts. Finally, EDC will attempt to gain a better understanding of how to organize and implement TA such that the lessons-learned might contribute to future large-scale reform efforts. Broader Impact The utility of the multi-tiered design will increase the number of people who will have access to lessons-learned and better ensure widespread use of best practices. The products, resources, and advances in knowledge in science and mathematics will help the SI and well as other districts meet other national and state requirements such as No Child Left Behind. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Sandler, Judith Education Development Center MA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 741109 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0346556 July 1, 2004 CAREER: Women and Students of Color in Doctoral Mathematics. This project will examine factors affecting the participation of women and students from groups underrepresented in doctoral programs in the mathematical sciences. The investigator will conduct case studies of five doctoral programs, a survey, and indepth interviews with students and faculty. No research has systematically and broadly examined the experiences of underrepresented groups in doctoral mathematical sciences. By looking at this question through both the institutional and individual perspectives, this project expects to increase understanding of what it takes to succeed in doctoral mathematics, the obstacles faced by women and students from underrepresented groups, and the actions some programs have taken to help students succeed. The research and educational activities are guided by theory that learning is comprised of three parts: acquiring knowledge, engaging in practices, and developing a research identity. The investigator has first-hand knowledge of doctoral mathematical sciences, through her experiences as a graduate student in mathematics and statistics and her previous research on doctoral student attrition. The researcher has developed a network of mathematicians who do related work, who have agreed to make resources available for this project (such as access to populations of students in mathematics). Experts in research methodology, diversity issues in mathematics, post-graduate mathematics education, online surveys, and assessment have agreed to be available to this project as advisors or as consultants. The investigator has experience with both qualitative and quantitative research methods, and has managed complex, long-term projects through her prior work in research and industry. Both the research and educational plan are focused on issues of diversity in mathematics education. One explicit goal of the research project will be to develop concrete recommendations that mathematics faculty and policymakers can follow to increase the diversity of doctoral students who enroll in and graduate from doctoral mathematics programs. Results will be disseminated within the mathematics community. The investigator has begun working in this regard, through conference presentations and the development of publications suitable for a mathematical audience. The persistence framework described in the proposal, the quantitative persistence measures developed through the project, and the research findings, may well inform efforts in other STEM disciplines to recruit and retain a more diverse student body. If this research is successful, then it will increase our understanding of the factors important in the success of women and students underrepresented in STEM, the obstacles faced by some groups of students, and what faculty and other interested parties can do to improve the participation and success of these students. The investigator's educational work will include training pre-service secondary teachers to be more aware of and responsive to diversity issues, leading them to teach in ways that engage children of all backgrounds in mathematics and mathematical thinking. In addition, the investigator will be a leader in a project to develop a mentored learning community for undergraduates in mathematics, with a goal of attracting more students, and in particular a more diverse population of students, into mathematics and mathematics-related disciplines. Through each of these efforts, the investigator aims to lead future cohorts of undergraduate students to an improved sense of what mathematics is and how it can be used, and to help them discover the excitement and value of mathematics. REESE GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI RES ON GENDER IN SCI & ENGINE IGERT FULL PROPOSALS DRL EHR Herzig, Abbe SUNY at Albany NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 635601 7625 7179 7172 1666 1544 1335 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0346906 June 1, 2004 CAREER: Development and Evaluation of Active, Cooperative, Disability-Sensitive Pedagogies for Chemistry. Intellectual Merit: This proposal outlines an innovative approach to introductory chemistry instruction. The overarching goal is to develop and assess an interactive, hands-on environment that seamlessly integrates classroom and laboratory instruction, producing stimulating and effective instruction for all students, including those with visual impairments. The proposed activities include modifying and expanding an interactive instructional environment at N.C. State University, designing and implementing experiments for visually impaired students, and developing and testing interactive modules for chemistry instruction. The instructional methodology includes active and cooperative learning techniques and is founded on the premise that actively engaged students stand a better chance to discover and understand chemical principles, be fascinated by chemical phenomena, and be better prepared to succeed in their career of choice. The research portion of the program will involve assessing and evaluating the impact on learning and retention of the instructional materials and methods developed in the educational part, using a variety of quantitative control studies and qualitative research methods. The three components of the proposed project each rest on a solid foundation of theory and empirical classroom research. The active, cooperative, and hands-on features of the SCALE-UP classroom environment have been exhaustively validated in the literatures of cognitive science and education, and by the PI s prior experience with adapting the environment to introductory chemistry instruction. Broader Impact: The instructional materials produced in this project will affect the way chemistry is taught by instructors and the way it is perceived by students. Special student populations such as minorities and visually impaired students will benefit in a unique way as NCSU will serve as a model for other institutions in how to develop, implement, and modify the instructional methods and materials generated in the study. Collaborations with different organizations that attend to the needs of the visually impaired will help promote our findings and test the materials with this particular student population. The PI has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of replacing chemistry experiments that normally require visual acuity with alternatives that make use of other senses, and in her Ph.D. dissertation research demonstrated the potential of interactive instructional tutorials to promote learning. Close collaborations with faculty at a peer minority university, the University of Puerto Rico, will provide the PI with the means to test and analyze the impact of an integrated format of instruction with significant numbers of minority students. The program assessment will make use of controlled quantitative learning measurements as well as survey and focus group research. Awareness of the products of this proposal will be promoted aggressively through participation at scientific and educational conferences, peer-reviewed articles, and websites. In addition, materials tailored for the visually impaired and their instructors will be disseminated with the help of the ACS Committee on Chemists with Disabilities. Alternative formats for the current model of integrated instruction will also be studied and the results made available by the same means described above. Education Plan: The educational plan emphasizes the education of prospective instructors, including professors, graduate, and undergraduate students in these pedagogies so that a progressively increasing cohort of instructors can pass along to their students and peers the benefits of active, cooperative, disability sensitive pedagogies. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Oliver-Hoyo, Maria North Carolina State University NC John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 552900 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0346951 July 1, 2004 CAREER: Deaf Children, Their Families and Schools: School, College & Labor Success. The investigator proposes to track deaf children's school, college, and employment success over time by applying profiles of success to both the college admission and career training process at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and other institutions. The researcher would conduct secondary analysis of available data sets to examine math and reading achievement, to specify the success of deaf children in their transition from school to work, and to identify a profile of career success for recent deaf alumni. The study will contribute to existing knowledge by analyzing existing national survey studies of labor force behavior and a new longitudinal studies of deaf students from New York State that would be collected during the 5-year CAREER project by the investigator. The results of the research will be adopted in courses the investigator teachers in secondary deaf education teacher-training programs at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The study has implications for instruction of deaf children. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Schley, Sara Rochester Institute of Tech NY Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 520848 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0347000 June 15, 2004 CAREER: Alternate Routes to Technology and Science. This study explores the conjecture that students can develop STEM understanding and interest in STEM using computational tools to participate in professional practice. The investigator hypothesizes a chain of reasoning in which a) computational tools make it possible for students to engage in meaningful projects; b) such projects connect students to the norms, activities and patterns of interaction in communities of professional practice; c) the resulting processes of reflective practice develop students' understanding of fundamental STEM concepts and skills; and d) this process, in turn, creates progressively larger and more stable islands of STEM expertise. The project will use design research to test these hypothesis. Students will use the Digital Zoo to model the practice of biomechanical engineering to learn physics and biology by designing virtual creatures. Ecology 2020 would be used to solve urban planning problems. The education plan consists of working with high school students in an after school program; developing undergraduate and graduate courses and working with graduate students in the research. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Shaffer, David University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 584716 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0347030 June 15, 2004 CAREER: Data-Driven Instructional Systems-- Accessing How School Leaders Develop Local Capacity to Use Data to Influence Instruction. This proposal studies how leaders build data-driven instructional systems (DDIS) by developing new programs and using existing school functions to create local school systems responsive to changes in student assessment scores. The recent demand for schools to respond to external accountability measures challenges school leaders to create school instructional systems that use data to guide the practices of teaching and learning. For example, leaders who establish structures for teachers to discuss achievement data, consider and experiment with research-based teaching practices, link teacher evaluation to student performance, and/or building a financial system to reward successful teaching are able to intentionally create and exploit the systemic interconnections of school functions to create local DDISs. The project is designed to develop a new understanding of how to access, document and communicate the knowledge that guides the practice of successful instructional leaders. This work is grounded in prior efforts to document the practice of leaders engaged in the difficult work of constructing professional communities, developing inclusive teaching practices, and designing and implementing teacher evaluation programs. As the next step in this research work, investigating DDISs promises to show how school leaders engage in the daunting task of reshaping their school culture to meet external accountability demands. The study will contribute to how we think about the relationship between leadership, school reform, accountability, and leadership preparation Three component activities will furnish educational experiences: (a) the development and dissemination of multimedia cases of practice, (b) insights for how to better teach and design administrator preparation and professional development courses, and (c) graduate student development. A key outcome of the research and a central feature of the education plan will be to develop multimedia cases to make the knowledge that guides DDIS development public. These cases will serve as foundation for reconsidering how to teach leaders-in-training and how to help graduate students recognize and document the central features of leadership practice. The work proposed is consistent with the goals of the university and department to investigate new methods for understanding and communicating school leadership practices. REESE MSP-OTHER AWARDS RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Halverson, Richard University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 792590 7625 1793 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0347309 June 1, 2004 CAREER: Educational trajectories of low-income urban youth in science and technology. Guided by an overarching ecological model, this research will employ a longitudinal design to study students' transitions from high school to post-secondary education or work. The students selected are from two small cities with high ethnic minority populations. Three interconnected topics will be examined: (1) the social negotiations of educational and career aspirations including how the students' science and technology aspirations develop over time and across social contexts; (2) the nature of effective mentoring strategies, including ways students and teachers can optimize students' access to mentors; and (3) patterns of science and technology learning and motivation across contexts. Quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to analyze surveys, interviews, and observations. The education plan features having undergraduate students, including pre-service teachers, enrolled in the PI's community-based educational psychology courses, collaborate with youth in the two urban neighborhoods on teaching and learning activities while jointly conducting field-based educational research. Undergraduates will also conduct research with the PI, during the year and in the summer, and contribute to dissemination efforts. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Packard, Becky Mount Holyoke College MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 441530 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0347784 May 1, 2004 CAREER: Math Teachers in Online and Live Communities of Practice. This project will construct a set of tools and protocols to identify and analyze the important structural features of online and live communities of practice. The analytical perspective used brings together ideas from research fields that too rarely intersect: the study of online communities from ethnographic and social network theory perspectives; accumulated experience from design experiments; the anthropological study of professional communities of practice; and teacher professional development research. An essential part of the project will be the enhancement of current professional development for two specific communities of teachers, graduate instructors teaching gatekeeper courses with high minority populations. A combined online and live course and support structure will be developed for graduate algebra instructors at San Francisco State calculus teaching assistants, and the ideas will then be adapted for graduate instructors of the PDP Treisman workshops at UC Berkeley. The project will assess the growth of the participants, in terms of teaching skill, attitudes and their pedagogical content knowledge. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hsu, Eric San Francisco State University CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 488882 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0347887 May 1, 2004 CAREER: Costs and benefits of problem solving in small groups: An integrated plan for research and education. The proposed program of research explores the effects of group size on problem-solving. The investigator will systematically look at the processes and outcomes of individuals working along as well as colloborations by dyads and triads as they engage in scientific problem solving activities in which undergraduates are asked to reason about data, evidence, and theories in intact psychology classes. In this manner, the investigator's research program is integrated with her classroom instruction plans for her courses on research methods in education and computer science. The investigator also proposes to conduct a parallel set of laboratory-based studies looking at reasoning about plate tectonics and volcanoes in an attempt to generalize the findings across domains and topics. The central goal of the project is the identification of the specific aspects of collaborative contexts that lead to learning gains and those that do not. Drawing on the literature in social psychology, the investigator has identified four aspects of group problem solving that are implicated in a loss of productivity: changes in motivation and effort, potential for evaluation and conflict, task coordination and representation, pooling of resources. The investigator hopes to produce guidelines for the design of effective collaborative activities that should not only foster learning within her own classes, but have implications across a range of domains and topics in education. The investigator's educational plan includes using her own studies to refine her current undergraduate courses in methods in psychology, and adapting them for use in her course in Computer Science and educational methods classes. In her role as an advisor in the Honors College, she also plans to engage a group of undergraduates as researchers in her lab. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Wiley, Jennifer University of Illinois at Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 543746 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0347906 August 15, 2004 CAREER: Discourse Analysis: A Catalyst for Reflective Inquiry in Mathematics Classrooms. The objectives of the proposed project are to examine: the nature of mathematical discourse in middle school mathematics classrooms; the ways in which middle school mathematics teachers' beliefs impact the discourse when working to enact reform-oriented instruction and how this information can be used to incorporate practitioner research using concepts and tools of discourse analysis to improve mathematics instruction. The significance of this work comes in understanding how classroom discourse can affect the learning environment and engage students in learning mathematics in the ways proposed by the Standards. The focus of those documents has been to promote conceptual understanding and sense making instead of the procedural emphasis that often takes precedence in more traditional mathematics teaching. The Standards vision can only be achieved if some of the discourse patterns in current mathematics instruction are changed from a transmission model of communication to one that supports inquiry. The research plan is to conduct six to nine case studies of the discourse in middle school mathematics classrooms. These case studies will highlight classroom discourse patterns -- the form, function and meaning. In addition, we will capture the process of teachers engaging in practitioner research projects in which they choose an aspect of their discourse to change and study the affects of that change on the classroom learning environment. The project will also examine how the combination of tools and concepts from discourse analysis and practitioner research projects affect teacher beliefs. The educational goal of this project is to design a long-term professional development program that will continue beyond this funding with other cohorts of teachers. The research case studies and other data will be used to write case studies for both undergraduate methods courses and to be used as part of a long-term professional development program. In addition, these cases will be made available to other teacher educators. University researchers and teacher researchers will collaboratively develop the courses and workshops that comprise the professional development program. REESE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth Iowa State University IA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 512325 7625 7271 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0348841 June 1, 2004 A Study on Learning Science, Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade. The National Academy of Sciences, through their Committee on Science Education, will oversee a research synthesis on children's science learning in grades K-8. The proposal makes the case that there has not yet been a study of this kind that pulls together research from multiple disciplines (science content, learning theory in the cognitive sciences, developmental psychology, social psychology and anthropology) and incorporates research from the standards movement along with the impact of accountability at all levels of the education system. The study proposes to address the following questions: 1. What does a comprehensive picture of how children acquire scientific ideas look like? 2. How can this comprehensive understanding be helpful to advancing goals around student achievement and equity in opportunities to learn science? How can this knowledge help advance the design of science assessments? 3. What other lines of research need to be pursued to make our understanding about how students learn science more complete? An NRC study committee that reflects a multidisciplinary perspective and includes expertise in science and science education, cognitive psychology, child development, learning theory, education policy and education research will carry out the study. The work will be conducted through commissioned papers and workshops. The work will be analyzed and synthesized into an NRC report. The NRC is working with the Merck Institute for Science Education about providing a shorter, more policy-oriented document to accompany the full-length report. It is anticipated the report will be of interest to educators, researchers and policymakers. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Schweingruber, Heidi National Academy of Sciences DC Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1226501 V582 V564 7355 7271 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0349430 September 1, 2003 Annual Research Symposium on Minority Achievement, September 2004 and September 2005, Maryland Institute for Minority Achievement and Urban Education. The Maryland Institute for Minority Achievement and Urban Education (MIMAUE) The Maryland Institute for Minority Achievement and Urban Education (MIMAUE) proposes to conduct Annual Research Symposiums on Minority Achievement. The first symposium scheduled for September 2004 with the theme: Optimizing Mathematical Achievement for All Students. The second symposium scheduled for September 2005 will focus on the critical themes: Optimizing Science Achievement for All Students; Academic Factors that Influence Mathematics and Science Achievement; Social and Emotional Factors that Influence Mathematics and Science Achievement. The MIAMUE Annual Research Symposium will become a national event to be held every September and will bring together the top national researchers around a theme of importance to promoting high achievement among minority students and of children in urban settings. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Johnson, Martin University of Maryland College Park MD Joseph Reed Standard Grant 185834 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0349895 July 15, 2004 In Search of Biodiversity and Public Understanding: Myanmar's Amphibians and Reptiles. The California Academy of Sciences will develop, evaluate and disseminate exhibits and programs designed to communicate to public audiences the results of research including a biotic inventory of the amphibians and reptiles of Myanmar. Using innovative trading cards for kids, updates to current research exhibits, a poster highlighting research, a pocket guide to venomous snakes of Myanmar and a posting of research -related materials on the CAS website, the project will inform the public about biotic inventory research and conservation in Myanmar. Designed specifically for target audiences of children and adults, the exhibits and programs will serve several hundred thousand CAS visitors annually. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Leviton, Alan Margaret Burke California Academy of Sciences CA Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 74999 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352103 November 1, 2003 International Conference on Systemic Reform of Science & Mathematics Education: Spring of 2004: Paris, France 2004. The proposed conference is aimed at developing an international dialogue on systemic educational reform. The dialogue will advance discovery and understanding of educational reform, while promoting teaching, training and learning. The initiative will be used to analyze and compare various learning models and pedagogic approaches to science and mathematics teaching, with the long-term aim of improving mathematics and science achievement at the K-12 level. The conference will develop new research strategies and partners at the national and international level, who will link the systemic reform efforts in the US in context with similar efforts around the world. The dialogue between UNESCO representatives and staff from education and science divisions and the US science and mathematics communities will be renewed and strengthened. Results of the conference will be published both in print form and on the AAS website. Alliances developed through the conference among university-based academics, policy-makers in development agencies and school-based science and math educators will help bridge the gap between the research produced by development agencies and that produced for academic audiences. The conference would be an important step towards establishing closer dialogue, identifying potential collaborative efforts, and promoting internal reforms to improve science and math education around the world. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Malcom, Shirley American Association For Advancement Science DC Joseph Reed Standard Grant 150010 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352148 September 1, 2003 Dual-Language Concurrent Assessment Development for English Language Learners. This is a proposal to conduct an exploratory test of the assumption that different test development procedures for creating achievement tests in two languages elicit different kinds of thinking in students, different kinds of development processes when applied to science and mathematics, and insights on how to streamline a costly process. Traditional translation procedures raise concerns that they do not capture student thinking associated with the second language and culture as much as they do the translator's thinking. The approach to be explored (CAD) takes into account the finding that student performance is highly sensitive to wording and context. Thus, as items are developed independently for say English and Spanish versions the developers try them out on students and get together to discuss the wording as it relates to language and culture of the students. The CAD or Concurrent Assessment Development is proposed as a promising strategy for assessment that captures student thinking without a lessened cultural and language bias while maintaining fidelity to psychometric principles and a structured shell or test specification guide used by both the new CAD approach and conventional translation approaches. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Nelson-Barber, Sharon Elise Trumbull WestEd CA Gabriel M. Della-Piana Standard Grant 69887 7347 SMET 9237 9177 0352180 May 1, 2004 Investigating Astronomy: A Unique High School Curriculum for All Students. Using a carefully designed sequence of hands-on activities, scientific images and visualizations, and long-term investigations, "Investigating Astronomy" addresses the national science education standards and state frameworks for the study of astronomy. The six modules can be used together for a year- or semester - long high school astronomy course or separately as part of Earth or physical science courses. The six modules address overarching ideas of gravitational attracting systems, energy transformation, structure of matter, space and time, evolution of the universe, how we know what we know and history of astronomy. Each module is driven by a challenge -- an overarching investigation -- that provides real-life application for the astronomical and physical content contained in the activities and offers students a venue for exploring the same fundamental ideas and concepts that engage scientists. These materials, to be available in English and Spanish, provide the first astronomy course developed especially for high schools. They are accompanied by a teacher guide, a teacher professional development website, and family and community materials, including connections to amateur astronomers. A research component embedded in the external evaluation measures the effect of scaffolding on student learning of scientific concepts. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Asbell-Clarke, Jodi Jeffrey Lockwood Michael Bennett TERC Inc MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1998783 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352239 February 1, 2004 Research Knowledge Utilization in Education: A SGER Proposal. This project addresses the transfer of knowledge gained through research in the field of education to practitioners. The objective is to enhance understanding of research knowledge dissemination practices. That should, in turn, open promising lines of research to enhance transfer of research findings beyond immediate research communities. To achieve this, the researchers plan a three-stage study. First, they will compare and synthesize findings on research knowledge utilization (RKU) from multiple fields. They draw on extensive experience in science and technology research evaluation with more limited experience concerning educational research assessment. In addition, they propose to review work in the public health domain that (as with education) relies heavily on public sector mechanisms to achieve innovation. The cumulative findings on RKU will be used to refine the initial educational RKU model proposed. Second, the research team will develop retrospective studies analogous to the successful "Traces" studies of how major technological innovations drew upon disparate research findings. The intent is to compare how research knowledge has contributed to advances in one Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educational domain with the corresponding processes in a public health domain. Selection of those domains will be based on preliminary reviews of RKU studies in education and public health, combined with perspectives on key research domains based on STEM issues. Methods will combine broad and focused literature searches, review of pertinent case studies, interviews, and bibliometric analyses. Third, the project will apply "text mining" to help understand knowledge flows, identify applications, point to key contributors to knowledge transfer, and identify potential user communities. The team will contact selected participants representing multiple perspectives to form panels. Interaction will be primarily electronic to conserve study resources. Panelists will be asked to review the RKU model, enrich the information bases for the "Traces" cases, and assess research protocols to pursue knowledge transfer mechanisms. In terms of intellectual merit, the project provides a conceptual model relating the factors that play major roles in effecting RKU in education. This will draw on findings from RKU studies over several decades, comparing educational factors with those in other domains. Furthermore, findings from the two comparative "Traces" cases should elucidate RKU leverage points that warrant investigation. This project should serve as a base for further development of ways to facilitate RKU in STEM education. The broader impacts of that could be tremendous. In essence, the Federal Government funds a great deal of educational research whose utilization is largely in question. To the extent that this project succeeds, it should offer enablers to leverage educational research more effectively. That should pay off by enhancing educational research value by facilitating transfer of knowledge to neighboring research communities, to technically knowledgeable practitioners, and to users without strong backgrounds in the research per se. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Porter, Alan David Roessner GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 108227 7180 SMET 9251 9237 9177 0352345 December 15, 2003 Annual Conference for Developers of NSF-IMD K-12 Comprehensive Science and Mathematics Curricula. In each of the next three years a conference will be held for developers of comprehensive K-12 science, technology and mathematics curricula funded by the National Science Foundation, as well as for developers of modules currently funded. The goal of these conferences is to provide a forum for developers to discuss common issues of materials development, evaluation, adoption, student assessment and teacher professional development for reform-based curricula and to develop research questions about them. The conferences will allow participants to exchange information, interact with experts and to build on relationships developed in previous meetings. A conference report and evaluation will be published on the web, and each meeting will build upon the previous one. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Benbow, Ann American Geological Institute VA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 563908 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352453 March 1, 2004 Science in Global Issues: An Integrated High School Science Course. "Science in Global Issues" (SGI) joins the already published, "Science and Sustainability," to become a two-year integrated science course for grades 9 and 10 incorporating an issues-oriented, guided-inquiry approach to learning. The course, to be available both as a full year course and as modules, focuses on the role of science in addressing the needs of modern society and the use of technology in advancing scientific knowledge. In collaboration with teachers and scientists, specific learning goals related to the science standards are developed. The assessment system, previously used in other SEPUP materials, serves as an indicator of learning, guides the development of activities, and is used as a basis for evaluation and research on how the instruction affects student learning and teacher practice. Students are introduced to and examine key science concepts in the context of personal and societal issues. A primary resource contains images of and data about countries around the world and links to existing simulations of processes. Unit themes include "Tools for Exploring Earth," "Maintaining Diversity," "World Health," and "Fueling the World." Content standards include interactions of energy and matter, matter energy and of living systems, evolution, the cell, structure of atoms and molecular basis of heredity. With SGI, SEPUP has developed a sequenced science curriculum for grades 6-10. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Nagle, Barbara Manisha Hariani University of California-Berkeley CA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 2590156 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352473 February 1, 2004 Linking Middle & Early High School Science & Mathematics Assessment Items to Local, State & National Content Standards. The project will develop a bank of mathematics and science assessment items and related tools aligned with state and national content standards that will be available to test developers, curriculum developers, researchers, teachers, teacher educators, parents and students. Building on the work of a previous grant that developed a process for analyzing assessment items related to national standards, this work will develop items that are not aligned to any particular materials development project, but focus instead on major ideas and themes in the standards' documents. Specific tools will include a bank of about 300 test items, 16 assessment maps (10 in science, 6 in mathematics) and the inclusion of materials that target students with English as a second language. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR DeBoer, George Jo Ellen Roseman American Association For Advancement Science DC Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 4150295 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352478 March 1, 2004 My World: A Geographic Information System for Learners. This thirty-three month project will develop and evaluate "My World," a learner-appropriate geographic information system (GIS), data library and learning activities. The software and accompanying data and materials will support inquiry-based learning in middle and high school Earth science, environmental science and geography classes. The project will complete development of the software, develop a community of users, create and disseminate a data library with appropriate activities and conduct an extensive evaluation. The software development focuses on usability and scaffolding, functionality to support standards-based instruction and compatibility with school needs. The community development effort builds a community of GIS experts in schools who will provide input to the design, develop associated materials and provide professional development. The project will include a core data library for the geosciences with learning activities ready for distribution. The evaluation effort will conduct formative and summative evaluations. Part of this plan includes a comparison to traditional and to established methods. Close cooperation with developers and publishers is included in the work plan and the PI anticipates these materials will be included in future secondary earth science courses. ITEST DRL EHR Edelson, Daniel Northwestern University IL Michael Haney Standard Grant 970507 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352504 April 1, 2004 Engineering Inquiry-based Learning Modules for Technology Education. The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, in cooperation with technology education teachers and industrial collaborators, are developing modular instructional materials for students. The materials are designed to increase the awareness of and interest in career opportunities in engineering and technology. The modules use authentic, real-world engineering applications and hands-on experiences to build problem-solving skills and contribute to the technological literacy of secondary students. The modules specifically target the ITEA Content Standards for Technological Literacy and related benchmarks. Specifically, the project is developing five case studies in CD format, using real-world examples to introduce students to engineering design and decision-making processes. Inquiry-based learning with hands-on experiences will be used to maximize student interest and understanding. The project is conducting research to demonstrate the effectiveness of the modules in increasing technological literacy and in building awareness of and interest in engineering and technology careers. The project is also conducting research to determine how interactive, authentic, problem-solving simulations impact and facilitate student learning. It is also providing professional development opportunities for technology education teachers, including an overview of the program and acquaintance with the curriculum case studies prior to their use in the classroom, as well as increasing the involvement of women and other underrepresented groups in engineering and technology by providing female and minority role models in the classroom and developing case studies that encourage interest and participation by all groups. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Ross, Julia Taryn Bayles Bruce Jarrell Carolyn Parker University of Maryland Baltimore County MD Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1581869 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352516 May 1, 2004 Active Physics Revision. "Active Physics," previously funded by NSF, has proven to be a widely used high school physics text, meeting the needs of diverse groups of students in urban areas and increasing the number of ninth graders taking physics. The goals of that development were to introduce physics instruction to a wider audience, to provide for a real-world approach to physics and to create materials that reflect what was known about how students learn. Now "Active Physics" is to be revised into a single volume emphasizing the organizing principles of physics. The content is restructured and content added for teaching physics to ninth graders as the first part of a three-course science sequence. Additional materials extend the content for advanced students and increase the use of mathematics. The materials address the need for professional development of physics teachers and of science teachers in other fields to teach physics to ninth graders. An extensive evaluation explores student performance. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Zahm, Barbara Arthur Eisenkraft It's About Time, A Division of Herff-Jones Inc. NY Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1130515 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352519 May 1, 2004 Instructional Modules in Educational Measurement and Statistics for School Personnel. The "Instructional Modules in Educational Measurement and Statistics for School Personnel" project will be produced in dynamic video cases and DVD for use in updating school administrators', counselors' and teachers' knowledge about tests, measurement, score reports and interpretation. This new knowledge will enable schools to inform curriculum and instructional decision-making, improve classroom practices and better respond to the strengths and needs of individual students. These materials will help bridge an existing gap in assessment literacy by helping teachers, administrators and parents to interpret test score results and to understand the underlying measurement principles essential to making meaning of these results. Extensive survey data and text analysis will be used to identify widely held misconceptions about testing and measurement concepts. Pilot and field-testing will be targeted to gain feedback on how well the new materials communicate and translate the core concepts of score distributions, individual and average test scores and interpretation of widely used score reports to teachers. This unique and timely project will produce high quality materials on assessment that will have immediate applicability and that will be of broad interest. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Zwick, Rebecca University of California-Santa Barbara CA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 477988 7355 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352522 April 1, 2004 TEEMSS II: Technology-enhanced Elementary and Middle School Science. This three-year project will develop 15 units of information and computer-based learning materials keyed to the grades 3-8 National Science Education Standards. The emphasis is on helping students develop a deep understanding of science inquiry, which is supported through innovative uses of computers, probeware and networking. The PI reports that Informational and Computer Technologies (ICT) are particularly valuable at helping students understand cause-and-effect relationships, to visualize change, to gain insights into the ways systems act, to relate math, science, and technology and to support explorations of emergent behavior. Fifteen units will be developed by experienced curriculum specialists, scientists and teachers to support an active inquiry-based learning environment, and these units will be appropriate for use with a wide range of curriculum materials. The design is such that it is possible for schools with limited resources to use the materials. Included are software, implementation assistance for teachers, an online course for teachers and materials for parents. Two rounds of formative testing and a full year of summative assessment are planned. Test schools include under-resourced urban and rural schools throughout the US. Dissemination will include generic materials available free from the project website and product-specific materials from publishers and vendors. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Tinker, Robert Concord Consortium MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 2706804 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352529 March 1, 2004 Virtual Courseware for Inquiry-based Science Education. This thirty-three month project will develop instructional materials for grade 6-12 students and will result in thirty-five additional online activities in the areas of biology and Earth science building on the successful Virtual Courseware Project, which resulted in a biology online lab with 20 activities. The materials will be designed to support science teachers in their efforts to implement inquiry-based learning activities in their classrooms. The products will include web-based simulations and supporting materials covering many life and Earth sciences topics and closely tied to the National Science Content Standards. Each activity includes a step-by-step guide that provides an overview, an open-ended simulation so students can design and carry out experiments based on their own hypotheses, a performance-based assessment quiz, electronic portfolios, student manuals and teacher guides. The teacher materials include online access to quantitative results for their students by overall class average, by individual student, by specific question and by learning objective. Teachers can access the students' electronic portfolios and are provided portfolio assessment rubrics. Teacher guides, content and context background and suggestions for implementing for individual and group-based work are provided. Teachers from Los Angeles schools are involved in the design of the instructional materials and in the field testing. A commercial publisher will market the materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Desharnais, Robert Paul Narguizian California State L A University Auxiliary Services Inc. CA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1299272 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352530 June 1, 2004 Investigating Student Understanding of Energy in High School Chemistry Courses. The purpose of this applied research is to study the impact of chemistry lessons developed specifically to improve student understanding of energy. Energy is a pervasive concept in science that is used in chemistry, biology and physics to explain many observed phenomena; however, it is often not emphasized in high school chemistry courses. The goal of this project is to examine ways to frame the concept of energy to foster student understanding of this important topic. Specifically, the plan is to determine if an emphasis on stability improves student understanding of energy. The results of this research will ultimately guide the development of a "Living by Chemistry" high school chemistry unit on energy and the development of questions on energy for the "ChemQuery" assessment system. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Stacy, Angelica University of California-Berkeley CA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 667987 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352540 April 1, 2004 A Design Study for a Capstone Biology Course. BSCS proposes to conduct a design study on capstone biology at the high school level. In U.S. high schools biology has traditionally been the science course that students take first, followed by chemistry and physics. Some schools recently have been implementing physics first and biology as the final (or capstone) course. This design study brings together experts in science, teaching, science education, professional development and curriculum development to study how biology as a capstone course must differ from an introductory course. To provide informed results BSCS will use multiple techniques for acquiring reliable and relevant information. These techniques include national surveys of teachers, administrators and biologists; case studies of capstone course implementation; a comprehensive review of the literature and commissioned essays. After collecting this data BSCS will develop a coherent framework, present prospective models and make evidenced-based recommendations for a capstone biology course. The findings of the study will be compiled in a monograph and an executive summary, which will be disseminated widely. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Van Scotter, Pamela Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO David B. Campbell Standard Grant 308659 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352570 April 1, 2004 Extending and Enhancing the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives as a National Teaching Resource for School Mathematics. This project seeks to extend the work already being done (with NSF funding) on a web-based library of virtual manipulatives for students in grades K-8. Materials will be developed serving grades 9-12. Other features to be added would be translation into Spanish and voice-overs for existing materials, and the capability of printing and saving student work. A set of software tools for teachers would enable them to construct customized web pages using the manipulatives, as well as small modules ready for insertion into existing curricula. New materials developed for teachers will include lists of instructional objectives, suggested learning activities and assessment tools. Evaluation will investigate the quality of human/computer interaction, the relevance of the materials to current pedagogy, the effectiveness of the resulting instruction and the process of building communities of users of the materials. Questions to be asked in evaluation include: Does the project increase student access to the potential of the computer? Does it increase the perceived relevance of the mathematics to the student? Will it increase collaboration between on-line users? Quasi-experimental studies, observations interviews, and surveys will be used to answer these questions. Dissemination will proceed through commercial publishers who have already committed to this project, through the Web, and through professional journals and conferences. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Cannon, Lawrence E.Robert Heal James Cangelosi James Dorward Joel Duffin Utah State University UT Ron Tzur Continuing grant 779651 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352572 July 1, 2004 CENSNet: An Architecture for Authentic Web-based Science Inquiry in Middle and High School. This forty-eight month project will provide middle and high school students and teachers with access to live scientific data from the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS). It will result in curricular modules that are built around sensor networks and that target core life science content and inquiry standards. Current funding for scientific research has provided an ecosystem monitoring network that supports extensive remote investigations of the James Reserve in California. This project adds the educational interface and supporting materials to support authentic investigations by schools. It allows schools to do investigations and inquiry in the same way and in the same environment as scientists. The project builds on the $20 Million STC project to create a network of sensors for scientific use. The proposed project aims to create a student-friendly view of the CENS sensor network, with wrap-around instructional activities for classroom use in a broad range of the sciences. Dissemination of these activities will be in conjunction with the CENSnet project. A research component includes the study of fading technological and pedagogical scaffold for inquiry and measuring student gains. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP ITEST DRL EHR Sandoval, William Christine Borgman University of California-Los Angeles CA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1673189 7645 7355 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352671 May 15, 2004 Enhancing the Capacity of Math and Science Teachers -- A Conference to be Held in Washington, DC, Spring 2004. The grant supports a planning conference with selected faculty and administrators from eight to ten small colleges and universities with staff from Stevens Institute of Technology. The conference would focus on more effective use of the Internet in pre-service training of K-12 science teachers. The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) seeks to strengthen the abilities of K-12 teachers to incorporate technological solutions in their math and science classrooms. This initiative would enhance the capacity of collegiate teacher education programs in independent colleges and universities to shape the education of prospective math and science teachers. The CIC and Stevens Institute of Technology will draw on their respective strengths in educating prospective and current teachers in developing this program. The CIC's member colleges and universities train a significant number of career scientists and science teachers in the United States. Stevens Institute of Technology turned to community colleges as its partners in organizing their own training sessions for in-service K-12 teachers and its pre-science activities. They found faculty members at small, four-year colleges were especially effective in their teacher-training activities. Based on this successful relationship, Stevens and the CIC want to create a national program beginning with approximately ten small colleges and universities with strong records in the preparation of K-12 science teachers. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR McGrath, Elisabeth Russell Garth Stevens Institute of Technology NJ Michael Haney Standard Grant 19671 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0352898 September 1, 2003 The Development of a Cognition-based Assessment System for Core Mathematics Concepts in Grades K-8. This "proof-of-concept" project will develop a cognition-based assessment system (CBAS) to help determine the cognitive underpinnings students reach in understanding and mastering core mathematical ideas in grades K-8. The project will identify these ideas in the areas of geometry and whole numbers. The system is comprised of a) the identification of core mathematical concepts in K-8; b) research-based cognitive milestones and fluencies for each core concept; and c) assessment tasks that track different positions of student understanding as students progress. CBAS will be designed for use by teachers in formative and summative classroom assessment, and for use by districts, program evaluators and researchers in evaluating the quality of student learning in various curricular and instructional programs. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Battista, Michael Michigan State University MI Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 425001 7355 SMET 9177 0353101 August 15, 2003 ROLE: The school as a knowing organization - Knowledge management as a strategy for continuous teacher development. Organizations have knowledge. The knowledge is typically dispersed throughout the organization. Some of it is codified in documents and policies, some is embodied in projects and strategies, and some is tacitly held by individuals and small groups. The problem of knowledge management is that an organization's knowledge is often locally produced, haphazardly disseminated, and ineffectively indexed. It is inaccessible when and where it is needed. Knowledge management techniques take a participatory approach to identifying, codifying, and integrating knowledge resources throughout the organization. Their objective is to help people make sense of their organizations, to develop and maintain trust, to make commitments and take responsibility, to more effectively challenge, negotiate, and learn, and thereby to improve the quality of the contributions people make to their organizations. This project will adapt knowledge management concepts and techniques, and the information technology they employ, to understand and enhance knowledge management in school organizations. We will work with school administrators, but chiefly with teachers. First, we will investigate and characterize knowledge management practices as they exist today, and identify needs and opportunities to improve knowledge management. We will facilitate teacher-initiated development of organizational knowledge resources, and identify, and accessibly codify the critical knowledge of the school systems. We will assess the impact of this intervention on teachers, on the school system, and on the perception of the school by the community. We will compare and contrast this analysis and intervention to knowledge management interventions now becoming typical in business organizations. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Carroll, John Mary Beth Rosson Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 523846 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0353277 June 1, 2004 Lenses on Learning: Understanding Mathematics Instruction at the Secondary Level. This project investigates the Leadership Content Knowledge (knowledge of mathematics, how it is learned, how it is taught) of secondary school administrators. We will explore the nature of secondary administrators. LCK, how a "Lenses on Learning" course affects this LCK and how materials design principles developed for K-8 Lenses function at the secondary level. The project will investigate these questions while developing, piloting, and field-testing a six-session "Lenses on Learning" module in which administrators will do and discuss mathematics; explore how students learn mathematics and how it is best taught and link these ideas to their administrative practice. Collaborators will be three pilot-test sites in the Boston area, six nationally-distributed field-test sites, internal and external evaluators, advisory board and publisher (Pearson Learning). DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Nelson, Barbara Education Development Center MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 893049 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353285 August 1, 2004 ThEMaTe: Thought Experiments in Mathematics Teaching. This five-year research project focuses on secondary mathematics teachers of algebra and geometry. The basic premise is to examine what constitutes viable mathematics instruction from the perspective of the customary work of mathematics teachers. The PIs seek to understand the practical rationality that undergirds teachers' actions as they meet subject-specific goals of the teaching of algebra and geometry. A central aspect of the study is the development of a digital exploratorium for alternatives in teaching, using animations of real and possible episodes. The digital exploratorium will allow the researchers to examine the interplay between conceivable possibilities for instruction and what practitioners view as viable in mathematics teaching. This exploratorium will be used in study groups and summer academies for teachers. Teachers' conversations as they work with the Exploratorium examining alternative ways in which a practitioner could conceivably respond to a particular instructional situation in algebra or geometry, will provide data for the study. The methodology is based on the assumption that a relatively homogenous group (high school mathematics teachers) will examine a relatively diverse set of competing instances of a specific aspect of their job that can be used to elicit data that informs the construct of practical rationality, the practical decision-making of teachers. There will be four case studies focusing on equations, theorems, modeling and proving. These topics will be the focus of the animations. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Herbst, Patricio Jay Lawrence Lemke Roger Verhey Daniel Chazan University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 4376477 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353315 May 15, 2004 Curriculum Topic Study -- A Systematic Approach to Utilizing National Standards and Cognitive Research [TPC Category III]. This project will develop a series of print and web resource guides in science and mathematics based on curriculum topic study (CTS), an approach developed and tested successfully by one of the PI's. CTS is used to provide a systematic way of intellectually engaging K-12 mathematics and science teachers with national standards and cognitive research. It is used to engage teachers in thought and discussion about both content and appropriate ways of teaching that content. Three books will result from this project, "A Science Curriculum Topic Study Resource Guide," "A Mathematics Curriculum Topic Study Resource Guide" and "A Facilitator's Guide to Using Curriculum Topic Study." In addition, the project will result in professional development, follow-up evaluation studies, and a web site developed over four years. A total of 955 teachers will participate in the project. WestEd's Science and Mathematics Division will actively collaborate and TERC is providing the external evaluation. Dissemination is anticipated through many professional associations, a publishing partner, Math-Science Partnerships, and national conferences. The CTS approach guides teachers through a systematic study of a curricular topic by using a core set of resources to clarify learning goals, examine instructional and developmental implications, identify potential misconceptions, examine K-12 concepts and their interconnections and reflect back on their own state or local standards. With these three guides this project aims to increase the understanding and implementation of content standards throughout a teacher's career and to elevate the content and pedagogical content knowledge and skills of teacher leaders and professional developers. The guides will improve the consistency in how teachers and teacher educators interpret and implement standards and research findings nationally; hone the ability to envision substantive improvement in curricular content, instruction and assessment; and provide increased science and mathematics focus in professional development. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Keeley, Page Francis Eberle Cheryl Rose Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance ME Michael Haney Continuing grant 1410885 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353331 May 15, 2004 Promoting Science Among English Language Learners (P-SELL) within a High-stakes Testing Policy Context. This five-year project will investigate the science learning of ELL students and other groups of students within the Florida system. Working with the Miami Dade schools and providing a comprehensive system of research, professional development, policy analysis and student outcomes this project will likely have broad impact and is timely for the upcoming NCLB science requirements. The methodology is sound. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used and the research questions about how ELL students learn science and meet the demands for assessment and accountability are important. Predominantly these investigations will be conducted in the elementary school setting with specific emphasis on science, although other disciplines and literacies are likely to be integrated at this leve by the professionally developed teachers. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Lee, Okhee Walter Secada University of Miami FL Julia Clark Continuing grant 4882920 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353341 August 15, 2004 Learning in Practice: New Possibilities for Teacher Professional Education in Science. This four-year project promotes teacher "learning in practice" to bring out and build on the cognitive strengths of their students for science learning in the classroom. Using culturally sensitive approaches and understanding the broader contexts of their students lives will enable teachers to make classroom science teaching more effective and more relevant for their students. Within the professional development school setting, teachers and researchers will collaborate intensively to develop theories of action, document and disseminate practices that support teacher learning, and to design a model for sustainable, school-wide improvement of science teaching and students' science learning outcomes. Focusing intensely on one well-described school affords this project the opportunity to explore in-depth research on teacher content and pedagogical content learning. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Rosebery, Ann Beth Warren TERC Inc MA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 2720677 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353357 May 1, 2004 Exploring the Development of Beginning Secondary Science Teachers in Various Induction Programs. This five-year research study will focus on the impact of different teacher preparation and induction models, as well as on the quality and persistence of secondary science teachers. Combining the strengths of case-based research with a quasi-experimental design this study will follow 120 secondary science teachers for three years from four different and well characterized preservice - induction programs. Many of the "newly" inducted teachers will be assigned in multicultural, diverse or urban settings and the broader impact will include not only the teachers in the study but the potential impact on their students. The rationale for this project is well developed from the literature on the STEM teaching workforce as well as reports from the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. The rationale for the induction program approaches are also well supported in the literature and is extended through the literature on early STEM teacher development. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Luft, Julie University of Texas at Austin TX Robert D. Sherwood Continuing grant 1405107 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353360 June 1, 2004 Mathematics Specialist in K-5 Schools: Research and Policy Pilot Study. "Mathematics Specialist in K-5 Schools: Research and Policy Pilot Study," a five-year Teacher Professional Continuum Research and Development on Models and Systems project, seeks to develop and test a statewide K-5 school-based Mathematics Specialist program. The project is a statewide collaboration between Virginia Commonwealth University, the lead institution; Norfolk State University, a historically black college; the University of Virginia in Charlottesville; the University of Maryland and three school districts -- Portsmouth Public Schools, Richmond Public Schools and Stafford County Public Schools. The centerpiece of the project is the preparation, support and deployment of two cohorts of twelve mathematics specialists through a graduate degree program and follow-up support. The research component will investigate the efficacy of the mathematics specialist program on teacher change and student achievement. A policy study will examine legislative, regulatory, and infrastructure needs and funding issues including a cost and benefits analysis related to the establishment of a statewide mathematics specialist program. The research design utilizes a stratified randomized control study. The research examines the effectiveness of the mathematics specialists' program on teacher change, both specialists and classroom teachers, and student achievement. Thirty-six elementary schools in three diverse school districts in the state of Virginia will participate in the study. Participating schools are organized into triples with each triple residing in the same school district and having similar mathematics achievement and student demographics. Within each triple, schools will be randomly assigned to one of three treatment categories -- Cohort I mathematics specialists, Cohort II mathematics specialists and a Control group. Data analysis involves a mixed methods approach. Student demographics, school demographics and teacher data will be used as control variables. The project has the potential to serve as a national model for elementary school mathematics specialists. The state endorsement of a mathematics specialist license enhances the timing of this proposal and underscores the relevance of the policy implications. Project sustainability is addressed through the development of a statewide masters degree program offered by the collaborating institutions of higher education. The involvement of an HBCU, Norfolk State University, addresses the need to diversify the teacher workforce. An advisory board will give direction to the project that reflects expertise in mathematics teacher preparation and development, equity and diversity, mathematics educational research, design and implementation of courses and statewide collaborations. An external evaluator will conduct both formative and summative evaluation. Dissemination will reach a broad audience including policy makers, researchers and practitioners. SCIENCE,TECH,ENG&MATH TEACHER TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Haver, William Patricia Campbell Phillip McNeil William Bosher Vickie Inge Virginia Commonwealth University VA Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 4444898 7688 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353368 July 1, 2004 Connecting Science and Literacy Program: Professional Development Resources for Elementary Teachers. This five-year project would develop nine multi-media professional development resources that will enhance PreK-8 teachers' understanding of how to employ instructional strategies from the field of literacy in developing students' scientific understanding. Four of the modules will be resources on specific uses of literacy in the science classroom; four will be case studies offering examples of best practices, including video components from the classrooms of master teachers. The 9th module will provide an introduction to the theoretical underpinnings and research studies that support linking science and literacy. The PI, an expert in K-6 science instructional resource development, and her colleagues from EDC lead a development team that includes experts in child development, second language learning, literacy acquisition and science content. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Worth, Karen Education Development Center MA Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 2443257 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353377 September 1, 2004 The Professional Learning Community Model for Alternative Pathways in Teaching Science and Mathematics (PLC-MAP). "The Professional Learning Community Model for Alternative Pathways in Teaching Science and Mathematics (PLC-MAP)" is a partnership of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District (NHMCCD), Texas A&M University (TAMU), and ten public school districts in the Greater Houston area representing urban, suburban and rural areas. The goals of the five-year project are to 1) develop a Professional Learning Community (PLC) model for engaging science and education researchers from a university with science and mathematics faculty at community colleges to increase the number, quality and diversity of middle school and high school mathematics and science teachers; 2) apply design-based research to assess the effectiveness and replicability of the PLC model; and 3) disseminate replicable project and research findings. This project is building on the successful NSF-funded Information Technology in Science Center for Teaching and Learning (ITS Center) to create a Professional Learning Community model for engaging university science researchers and ITS Science Education Specialists with community college faculty in preparing well-qualified teachers through a community college-based alternative certification program. The research focus is to determine the impact of the PLC model on teacher quality and quantity using a designed-based research model in which development of the model and research on the effectiveness of that model take place through continuous cycles of design, enactment, analysis and redesign. Research activities are designed to determine to what extent participants in the PLC model increase the use of effective information technologies, authentic inquiry experiences and authentic assessment to teach science and/or mathematics. They are also determining the extent to which participation in the PLC model results in reduced teacher attrition during the internship and the induction years, whether there is a difference based on ethnicity/race and the extent to which participation results in reduced mentor teacher and NHMCCD attrition. SCIENCE,TECH,ENG&MATH TEACHER DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Herbert, Bruce Cathleen Loving Linda Crow Guy Sconzo Maureen Loiacano Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Joan T Prival Continuing grant 2432728 7688 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353402 June 1, 2004 Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning (VITAL): A Learning Environment for Courses in Early Childhood Mathematics Education. This proposal is a request for support to develop a research program that uses digital techniques, referred to as "Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning" (VITAL) to improve teaching performance. The proposed project will develop a pre-service resource called "VITAL." A consortium including Teachers College, the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, and William Patterson University is requesting support for a five-year project to enable the consortium to create a structured learning environment for preparing teachers of early childhood (K-3) mathematics. The proposed environment is to include college and graduate level curricula, a digital library of primary source materials and an online community workspace. More specifically, the intent is to enhance and expand video-based instruction already being employed in the classrooms of two of the project staff to help prospective and practicing teachers to analyze the development of young children's mathematical thinking and learning to reach a broader audience that includes mathematics education and early childhood education professors involved in teacher preparation and professional development. The project goals are to train prospective teachers to: (a) understand from a cognitive developmental psychology perspective how children learn and think about mathematics; (b) assess children's mathematical knowledge and plan instructional activities accordingly; (c) develop an evidence-based understanding of effective and developmentally appropriate teaching methods and curricula; and (d) develop a basic understanding of key mathematical concepts. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Moretti, Frank Herbert Ginsburg Columbia University NY Julia Clark Continuing grant 2328636 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353403 April 1, 2004 The Relationship Among Mentoring, Content, Pedagogy, Teacher Knowledge of Growth and Development, Diversity and Technology On Student Outcomes -- A Planning Grant. A request for $48,950 of support over a twelve-month period is proposed for North Carolina A&T University to allow the project staff to plan and further design a TPC project that will develop and test a professional development model to investigate the relationship between mentoring and knowledge in content, pedagogy, diversity, human growth and development principles, instructional technology and behavioral attributes empirically documented to enhance instruction and student achievement. It is based on the premise that teachers who are well prepared in content knowledge, pedagogical skills and understanding of growth and development of middle grade students from diverse backgrounds can make significant changes in student achievement. An expected outcome of great local, state and national significance is the development of a model that will increase the number of well-prepared and licensed middle school teachers of science, technology and mathematics. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Vickers, Lelia Larry Powers David Boger North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University NC Julia Clark Standard Grant 48950 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353406 August 1, 2004 Problem-based Learning Designed for Science and Mathematics Professional Development. The goals of this five-year project are to (1) develop, implement and study the impact of a subject matter-focused, Problem-based Learning professional development model; and to (2) design ways of incorporating Problem-based Learning (PBL) into key subject matter and teacher preparation courses taken by pre-service teachers, and study the impact on pre-service teachers' learning. The in-service component of this project will be designed with and for teams of K-12 science and mathematics teachers from school districts of mid-Michigan and will be developed over a five-year period. The pre-service component will work with faculty and students in the teacher preparation programs at Michigan State University and Lansing Community College. This project will investigate the applicability of using PBL to assist (1) teachers in analyzing and changing their instructional practice; (2) faculty in incorporating PBL into pre-service and in-service courses; and 2) professional developers in the design of effective professional development. This project will contribute to the knowledge base on factors critical to effective professional development and examine essential elements of PBL that develop teachers' content knowledge and subject-matter knowledge for teaching. This model of incorporating PBL into subject-matter-based professional development for teachers to examine their practice has not been used in this way to date. The framework, diagnostic processes, feedback system and teaching cases will be made available nationally to teachers of science and mathematics to use in their schools and to faculty in institutions of higher education. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Eberhardt, Jan Mary Lundeberg Joyce Parker Matthew Koehler Michigan State University MI Joseph Reed Continuing grant 4143022 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353409 May 1, 2004 Fostering Geometric Thinking in the Middle Grades. Education Development Center proposes a four-year project, "Fostering Geometric Thinking in the Middle Grades (FGT)," to develop a research-based professional development curriculum focused on geometric thinking in the middle grades, which will serve teachers in grades 5 through 9. FGT will confront a major national education challenge: On the TIMMS international comparisons, U.S. eighth-grade students' weakest performances were in the areas of geometry and measurement. Furthermore, at the end of grade 12, the U.S. scores in geometry were the lowest of all participating countries. To meet this challenge, FGT will (1) expand the research knowledge base on students' geometric thinking, teachers' understanding of geometric thinking, and their application of this understanding to the classroom; and (2) add to the research base on the design of effective models of professional development for teachers. FGT will meet these goals by working with nearly 220 teachers in grades 5-9 and developing: A Framework designed to help teachers better understand geometric thinking and how it develops in learners; A Curriculum for professional development in geometry based on this framework; Quantitative and qualitative studies of the impact of the curriculum; and Research reports disseminating the results of this work. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Driscoll, Mark June Mark Education Development Center MA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 2018774 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353412 September 1, 2004 Nurturing Mathematics Dreamkeepers. "Nurturing Mathematics Dreamkeepers" is a five-year Teacher Professional Continuum Research project that seeks to study a professional development intervention for K-2 teachers centered on standards-based, culturally-relevant pedagogy aimed at improving the mathematical performance of African-American students. The study targets ten elementary schools in an urban school district with a documented achievement gap between White American and African American students. The research study will investigate: (a) the ways in which K-2 teachers draw upon their current knowledge (mathematical, cultural, pedagogical) to make sense of African American students' conceptions; (b) how teachers might advance their practice through understanding of the relationship between students' cultural experiences and mathematical conceptions; and (c) to what extent does this advancement bring forth solid foundations in mathematics among all students. The project will yield four major outcomes. First, the project will influence mathematics achievement for approximately 1,000 African American K-2 students. Second, it will provide an empirically grounded knowledge base and model of how teacher learning can impact the achievement gap. Third, the creation of a cadre of mentor mathematics teachers and school administrators prepared to support quality mathematics teaching and learning will enhance infrastructure in the school districts served. Finally, the project will nurture five graduate students who will become highly qualified mathematics teacher educators as a result of the project. The professional development includes annual two-week summer institutes and extensive follow-up support during the school year. Close to 300 elementary school teachers and principals are targeted by this K-2 mathematics project. During the academic year, buddy-pairs of teachers will co-teach mathematics lessons, hold a weekly two-hour reflective sessions and participate in a weekly cohort session focused on teachers' pedagogical concerns. The teacher buddy-pairs will increase each year creating a learning community at each school. The learning community will meet each week at the school site. Professional development content will focus on number sense within the context of conception-based, culturally relevant pedagogy. Cultural relevant pedagogy will be examined theoretically to allow teachers to develop new awareness and practice of its principles to facilitate student success in mathematics. The research design employs a case-controlled, quasi-experimental study utilizing mixed methods. Over a two-year period, five schools representing two cohorts of participants will receive "first order" professional development from the project. Over the course of the third year, a "second order" autonomous professional development experience will involve five additional schools in the same school district. Another five additional schools in which no teacher participates in the project will serve as comparison. Data sources include videotapes of classroom practice, videotapes of professional development sessions, teacher surveys, case studies, mini-interviews of students and written assessments for students in grades 1-2. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Marshall, Patricia Jessica DeCuir Allison McCulloch North Carolina State University NC John S. Bradley Continuing grant 4012542 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353440 August 15, 2004 Mentoring and Induction Support for Urban Secondary Science and Mathematics Teachers. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, Birmingham City Schools, Memphis City Schools, and Houston ISD will implement and evaluate a program for the support and induction of secondary science and mathematics teachers into urban school systems. Goals of the five year project include: o develop and implement models for beginning science and mathematics teacher induction and support o determine which model(s) are most effective in urban environments. o enhance the content knowledge and pedagogical skills of secondary science and math teachers o increase beginning teachers' understanding of urban classroom and community environments o prepare experienced teachers as mentors and teacher leaders in their schools and districts o contribute to the research-based understanding of preparing and supporting science and mathematics teachers in urban systems. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This project will use rigorous research methods to investigate an important question: How can we provide better support for beginning teachers in urban settings to reverse the large attrition rate and to improve science and mathematics instruction? Project partners have extensive background in working with urban schools and conducting research. BROADER IMPACT: The project will directly impact 120 - 180 beginning secondary science and mathematics teachers and 72 mentor teachers and improve the learning experience for over 67,500 students in three urban school systems. Because of the large minority population served, the project will have a major impact on underrepresented ethnic groups. The project partners are nationally established in education and are poised to widely disseminate findings and products. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Radford, David Shirley Key Doris Williams-Smith University of Alabama at Birmingham AL Joseph Reed Continuing grant 4406710 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353441 April 1, 2004 Industry-Education Partnership: A Model for the Teacher Professional Continuum. This is a comprehensive, national, 5-year Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC) project to develop a learning community model that spans the educational continuum. It connects teacher research participation experience (TRE) projects and science, technology, and mathematics (STM) industry and university scientists/professionals to research the factors that contribute to the success of such a model. The TPC educational research will mine both the Principal Investigator's and other national TRE projects, education and industry (E/I) partnership immersion projects, and provide new education/workplace experiences for STM participants covering the teacher continuum. The project includes Local Learning Community cohorts that include two preservice science/mathematics teachers, two middle school teachers, a 7-12 science, mathematics and/or technology teacher, one middle/high school guidance counselor, a two-year Community College faculty member, and a four-year IHE science educator and/or science STM faculty member. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Harpole, Sandra Giselle Thibaudeau Sue Minchew Mississippi State University MS John S. Bradley Continuing grant 3192286 9150 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353451 April 1, 2004 Project MAESTRo: Measuring Adaptive Expertise in Science Teachers' Reasoning. This unique and exciting proposal for a three-year study of secondary life science teachers' "adaptive expertise" is well grounded in the literature and will likely advance the field in understanding teacher cognition and its connection to instructional practice. Through intensive study of teachers' approaches to instructional problem-solving tasks across the in-service spectrum from novice to experienced teachers, SRI will both characterize adaptive expertise as well as develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure adaptive expertise that may be broadly applicable in further research across the science disciplines. This project is innovative in its approach to advance theory and research methodology. The PIs clearly articulate the broader impacts on teacher research as well as in workforce development and show an understanding of emerging multidisciplinary subfields of the life sciences that will demand not only teacher quality but also teachers to be adaptable to the changes in their discipline. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Crawford, Valerie SRI International CA Sharon J. Lynch Continuing grant 1356248 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353469 July 1, 2004 Communication in Science Inquiry Project (CISIP). Communication in Science Inquiry Project (CISIP) is a five-year project that creates and disseminates professional development materials for science and English faculty at middle level schools (grades 5-8), high schools and community colleges. The collaborators include faculty from Maricopa Community College, Arizona State University and an external evaluation team who will combine to work with public school districts to develop, pilot, field test, research and evaluate the materials. The science content that is the basis for the material at each level includes physics, chemistry, geology/earth and space sciences and life sciences. The goal of CISIP is to create professional development materials in the context of science inquiry that equip faculty to integrate scientific writing, writing-to-learn processes and science language acquisition techniques into their instruction. Through the use of these materials science and English faculty will increase teacher and student understanding of scientific concepts and capacity to write scientifically with greater fluency and complexity, especially by students who are English Language Learners. In addition to the research findings, the deliverables include an integrated curriculum model, twenty-four exemplary lessons, writing-to-learn processes and scientific writing illustrations, sessions about language acquisition with defined applications for each level, facilitator materials and participant resources. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Lang, Michael Dale Baker Jerome Shaw David Weaver Ben Goodman Maricopa County Community College District AZ Michael Haney Continuing grant 2132319 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353470 May 1, 2004 Developing a Professional Learning Community Model for Secondary Precalculus Teachers: A Model for Teacher Professional Growth. This five-year project, entitled "Developing a Professional Learning Community Model for Secondary Precalculus Teachers: A Model for Teacher Professional Growth," will produce a model for a Professional Learning Community (PLC) for pre-calculus teachers in secondary schools. It will generate research knowledge from cycles of (1) defining, (2) studying and (3) refining the model and its components. The project leadership team will then be able to describe the support structure, group processes and tools needed to assist secondary pre-calculus teachers in providing high quality instruction for their students. PLC tools will be developed and refined to facilitate Teachers' "reflection-on-students'" thinking and reasoning relative to the major concepts of pre-calculus mathematics. The activities of the PLCs will also support teachers' continued conceptual and mathematical development, while promoting reflections on the effectiveness of their classroom practices. The leadership team expects that the teachers' rich reservoir of new knowledge and understandings will be observable in the ways in which they orchestrate learning experiences for their students. They anticipate qualitative improvements in their classroom practices (perceivable in their questions and questioning patterns, the design and substance of their tasks, the conceptual focus of their exams), resulting in improved learning in their students. Implementation of this model will produce a set of research-developed tools to assist individual schools in devising and implementing a plan to support secondary teacher professional growth. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Thompson, Patrick Yang Kuang Marilyn Carlson Nora Ramirez Irene Bloom Arizona State University AZ Daniel P. Maki Continuing grant 4444624 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353474 May 1, 2004 Learning to Learn About Science Teaching: Building Analysis of Practice into Pre-service Teacher Education. This five-year project will develop six video-case modules for use in K-8 pre-service teacher preparation programs. Modules will be directed toward specific grade bands (K-3, 4-5, or 6-8) and address standards-based content domains. Each module is intended to help future teachers deepen their content knowledge, pedagogic skills and ability to analyze student thinking. The video cases will illustrate both reform classroom practices and more traditional instruction, include interviews with teachers and students and incorporate a set of analytic tasks that promote users' critical observations of the cases. The Principal Investigators bring to the project an expertise acquired through their analyses of the TIMSS videos and extensive prior research experience in science teacher education. SCIENCE,TECH,ENG&MATH TEACHER TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Roth, Kathleen Karen Givvin LessonLab, Inc. CA Michael Haney Continuing grant 2253000 7688 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0353530 April 15, 2004 Supporting Diversity in the Learning Sciences: A Request for Program Support to Build Capacity for Junior Researchers at the International Conference of the Learning Sciences. This proposal from UCLA requests funds to send junior researchers to the International Conference of the Learning Sciences and to provide them with specialized sessions to develop their research skills. The proposal will fund travel for 15 graduate students who will be chosen to represent a range of institutions, individuals and areas of specialty. Participants will be expected to prepare a short summary of their research goals as part of the application process and to prepare a presentation for the meeting itself. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kafai, Yasmin William Sandoval Noel Enyedy University of California-Los Angeles CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 35146 1666 SMET 9177 0354578 August 15, 2003 Investigating Viruses With Touch: Nanotechnology and Science Inquiry. This project is investigating the impact that experimentation with nanotechnology has on middle, secondary, and university students' learning of science and perceptions about science. The enabling tool of this project is the nanoManipulator (nM), a device to receive visual and haptic feedback from investigations of nanometer-sized objects. In a series of studies involving scientists and students engaged in collaborative guided inquiry experiences, the research team is researching the role of multiple representations (visual or haptic) on the learning of scientific concepts of students with varying cognitive, affective, motivational, and sociological characteristics. The study is also examining the cognitive and affective outcomes on students' perceptions of the nature of science and scientists. In addition, members of the project team are exploring the development of a low-cost alternative to the current nM research tool. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Jones, Melissa North Carolina State University NC John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 280830 1666 SMET 9177 0354711 July 1, 2004 Language Diversity in North Carolina: A Film Documentary and Outreach Program. The North Carolina State University will produce a one-hour film documentary on language diversity in North Carolina for public television and for distribution to public agencies throughout the state. The documentary and associated activities will illustrate the socio-cultural and socio-linguistic heritage of language variation; exemplify the systematic language patterns associated with different regional and ethnic groups and demonstrate the role of language in the construction of cultural identity. In addition to the documentary for public broadcast, footage for particular regional varieties and socio-cultural groups will be compiled into pedagogically useful 20-30 minute vignettes. A workbook for using the materials will also be prepared. In terms of its larger significance and broader impacts, this project addresses a need for informal education about language variation to counter public misunderstandings and stereotypes leading to discrimination based on language differences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Wolfram, Walter North Carolina State University NC Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 73678 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0354759 January 15, 2004 Planning Conference: National Initiative for Science After School; Santa Fe, New Mexico, January 28 - 30, 2004. After-school programs are a source of powerful, positive experiences for an estimated eight to ten million youth, especially those in low-income, under-represented populations (the majority of youth in these programs). Through this conference grant, TERC, along with the Exploratorium and the Lawrence Hall of Science, proposes to launch a national initiative to create, support and sustain engaging, research-based science and mathematics activities in the after-school community. This planning conference will bring together the leaders and experts who run exemplary after-school programs, create quality science and mathematics materials, and provide effective staff training to identify the challenges, goals and questions of greatest interest and value to the national community. Intellectual merit and broader impact are evidenced by the gathering of key players, promotion of dialog and the facilitation of connections between developer and after-school communities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Barstow, Daniel Bronwyn Bevan TERC Inc MA Julie T. Johnson Standard Grant 115572 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0355353 February 1, 2004 Integrative, Interdisciplinary Graduate Education: NewConcepts and Approaches for Assessment. Innovative, interdisciplinary and integrative (or I3) graduate education and training programs are on the rise throughout the U.S. Individual programs are conducting self-assessments and organizational contractors are evaluating performance in conventional ways. To date, however, these efforts have not assessed I3 programs in terms of both program processes and program outcomes as they relate to changes in and effects on student and faculty learning, academic identity, career trajectory, and institutional mentality. To this end, this project, which is itself interdisciplinary and integrative, is both a formative and a summative evaluation of the organization, functioning, and performance of I3 programs. By exploring how, why, and in what context I3 programs lead to new individual, professional, and institutional practices, this study accumulates knowledge about how specific I3 programs develop, adapt, and perform under varied conditions, as well as collects information about the generalizable purpose, the intrinsic value, and essential components of such programs. The former knowledge will be used to design new and/or improve existing I3 programs, whereas the latter information will enhance current or future I3 evaluations. Given (a) the unique goals and objectives of I3 programs as compared to more traditional graduate education and training programs and (b) the paucity of knowledge and information related to I3 program processes let alone outcomes, it is critical that the empirical research be conducted in order to acquire the right knowledge and information from which to develop the proper theoretical framework and design the best practical methods for evaluating I3 programs. Thus, this study is a two-stage evaluation - exploratory evaluation research (stage 1) followed by evaluation practice design and development (stage 2). In stage 1, the study develops a theoretically informed but empirically grounded understanding of: (a) the skills, attributes, and attitudes that scientists and engineers need to succeed in the new modes of knowledge production and the new positions of scientific employment; (b) the strategies, structures and experiences that could successfully develop these skills, attributes, and attitudes; and (c) indicators for measuring programmatic success with the implementation of relevant practices, processes and outcomes. This framework is then applied to a sample of 30 I3 programs (and 60 non-I3 programs for purposes of comparison) to analyze the conditions and processes likely to influence these individual outcomes as well as broader professional and institutional developments. The combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques applied to this sample of I3 and non-I3 programs during stage 1 will produce a set of definitions, features, and metrics of I3 program "success" from which an evaluation framework based on valid and relevant questions, variables, and indicators will be developed and disseminated for use by others in stage 2 of the study. REESE PROGRAM EVALUATION ENVIR SOCIAL & BEHAVIOR SCIENC IGERT FULL PROPOSALS METHOD, MEASURE & STATS DRL EHR Calhoun, Craig Sander van der Leeuw Social Science Research Council NY James S. Dietz Standard Grant 1400951 7625 7261 5209 1335 1333 SMET 9179 9177 9125 0116000 Human Subjects 0355460 March 15, 2004 Science Weekend -- A Planning Grant. Ira Flatow has been producing SCIENCE FRIDAY for over a decade. The series is now rated among the top ten news programs carried by NPR and is carried by over 200 stations. In spite of this success, the audience, though large, is limited to those people who can listen on Friday afternoon. In addition, the program is not carried on some stations because it does not fit their weekday program format. However, in conversations with many station managers, Flatow has learned that many stations that do not now carry the series do understand the value of science to their listeners and would include a science program in their schedules if one were made available to them for broadcast on weekends. The purpose of this planning proposal is to develop the parameters for a SCIENCE WEEKEND series. Since weekend programming many times is not like programming on weekdays, it will be necessary to find out more about the length and format that stations most prefer and to establish key partnerships to assure the broadest impact of a weekend program. Specific tasks to be conducted in the planning phase include: 1. Surveying public radio stations about their preferences for format, length, and broadcast day for SCIENCE WEEKEND 2. Identifying key programming elements to be included in a pilot program 3. Recording, editing and producing a pilot program 4. Getting assessments of the pilot from public radio station managers and programmers 5. Evaluating the pilot with members of the target audience 6. Securing a network partner to serve as a distributor for the program 7. Creating partnerships with teaching and other educational institutions to participate in the outreach efforts of the project 8. Developing an evaluation strategy to assess the impact of SCIENCE WEEKEND on the audience INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Flatow, Ira ScienceFriday, Inc. CT Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 49900 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0400403 September 1, 2002 Community Science Workshops: Beginning a National Movement. "Community Science Workshops: Beginning a National Movement" is an extension of a successful, NSF-funded project that created a network of community science centers in California. The San Francisco State University will now take this successful venture to a national level by working with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) to establish a new Community Science Workshop (CSW) 8-10 in underserved communities over the next four years. Once sites are selected, CSW directors participate in an intensive two-week training program. This is followed by visits by site mentors, and ongoing support through the WWW and other media, which contributes to the establishment and eventual sustainability of the centers. Each site partners with larger, established museums and science centers locally to gain much needed assistance with exhibits and education programs. Community Science Workshops contain permanent exhibit space, a workshop area for student projects and classroom/storage space. They serve a variety of audiences through after school, family, school and summer science programs. Potential locations include Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fonteyn, Paul University of Massachusetts Boston MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 3243782 7259 SMET 9177 7582 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0400457 November 1, 2003 Cognitively-Based, Multimedia Support for a Balanced Approach to the Development of Early Reading in School and Home Contexts. This project explores how a cognitive-representational approach to early reading can lead to new and efficient instruction that will impact learning across the curriculum. The research questions addressed are: Which design principles are most important for a balanced approach to literacy instruction that uses multimedia environments for integrated, efficient instruction of decoding and word recognition skills? Will design principles suggested by research help teachers better understand and integrate decoding skills into their classroom literacy environments? Can a combination of video and print materials linked to multimedia environments be effective tools for improving children's home environments and parental support for early reading instruction? The project will investigate these questions by developing an understanding of design principles for children's word recognition fluency and decoding skills using current cognitive theories of mental representations of language. Within-subject designs will be used to see how different variations of prototype software affect children's word recognition fluency and decoding skills. These initial studies will also include between-subject controls that use no software. At-home reading of both decodable text and rich, high-quality children's literature will be linked to the content and structure of the decoding and word recognition software. This at-home reading will be supported by video exemplars. The children with at-home access to these materials and the software in school will be compared with those children with just the software at school. Additionally, software based on recent cognitive theories will be compared to commercially available software designed to aid children in developing decoding skills by comparing the reading development of children using research software vs. commercially available software. CISE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE DRL EHR Goldman, Susan University of Illinois at Chicago IL John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 67378 2885 OTHR 2816 0000 0400506 March 1, 2004 NSF Meeting for Principal Investigators of Youth, Community and ASCEND Programs -- A Conference Grant. AAAS will develop and host a PI meeting for currently funded ISE Youth, Community and ASCEND projects. The goal of the meeting is to maximize the learning and contribution of the multiple NSF-funded projects enabling participants to analyze and document existing models, benchmark best practices and work cooperatively on articulating strategies that improve the quality of community and youth programming. This gathering aims to affect programs in the development and implementation phases, thereby contributing to higher quality programs. Principal Investigators from a variety of institutions (museums, universities, schools, community organizations) across the country will have an opportunity to expand their thinking about program structure, assessment, staff capacity, institutional infrastructure and sustainability. The meeting will allow participants to exchange information, interact with experts and to build relationships. A conference report and evaluation will be published on the web and shared through regional/national conferences INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kass, Judy American Association For Advancement Science DC Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 227171 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0400979 February 15, 2004 Multi-Disciplinary Symposium on "Thinking with Data". The PI proposes to organize a multi-disciplinary symposium that will examine the roles that learning and instruction can play in how people reason with data: the kinds of representations they form, their understandings of measurement, of statistical noise, of graphical displays, and how they understand and use data to explain phenomena and make decisions. The proposed symposium will be the first of its kind to bring such a diverse group of junior and senior researchers together to forge common ground. It will allow them to exchange state-of-the-art work from their different disciplines, to seek converging results and common principles, and to discover research needs or gaps based on current work. At present, work in the disciplines of developmental psychology, statistics, decision analysis, and science and math education proceed with little interaction or sharing of insights. One of the focuses of the symposium is to bring current theoretical insights to bear on practice (in business and in the schools), as well as to make insights derived from the field available across field boundaries in order to allow it to advance the theoretical work. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lovett, Marsha Carnegie-Mellon University PA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 37669 1666 SMET 9239 9177 0401647 February 1, 2004 Evaluation Capacity Building in Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Management. This project is designed to build evaluation capacity among agricultural, environmental education, and natural resource management organizations. The mechanism for achieving this goal is an intensive summer institute in program evaluation. The lack of courses addressing the contexts in which the target professionals work produced the demand for the training. Development of training materials including videotapes, case studies, and readings as well as summer salaries and scholarship support for participants with demonstrated financial need are the primary funding requirements. Faculty leaders in evaluation and in the relevant disciplines will collaborate in the project. The workshop focus addresses core competencies of all evaluators and unique content with respect to multidisciplinary subject matter, indicators and standards for monitoring in the target contexts, and hand-on minds-on instructional strategies. The unique collaboration provides an opportunity for capacity building joining STEM disciplines and evaluation methodologists in development of context-relevant training. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Suvedi, Murari Michigan State University MI Gabriel M. Della-Piana Standard Grant 107091 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0402727 July 1, 2004 Peep's World Planning Grant. "Peep and the Big, Wide World" is an NSF-funded television series for children ages 3 to 5. The Children's Museum proposes to build on this show and extend its impact through exhibits, education and professional development programs. Specifically, planning grant funds will be used to 1) gather best practices in preschool & brand-based exhibition development, 2) conduct a front-end survey of potential host museums to determine training needs of museum staff, parents, caregivers and teachers of preschool children, and 3) clarify design of the education and professional development programs associated with the exhibit. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Porter, Timothy Ann Marie Stephan Childrens Museum Boston MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 50000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0403037 February 1, 2004 ROLE: Story Listening Technologies for Emergent Writing Literacy. While multiple, and technological literacies have become the topic of considerable research, reading and writing literacy remain the basis of education, and the prerequisites to science, mathematics, and technology fluency. Reading and writing do not start in school, however. Children prepare themselves for later literacy long before first grade. And preparation for literacy consists of more than becoming aware of text. Children learn to treat language as an object (metalinguistic awareness), and to create and maintain cohesive text (decontextualized language) first in oral language. Many of these emergent literacy skills are acquired in language play and in storytelling among peers. In general, however, very few technologies are available for supporting children's storytelling and story writing in sociocultural context for later literacy, despite its importance in children's cognitive, communicative, and linguistic development as a whole. This project lays out a program of research designed to address a specific need of young children -- to learn how to write -- based on one specific ability of young children -- the ability to tell stories. Current views of the relationship between oral and written literacy hold that the development of children's written literacy is intertwined with the development of their oral literacy skills. We believe that technology, and particularly tangible non-screen-and-keyboard based technology, can play a unique role in supporting the emergence of writing literacy by building on one particular aspect of oral literacy, children's story telling. We propose that Story Listening Systems that actually listen to children's stories and interact with them about the stories not only support the development of emergent oral literacy skills but also foster writing skills and the transition from oral to written literacy. The model behind the Story Listening System embodies four essential traits that enable it to effectively scaffold written literacy. The four traits are to (a) depend on children's oral storytelling skills to bootstrap literacy, (b) introduce peers as playmates in the system or with the system, (c) invite the kind of embodied play away from the desktop that is most comfortable for young children, (d) allow children to construct their own personally meaningful content. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of these systems, children between the ages of 4 and 7 will engage with Story Listening Systems and we will assess changes in three crucial predictors of written literacy: (i) use of decontextualized language (language removed from its original context, and reworked for a new audience), (ii) metalinguistic awareness, (iii) collaboration with peers to make meaning. We will also evaluate an additional implication of the SLS: that support for emergent literacy can be made culture-inclusive and therefore can be used to invite more children into emergent writing literacy because the language forms with which they are familiar are embedded in the system. The outcome of the proposed work will be four-fold: (i) a suite of story listening literacy technologies, (ii) a substantive body of data evaluating the role of these technologies in children's writing, (iii) a fuller understanding of the general mechanisms underlying children's development of literacy skills, (iv) a generalized set of design principles that link features of technology with features of children's written literacy acquisition. The design principles will be for two audiences: the design community creating children's digital technologies (e.g. everyone from mainstream toy industries making physical artifacts to game designers to traditional educational/learning software designers) and those actively studying and teaching written literacy (e.g. developmental psychologists, educators). This work has implications, then, for the communities of academics, educators, technologists, and policy organizations concerned with placing technology in school contexts. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Cassell, Justine Susan Goldman Northwestern University IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 951013 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0404914 April 1, 2004 SGER: Developing Statistical Models for the Diffusion of Educational Policies and Interventions. The work described in this proposal is to catalog existing mathematical models of diffusion that are likely to be of relevance to educational evaluation and relate them to existing statistical methodologies that account for the non-linear form of the diffusion process as well as the hierarchical organizational structure of educational systems. In addition, this research will examine how units (schools, individuals) transition across various states of innovation adoption. Finally, the implications of this work for the quantitative evaluation of educational interventions, and in particular the problem of scale-up, will be explored. Three exploratory studies will be conducted. The first study will begin by reviewing mathematical models of diffusion that are of relevance to the study of educational innovations. These models derive from the seminal work of Mahajan & Peterson (1985). Following the cataloging of relevant diffusion models, we will examine the utility of a series of statistical models that capture various aspects of the diffusion process. Specifically, we will study extensions of discrete time event-history modeling as a method to account for among group variation in the rate of adoption of educational innovations. The second study is based on the premise that understanding how policies and interventions diffuse within and across levels of the system requires an understanding of the characteristics of individuals occupying adoption classes at all levels of the system and over time. This study will examine latent transition analysis as a methodology to more fully understand classes of adoption behavior and how to model how adoption class membership can change over time. The third study examines the implications of diffusion modeling for the evaluation of educational innovations. That is, the evaluation of an educational policy or intervention at any given point in time is dependent on the numbers and types of adopters at that time point. The problem of evaluating policies and interventions within the framework of diffusion is akin to evaluating systems in disequilibria. It is argued that the evaluation of a policy or intervention will be sensitive to the fact that there may not exist a stable equilibrium of adoption during the time of measurement. This sensitivity may have profound effects on quantitative evaluations of policies and interventions. It is argued that the proposed research will provide rigorous links between the established literature on the diffusion of innovations and the equally established literature on educational evaluation and policy analysis. Furthermore, the work proposed here is timely, given the national focus on determining what works in the context of educational interventions and the problem of scale-up. This proposal seeks to develop methodologies that will provide insights into the dynamics of intervention diffusion that can aid in the evaluation of interventions. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kaplan, David University of Delaware DE James S. Dietz Standard Grant 100351 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0406173 August 1, 2004 Project Butterfly WINGS: Winning Investigative Network for Great Science. "Project Butterfly WINGS" is a three-year project targeting 4th-8th grade participants in 13 Florida counties. This project includes the use of the 4-H network as a partner to recruit participants. It builds on the development of student-scientist partnerships to create an environment where information, data and ideas can be exchanged. This project will focus on collecting data on butterflies and the environments/habitats the butterflies choose to visit. This project brings together several important elements to present an interactive, authentic, research-based SSP activity supported through an established network of ISE providers, educators and community-based organizations. Based on solid research and knowledge about ISE approaches, the project has strong content connections and a well-designed structure. An interactive web-site will provide opportunities for participants to interact with each other and with participating scientists, and to experience firsthand some of the most interesting aspects of engaging in scientific inquiry. WINGS has the potential to create a network of young people who will be more aware of issues related to biodiversity and the environment. Through its model approach and participant outcomes, "Project Butterfly WINGS" is positioned to make a difference in the ISE field and in the lives of its participants INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dunckel, Betty Thomas Emmel Joy Jordan Jaret Daniels University of Florida FL Monya A. Ruffin Continuing grant 1197185 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0406485 December 1, 2003 CAREER: Exploring Cognitive, Social, and Cultural Dimensions of Visualization in Computer Science Education. An approach in which students become teachers by using algorithm visualization technology not only to construct their own visualizations, but also to present those visualizations to their instructor and peers for feedback and discussion will be studied within the context of a third-year, undergraduate computer science course on computer algorithms. This approach will be used to develop a studio-based algorithms course in which the construction and discussion of visualizations are the central activities of the course. Specifically, students will use algorithm visualization technology to construct their own visual solutions to algorithm design and analysis problems. In a variety of regularly scheduled review sessions, they will present their solutions to instructors and peers for feedback, discussion, and evaluation. This research will yield several products and outcomes from which science educators, educational researchers, visualization technologists, and cognitive anthropologists stand to benefit. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hundhausen, Christopher Washington State University WA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 352742 1666 SMET 9177 9150 1187 1045 0406675 July 1, 2004 Mixing in Math: Transforming the Role of Math in After-School Programs. "Mixing in Math" is a multi-dimensional, three-year project that seeks to build the capacity of after-school programs to provide meaningful and engaging math activities for youth. Program collaborators including project leaders from TERC and after-school program leaders will reach approximately 40,000 children through at least 350 sites and approximately 9,000 staff and volunteers. Drawing on the unique features of the after-school environment, the project design includes the following elements: development of materials appropriate to the setting; staff development and support; institutionalization and dissemination of materials throughout an established network and evaluation research to further knowledge about informal math and after-school programming. Project goals are to: provide free math materials to all participating after-school staff; produce a significant increase in informal math training for the after-school workforce; strengthen the role of informal math in after-school settings; and conduct and disseminate research on the project in terms of its impact on after-school programming, informal math education and the math "achievement gap." "Mixing in Math" national partners will facilitate further reach of the project. The National Institute of Out of School Time (NIOST) in addition to posting materials on their website, will incorporate project activities into their staff development programs. Ceridian, a work-life benefits provider, will distribute project materials to workplace school-ages childcare programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kliman, Marlene TERC Inc MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1364105 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0406840 August 1, 2004 The Music Instinct: Science and Song. Independent Production Fund is producing a three-part public television series focusing on the latest research in the science of music. The programs will explore how cutting-edge science is revealing new connections between music and the human mind and body, the natural world and the cosmos. The series will follow researchers from a variety of fields including physiology, neuroscience, psychology, biology, physics and education, as they use groundbreaking techniques and technologies to unravel age-old mysteries about music's persistence, universality and emotional power. It will show how these researchers are shedding valuable new light on the way brains work. The impact of the programs will be extended through a content-rich companion web site and innovative formal and informal educational-outreach materials to both middle and high school age students, as well as a complementary radio component. Mannes Productions will produce the series; Goodman Research Group will conduct formative evaluation and Rockman et al will conduct summative evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mannes, Elena Independent Prod. Fund, Inc. NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 635321 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0406911 July 1, 2004 After-School Program Exploring Science (APEX). "After-School Program Exploring Science (APEX)" proposes to develop and implement a training model that will enhance the capacity of community-based after-school programs to provide science-learning opportunities for children ages 5-10. Capacity building will center on expanding the human resource base as well as access to hands-on resources that enable investigative science in informal settings. " APEX" will create a series of engaging hands-on science investigations that will be designed for replication in a wide range of informal learning environments. "APEX" community partners include the YMCA, YWCA and Family Christian Association of America (FCAA). The Miami Museum of Science will also partner with Miami-Dade Public Schools, Florida International University and Miami-Dade College to formalize opportunities for paraprofessionals and pre-service teachers to meet a portion of their certification requirements by leading "APEX" Science investigations in after-school programs thereby providing community-based after-school programs with a more stable workforce while at the same time supporting future teachers in the development of inquiry-based teaching skills. Through "APEX" over 275 after-school provider staff will be trained along with up to 300 pre-service teachers and paraprofessionals. The project will work with 93 after-school programs and impact roughly 7,000 high-need students. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Brown, Judy Miami Museum of Science Inc FL Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1224492 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0406939 June 1, 2004 Planning Grant for "Imagine That!" Career Explorations in Science, Technology, and Engineering for Students and Families. Chabot Space and Science Center seeks support to engage in a six-month planning process for "Imagine That!," a multi-faceted science and technology career exploration program. In partnership with the Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science & Technology (CREHST) and the American Museum of Science & Energy (AMSE), Chabot proposes to fill the gap between well-intentioned and designed programs and the programs' abilities to really influence/affect future career choices by participants. "Imagine That!" will familiarize youth with a wide range of careers in scientific and technical fields through after-school and summer programs that offer in-depth career exploration and guidance activities, hands-on experiences that complement science education in school and an introduction to role models. "Imagine That!" will also provide parents with resources to support their children as they explore potential careers in science, technology and engineering. This planning grant will enable the three major science museums, Junior Achievement and government and business partners to develop the logistics for working together on an ambitious collaborative program of national scope. "Imagine That!" has the potential for broad and significant impact. Not only would it create a national program of career exploration, it will strengthen and diversify the STEM workforce. The national impact of this project is assured by the inclusion of geographically diverse partners, regional advisory councils and a robust dissemination plan. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Heber, Etta Linda Kekelis Chabot Space and Science Center CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 9499 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407058 October 1, 2004 TEAMS III - Small Museum Exhibit Collaborative. TEAMS, an exhibit collaborative of seven small science museums, will collaborate with academic researchers to expand knowledge about learning in informal science environments and will apply that knowledge to the creation of eight (two copies of four topics) traveling science exhibitions suitable for small museums and science centers. The research investigations build on recent findings about the nature of socio-cultural learning in museums. This close working collaboration among researchers, museum evaluators and museum exhibition designers provides an innovative opportunity to examine a model for rapid transfer of research knowledge into museum practice. Through this collaborative effort the project builds capacity within the seven small museums, helping address the larger problem of under-served audiences in rural areas. One component of the research supports design guidelines to increase effectiveness for girls visiting STEM exhibitions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Goudy, David Charles Trautmann Sarah Wolf Mark Sinclair Montshire Museum of Science VT Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2299225 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407065 July 1, 2004 CYBERCHASE: SEASON 4. Thirteen/WNET New York will develop and produce ten new episodes for a fourth season of "Cyberchase." Now in its third production season and second year of daily PBS broadcast, "Cyberchase" has helped millions of children acquire a stronger foundation in mathematics. The new programs will enrich the series' content by emphasizing science-mathematics connections and financial literacy. Ancillary materials, outreach and a highly popular Website extend the learning and help make "Cyberchase" the sole mathematics media project available for young audiences. Plans for season four include enhancing the Website, building the inventory of multi-media outreach activities, strengthening the show's presence in after-school programs and launching a new relationship with the museum community. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Sandra Michael Templeton Carey Bolster Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1700000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407101 June 15, 2004 Breaking the Maya Code. Night Fire Films is producing a one-hour show for PBS titled "Breaking the Maya Code," based on the book by Dr. Michael D. Coe. "Breaking the Maya Code" will explore the history of the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic script. The 400-year scientific detective story, climaxing in the past thirty years, will be told through footage shot at key locations in Central America, Europe and the United States, together with dramatizations, animation and graphics; archival materials; and interviews with major participants in the decipherment. An outreach campaign, including an extensive web site, will enhance the television viewing experience as well as promote further STEM learning. The program will be produced and directed by David Lebrun; Nicolas Noxon serves as Executive Producer. Michael Coe will serve the project as Principal Advisor, along with an extensive board of advisors of ethnographers, epigraphers, archaeologists, historians, iconographers and others. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the program; Knight-Williams Research will conduct summative evaluation of the project. The National Endowment for the Humanities has granted $550,000 toward this project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lebrun, David Night Fire Films CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 676653 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407104 June 15, 2004 E=mc2. WGBH's Science Unit is requesting funds to produce for NOVA a two-hour television special based on David Bodanis' book "E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation." Combining dramatic and documentary techniques, the program uses Einstein's iconic equation to explore the physics behind the equation and the nature of the scientific process. A media initiative, an interactive Web site, and an outreach campaign broaden the program's impact beyond the television broadcast. "E=mc2" is intended for prime-time broadcast on PBS in the fall of 2005, to coincide with the centennial of Einstein's "Miracle Year," and should reach an initial audience of seven million viewers. Outreach kits will be made available for free to 16,000 public libraries and 1,000 after-school programs. Notification of educational resources will be sent to all 14,000 high school physics teachers around the country. A formative evaluation of the program and a summative evaluation of the program and outreach materials will ensure that "E=mc2" achieves its ultimate purpose: to enhance public understanding of science and promote scientific careers. Key Project Personnel: Director of the WGBH Science Unit and Senior Executive Producer of NOVA: Paula S. Apsell Writer/Director: Kevin Macdonald Producer: John Smithson Formative Evaluation: Multimedia Research Summative Evaluation: Goodman Research Group INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1200000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407140 September 1, 2004 Saving Madagascar through Applied Science. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the umbrella organization including the Bronx Zoo, will design, develop, fabricate, evaluate and install a long-term exhibition with ancillary public programming about the biology and conservation science of the island of Madagascar. Based in part on long-term scientific research conducted in Madagascar by the WCS, the exhibit will use immersive, interactive exhibit approaches including live plants and animals, as well as an on-line curriculum (Wild Explorations in Science), distance learning expeditions, and an interactive website to engage visitors of all ages in experiencing conservation science and specific examples of science saving wildlife. Visitors will explore unique and beautifully re-created habitats, encounter fascinating animals and learn about concepts such as endemism, island biogeography and biodiversity. The exhibit will serve about 2,000,000 visitors to the Bronx Zoo annually and millions nationwide through on-line curricula and distance learning programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Chin, Susan Wildlife Conservation Society NY Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2048660 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407280 June 1, 2004 Senior Environmental Experiences (SEE). The Ramapo College of New Jersey requests funding to develop the "Senior Environmental Experiences (SEE)" project. The project will produce a series of interactive science experiences using Internet videoconferencing to connect seniors at community centers and extended care facilities with environmental experts at the Meadowlands Environment Center as the principal context for discussions of environmental concepts and issues. The goal of the program is to increase the interest of seniors by linking science to history and politics. "SEE" will create experiential modules related to the natural history, ecosystem structure and future of the Meadowlands. Discussion from the field using live images and feedback from the seniors would support exploration of details relevant to the specific topic at hand. The videoconferences will be recorded and made available to seniors in other locations throughout New Jersey and the US. Follow up materials will encourage further activities by the seniors. "SEE" will reach approximately 4,500 seniors in 32 centers during the three-year project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Cristini, Angela Ramapo College of New Jersey NJ Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 462002 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407322 July 1, 2004 "LAZYBONES": Development Grant for an Engineering Television Series. WGBH is developing LAZYBONES (working title), a new television series for 10- to 14-year-olds, that is an engineering game show. Each week LAZYBONES' eight players, aged 17-21, engineer easy solutions to life's arduous tasks. The aim of the program is to use humor and irony to hook its target audience and turn them onto the creativity and productivity of engineering. The purpose of the project is to (1) teach kids to learn about engineering by using science and technology to solve real-life problems; (2) help bridge the critical years for keeping kids interested in science and math, and; (3) improve the public image of engineering, especially among girls and minorities. This grant is for the Test Video Development Phase of the project. During this phase, WGBH will produce a test video in order to further evaluate and refine the concept, appeal and educational content of the show and outreach materials. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 197472 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407355 July 1, 2004 "How People Make Things" -- A Traveling Exhibition. Intellectual Merit: The Pittsburgh Children's Museum (PCM) is developing a 2,700 sq ft traveling exhibition, "How People Make Things," in collaboration with Family Communications, the producers of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." The exhibition will use the factory visit segments from this popular television program, the longest running on PBS, as a jumping off point for engaging children in the processes by which familiar objects are manufactured. PCM is building on its prior success with "Design It!," an after-school program funded by a prior NSF grant. This project extends that work to expose children to the hidden science and technology that form the basis for manufacturing. The exhibition will include the Neighborhood Factory orientation area and sections on Making Things: Designing Things, Forming Things (Additive, Subtractive, Deformational), and Assembling Things. Project collaborators include members of the Carnegie Mellon University Industrial and Engineering Design program and the University of Pittsburgh Learning Research and Development Center UPCLOSE. Broader Impact: The exhibition is projected to reach at least 750,000 visitors in nine museum venues through its nationwide tour; the target audience is families with children ages 3 to 10. Promotion and dissemination will be enhanced by the connection with PBS, which continues to air the "Mister Roger's Neighborhood" program. Partnerships with the AFL-CIO, Catalyst Communications, and Society of Manufacturing Engineers will extend the outreach effort. Special efforts will be made to target girls and underserved audiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Werner, Jane Penny Lodge The Pittsburgh Children's Museum PA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1552571 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407373 September 1, 2004 Biomusic: The Music of Nature. Partnering with National Musical Arts, the Science Museum of Minnesota seeks to develop BioMusic, a 4,000 sq. ft. traveling exhibition that explores the origins of music in nature and the connections between music and sound of living things. This project is based on planning grant ESI-0211611 (The Music of Nature and the Nature of Music) awarded to NMA. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The project is based on the emerging interdisciplinary research field of biomusic, which includes musicology plus aspects of neuroscience, biology, zoology, environmental science, physics, psychology, math and anthropology. The exhibit sections -- "Humanimal" Music; Natural Symphonies; Ancient Roots; Music, Body and Mind; and World of Music -- use both music and natural sound to explore biodiversity, cultural diversity, the physics of sound and the brain. BROADER IMPACT: The exhibition is expected to travel for at least six years, reaching some two million people in 18 communities. It is to be accompanied by a six-part radio series (Sweet Bird Classics) for young children. Because of the connection to music and many other areas of public interest, this exhibition has the potential to attract and engage new audiences to science museums and stimulate their interest in STEM. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Newlin, J Wendy Pollock Patricia Gray Science Museum of Minnesota MN Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2701853 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407400 May 1, 2004 Everyone Counts! -- ¡Todo el mundo cuenta!. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The Children's Museum of Houston seeks to develop a 1,500 sq ft bilingual traveling exhibition based on their bilingual "Magnificent Math Moments" activities. This project simultaneously addresses two very important needs: the relative lack of mathematics exhibits for young children and for Spanish-speaking audiences. The exhibition is based on Patron (Pattern) Point where the visitor meets math superheroes, Subtracta, Capt. Mas in the settings of Subtracta's Puzzle Parlor; Capt. Mas's Marina; and Formas (Shapes) Family Shipping Yard. It will provide an inviting setting for introducing the target audiences to mathematics through the use of characters, environments and puzzles. BROADER IMPACT: Fabrication of a second version of the traveling exhibition will extend the number of institutions reached through two national tours. These exhibitions, which target children ages 5-10 and adults, are projected to reach some 1.4 million visitors in 24 museums over five years; sites will be selected to reach Hispanic audiences in smaller, low-income urban and rural areas. For further impact CMH is forming another network of museums that will benefit from this project, even though the institutions will not be able to host the traveling exhibition. CMH also is developing ancillary materials and services to accompany the exhibition that include activity kits and cart, character costumes, training guides, parent materials and other resources. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McCallum, Cheryl The Children's Museum of Houston TX Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1514702 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0407414 September 1, 2004 Giant Planets: Exploring the Outer Solar System. The Space Science Institute (SSI) will design, develop and travel a 3,500 square foot exhibition about the outer planets of the solar system and their satellites, whose presence contributes to making Earth habitable. Designed around the theme "Living With Giants," the exhibition will feature hands-on interactive visitor experiences that describe the Solar System, engage visitors in learning about planetary exploration, focus on the planetary science of Saturn and its moons and provide access to current information from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. Special attention will be given to designing "Space for Kids," an exhibit area targeted specifically for young learners and their families and caregivers. SSI will collaborate with leading scientists and educators as well as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to create education programs and a virtual exhibit website to extend the science learning of the exhibition. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dusenbery, Paul James Harold SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE CO Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1947329 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0408562 June 1, 2004 Standards and Curriculum -- A View for the Nation: A Mathematics Conference to be Convened in Park City, Utah, Summer, 2004. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is convening the state supervisors of mathematics, a group of mathematicians, and a group of mathematics education professionals to examine the mathematics standards from all states and territories that have such standards in order to study the common elements and the critical differences. The work will be done in Park City, Utah in conjunction with the Park City Mathematics Institute in the summer of 2004. Proceedings will be published in 2005 and are intended to inform the work of curriculum developers and publishers and to provide insight into the K-12 curriculum by two- and four-year colleges and universities. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN MSP-OTHER AWARDS DRL EHR Lott, Johnny National Council of Teachers of Mathematics VA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 116165 7355 7181 1793 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0411406 June 1, 2004 SGER: Preliminary Investigations of the Factors Impacting the Acquisition of Evolutionary Concepts. This is a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) proposal examining children's acquisition of an understanding of evolution. The main goal of the proposal is to carry out the exploratory studies necessary to help articulate a developmental framework for understanding the relationship between children's early conceptual development and their acquisition of evolutionary concepts. The hypothesis underlying this work is that people have difficulty grasping certain evolutionary concepts because these concepts may conflict with people's intuitive concepts and beliefs about adaptation and selection. Evolutionary concepts imply the notion that all species are, in a sense, related. This challenges what may be an intuitive bias in people to think about species as being qualitatively distinct. The investigators propose to conduct three exploratory studies. The studies will be conducted on participants in age-groups of 3-4 years, 5-7 years, 8-9 years, 10-12 years, and lay adults. Using a series of open-ended as well as closed-ended questions, the investigators will explore children's understandings of, for example, how animals of different species appeared on Earth and the extent to which their reasons are in accord with such explanations as Intelligent-Design, Evolutionist, and Spontaneous-Generationist. The studies will also probe other aspects of children's reasoning, such as their tendency to think of species as having a fixed essence, in order to determine what role such reasoning might have in supporting or constraining children's understanding of evolution. This innovative and intellectually risky work promises to begin to lay the groundwork, based on current cognitive theory, upon which a novel approach to the teaching of evolution could be built. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Evans, Evelyn Karl Rosengren University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 91418 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411483 February 1, 2004 Calculategy: Exploring the Impact of Tutorial Dialogue Strategy in Shaping Student Behavior in Effective Tutorial Dialogue for Calculus. Abstract This award supports a component of the dialogue portion of LeActiveMath which is an innovative third-generation eLearning system for high school and college or university level classrooms that can also be used in informal contexts for self-learning. LeActiveMath adapts to the learner and learning context and comprises personalization, tutorial dialogues, open student modeling, and interactivity that is tool-supported for active and exploratory learning. The value added to previous systems is due to: o intelligent feedback and tutorial dialogues o integrated interactive tools that understand the semantics of learning objects o pedagogically grounded elements, contexts, and strategies that employ tools beneficially o reaction to the student's motivational and emotional state o advanced personalization o opportunity and scaffolding of self-guidance and learner-initiative o open, inspectable student model o accessible exercise repository o free non-commercial usage From a more specific technological point of view there is more added value because of a truly open and distributed architecture with one student model, the reusability of single components and tools, the integration in one configurable system and the innovative semantic knowledge representation and integrated tools using it. The tools and components are motivated by pedagogical and cognitive results. In particular, the system will be learner-centered and support the learner's initiative. The main technologies will be employed beneficially for learning at different levels of mastery and in different organizational contexts. The content and some tools are specific for mathematics, but the technology is not restricted to mathematics. Dr. Rose's contribution will be in the development of a Calculus corpus and in the analysis of student-tutor dialogs. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Rose, Carolyn Carnegie-Mellon University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 96627 7180 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411593 September 15, 2004 Integrated Science-Literacy in Urban Early Elementary Classrooms: Exploring Scientific Understandings and Discourse Genres. This is a comprehensive program of educational research around teaching and learning of integrated science and literacy in primary (grades 1-3) urban classrooms. It builds on several years of preliminary, pilot work in 1st and 2nd grade Chicago classrooms that has resulted in several presentations and publications of emerging scholarship around two science topics' matter (different states of matter, changes from one state to another, the water cycle) and living things (plants and animals in different environments). This study will help to capture and understand the complexity of teaching and learning science integrated with literacy in diverse urban classrooms of young children. Such research is critical in the light of how little we know about science education in primary grades. The major interrelated objectives of the proposed research are to investigate: * how teacher and students construct shared knowledge on science topics in integrated units; * linguistic science language themes that children and teacher use and develop as they theorize about scientific phenomena, collect and analyze empirical evidence, and coordinate the two; * how informational texts inform and extend children's theoretical and empirical understandings of the science topics they explore; * the kinds of texts (and drawings) the children produce as part of their inquiries; how the children's ethnicity, culture, and gender influence and interact with the above issues; * the kinds of developmental routes that early elementary school children (grades 1-3) take in understanding science and the language of science; * how at-home, adult-child, science-literacy explorations that are shared and integrated in the curriculum affect children's development of science and science language knowledge, as well as how family members' involvement in these at home-experiences might enable them to foster and support children's education in these areas; and * the kinds of tensions that teachers confront in implementing such integrated units. Data sources will include: audio and video tapes of the various classroom activities and events described above, as well as audio-tapes of project staff meetings, teachers' research journals, and university-based researchers' field notes. In addition, written artifacts created by teachers and students (e.g., concept maps, posters, wall-charts) and various children's drawings and writings related to the integrated science-literacy inquiries are to be collected. Family members' responses to the at-home explorations will be gathered via surveys. The broader impacts of this research include: (1) promoting urban young children's opportunities to experience rich and meaningful teaching and learning, since the research explores pedagogical approaches and integrated curricular materials to enhance science/literacy education during the early elementary grades; (2) increasing the research capacity in science and literacy education of both graduate students and teachers; (3) uncovering and understanding factors that enhance the full participation of all Americans in the STEM enterprise; (4) highlighting approaches that can increase and strengthen participation by exploring scientific literacy and learning of low SES students of diverse ethnolinguistic backgrounds; and (4) informing researchers, policy-makers, and school- and university-based educators by disseminating in various ways the understandings gained through this study. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Varelas, Maria Christine Pappas University of Illinois at Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1054088 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411656 July 15, 2004 Scale and Scaling Across the Science Domains. This project will research the relationship of proportional reasoning abilities to the development of scale concepts and will develop an instructional framework for learning about scale and scaling effects that builds on students' prior knowledge. How students and professionals in a variety of fields develop understandings of scale and scaling effects in science will be investigated. The first year will utilize written assessments and interviews to investigate students' existing conceptual ecologies with respect to scale conceptualizations and will involve students from elementary, middle, and high school as well as graduate students. The goal of this aspect of the research is to document the trajectory of scaling ideas that students hold as they mature. The second year will elaborate on this knowledge by researching conceptualizations of novice and experienced teachers as well as other adults in a variety of professions. Written assessments and interviews with adults will document concepts and experiences with scale and scaling effects and these results will allow the identification of applications of scaling, explore how different people develop scaling concepts, and identify sub-constructs inherent to scaling applications. The third will focus on applying knowledge gained from the first two years of research in regular science classes. Through pre- and post-instruction assessments the various webs of constructs students hold with respect to the unifying theme of scale and the relationship of mathematics to understandings of scale will be investigated and the influences guided educational practices in a natural setting have on these constructs will be identified. This research also seeks to identify how learning about scale concepts can be generalized and will research the transfer of such learning across domains. A strong foundation in understandings of scale as a scientific theme has the potential anchor science concepts and help students make cross-curricular connections. In addition, understanding how minorities and women learn scale and scaling concepts can potentially broaden the involvement of these underserved populations in science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Jones, Melissa Michael Falvo North Carolina State University NC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 703305 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411686 August 15, 2004 Collaborative Research: Constructing Mental Images of Geologic Structures from Field Observations. The investigators propose to conduct a series of studies concerning how it is that people visualize and comprehend large-scale geologic structures and how it is that instructors in Geoscience ought best to teach about them. This project will contribute to basic knowledge of spatial cognition. The investigators will conduct a series of behavioral experiments, using artificial geologic outcrops constructed on the La11:lont-Doherty campus and using tabletop architectural models of the campus. The outcrops, each about a meter across, would together form a buried geologic structure, such as a basin, a symmetric syncline, or an asymmetric plunging syncline, at a realistic scale (i.e;,hundreds of meters across). The outcrops will not be visible from each other, so the participants will need to integrate what can be seen to construct a mental image of the entire structure. !Participants will be guided around the outcrops and then be tested on their representations (e.g., askedtb choose accurate models of the structure). They will also take standard tests of spatial ability and verbal-spatial.learning style. The investigators will examine (a) the development of skill on the outcrop task among novices through practice and repetition in the absence ofinst~ction; (b) the relationship among spatial abilities, learning style, and performance on the outcrop task; and (c) strategies used by experts, low-performing noyices,and high-performing novices in doing the outcrop task. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Liben, Lynn Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 234944 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411725 September 1, 2004 Cognitive Style: Individual Differences in Object and Spatial Imagery. The proposed research program will explore a series of questions concerning spatial imagery abilities in the context of cognitive styles. A cognitive style is a psychological dimension that specifies consistencies in how an individual acquires and processes information. Although research suggests that cognitive styles have important implications for educational theory and practice, many previous studies were not motivated by a theory or general framework that species the dimensions along which cognitive processing may vary, and as a consequence suffered from arbitrary distinctions and overlapping dimensions. For instance, although a number of studies have found that the verbal subscale of standard visualizer/verbalizer questionnaires does indeed correlate with verbal ability, the visual subscale is generally only weakly correlated with results on visual/spatial aptitude tests. However, current research on visual information processing suggests that there are actually two kinds of visualizers-those who construct vivid, concrete shape-based images of individual objects (object visualizers), and those who construct images that represent spatial relations among objects and transformations of objects (spatial visualizers). These two types of visualizers display very different patterns of performance on visual-spatial tasks, including tests of practical knowledge, such as the ability to interpret graphs or solve geometry pr9blems. This distinction is rooted in the brain: Neuropsychological findings have revealed that higher-level visual areas of the brain are divided into two functionally and anatomically distinct pathways, the object and spatial relations pathways. This proposal. has three major objectives. First, the investigators plan to examine the development of imagery skills as children age. They will explore the possibility that spatial and object imagery have different courses and rates of development. Second, they will conduct behavioral and fMRI studies to examine how practice using imagery changes performance as well as neural activity in the brain. Finally, they will examine how people in different professions differ in their mental imagery abilities and cognitive styles. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kosslyn, Stephen Harvard University MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1263430 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411776 August 15, 2004 Learning to Teach: The Next Generation of Intelligent Tutor Systems. The primary objective of this project is to develop new methods for optimizing an automated pedagogical agent to improve its teaching efficiency through customization to individual students based on information about their responses to individual problems, student individual differences such as level of cognitive development, spatial ability, memory retrieval speed, long-term retention, effectiveness of alternative teaching strategies (such as visual vs. computational solution strategies), and degree of engagement with the tutor. An emphasis will be placed on using machine learning and computational optimization methods to automate the process of developing efficient Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) for new subject domains. The approach is threefold. First, a methodology based on hierarchical graphical models and machine learning will be developed and evaluated for automating the creation of student models with rich representations of student state based on data collected from populations of students over multiple tutoring episodes. Second, methods will be developed and evaluated for deriving pedagogical decision strategies that are effective and efficient not just over the short-term (from one math problem to the next one), but over the long-term where retention over a period of at least one month is the objective. Third, a systematic study will be conducted of the role that known and powerful latent and instructional variables can have on performance through their inclusion in student models. Research in cognitive and educational psychology clearly shows the critical role that latent variables such as short-term memory and engagement play in learning, and that instructional variables such as over-learning and review, and massed and distributed practice have on the rate at which material is learned. The investigators jointly have strengths in the areas of intelligent tutoring, machine learning and optimization, and cognitive, mathematical and educational psychology, strengths that are needed in order to make the synergistic advances that are being proposed. Our preliminary simulations and classroom experiments suggest that we can significantly reduce the time it takes students to learn new material based on improved pedagogical decisions. For intellectual merit, he proposed research should advance fundamental knowledge of the learning and teaching of basic mathematics and more advanced algebra and geometry. It should add to the set of growing statistical and computational techniques that are available to estimate the complex hidden hierarchical structures that govern human behavior. The research should also significantly broaden the capabilities of machine learning systems by addressing learning scenarios that are grounded on the real and challenging problem of mathematics education than the abstract scenarios typically studied at present. For broader impact, this foundational educational research will lead to the broadening of participation of underrepresented groups, especially women, in a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. It will advance discovery and understanding of learning and engagement as predictors of individual differences in learning and will result in intelligent tutors that are more sensitive to individual differences. It will unveil the extent to which students of different genders and cognitive abilities learn more efficiently with different forms of teaching. This research will benefit society as machine learning methods, which provide a core technology for building complex systems, will be applicable to a variety of teaching systems. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Woolf, Beverly Donald Fisher Andrew Barto Sridhar Mahadevan Ivon Arroyo University of Massachusetts Amherst MA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 1241545 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411796 July 1, 2004 Which Bets Paid Off?: Estimating the Effects on Middle Grades Achievement of More Than a Decade of Ambitious Reform in Philadelphia. The researchers propose to analyze a large series of data sets collected for the city of Philadelphia during several years of reform efforts for its middle mathematics and science classes. Some of the reform efforts were implemented with NSF funding, some of the schools used NSF funded mathematics curriculum (Mathematics in Context), and some of the time alternative models were implemented in the city. The researchers propose to make some sense out of the turmoil of change in the cities policies by examining variations in the student performance changes over the period of time that the various reforms were in place. The methods of analysis will require statistical manipulation of large data sets using multilevel models of change and growth curves to estimate the impact of each of the major reforms on student achievement growth during the middle grades. The study will also include analysis of interviews with educational leaders of the city. The unique aspect of this study is that the researchers have access to individual student performance data over time for each student. They will be able to use an interrupted time series approach to compare with the multilevel growth analysis and they will also employ qualitative data collection and analysis for in-depth contextual information about systemic reform efforts in Philadelphia. The study examines reform of schools in a large urban city in a comprehensive way. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR MacIver, Douglas Martha MacIver Johns Hopkins University MD Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 999595 1666 SMET 9177 0411814 September 15, 2004 Investigating Immersive Simulation Science Activities in Large Scale Multi-User Online Environments. The purpose of our exploratory research is to expand the study of science inquiry by investigating the potential of immersive simulations. In immersive simulations, such as the case of a disease outbreak, participants not only act out roles in a simulation, but through virtual selves, or avatars, are directly impacted by the simulation. For immersive simulations to be an effective learning experience, students' inquiry into the simulation needs to be scaffolded. This study uses a large stratified random sample of about 800 Whyville users accounting for age, gender and level of involvement; and it develops and refines online tools to support the collaborative investigation of disease simulations and the development of explanations. The study will examine: (1) the educational impact of immersive science simulations, (2) the adoption of established web-based inquiry tools developed in the education community for multi-user online environments; and (3) the nature of online and offline support structures for science inquiry in settings such as classrooms, after school programs, and homes which provide access to places like Whyville. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI RES ON GENDER IN SCI & ENGINE DRL EHR Kafai, Yasmin University of California-Los Angeles CA Karen F. Zuga Continuing grant 441674 1666 1544 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411823 August 15, 2004 Collaborative Research: Constructing Mental Images of Geologic Structures from Field Observations. The investigators propose to conduct a series of studies concerning how it is that people visualize and comprehend large-scale geologic structures and how it is that instructors in Geoscience ought best to teach about them. This project will contribute to basic knowledge of spatial cognition. The investigators will conduct a series of behavioral experiments, using artificial geologic outcrops constructed on the Lamont-Doherty campus and using tabletop architectural models of the campus. The outcrops, each about a meter across, would together form a buried geologic structure, such as a basin, a symmetric syncline, or an asymmetric plunging syncline, at a realistic scale (i.e., hundreds of meters across). The outcrops will not be visible from each other, so the participants will need to integrate what can be seen to construct a mental image of the entire structure. Participants will be guided around the outcrops and then be tested on their representations (e.g., asked to choose accurate models of the structure). They will also take standard tests of spatial ability and verbal-spatial learning style. The investigators will examine (a) the development of skill on the outcrop task among novices through practice and repetition in the absence of instruction; (b) the relationship among spatial abilities, learning style, and performance on the outcrop task; and (c) strategies used by experts, low-performing novices, and high-performing novices in doing the outcrop task. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kastens, Kim Columbia University NY Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 619820 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411825 July 1, 2004 Laboratory learning: Model-based reasoning in biomedical engineering research and instructional laboratories. The overall objective of the proposed research is to translate findings from the investigators' previous research on cognition and learning in biomedical engineering research (BME) laboratories into prototype designs for instructional labs. The investigators' previous research was an intensive "in vivo" study of two BME labs with the aim of understanding: 1) the nature of the representational and reasoning practices that are used in problem solving, and 2) how student apprentices learn in these labs. The investigators also used their results to inform the design and refinement of problem content, scaffolding, and facilitation for undergraduate and graduate classrooms using a problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy. In their new research, the investigators propose to bring their studies of problem solving practices in labs together in a systematic way with their studies of student learning in order to design and implement new BME instructional labs that better approximate the learning environments and model-based reasoning practices they have found in research labs. In year 1, they will assess the modified PBL classrooms and carry out in vivo observations of two existing labs for a baseline. In year 2, they will work with BME faculty to design, pilot, and assess two instructional labs that capture the cognitive, social, and cultural aspects of practice that lead to effective learning and problem solving. In year 3, they will assess the final implementation of the instructional labs. During these three years they will continue their studies of cognition and learning in research labs, adding a new lab in the area of biorobotics in order to assess the generalizability of their findings. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Nersessian, Nancy Wendy Newstetter GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1238607 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411826 September 1, 2004 Facilitating Group Scientific Inquiry Using Science Museum Exhibits. This study (1) creates a genre of exhibit-based, group scientific inquiry programs for general and low-income museum visitors, (2) determines key program characteristics that lead to learning, (3) conducts a controlled experiment to assess the levels and nature of actual transfer of such skills to other exhibits and to visitors' lives beyond the museum visit. A team of researchers and educators creates, revises, and studies Exhibit Investigations for general and underserved visitors at the Exploratorium. During Investigations, educators coach visitors in inquiry skills that are heuristics for engaging with exhibits or physical phenomena beyond the museum. Pre- and post-assessments of learner interactions with a novel exhibit are recorded and analyzed for evidence of transfer of the inquiry skills introduced during the Investigations. Exit and follow-up interviews determine long-term impact. Two versions of the Investigations-with and without mnemonic cards summarizing inquiry skills-are compared with two control conditions in a randomized block design with four conditions and 50 groups per condition. Intellectual Merit The project broadens the focus of current research on the learning of scientific inquiry skills beyond the school setting. A science museum with engaging and interactive exhibits constitutes an ideal and understudied setting for research on inquiry learning by groups. This project . describes the nature of inquiry learning in an informal learning environment . generates principles for using audience diversity to enhance learning identifies specific inquiry skills that are relevant and effective in this environment . assesses levels of transfer of such skills by visitors . compares such transfer to control groups receiving no mediation or content-based mediation The exhibit-based, group inquiries adapt best practices from formal education for use in the multigenerational, free-choice learning environment of a museum. The research yields a series of effective programs and a set of theoretical principles that account for their efficacy. Broader Impacts Project results and learning principles will be disseminated to academic, museum, and lay audiences. In total, the project serves approximately 1,000 Exploratorium visitors. The project will is presented at national and local conferences such as AERA, ASTC, VSA, and AAM, reaching museum researchers, practitioners, and a broad educational research community. Articles are submitted to peer-review journals in the fields of museum studies and science education. Project updates and the final report are posted on the Exploratorium Web site (visited by 15 million annually). Outcomes are disseminated to the Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS), an initiative of the Exploratorium, Kings College London, and UC Santa Cruz. A non-technical publication, distributed through the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), informs science centers around the world. REESE INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gutwill, Joshua Exploratorium CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1256847 7625 7259 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0411846 August 1, 2004 Quest Atlantis: Advancing a Socially-Responsive, Meta-Game for Learning. his project continues work to build a multi-user virtual environment, known as Quest Atlantis, that is academically valuable, game like, and that engages elementary students in socially-responsive practices. This grant will undertake a series of naturalistic studies and experimental manipulations that will advance theoretical and practical knowledge with respect to the design of multi-user virtual environments for supporting science learning. Specifically, the project will test three hypotheses: First, that students learning academic content within a socially-responsive gaming context will learn more and be more engaged than those learning through teaching methods that do not explicitly have a gaming component. This portion of the study will also examine if the gaming context works will work equally well if the academic tasks vary in difficulty or if there is some necessary balance between the amount of learning and playing. Second, participants, especially girls, will achieve and learn more and be more engaged when their participation is situated in a gender-balanced, socially-responsive gaming context as opposed to a male-dominated one, or simply a gaming context without an explicit social agenda. Third, students participating in a gaming environment will achieve, learn and be more engaged if the environment leverages a community-based element than if it just supports single-user participation. The project will also produce qualitative accounts of participation in all conditions, but especially the socially-responsive gaming condition so as to understand how children from different socio-economic groups and of different genders come to participate in and make sense of the collective experience of the meta-game context. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Barab, Sasha William Blanton Daniel Hickey Susan Herring Indiana University IN Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1704440 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0411886 July 1, 2004 Achieving Motivational and Cognitive Outcomes in Mathematics Using Enhanced Intelligent Tutoring Technology. Much research in education now points to the importance of both cognitive and motivational processes in determining learning outcomes. Yet we do not yet understand exactly how these processes interact within the individual learner over time to produce specific learning outcomes, and how different forms of instruction and tutoring can influence the interaction of cognition and motivation to facilitate learning. Advanced learning technologies such as intelligent tutoring systems typically focus on cognitive issues, and do not yet address motivational issues. Thus there is a major gap between educational practice, as supported by learning technologies, and research in cognitive and motivational aspects of human learning. The goal of the proposed project is to investigate the relations of learner engagement, cognitive processes, and scaffolding strategies in producing specific learning outcomes in mathematics. It brings together an interdisciplinary team of specialists in psychology, education, and information technology to pursue this work. The project will employ educational software designed to enable us to address and measure cognitive and motivational factors in systematic ways. It will significantly extend previous work on intelligent tutoring systems and computer-based learning assistants to assess in real time the attention and motivation of individual learners, infer their level of engagement, and estimate their domain knowledge. The research results will be obtained in realistic learning conditions: public high school classrooms in Los Angeles, with student populations reflecting the ethnic, linguistic and economic diversity of urban California. The software will make instructional decisions based on decision rules used by expert human tutors who consider motivational and cognitive goals to optimize learning outcomes. Instructional strategies will also be instantiated in the form of a responsive animated virtual character, to learn if the presence of a human-like pedagogical agent influences the learner.s engagement as well as learning outcomes in mathematics. Classroom teachers will be able to customize the instruction through innovative tools to view continually updated assessments and refine pedagogical decisions made by the software. Rich learner data sets will be automatically collected as students work on mathematics problems, and will provide an integrated evaluation linked to specific learning outcomes, including word problem solving and transfer to novel, challenging problems embedded in real-world STEM contexts. To accomplish this goal, the researchers will build on the results of two projects developed with prior NSF support: an empirically validated focus of attention tracking system, and an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) designed specifically to enhance math skills in students who have been traditionally under-represented in STEM fields of study. The results of the project will have broad societal impact through providing individualized, effective web-based instruction in STEM-related mathematics that will be freely accessible to students in any high school with access to the Internet. We anticipate that the impact will be greatest among students who currently have motivational difficulties with mathematics, including women and underrepresented groups. The intellectual merit of the project will be a deeper understanding of the very nature of learning processes through the ability to model in detail and in real time the interaction of cognition and engagement in the individual learner, and to observe changes in the learner.s knowledge as a function of instructional history. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Johnson, William Carole Beal University of Southern California CA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 1217641 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0412037 March 15, 2004 Designing the Classroom of Tomorrow by Using Advanced Technologies to Connect Formal and Informal Environments (CONNECT). The CONNECT project is a collaborative international initiative of educational, cognitive science and technology experts, and psychologists at 17 institutions from 9 countries who are researching the use of advanced technologies to facilitate learning through innovative partnerships with a wide range of schools and informal science learning environments. The aim of the project is to explore, test, refine and demonstrate a cutting edge approach that connects these varied learning experiences, bridges theoretical and applied research and introduces innovative ways for teachers and students to communicate and learn together. This will be accomplished by designing, creating and piloting a learning environment that weds effective informal (free-choice) learning strategies with exemplary formal curricular activities, utilizing cutting edge information and communication technologies. Specifically and practically the project will document the evolution from the wired virtual learning environments of today to the wireless learning environments of tomorrow. The Institute for Learning Innovation (the Institute), the only U.S. partner in CONNECT, is critical to project success because of its role in designing the educational framework that forms the basis of the project, in developing the educational evaluation, and in the dissemination and reporting of the project's outcomes and impact. In the CONNECT project, the Institute's primary role will focus on three aspects of the project: 1. Design of the educational framework underlying the CONNECT project, (including ensuring that the CONNECT project stays focused on the theoretical underpinnings of the educational framework during the technical design and implementation stages) 2. Design of strategies and research methodologies to evaluate the framework, and 3. Dissemination of the project's approach and outcomes in the United States. The projects complex design (joining technology experts, psychologist, educational researchers from 17 institutions in 9 countries), the ambitious goals that entail simultaneous technology end educational framework development, and the tight timeline, make this a particularly challenging and risky project. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Haley Goldman, Kathryn Lynn Dierking Martin Storksdieck Institute for Learning Innovation Incorporated MD John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 125216 7180 SMET 9237 9177 0413636 October 1, 2004 Evolution Discoveries -- A Planning Grant. The Soundprint Media Center will conduct planning for "Evolution Discoveries," a multi-part radio series on evolutionary science, contemporary issues and new discoveries. The project will help educate the public about the insights evolutionary science can offer current problems and issues, while at the same time help to explain basic principles of evolutionary science. Key planning activities over five months will include identifying gaps in public understanding of evolutionary science, creating a framework for the radio series and producing and testing a pilot program. They will work with an advisory group that includes museums and researchers that are studying visitor understanding of evolution -- geographically, developmentally and by gender. They plan to develop partnerships with informal science organizations (museums, zoos, aquariums, etc.) to extend the reach of the audio material beyond those of public radio. Other components of the project include a public radio station resource guide to help establish local collaborations between stations and local scientists, museums, zoos, aquariums and others; a resource guide for teachers and a website that will complement and be compatible with other online resources such as those supported by natural history museums and the Human Genome Management Project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR de Freitas, Anna Maria Moira Rankin Soundprint Media Center, Inc. MD Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 49807 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0414083 May 1, 2004 CAREER: Designing Hypertext Materials for the Science Classroom: Understanding Students' Changing Cognitive Representations. My research and teaching plans are geared towards designing and implementing online science resources to help students learn science, and providing professional development activities for teachers. My plans integrate an interdisciplinary approach to designing and using hypertext resources in science classrooms, evaluating the cognitive demands of student learning while using such material, as well as associated professional development initiatives for teachers. The aims of my research plan are: (1) Design, implement and evaluate hypertext material for the science classroom. These materials will focus on helping students understand interrelationships between principles and concepts so that they learn science as an integrated body of knowledge, not as a set of isolated facts. There are numerous interrelationships that students need to understand in order to effectively use and do science. For example, in understanding planets, physics shades into chemistry, astronomy, and geology, and biology shades into chemistry, in understanding osmosis. (2) Through empirical studies, understand students' changing cognitive representations as they learn from these materials. This will help not only in understanding student learning but will also help understand how students learn from hypertext materials, thus providing guidelines for better design. My teaching plan has the following aims. (1) Continue developing the graduate program in Instructional Media and Technology. (2) Integrate professional development activities for teachers along with design and implementation of research materials. (3) Build an interdisciplinary team of students to enable the design and integration of technology in science classrooms. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Puntambekar, Sadhana University of Wisconsin-Madison WI John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 103462 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0415867 May 1, 2004 Lone Mtn Retreat: Anticipating the Role of Emerging Technologies in Science Education -- A Conference by NSTA and the Big Sky Institute of the University of Montana, June, 2004. The proposed project focuses on defining the design constraints and mapping the educational potential of various emerging technologies. The goals are to identify key emerging technologies that have the potential to transform science education; examine critical issues in science education reform that could point to potential uses for emerging technologies; explore how these emerging technologies can be anticipated by educators and harnessed to improve practice in formal and informal science education; outline the characteristics of a research agenda for science education in the context of these emerging technologies; and disseminate insights from the retreat to the science education community. The two-day conference will include 12 invited discussants and up to 20 experts (observers). Pre-conference activities are guided by a steering committee. Post-conference activities include a published report of the conference findings TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Wheeler, Gerald Lisa Graumlich National Science Teachers Assoc VA Michael Haney Standard Grant 76153 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0418911 April 1, 2004 Assessing Mathematical Proficiency -- A Conference on Assessment in Mathematics Education, University of California, Berkeley, March, 2004. The authors propose a conference on assessment in mathematics education to be held at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, during the month of March, 2004. Participants will be drawn from the mathematics research community, together with researchers in mathematics education, psychometricians and school and district education personnel. Sessions at the conference will assume various formats, from individual presentations to panel discussion to small group discussion. A volume of proceedings will be generated and disseminated. The goals of the proposal are to examine a variety of issues connected with assessment in mathematics education, including the effect of assessment on curriculum and instruction, issues of ethics and equity and questions of tools and methods for assessment. An important outcome of the project will be the identification of research questions and directions for development of new assessment tools. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Eisenbud, David Mathematical Sciences Research Institute CA David C. Royster Standard Grant 50000 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0421887 August 1, 2004 SGER: Connections between Mathematics and Biology in the High Schools: An Experimental Program. This exploratory program will investigate ways to connect the mathematical and biological sciences in high school classrooms. The program will have a major instructional materials development component through a module-writing activity and through a research experience for high school teachers. Teachers will learn about mathematical biology, then will use their knowledge to construct modules for classroom use. They will work with content experts in mathematics and biology, and will try their modules in their own classrooms. Other teachers will try the same modules in different classrooms. The modules will then be revised and disseminated. Intellectual Merit: The focus will be on topics from computational biology and bioinformatics. Teachers will learn about sequence alignment algorithms, finding the smallest number of mutations of a certain type to switch one sequence into another, algorithms for finding a sequence from its fragments, and other mathematical techniques. Specific topics will involve trees, DNA fragment assembly, phylogenetic trees, tree parsimony and genome rearrangements. Research projects for teachers will center around physical mapping and the shortest common superstring problem. Research in teaching and learning will inform the program, and in turn the program will provide new insights into the process of interdisciplinary learning. Broader Impact: The program will train a group of teachers to develop at the interface between the biological and mathematical sciences and to bring interdisciplinary activities back to their schools. It will disseminate the results widely through materials, presentations at conferences, a website and a report. Teachers will learn about the nature of interdisciplinary research by doing it. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Roberts, Fred Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ John S. Bradley Standard Grant 175430 7355 7271 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0422545 September 1, 2004 Inquiring with GIS (I-GIS) Project: A Partnership Between Scientists and Educators. This comprehensive ITEST project would provide sixty middle and high school teachers with an introduction to Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies. The project, which brings together a leadership team of educators, science researchers and experts in resource management, is based at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory, a research facility that studies stream and forest ecosystems. The program will focus on environmental applications in which teachers use probes to investigate the properties of local forest and stream ecosystems. Teachers will apply their technology experiences to creating standards based lessons aligned with local curricula. The teacher participants will be recruited from rural, underserved Appalachian communities in western Maryland and northern West Virginia. Local students will be recruited to participate in a four-day summer session that includes field-testing the proposed lessons and learning about career opportunities in information technology INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Stylinski, Cathlyn Philip Townsend University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences MD David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1272986 7259 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0422693 July 1, 2004 YouthLink: Comprehensive, Innovative and Advanced Digital Technology Experiences for Underserved Teens. "YouthLink" immerses teens in varied and informal learning experiences using the newest, most exciting tools for web design and production, animation, audio and video production and post-production. This proposed expansion of the existing "YouthLink" program that will engage a diverse cadre of 120 chronically underrepresented teens in the San Francisco area, aged 14-18, in year-round IT informal learning experiences. In addition, 150 parents, 60 educators, 50 companies, and 300 teenage peers will also be involved in the YouthLink program through Family Technology Nights, community outreach activities, internships, and the distribution of youth-made technology projects via video and the web. "YouthLink" will reach national stakeholders through an interactive learning curriculum for teens distributed on DVD-ROM and an online magazine for teens. Project components include: Basic or Advanced "YouthLink" (depending upon IT skill level at entry), SCANS skills and career preparation, self-paced interactive learning module and "YouthLink" internships. Students will be involved at least 220 hours per year. ITEST DRL EHR Cogley, Patricia Judy Holme Agnew Bay Area Video Coalition CA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 899564 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0422698 September 1, 2004 National Middle School Aerospace Scholars (NaMAS). San Jacinto College (an Hispanic-serving institution), NASA-Johnson Space Center, and their partners propose a three-year comprehensive project targeting middle grades science, mathematics and technology teachers and students. The National Middle School Aerospace Scholars Program (NaMAS) will increase opportunities for teachers and students in eight states to learn about and experience Information Technology as utilized in the aerospace industry. Many students and teachers have limited opportunities to learn about and experience IT. Two dramatic events of 2004 -- the Mars rover mission and the President's space agenda speech -- captured the imagination of America's youth, making this an ideal time to use space exploration as a hook for technology education. NaMAS provides a way to leverage this excitement. One hundred and fifty teachers will each receive 120 hours of professional development and mentoring in IT concepts, skills, applications and pedagogical strategies, all tied to state/national standards. More than 18,000 students will be impacted and approximately 1,500 middle grade students will receive additional instruction through a summer robotics experience. Working in pairs, teachers will participate in four workshops (three at the Johnson Space Center and one online) and facilitate two distance learning events at their schools; they will then integrate their experiences with their classroom instruction. This broadly disseminated, extensively evaluated project will increase teacher and student understanding of STEM activities and careers. The project will also enhance diversity by specifically targeting schools with high numbers of underrepresented students. The ultimate benefit to society is a more knowledgable and capable workforce that will help ensure a healthy economy and an enhanced quality of life. ITEST DRL EHR Sledge, Sharon San Jacinto College District TX Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 1193506 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0422701 January 1, 2005 Comprehensive Information Technology Education in Rural Appalachia (CITERA). This project will provide 120 hours of information technology (IT) instruction to 20 West Virginia middle school STEM teachers each year. The program will also serve 30 students and 5 guidance counselors annually. The lead institution is the Institute for Scientific Research, Inc., a not-for-profit, and collaborators include the EdVenture Group, Inc, the GLOBE Program, Fairmont State University, the Marion County School System and eight other school districts in north central West Virginia. School district administrators will recruit and screen potential program participants with the following prerequisites: current certification in science or mathematics, teaching experience and prior participation in NSF-funded teacher enhancement projects that have served the region for several years. The IT professional development focuses on integrating 3-D modeling and cluster computing skills in existing STEM curriculum units. A two-week institute for teachers followed by a one-week program that includes students will be offered each summer. The school year component provides two full-day sessions and four hours of mentoring and on-line support. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ITEST DRL EHR Darrah, Marjorie Diane Furman Lydotta Taylor Roxann Humbert Amy Blake West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation WV David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1064338 7645 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0422703 September 1, 2004 Enhancing Science and Technology Education and Exploration Mentoring (ESTEEM). The "Enhancing Science and Technology Education and Exploration Mentoring (ESTEEM)" project, based at the Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), is a three-year, youth-based ITEST project that seeks to engage 336 middle school students in information technology (IT) learning experiences related to robotics, digital storytelling, animation, genealogy and nature. The centerpiece of the project is replication and adaptation of the NSF-funded "TechBridge" curriculum, developed by the Chabot Space and Science Center in California. Specifically designed for girls, the ESTEEM project targets underrepresented middle school students from low-income communities in the Baltimore, Maryland area. The program provides quality IT experiences to girls, while also creating opportunity for meaningful participation of middle school boys. The focus of student activities is based on relevant research related to gender equity and STEM education. Six middle schools in the Anne Arundel School District are involved in the project. Students attend a 22-week afterschool program at school sites, participate in a four-week summer submersion experience at the University, and visit local businesses and non-profit organizations on field trips. Teachers at the participating schools receive IT training to introduce IT learning experiences in the classroom. UMBC undergraduate and graduate students in computer science, information systems and computer engineering serve as fellows to provide school support and to work with students in the project activities. Utilizing networks established by the Center for Women and Information Technology, IT role models from the private sector visit schools as speakers and assist in classrooms. "ESTEEM" has the potential to serve as a youth-based IT model for young girls in particular, and underrepresented middle school students in general. ITEST DRL EHR Komlodi, Anita Mark Terranova University of Maryland Baltimore County MD Celestine Pea Standard Grant 868776 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0422885 September 1, 2004 Eagle Vision: Employing Geographic Information Technologies in Indian Schools and Communities. The Pueblo of Laguna Department of Education will implement a comprehensive project for teachers and students that will incorporate Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) into the curricula of several tribal schools serving American Indian students, primarily by providing extensive professional development to a cadre of 20 teachers (2-3 per school). Teachers will receive at least 120 hours of training each year of the project, with 80 hours accomplished during annual summer workshops. Additionally, each year a team of five students from each school will be selected to participate in a Summer Institute, where they will receive a concentrated orientation to the Geographic Information Technologies field. Over the three-year grant period, 120 students will participate in the summer institutes. The teachers, in workshops and with students in the institutes, will develop their knowledge and skills in utilizing GIT tools and resources and in incorporating GIT into their curricula. They will potentially involve 2,400+ students in project-related, GIT-infused, problem-solving activities in their classes ITEST DRL EHR Sittnick, Phil Pueblo of Laguna Department of Education NM Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 803835 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0422902 September 1, 2004 Bioinformatics: The Rutgers Initiative in Teacher Enhancement (BRITE). This project will implement a comprehensive project for teachers and students designed to integrate bioinformatics and structural biology into existing high school programs so that it becomes a permanent offering of the science curriculum. The BRITE project will engage high school teachers and students in a series of scientific challenges, the answers to which require using the computational tools of molecular biology, structural biology and bioinformatics. Over the 36-month period of the grant, BRITE will train up to 55 teachers in a local project at the Waksman Institute and over 100 teachers in a regional project conducted through distance learning on the Internet. Teachers will field-test challenges with students participating in summer institutes, then introduce the challenges into classroom science teaching. Each year approximately 5,500 students will benefit from their teachers' work in the local and regional projects. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM ITEST DRL EHR Sofer, William Andrew Vershon Lenore Neigeborn Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Julia Clark Standard Grant 1149988 7271 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423059 October 1, 2004 Robotics: Fundamentals of Information Technology and Engineering. TechBoston and Northeastern University are working collaboratively in this comprehensive project to integrate an innovative robotics curriculum into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses in the Boston Public Schools and in other racially diverse and economically disadvantaged Massachusetts school districts. The project targets 90 STEM teachers in grades seven and eight, each of whom receive 80 hours of summer professional development and 40 hours of follow-up support in leading yearlong after-school robotics programs. More than 1,800 students are participating, with each having 20 to 80 hours of contact time during summer and after school. The project addresses the urgent need to enhance students' interest and performance in STEM courses, while fostering skills that are important prerequisites for IT careers. In the near term, project leaders are helping students in Massachusetts to meet statewide academic standards. Over the long term, the project will help to inspire and prepare a new generation of IT professionals. The project's intellectual merits derive from its innovative delivery platform (i.e. hands-on robotics projects) and its professional development framework (i.e. after-school programs as an incubator for new classroom teaching methods). In terms of broader impacts, the robotics curriculum is aligned with both state and national technology education standards, and the project team is committed to promoting statewide adoption and national replication. Special emphasis is placed on female and minority students. Pedagogical methods are tailored to these students' learning patterns, and strategies are provided to help middle school STEM teachers engage all students, regardless of gender or race. ITEST DRL EHR August, Randal Ibrahim Zeid Christos Zahopoulos Ronald Perry Emanuel Mason Northeastern University MA Orrin Shane Standard Grant 1199328 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0423067 January 1, 2004 Career: Differential Equations: Building a Theory of Student Reasoning and Understanding. Advances in technology and the calculus reform movement have resulted in several recent curricular reform efforts in differential equations. These reform efforts have decreased the traditional emphasis on analytic techniques for finding exact solutions to well-posed problems and increased the use of computing technology to incorporate qualitative and numerical methods for understanding the behavior of solutions to differential equations. Research on student learning of differential equations, however, has lagged behind these curricula efforts. This project will enlarge our understanding of how emerging analyses of student thinking, technology, context problems, and symbol use can be profitably coordinated to promote student learning of advanced, undergraduate mathematics, using differential equations as a specific case. The proposed research project will illustrate how theory-driven work at the elementary and secondary level can inform, guide, and sustain the learning and teaching of university mathematics in technology-rich classrooms. Long-range research plans include analyses that focus on effective means by which university mathematics instructors proactively support students' mathematical development in technology-rich classrooms. In broad terms, the research methodology employed in this project falls under the heading of "developmental research" and highlights the relationship between research and practice, centering on the learning-teaching process with particular attention to the mental activities of students. Three, semester-long classroom teaching experiments and individual student interviews will be conducted over a period of five years. Data sources will include videorecordings of all classroom sessions, videorecordings of student interviews, copies of student work, and records of project meetings. Data analysis will follow the constant comparative method adapted for longitudinal classroom videorecordings and multiple data sources. EAPSI RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rasmussen, Chris San Diego State University Foundation CA Anthony E. Kelly Continuing grant 40081 7316 7256 1666 SMET 9177 5978 5942 1045 0423083 September 1, 2004 MuseumTech Academy: A Collaborative Effort Between the Illinois State Museum Society, Springfield, Illinois, and the Center for American Archaeology, Kampsville, Illinois. The Museum Tech Academy will provide information technology and natural science educational enrichment for 90 low-income, at-risk Springfield, Illinois students ages 12-17. Youth will be recruited from community organizations such as the Springfield Urban League, Big Brothers - Big Sisters and the Springfield Public School District. This three-year project will provide students with career paths in science and technology through inquiry driven activities conducted at the Illinois State Museum (ISM) and field research by the Center for American Archeology (CAA) in Kampsville, IL. Museum Tech Academy will provide an environment in which students can explore areas of interest in information technology, natural sciences, archaeology, related career and college options, interact with ISM and CAA professionals and improve their skills and confidence. Youth will be engaged for a total of 436 contact hours in a three-part program: a) a year-long introductory science and IT skills program, b) a summer field experience, and c) a follow-up, year-long data analysis and presentation tools & skills development experience. ITEST DRL EHR Styles, Bonnie Beth Shea Illinois State Museum Society IL Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 696000 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423115 September 1, 2004 Project La Costa. "Project La Costa" is a three-year, youth-based ITEST project proposed by the Southwest Texas State University. The project seeks to create a computer science academy to provide IT experiences for 250 Hispanic youth, including girls, from five Central and South Texas school districts. Students will start on the project beginning with 8th grade and continue until they are in 10th grade. In 8th grade students will focus on computer hardware, operating systems and desktop management. In 9th grade students will focus on computer programming, robotics and web page and web site development. In 10th grade students will focus on computer systems and network management. The project will provide each student with 120 contact hours per year. The project is named "La Costa," which implies "a vocational vista for students". "Project La Costa" has five inter-related goals: educational, programmatic, curriculum, institutional and workforce. The project, which will be conducted in a bilingual and bicultural community, will have after-school, weekend and summer activities integrating computer skills, family involvement, role modeling, tutoring, mentoring, career development and externships. ITEST DRL EHR Welborn, Ruth Carol Hazlewood Jeffrey Slomka Marco Montoya Texas State University - San Marcos TX Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 846830 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423140 September 1, 2004 Nature Works Studios. This proposal is a request for a three-year, youth-based program for 45 Chicago area youth. It is a year-round program with a summer component that focuses on environmental science and technology education. There is a major focus on job skills training together with work experience that respond to the general labor shortage for well-prepared science and technology professionals to fuel the 21st Century economy. The program is geared towards teens who have limited opportunities in their own communities to study technology and who are primarily African Americans, Latinos, females or from other backgrounds that are under-represented in technology-based professions and from low-income communities. Over the course of a three-year period, 15 students will be recruited each year, with 45 ultimately participating in the third year of the program, i.e. 90 budgeted participants including returning students. Students receive an average of 365 contact hours each year for a total of 1,095 hours. The program will produce a stream of technologically trained students from under-represented groups to enter the workforce or pursue education toward STEM careers. ITEST DRL EHR Rosa, Rafael Chicago Academy of Sciences IL Julia Clark Standard Grant 718983 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423178 September 1, 2004 YES To Technology (YES-2-Tech). The St. Louis Science Center and Education Development Center, Inc. will implement this Youth-based ITEST project. "YES-2-Tech" is designed to create a model out-of-school program aimed at providing disadvantaged teens with academic and workplace opportunities and means to connect IT and STEM skills to their futures and careers. The project introduces teens to real-life technology applications and challenges through ongoing peer and mentoring relationships. Teen collaborations in neighborhood redevelopment activities using relevant real life work environments provides the components of an environment ripe for overcoming gender separation and encouraging career exploration by minority and underserved females. The project is designed to increase computer fluency in IT by matching math and science education to functional life experiences. Teens will be engaged in concrete experiences such as designing and building a greenhouse involving the use and application of digital technology. The project consists of multiple segments containing content in science, math, life skills development, work preparation and training, and college preparation. Use of computers and other digital devices will always take place within a context of useful application -- using these technologies in the service of a real world objective, and in conjunction with non-digital means so as to ground the digital experience in concrete experience. M.A. Henry Consulting, LLC will conduct formative and summative evaluation. This project will reach a total of 60 high school students who will be engaged for a total of 464 hours each. As a result of their activities with the community, over 1,000 senior citizens and children will also be impacted during the project's implementation. ITEST DRL EHR Miller, Diane Charles Hutchison St Louis Science Center MO Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 896828 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423195 September 15, 2004 Rural Schools Science and Information Technology. The Rural School Science and Information Technology project serves rural teachers and students with a curriculum that focuses on applying three increasingly complex information technology applications (Geographic Information Systems, modeling/simulation and game development) to environmental sciences. Sixty teachers will receive summer training and continued support when they return to their classroom. Approximately 700 students over the three year period will attend a one-week summer camp and/or participate in after school clubs where teachers will develop curriculum as they master their IT skills. The curriculum is aligned with the Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements as well as national technology standards. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The RSSIT project moves secondary science teaching beyond the use of GIS in the classroom to encompass innovative ways of looking at and manipulating scientific data. While a number of schools use GIS for mapping, few take the materials to a higher level through the modeling of real-world data and simulations based on that data. Placing real-world inquiry into a game development context is almost unheard of in the secondary context, despite the interest of many secondary students in computer games and the fact that many high quality games create plausible virtual worlds. BROADER IMPACTS: The combination of training, access to sophisticated software and support for implementation provides an environment for successful classroom implementation and eventual dissemination. The assessment process advances teaching and learning by providing clear learning targets along with published criteria against which the teachers can measure their mastery of content and skills. ITEST DRL EHR Michaelson, Karen The Inland Northwest Community Access Network WA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 1297792 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423242 September 1, 2004 Building IT Skills among Inner City Youth in North Philadelphia through Development of a Community Geographic Information System. "Building IT Skills among Inner City Youth in North Philadelphia through Development of a Community Geographic Information System" is a three-year, youth-based ITEST project proposed by Temple University. The project will provide 90 at-risk high school students, including women, Hispanic and African Americans, with 120 contact hours of instruction per year in information technology, spatial analysis and cartographic and design skills through their creative involvement in developing a community-based Geographic Information System. A total of 270 students will participate over the three-year duration of the project. The year-round project will include five hours of weekly instruction for twelve weeks per semester and three two-week intensive summer programs of four hours per day. Instruction during project activities will be provided in both English and Spanish. Parents and family members will be involved throughout the instructional period. The project collaborators include the Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha (APM) Rising Sun Avenue Community Technology Center, School District of Philadelphia, Delawarevalley.org, Forward and Beyond Program of Harrison Campus Compact, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Temple and Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations. ITEST DRL EHR Masucci, Michele mathew davis Temple University PA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 896942 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423387 September 1, 2004 Translating Information Technology Into Classrooms: Teacher-Student's Research on Lake Erie Ecosystem. The Translating Information Technology into Classrooms: Teacher-Students Research on Lake Erie Ecosystem project proposes to study science, technology, environmental and societal issues associated with the Lake Erie ecosystem using Information Technology (IT) applications. The focus of this project will be multi-disciplinary, to include science teachers and their students as well as teachers and students from other related disciplines such as mathematics and technology. Forty five teachers and 225 students, each receiving at least 120 contact hours, will study the issues surrounding Lake Erie. The project aims to educate and train secondary school teachers to utilize IT in their classrooms, by engaging them in specially designed summer institutes and through study of the Lake Erie ecosystem with their students. The project attempts to meet the educational needs for developing teacher awareness of the potentialities and possibilities of IT for teaching and learning, developing teacher competency in IT, developing student literacy (knowledge, skill, application) in IT and associated career paths, identifying best practices and transferable methods of IT and creating a community of learners among participating teachers and their students. These goals are achieved by having secondary school teachers collaboratively work with their students in research projects that deal with issues within the context of Lake Erie, helping teachers to link Information Technolgy with the Michigan Curriculum Frameworks and Science Benchmarks and teach with IT in the content areas in which they would normally teach, and having students conduct real research and ecological-based life and physical science activities that would contribute to the body of data available on the health of the Lake Erie ecosystem. ITEST DRL EHR Ebenezer, Jazlin Robert Erlandson Wayne State University MI Kusum Singh Standard Grant 1199921 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423417 January 1, 2005 AMNH ITEST High School Science Research Program. This proposal is a request for a Youth-based project that targets 120 urban high school youth (grades 9-11) in IT-based research in genetics and astrophysics, using the resources of the American Museum of Natural History(AMNH, public), Rockefeller University (private) and other institutions in the five boroughs of New York City. The recruitment plan targets cohort groups of 40 students per year including females and minorities with the physcially challenged students as a special target population. Students will be selected based on their passion and commitment. The project builds and extends on a prior pilot project that involved high school students in educational programs in the areas of genetics and astrophysics. Through these program partnerships have been created and will be part of the project. Students will learn to use advanced information technology as used in current scientific research rather than working through a series of classroom examples. The goal is for students to gain experiences with IT tools, develop specific scientific research skills, learn science concepts and increase awareness of and commitment to STEM areas in college and/or professional life. ITEST DRL EHR Starr, Catherine American Museum Natural History NY Julia Clark Standard Grant 829060 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423459 October 1, 2004 Understanding the Science Connected to Technology (USCT). "Understanding the Science Connected to Technology (USCT)" targets information technology (IT) experiences in a comprehensive training program and professional support system for students and teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Participants have opportunities to assume leadership roles as citizen volunteers within the context of science and technology in an international watershed basin. Training includes collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of scientific data. BROADER IMPACTS: Building on a student volunteer monitoring program called River Watch, the USCT project enables student scientists to conduct surface water quality monitoring activities, analyze data and disseminate results to enhance local decision-making capacity. The project incorporates state and national education standards and has the potential to reach 173 school jurisdictions and 270,000 students. USCT will directly impact 81 teachers, 758 students and 18 citizen volunteers. The USCT project provides direct scientist mentor linkages for each participating school. This linkage provides a lasting process for life-long learning and an understanding of how IT and STEM subject matter is applied by resource professionals. Broader impacts include accredited coursework for teachers and students, specialized training congruent with the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," and building partnerships with Native American schools. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The USCT project is designed to refocus thinking from static content inside a textbook to a process of learning that includes IT and STEM content. The USCT engages students (the next generation of decision makers) in discovery of science and technology and expands education beyond current paradigms and political jurisdictions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Fritz, Charles Gerald VanAmburg Tri College University, Center for Watershed Education ND Karen F. Zuga Standard Grant 725192 7259 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423576 October 1, 2004 CyberTech Computer Science Program to Prepare Underrepresented Students for Careers in the Sciences. "CyberTech" is a three-year innovative, highly integrated computer science program targeting 600 students, 60 teachers and 10 high schools, beginning in the student's sophomore year and continuing through the senior year. The U.S. Department of Labor employment projections for 2000-2010 predict an increase of 75% in IT jobs requiring a bachelor's degree or higher. Non-white students in America's public schools are rapidly increasing and represent the majority of students in many localities. They, along with women, are underrepresented in the IT workforce. The intellectual merit of this rigorous program is based upon the highly qualified faculty; plans to provide AP certification of high school teachers incorporating research-based strategies promoting inclusiveness, empowerment, cooperative learning, student investigation and inquiry, the critical SCANS workplace competencies and skills, and student success in an exciting and challenging 130 hour computer science curriculum for high school students. The program is based upon: CyberTech I, a 75-hour principles of computer science course for sophomores; CyberTech II, an on-campus, 60-hour, Java programming course for CyberTech I graduates; a junior year Saturday Academy designed to maintain and enhance students' programming skills including video game development and animation; and a senior year AP computer science course available to CyberTech participants and other qualified students. The broader impact of this highly-regarded program is to significantly increase the participation of African-Americans, Hispanics, women and first-generation college-bound high school students in science careers and to enhance the preparation of their IT teachers. ITEST DRL EHR Peterson, Laurence C. Bennett Setzer Amy Woszczynski Kennesaw State University GA Julia Clark Standard Grant 1030714 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423588 September 1, 2004 Technology at the Crossroads. "Technology at the Crossroads" is a youth-based program that will engage middle school youth (with particular emphasis on girls) in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) and HTML programming for use in conducting environmental research in Boston. The program will be comprised of a spring after-school component, three-week summer camp (held on the campus of Simmons College) and a fall after-school component. Science skills to be learned include posing questions, making observations, collecting, and analyzing and interpreting data. The context for the IT and science skills development will be environmental research projects that incorporate mathematics, biology, botany and chemistry. Six Boston area organizations with after-school programs will take part in the project and include: Washington Irving Middle School, Department of Youth Services, Mother Caroline Academy, Codman Academy Charter School, New Boston Pilot Middle School and the Patriot's Trail Girl Scouts Council. Each after-school program team will include one teacher, one undergraduate student and one high school student. These teams will be trained in the use of the technologies and the IT curriculum and will work with youth as well as local scientists and GIS specialists to deliver the program. Near the end of the project additional after-school program staff will be trained so the program can continue beyond the grant-funded period. Goodman Research Group, Inc. will conduct formative, process and outcome evaluation of the project. This project will reach a total of 235 middle school youth and employ six high school students, six undergraduate students and six to twelve teachers/program facilitators during its implementation. The intellectual merit of the program resides in the ability of youth to contribute to the understanding and solution of environmental issues in their communities. PROGRAM EVALUATION ITEST DRL EHR Muscella, Deborah Richard Gurney Simmons College MA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 827279 7261 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423802 June 1, 2004 Creating Museum Exhibitions for Everyone: A Research Study Planning Grant. The Museum of Science will partner with four other informal science education institutions to plan a nationwide distributed research project that will explore universal access to informal learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in museums. This planning project will determine domains of access-related research, establish a core set of advisors to assist with the development of the research agenda, coordinate the selection of topics for investigation and define areas where a shared research protocol might be appropriate for studies conducted at partner institutions. Research initially will be focused on visitors with disabilities who have traditionally been marginalized from many museum experiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Cunningham, Christine Christine Reich Museum of Science MA David A. Ucko Standard Grant 49995 7259 SMET 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0423836 September 1, 2004 Museum Tech Academy: A Collaborative Effort Between the Illinois State Museum Society, Springfield, Illinois, and the Center for American Archeology, Kampsville, Illinois. The Museum Tech Academy will provide information technology and natural science educational enrichment for 90 low-income, at-risk Springfield, Illinois students ages 12-17. Youth will be recruited from community organizations such as the Springfield Urban League, Big Brothers - Big Sisters and the Springfield Public School District. This three-year project will provide students with career paths in science and technology through inquiry driven activities conducted at the Illinois State Museum (ISM) and field research by the Center for American Archeology (CAA) in Kampsville, IL. Museum Tech Academy will provide an environment in which students can explore areas of interest in information technology, natural sciences, archaeology, related career and college options, interact with ISM and CAA professionals and improve their skills and confidence. Youth will be engaged for a total of 436 contact hours in a three-part program: a) a year-long introductory science and IT skills program, b) a summer field experience, and c) a follow-up, year-long data analysis and presentation tools & skills development experience. ITEST DRL EHR Pirkl, Mary Center For American Archeology IL Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 201473 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0424018 April 15, 2004 Understanding and Improving Professional Development for College Mathematics Instructors: An Exploratory Study. This project proposes an exploratory study with the long-term goal of using findings from K-12 research through the Cognitively Guided Instruction materials in the design, implementation, and exploratory research of professional development (PD) for college mathematics instructors. Specifically, the SGER project will: (1) design and implement a semester-long course for mathematics graduate student TAs; (2) develop, pilot, and refine PD activities for use as data collection instruments to document TAs' knowledge of student understanding of significant mathematical ideas; (3) develop, pilot, and refine data collection and analysis methods for documenting TA teaching practices; and (4) develop, pilot, and refine methods for examining the nature of students' learning opportunities in TAs' classes and changes in those learning opportunities resulting from the PD. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Speer, Natasha Jon Star Michigan State University MI Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 200000 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0424031 June 15, 2004 SGER Proposal: Building an Evaluative Foundation for Just-in-Time Teaching. This is a proposal for a small grant to take advantage of an instructional innovation (Just-in-Time-Teaching or JiTT) that is widely spread but where implementation has rapidly outpaced theoretical specification, systematic evaluation, and validation of principles to guide optimal use in different contexts. The innovation is having JiTT students respond electronically to carefully constructed web-based assignments due shortly before class (Warm Ups) that the instructor reviews "just-in-time" to adjust the classroom teaching/learning to diagnosed student needs. The result of the instructor's review of this information is the planning and implementation of feedback-rich interactive classroom sessions built around these student responses replacing the traditional lecture. The major project goals are: 1) to consolidate, organize, and analyze the currently available evidence on JiTT's effectiveness, in a theoretically coherent way; 2) to produce design principles for summative and formative evaluation of individual JiTT projects; and 3) to build a community-wide (i.e., JiTT community of projects) culture of shared expectations for embedding evaluation in projects. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hamilton, Eric Gregor Novak Evelyn Patterson United States Air Force Academy CO Gregg E. Solomon Interagency Agreement 99513 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0424798 September 1, 2004 Children and Rural Education (CARE): Left Behind from the Start -- A Conference to be Convened at the University of Louisiana, Monroe, in Monroe, Louisiana, April 3-5, 2005. This project, the CARE Conference, will assemble representatives of all stakeholders and leading researchers in rural SMET education to establish a comprehensive national research agenda for rural education and discuss how to make rural schools places where people want to teach, prepare pre-service teachers for rural challenges and provide an environment designed for professional growth. The goals for the CARE Conference are: 1. Assemble representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations, rural school systems, their university partners, and leading researchers in SMT and rural education and teacher recruitment, retention and quality. 2. Enhance the information exchange among these groups. 3. Develop a national agenda that will motivate research on rural SMET education and the rural SMET teacher professional continuum. The CARE Conference focuses on very important issues, which are timely and difficult. Recruitment and retention of quality science and mathematics teachers in rural schools has been a long-standing problem. The conference format offers the opportunity for scholars and stakeholders to discuss current research and programs that could be useful in addressing teacher recruitment and retention within the context of the quality and stability of rural schools. A wide array of stakeholders in SMET and rural education has been identified and is committed to the success of the project. Rural education problems exist nationally but generally have been addressed locally or regionally. The establishment of a STEM research agenda that emerges from the conference is to provide strategies for addressing STEM problems in rural schools. Through the use of technology, e.g., Access Grid and direct streaming video, anyone interested can participate. The Virtual Laboratory will provide for learning community support to broaden the audience in the conversation. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Eaton, Virginia Luke Thomas Eric Pani Patty Watts Natalie Campbell The University of Louisiana at Monroe LA Glenn C. Markle Standard Grant 199975 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0424983 August 1, 2004 Center for the Mathematics Education of Latinos (CEMELA). The Center for the Mathematics Education of Latinos/as (CEMELA) addresses the mathematics education needs of the largest and most rapidly growing minority group in the country, a diverse group that has one of the most disturbing patterns of academic achievement. Given the unique language, social and cultural factors associated with working-class/low-income Latino/as students and communities, a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to address their education. Although there are well-established scholars who focus on the education of Latinos, their research is in the areas of policy, language and culture, not primarily in mathematics education. Few mathematics education scholars have multidisciplinary expertise in the particular areas relevant to the learning of mathematics by Latinos/as. The goal of the Center for the Mathematics Education of Latinos/as is to advance the field of mathematics education by: (A) Developing an integrated model that connects mathematics teaching and learning to the cultural, social, and linguistic contexts of Latino/as students and (B) Increasing the number of mathematics educators and teachers with this integrated knowledge to ultimately improve the mathematics education of Latinos/as, particularly those of low-income backgrounds. This goal will be achieved by the collaboration of experts in mathematics education, mathematics and language and culture in education. CEMELA brings together in Arizona, The University of Arizona, Sunnyside Unified School District and Tucson Unified School District; in Illinois, The University of Illinois at Chicago and Chicago Public Schools; in California, The University of California at Santa Cruz, North Monterey County School District and Pajaro Unified School District; and in New Mexico, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Public Schools, Socorro Consolidated Schools, and The Bernalillo Public Schools. Intentionally, the Center represents diverse geographical contexts -- borderlands (UA), urban (UIC), rural (agricultural/migrant) (UCSC) and rural/urban (UNM) -- to adequately capture the corresponding diversity of educational and cultural experiences among Latinos/as. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Civil, Marta Luis Moll Virginia Horak University of Arizona AZ John S. Bradley Continuing grant 10500000 7645 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0425752 September 15, 2004 Linking Mathematics and Biology in the High Schools: A Conference to be Convened at the DIMACS Center at Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, October 1-2, 2004. This grant would fund a conference exploring connections between the disciplines of mathematics and biology within the constraints of the high school curriculum. The conference will explore topics in mathematics and computer science that could be included in biological science courses, as well as topics in biology that could be included in mathematics courses. The agenda of the conference will include the availability and development of materials supporting these linkages, developments in undergraduate education that might inform teachers in high schools and alternative models for teacher training at the interface between biology and mathematics. The conference will produce a report focusing on future challenges in making the interface between biology and mathematics accessible to high school students. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Roberts, Fred Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ David C. Royster Standard Grant 20000 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0426016 September 1, 2004 Using TIMSS Videos to Improve Learning of Mathematics: A Conference to be Convened at the Wingspread Conference Center, Racine, Wisconsin, summer, 2004. The Theory: Research into Practice The primary objective of this project--Using TIMSS Videos to Improve Learning of Mathematics-- is to support the integration of high-quality research findings into mathematics educational practice by working to make the mathematics lessons more manageable and useful to all members of the teacher professional continuum: mathematicians, IHE mathematics educators, K-12 mathematics educators and professional developers. The Actual Meeting: Who, What, When and Where The objective will be accomplished through a four-day work session at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin, during which 24 mathematicians, higher education mathematics educators, and K-12 mathematics educators will analyze the 28 public release mathematics lessons. Working in teams, the group will come to consensus in identifying video clips that illustrate quality and coherent mathematics teaching and learning. The data collected during the work session will be used to develop a guide, tentatively called the "TIMSS 1999 Video Study Guide: Mathematics," to accompany the TIMSS 1999 public release mathematics lessons. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Wang-Iverson, Patricia Research For Better Schools Inc PA Ron Tzur Standard Grant 99945 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0426253 September 1, 2005 Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning. The Mid-Atlantic Center for Teaching and Learning Mathematics is renewed for an additional five years. The Mid-Atlantic Center is a consortium led by members of the mathematics and education faculties of three research universities and three school-system partners: the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, the Pennsylvania State University, the Delaware State Department of Education, Prince George's County (MD) Public Schools and the Pittsburgh (PA) Public Schools. The University of Maryland is the designated grantee institution. The three central tasks of the Center are to: 1. Design and operate an innovative program of doctoral and postdoctoral studies preparing leaders for mathematics education work on teacher preparation and professional development, curriculum, policy and research. 2. Develop and evaluate alternative models for mathematical education of pre-service teachers and professional development of in-service teachers in K-12 schools. 3. Study the processes of teacher preparation and professional development to determine critical factors in successful programs. The central theme of the renewal effort is to gain a better understanding of the relationship between teacher content knowledge (in mathematics) pedagogical knowledge and effective classroom practice. The research agenda focuses on the three questions: 1. What are the critical mechanisms through which teachers develop mathematical and pedagogical knowledge from content and methods courses and internship experiences? 2. How do practicing teachers draw on and continue to develop mathematical and pedagogical knowledge in the course of their professional work? 3. How does teacher mathematical and pedagogical knowledge influence student achievement? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Campbell, Patricia James Hiebert M. Kathleen Heid University of Maryland College Park MD John S. Bradley Continuing grant 10781711 7645 7271 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0426319 September 15, 2004 NanoSense: The Basic Sense behind NanoScience. Working closely with chemists, physicists, educators and nanoscientists, SRI generates NanoSense -- nanoscience activities that build on their ChemSense activities. That curricular framework is extended to include five or six nanosense activities -- created, classroom tested and disseminated -- to help high school students understand the underlying principles, applications and implications of nanoscale science. These units help students visualize physical, chemical and biological principles that govern the behavior of particles at nanoscales. Some of the activities are simple, one-day enrichment activities, while others span several class periods. The work introduces an interdisciplinary element into the disjoint high school curriculum and provides real world examples of science and technology in action. Research along with the development determines how students improve their understanding of nanoscience concepts and technological applications improve over time and how teachers use these tools and activities to support student discourse and understanding. An invitational workshop of science educators and researchers and nanoscience researchers is to identify and prioritize a coherent set of concepts and potential ideas that underlie an understanding of the scale continuum between nanoscale and macroscale on which instructional materials research and certificate programs can be built. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP NANOTECHNOLOGY UNDERGRAD EDUCA MATERIALS CENTERS & EDUCATION NANOSCALE: SCIENCE & ENGIN CTR ENGINEERING EDUCATION PHYSICS-OTHER DRL EHR Schank, Patricia Tina Stanford SRI International CA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 924863 7355 7219 1736 1675 1340 1248 SMET 9178 9177 7452 7451 7219 1761 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0426328 October 1, 2004 NCLT: A Center to Develop Nanoscale Science and Engineering Educators with Leadership Capabilities. The Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education (NSEE) Center for Learning and Teaching (NCLT) would focus on the research and development of nano-science instructional resources for grades 7-16, related professional development opportunities for 7-12 teachers, and programs infused with nano-science content for education doctoral students. The Center would bring together educators and scientists from several areas of nano-science and engineering research to collaborate with science teachers and doctoral candidates in education on both the development of the resources and research on their efficacy. The PI has prior experience as director of the Materials World Modules project, an NSF-funded curriculum currently in use in several secondary schools across the country. Lead partners in the proposed Center are Northwestern University, Purdue University, University of Michigan, University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Additional partners include Argonne National Laboratory, West Point Military Academy, Alabama A & M University, Fisk University, Hampton University, Morehouse College and University of Texas at El Paso. The additional partners will widen the geographic range of the project, expanding opportunities to reach a diverse and currently underrepresented population of graduate students, teachers and ultimately students. STEM and Education faculty and researchers from the partner institutions would participate in interdisciplinary teams to address the Center's mission: Provide national education leadership and resources for advancing NSEE Create and implement professional development programs in NSEE Use innovative ideas in learning to design instructional materials for grades 7-16 Conduct research relating to integration of NSEE into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. NANO CTR FOR LEARN & TEACHING ENG NNI SPECIAL STUDIES DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE NANOSCALE SCIENCE & ENG EDUCAT CCLI-NATIONAL DISSEMINATION ADVANCED TECH EDUCATION PROG PROGRAM EVALUATION INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION NANOTECHNOLOGY UNDERGRAD EDUCA CENTER NANOSCALE: SCIENCE & ENGIN CTR NANOSCALE: INTRDISCPL RESRCH T SPECIAL STUDIES AND ANALYSES ENGINEERING EDUCATION PHYSICS-OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS DRL EHR Chang, R. P. H. Thomas Mason Nicholas Giordano Joseph Krajcik Northwestern University IL Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 15388084 7734 7681 7645 7625 7457 7429 7412 7261 7259 7219 7181 1736 1675 1674 1385 1340 1248 1179 SMET 9178 9177 7452 7451 1761 1675 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0426378 June 15, 2004 Too Small To See. Cornell University, through Main Street Science (the education program of its Nanobiotechnology Center), proposes to create a 3,500 sq. ft. traveling exhibition on nanoscale science and engineering in partnership with Sciencenter of Ithaca, New York. Intellectual Merit: The exhibition will address two questions: How do we see things too small to see, and how do we make things too small to see? In sections titled Small, Smaller, Nano; Seeing Nano Structures; Making Nano Stuff; and Nano and Me, hands-on activities and experiences will present the tools, processes and applications of nanoscale science and engineering for children ages 8 to 13 and adults. Broader Impact: This traveling exhibition is projected to reach some three million visitors in at least six sites as part of its national tour. It will then become a permanent exhibition at Sciencenter. Dissemination will be supported by a web site, take-home materials, a children's book and activities to carry out at home, along with links to formal education. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Batt, Carl Anna Waldron Cornell University NY Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1869025 7259 SMET 9177 7451 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0426401 September 1, 2004 NIMD: Probing the Nanoworld -- Instructional Materials Development. This project would develop instructional materials for integrating nanoscale science and engineering content into the secondary STEM curriculum. The proposed modules will present nanoscience activities, experiments and assessments in an interdisciplinary context that relates to traditional standards-based topics of force, properties of matter, scale and instrumentation. The modules are intended as replacement units rather than additions to existing curricula and will be accompanied by teacher's guides and a professional development protocol. Expertise in materials development and curriculum project coordination will be provided by the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Co-PIs Ristvey and Morrow. Collaboration with Prof. Yoshio Nishi, Director of the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF) and his colleagues will provide content expertise to the development team. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP NANOTECHNOLOGY UNDERGRAD EDUCA MATERIALS CENTERS & EDUCATION NANOSCALE: SCIENCE & ENGIN CTR ENGINEERING EDUCATION DRL EHR Ristvey, John Christine Morrow Yoshio Nishi Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning CO Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1098686 7355 7219 1736 1675 1340 SMET 9177 7452 7451 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0426417 September 1, 2004 Earth & Sky Nanoscale Science and Engineering Radio Shows. EarthTalk, Inc. will develop and air 24 90-second shows per year for three years on the subject of nanotechnology on the Earth & Sky radio program. They will partner with Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI), Boston; Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility (CNF), Cornell University; and Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN), Houston to identify researchers, advisors and program ideas. Program categories will be Nano 101; Innovations that Could Change the World; Science or Science Fiction; Implications and Ideas; Nano and the Environment; and Listener Questions. The Earth & Sky program currently airs on 685 stations nationwide, making 323 million gross impressions each year; new shows will create some 64 million gross impressions. They will be supplemented by related material on Earth & Sky Online, which receives up to one million page views/month, and a composite of the nano programs onto CD mailed directly to 10,000 teachers yearly. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Britton, Ryan Deborah Byrd Earth & Sky, Inc TX Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 528084 7259 SMET 9177 7452 7451 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0426421 September 15, 2004 National Center for Engineering and Technology Education. The National Center for Engineering and Technology Education (NCETE) links technology educators with engineering educators in a symbiotic alliance to build capacity for research; nurture a cadre of talented, diverse leaders in engineering and technology education; and infuse engineering content, design and analytical skills into K-12 schools. The Center includes partners with strengths in engineering and in technology education, including four land-grant university research partners (Utah State University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Illinois and the University of Georgia), five technology teacher education partners (Brigham Young University, California State University at Los Angeles, University of Wisconsin - Stout, Illinois State University and North Carolina A&T State University) and fifteen K-12 school district partners. NCETE vertical linkages spanning the educational levels from K-Ph.D. in regional teams are located in the West, the Upper Midwest, the Central Midwest and the Southeast. Regional teams facilitate collaborative research, professional development, capacity building and dissemination of research findings and model practices. NCETE also facilitates horizontal collaboration among Ph.D. programs, teacher education programs and K-12 partners to build capacity and to share effective strategies and practices. NCETE is building a community of informed and able researchers and leaders to improve the national capability to conduct research in emerging engineering and technology education areas. In addition, center research partners are creating a body of research that improves our understanding of the learning and teaching engineering and technology subjects, and evaluates the benefits and shortcomings of engineering content for student learning in diverse K-12 settings. These findings are intended to inform decisions about curriculum and assessment, influence the development of engineering and technology education and provide data about curriculum implementation in schools. Technology teacher education partners are preparing technology education teachers at the baccalaureate and master's levels and conducting professional development for practicing K-12 teachers to prepare them to infuse engineering content into the curriculum. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 EAPSI CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Hailey, Christine Daniel Householder Maurice Thomas Kurt Becker Utah State University UT Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 10382284 7645 7316 7181 SMET 9177 5977 5913 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0427352 August 1, 2004 Exploring Several Approaches to Development of a USP Legacy Document. The Potomac Communication Group (PCG) proposes to conduct a critical research study about how to best develop a design for creating and drafting a legacy document for the Urban Systemic Program (USP). Over a two-year period, PCG plans to accomplish this task by building on its existing relationship with and work completed for the National Science Foundation, and in particular, over the last year with the USP. The prior work with the USP will greatly enhance PCG's ability to complete this task. Over the past year, PCG assisted the USP districts with "message development" as they prepared reports that documented the impact of the USP on science and mathematics teaching and learning in their respective districts. Therefore, lessons-learned from these efforts will be useful in researching and designing a model approach for composing the legacy document for the USP. PCG's goals are to: 1. Research, write, and produce a printed and electronic legacy document 2. Use existing background data to conduct a thorough review of all resources critical to the development of the legacy document 3. Develop a legacy document that will document the attributions of the USP to the implementation of a higher quality science and mathematics program in the funded districts 4. Create an outreach program to share information from the legacy document with the education community. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Stern, Aimee LouAnn Bradley Potomac Communications Group, Inc. DC Celestine Pea Standard Grant 189500 7347 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0427783 September 1, 2004 IERI: Tuple Spaces as a Foundation for Collaborative Learning. A multidisciplinary team will examine the application of core distributed system techniques to an important area of social concern: the coordination of multiple learners in educational activities. Increasingly, learners are bringing mobile computing devices to class. Equally importantly, modern educational activities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curricula require learners to take roles, contribute ideas, solve aspects of a larger problem, and work together as a team. These activities imply systematic coordination of learner participation. Yet today's classroom technologies provide only ad hoc solutions to the problem of coordination. Investigators at three complementary institutions will collaborate to determine if the distributed computing concept of tuple spaces can provide a robust, flexible, sustainable solution. This project team will develop methods and knowledge that better align social needs and distributed computational techniques at their foundations, thus addressing "the interactions and complex interdependencies of information systems and social systems". The investigators will build on the recent expansion of the distributed computing concept of tuple spaces to mobile devices and social uses, employing the Java language and handheld or laptop devices. Thus, they will exploit both long-standing and recent advances in data structures, networking, and algorithms to enhance the design of distributed systems that support innovation in STEM education, seeking to maximize educational benefits. This research will investigate the soundness of this alignment, consider expressiveness and performance characteristics, investigate programmer cognition, and evaluate sample applications in educational settings. The technical work will tie to a maturing, cumulative body of research on effective learning in groups. The broader impact of this research lies in the potential for improving math and science education for all students. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Roschelle, Jeremy Charles Patton Shiladitya Chaudhury Deborah Tatar SRI International CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1338091 7298 7180 SMET 9177 7314 5978 5924 0427827 October 1, 2004 ITR Collaborative Proposal: Building Biologically Based Immune System Simulations for Education and Training. This project explores the use of computer simulation for helping students of biology at all levels master an increasingly complex body of information. This simulation faithfully represents the state of biological knowledge, displays information in visual form, and is fully interactive and engaging to novice users. The simulation is of the human immune system. These simulations play a critical role in understanding the functioning of the immune system itself. The most valuable first use of the model will be to make difficult concepts in the immune system easier to understand. The simulation is the basis for a highly interactive, compelling educational game for teaching immunology at the high school and freshman college levels. The learning objectives and instructional strategies will be developed in consultation with biology teachers, at both the high school and college freshmen levels, and with learning research scientists. The project involves a multidisciplinary team with expertise in: (a) the complexities and subtleties of the underlying biology; (b) the information technology needed to build complex simulations and visualizations; (c) the instructional objectives and strategies best suited for the target audience; (d) application of the software tools to build games that people in the targeted age groups will find engaging and motivating; and (e) evaluating the impact of game/exploration-based instruction. This project will build on work on development of an instructional game for immunology supported by the National Institutes of Health and research on learning technologies supported by several public and private resources. ITR FOR NATIONAL PRIORITIES EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Kelly, Henry David Notkin Kay Howell Stefan Gunther Federation of American Scientists DC John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 999865 7314 7180 SMET 9177 0104000 Information Systems 0428259 October 1, 2004 ITR: Collaborative Research - (ASE) - (sim + int): Building Biologically Based Immune System Simulations for Education and Training. This project explores the use of computer simulation for helping students of biology at all levels master an increasingly complex body of information. This simulation faithfully represents the state of biological knowledge, displays information in visual form, and is fully interactive and engaging to novice users. The simulation is of the human immune system. These simulations play a critical role in understanding the functioning of the immune system itself. The most valuable first use of the model will be to make difficult concepts in the immune system easier to understand. The simulation is the basis for a highly interactive, compelling educational game for teaching immunology at the high school and freshman college levels. The learning objectives and instructional strategies will be developed in consultation with biology teachers, at both the high school and college freshmen levels, and with learning research scientists. The project involves a multidisciplinary team with expertise in: (a) the complexities and subtleties of the underlying biology; (b) the information technology needed to build complex simulations and visualizations; (c) the instructional objectives and strategies best suited for the target audience; (d) application of the software tools to build games that people in the targeted age groups will find engaging and motivating; and (e) evaluating the impact of game/exploration-based instruction. This project will build on work on development of an instructional game for immunology supported by the National Institutes of Health and research on learning technologies supported by several public and private resources. ITR FOR NATIONAL PRIORITIES SPECIAL PROJECTS - CISE DRL EHR van Dam, Andries Brown University RI John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 471328 7314 1714 SMET HPCC 9218 9177 9150 7314 0000912 Computer Science 0104000 Information Systems 0429182 July 15, 2004 Using Science on a Sphere in Museums: A PLANNING GRANT. The Maryland Science Center (MSC) seeks funding for a planning grant to investigate the potential of Science on a Sphere (SOS), a NOAA-developed research tool that projects real meteorological and geological data sets onto a large suspended globe. MSC will evaluate a temporary installation of SOS as a public exhibit and school group learning tool, as well as hold a workshop for staff from other museums and prepare a report for dissemination. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: SOS offers a way to present real data on earth and planetary sciences not possible in a two-dimensional format. An advisory group of exhibit and education professionals from three other science centers (Tech Museum, San Jose, CA; SciPort, Shreveport, LA; Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, AZ) and NOAA will add expertise in the evaluation of SOS, which will be carried out by RMC Research Corporation. BROADER IMPACT: SOS has the potential to become a new tool for science center presentations nationwide. Testing and evaluation results will be shared with other science centers at the ASTC Annual Conference and other means of dissemination. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Cooks, Roberta peter yancone James O'Leary Maryland Science Center MD David A. Ucko Standard Grant 49995 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0431525 September 1, 2004 Developing Guidelines for Scientific Research in Education and a K-16 Statistics Curriculum. The expressed goals of this proposal are to conduct a series of workshops. The first series of workshops will establish and disseminate visions of good research and methodology practice that address perceived weaknesses that appear in some educational research, and provide guidelines for the improvement of future educational research efforts. The second series of workshops addresses curricular issues in the development guidelines in support a national K-16 statistics curriculum. The investigator is the executive director of the American Statistical Association, would establish a series of workshops to bring together members of the research statistics community and the mathematics education research community. The expressed goal is to establish and disseminate criteria for high quality quantitative research in the sub-field of mathematics education and education more generally. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Wasserstein, Ronald Richard Scheaffer American Statistical Association VA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 68000 1666 SMET 9177 0431707 August 15, 2004 "Listening to the River" -- A Planning Grant. The Land Information Access Association seeks funds to support planning activities related to "Listening to the River," a project that will ultimately result in a new model for engaging teens and adults in environmental activities that can be transferred to other community groups and institutions. This long-term project focuses on an environmentally and regionally meaningful topic (i.e. watersheds), brings together teens and adults in scientific discovery, transforms these explorations into radio segments and creates a children's museum exhibit. Planning grant activities include: (1) a program summit to build new partnerships with informal-learning organizations and reinforce existing community networks; (2) assessment of the potential for a scalable, model project; and (3) focus and refinement of program goals and objectives. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR VanderMeulen, Joe Land Information Access Association MI Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 47778 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0432085 August 15, 2004 SGER: Effects of Standards-based Curriculum in Urban Systemic Reform on Student Statewide Standardized Test Achievement. The aim of this joint partnership proposal submitted by the School of Education at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in collaboration with Detroit Public Schools is to extend the study of the impact of a standards-based curriculum on student statewide standardized test achievement. Over the past five years, researchers working with curriculum specialists in Detroit Public schools, developed five curricular projects based on the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993) and the National Research Council Science Standards. The projects take 8-10 weeks to complete and are highly specialized in principles and methods. The project draws on materials that are highly usable to teachers and students, and are supported by technology and ongoing professional development. Data collected by cohorts over the last five years of implementation at grades 6, 7 and 8 show significant increases in student achievement (using student participation in one unit as a baseline). On both pre- and post-test curriculum-specific assessments and the Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests gains were evident as determined via quasi-experimental comparisons among students who did or did not participate in the curricular projects. The results were even higher for at-risk African-American boys who participated in the project-based programs. Building on the initial results from the 5-year study, the researchers propose to continue this investigation focusing on the long-term and longitudinal impact of standards-based curriculum on state test scores. In addition to improving student achievement in Detroit Public Schools, the results have the potential for impacting STEM education nationally. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Krajcik, Joseph Phyllis Blumenfeld University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Celestine Pea Standard Grant 95177 7347 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0433280 September 15, 2004 The Strength of Social Influence as a Determinant of Organizational Change. 0433280 Mezias Abstract This research addresses the question of "why changing a public school so hard?" by bridging multiple theories of change with the cognitive and social structure of interaction. A leading edge sociocognitive network model is developed to provide a parsimonious and powerful explanation for the cognitive and social dynamics that generate change in organizations. Specifically, three interlinked studies are designed to test the sociocognitive network model within a context notorious for its resistance to change - public elementary and secondary schools. Study I utilizes an experimental design that manipulates network interactions and characteristics of change to determine their impact on individual and group assessments. The impact of group assessments on the likelihood of change is also investigated. Study II is a computer simulation study designed to determine the impact of various network conditions on the sociocognitive process and answer questions such as, "do limited interactions due to network size, structures, or information sharing patterns effect shared understandings?" Study III is a field study in New York City Schools Under Registration Review (SURR). It is argued that differences in outcomes are driven by differences in organizational members' shared understanding about the feasibility, urgency, effectiveness and legitimacy of change. This triangulation of research methods has been demonstrated to provide both contextually rich and reliable results when testing new theory. The research team is very multidisciplinary, with scholars from organizational change, education, social networks and social cognition from two universities. The study will also significantly involve graduate and undergraduate students. INTELLECTUAL MERIT. This research advances existing knowledge by integrating sociocognitive and social network theory to model the type of real-world exchanges and interactions that take place in organizations. Evidence resulting from the research team's experience and research in organizational contexts faced with change corroborates theoretical assertions about the strength of the sociocognitive model. A particular innovation of the model establishes boundary conditions for the effects of cognition on change, arguing that the effects of cognition on change depend on stable and widely shared social assessments of a particular form. The proposed research addresses the call of the Human and Social Dynamics program by 1) demonstrating how cognition is a product of social structure and can be represented as a collective process; 2) integrating work from network and sociocognitive theory as well as studies of strategic and institutional change to demonstrate how collective cognition becomes the impetus for change and 3) offering practitioners theoretically justifiable and contextually valid knowledge with which to manage profound change in their organizations. BROADER IMPACTS. Findings that illustrate the complex social and cognitive dynamics responsible for change impact all organizations; yet, the research is conducted with the needs of public elementary and secondary schools in mind. Results of the research will be disseminated via workshops and conferences to public school teachers and administrators to use as a new tool for understanding and facilitation change in under performing schools where students are mostly poor, are mostly people of color and are among the most underserved groups in the nation. The positive research results can provide knowledge that empowers practitioners to change schools in a way that realizes the full potential of students and the organizations that serve them. This project is supported by an award resulting from the FY 2004 NSF-wide competition on Human and Social Dynamics (HSD). Coordinated management of the HSD competition and the portfolio of HSD awards involves all NSF directorates and offices. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Mezias, Stephen Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell New York University NY Jacqueline R. Meszaros Standard Grant 460190 7180 1666 OTHR 7319 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0433373 January 1, 2005 Exploratory and Education Proposal: Measuring and Improving Complex Reasoning Skill in National Security Domains. This project aims to elevate human performance in the specific area of complex problem solving. The proposed effort claims to contribute to several important theoretical and operational advances in increasing strategic problem solving abilities. The project is grounded in literatures of intellectual development and case study problem solving in contexts with ill-structured problems in dynamic, time dependent, and complex situations. The broader goals of the project are to produce strategically capable problem solvers who can ably tackle complex scenarios in the context of geospatial awareness and decision-making and response to terrorist threats. The more limited goals are to develop a series of realistic and complex scenarios that require a team of undergraduates up to two to four hours to meaningfully solve over one to two weeks of classes. The solutions will require either Geobase (a geospatial information management and decision-making system) or VNSA, Violent Non-State Actor, which is a simulation tool that models growth and behavior of terrorist networks-violent non-state actors as tools for modeling scenarios. The research design involves measures of intellectual development of the participating cadets at the beginning of the term in which they solve these exercises, at the end of the term, and then one year later with a control group comparison similarly assessed. HSD - AGENTS OF CHANGE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV MANFG ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS DRL EHR Hamilton, Eric Gregory Seely Jason Bartolomei William Casebeer Jeth Fogg United States Air Force Academy CO Gregg E. Solomon Interagency Agreement 179999 7318 7180 1786 SMET 9177 7319 0434076 August 1, 2004 Conference on Teacher Research Experiences, Supplement to the ARMADA Project, to be held at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography in October, 2004. This project provides an opportunity for the sharing of best practices and identification of science education research questions focused on the theme of Teacher Research Experiences (TRE). Participants would include TRE PIs, teachers from TRE projects, scientists who mentored teachers in their research experiences, TRE project evaluators and project directors and other professional educators. All have an interest in understanding these projects and how transfer to the classroom of content, skills and best instructional practices can be achieved. Identification of educational research questions to guide future professional development activites of this nature and help inform how to measure their effectiveness will be of interest to science education researchers. The results of any such studies may have very broad impact due to the ubiquitous nature of TRE professional development projects supported by many diverse agencies. The format would be a three-day symposium at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography hosted by the PI and Co-PI of Project ARMADA, an NSF/ESIE TRE project at that university. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Scowcroft, Gail Sara Hickox University of Rhode Island RI David B. Campbell Standard Grant 241897 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0434249 August 1, 2004 Visualization in Science and Education: Workshop. There is an increasing emphasis on cross-disciplinary projects to address complex issues, which is particularly important in the field of developing visualizations for communication of science to the larger community as well as for the teaching of science. The relevant disciplinary communities are scientists to insure accuracy of visualization, the cognitive psychologists to peer into the mind to develop parameters for effective visualization and the educators to determine if the visualization has aided the learning process. Supporting all three communities are the evaluators who develop the instruments to measure effectiveness. NSF recognized the need for bringing these communities together by providing support for a minigrant program attached to the 2001 and 2003 Visualization in Science and Education Gordon Conferences. The primary purpose of the minigrant program is to forge the needed cross-disciplinary ties. Valuable lessons were learned by the 2001 set of participants with respect to the unique issues involved in bridging communities that normally do not cross paths. The purpose of the proposed workshop is to enable the 2003 project participants to benefit from the lessons learned by the 2001 participants. These practical lessons seldom make it into print, yet are critical for optimum success of a project. Lessons learned include issues like how to deal with multiple time zones, languages, or cultures. To capture this wisdom, participants from the 2001 projects will be brought together with those from the 2003 projects for a day-and-a-half of intensive discussion. This discussion will be captured into a practical handbook for individuals attempting to forge these new collaborations. The topics to be discussed include: How to bridge time zones, how to enrich a project with diverse cultures without swamping it, and how to deal with time zones and personalities. The broader impacts of the workshop are clear. One of the products will be a handbook on dealing with the cross cultural, scientific as well as social, of bridging disparate communities. As the emphasis on cross-disciplinary research expands, more and more researchers will be grappling with these issues. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Shultz, Mary Jane Tufts University MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 27667 1666 SMET 9177 0435727 April 15, 2004 Applied Research on Implementing Diagnostic Instructional Tools. Talaria, Inc., proposes a three-year project to increase understanding of how to get research results on teaching and learning into teachers' minds and actions. To accomplish this, a teacher professional development program will be designed to implement DIAGNOSER, a computerized diagnostic instructional tool. The DIAGNOSER is a web-delivered system in which students answer assignments/questions and teachers access the report on the students after they have completed the assignments. DIAGNOSER focuses on physical sciences, force and motion at the middle-school level. The professional development program will provide teachers with opportunities to use formative assessment tools, interpret student data, interact with and reflect on each other's practice, and access research and science resources. Participating teachers include those involved in three middle-school Local Systemic Change Projects in Washington State. The program involves one workshop, teacher networks, face-to-face meeting with teachers and resource teachers for in-class coaching. The improvement of the program will be done through iterations (design-testing-redesign). The research will focus on two questions: What are the effects of the professional development and diagnostic instructional tools on teachers' teaching and students' learning? What are the teacher and system factors related to the effective implementation of the tools? The premise of the proposal is that at the end of the study there will be a prototype program that can be scalable nationally. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Minstrell, Jim Pamela Kraus FACET Innovations, LLC WA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 526022 7300 1666 SMET 9177 0436233 March 15, 2004 Mathematics Through Technology and Internet Modules (MTTIM). 9819758 Grouws The Mathematics through Technology and Internet Modules project (MTTIM) is in the area of Instructional Materials Development. Co-PI's Douglas A. Grouws and Lucy L. Payne will create six internet-based instructional modules and accompanying teacher guides for students in grades 5-8. The modules will use internet sites as a source of realistic, current data for students to use in classroom activities and investigations. The mathematics focus of the project materials includes exploratory data analysis, rates of change, proportional reasoning, and relationships among fractions, decimals, and percents. There will be a project focus on connecting mathematics to other disciplines such as science and social studies. The project materials will link to the NCTM Principles and Standards Initiative (Standards 2000) and the ISTE Standards. Connections will also be made with existing NSF-supported middle-school curriculum projects as well as other widely used middle-school mathematics materials. These materials are designed to supplement existing curricula. Co-PI's Douglas A. Grouws and Lucy L. Payne. NSF support - $774,732; cost sharing - $229,387. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Grouws, Douglas University of Missouri-Columbia MO David C. Royster Continuing grant 74681 7355 SMET 9177 0436594 December 1, 2004 Riverwebs: Crossing Boundaries to Explore the Hidden Mysteries of Streams. The Colorado State University will create and produce "Riverwebs," a one-hour documentary video exploring the hidden mysteries of streams, their intricate food webs and the linkages between streams and forest ecosystems. This project will communicate a body of international and interdisciplinary research on streams in the United States and Japan, and also explore the human experience of doing science. Major film themes are an introduction to stream life, the exploration of stream food webs, and the motivations, friendships and collaborative achievements of stream scientists. By interweaving natural history, scientific and human themes, a holistic story emerges. At the heart of this story is humankind's inherent close relationship with nature, our desire to understand its complexity and our responsibility for its well-being. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fausch, Kurt Thomas Maher Colorado State University CO Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0437307 September 1, 2004 Tinkerzeum Planning Grant. The Scientific Reasoning Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst will conduct a feasibility study for engaging museum visitors in data analysis through this planning grant. Intellectual Merit: This project builds on the extensive prior work of the PI in developing Tinkerplots software for middle school students. At the same time, it potentially takes advantage of the many museum exhibitions that include various kinds of data but provide no mechanisms for visitors to analyze the data and draw conclusions. This project makes the connection by seeking to demonstrate the proof of concept for the transfer of this data analysis program from the formal to the informal setting. Broader Impact: This project will purposefully test three very different settings -- Museum of Science, Boston, MA; Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, MA; and Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO -- to explore the advantages and limitations of this approach in those learning environments. If successful, the software could have very wide application. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Konold, Clifford University of Massachusetts Amherst MA David A. Ucko Standard Grant 49995 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0437462 December 1, 2004 IT Fluency and High School Graduation Outcomes. The Center for Education and the Board on Science Education at the National Research Council explore the components of fluency in information and communications technology (ICT) that all high school students should know and be able to do. The study builds upon an earlier NRC report published in 1999, "Being Fluent with Information Technology," in which ICT competencies for undergraduate students were presented. The exploration, guided by a planning committee with expertise in a variety of related areas, takes place within a workshop discussing commissioned papers and workshop presentations. The commissioned papers consider the ICT competencies required in the workplace and in day-to-day functioning of all people, now and in the foreseeable future. The workshop considers how to update the earlier report and identifies the most promising current efforts to develop ICT competencies in high schools. The report not only considers current skill acquisition, but also the underlying ICT competencies and intellectual capabilities that can be developed to manage complexity, solve problems, and think critically, creatively and systematically. The report provides a roadmap to connect academic content and information with communications technology. By exploring what is known and what remains to be known about ICT literacy for high school students, the workshop report informs educational policy makers and faculty in high schools, community colleges and undergraduate settings as they consider instructional priorities. ITEST DRL EHR Schweingruber, Heidi National Academy of Sciences DC Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 287201 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0437612 September 1, 2005 Investigating the Effectiveness of the NWREL Mathematics Problem Solving Model: A Quasi-Experimental Study. The Center for Classroom Training and Learning at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory is joining with the Departments Mathematics at Oregon State University and Portland State University to investigate the effectiveness of a mathematics assessment professional development model. The adjectives of the project address the effect of the NWREL Mathematics Problem-Solving Model (NWREL MPM) on instructional strategies, patterns of classroom discourse, and student achievement in and attitudes toward mathematical problem solving. The project will also investigate the technical quality of the NWREL MPM when used by classroom teachers; the nature of teachers' implementation of the NWREL MPM in classrooms'; the effect of the use of web-based technological support of rubric-based discourse with middle school mathematics students to facilitate implementation by teachers'; and the nature of post-intervention changes in teachers' instructional and assessment practices. The mixed-methodological research design will combine a quasi-experimental field test of the professional development program with a qualitative analysis of the implementation of the program. A quantitative quasi-experimental field test will compare the performances of students of treatment and control teachers on project-designed mathematical problem-solving tasks and on state or district standardized tests. A detailed ethnographic qualitative analysis of the implementation efforts in the classrooms of both treatment and control teachers will provide information about how problem-solving instruction is carried out and about the nature of classroom discourse patterns will be examined. A manual for problem solving assignments will be developed, field tested by teacher leaders in the project, and sisseminated in 4 regional invited conferences. Intellectual Merit of the Proposed Research Project Much of the research in teacher assessment knowledge and practice has been carried out with a strictly qualitative approach. This project seeks to expand that research to include a field-based examination of the effect of a particular assessment-focused professional development intervention on the practices of teachers and the academic performance of students. Both the impact of the professional development and the ways in which that impact is realized in the complex environment of the classroom are the target understandings that will be developed. Connecting the significant technical assistance resources of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory with the content rich expertise of university researchers strengthens the capacity for the development of new understandings about how assessment influences instruction and student learning. Broader Impact on the Proposed Research Project The focus of this research is to develop casual explanations of how assessment that is both formative and summative in nature contributes to student learning. New knowledge about how helping students to develop an understanding of the criteria by which they are evaluated enhances achievement will be an out come of this project. With connections to institutions that enhances achievement will be an outcome of this project. With connections to institutions that have a strong history of participation in teacher preservice education and the potential to include the results of this research in teacher education courses on assessment, this proposal will provide direct impact on teachers learn about assessment in the classroomevidence of the interactions between teachers and students focused around conversations about performance and criteria for evaluation will contribute to teacher networks that support work in the classroom. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Gummer, Edith Thomas Dick Northwest Regional Educational Lab OR John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1831115 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0437655 September 15, 2004 An experimental efficacy study of science achievement and attitude development amongst 8th grade students using an inquiry, integrated science-mathematics-engineering model of inst. The goal of this research is to test the efficacy of an inquiry model of science instruction to show best practice or what the Institute for Education Sciences refers to as "what works." The research will ask what works with regard to science instruction for middle school students and under what circumstances. The subjects will be 8th grade students from two collaborating districts: Chicago Public Schools and Kalamazoo Public Schools. The research activities include: a) Develop, adapt and revise science instructional practices according to the components of the Model. b) Summer school program where Model practices will be experimentally tested against expert direct instruction using the random assignment of subjects to treatment/control groups. c) Regular school year implementation of the Model practices accompanied by quantitative and qualitative field research. The broader impact of the study will be the validation or rejection of the inquiry science model of instruction. given the near universal advocacy of inquiry pedagogy, the proposed research will have an exceptionally broad impact regardless of its findings. It will either lend credible experimental support to what is now widely advocated practice, or will precipitate a serious reconsideration of what is considered to be appropriate science pedagogy at the school level. Moreover, given the urban setting of the research, the findings will support improved science education amongst the neediest of American students. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Cobern, William Norman Lederman Renee Schwartz Edward Applegate Western Michigan University MI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1871525 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0437660 September 1, 2004 CoMPASS: Integrating digital text in design-based science classes. This project investigates the use of multimodal representations of concepts in student learning. The concepts are represented by text and by concept maps. The project has two major goals. First is to further the understanding of integrating the conceptual learning from informational text with the experimental and hands-on activities in a design based classes. The enactment of the intervention across different contexts will; be systematically studied by examining the variations in teacher practices, student characteristics, project challenges and aspects of classroom culture that enable students to take advantage of the capabilities of both design activities and the use of the multiple electronic texts. Second is to understand student's changing representations as they use multiple texts in their science explorations. As electronic texts become ubiquitous in educational settings, there is an increasing need to understand how students in project-based and design-based classrooms engage in learning from multiple texts in the context of an inquiry classroom. This project aims to examine student's learning trajectories by taking into consideration the strategies that students use, student characteristics such as prior knowledge, metacognitive awareness, their group interactions and the relationships of these to navigation and learning. The methodology includes rigorous analytical tools systematically studying the enactment of the intervention in a classroom context starting with a focus on classroom dynamics and sequencing. The focus will then move to teacher practices subsequently zooming in on student's knowledge representations. The results will contribute to (i) the scientific knowledge base on integrating informational resources into hands-on science activities (ii) increase an understanding of how students process multiple texts thereby benefiting researchers using hypertext and hypermedia systems and digital libraries (iii) generate a set of pedagogical guidelines for integration of informational resources in scientific inquiry. These will be important contributions to scaling up projects addressing K-12 science education. The intervention will take place in four middle school settings, across different geographical, ethnic, and socioeconomic areas: (a) a rural school in Connecticut; (b) an academically and economically challenged school in Connecticut; (c) an urban school in Wisconsin; and (d) a suburban school also in Wisconsin. Each of these sites will provide natural variability in student preparation and motivation, teacher expertise in the topic, and individual classroom dynamics. During each year of the 5-year project, a study of the factors affecting learning will lead to a set of design principles that can then be applied in other contexts. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Puntambekar, Sadhana Roland Hubscher N. Sanjay Rebello University of Wisconsin-Madison WI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1879386 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0437768 January 1, 2005 Assessing How Distance Learning for Teachers Can Enable Inquiry Science in Rural Classrooms. This contextual IERI project will explore how to effectively scale Hands-On Virtual Physics (HOV), a tested model of distance learning with a hands-on inquiry approach to middle school physical science. The project is based on prior work that developed several units on important physical science topics through a FIPSE grant. The key objective of this project is to assess whether students learning science in classrooms of teachers who have completed HOV Physics better meet state and national science goals and standards than do students who studied under the same teacher before the teacher completed this course, and to complete the development of additional units. The distance learning component combines virtual courses for teachers with a hands-on, inquiry-based approach. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Osborn, Jeffrey William Rayens Joseph Straley Kelly Bradley Rebecca McNall University of Kentucky Research Foundation KY Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 1998833 7180 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0437787 September 15, 2004 Computational Literacy: A Study of the Efficacy of Computational Science in High School Biology, Earth and Space Science, and Physics Classrooms. The purpose of this IERI project is to investigate the building of computational literacy both as a means of understanding domain knowledge and as a necessary skill for pursuing careers in science and engineering. The project builds upon previously funded NSF and Department of Energy projects that have worked at the intersections of education and computational science for over a decade to bring computational science and computational modeling strategies into the classroom teaching of mathematics and science. The project will build upon curriculum elements already developed in the areas of HS Biology, Earth Sciences, and Physics. These curriculum elements include a substantial number of computational science and computational models with the software supports that make the models usable in HS curriculum. The models are aligned with pedagogy and state standards. Master teachers will be involved in both the pedagogy support and the design of the curriculum using the modules as a "virtual" laboratory. In the experimental phase of the program, a randomized experiment comparing the new curriculum to the standard curriculum will be conducted in a variety of classrooms ranging from AP classes to general science classes and involving diverse student populations in Maryland, Iowa, and Tennessee. Student outcomes will be measured using instruments designed to show student problem understanding and solving capabilities and with standard tests such as NAEP. The broader impact of the project is reflected in its range of students and the possibility of improving science education for all Americans. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Honey, Margaret Barbara Helland Susan Ragan Paul Gray Cornelia Brunner Education Development Center MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1995293 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0437794 October 1, 2004 IERI: Learning-Oriented Dialogs in Cognitive Tutors: Toward a Scalable Solution to Performance Orientation. The proposed work will evaluate the use of the four Cognitive Tutor middle-level mathematics courses in a range of schools, including urban and suburban schools, comparing the effectiveness of these courses to that of courses not involving educational software. Methods will be developed with which the tutoring software can detect ineffective behaviors associated with poor learning outcomes. A series of studies will address the hypothesis that instructional software can be a vehicle for creating a more learning-oriented classroom, with better learning outcomes, if it engages students in "learning-oriented dialogues," designed to help students focus and reflect on learning-oriented behaviors. The following approaches will be evaluated: Providing interactive declarative instruction prior to and during problem-solving activities, Having students set learning goals at the beginning of tutoring sessions, and Engaging students in discussions, with other students or with an automated learning companion agent, in which they evaluate their own or each others' learning behaviors. The pre- and post-assessments used in these studies will be designed to detect shallow learning, probe the depth of students' understanding, assess whether they can quickly absorb new material (i.e., whether students have become better future learners), and evaluate students' goal orientation and motivation. Intellectual merit The proposed research will generate new knowledge about the causes and extent of students' shallow learning and ineffective learning behaviors with technology. It will also produce new knowledge about how instructional software can help students overcome those problems and be better learners. It will provide insight into the differences between students' goal orientation and learning results in urban and suburban schools. Steps will be taken to provide better integration between educational psychology theory (particularly Cognitive Load theory) and cognitive theory (ACT-R theory) and, correspondingly, between the rigor of laboratory educational psychology experiments (cf., Clark & Mayer, 2003) and the realism of classroom experiments (cf., Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Broad impact The proposed research, if successful, will improve American K-12 math education. Results from the proposed work will have a direct impact on middle-school math instruction across the country, since the four courses on which the research focuses will be distributed through the network of the Pittsburgh-based company Carnegie Learning, Inc. The creation of courses that work well in urban schools will be especially helpful to minority and low-SES students, who make up a large proportion of the student population of those schools. It should also benefit disadvantaged students in rural and suburban schools. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Aleven, Vincent Albert Corbett Carolyn Rose Carnegie-Mellon University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1270000 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0437861 September 15, 2004 Working with Teachers and Leveraging Technology to Scale Opportunities to Learn More Complex and Conceptually Difficult Middle School Mathematics. The project takes as its theme the fact that U.S. students are less likely than their international peers to learn complex and conceptually difficult mathematics and thus lag in measures of achievement. This IERI project focuses on scaling an important innovation made possible by the increasing availability of technology in schools--the use of manipulable, graphical representations and simulations to democratize access to advanced mathematics. The project builds on a former Phase I IERI award where the project team developed the methodological approaches and an evidentiary base for scaling up this innovation, and created the partnerships needed to conduct a randomized experiment in schools. The team will now investigate the following questions relating to scale: 1. Can a wide variety of teachers use innovative technology (SimCalc) to create new opportunities for students to learn complex and conceptually difficult mathematics (ratio and proportion are the topics proposed)? 2. Which teaching practices positively affect students' learning with these innovative materials, and can teachers improve student learning by implementing a focused subset of these best practices? 3. Do student gains persist as we reduce the presence of the research team? REESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Roschelle, Jeremy Bill Hopkins Susan Empson Stephen Hegedus Deborah Tatar SRI International CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 6463414 7625 7180 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0438069 February 1, 2005 Collaborative Research: Collaborative Evaluation Communities in Urban Schools - CEC. The Collaborative Evaluation Communities in Urban Schools (CEC) project will create school-based collaborative evaluation communities to achieve the following goals: 1. Improve the evaluation capacity of urban schools. 2. Develop graduate level educational leaders with the knowledge and skills to evaluate science and mathematics programs. 3. Provide teachers of science and mathematics professional growth by improving their capacity to use evaluation data and engage in continuous improvement and data based decision-making. The collaborative evaluation communities created by the CEC project will serve as professional growth activities for science and mathematics teachers, and as training grounds to help graduate students develop evaluation skills. By engaging schools in evaluation the team will assist teachers and graduate students in the collection and analysis of data, the examination of student assessment results, the evaluation of school programs, and the analysis of science and mathematics instructional practices. The CEC project will assist partner districts in the creation of an evaluation culture designed to support the continual evaluation of programs with the ultimate intent of improving the educational opportunities for all students. Intellectual Merit: The CEC project will create a total of eight collaborative evaluation communities over the three-year grant period; four collaborative evaluation communities in the Kansas City, Kansas School District and four in the St. Paul School District. The collaborative evaluation communities will be co-led by a faculty member and a lead science or mathematics teacher in the schools. The faculty will also help supervise graduate students in each community who will help lead and develop the collaborative evaluation community. The lead teacher will serve as the liaison between the university and other classroom teachers who are in the same school as the lead teacher. There are various ways that the collaborative evaluation communities can interact, and it is expected that this project will inspire new ways for the schools and universities to collaborate on evaluation activities. The use of collaborative evaluation communities to build evaluation capacity in urban schools is a unique and important activity for the field of evaluation. The schools are in need of teachers who can use evaluation and assessment data to make decisions regarding science and mathematics education. The CEC project will advance knowledge and understanding of how to help schools engage in evaluation. The investigators are very well qualified to design and implement the CEC project. They have extensive experience in the field of science and mathematics program evaluation, and will be able to use this experience to develop graduate students and help schools engage in evaluation. In addition, the CEC project will be externally evaluated by an expert in the field of science and mathematics program evaluation. Broader Impact: The activities of the CEC project will advance discovery and understanding regarding the use of collaborative evaluation communities for teachers in urban schools. In addition, the CEC project will promote teaching, training, and learning for graduate students. The CEC project will broaden the participation of underrepresented groups by enhancing the evaluation capacity of teachers in urban schools who serve a diverse student population. The investigators on the CEC project also have the ability to recruit graduate students of diverse backgrounds. The results of the CEC project will be widely disseminated to the education and evaluation community. The project has great potential to benefit society by developing the evaluation capacity of urban schools, and by developing the evaluation abilities of graduate students who can go on to serve society. All in all, the CEC project will create lasting collaborative evaluation communities in urban schools in order to develop schools' capacity to engage in evaluation and to help all students achieve in science and mathematics. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Huffman, Douglas Kelli Thomas University of Kansas Center for Research Inc KS Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 636900 9150 7261 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0438238 February 1, 2005 Collaborative Research: Collaborative Evaluation Communities in Urban Schools- CEC. The Collaborative Evaluation Communities in Urban Schools (CEC) project will create school-based collaborative evaluation communities to achieve the following goals: 1. Improve the evaluation capacity of urban schools. 2. Develop graduate level educational leaders with the knowledge and skills to evaluate science and mathematics programs. 3. Provide teachers of science and mathematics professional growth by improving their capacity to use evaluation data and engage in continuous improvement and data based decision-making. The collaborative evaluation communities created by the CEC project will serve as professional growth activities for science and mathematics teachers, and as training grounds to help graduate students develop evaluation skills. By engaging schools in evaluation the team will assist teachers and graduate students in the collection and analysis of data, the examination of student assessment results, the evaluation of school programs, and the analysis of science and mathematics instructional practices. The CEC project will assist partner districts in the creation of an evaluation culture designed to support the continual evaluation of programs with the ultimate intent of improving the educational opportunities for all students. Intellectual Merit: The CEC project will create a total of eight collaborative evaluation communities over the three-year grant period; four collaborative evaluation communities in the Kansas City, Kansas School District and four in the St. Paul School District. The collaborative evaluation communities will be co-led by a faculty member and a lead science or mathematics teacher in the schools. The faculty will also help supervise graduate students in each community who will help lead and develop the collaborative evaluation community. The lead teacher will serve as the liaison between the university and other classroom teachers who are in the same school as the lead teacher. There are various ways that the collaborative evaluation communities can interact, and it is expected that this project will inspire new ways for the schools and universities to collaborate on evaluation activities. The use of collaborative evaluation communities to build evaluation capacity in urban schools is a unique and important activity for the field of evaluation. The schools are in need of teachers who can use evaluation and assessment data to make decisions regarding science and mathematics education. The CEC project will advance knowledge and understanding of how to help schools engage in evaluation. The investigators are very well qualified to design and implement the CEC project. They have extensive experience in the field of science and mathematics program evaluation, and will be able to use this experience to develop graduate students and help schools engage in evaluation. In addition, the CEC project will be externally evaluated by an expert in the field of science and mathematics program evaluation. Broader Impact: The activities of the CEC project will advance discovery and understanding regarding the use of collaborative evaluation communities for teachers in urban schools. In addition, the CEC project will promote teaching, training, and learning for graduate students. The CEC project will broaden the participation of underrepresented groups by enhancing the evaluation capacity of teachers in urban schools who serve a diverse student population. The investigators on the CEC project also have the ability to recruit graduate students of diverse backgrounds. The results of the CEC project will be widely disseminated to the education and evaluation community. The project has great potential to benefit society by developing the evaluation capacity of urban schools, and by developing the evaluation abilities of graduate students who can go on to serve society. All in all, the CEC project will create lasting collaborative evaluation communities in urban schools in order to develop schools' capacity to engage in evaluation and to help all students achieve in science and mathematics. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Lawrenz, Frances Lesa Covington Clarkson University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 515556 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0438359 March 15, 2005 Improving Evaluation of Professional Development with Mathematics and Science Teachers through Developing Research-based Measures of Quality with States and School Districts. ABSTRACT Proposal number: 0438359 PI: Rolf K. Blank Institution: CCSSO Title: Improving Evaluation of Professional Development with Mathematics and Science Teachers though Developing Research-Based Measures of Quality with States and School Districts The proposed project has four key goals: 1) Conduct a survey of the 50 states to assess capacity within the 50 states for collecting, reporting, and analyzing data on teacher professional development including quality of programs. 2) Identify research-based criteria for high quality teacher professional development and use the criteria as a framework for analyzing and selecting local programs in partner states based on the data. 3) Evaluate effectiveness of professional development in a sample of districts in 10 states using research-based criteria of program quality and a value-added model for measuring achievement gains.4) Communicate findings to assist education leaders in all states with improving models for broad-scale evaluation of professional development, identifying key data items and measures of quality, and applying value-added models for determining effects. Estimate the effects of quality professional development programs on student. The project goals are grounded on research-based findings of effective math and science teacher professional development. These characteristics of effective professional development are intended to guide improvement efforts and resource allocation at state and district levels. The project would test the relationship of these research-based criteria with student achievement using a value-added model across programs in 10 states and districts in each state. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Blank, Rolf Cynthia Prince Council of Chief State School Officers DC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 383631 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0438445 December 1, 2004 Models of Evaluation and Research for Educational Technologies. Intellectual Merit: In this three-year project, the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) seeks to identify a core set of models for evaluating the effects of technology integration in the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The purpose of the study is to determine if a new approach to evaluating educational technology, based on a refined set of typical models for how educational technology is actually used, can yield better measurement of the effectiveness of technology applications. The study will identify scientifically testable models by studying samples of technology integration project designs. The identified evaluation models will be refined, in part through a structured symposium with experts on technology integration and research methodologists. Overall, the study will develop capacity in the research and evaluation community, and in state and local education agencies, to plan and evaluate educational technology implementations. Technology integration is a widespread priority in the nation's school systems, yet little is known systematically about the impact of technology integration on teaching and learning. The study will identify the theories and assumed causal mechanisms that underlie current technology integration efforts, and clarify existing hypotheses about the effects of technology integration on student achievement. These will be clustered and refined to derive a small set of common or prototypical models that are scientifically testable and that account for a large number of current technology integration efforts. The models derived in this way will clarify the various purposes for which technology is applied in math and science education, and will serve as a basis for more clearly conceived project designs and rigorous evaluations. Broader Impact: Technology integration projects are increasingly used to address the needs of underrepresented minority groups and difficult to reach populations. This research will focus on identifying prototypes for projects that serve rural, isolated populations, as well as indigenous Native American, Native Alaskan, and language minority students, and the faculty and administrators who work in these areas. The study aims to improve the state of educational technology implementation and research, by improving project design and evaluation for federal, state, and locally sponsored projects. Findings from the study may generalize beyond projects that are aimed at underrepresented groups, either directly through application of the specific evaluation models generated here, or indirectly, by serving as an example of how to distill a group of project designs into a refined set of prototypical, testable models. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Coe, Michael Northwest Regional Educational Lab OR James S. Dietz Standard Grant 412967 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0438452 February 1, 2005 A Distance Learning Master's Degree Program in Evaluation for the U.S. Affiliated Pacific. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), in collaboration with the University of Hawaii, proposes to implement a master's degree program in evaluation, delivered largely through distance learning technology, with an initial cohort of culturally diverse students from the U.S. affiliated Pacific region. In the fall of 2002, PREL received an exploratory research grant from NSF to document the need and develop a plan for this program. The program would incorporate a specialization in evaluation into an existing master's degree program within the University of Hawaii College of Education, Department of Educational Foundations. The program of study will require completion of 30 credit hours over the course of 6 semesters. The two-year program will consist of courses offered in a "hybrid asynchronous/synchronous format" and is modeled after PREL's successful distance learning Master of Science degree program in Instructional Technology and Telecommunications. The goal of this project is to increase the capacity of the Pacific region to conduct high quality, innovative, and useful evaluations of educational programs, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The project has the following objectives: o to increase regional capacity to provide graduate training in evaluation. o to increase the capacity of regional education agencies to engage in high quality, innovative, and useful evaluations. o to strengthen regional capacity to apply the results of program evaluations in educational program and policy decisions. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Church, Mary Ormond Hammond Paul Kingery Pacific Resources for Education and Learning HI Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 299679 9150 7261 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0438482 December 1, 2004 Relevance of Culture in Evaluation Institute: Implementing and Empirically Investigating Culturally Responsive Evaluation in Underperforming Schools. ABSTRACT Proposal number: 0438482 PI: Stafford Hood Institution: Arizona State University Title: Relevance of Culture in Evaluation Institute: Implementing and Empirically Investigating Culturally Responsive Evaluation in Underperforming Schools. This project is intended to build upon ongoing activities in the Relevance of Culture in Evaluation Institute (Project 0335699) to advance the development of culturally relevant evaluation strategies such as those proposed in the Principal Investigator's co-authored section of the NSF 2002 User-Friendly Handbook for Project Evaluation. By utilizing these strategies in school settings and empirically investigating them the project is intended to develop a model for sustainable change in improving evaluations of programs where cultural context is a salient feature and at the same time broaden the participation of underrepresented groups. The project objectives are: 1) to develop a framework that will operationalize and provide guidance to evaluators seeking to be responsive to cultural context, 2) build capacity within the educational community by increasing the number of evaluators prepared to work in settings where cultural context is an important feature, and 3) build and refine a model of sustainable change and improvement of evaluation for schools that are underperforming. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hood, Stafford Arizona State University AZ Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 567000 7261 SMET 9177 0438545 December 15, 2004 Beyond Evaluation Use: Determining the Effect of Individual Project Participation on the Influence of STEM Overall Program Evaluations. The project is designed to contrast the type and scope of influence of different approaches to program evaluation in order to increase the field's understanding of how evaluation results are used when evaluations are conducted for a large agency with both national and local implications. The project is grounded in two theoretical bases: 1) evaluation use, and 2) participation in evaluation. These are based on the theoretical work of Kirkhart, Greene, Gary and Mark, Patton, Burke, King and Lawrenz and Huffman. The primary theory of evaluation use is Kirkhart's three-dimensional influence of evaluation model - source of influence (process or results), intention (intended and unintended), and time (immediate, end-of-cycle, or long-term). Participation in evaluation draws on a continuum of Lawrenz and Huffman bounded by program evaluation conducted by an entity separate from the projects within the program to one when where the projects independently determine the evaluation procedures and what data to collect. ` The proposed research will investigate the continuum of participation and how it relates to use. The research questions are: 1) What patterns of participation exist in large, multi-site evaluation? 2)) To what extent do different levels of project participation in program evaluations result in different patterns of evaluation use? 3) What evaluation practices are most directly related to enhancing the influence of evaluations. Case studies will be carried out of four NSF Programs: ATE, LSC, CETP, and MSP RETAs. Within the case studies, methods will include artifact analysis, interview, surveys and site visits. EAPSI PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Lawrenz, Frances Jean King University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN James S. Dietz Standard Grant 737168 7316 7261 SMET OTHR 9177 5980 5914 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0438646 December 15, 2004 Improving Mathematics Achievement in K-8 students with Systemic Use of Proximal Assessment Data. The investigators will implement and study a model for building the capacity of a school district to make systemic use of data so that teachers and school-based instructional leaders can develop the know-how, tools, and support systems to assess, quantify, analyze, isolate, diagnose, and take actions to shape the mathematics achievement in struggling students. Capacity-building opportunities will be provided through district-level workshops; formal university-based coursework in assessment, evaluation, and data-based decision-making culminating in certificates and graduate degrees; internship; and on-site coaching activities. Technology will be incorporated in the form of existing distance learning courses and web-based instructional modules, as well as school/classroom data management systems that support proximal instructional decisions by tracking process-outcome relationships. The focus will be on mathematics teaching and learning, particularly on addressing achievement gaps. The partners are Teachers College Columbia University (home institution of the PI and Co-PI) and East Ramapo School District, New York, along with qualified consultants in mathematics education and technology and a distinguished advisory panel. The project deliberately focuses on one bounded school system to authentically implement and evaluate a systemic model of intervention delivery. The pilot intervention will aim to demonstrate proof of concept using a 3-year timeline. The research program for the pilot intervention will have two phases. The formative phase (Years 1-2) will aim to develop, field-test and fine-tune new and existing instructional materials, prototypes, and delivery models for the intervention, including necessary instrumentation to monitor field processes and outcomes. The summative phase (Year 3), will formally document process-outcome relationships, initial impact, replicability, and costs of implementing the formatively-tested intervention, using treatment and comparison cohorts of teachers and students at the partner district. Intellectual Merit: How well teachers align instruction and assessment to mathematics content standards, adapt instruction to meet the developmental needs of diverse students, and monitor student learning at the local level are factors well-supported by research as impacting student performance. Particularly, achievement gap-reducing schools and teachers have been found to make better use of data for making specific changes in their day-to-day practices. To foster change within organizations, many have pointed towards a need for decision-oriented evaluation approaches and for "mainstreaming" evaluation. Broader Impacts: The proposed program will pilot-test, refine, and eventually, replicate a model involving university-school system collaborations that could potentially serve the northeastern region of the U.S. The ultimate aim will be to develop exportable materials, tools, support systems that can be implemented widely in a subsequent scale-up phase at other schools and district sites. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Chatterji, Madhabi Edmund Gordon Teachers College, Columbia University NY Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 501945 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0438720 March 15, 2005 The Indigenous Framing for STEM Evaluation Project, Phase II: American Indian STEM Evaluation Resource Center. In FY'03 this proposer was funded for one year in the amount of $237.9K for a developmental effort with the objective of creating an indigenous evaluation framework, focused on STEM education. The goal is to synthesize indigenous "ways of knowing" and western evaluation practices. Ways of Knowing is the NA perspective on life and their thought process as reflected in their learning styles and how they conceptualize ideas. This was the portion of proposed activities identified as the most important element and the primary focus of first year activities. According to the proposal, activities to date include A national advisory committee meeting that produced a set of framing elements, which were discussed, tested and refined at 4 regional focus groups with Native elders and educators throughout Indian country. The questions asked for participants' knowledge of and views on the evaluation process, methods and its 0verall value. A literature review is underway and REU students will interview elders from their tribes this summer The PIs propose to apply the framing elements, which reflect the indigenous perspective on education and evaluation in the development and/or testing of: A STEM Evaluation Resource Center Portal to provide support, resources and training to tribal college staff, administrators and faculty, K-12 teachers of NA students thru on site workshops and on-line assistance. The portal will become a forum for discussion of theory, practice, ethics and standards. The Center will expand capacity to perform evaluations through training of practicing evaluators. The workshops and courses developed will be based on a core curriculum that weaves NA perspective into a graduate-level course workshop and practicum. (p.9) An Internet-based collaborative virtual library of evaluation tools and materials linked to the Digital Library and to Western MI Evaluation Center (A portal developed w/ UMI school of Information (p. 8) A community of practice: advisory committee to be expanded (add science teacher and assessment person) to review and update strategies to determine whether they are consistent w/ cultural values and develop and maintain a list of indigenous evaluators, etc. A complete package of support and teaching materials and activities. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Billy, Carrie American Indian Higher Education Consortium VA Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 1000000 7261 SMET 9177 0438834 May 1, 2004 After-School Math PLUS (ASM+). "After-School Math PLUS (ASM+)" uses the rapidly growing field of informal education as a venue to develop positive attitudes, build conceptual knowledge, and sharpen skills in mathematics for underserved youth in grades 3-8. "ASM+" brings families and children together in the pursuit of mathematics education and future career interests and directly addresses the NSF-ISE's four areas of special interests: (1) builds capacity with and among informal science education institutions; (2) encourages collaborations within communities; (3) increases the participation of underrepresented groups; and (4) models an effective after-school program. " ASM+" is being developed in collaboration with the New York Hall of Science and the St. Louis Science Center with support from after-school centers in their communities. "ASM+" incorporates the best practices of existing programs, while adding its own innovative elements that have proven successful in the NSF-funded "After-School Science Plus" (HRD #9632241). "ASM+" is aimed at underserved youth and their families, as well as after-school group leaders and teenage museum explainers who will benefit from training and participation in the project. It has facilitated the creation of alliances between museums, after-school centers, schools and the community INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Froschl, Merle Academy for Educational Development DC Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 950758 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439049 September 1, 2005 Waves in Space. "Waves in Space," an educational museum exhibit for upper elementary and middle school students, clarifies the concept of radio wave propagation and how it is affected by variations in the Earth's atmosphere. The exhibit is based on research in upper atmospheric physics conducted by the Atmospheric Sciences Group at the MIT Haystack Observatory. This research is at the forefront of the emerging national space weather effort, a large NSF initiative to forecast and predict dynamic conditions in Earth's upper atmosphere and the effects these conditions have on key technologies such as cellular phones, pagers and satellites. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION UPPER ATMOSPHERIC FACILITIES DRL EHR Foster, John Philip Erickson Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 74988 7259 4202 SMET EGCH 9177 9169 4444 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0439062 June 1, 2005 Using Evidence: An Analysis of US and German Science Teaching and Learning. The Center for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning (CAESL) CLT proposes a project in collaboration with German researchers from the DFG. The project grew out of joint meetings between CLTs and projects funded through the DFG. This project focuses on creating a common analytic framework on the use of evidence in specific science domains and the kinds of teacher actions that enable students to use evidence effectively. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Schneider, Steven WestEd CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 164880 7298 7181 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 5980 5936 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0439102 October 1, 2004 Conference & Proceedings: "Crafting and Evaluating Interactive Educational Websites," Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Spring, 2005. The "Crafting & Evaluating Interactive Educational Websites" conference will be developed through a collaboration between the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology and the Exploratorium. The PIs will develop and host a three-day invitational conference focusing on the practice of interactive web site design, development, evaluation and maintenance intended to achieve or support informal STEM learning. The conference, which will be held in Spring, 2005, will involve 50 individuals with a wide range of expertise who will focus on a variety of issues including audience expectations and abilities, designing for learner outcomes, testing for usability, evaluation tools and accessibility. With regard to intellectual merit, conference attendees will explore challenges and barriers that hinder development of truly interactive web sites and identify best practices and promising models, tools and technologies for encouraging authentic public interaction. Conversations begun at the conference will be extended to a broader audience through development of an online manual, informed by the conference presentations and commentaries, and designed for use by the museum, media and research communities. An interactive Web site developed after the conference will allow Web developers to locate content and ideas for design, and to share new ideas and results of usability studies and evaluations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bonney, Richard Cornell University - State NY Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 189218 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439116 April 1, 2004 Exploring the Role of Science in K-8 Literacy Education. 9912078 SAUL "Exploring the Role of Science in K-8 Literacy Education" is a five-year project that will produce a series of conferences, books, a CD-ROM and a web site that will address the issue of reading and writing within the context of science instruction for young students. The project is designed to highlight meaningful, salient and useful connections between inquiry-based science teaching and literacy instruction. The project will develop, organize and share information from both the science and literacy communities on connections between and among hands-on activity, text-based information resources, student cognition and teacher practices. The project will also provide science educators with resources they can use to increase attention to science at both the local and national level. It will disseminate information about when, how and under what circumstances science and literacy connections should be fostered. Activities will include a series of conferences that address the concerns of various stakeholders in both the science and language arts communities. By promoting those inquiry strategies advocated by science educators that can improve children's reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking skills, the role of science instruction at the elementary school level will be reinforced and enhanced. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Saul, E.Wendy University of Missouri-Saint Louis MO Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 414017 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439281 September 1, 2004 Exploratory Research to Develop Methods for Studying Adult Development in Math Teacher Professional Development. This 16-month project focuses on exploring the use of Kegan's adult developmental theory to explain the important differences teachers experience in the same mathematics professional development. The only current measure of this developmental difference, the Subject-Object Interview, is expensive and labor-intensive to administer. This project will develop a written instrument and methods that would provide a more economic and less labor-intensive measure of adult developmental theory and would allow for future study of the impact of developmental differences on teachers' experiences within and across professional development programs. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Hammerman, James TERC Inc MA Paola Sztajn Standard Grant 171171 7271 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439352 September 1, 2004 Collaborative Research: Developing the Next Generation of Middle School Science Materials -- Investigating and Questionning our World through Science and Technology. Building on the work that "Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST)" completed in Phase I, a comprehensive science curriculum for grades 6-8 is developed in Phase II. A learning-goals-driven design is used in which learning performances that drive the design of activities and assessments specify how students should be able to use the scientific ideas and skills outlined in standards. The materials are organized around driving questions that provide a context to motivate students as they use their knowledge and skills in scientific practices -- such as modeling, designing investigations, explanation and argumentation and data gathering, analysis and interpretation -- to acquire understandings of the concepts, principles and habits of mind articulated in national science standards. The materials contain hands-on experiences, technology tools and reading materials that extend students' first-hand experiences of phenomena and support science literacy. All four science disciplines are studied for about one-quarter of each year. The physics topics for grades 6, 7 and 8 are description of motion, conservation and transformation of energy, and laws of motion respectively; in Earth science, the topics are Earth surface processes, climate and weather and objects in space; for biology, organisms and systems, genetics and the environment, and ecosystems and natural selection; and for chemistry, particulate nature of matter, chemical reactions of substances, and chemical reactions all around us. Teacher materials support teacher learning of the science content and pedagogical approaches. The materials include an on-line system that provides video examples of student work and pedagogy in action. The project also includes development of resources for the community so that learning opportunities linked to classroom activities can occur outside of school. Particular attention is paid to developing reading literacy. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Krajcik, Joseph Barry Fishman Elizabeth Moje LeeAnn Sutherland University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 5166699 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439443 December 15, 2004 Foundation Science: A Comprehensive High School Science Curriculum. Building on the one-semester module on chemistry completed in Phase I of "Foundation Science," a comprehensive science curriculum for grades 9-11 is developed in Phase II. The completed "Foundation Science" provides high schools with a scientifically-based, modular science curriculum with supporting professional development and outreach materials that accommodate the variety of approaches that school districts take in their secondary science programs. The curriculum responds to challenges faced by high schools in meeting state and national standards, preparing students for high stakes testing, accommodating new understandings about how students learn, updating teacher content and pedagogical knowledge and serving an increasingly diverse student population. The curriculum consists of eight one-semester modules -- two each in biology, chemistry, Earth science, and physics. Each module comprises four units each developing a particular set of concepts through two to four story-driven learning experiences. The first module in each discipline develops introductory conceptual understandings appropriate for grades 9 and 10 and skills in critical thinking, problem solving, communications and laboratory techniques. The second module in each discipline builds on the first to provide deeper, more complex and more extended learning in grade 11. Students complete all four of the first modules and two of the second. Thus, students obtain a challenging, rigorous science education that provides a foundation in scientific understanding and literacy skills and prepares them to pursue higher-level learning in science. The professional development materials support the adoption, implementation and integration of the instructional materials into the classroom and support teachers in the use of multiple assessments to conclusions about the effectiveness of the materials with different populations of students. Professional development includes a self-evaluation of the content knowledge component with resources available for teachers to increase their understanding. DR-K12 APPLIED RESEARCH INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Miller, Jacqueline Education Development Center MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 5851672 7646 7355 7271 SMET 9251 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439493 September 1, 2004 Collaborative Research: Developing the Next Generation of Middle School Science Materials--Investigating and Questioning Our World through Science and Technology. Building on the work that "Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST)" completed in Phase I, a comprehensive science curriculum for grades 6-8 is developed in Phase II. A learning-goals-driven design is used in which learning performances that drive the design of activities and assessments specify how students should be able to use the scientific ideas and skills outlined in standards. The materials are organized around driving questions that provide a context to motivate students as they use their knowledge and skills in scientific practices -- such as modeling, designing investigations, explanation and argumentation and data gathering, analysis and interpretation -- to acquire understandings of the concepts, principles and habits of mind articulated in national science standards. The materials contain hands-on experiences, technology tools and reading materials that extend students' first-hand experiences of phenomena and support science literacy. All four science disciplines are studied for about one-quarter of each year. The physics topics for grades 6, 7 and 8 are description of motion, conservation and transformation of energy, and laws of motion respectively; in Earth science, the topics are Earth surface processes, climate and weather and objects in space; for biology, organisms and systems, genetics and the environment, and ecosystems and natural selection; and for chemistry, particulate nature of matter, chemical reactions of substances, and chemical reactions all around us. Teacher materials support teacher learning of the science content and pedagogical approaches. The materials include an on-line system that provides video examples of student work and pedagogy in action. The project also includes development of resources for the community so that learning opportunities linked to classroom activities can occur outside of school. Particular attention is paid to developing reading literacy. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Reiser, Brian Daniel Edelson Northwestern University IL Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1719205 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439564 October 1, 2004 Conference & Proceedings: "Crafting and Evaluating Interactive Educational Websites," Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Spring, 2005. The "Crafting & Evaluating Interactive Educational Websites" conference will be developed through a collaboration between the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology and the Exploratorium. The PIs will develop and host a three-day invitational conference focusing on the practice of interactive web site design, development, evaluation and maintenance intended to achieve or support informal STEM learning. The conference, which will be held in Spring, 2005, will involve 50 individuals with a wide range of expertise who will focus on a variety of issues including audience expectations and abilities, designing for learner outcomes, testing for usability, evaluation tools and accessibility. With regard to intellectual merit, conference attendees will explore challenges and barriers that hinder development of truly interactive web sites and identify best practices and promising models, tools and technologies for encouraging authentic public interaction. Conversations begun at the conference will be extended to a broader audience through development of an online manual, informed by the conference presentations and commentaries, and designed for use by the museum, media and research communities. An interactive Web site developed after the conference will allow Web developers to locate content and ideas for design, and to share new ideas and results of usability studies and evaluations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Koterwas, Theodore Exploratorium CA Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 72201 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439605 August 15, 2004 SGER Grant: A Conference to Strengthen Mathematics and Science Education Through Indigenous Knowledge and Ways of Knowing. We propose a three-phase plan to gather and document novel thinking about the role of community in determining and supporting effective mathematics and science education in indigenous communities. We will convene an eclectic international group of innovators who have developed deep sensibilities about the social ideals, values, and behavioral standards that have shaped local approaches to successful schooling in mathematics and science. Each member will have a depth of experience thinking .outside the box. and creating successful innovations that make a meaningful difference in real communities. This shared experience of striving to develop solutions (against the odds) forms a common thread that we believe will help participants interweave their perspectives and intentions as a group.with a focus on articulating a set of truly transformative ideas about how community involvement in indigenous education can help all children learn mathematics and science. In Phase I, a small but representative international Working Group of primarily indigenous mathematics and science educators and researchers will convene in a five-day long institute. Deliberations will center on the role of community in determining and supporting education by navigating tensions among traditional/western mathematics and science/knowledge/approaches, culturally responsive curriculum, teacher preparation/cultural orientation, language revitalization and language maintenance, the indigenous research agenda, alternative assessment models, and technical assistance/support structures. Participants will report on their own work and come together for in-depth discussions in smaller work groups around specified sub-themes. By the end of the meeting, the Working Group will develop an agenda and plan of action that will guide future activities. In Phase II, a nominated council of up to four individuals from the Working Group, will attend selected national meetings in mathematics, science, and indigenous education, and via a series of interactive workshops, panels, and/or individual presentations, introduce the Working Group.s vision and agenda, and elicit contributions from educators and community members similarly engaged in community-driven education. In Phase III, two members of the Working Group will attend the triennial World Indigenous People.s conference, which hosts peoples from around the world who are committed to achieving reform and transformation of education. Working Group participants will offer workshops at this conference and seek counsel and input from this further extended group involved in like-minded efforts. A web-based interactive community will remain in place during all phases of the work to facilitate ready connection and communication. Intellectual Merit: A growing group of knowledgeable mathematics and science educators and others who will continue to work toward defining indigenous ways of knowing and educational philosophies, inspire growing dialogues in uses of indigenous knowledge in schooling, and stimulate increased integration of indigenous knowledge in educational curriculum. Broad Impacts: Learnings will contribute to the emerging international body of scholarly work that delineates ways in which local cultural context fosters academic success in mathematics and science for all students. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Nelson-Barber, Sharon WestEd CA Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 190758 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0439756 May 1, 2004 Mathematics Proficiencies in Elementary School: Effects of Family, School, and Policy. The objectives of this study are to examine the role that state instructional policies play in shaping school learning environments. The PI we use a multi-level random effects model to evaluate differences in state mathematics instructional policy, including content standards, curriculum frameworks, and teacher professional learning, with particular emphasis on the implications for low income children. Examine how differences in state mathematics instructional policy are associated with school learning environment, especially in high poverty schools. The PI will also examine how school learning environment is associated with classroom instructional practices. And finally, the PI will identify the relationships between family income, parental investment, school learning environment, and classroom instructional practices on growth in mathematical proficiencies through the third grade. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Georges, Annie Teachers College, Columbia University NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 444106 1666 SMET 9177 0439862 September 1, 2004 Today, Tomorrow, Forever: The Role Living Institutions Can Play in the UN "Decade of Education for Sustainable Development" -- A Conference at the Bronx Zoo, NY, Nov. 4-5, 2004. The WCS/Bronx Zoo, in partnership with the United States Coalition for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (USCDESD), will host a two-day summit targeting professional educators working for institutions that maintain living collections (such as zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens). The goal of the summit is to provide an opportunity for sharing of best practices and development of strategies and recommendations that these institutions can utilize in supporting the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). A key focus will be the fundamental role science has played and will continue to play in finding solutions to the challenges of sustainable development. The summit will involve staff from approximately 50 institutions across the nation and will result in a Recommendations Document and set of Action Plans that will guide the work of the participants, and the field, in the creation of science education programming focusing on sustainable development and the Decade. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Berkovits, Annette Tom Naiman Wildlife Conservation Society NY Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 88835 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0439914 April 1, 2005 Enhancing Departments and Graduate Education in Geography. This study is investigating three questions: (1) How are graduate students being recruited, trained, and prepared for professional careers by geography graduate programs? (2) How do the environments of MA/MS and Ph.D. geography departments shape the abilities and attitudes of students in these programs? (3) What types of resources are most helpful for strengthening graduate departments in geography? To address these questions, we are conducting detailed surveys and interviews with chairpersons, faculty, employers, administrators, and graduate students in a diverse range of departments. We are also collecting professional development resources that departments are using to train graduate students, especially with regard to those aspects of academic work and culture that receive relatively little attention in today's graduate curriculum, such as course design, career planning, professional ethics, and proposal writing. Finally, we are translating the results of this research into a practical Guide for Enhancing Departments and Graduate Education (EDGE Guide), a collection of print and digital resources that chairpersons and departments can use to improve the quality of their graduate programs. Our partners include the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, several MA and Ph.D. geography programs, and faculty with extensive expertise in geography and professional development. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI IGERT FULL PROPOSALS DRL EHR Solem, Michael Kenneth Foote Janice Monk Association of American Geographers DC Myles G. Boylan Continuing grant 1021369 7625 1666 1335 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0440002 January 15, 2005 Project Crossover: A Study of the Transition from Student to Scientist. The purpose of our project is to study the process of training new scientists. The presumption among many is that this process is well understood. In fact, the process has remained much the same for the past two centuries. However, our review of the relevant literature reveals a scarcity of research about the transition from student to scientist. A particularly critical, yet under-investigated period is when graduate students enter their advisors' labs to initially help with research and then eventually to carry out original research for their dissertation. Up to this time, graduate students are able consumers of scientific knowledge, with only a rare few who have done original research. During this period, graduate students must become producers of scientific knowledge. Intellectual Merit: The intellectual merit of this project lies in uncovering the mechanisms of how this transition occurs. We propose to study the empirical laboratory sciences of chemistry and physics. The research will address the following questions: 1) Do different faculty advisors share common approaches to educating their graduate students? Are some of these approaches more successful than others in fostering scientific productivity? Are there common characteristics across programs that turn out more productive scientists? 2) What criteria do faculty advisors use to determine that their students are prepared to become independent researchers? Are these criteria common or idiosyncratic within specific labs? 3) How closely matched are the impressions of advisors and graduate students about research independence? Do graduate students realize when they have achieved research independence? We propose a mixed methodological approach coupling a qualitative component with a quantitative component. The qualitative component will include interviews and observations of an array of scientists and graduate students. The information gained from this qualitative component will be used to develop a survey to query a national sample of scientists and graduate students. The statistical models developed from the survey analysis, will be tested for validity by reviewing to the qualitative data corpus. The objective of this study is to provide much needed information about the mechanisms in the training of new scientists during their dissertation research. Through our pilot study of chemistry and physics doctoral programs, we have generated several hypotheses that include: A student's past experience focused on science content knowledge rather than on creative inquiry in formal school settings detracts from, rather than facilitates, his or her transition to scientist. Common themes and approaches to fostering the transition exist for graduate advisors across different laboratories and institutions. These themes vary in their effectiveness in training students. Effective approaches to teaching and learning scientific research may be identified and connected with scientific productivity. This connection between education and research may inform the development of more scientifically productive and educationally effective research laboratories. Broader Impacts: The project outcomes are intended to have the following broader impacts: 1) provide detailed analysis to inform the research training of graduate students in laboratory-based empirical sciences, 2) provide data on the impact of prior science education experiences on the learning of scientific research, 3) provide data to inform policy for mitigating the erosion of US dominance in scientific research, and 4) improve awareness and access for students interested in becoming scientists. REESE GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Tai, Robert Xitao Fan University of Virginia Main Campus VA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1003717 7625 7172 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0440100 July 1, 2005 Evolution and Use of Symbols in Undergraduate Mathematics: Theory and Practice. We PI proposes a symposium over the course of one year, to be held at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, that brings together a select group of seminal thinkers in symbolic cognition in undergraduate and high school mathematics, for the purpose of establishing a research agenda in this new line of inquiry in Algebra. Symbolic cognition in mathematics is concerned with the evolution and use of mathematical symbols, especially their practical side - the specific cognitive and communicative roles that symbols play in helping people to do mathematics and learners to learn undergraduate mathematics. The major impact of these meetings will affect university teachers of introductory mathematics, high school mathematics teachers and researchers in mathematics education. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hegedus, Stephen Gary Davis University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth MA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 65437 1666 SMET 9177 0440103 January 1, 2005 Design Principles for Effective Molecular Animations. Conveying molecular-level chemistry processes to students is notoriously difficult. Dynamic, molecular-level animations are used increasingly in chemistry and biology to help students visualize chemical structures and processes. However, animations are often too complex to be accurately perceived, especially by novices, who may not even know where to look or how to interpret what they are seeing. Animated graphics may even convey or sustain misconceptions about chemical processes. The goals of this project are to reveal how students perceive and interpret various kinds of molecular animations and to develop design principles for creating and presenting effective static graphics and dynamic visualizations in chemistry. This proposal posits that effective animated and static visualizations can be designed. To this end, the proposal applies techniques from cognitive psychology to reveal: a) mental models novices and experts have about key chemical processes, and b) graphic tools that will convey those concepts adequately. The research has 5 steps, which will be carried out sequentially during the three-year period: 1. In-depth talk-aloud sessions with experts and novices to reveal the mental models; 2. Analysis of attempts by novices and experts to convey key concepts graphically and in language; 3. Extraction of design principles from 1 & 2; 4. Development of animated and static visualization prototypes in which those design principles have been applied; 5. Testing the new visualizations on new students. To carry out such a wide-ranging project requires expertise in cognitive psychology, in chemistry education, in chemistry, and in the development of animations and visualizations. This project involves collaboration among the disciplines of chemistry, molecular biology, education, and cognitive science to develop research-based design principles for effective molecular animations. The project will provide useful guidelines for the effective design of dynamic molecular visualizations and illustrate them with concrete examples. It will also generate research tools that can be used to study the characteristics of animations and simulations in other scientific fields. Results of the study will allow the developers of all types of molecular visualizations to make informed design decisions and will give instructors a sound pedagogical basis for effective use of molecular animations and simulations. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Jones, Loretta Barbara Tversky Jerry Honts University of Northern Colorado CO Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1089484 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0440113 April 1, 2005 Toward a new Conceptualization of What Constitutes Progress in Learning Physics, K-16: Resources, Frames, and Networks. The purpose of this project is to come to a more explicit understanding of what good scientific reasoning looks like, what sorts of knowledge and abilities contribute to it, how teachers can help students develop that knowledge, and what aspects of early scientific reasoning we can identify as the seeds of later sophistication. Prior research suggests that young children have a variety of intellectual resources for understanding science: they have extensive knowledge about physical causes and effects, at least concerning objects and phenomena they encounter every day; they have a variety of abilities for working with and adding to that knowledge; and most have skills for defending a position with reasons and evidence. Prior research also suggests that science teaching does not generally help children refine their everyday thinking. The project will include four types of studies: 1) Detailed case studies of K-16 students' reasoning in physical science and physics, recorded on videotape and transcribed for line-by-line analysis; 2) the construction of computational models that try to reproduce aspects of students' reasoning; 3) the development of a theoretical framework for understanding the progression from childhood abilities to the expertise of a college major; and 4) applying that framework to generate and explore hypotheses for what instructional actions might promote good scientific reasoning and understanding. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hammer, David Edward Redish Andrew Elby Uri Wilensky Rachel Scherr University of Maryland College Park MD Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 799800 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0440171 April 1, 2005 Using the Theory of Successful Intelligence as a Framework for Developing Assessments in AP Physics and Biology. The aim of the proposed research is to create a set of augmented, theory-driven examinations that expand the range of cognitive skills assessed and to examine the impact of this approach on student achievement. The PIs will use the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) programs in Physics and Biology as a testing ground for the project. The augmented exams will be based explicitly on Sternberg's theory of cognitive processing skills. Augmented AP Exams in Biology and Physics would be developed to test students' ability to utilize different cognitive skills (analytical, practical, creative) as well as their content knowledge. Tests would be developed by teams of AP high school teachers working with professors of physics and biology. In Study 1, the PIs will gather content-related validity evidence for the Augmented exams, establishing the extent to which items tap the intended content domains and cognitive-processing skills. In Study 2, the PIs will conduct a psychometric study of the Augmented AP exams, seeking to establish the internal validity of the cognitive subscales. This research has the potential to bring theoretical notions of intelligence and cognitive ability to bear on widely used high-stakes tests. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sternberg, Robert Elena Grigorenko Steven Stemler Yale University CT Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 350000 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0440180 March 15, 2005 Children and Science Tests. One of the most vexing problems in education is the persistence of an achievement gap between middle class students of European American descent and students from historically underserved communities. This gap is reflected in performance on a range of achievement tests, from NAEP to state measures being instituted under NCLB. Despite the increased use of standardized test results to make consequential decisions in education, little is actually known about the kinds of knowledge, reasoning, and interpretive practices that students - both those who do well on such tests and those who do not - use in responding to them. The proposed research is a first step in addressing this gap in the field's knowledge. The main line of inquiry will investigate how children from diverse ethnic and linguistic communities make sense of science items on the Grade 4 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), a high stakes achievement test viewed as a model in meeting NCLB requirements. The outcome will be a deeper understanding of a) the conceptual, linguistic, textual and representational demands of the science items on the MCAS, and b) the forms of knowledge, reasoning and interpretive practices that children from diverse backgrounds use in responding to such items. A second, more exploratory line of inquiry will investigate what, if anything, teachers and administrators may learn from close examination of children's reasoning about achievement tests. It will focus on what they learn about a) children's performance and competence, b) how tests like the MCAS work, and c) possible relationships of curriculum and instruction to test performance. An important outcome of both lines of inquiry will be the specification of guidelines for test-makers and practitioners to use in evaluating the meaning of students' test performance. Intellectual Merit: The aim of this project is to contribute to the development of a fuller science of assessment that serves the goal of equity. In pursuit of this goal, this project will bring together sociocultural, sociolinguistic, cognitive, and psychometric perspectives on human performance to develop a theoretically and empirically grounded understanding of the interpretive work in which children engage as they respond to items on science achievement tests. This research will shed light on heretofore unidentified interactions between children and specific features of science test items (e.g., linguistic and representational forms) that may affect performance in unintended ways. Broader Impact: This project will break new ground by accounting for the complexity of the sense-making interaction between children and standardized tests, thus deepening understanding of the achievement gap, our nation's most persistent educational problem. The results of this research will be translated into guidelines for test makers and practitioners. Guidelines for testmakers will address the implications of the findings of this research for the design of test items and interpretation of children's performance. Guidelines for practitioners will address how analysis and discussion of student test performance can inform their practice and support coordination among curriculum, instruction, and assessment in ways that best serve the education of all students. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rosebery, Ann Beth Warren TERC Inc MA James S. Dietz Continuing grant 1806293 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0440254 December 15, 2004 Learning and Generalization of Scientific Information from Picture Books. The focus of the proposed research is the process by which young children acquire and extend new knowledge from picture book experiences, with the goal of identifying factors that facilitate or impede that process. Parents and preschool teachers assume that young children learn useful information from the books to which they are exposed and assume also that they generalize that information beyond the pages of the book. Surprisingly, little research has examined these basic assumptions. One goal of the project is to examine the effect of certain physical characteristics that are common in books designed and marketed for young children (e.g., how realistic the pictures in the books are and whether it matters if information is presented in an everyday context or a fantasy context). A second goal concerns the extent to which features that are known to facilitate or interfere with learning generally in young children (e.g., analogies and complex elements that can be physically manipulated) affect learning and generalization from books. A third goal is to examine book-centered interactions between parents and their preschool children to see how parents use books to communicate information to their children, with a particular focus on assessing the extent to which parents encourage generalization to the real world. Because joint book reading has the potential to serve as an excellent source of early knowledge about scientific concepts, these questions will be addressed in the context of children learning about various biological domains, beginning with animal-environment relations. The results of the proposed research should have clear and important implications for the selection and design of picture books to serve educational goals. Because young children in America are so frequently involved in picture book interactions, improvement in the educational potential of the books available in homes and preschools could have a broader impact across the social spectrum. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Ganea, Patricia Judy DeLoache University of Virginia Main Campus VA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 518345 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0440261 July 1, 2005 Multi-Level Assessment for Enhancing Mathematical Discourse, Curriculum, and Achievement in Diverse Elementary School Classrooms.. Intellectual Merit The proposed study uses contemporary insights about assessment, language, mathematics education, psychometric theory, and educational research to "bridge the gap" between worthwhile mathematics instruction and high-stakes testing. The effort builds on the research summarized in several NRC expert panels and the ideas which have been emerging in interdisciplinary efforts to develop a broader understanding the impact of educational testing on teaching and learning. The project will start with a multi-level model of formative assessment that emerged in two prior NSF funded studies. In an unprecedented collaboration, this approach will be refined and validated by a team of experts representing mathematics education, mathematical sciences, linguistics, educational testing, and educational assessment. The project advisory panel consists of international leaders in each area, including individuals who are also spearheading interdisciplinary advance across these areas. Broader Impact Broad impact is expected because the approach meets the demand of the NCLB act for immediate and continual gains on criterion-referenced tests for all students, without undercutting other educational goals. In addition to directly advancing elementary mathematics instruction, the project offers a scalable, worthwhile alternative to the ubiquitous "test-prep" interventions that often do more harm than good. The project will broaden classroom assessment to directly advance students' discourse, fluency, and understanding, and guide teachers' remediation and curricular refinement. As such the project will forge new insights for using classroom discourse and formative feedback for accomplishing these broad goals which oftentimes are treated as if they are in conflict. The approach features two levels of classroom assessments (semi-formal and formal) and an innovative "conversational" approach to formative feedback. Existing (commercial and public domain) assessments will be used to create 26 open-ended quizzes and 2 multiple-choice exams. The quizzes are aligned to existing curriculum, completed after appropriate regular lessons, and are ungraded. The exams consist of items that are aligned with the subdomains of the pertinent criterion referenced test, are completed at the end of the semester, and are formally graded. .Learner oriented formative feedback rubrics will be developed for both. The rubrics offer detailed, technically accurate explanations of the problems, without directly stating the "correct" answer. Students use their completed assessments and the rubrics to discuss their collective understanding of the assessed topics. Simple video-based coaches guide them toward worthwhile feedback conversations; materials and guidelines will help teachers (1) align assessments to their existing curriculum, (2) use initial performance and mathematical discourse to improve that curriculum, and (3) provide informal and formal remediation. The study will focus on fifth-grade mathematics, and take place in two Georgia elementary schools that serve a high proportion of ethnic and linguistic minorities. Across three year-long implementations, success is ensured by using design-based and linguistic methods to directly enhance students' mathematical discourse and teachers use of formative feedback , while indirectly maximizing students' performance on four outcome measures (an innovative discourse-based assessment, CTB's open-ended Balanced Assessment in Mathematic, Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Content Test, and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills). The schools will be randomly assigned to implementation or comparison conditions. The first year will consist of piloting and iterative refinements with just one implementation teacher. During the second year, the three or four fifth grade teachers participating at the implementation school will be assigned to different conditions to test the individual and collective impact of the quizzes and exams. Gains on the outcome measures will be compared to similar fifth-grade classrooms at the comparison school. These results will be used to define a final version that will be implemented by all fifth-grade teachers at the implementation school. Students' performance at the implementation school will be compared to the performance of all of the fifth-graders in the comparison school on all four outcome measures. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hickey, Daniel Sybilla Beckmann Kazez Allan Cohen Denise Mewborn Sonja Lanehart University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 285282 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0440295 April 15, 2005 Developing and Cultivating Meta-Cognitive Strategies to Invoke Conceptual Knowledge Relevant to Engineering Problem Solving. The proposed research focuses on developing metacognitive strategies in the foundational engineering subject of Statics. The literature on problem-solving indicates that even if students understand the concepts necessary to solving particular problems, that knowledge, in isolation, is not sufficient to guarantee success. Strategies for organizing the problem-solving task, and for retrieving the appropriate conceptual knowledge, are also necessary. The PI's previous investigations of conceptual understanding in Statics, based on observations of students' problem solving efforts, led to the development of a preliminary method for assessing that understanding. The PIs propose to develop and test the effectiveness of candidate metacognitive strategies in helping students learn to integrate conceptual elements while constructing solutions. The PIs will also monitor whether students possess the relevant underlying conceptual knowledge. In addition, the proposed research seeks to develop methods for cultivating student ability to use such strategies, both in the classroom and in informal groups of students outside of class. The proposal includes the development of a new computer-based methodology for recording problem solving of students. The proposed project will also make use of technology to enhance learning through their extension of the Classroom Communication Systems to the in-class assessment of metacognitive strategies. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Steif, Paul Anne Fay Carnegie-Mellon University PA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 261435 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0440338 February 1, 2005 ROLE: Understanding the Connection between Science Achievement and Reading Achievement. The researcher observes that a correlation between reading and science achievement suggests that poor student performance in science may be a result of prior poor reading ability. This study intends to learn whether high school students fail to be effective inquirers in science because of inadequacies in their reading abilities or not. Moreover, the proposal seeks to determine whether curricular and technological supportive innovations can improve inquiry-based science learning in classrooms. This is a study of the application of a number of technology tools to assist classroom management of students with low reading skills to learn more science. The researchers will use existing systems to give students a chance to easily document words and phrases they don't understand which can be easily assessed by the teacher for an entire class (double-entry log). Also, they will apply a tool to help teachers make sense of assessment results for individual students and classes so they can identify reading patterns that exist in a classroom. The classroom patters are presented to teachers in a visual format. CARAT is an integrating software that uses logs to create concept maps of text to scaffold students to learn science by reading different types of science text. Some reviewers were concerned about the choice of text. Gomez would use science magazine articles as the science text. The investigators will examine student performance in schools in which students and teacher have access to the tools and schools where they don't. They will be studying ninth and tenth grade science teachers in 24 classes. They will collect data on reading and science achievement at two points in time. And they will have data on teaches background, beliefs, and uses of the proposals. They will do qualitative and quantitative indicators of science achievement (not sure what that means) an they will develop rubrics to rate written student "artifacts". The study uses treatment and control groups and a doubly-entry log for students to note their work, they also annotate science texts. The experiment will involve 3 conditions: (1) students have inquiry science with annotated text and access to one tool; (2) students have inquiry science units with same text and a graphic organizer; and, (3) students have only inquiry science units with annotated texts. Students will be followed from 9th to 10 grade. Computer software is used to facilitate instruction, document student science learning, and monitor student progress in science topics. Sophisticated computer modeling of word meaning with Latent Semantic Technology will be used to track student understanding and writing. Then the analysis would be conducted with sophisticated statistical procedures including structural models with HLM for data collected between 2004 and 2007. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gomez, Louis Anthony Bryk Nichole Pinkard Kimberly Gomez Phillip Herman Northwestern University IL Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1279143 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0440379 January 15, 2005 Integrating Literacy and Science Instruction in High School Biology: Impact on Teacher Practice, Student Engagement, and Student Achievement. This study investigates the effects of integrating literacy instruction with biology coursework on high school student learning. It would investigate the relationship between the growth in reading achievement and biology learning. It will target schools serving especially large populations of African American and Latino students. The project will include use a randomized experimental design with multiple measures of student learning, classroom observations, surveys, and interviews for validating quantitative results. The researchers have consulted research studies of reading practices. The project would create a professional development reading apprenticeship program to prepare teachers. Teachers will also be provided with funds to supplement their textbooks with science magazines, trade books, and fiction related to biology topics in the state curriculum frameworks. The study will occur in cities of California. Teachers will be assigned to immediate or delayed intervention randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. REESE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Schneider, Steven Cynthia Greenleaf WestEd CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1659791 7625 7271 1666 SMET 9177 0441289 September 1, 2004 National Coalition for Science in Afterschool Conference Proposal. The Lawrence Hall of Science will host a follow-up conference to the January, 2004 conference of the National Coalition for Science in After-school. The goal of this 2nd conference is to take the emerging National Coalition for Science in After-school further, bringing in additional organizations and points of view, to take the vision the next step into action plans that will establish an infrastructure, a research agenda and framework, an advocacy campaign and a plan for sustainability that will include further networking among participants. The conference will contribute to the enhancement of science education for the more than ten percent of the Nation's youth who currently participate in after-school programs, many of whom are least well served in the formal educational system. The conference will bring together leaders in science education and after-school programs to combine their best thinking about ways to share current ideas and to create new partnerships, models, research initiatives and organizational structures to advance their work. The conference will allow current and potential leaders in STEM and after-school organizations to inform one another, share best practices and form strategic alliances. In addition to traditional dissemination mechanisms (website, listserv, conference report), the conference will result in an action plan that includes extending membership in the Coalition to additional organizations and its messages to new audiences, including those who work with students with disabilities, community organizations and parent advocates. In addition to Lawrence Hall, the lead organizations in the Coalition are the Exploratorium, TERC, the Children's Aid Society, the National Afterschool Association and The After School Corporation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Stage, Elizabeth University of California-Berkeley CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 179312 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0442136 June 30, 2004 Integrating Scientific Research and Technology into 9-12 Grade Earth Science. 9986613 HALL-WALLACE The proposed project, "The Earth Puzzle," is a series of four (4) modules that focus on teaching core concepts in Earth science for 9th grade students. The modules are based in case studies of real problems using real data. The problems will involve global scale investigations to provide a framework for understanding local case studies. Topics addressed by students include weather and climate change, natural hazards mitigation, and changing Earth systems. The materials will incorporate geographic information systems (GIS) technology to facilitate data visualization, manipulation and analysis. Special attention will be given to integrating mathematics and geography into the curriculum. Assessment and evaluation studies will focus in whether student knowledge and reasoning skills are improved by the in-depth activities of the proposed materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Hall, Michelle Science Education Solutions Inc NM Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 300995 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0442469 January 1, 2005 Planning "Inside Phoebe's Field". This planning grant seeks funding for demonstrating proof of concept for the proposed traveling exhibition "Inside Phoebe's Field." It is an outgrowth of the prior NSF project (9979287) that resulted in an interactive book for middle-school age girls. This project extends the book through exploring the feasibility of using mixed reality in an exhibit format as well as virtual environments using the Internet. Intellectual Merit: The project will further the technology-enhanced three-dimensional storytelling approach by development of selected science exhibit prototypes. The project team combines academic, museum and professional expertise, as well as a partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA. Broader Impact: This project will provide the ISE field valuable feedback about the use of metaphor in storytelling in a science-based exhibition, as well as about the application of new technologies (virtual reality, augmented reality technologies and interactive electromechanical events) for creating exhibit experiences. At the same time it will further the development of a national traveling science exhibition whose primary target audience will be girls from ages 10 to 13. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Vernon, Mitzi Katherine Cennamo Michael Ermann Steve Harrison Margarita McGrath Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0442722 September 1, 2004 Linking Science and Literacy in the Classroom: A Conference to be Convened in Seattle, Washington on November 17, 2004. NSTA requests funding for a conference to be held in Seattle, Washington on November 17, 2004, to disseminate current NSF-funded programs and research findings on the integration of literacy in K-8 science teaching and learning. The conference would feature several NSF-funded projects presenting their recent findings on implementation designs, research and effective professional development practices to an audience of teachers, principals, supervisors and professional development providers. The conference goals include 1) providing practitioners and policy makers with scientifically-based research on appropriate and effective integration of literacy in the K-8 science curriculum, 2) exploring the multiple roles of literacy in science instruction, 3) illustrating effective strategies for preparing teachers to link science and literacy and 4) highlighting examples of best practice in science-literacy integration. The program would include plenary sessions and three-hour workshops. Several publications featuring articles by key conference presenters and a summary of research data will be released by NSTA following the conference. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Douglas, Rowena National Science Teachers Assoc VA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 239603 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0443196 June 1, 2005 VSA Mid Career Education Program for Informal Learning Evaluators. The Visitor Studies Association (VSA) will plan a Continuing Education Program for Mid-Career (Practicing) Professionals in informal learning research and evaluation. VSA is in a position to expand its traditional in-depth workshop program to a more comprehensive and systematic, non-formal, continuing education program. The planning activity will take place in conjunction with the 2005 VSA annual conference. During the planning meeting, content and process will be examined and the end result will be a plan that includes recommended content, competence and a flexible, creative delivery mechanism. The project will directly addresse the informal learning infrastructure as the need for understanding the processes and products of informal learning, and as outcome-based evaluation becomes increasingly important due to the ever growing interest in program accountability. Once this program is in place it will serve those mid-career professionals who recognize visitor studies as a profession with its own body of knowledge, principles and ongoing research. It will serve those who are interested in research in informal learning and evaluation regardless of how they came to be in the field or how their job relates to evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Butler, Barbara Lawrence Bell Visitor Studies Association OH Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 74940 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0443645 January 1, 2005 Conference on Mathematical Circles and Olympiads. This proposal is for a conference to bring together mathematicians and educators to discuss the organization of "mathematical circles": groups of middle- and high-school students working through challenging problems and led by academic research mathematicicans. Representatives form working mathematical circles, from mathematics competitions, teachers, mathematicicians and prospective leaders of mathematical circles will be invited. Results will be disseminated on the web as well as through the circulations of a CD record of the conference. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Rossi, Hugo Mathematical Sciences Research Institute CA David C. Royster Standard Grant 29999 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0447542 September 1, 2005 CAREER: Fostering "Mathematical Practices" In Urban Classrooms: Focus On Representation And Justification. The learning of mathematical practices, that is, the specific processes that successful mathematics learners engage in when doing mathematics, such as the use of justifications and various representations, is as important in achieving high performance in mathematics as it is to know the theory of mathematics. Yet, the role of these practices in school mathematics has been peripheral at best. Many students' experience with mathematics is limited to the memorization and practice of facts and procedures and little emphasis is placed on the development of these practices. This is particularly true in diverse, urban environments where students have been traditionally under-performing in mathematics. However, recent reform efforts are calling for a shift of mathematics instruction to foster the development of such practices in all students. If these practices are to become a meaningful part of school mathematics programs, we must advance our understanding of students' development of these practices and the conditions that promote that development. While research has provided us with valuable insights on several of these practices, there has been little understanding of how these practices develop as a whole and over time especially in challenging instructional settings. I am proposing a study that will address this topic. This study will trace the development of middle school students' competencies in the mathematical practices of representation and justification and will identify conditions that influence that development. I will begin first with a broad analysis of a large number of urban students' conceptions of mathematical practices. This will be followed by a focused and detailed analysis of the development of 6th to 8th grade students, using a variety of instruments and classroom observations. The goal is to go beyond documentation of the current conditions, and to trace and understand changes in students' competencies over time. Furthermore, the study will analyze classroom-teaching practices that influence these changes. To achieve this, the students' teachers will participate in concurrent professional development activities designed to enhance their understandings of middle school students' development of mathematical reasoning and classroom practices that promote that development, and will also be studied in parallel with their students. Intellectual Merit. The proposed work addresses calls for new research programs in emerging areas, including those that attend to the development of mathematical practices. The study will lead to conceptual frameworks that coordinate social and cognitive perspectives on mathematics learning with much-needed work in the urban schools' context and in the area of middle school students' development of mathematical practices (and not only skills and facts) and how to engage in professional development for teachers that supports this. The result will be deeper insight into the forms of pedagogy and content that support student learning in urban mathematics programs. Broader Impacts. I expect the proposed work to open new avenues in the learning and teaching of middle school mathematics, in particular, in the teaching and learning of mathematical practices, in ways, which resonate with overall progressive trends in the mathematics education community. A better understanding of the processes associated with students' developing conceptions of these practices can lead to recommendations for curriculum development and instruction. This study will suggest how instruction on representation and justification might be more effectively incorporated in middle school mathematics and will provide some insights on the nature of the cognitive and social obstacles that inhibit the development of efficient mathematical reasoning in more advanced levels. The proposed research setting is situated in a major urban area with a diverse student population for whom traditional mathematics instruction has not proven fruitful. Thus, understanding how to build mathematically successful students and how to support teachers within this context can support learning across multiple and diverse student populations. Findings will be broadly disseminated to enhance the field's understanding and to assist teachers in their everyday activities. Overall, the activities of the project will directly impact the diverse urban community of New York and will mentor pre-service teachers and graduate students who are members of underrepresented groups. Finbarr C. Sloane Ph.D. Program Director REC: ROLE & IERI REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stylianou, Despina CUNY City College NY Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 823772 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0447611 May 15, 2005 CAREER: Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics: The Impact of Mathematics Courses on Prospective Elementary Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge. The proposed program of research focuses on the mathematics prospective elementary teachers have opportunities to learn during their undergraduate education and what they actually learn as a result of their mathematics courses. Although research has identified the problem of teacher knowledge as a significant contributing factor in the generally inadequate quality of K-6 mathematics education, more is known about what teachers do not know than about what they know or have had opportunities to learn. This study will look across institutions and states to examine what prospective teachers are being taught and what they are actually learning. The project will investigate both opportunities to learn and learning from undergraduate mathematics courses through a set of multi-method, multilevel case studies. The work will include an analysis of textbooks written for undergraduate mathematics courses for prospective elementary teachers; an examination of textbook topical coverage and how that correlates with states' mathematics student learning standards; surveys of mathematics departments and instructors of those courses in selected states; case studies of selected courses at institutions within the states; and pre- and post-assessments of student (preservice teacher) learning in those courses. The focal mathematical domains will be multiplication, fractions, and reasoning and proof. This research will contribute to understanding whether prospective elementary teachers are exposed to content that they need for successful teaching, and whether they are learning that content. The findings will include whether, and to what extent, instructors are teaching content that contributes to mathematical knowledge for teaching. This is new research in areas about which little is known, with important implications for teacher education. The proposer's education plan includes teaching undergraduate mathematics courses for elementary teachers at Michigan State University using two approaches currently supported by the Mathematics Department and using that teaching as a site for studying opportunity to learn and teacher knowledge. She will revise a course to introduce PhD students to theoretical and practical issues in assessing teacher knowledge and opportunities to learn. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR McCrory, Raven Michigan State University MI James S. Dietz Continuing grant 608150 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0447676 May 1, 2005 CAREER: Inquiry Teaching and Learning: Connecting Research and Practice. Bobby Jeanpierre, an assistant professor in the College of Education, Department of Teaching and Learning Principles teaches undergraduate science methods, and graduate level courses integrating mathematics and science education. The PI.s teaching and researching interests are intricately link to the overall goal of this CAREER AWARD, which is to significantly impact science teaching in diverse (50% or more students on free and reduce lunch) school settings. The PI embeds inquiry practices in all of the courses she teaches. The PI's current research projects are embedded in inquiry teaching and learning. The research foci are: 1) Lockheed Martin Mathematics and Science Program (LMA) 2) .Transition to Mathematics and Science Teaching (T-MAST), 3) stream video production, and 4) virtual field trip evaluation project. The PI conducts research on the classroom experiences and practices of in service (LMA) teachers and novice alternatively certified (T-MAST) teachers. The stream video project is the development and research into .best practices. in science teaching for students with learning disabilities. The PI works along side an Exceptional Education Specialist to develop the content for the streaming videos. The PI provides formative and summative evaluations for the development of a virtual field trip project. Taken collectively, these varied research projects are all interwoven with one common theme, the use of science reform and inquiry practices in teaching and learning in diverse school settings. Through this CAREER proposal, the PI seeks to extend the teaching and researching components to include a Historically Black College University. Hence, the PI intends to combine past international collaboration and national research experiences and current research interests to advance the understanding of inquiry in diverse settings. The PI brings these research interests and experiences together to define a focus for her central career goal, which is to significantly contribute to the effectiveness of science teaching and learning in diverse school settings. Intellectual Merit: .Inquiry Teaching and Learning: Connecting Research and Practice. Seeks to contribute to our knowledge and understanding of inquiry and science reform practices implemented in K-8 diverse schools. To accomplish this goal several questions will be answered: 1) What are teachers. beliefs about inquiry-based instruction in diverse school settings? 2) How do teachers implement inquiry-based instruction? And 3) Do teachers use a variety of reform science-based classroom instructional practices in diverse settings? Embedded in these research questions is a closer look at teachers. goals, purposes, practices and why they choose to implement inquiry in diverse school contexts. Broader Impact: This project examines inquiry and reform science practices as implemented in diverse settings. Hence, an important focus is the examination of inquiry in diverse schools and collaboration across and between schools and universities. Therefore, a strong collaboration with a .Historically Black College University will be established. The expected products of this proposal include: 1) the development of video of teachers. inquiry classroom instructional practices in diverse schools, which will have a Web-based streaming component, 2) a cadre of doctoral students of diverse cultures and interests who gain the knowledge and skills to conduct research in diverse contexts, and 3) publications in international, national, and state journals. The learning that results from this project has the potential to increase our understanding of effective inquiry practices as implemented in a variety of diverse school settings. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI HIST BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIV DRL EHR Jeanpierre, Bobby University of Central Florida FL Celestine Pea Continuing grant 711855 7625 1666 1594 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0447878 May 1, 2005 CAREER: University Determinants of Women's Academic Career Success. What university policies and practices are relevant to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of female academic scientists and engineers, and how do they affect career development? The project will: 1) develop a longitudinal contextual database of faculty recruitment, retention, and advancement-related personnel practices in Research Extensive Universities; 2) describe and characterize faculty-related personnel practices in this academic sector; 3) link the contextual database to individual-level data; and 4) develop statistical models to test academic career trajectories within and between academic institutions. The public-use database will be of interest to scholars working in the area of gender, scientific careers and university organizational behavior by providing 1) data that can be linked to individual-level data for statistical analysis that accounts for contextual factors; and 2) data that can be used for descriptive analysis of the personnel and career-development practices of Research Extensive Universities. The research will enhance the ability of policy makers and administrative leaders to understand how the organizational contexts of universities foster conditions of equitable academic career development The study will enable the principal investigator to develop methodological techniques that integrate the use of longitudinal and multilevel data. The research will result in the development of a graduate-level statistics course that is not currently available at Georgia Institute of Technology. The curriculum for the course is likely to be of interest to professors at other institutions as well, and will be disseminated through a professional association and on the Internet. The research team will be comprised of graduate students, undergraduate students, and public K-12 STEM professionals during all phases of the CAREER award. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gaughan, Monica GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 208851 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0448163 October 1, 2004 The Status of Research on Learning Science within Informal Education Settings -- A Planning Grant. The Center for Education's Board on Science Education (BOSE) of the National Academies will plan and host a one-day planning meeting to examine the status of research on learning science within informal education settings. This planning meeting will help leaders in the field of informal learning think about the current state of research and evaluation and help them conceptualize a synthesis study on research in informal learning settings. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Moon, C.Jean National Academy of Sciences DC David A. Ucko Standard Grant 74995 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0448176 July 1, 2005 CAREER: Physics Education Research and Contexts of Student Learning. Why do university students exit courses capable of solving difficult analytic problems (e.g., calculate current in a complex circuit), but are unable to explain the same content conceptually (e.g., which light bulb is brighter in such a circuit)? Which educational activities address this challenge and why? Building on the well-established foundations of physics education research that have focused on student cognition, curriculum design and course practices, this research program establishes another perspective from which we may understand student learning in physics: one that emphasizes learning in context. That is, how and what students learn depends not only on traditionally conceived content but also upon the formation of tasks, class environments, and broader institutional structures in which the content is embedded. Such a perspective begins to explain a host of research questions, such as the one listed above, and is directed at understanding sustainable and scalable models of reform in physics education. This project coordinates two levels of research on the role of context in student learning: the level of individual students and the level of course activities. Many of the associated research questions are new in physics (e.g., examining the effects of having students teach others in order to learn) while others augment existing lines of research (e.g., the role of computer simulations in the classroom). Collectively, these investigations provide a framework for understanding each of the individual research studies, as well as the portability of the results of these studies to other environments. Furthermore, their coordinated outcomes will result in meaningful models of context in student learning, which will serve as the foundation for long-term research in this area. This research is designed to improve educational practices in physics and to better understand how to make them sustainable and scalable. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Finkelstein, Noah University of Colorado at Boulder CO Sue Allen Continuing grant 479902 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0448319 April 15, 2005 CAREER: Learning about Learning. The proposed project will investigate methods of building web-based intelligent tutoring systems that teach as they assess. The project focuses upon the creation of a system to help 8th grade students learn math for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Survey (MCAS). The system provides what the PI and his colleagues at CMU call assistments: individual pieces of computer-generated tutoring that combine assessment of learning with scaffolded assistance to the students such that as they receive individualized computer help, teachers can monitor, in real time, precisely the kinds of difficulty students are having and what progress they are making. The project will have 5 main research thrusts: In the first research thrust, designing cognitive models, the PI will use methodologies such as difficulty factors analysis and learning factors analysis in order to create good-fitting models that can predict student learning and transfer. In the second research thrust, inferring what students know and are learning, the PI will study novel model learning and inference mechanisms in order to try to predict when learning and transfer occur. This effort will entail combining psychometric methods with intelligent tutoring systems. In the third thrust, optimizing learning, the PI will focus on discovering what pedagogical strategies used by teachers lead to better learning by students. Through the iterative refining of his models, he will devise mechanisms that select problems that maximize the ratio of expected test-score gain to the expected time needed for completion. In the fourth thrust, informing educators, the PI will study how best to present information from the finer-grained model to teachers. In the final thrust, allowing user adaptation, the PI will attempt to provide a means for allowing K-12 teachers to design the pedagogy used in an intelligent tutoring system. On his website, he will provide the research team's current "best hypothesis" of an ideal 8th grade intelligent tutoring system. Teachers will be able to adapt the system for their own uses, changing existing assistments or creating new problems for their students. The hope is that such systems could eventually be made available to large numbers of teachers. REESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Heffernan, Neil Worcester Polytechnic Institute MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 646075 7625 7180 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1187 1045 0448649 July 1, 2005 CAREER: Developing a Mathematical Knowledge Base for Teaching and Learning Generalization in Basic Algebra at the Middle-Grades in Urban Contexts. Intellectual Merit The proposed study develops a mathematical knowledge base for teaching and learning generalization in basic algebra at the middle school level in an urban context. It involves analyzing children's generalizing processes based on individual and social activity. Classroom teaching experiments shall be developed, implemented, tested, and revised with the goal of articulating models of generalization in children. The project shall also address relevant instructional strategies and factors that will enable children to learn about the generalizing process, including ways the factors can all be coordinated properly so that teachers are able to provide their students with successful experiences. The study shall start with a class of 5th graders in a school in California whose thinking processes will be closely monitored for one semester. If it is possible, the same group of 5th graders will be investigated longitudinally for a period of four years. The overall theoretical framework of the study is drawn from an emergent perspective in which children's strategies of generalization are viewed as being constructed from individual and social processes. Further, the instructional theory of realistic mathematics education (RME), developed at the Freudenthal Institute, will be used in the design of classroom teaching experiments. The study has a developmental research focus. Children will perform activities that will allow them to engage in complex chains of reasoning and signification leading to the emergence of models for generalization. Also, classroom teaching experiments are developed using a development cycle. This cycle assumes a symbiotic relationship between instructional theory and actual practice. Data sources include video recordings of all classroom and small group discussions, audiotape recordings of project meetings and debriefing sessions with participating teachers, copies of student's written work, and individual clinical interviews. Data analyses of individual and collective learning in a classroom community shall use a method developed by Cobb, Stephan, McClain, and Gravemeijer (2001). Broader Impact The integrated research and education plan involves developmental research activities. The first activity concerns the development of structures of generalization among urban middle school children, including usable instructional theories that middle school teachers in such contexts may be able to adapt in their own classrooms. The five-year project is school-based and will be conducted in a collaborative partnership with teachers and their students who agree to participate in the study. Classroom teaching experiments will be designed, tested, and revised with a particular emphasis on how instructional resources and the classroom social context can be coordinated so that students succeed in algebra-related tasks involving generalization. The middle school mathematics curriculum provides the important formal foundation in algebra that needs to be strengthened at least in the area of formulating generalizations so that students are able to successfully transition to high school algebra. In the second activity, an ongoing circular process of describing, analyzing, and testing of strategies that children employ to generalize will be conducted in order to establish developmental models. Research-based and classroom-tested instructional materials that contain lessons and analyses drawn from the two activities shall be prepared and disseminated for public use by way of: presentations in various research and teachers. conferences; presentations in faculty in-service programs in urban middle schools; incorporation of research findings in various mathematics education courses in the university and in professional in-service programs with the aim of developing urban teachers whose instructional practices have been drawn from research; journal articles for teachers and researchers; CDs; and a website that will include activities, think pieces, and relevant publications in order to provide all teachers, students, and concerned stakeholders with ways in which to assist all middle-school students develop effective generalization skills. The proposed project shall also benefit from a diverse panel of experts whose expert knowledge has been drawn from having extensively worked with children in local, statewide, and international contexts. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Rivera, Ferdinand San Jose State University Foundation CA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 428857 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0449247 September 1, 2004 Cyberlearning Workshops for EHR. There is growing interest in creating the cyber infrastructure of tomorrow. The various disciplines supported by NSF are rapidly moving forward with their plans to define the cyber infrastructure for their disciplines. The Computing Research Association and the International Society of the Learning Sciences propose to host a series of workshops to explore where we are in the application of pervasive computing power to education, and where we need to be. The expected outcomes of this workshop series include both a snapshot of current work and a map of where strategic investments can be made in creating the learning environments of the future for education research and applications. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Bernat, Andrew Computing Research Association DC John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 199089 7180 SMET 9177 0450090 December 15, 2004 SGER: Teacher-adapted versus linguistically simplified items in the testing of English language learners. This project addresses the validity of academic achievement measures for English language learners (ELLs) and the need for effective approaches to testing these students. In this study, we will examine the dependability of measures of mathematics achievement produced by two forms of accommodation for ELL students: linguistic simplification and teacher adaptation. In the former, a team of professionals modifies the wording of the items with the intent to reduce their linguistic demands; then a single set of modified items is given to all students in the target population of ELLs. In the latter, teachers modify the wording based on their knowledge of the language used in their communities; then students from each community are given local versions of the adapted items. While effective, linguistic simplification has produced only modest results in reducing the impact of language on ELL performance on tests. The effectiveness of teacher adaptation has just begun to be investigated. Evidence thus far shows that this promising form of accommodation is sensitive to subtle but important variations due to language. In this project, we will assemble a test composed of 30 mathematics items. From this original version of the test, we will create two versions, linguistically simplified and teacher-adapted. ELL students who are native speakers of Spanish will take the same set of items in two of these three versions (original and linguistically simplified, original and teacher adapted, or linguistically simplified and teacher adapted). We will assess the effectiveness of the two forms of accommodation by examining the differences between the mean scores obtained by the students on the linguistically simplified and teacher-adapted test versions and between each of these versions and the original version of the test. Also, based on generalizability (G) theory "a theory of measurement error" we will assess the dependability of the scores obtained with each test version and the number of items that are needed with each test version in order to be able to make valid generalizations about the students' knowledge of the domain. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Solano-Flores, Guillermo American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences DC James S. Dietz Standard Grant 99987 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0450138 September 1, 2004 Current and Emerging Realities in Mathematics and Science and Their Implications for Education Policy: A Conference Proposal. The Education Commission of the States proposes to hold a small, invitational conference to explore the role of public policy in facilitating the connection of research to practice in the teaching of science and mathematics. The conference will bring together state and local policymakers with mathematics and science educators and researchers with an end toward developing ongoing avenues of communication aimed at both increasing understanding of each others roles and needs and to enhance their ability to work together to improve both public policy and mathematics and science education. The product of the conference will be a set of proposed approaches/findings that will be distributed to the wider policymaker and mathematics and science educator communities. It is anticipated that these findings will identify topics warranting further exploration that will be addressed in follow-up projects. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Allen, Michael Charles Coble Education Commission of the States CO Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 99676 7271 1666 SMET 9177 0450208 September 1, 2004 An International Working Conference: Addressing the Transfer Dilemma. The investigator would hold a working conference to discuss how ideas are transferred. The primary goal of this conference is to address the theoretical and methodological issues raised by recent critiques of transfer and to develop a research agenda to guide further empirical work. An enduring goal of education has been to provide learning experiences that are useful beyond the specific conditions of initial learning. However, researchers' progress in understanding and supporting the generalization of learning has been limited due to methodological and theoretical problems with the transfer construct. Numerous critiques of transfer have contributed to a growing acknowledgement that there is little agreement about the nature of transfer and the nature of its underlying mechanisms. The intent of this conference is to reach sufficient agreement on the theoretical and methodological issues in defining transfer so that research can proceed productively. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lobato, Joanne San Diego State University Foundation CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 41864 1666 SMET 9177 0450663 September 1, 2004 SGER: Exploratory Analysis of Mathematics Conceptual Learning (EAMCL). A significant challenge in mathematics education is the explication of the development of new mathematical conceptions on the part of students. The current reform is predicated on our capacity to provide students with rich and improved opportunities to learn mathematics based on a coherent knowledge of how mathematical concepts develop in students. The PI argues that the Mathematics education community is, in general, moving forward without an adequate understanding of how learners develop new concepts and that this shortcoming is severely limiting the success of efforts to design high quality curricular materials, carry out effective mathematics teaching and improve mathematics education. To goal of this SGER proposal is to bring some redress to this situation. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Simon, Martin Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 149796 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0450794 January 1, 2004 CAREER: Learning Entropy and Energy Project (LEEP). Absent an adequate language to talk about change and the direction of change, science curricula are fundamentally constrained to over-emphasize static constructs like taxonomies and memorized sequences of events. In contrast with these over-simplified, statics-based curricula, the world students live in is complex and dynamic. A fundamental disconnect is created between what learners know of their world and the current statics-based science they are taught in school. In addition to moving toward a math of change strand in school curricula and early university curricula (e.g. early non-calculus sciences), a full dynamics-based curriculum needs to address the directed-ness we experience in the world around us. When we get up in the morning, energy always flows from our warm feet to the cold floor and never the other way around. The second law of thermodynamics the entropy law is the only law of science that allows learners to understand the directed-ness of physical process. Replacing statics-based curricula with a full dynamics-based reform depends vitally on being able to talk about change but also on being able to talk about the direction of change. Recent educational innovations related to the early introduction of the math of change e.g. the use of motion detectors and powerful simulation software are starting to find their way into significant curricular reform. Unfortunately, entropy related fundamental research, materials development, and course-work aimed at advancing the dynamic-based understanding of all learners is all but non-existent. This grant is aimed at addressing this critical missing element in pursuing dynamics-based reform. Over a decade of entropy-based research and innovation leads me to believe that entropy ideas can be incorporated into learning about energy dynamics early on in science education, that entropy can be taught in a way that is cross-disciplinary and cross-level (from the very small to the very large), and that moving in this direction not only advances student understanding of entropy but that the ability of all students to better understand and succeed, at virtually all levels of their science learning, is significantly advanced. Although I intend for this entropy-focused work to impact science learning from late elementary through the wide range of undergraduate science courses, my primary focus will be on two critical junctures in students' lives relative to formal science learning: early high school and early university level work. Coming into these junctures many students are "still in the game" and are interested in further science study. Coming out of these junctures many students decide to leave, especially students from under-represented groups. Courses taught at these levels will serve both as testbeds for the efficacy of entropy-based learning and as research settings. In schools, I will focus primarily on the state-mandated, ninth-grade Integrated Physics and Chemistry course. At the university level I will focus on a newly developed undergraduate science course titled Entropy and Energy that I will co-teach with a research physicist who is also Co-Director of the completely restructured and rapidly growing new secondary certification program called UTeach. Domain courses, such as this, in the new UTeach program are to model Standards-based teaching at the university level. Research insights related to student learning as such learning with entropy will be integrated with my newly developed Knowing and Learning course that is the first required education course for all the UTEACH students. Through the establishment of a work circle of teachers in schools, through the establishment of a brown-bag seminar series at the university, through research presentations and publications, and through the development of a Learning Entropy and Energy (LEEP) website, this project is intended to support a larger conversation related to the efficacy and significance of learning about and with entropy as a vital part of moving towards a dynamics-based curriculum for all students. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stroup, Walter University of Texas at Austin TX Karen F. Zuga Continuing grant 247419 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0450850 September 1, 2005 Minnesota Worm Watch: Educational Tools and Training for Non-formal Educators on Exotic Earthworm Invasion. The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is requesting $74,982 to provide public understanding to the research results and methods related to the impacts of European earthworm invations in the hardwood forests of Minnesota. Dispite commonly held beliefs that earthworms are beneficial to ecosystems, research results indicate that the invation of European earthworms into previously worm-free hardwood forests has a serious effect on both plants and animals. This project provides training and support for non-formal educators to initiate and maintain monitoring and survey activities related to exotic earthworm invasions in their communities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION POP & COMMUNITY ECOL PROG DRL EHR Frelich, Lee Ken Gilbertson Cindy Hale University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 74982 7259 1182 SMET EGCH 9177 9169 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0450978 September 1, 2004 Content Knowledge and Teacher Preparation Paper for University Presidents. This proposal will develop a policy paper on the relationships among teacher knowledge, teacher education and student learning. The paper will be the basis of discussions at the Secretary of Education's meeting of IHE presidents in October, 2004. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Coble, Charles Education Commission of the States CO Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 15000 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0451266 October 1, 2004 Future Inventors, Researchers, Scientists and Teachers: An Urban Program of Johns Hopkins University and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) and the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) are interested in investigating ways to get more high school students interested in the sciences. In this research there is a need to know how a research university and its corporate partners motivate students to consider their academic and career options in STEM through an abbreviated research mentoring. In the program teams of students, teachers and expert mentors will participate in an urban initiative pilot to understand, document and assess how to create a long-term model for other school systems across the United States. The program consists of a group of conferences that is based on mentoring by professionals in Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM) fields and by Inventors in the same areas of expertise. Existing teachers involved in the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program from the Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) around the USP sites will bring their students to the conferences. The project provides a collaboration between NSF's Engineering and Educational Directorates through the Engineering Research Centers that involves teachers in the RET program and the USP program. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Abts, Leigh James West Brenda Wojnowski Johns Hopkins University MD Joseph Reed Standard Grant 195187 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0451732 October 1, 2004 An Exploratory Study of Relationship between Educational Reform Practices and Student Achievement in the Urban Systemic Intiatives. This proposal requests grant funding for a small-scale, exploratory study designed to develop new analytic tools for examining the relationship between strategies for systemic reform of urban educational practices and student achievement. The research outlined in this proposal builds upon work that Westat has been performing for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Systemic Initiative (SI) programs over the past 8 years. Specifically, Westat proposes to collect trend data that can be used to characterize the range of activities that have received support under the various Urban Systemic Initiative projects. Westat also plans to conduct case studies and other analyses to explore the relationship between specific educational reform practices and student achievement. Specifically, the proposed research represents a venture into emerging and potentially transformative research ideas, as well as application of new approaches to an established research topic i.e., the exploration of new methods for assessing the link between educational reform and student performance on accountability assessments. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Silverstein, Gary Xiaodong Zhang Westat Inc MD Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 200000 7347 SMET 9237 9177 0451933 March 1, 2005 Astronomy from the Ground Up: Building Capacity in Smaller Informal Science Education Institutions. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) will develop and test a new model of informal science education professional development to help small museums increase the public's knowledge and interest in astronomy. The lead collaborators in addition to ASP are the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) and the Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC). The project deliverables include 1) workshops for approximately 240 informal science education (ISE) practitioners in 180 small ISE institutions delivered both on-site and through distance learning 2) hands-on astronomy activity toolkits and 3) an on-going "community of practice" network. The project development team includes representatives from small ISE institutions (Randall Museum, CA; Lakeview Museum of Arts and Science, IL; Stamford Museum & Nature Center, CT) as well as others. This project has the potential for making a strategic impact on the ISE field with its research on the use of distance learning compared to on-site professional development workshops INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Manning, James Wendy Pollock Stephen Pompea Astronomical Society of the Pacific CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2005603 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0451942 October 1, 2004 Study of Student Achievement Trends in the Urban Systemic Program. The COSMOS Corporation has served as an external evaluator for the Urban Systemic Program (USP) since its inception in FY1999-2000. To date a nearly completed cross-site evaluation has been conducted on the first two cohorts of the USP. The emerging data show that the USP has positively impacted STEM education in urban schools (and improved student achievement) across the first two cohorts. Funds are requested to ensure that evaluative efforts span the entire portfolio (cohorts 1-3) to provide a longer-term perspective for education reform over a number of years. In addition, the proposed project will allow the researchers to test the construct validity of reform measures to ensure that the instruments used adequately and accurately assess the worth and merit of the systemic reform. URBAN SYSTEMIC PROGRAM DRL EHR Yin, Robert Darnella Davis Cosmos Corporation MD Celestine Pea Standard Grant 399873 7347 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0452128 July 1, 2005 How Do We Know What We Know? Resources for the Public Understanding of Scientific Evidence. This project is designed to improve communication between scientists and the public focusing on the role of evidence in science. It is a two-year project that includes: 1) implementing a national survey on the public use of science web sites; 2) conducting a national Science Education Outreach Forum bringing together scientists and informal science educators; 3) implementing workshop sessions at a national conference to disseminate lessons learned from the survey and Forum; and 4) developing a prototype website on the role of evidence that will be evaluated for audience engagement and understanding. This project builds on the Exploratorium's prior NSF-funded project (ESI#9980619) developing innovative strategies using the Internet to link scientists and the public using Webcasts, annotated datasets and interactive web resources. Project collaborators include the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Palmer Station, Scripps Oceanographic Institute, FermiLab and the Society of Hispanic Physicists among others. The research and evaluation of the project has the potential for strategic impact by providing new information and models on how science centers can more effectively use the Internet to improve communication between scientists and the public while engaging learners more effectively. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Semper, Robert Exploratorium CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1493336 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0452246 March 15, 2005 Science Firsthand. Firsthand Learning, Inc., in partnership with the St. Louis Science Center, the National Wildlife Federation, and eNature will implement "Science Firsthand," a unique collaborative program that will enable young people to participate in long-term scientific investigations in life,earth and physical sciences, as well as technology. Youth ages 10-15 will partner with adult mentors to conduct scientific investigations under the auspices of professional scientists. Community-based organizations will identify youth to participate in the program, while informal science institutions will provide laboratory space and needed materials for investigations. Students will present their findings at a Young Investigator's Conference held each fall. Deliverables for this project include an implementation manual for community-based organizations, a professional development seminar for community-based organizations and informal science institutions, and the "Science Firsthand" website. This project will result in the creation of 1,225 co-investigator teams in Buffalo, NY, St. Louis, MO, Newark, NJ, Detroit, MI, and Seattle, WA. Secondary participants will be supported online by eNature, resulting in an additional 3,000 team members. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dow, Peter Diane Miller William Rogers First Hand Learning, Inc. NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1588277 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0452301 April 1, 2005 Community-based Multicultural After-school Science Discovery Program Targeted for Urban Youth. This five-year project is designed to provide urban youth in grades 4-8 with innovative, hands-on science experiences in an after-school environment that will enhance their science competencies, while increasing the capacity of after-school leaders. In Years 1-3, nine science modules will be developed, field-tested and evaluated in collaboration with 12 after-school programs in Boston, Massachusetts, serving diverse populations of low-income youth. Each module includes a full color activity book, comprehensive facilitation guide and guidelines that enable students to share results of their investigations on the project website. Topics to be addressed include electricity, planets, invention and habitats. A comprehensive training program will include training for coaches who will provide assistance with the implementation of science modules and offer ongoing professional development for after-school providers. In Years 4-5, the project will be disseminated to after-school programs in Los Angeles, CA, Columbus, OH, and Philadelphia, PA. Additionally, the PI will partner with the National Institute on Out of School Time (NIOST) to disseminate the project nationally using the Cross-Cities Network. All materials will be printed in both English and Spanish, while the website will offer the option of downloading materials in a variety of other languages. It is anticipated this project will serve more than 3,000 youth and 400 after-school providers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Zuman, John Intercultural Center For Research In Education MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1471188 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0452371 June 1, 2005 Nanotechnology: The Convergence of Science and Society. Oregon Public Broadcasting is requesting funds to produce three one-hour nationally broadcast television programs, a project website, community-centered outreach coordinated by AAAS in 7 U.S. cities, a seminar discussion guide and a series of 90-second programs as part of the "Earth &Sky" radio series. The subject and purpose of the project is to attract public interest in nanotechnology by examining the social, ethical, legal and environmental issuers surrounding its application. The television programs will be produced by Fred Friendly Seminars (FFS) and broadcast on PBS. Two science museums, Boston Museum of Science and the South Carolina State Museum, and the University of California, Berkeley, will host the FFS panels. The format of the Seminars is designed to produce thought provoking and nuanced discussions of contemporary issues. Collaborative partners in the project include AAAS, Lawrence Hall of Science and ICAN Productions. The outreach initiative includes outreach to "targeted stakeholders" in 7 US cities, four 90-second radio spots as part of Earth & Sky, a project web site and a Seminar discussion guide. Inverness Research Associates and Edu, Inc. will conduct both formative and summative evaluation of the project components. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Needham, Cynthia David Davis Oregon Public Broadcasting OR Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2080571 7259 SMET 9177 7452 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0452417 April 15, 2005 Vanishing Voices. Ironbound Films, Inc. is producing a one-hour PBS television documentary, with ancillary Web site, curriculum and program guides about the causes of language loss, how it affects science and how scientists are responding. Vanishing Voices takes viewers from Native Siberia to Native America, from ancient texts to cutting-edge technology, to demonstrate how scientists record -- even help revive -- the world's tongues. Vanishing Voices is the first film about language loss that addresses the issue as important to science. The ancillary program guide will be designed for use by Native Americans who are interested in studying or reviving their languages. A formative evaluation of the program and a summative evaluation of the program and outreach materials will be conducted by RMC Research Corporation. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This program is supported in conjunction with the NSF/NEH Interagency Partnership to Document Endangered Languages. The topic is timely and compelling. The production team is well qualified, and they have sought out the support and involvement of the linguistic community and Native Americans involved in reviving their languages. BROADER IMPACT: The project has the potential to educate the public about the crisis of language loss, the scientific and cultural value of linguistic diversity, and the ways in which that diversity can be maintained. With the program's use in classrooms and the program guides targeted to Native Americans, the project has the potential to inspire young linguistic students to get involved in field work and to encourage Native American communities to work with scientists in preserving their dying languages. The teachers guide will imbue science material into the social science curriculum. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION LINGUISTICS DRL EHR Miller, Daniel Seth Kramer Ironbound Films, Inc. NY Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 518230 7259 1311 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0452419 April 1, 2005 The Impact of Informal Science on Girls' Interest, Engagement and Participation in Science Communities, Hobbies and Careers: A Research and Dissemination Project. The Franklin Institute (TFI), in collaboration with the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), will conduct a research effort that explores the role that informal science learning plays in supporting girls' long-term interest, engagement and participation in science communities, hobbies and careers. Five longstanding programs for girls, begun 5-20+ years ago, will be the focus of the proposed study and include the National Science Partnership (NSP), Girls at the Center (GAC), Wonderwise, and Women in Natural Sciences (WINS). The selected study projects have access to girl participants who are high-school aged or older and represent diverse race, ethnicity and SES. A national Research Advisory Council will ground the investigation and review the findings at each stage of the research. The Community of Practice (CoP) literature (Lave and Wenger, 1991) will provide the theoretical frame for the overarching research question. Findings will document long-term impacts of girls' participation in identified informal science programs, determine how informal contexts in general contribute to girls' science learning and achievement, and develop a model for understanding the impact of informal science learning initiatives. Deliverables will include specific examples of informal learning experiences that support girls' long-term participation in science and evidence of the types of influences, including significant adults and particular activities, that contribute to girls' trajectories of participation. Dissemination tools will be a national conference, a research monograph and a series of workshops conducted in conjunction with professional conferences for informal science educators. By better understanding the impact of informal programs in science, specifically and more generally, and by developing and demonstrating an effective model for understanding such impact across projects, the proposed research stands to inform the field and provide a base for future project development and research efforts. The research results will improve the understanding of practice in these arenas and will document the significant role that informal programs place in influencing girls' vocational and avocational choices and participation in STEM fields. The study will also demonstrate the applicability of the CoP research model and its lessons to other informal science programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McCreedy, Dale Lynn Dierking Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1205758 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0452485 February 1, 2005 ZOOM 8/Hot Spot. WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting funds to produce 20 new shows and new outreach and Web activities for "ZOOM," which will be renamed "Hot Seat." "Hot Seat" is a daily half-hour PBS television series targeted to kids ages 8 to 11. Uniquely by and for kids, the program gives its viewers a chance to explore, to experiment and to share their creativity. The series, along with its far-reaching outreach, offers its audience an innovative curriculum that promotes the acquisition of basic math and science knowledge and the development of problem solving skills called "Habits of Mind." The intended impacts are to: (1) establish a project that uniquely integrates television, the Web and outreach as a model for how media can teach science and math; (2) engage kids and teach them science and math content and process skills; (3) provide curriculum and professional development to organizational partners. Innovation includes developing three new content areas for the series -- Invention, Space Science and Earth Science -- and evolving the project design by incorporating new production techniques that enhance the "reality factor" of the science programming. Outreach for the project will include printed materials for kids, families and educators. A new collaborative partnership is being developed with the American Library Association to help distribute the new afterschool curricula to librarians across the country. "Hot Seat" will support the existing network of "ZOOM" outreach partners and convert the museum "ZOOMzones" to "Hot Seat Spots." "ZOOM" currently is carried by 269 public broadcasting stations and is viewed by 4 million children each week. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2199696 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0452550 July 1, 2005 Partnership of Playful Learners. The Chicago Children's Museum (CCM) will develop CityScape, a 2,500 sq ft permanent exhibition based on design strategies for researching and promoting adult-child collaborative learning. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This project will develop and test culturally-sensitive exhibit and program design approaches for increasing adult involvement in children's learning; explore the potential of visual documentation of learning through play to make children's progress more visible as well as build caregiver confidence and skills; and demonstrate exhibition design as an experimental platform for a museum-learning researcher partnership. Project partners include the Chicago Metropolitan YMCA, Dept. of Psychology at Northeastern Illinois University and the Erikson Institute of Chicago. BROADER IMPACTS: The exhibition and accompanying materials have the potential to serve 1.8 million people over three years. In addition, CCM also will create a partnership of 20 museums and science centers based on parent involvement in children's museum experiences. The Informal Science Education field will be advanced through exploration of this model for integrating exhibition and program development with basic and applied educational research, accompanied by the application of visual documentation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Cohen, Tsivia Louise Belmont-Skinner Chicago Children's Museum IL Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1691180 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0452567 April 1, 2005 Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute: Professional Development Opportunities for Informal Educators. The "Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute" is a three-year project to increase the capacity of museum educators and exhibitors to design and implement technology-integrated inquiry activities for the public. The collaborators include the Exploratorium, MIT Media Lab, Science Museum of Minnesota, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Explora Science Center and the Children's Museum of Albuquerque. The deliverables include a portfolio of technology-rich activities, professional development institutes, online educator resources and a handbook of pedagogical design principles for museum educators. This project builds upon prior NSF supported work that developed the PIE Network, which among other things developed the "cricket," an inexpensive computer that makes informal learning inquiry activities more compelling. This project has the potential to impact both the theory and practice of informal science education in museums. It will implement new theories and tools that represent a new approach to engaging and supporting visitors' learning experiences using play and experimentation that mirrors the processes of laboratory investigation. It also provides an innovative model of collaboration that develops and implements a major complex project by bringing together science centers with unique and complementary expertise. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Petrich, Mike Colleen Blair Karen Wilkinson Kristen Murray Exploratorium CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1987626 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0452582 October 1, 2004 Workshop on the Social Psychology of Survey Participation. This proposal asks for funds to convene a multi-disciplinary workshop to address the social psychology and social cognition underlying survey participation. The goal is to expand on recent theory and research in social psychology related to persuasion, cooperation, motivation, person-perception, and interpersonal interaction, to examine the issue of survey nonresponse in detail. In order to realize this potential, the investigators would convene a workshop of 15 to 20 individuals from the fields of social psychology, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, statistics, and survey methodology. A workshop that runs for three days and takes place in a retreat setting would allow the participants to get to know one another well and encourage the development and exchange of ideas. Workshop proceedings would be recorded, and a report prepared for publication. To prepare for the workshop, a planning group will write a white paper to review the theoretical perspectives that might be of relevance and to formulate a set of questions to be addressed by the workshop. The investigator propose that this planning group, (Colm O'Muircheartaigh, Norman Bradburn, Kenneth Rasinski, Jon Krosnick, and Robert Groves) meet to formulate the agenda for next year's workshop and decide on the participants. SCIENCE RESOURCES STATISTICS METHOD, MEASURE & STATS DRL EHR O'Muircheartaigh, Colm Norman Bradburn National Opinion Research Center IL James S. Dietz Standard Grant 51450 V852 8800 1333 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0452611 September 1, 2005 The DNA Files III. SoundVision Productions proposes to develop five one-hour radio documentaries, five five-minute features, and a website to inform a diverse public about the important advances in genomics and related sciences. Each of the new topics represents a rapidly developing field within genomics rarely covered in depth by the media. Those topics include systems biology, neurogenetics, RNA and Immunology, and Individualizing the Genome. The DNA Files will provide public radio listeners and web site users informal education in the genomic revolution and follow-on research and technology, its scientific underpinnings, and related social, philosophical and legal issues. The project will offer audiences an awareness of the societal benefits of research and the intellectual tools to join in legal and social policy debates. A collaboration with the Exploratorium will extend the reach of the project through the development of a "DNA Workshop Kit", a series of four or five hands-on workshops for the general public that can be produced at the Exploratorium and other science museums around the country. A comprehensive outreach strategy will be implemented by 20 local public radio stations around the country in partnership with community organizations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Scott, Barinetta SoundVision Productions CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1229339 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0454022 March 1, 2005 Effective Use of Mathematical Instructional Materials. This EDC project will implement a landscape study designed to understand mathematics curriculum leaders' needs for research that informs their decision making. The proposed project aims to identify and organize research that is most useful to K-12 mathematics curriculum decision makers and to develop improved mechanisms for them to make good use of such research. Products will include research reports and an annual seminar. The goal is to create an infrastructure designed to support K-12 mathematics leaders in their efforts to better use research to inform curricular decision-making processes. The project will address three primary audiences. The first and broadest is district, regional and state curriculum leaders responsible for designing and managing the selection and implementation of mathematics instructional materials. These include people in positions such as mathematics supervisors, curriculum coordinators, assistant superintendents of curriculum and instruction, state mathematics directors and leaders of regional consortia providing curriculum support to local districts. The second audience is teacher educators in graduate and undergraduate mathematics education programs who work with developing teachers and administrators. The project's third audience is the mathematics educational research community, particularly those conducting studies of mathematics curriculum, its use and its effectiveness. The project will host an annual research seminar to discuss the challenges of curricular change and related research. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Mark, June Deborah Spencer Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1799925 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0454526 June 1, 2005 Engineering is Elementary: Engineering and Technology Lessons for Children. The "Engineering is Elementary: Engineering and Technology Lessons for Children" project is developing lessons to engage students in grades 1-5 in engineering activities integrated with their science lessons. The project addresses the need to develop a broad understanding of what engineers do and the uses and implications of the technologies they create. At the heart of engineering is an understanding of the engineering design process -- a flexible method of solving problems that is parallel to the inquiry process in science. The goals of the project are to increase the level of technological literacy of the students and to increase the understanding of technology and engineering of elementary teachers in order to enable them to teach these subjects to their students. The project is developing 16 units, each of which includes an illustrated storybook, teacher background materials, teachers guide, assessment tools, student duplication masters, quick cards, references and resources. The instructional effort is strengthened by the project website, posters, teacher professional development materials and overviews for administrators and other stakeholders. By creating and testing lessons that are closely integrated with elementary science topics and linked to popular and effective science programs, the project strengthens the science program while introducing key engineering concepts and fostering positive attitudes toward engineering in ways that include girls and boys from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The project seeks to expand children's images of engineering and to broaden their interests and expectations for the future. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Cunningham, Christine Ioannis Miaoulis Nancy Yocom de Romero Kate Hester Museum of Science MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 2725620 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0454631 February 1, 2005 SPARCS: Standards- and Preconceptions-based Assessment of Reform Curricula in Science. The project proposes to develop multiple choice items and instruments to be used to measure the understanding of grades 5-12 students on selected NRC standards in physical and earth/space science for grades K-4 and 5-8. Instead of traditional multiple-choice items the project team will use existing knowledge based on student alternative conceptions to develop misconception-based diagnostic tests. These tests will use as distractors the alternative conceptions that students often have in regard to scientific concenpts. The project will move through a series of well designed steps in terms of item generation, expert review and validation, instrument piloting, larger field tests and finally use instruments in pilot studies to determine if students who have been using particular curricula met particular NRC standards as measured by these new instruments. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Sadler, Philip Harvard University MA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1190671 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0454715 June 1, 2005 Interactive Virtual Intelligent System for Scientific Inquiry in a Biology Learning Environment: Project INVISSIBLE. The proposed project will develop, test, refine and evaluate an intelligent, interactive, multimedia system. This intelligent tutoring system will provide high school biology students a virtual, hands-on, multimedia learning environment. Specifically, this project is designed to: 1) Develop an innovative curricular approach for scientific literacy in biology that is driven by national standards. The curriculum is based on the three pillars of scientific understanding to increase student learning regarding: (a) knowledge acquisition of content, concepts and principles relevant to genetics, forensic science and the biology of evolution; (b) relevant scientific process skills and knowledge; and (c) knowledge of nature and methods of science. 2) Develop an intelligent tutoring system that has the capacity to (a) create authentic multimedia scenarios for self-directed, hands-on learning, (b) monitor a student's performance and modify pedagogical strategies based on a dynamic assessment of the learner and (c) provide adaptability to bridge interactions between teacher and learner understandings. 3) Create an exportable Project Development Model that includes design and development processes, stakeholder inputs, formative assessments and feedback loops. 4) Disseminate achievement of the above goals to science and educational communities. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Butz, Brian Susan Miller Temple University PA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 843895 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0454739 March 1, 2005 A Longitudinal Comparison of the Effects of the Connected Mathematics Program and Other Curricula on Middle School Students' Learning of Algebra. This project will compare the effects on algebraic learning when using the Connected Math Program to the effects of using other (non-NSF supported) middle school mathematics curriculum materials at the middle school level. The research questions to be addressed by the project are: What are the similarities and differences between the intended treatment of algebra in the CMP curriculum and in the non-CMP curricula? What are the key features of the CMP and non-CMP experience for students and teachers, and how might these features explain performance differences of CMP and non-CMP students? What are the similarities and differences in performance between CMP students and a comparable group of non-CMP students on tasks measuring a broad spectrum of mathematical thinking and reasoning skills, with a focus on algebra? The algebra focus skills/concepts to be assessed are: conceptual understanding and problem solving; algebraic manipulative skills; solution strategies, representations and mathematical justifications. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Cai, Jinfa John Moyer University of Delaware DE Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2406555 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0454740 April 1, 2005 Developing New Types of Structured Performance Tasks: Improving Large Scale Assessment Methods for Measuring Middle School Science Learning Across a Diverse Population. This project develops and investigates the feasibility of a new methodology for performance assessment that will enable its use in large-scale tests. This computer-based approach (a variant on an intelligent tutoring system) focuses on explicit measurement of inquiry skills using a large-scale format. The project focuses on the explicit measurement of inquiry skills and processes that connect content domains for which there are less clear outcomes. Statistical modeling techniques (based on the work of Mislevy) express how observable variables depend on the knowledge, skills or abilities of the examinees. The project measures across the middle school science content areas of physical, earth and space, and life sciences. Tasks will be developed and piloted with students from a wide range of backgrounds. This is conceived as Phase I of the project. The PI will then submit Phase II that will investigate the viability of these products to perform as expected in middle school classrooms INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Kopriva, Rebecca Karen Samuelsen University of Maryland College Park MD John S. Bradley Continuing grant 0 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0454754 May 1, 2005 Model Chance: A Technology-rich Environment for Learning Probability. This project will develop and publish probability modeling software along with supplementary curriculum materials for middle school. The project will draw on the research and personnel of several current and recently completed projects that have been researching how students reason and learn about probability through a modeling approach. The computer models developed would expand the possibilities for student learning about stochastic processes. Three major products will result from this project: (i) commercially developed probability simulation software; (ii) published replacement units for traditional texts, using computer simulation to teach probability; and (iii) a data bank of assessment items for researchers and classroom teachers, to evaluate the development of the big ideas in probability. Development of the materials will proceed using 'backward design'. The actual programming will be done under a subcontract to an experienced technology firm. The developers have assembled a team of experts in mathematical probability, mathematics education, learning theory and software design. They will do pilot and field tests in two school districts serving diverse populations, and have a good plan for using the feedback from these experiences. A formative evaluation will scrutinize the development process, while an independent summative evaluation will investigate the results of implementations in the field test sites with respect to student achievement. Commercial publishers have already expressed interest in the project. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Konold, Clifford University of Massachusetts Amherst MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2750215 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0454755 June 15, 2005 Sensitivity of NAEP to the Effects of Reform-based Teaching and Learning in Middle School Mathematics. The project will assess the validity of the NAEP in mathematics by testing the adequacy of the NAEP for detecting effects of mathematics education reform (using the "Connected Mathematics Program") by comparing student achievement on the NAEP, state assessments (Arkansas' use of the ITBS and the Colorado state assessment), and the NSF supported "Balanced Assessment in Mathematics (BAM)." The project hopes to determine whether large-scale assessments are sensitive enough to monitor instructional impacts on higher-level cognitive abilities (what the BAM purports to assess). This work is a joint effort between the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and two divisions (REC and ESIE) within the NSF. The project hypothesis is that the NAEP will be more effective than traditional multiple choice tests (ITBS in Arkansas and a state assessment program in Colorado), but not as effective as BAM in capturing student learning gains (and performance in process areas) in Connected Mathematics Program (CMP) classrooms. Such results have the potential to advise if not revise the NAEP and state assessment programs. Given the November, 2004, Loveless report (Brookings Institute) that critiques existing assessments for having an insufficient number of arithmetic NAEP items, this research may provide useful scientific evidence about the role and importance of such items within assessments and curriculum. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stancavage, Fran Donald McLaughlin Lorrie Shepard American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences DC Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 508517 7645 7355 1666 SMET 9177 9152 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0454767 March 1, 2005 Instructional Materials for Teaching Science through Virtual Environments. The North Dakota State University World Wide Web Instructional Committee (WWWIC) is funded to develop two multiuser, interactive virtual environments (IVEs) -- the "Geology Explorer" (where students land on a foreign planet to identify rocks and minerals, and build models of geologic structure), and "On-a-Slant" (a virtual reconstruction of a Native American earth lodge village that students explore while learning archeology and anthropology). The former has been used in college level courses and will be adapted to secondary schools; the latter is a new environment under development for the same level. IVEs have been rigorously studied with college level students and the results indicate that IVE students perform higher on various assessments than those exposed to a more traditional instructional approach. The project has three explicit goals. They are to alter or construct the IVEs to be age-appropriate for 6-12 grade level students by increasing scaffolding and intelligent software tutor capabilities and providing embedded assessment tools; to design standards-based curricula supplementing for both IVEs for middle school and high school classrooms; and to develop a series of online workshops designed to train secondary teachers on the IVE software, familiarize them with the curriculum materials and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas for additional lesson plans and/or software adaptations. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Schwert, Donald Brian Slator Jeffrey Terpstra Lisa Daniels Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat North Dakota State University Fargo ND Michael Haney Continuing grant 727282 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0454770 April 1, 2005 Inquiry-based High School Biology Using Sea Urchin Fertilization and Development. This project uses sea urchin embryos to provide a curriculum module for inquiry-based high school biology. The curriculum is provided via a new open access website, addresses several of the National Science Content Standards and provides a range of activities suitable for all levels of high school biology. The curriculum, through the website, will also provide instructional support materials such as video demonstrations, animations, time lapse videos and image galleries relevant to each exercise. Also included will be substantial material for professional development, including descriptions relating each activity to the national content standards, discussion of major ideas and concepts and links to additional pertinent resources. For each lab concept, five types of activities will be developed: classroom wet labs, virtual wet labs, web-based bioinformatics labs, data manipulation activities and activities for accessing the primary scientific literature. Each activity provides an independent lesson and teachers will be able to create a custom module for one to six weeks of biology curriculum in Grades 9-12. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Epel, David Stanford University CA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 528935 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0454772 February 1, 2005 Calipers: Using Simulations to Assess Complex Science Learning. This two-year demonstration project would develop on-line simulation-based tasks to assess middle school students' higher order learning, focusing on those skills associated with the ability to manipulate and analyze data. The development team includes assessment experts from SRI, researchers from the Concord Consortium and the staff of the Technology Enhanced Learning in Science (TELS) Center for Learning and Teaching. The project's goals are (1) to develop and field test several prototype assessments linked to national standards, (2) to examine the economic and logistic feasibility of these tasks for use in the classroom and (3) to explore scaling the simulation tasks to a level suitable for standardized testing. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Quellmalz, Edys Geneva Haertel Angela DeBarger SRI International CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 799989 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0454795 August 1, 2004 Sisters in Science in the Community. Temple University's "Sisters in Science in the Community (SISCOM)" is a constructivist-based, inclusive youth/community project targeting underrepresented urban middle and high school girls in grades 6-10 and their families; it supports inclusion of girls with disabilities. It engages girls and their parents in hands-on, inquiry-based sports science in after-school, Saturday, and summer programs co-hosted by community-based organizations and Temple University. Girls will also be engaged in student-centered research projects guided by female scientists. With regard to intellectual merit, SISCOM is based on previous research done by Temple on methods for engaging girls and their parents in STEM activities. The infrastructure of research and practices in education will be facilitated through the sharing of information between the network of partners and the national community of formal and informal educators INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hammrich, Penny CUNY Queens College NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1287225 7259 SMET 9177 0455133 September 30, 2004 "EHR-STEM Technical and Administrative Support"<br>T & M, CP-FF. UNDISTRIBUTED PANEL/IPA FUNDS NSF PLANNING & EVALUATION EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES CCLI-Phase 3 (Comprehensive) INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM PROGRAM EVALUATION INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION NANOTECHNOLOGY UNDERGRAD EDUCA CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN MATERIALS CENTERS & EDUCATION RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI SPECIAL STUDIES AND ANALYSES DRL EHR Mitchell, Susan GUARDIANS OF HONOR MD Deh-I Hsiung Contract 2996210 9199 9170 9150 7493 7355 7271 7261 7259 7219 7181 1736 1666 1385 SMET OTHR 9178 9177 0000 0455232 October 1, 2004 Preparing a Culturally Diverse and Culturally Responsive Generation of Evaluators: A Workshop to Design a Proposal for Advanced Training. This project builds on an established need for greater accountability, oversight, and management of public resources and specifically the need for substantive evaluation in educational programs funded by federal agencies in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematic (STEM) education disciplines. A particular locus of need for evauluation capacity builing that the project addresses is the need for more culturally diverse and sensitive pool of evaluators. However, the difficulty in building such a pool rests in part of the dearth of graduate training programs in general and of faculty in evaluation from traditionally underrepresented groups in particular. An additional obstacle to such capacity building is the lack of highly dveloped frameworks for curricula, classroom experiences, and internship experiences that are grounded in culturally responsive evaluation. The project proposes to take development of such a framework to higher levels and to produce a model that has potential fo major innovations in how we train and levels and recruit evaluators in graduate degreee and non-degree programs to work effectiveley in cultural settings. The mechanism for this development is a two-phase plan of which the current project is phase one. The first activity in phase on is a two-day workshop to discuss issues, challenges, and strategies for including relevant recruitment and training in culturally responsive evaluation. Participants in the workshop will be representatives from graduate degree and certificate programs who have been successful in their recruitment of and training for culturally repsonsive evaluation. The second activity in the first place is the production of synthesis of information from the activity and a propsal for submission to the National Science Foundation for implementing (and presumably conducting research on) advanced training utilizing the framework. This activity in the new funding would constitute the second phase. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hood, Stafford Arizona State University AZ Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 99993 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0455286 October 1, 2005 Out on a Limb -- Forest Canopies. The "Out on a Limb -- Forest Canopies" exhibit will educate people about forest canopies, and illustrate the challenges of canopy access by scientists. A traveling rain forest diorama -- with scaled models of scientists exploring the canopy, and accompanying graphic panels and interactive activities -- will circulate to community venues in southwest Florida, increasing public awareness of how forest canopies are important to life on Earth. Canopy research provides a highly visual, exploratory approach to scientific inquiry that can be effectively communicated to the general public and school groups. Based on research funded by NSF, (DEB-0228871), this project was funded as part of the Communicating Research to Public Audiences program. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM STUDIES DRL EHR Lowman, Margaret New College of Florida FL Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 74945 7259 1181 SMET EGCH 9177 9169 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455322 January 1, 2005 Seeing and Understanding: Gordon Conference, Workshops, and Mini-Grants to Guide Visualization Research in Science and Education. This 3-phase project brings together 120 leading international researchers and science educators for: Two workshops on assessment and visualization tools; a Gordon Conference on Visualization in Science and Education; and five collaborative Mini-Grants for exploratory research across learning communities. Support from NSF will leverage substantial contributions from participants and others to set directions for visualization research in the US and globally. The growth of a unique, sustainable multidisciplinary research and development community will be promoted. The interaction between visualization practitioners in chemistry, physics, and biology and researchers in cognitive and learning science initiated in previous workshops will be extended and deepened. Physical and biological scientists who employ visualizations in research and teaching will continue to be exposed to the cognitive science perspective, while cognitive and learning scientists will continue to grapple with the research challenges posed by new forms of visual representation in the sciences. Outcomes of Mini-Grants will guide future visualization research across learning communities. Research collaborations in visualization will be extended to several critically important new interdisciplinary fields. Special emphasis will be placed on visualization in nanotechnology and 3D-navigation in genomics and systems biology education. Practitioners in scientific research and education will workshop with cognitive and learning researchers to tackle the issue of how to assess the effectiveness of new forms of visualization in concrete design and assessment contexts. This will help establish a cycle in which the cognitively-informed design of visualizations is followed by careful evaluations of effectiveness, which in turn lead to the further refinement of the designs. The diverse learning communities at the conference will work together to enhance public understanding of science through visualizations. Finally, American researchers and educators will work with other global visualization leaders to share best practices around the globe and learn from each other. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lisensky, George Peter Mahaffy Beloit College WI Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 145206 1666 SMET 9177 0455359 July 15, 2005 Project TEACH - CWU: Targeted Science Instruction for Future Teachers. Under a prior grant from NSF, Green River Community College developed an interdisciplinary, inquiry-oriented science content course for students intending to teach in elementary and middle schools. The current project assesses the effectiveness of that course, as well as the community college experience, in influencing teachers' beliefs about the nature of science and their use of inquiry-based pedagogies in their own K-8 classrooms. The intellectual merit of this project is its unique focus on community college students. This student population represents approximately half of future teachers, but is under-represented in research on teacher training and practice. Subjects include students who begin their education at a community college and complete a teaching certificate through several pathways. These students are being followed throughout four years of preparation and into the K-8 classroom. One group of subjects comprises Green River students enrolled in a pre-teacher preparation program who take the inquiry-based interdisciplinary science series. A second group (control group) comprises students whose preparation has been more traditional. Both groups then merge into year three of a four-year program housed at Central Washington University, where they take science methods courses. These groups of students are being followed from the first year of college to the K-8 classroom to assess how their beliefs about the nature of science evolve. In addition, the classroom practice and use of instructional materials of teachers who belong to both the experimental and control groups is being assessed. The use of a cross-sectional design allows subjects to be assessed at various points along this teacher preparation continuum. Findings on the influence of interdisciplinary, inquiry-based science courses on teacher beliefs and practices will be broadly applicable to community colleges and four-year institutions. The outcomes advance our understanding of how best to prepare SMT teachers. In addition, the role of community colleges in SMT teacher preparation is being addressed, with the potential of expanding the model of interdisciplinary science courses to other community colleges nation-wide. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Whitfield, Mary Bruce Palmquist Robert Filson Leslie Heizer Green River Community College WA Joan T Prival Continuing grant 299853 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455403 June 15, 2005 Toward Developing Sound Computer Science Curriculum Standartds for K-12 in the United States. ACM's Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) is funded to provide guidance and recommendations on the future of computer science in US schools. They will assemble a panel of US and international curriculum development experts in the field of computer science. The panel meets during a special session at the 2005 National Educational Computing Conference (June, 2005). In addition to the US experts, participants from Canada, South Africa, Israel and Mexico are participating as representatives of countries that have focused efforts to formalize the computer science curriculum. The goal of the panel is to use the insights and experiences of the participants to build frameworks and recommendations to guide current and future development of CS materials in the US. The panel's dialogue will be transcribed, published and widely disseminated as a white paper development of curriculum materials. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Stephenson, Christine Association Computing Machinery NY Michael Haney Standard Grant 70289 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455569 July 1, 2005 Professional Development Matrix Framework (PDMF): A One-Stop-Shop. This project will develop and distribute widely a resource for professional development providers and science teachers. This is a novel concept because it will provide a "one-stop-shop" for professional development. The online resource is a database that brings numerous individual resources together. The user of this website will locate exemplary lesson plans using a matrix that offers lessons by concept and research-based best practices. The project helps fill a void of a centralized site where teachers could go to access high-quality tools. An existing website will be extended and adapted to provide a matrix for science teachers to access specific lessons for the purpose of introducing best practices and models of standards-based instruction. The project team will expand and test an interactive, web-based tool that customizes professional development content to district and professional development needs, and connects best science teaching practices with science content standards and professional development standards. The online format can be easily disseminated and available to anyone that has access to the Internet. It could be used extensively at universities and for classroom teachers. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Owens, Katharine Carin Helfer University of Akron OH Joseph Reed Standard Grant 150000 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455572 July 1, 2005 The Advanced Mathematics for All Project (A-MAP): Technology-mediated Support for Teachers Throughout their Careers. This proposal is submitted under category B (Resources for Professional Development) of the TPC solicitation. The Dana Center of the University of Texas at Austin proposes to create a system of online and face-to-face support services to strengthen the teaching and learning of Algebra II. The resources will make use of technology, will differentiate support for teachers in various stages of their careers and aim to serve teachers of under-achieving populations of students. Support will be provided for four critical aspects of a teacher's work: Instructional planning, instructional delivery, instructional outcomes assessment and professional capacity development. A comprehensive work plan includes pilot testing, revision and field testing. Dissemination will begin in the fourth year of the project with web publication of the materials. In addition, presentations will be made at national conferences and articles prepared for publication. Evaluation, both formative and summative, will proceed through structured surveys, interviews and site visits. Materials will be reviewed by content experts. Teacher learning will be assessed in a novel way, with the development of protocols for observing teachers in their analysis of student work. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Treisman, Philip Uri Susan Hull University of Texas at Austin TX John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1492703 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455573 May 15, 2005 Developing Inquiry-based Instruction Skills. With prior NSF support, an inquiry-oriented science content course was developed for use in a teacher-training program at Northeastern State University. The current proposal seeks to assess the effectiveness of this course by examining the use of inquiry strategies by teachers who graduated before and after the couse was redesigned. This project aims to study the effectiveness of science courses reformed to include inquiry strategies, and the impact of school context on teaching practice. The purpose is to document the knowledge and skills of Expert Teachers who effectively use inquiry-based instruction. This research will compare the effectiveness of in-service teachers who have taken the reformed science content course to teachers who took the non-reformed course in earlier years. Both groups will be compared to selected expert teachers. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Adams, April Monica Macklin Renee Cambiano Northeastern State University OK Terry S. Woodin Standard Grant 299002 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455582 July 1, 2005 The Impact of Online Professional Development: An Experimental Study of Professional Development Modalities Linked to Curriculum. This five-year research project is designed to enhance understanding of how online professional development environments contribute to teach learning, changes in classroom practice and changes in student learning in comparison to face-to-face professional development. Using secondary school teachers learning to use a reformed-oriented environmental science curriculum (Looking at the Environment - LATE), groups of teachers will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions. These are: (1)a traditional face-to-face workshop, (2)self-guided online professional development, or (3)online professional development guided by a facilitator and structured as a "short course." The content of the professional development is held constant over the three conditions and the online aspect is based on previous research and development activities (Knowledge Networks On the Web - KNOW). Various measures are used to assess impact including: (1) teacher backgrounds and beliefs surveys, (2)written tests of teacher concept knowledge, (3)post-professional development interviews, (4)classroom observations of teachers enacting the curriculum and (5)student learning measures based on the curriculum materials. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Fishman, Barry Daniel Edelson Spyridon Konstantopoulos University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Michael Haney Continuing grant 2532358 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455610 August 15, 2005 Ensuring Quality Mathematics Instruction for GED Students: A Professional Development Model. This is a four-year project submitted under category B (Resources for Professional Development) of the Teacher Professional Continuum solicitation. It will develop, pilot and field test an approach to standards-based mathematics in-service professional development, using recently developed standards and curriculum for the Adult Basic Education system. The model will be piloted and field tested with mathematics teachers in seven states, whose students are in adult education and functioning approximately on a 4th to 8th grade level. The model uses teacher inquiry and reflective learning to engage teachers in designing and implementing effective mathematics instructional approaches for algebra and data analysis. The project goals are to (1) enhance teacher content knowledge and instructional skills; 2) document teacher learning; and 3) produce a professional development model that can be replicated nationally. The project will build on the development team's prior work in the areas of adult learning and teacher professional development. An external evaluator (University of Tennessee's Institute for Assessment and Evaluation) will conduct formative and summative evaluations, examining materials to be produced, teacher learning and effects on student learning. Dissemination will proceed through websites and national data bases, as well as reports at national conferences. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Bingman, Mary Beth Mary Jane Schmitt University of Tennessee Knoxville TN John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1272375 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455637 June 1, 2005 Entering the Guild: The Effects of Teacher Professional Community and Professional Development on New Teachers and Their Students. This research project examines the impact of participation in various types of science-rich professional development activities and affiliations with a larger science educator comunity on the science knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and classsroom practices of novice science researchers. Specifically the program follows a diverse population of novice middle and high school science teachers and their students as they participate in programs offered through the Exploratorium. The outcomes provide data regarding the importance of specific components of professional development programs that are the most effective in supporting the induction of science teachers. The project uses collaboration between an informal science education insitution and a research university to carry out the research. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Shore, Linda Suzanne Wilson Exploratorium CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2452876 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455664 July 1, 2005 Learning to RECAST Students' Causal Assumptions in Science Through Interactive Multimedia Professional Development Tools. This resource development project would produce multimedia PD tools to help teachers identify students' naive science explanations and encourage their replacement by accepted scientific explanations. The proposed products would be interactive, multimedia professional development tools to guide middle school physics and biology teachers in assessing students' scientific explanations. The project's goals are to identify students' faulty explanations and then develop curriculum that will guide the process by which they recast their explanations to align them with accepted scientific ideas. This work builds upon a prior NSF-funded project entitled "Understandings of Consequence." TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Grotzer, Tina Harvard University MA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1383472 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455679 June 1, 2005 Policy Research Initiatives in Science Education (PRISE) to Improve Teaching and Learning in High School Science. This proposal is a request for support for a five-year program for the Policy Research Initiative in Science Education to Improve Teaching and Learning in High School Science (PRISE) at Texas A&M University (TAMU) to use a systems approach to link educational research with policy development. The overarching goal is to provide the State of Texas and the nation with results that will lead to the development of an articulated and coherent system of continuous professional career development that improves the quality of science teaching and makes significant contributions to reducing the current national shortage of qualified high school science teachers. Basically PRISE proposes to answer the essential policy research questions for the high school science teacher professional continuum in Texas: (1) Where are we? (2) Where do we want to go? and (3) how can we get there? TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Stuessy, Carol Timothy Scott James McNamara Texas Engineering Experiment Station TX Julia Clark Continuing grant 2414082 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455685 July 15, 2005 Change Associated with Readiness, Education and Efficacy in Reform Science (CAREERS). The CAREERS study brings together researchers from education, psychology and the sciences and scholar-practitioners to examine the factors that, once understood, can be addressed in the preparation of both pre-service and in-service teachers to guide elementary children in exploratory and inquiry-based science lessons. The overarching goal is to develop models that describe the interconnections among key constructs in order to reexamine the content of elementary science methods courses, mentoring for early career teachers, and professional development opportunities and coaching for teachers all along the Teacher Professional Continuum. The main constructs of interest in this five-year study are beliefs about science teaching, science content knowledge, readiness to change teaching practice, teachers' sense of efficacy in teaching inquiry-based science and transfer and fidelity to elements of professional development. CAREERS is examining these beliefs, attitudes and knowledge for 300 pre-service teachers and 500 mid-career teachers. Additionally, science teaching practice is being examined for all 300 pre-service teachers during the science methods course with a follow-up on 60 of these teachers through student teaching and 30 through their first two induction years. The science teaching practice of the 60 mid-career cooperating teachers who supervise these student teachers is also being studied. The study design provides a longitudinal view of teacher development that examines teaching effectiveness at critical transition points (i.e., from science methods through student teaching and to induction) and how eight hypothesized factors influence fidelity to methods taught in an inquiry-based methods course. A randomized study examines the influence of characteristics of cooperating teacher mentors (their degree of experience with inquiry based instructions) on continued success on the student teachers in maintaining their inquiry approach to teaching. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Young, Betty Barbara Sullivan Barbara Nowicki Minsuk Shim Paul DeMesquita University of Rhode Island RI Joan T Prival Continuing grant 2247148 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455708 June 1, 2005 Ongoing Professional Development in Mathematics. Under this proof-of-concept project (category B of the TPC solicitation), the proposers would work with Rice University to create technology-enriched professional development modules in mathematics that deliever the same content and instructional strategies as found in exisiting face-to-face delivery models. The target audience is upper elementary school teachers in low-income communities. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Perkins, Nadine Carlos Solis Lawrence Clark Project GRAD USA TX Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 179951 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455710 August 1, 2005 Lesson Study for Successful Science Teaching: Creating Science-specific Accommodations for Students with Learning Disabilities?. This proposal describes a research project to investigate the extent to which a lesson study professional development program for both special and general educators will help improve science teaching to grades 3-6 special education students who are in inclusion classrooms. The study would look for evidence of changes in classroom practice and in the students' participation and achievement. The research population includes 48 special and general education teachers from three urban schools in the treatment group and 30 teachers in the comparison group. The authors hypothesize that pairing both teacher populations in lesson study will help create more effective accommodations for students with mild learning disabilities. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Mutch-Jones, Karen Gillian Puttick Daphne Minner TERC Inc MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1468993 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455711 June 1, 2005 What Influences Teachers' Modifications of Curriculum?. This proposal acknowledges the fact that despite curriculum developers' best efforts to ensure faithful implementation, teachers often make modifications; reordering, skipping or adding lessons, changing an "exploration" into a lecture, and so on. This project pursues three related research questions: What types of modifications do teachers make (and why), which types of modifications best help students learn, and how do teachers' modifications change in response to professional development activities designed to help them become more attuned to students' thinking? To pursue this research in collaboration with teachers, the project will conduct professional development activities based on a successful model from a previous project. Three teams, each consisting of nine high-school physics, biology or ecosystems teachers of diverse student populations (Montgomery and Baltimore Counties in Maryland), will meet twice a month to discuss video snippets from their classes, collected with the help of project staff. Discussions will focus on students' thinking and on how and why teachers modified curricula. Data to be collected and methods used to address the research questions include triangulating between data sources that include videotapes of teachers' classes and team meetings, interviews with teachers and test results from their students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Hammer, David Alan Berkowitz Andrew Elby Janet Coffey University of Maryland College Park MD David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1453677 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455735 July 15, 2005 Research on the Effectiveness of the Observing for Evidence of Learning Professional Development Model for Improving Grades 6-8 Science Instruction. The project partnership, composed of the Institute for Systems Biology, four Seattle area school districts, the University of Washington, Seattle Pacific University and RMC Research Corp., proposes a four-year, randomized and controlled study of the effectiveness of the Observing for Evidence of Learning (OEL) professional development model in increasing student learning of standards-based science curriculum for grades 6-8. OEL will employ an adaptation of the successful Japanese Lesson Study program, a highly structured school-based professional development program. The program is based on a successfully implemented Local Systemic Change program (MASE) in Las Vegas, NV. Representatives from Las Vegas will serve in an advisory capacity. Further, representative teachers from Las Vagas and Seattle will travel to each other's school systems so as to ensure continuity of the program. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Hood, Leroy Institute for Systems Biology WA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1414351 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455744 August 1, 2005 The Organizational Sources of Mathematics and Science Teacher Turnover. The research project is a three-year study to investigate mathematics and science teacher turnover and retention framed using an organizational perspective. The objective of this research project is to empirically address three related research questions: 1.) What are the sources of mathematics and science teacher turnover? 2.) Why do particular types of schools, especially those in urban, high-poverty and high-minority communities, have higher levels of mathematics and science teacher turnover? 3.) What impact do preservice teacher preparation, beginning teacher induction programs, inservice professional development and teacher assignment have on the turnover and retention of mathematics and science teachers? To address these research questions the project team will analyze data on public secondary-level mathematics and science teachers from the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and its supplement the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS). This project builds on an established record of prior research by the principal investigator with existing large-scale data from teachers. It seeks to expand our knowledge in regard to a set of important, but not well understood, issues central to the goals of the Teacher Professional Continuum Program: What characteristics of districts and schools, especially those serving disadvantaged students, impact their ability to retain qualified mathematics and science teachers? Prior research shows that if schools are to ensure that qualified mathematics and science teachers teach all students, as the No Child Left Behind Act mandates, then they must focus more on improving teacher retention. This project seeks to provide research results that will help provide direction to policymakers and school leaders on how best to proceed in doing this, especially with mathematics and science teachers and especially in disadvantaged schools, as the existing research has provided limited direction. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Ingersoll, Richard University of Pennsylvania PA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 800654 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455749 April 15, 2005 Low Science and Math Teacher Retention: Causes, Consequences, and How Some Urban Middle and High Schools Are Making Progress. This project is a three-year exploratory study on schools that have low- and high- retention rates in an urban school district. This research will address low teacher retention for science and math teachers by comparing the policies and practices of high- and low-retention middle and high schools, and by examining the explicit and hidden costs associated with teacher turnover. The specific goals of this project are to (1) identify school and district policies and practices associated with high retention rates, (2) determine whether there are differential effects of successful retention policies for middle and high school science and math teachers, and (3) develop a comprehensive model of the cost of teacher turnover. The anticipated outcomes of the project include: 1. Profiles of the six high- and six low-retention middle and high schools included in the study, 2. A cross-school analysis that describes the policies and practices associated with high- and low- retention schools and how they differentially affect math and science teachers, 3. A cost-of-turnover analysis that includes the specification of the explicit and hidden cost categories associated with teacher turnover and the application of the derived formula to the district, and 4. A plan to replicate this exploratory study in four to six urban districts across the country in order to test its findings. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Levy, Abigail Jurist Education Development Center MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 298951 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455752 July 15, 2005 Project NEXUS: The Maryland Upper Elementary/Middle School Science Teacher Professional Continuum Model. This research study involves collaboration between researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park and Bowie State University, an HBCU, to examine a multi-component pre-service model for preparing minority students to teach upper elementary and middle level science. The treatment consists of (1) focused recruitment efforts by the collaborating universities; (2) a pre-service science content course emphasizing inquiry and the mathematics of data management; (3) an internship in an after school program serving minority students; (4) field placements in Prince Georges County minority-serving professional development schools; and (5) mentoring support during the induction year. The research agenda will examine each aspect of the intervention using quantitative and qualitative methods and a small number of case studies. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR McGinnis, James Spencer Benson Scott Dantley University of Maryland College Park MD Sharon J. Lynch Continuing grant 1605937 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455765 October 1, 2005 Building District Capacity to Improve Mathematics Learning by Students with Special Needs. This is a proposal to create two professional development courses, with both on-site and online versions to build capacity of middle school teachers of mathematics and special educators and their administrators to enable students with disabilities to be successful mathematics learners. During the five years of the project, one eight-session course for classroom teachers and their special education colleagues and a six-session course for school administrators will be developed, tested and disseminated. Training Institutes for course facilitators will be developed to prepare cohorts of facilitators to teach these courses locally and nationally and to receive ongoing support through a Facilitaros online learning community. A dissemination strategy is planned with an anticipated target of 6,000 teachers and an initial cadre of 172 facilitators. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Gross, Fred Education Development Center MA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1497969 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455767 October 1, 2005 Curriculum Planning for Integration and Convergence (CPIC). Curriculum Planning for Integration and Convergence (CPIC) is a two-year project to create and pilot a new web-access database and curriculum planning tool run by Life Lab Science Program and the University of California at Santa Cruz professional development project. The website will offer resource materials in curriculum planning that integrate content with English Language Development (ELD: adaptation of the ELA standards for language learners) and support state and national standards in mathematics, science, english language arts, ELD and history/social sciences. The website will encourage elementary teaching that integrates content areas and secondary teaching using convergence or integration for more coherent student learning. The website will reinforce institute and workshop training to link teacher goals and student assessment. During the planning process, teachers will be pointed to linked sites that deepen their content knowledge. The research contribution will be to examine the ability of an innovative website offering curriculum-planning tools to improve teaching to all students. Research will evaluate the effectiveness of the resources both with and without face-to-face development contact. The website will be designed to ensure that mathematics and science content is accessible to the widest possible student population. With these supports teachers will be able to serve differentiated classrooms, becoming especially effective in their ability to teach rigorous content to language learners. Given the growth of English Learner (EL) populations, this pilot has the potential to serve a need that is increasing dramatically in national significance and scale. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Freitag, Sandria Bruce Cooperstein Jerome Shaw Life Lab Science Program Inc CA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 194995 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455772 April 1, 2005 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PATHWAY II: Addressing the Needs of the Nation's Physics Teachers through State-of-the-Art Video Applications and Contemporary Pedagogy. This project builds upon the prototype Physics Teaching Web Advisory (Pathway), which was designed to demonstrate the ability to address issues related to the lack of preparation of many physics teachers, and to provide resources that can enliven even the most expert physics teachers' classrooms. Pathway's Synthetic Interviews and related video materials are beginning to provide pre-service and out-of-field in-service teachers with much needed professional development and well-prepared teachers with new perspectives on teaching physics. By extending Pathway to the full curriculum, teachers and their students of all backgrounds will benefit immensely. Pathway combines Carnegie Mellon University's state-of-the-art digital video library technology, pedagogical advances developed at Kansas State University and materials contributed by master teachers. This dynamic digital library for helping teachers goes beyond simply creating a collection of teaching and learning materials. It provides continuously improving assistance and expertise for teachers, all of which is related to the National Science Education Standards and to results of contemporary physics education research. CCLI-Phase 1 (Exploratory) TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Zollman, Dean Kansas State University KS David B. Campbell Continuing grant 854996 7494 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455781 July 1, 2005 Development of K-8 Teachers' Knowledge and the Transition from University Student to Professional. This research study uses Pedagogical Context Knowledge (PCxK) as a framework to examine changes in preservice and inservice K-8 teachers' understandings of science and pedagogy across a reform-based Professional Development Continuum. The Continuum consists of a core curriculum of inquiry-based science and education courses for elementary education majors, with a bridge to lesson study communities of middle school science teachers in local schools. The Continuum is intended to help teachers move from views of learning as the transmission of knowledge to views of learning as knowledge creation. The PCxK framework extends research on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) by linking intellectual transformations that inquiry-based approaches demand to transformed self-understandings that, if resisted, can block the change process. The research team of university science and education faculty and veteran teachers is using quantitative and qualitative methods to examine different facets of teacher knowledge development through a study of several longitudinal cohorts of preservice, new, and experienced teachers as aggregate populations and through case studies. This allows for comparisons among groups and individuals with different levels of participation in the Continuum and at different stages in their professional development. The project seeks to understand how teachers' knowledge develops across inquiry learning experiences and how undergraduate learning experiences and the contexts of classroom practice shape new teachers' understandings and practice. The study is expected to inform models of STEM teacher education that account for the interwoven intellectual and personal dimensions of the challenging transition to inquiry-based teaching. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Madsen, John Richard Donham Steven Fifield Danielle Ford University of Delaware DE Joan T Prival Continuing grant 2243932 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455784 May 15, 2005 Investigating Internet2: A New Channel for Science Education. This proof-of-concept project provides a test of the use of Internet2 as an infrastructure for professional development. The goal is to develop and test prototype resources for professional development that will be delivered through the Internet2. The project supports inquiry-based science practice at the middle school level using STC, FOSS and Insights curricular materials as its content framework. The use of Internet2 enables high quality access to educational resources, which may include large data sets, real-time video interactivity and high definition video on demand. These capabilities are well-suited for supporting inquiry-based classroom practices. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Elinich, Karen Wayne Ransom Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Michael Haney Standard Grant 149939 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455785 June 1, 2005 Investigating the Needs of Elementary School Teachers of Mathematics at Different Points During Sustained Professional Development. This five-year Teacher Professional Continuum Research project seeks to map a trajectory for the evolution of elementary school mathematics teachers engaged in sustained professional development. Bringing together expertise from the School of Education and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, the project is housed at the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education (CRMSE) at San Diego State University. The goal of the project is to identify and understand the evolution of elementary school mathematics teachers' changing perspectives and needs as they participate in professional development. Drawing from a pool of more than 500 elementary school teachers, the sample includes 120 elementary school mathematics teachers engaged in sustained professional development for different lengths of time. Four teacher cohorts of 30 teachers each are represented in the study as initial participants, advancing participants, teacher leaders and preservice. Initial participants are in the beginning stage of sustained professional development. Advancing participants have completed at least two years, and teacher leaders at least four years of sustained professional development. The preservice cohort provides a critical anchor for the beginning teachers' evolutionary trajectory and insights into groups at later trajectory points. Three diverse school districts in San Diego County participate in the study. The study investigates the central research question of what are the similarities and differences among elementary school teachers at three points during sustained professional development in terms of their knowledge, beliefs and practices. Project participants have been involved in Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI), an NSF-funded research and professional development effort focused on addressing children's mathematics thinking. The study employs a cross-sectional design to investigate teacher change and growth on distinct points along the trajectory. Mixed methods and triangulation of data will be utilized to analysis multiple measures of teacher growth (beliefs, knowledge and practices). The research instrumentation will involve belief surveys, content assessments, observation protocols for professional development and classroom instruction and noticing instruments to assess teacher interpretation of classroom interactions. Eight case studies provide in-depth analyses of teachers' knowledge, beliefs and practices at four distinct points of the teacher professional continuum within the context of sustained professional development: prospective teachers, initial participants, advancing participants and teacher leaders. Additionally, a longitudinal analysis of eight cases provides important information about the changing needs of teachers as they evolve from initial participants to advancing participants. Secondary to the central research question is a formative assessment on the relevance and application of the research findings to the field, specifically the community of professional development providers. The formative assessment will examine the usefulness of research findings to disparate models of professional development for both prospective and practicing teachers. Professional development facilitators and providers will participate as co-researchers in the formative assessment component and will participate in dissemination of the research findings. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Philipp, Randolph Vicki Jacobs San Diego State University Foundation CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2497257 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455786 August 1, 2005 Temple University Science Math Assessment Research for Teachers: TU-SMART. This five-year research project would study the impact of emphasizing formative assessment strategies in concurrent undergraduate methods courses and STEM content courses on the subsequent teaching practices of these pre-service teachers and their students. The study focuses on future middle school STEM teachers. It will include two treatment cohorts and a control group from Temple University, an urban institution with a 33% minority enrollment. The mixed methods research design will examine the impact of the treatment on teachers' practices during their practicum and induction years and on the STEM achievement of their middle school students. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Jansen Varnum, Susan Joseph Ducette John Schiller Judith Stull Temple University PA Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 2438317 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455795 August 15, 2005 Researching the Wireless High School: Effects on Science Teaching and Implications for Professional Development. This research study investigates the impact of the wireless environment on high school science using a purposeful sampling of schools with high implementers. Five schools will be examined and extensive data in multiple forms will be collected on each. The project uses in-depth case studies to examine context factors (e.g. technology implementation plans, school culture, extent and type of teacher professional development and teacher background) and critical interactions that may influence science instructional practice in wireless high school science classrooms. The study will result in an evidence-based and theoretically-grounded professional development model that will inform professional developers, administrators, policy-makers and teachers. The research will enable the PIs to develop a professional development model to help schools make reasonable choices about initial installation, deployment and training; and to help teachers to access digital resources with ease, select resources that will further their teaching goals, effectively evaluate the quality of a digital resource in terms of the additional value that it affords to enrich science understanding and content, develop pedagogical strategies to enable student interactivity with such resources to enrich classroom discourse and interaction, and develop strategies to use digital resources effectively in being able to assess student work. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Drayton, Brian Joni Falk TERC Inc MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1293349 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455796 April 15, 2005 Improving the Effectiveness of Teacher Diagnostic Skills and Tools. The project is a five-year professional resource development project centered on the "Diagnoser" software previously funded by NSF. The software allows for the identification of alternative conceptions that students have in multiple science content areas. Previous research had shown an increase of up to 15% in student achievement based upon using the software with students and teachers in the area of kinematics. The project is developing extensions of the software into three more content areas: Properties of Matter, Heat and Temperature, and Physical and Chemical Changes for students in grades five to ten. In addition to the software, the project is developing a framework for using diagnostic classroom tools in the delivery of professional development to deepen the subject matter content knowledge, enrich the pedagogical content knowledge, broaden the curricular content knowledge, and hone the diagnostic skills for science teachers, especially those who are new to the intentional use of assessment in science instruction. The project involves university partners, three school districts and multiple schools in the state of Washington. Approximately 20 to 50 teachers spend substantial time working the software and serve as the pilot sites for the new content modules. Additional teachers are introduced to the software and the concept of diagnostic testing both in workshops and online environments. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Vokos, Stamatis Jim Minstrell Pamela Kraus John Lindberg Lane Seeley Seattle Pacific University WA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1498480 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455797 June 1, 2005 CONCEPT: Connecting Content and Pedagogical Education of Pre-service Teachers. The primary goal of the project is to enhance secondary mathematics teacher education for pre-service teachers by developing, implementing and disseminating resources from a four-course curriculum that brings together the study of mathematics content and pedagogy. Three of the courses are problem-based technology enhanced (PBTE) courses in Algebra and Calculus, Geometry, and Probability and Statistics. A fourth course is a capstone course in Teaching and Learning Secondary School Mathematics. The courses are motivated by reform-based ideas and will depend on research on learning, standards based curricula, multiple forms of assessment and proven strategies for integrating technology into mathematics education. Curriculum materials are being tested at several pilot sites. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Lapp, Douglas Charles Vonder Embse Dennis St. John Ken Smith Azita Manouchehri Central Michigan University MI Daniel P. Maki Continuing grant 619489 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455811 April 15, 2005 Professional Development Threading Content, Pedagogy and Curriculum: A Study of Classroom Impact. The project is an exploratory research study that investigates the impact of a professional development program on middle school science teachers' ability to enact pedagogical strategies, learning technologies and materials that align with the current science and technology education standards. The professional development program has been developed based upon best practices from the teacher education literature and has separate funding from the State of South Carolina for summer institutes and follow-up activities with teachers. The three-year project involves three cohorts of 36 teachers each, all of which receive the professional development. The professional development involves increasing the science content knowledge of the participating teachers as well as giving them opportunities to use curricular materials that they will use with their students. The curricular materials are all based on innovative science materials that have been developed based upon previous research and development activities. The research project measures a variety of teacher and student outcomes based upon the teachers' participation in the professional development. Areas measured include: teacher's science content understanding, the nature of the teacher's perceptions of constructivist learning environments, observations of the teacher's pedagogical strategies and students' science content learning. The research design uses a pre-test/post-test design with two replications using different cohorts of teachers. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Singer, Jonathan Robert Feller University South Carolina Research Foundation SC David B. Campbell Standard Grant 297453 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455813 April 1, 2005 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PATHWAY II: Addressing the Needs of the Nation's Physics Teachers through State-of-the-Art Video Applications and Contemporary Pedagogical Theory. This project builds upon the prototype Physics Teaching Web Advisory (Pathway), which was designed to demonstrate the ability to address issues related to the lack of preparation of many physics teachers, and to provide resources that can enliven even the most expert physics teachers' classrooms. Pathway's Synthetic Interviews and related video materials are beginning to provide pre-service and out-of-field in-service teachers with much needed professional development and well-prepared teachers with new perspectives on teaching physics. By extending Pathway to the full curriculum, teachers and their students of all backgrounds will benefit immensely. Pathway combines Carnegie Mellon University's state-of-the-art digital video library technology, pedagogical advances developed at Kansas State University and materials contributed by master teachers. This dynamic digital library for helping teachers goes beyond simply creating a collection of teaching and learning materials. It provides continuously improving assistance and expertise for teachers, all of which is related to the National Science Education Standards and to results of contemporary physics education research. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Stevens, Scott Michael Christel Carnegie-Mellon University PA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 604400 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455819 July 1, 2005 Investigating the Meaningfulness of Preservice Programs Across the Continuum of Teaching (IMPPACT) in Science Education. Increasing national attention has been placed on the role that teacher education programs play in addressing the changing needs of teachers throughout their professional lives. The IMPPACT Project is a multi-university, collaborative research study targeted at investigating the longitudinal impact of science teacher education programs on middle and secondary science teachers and their students across critical developmental stages of the teacher professional continuum. The goal of the project is to study the formal and informal learning experiences of cohorts of science teachers at four critical points in their professional careers: 1) upon entry into science teacher education; 2) during the candidacy stage of science teacher education programs including the associated field experiences; 3) during the early induction years as a new science teacher (years 1-4); and 4) during the post-induction stage of science teaching (years 5+). Three major research universities (Syracuse University, the University of Iowa and North Carolina State University) are collaborating to empirically investigate the role that science teacher preparation plays in helping recruit, prepare and support 7-12 grade science teachers. The research generates information on how individuals develop pedagogical and content knowledge in science throughout their preservice program and professional careers, and how their needs evolve. The study is identifying the linkages between science teachers' beliefs and practices over time and how they impact student achievement scores in 7-12 grade science classrooms. The results are expected to have direct implications for how exemplary, evidence-based science teacher education programs can be created to better support science teacher development and student learning across the entire teacher continuum. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Tillotson, John Scott Samson Syracuse University NY Joan T Prival Continuing grant 2480891 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455828 August 1, 2005 Using Practice as a Site to Learning Mathematics for Teaching: Developing Materials, Approaches and Professional Community. This five-year project is submitted under category B (full development projects) of the TPC program solicitation. It is designed to build resources for helping teachers learn mathematical content in ways usable for the work of teaching. Two practice-centered packags will be developed for use in the professional education of K-8 teachers of mathematics. The packages will be usable by the existing range of teacher developers. Each package will comprise selections of records of practice and resources for their use with teachers. Teacher educators are a diverse audience, but with enough in common that the materials will address the needs of each segment of this audience. The work will be an extension of work done by the project team over the last decade. An eight-step work plan includes in-house piloting and two rounds of field testing, each followed by revision. Evaluation will include examinations of the material from both pedagogical and mathematical points of view, in both formative and summative environments. Dissemination will be closely linked to technology. Material will be posted on the web, with liberal access for legitimate use. Other higher-quality formats will be utilized and materials disseminated using the resources of the Universities of Michigan and of Georgia. In addition, dissemination will be announced through connections with NSF-sponsored CLTand LSC programs, professional organizations and national digital databases. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Bass, Hyman Deborah Ball Kara Suzuka University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1499210 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455833 June 15, 2005 Improving Earth Science Education Through Teacher Development in Regional Geology. The goal of this proof-of-concept proposal is to revise and document the effectiveness of a teacher-friendly regional geology field guide. This revision targets Earth Science teachers with limited geological background knowledge, and will enhance teachers' capacity to 1) provide local and regional examples for geology/earth science concepts and 2) facilitate the delivery of inquiry-based earth science instruction as outlined in the National Science Education Standards. The teacher-friendly field guide/inquiry materials will be adapted from the "Northeast Geology Field Guide" and developed through a summer institute format with teachers. Impact of the guide's ability to foster inquiry teaching and learning will be assessed employing a video-based analysis grounded in STAM (Secondary Teaching Analysis Matrix). TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Ross, Robert Don Duggan-Haas Paleontological Research Institute NY David B. Campbell Continuing grant 130076 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455835 August 1, 2005 "Strengthening STEM Education Through The Use of Standards-based Assessments for Robotics Competitions" -- A One-day Symposium in the Washington, DC Area, Friday, November 4, 2005. The purpose of this proposal is to establish standards and rubrics for assessing robotics competitions in the middle and high school grades. Robotics competitions are growing in popularity as a method for infusing science, engineering, and technology in hands-on activities that engage students in design and development. However, curricular materials for this field have not been developed. Through the inclusion of experts and practitioners in robotics and technology, this project will produce a document entitled "Robotics Assessment and Instructional Explanation Report" that will be available to developers and practitioners of this educational tool. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR White, Rosanne Technology Student Association VA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 197500 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455846 May 1, 2005 Project BEST: Better Education for Science Teachers. BSCS and the Center for Science Teaching and Learning at Northern Arizona University are proposing a five-year research study that determines the potential for improving the quality of teaching and learning by improving high school teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The proposal team will design and deliver a professional development program for science teachers that is based on the use of educative curriculum materials, is designed around the elements of transformative professional development, and purposefully and explicitly integrates efforts to improve secondary science teachers' content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skill, and helps them to apply this knowledge to the context of their own classroom. The outcome of this program will be research-based information about the influence of the professional development program on teachers' PCK and the related impact of PCK on student learning. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Carlson, Janet Julie Gess-Newsome Joseph Taylor Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO David B. Campbell Continuing grant 2340589 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455856 July 1, 2005 Understanding Science -- Improving Achievement of Middle School Students Through Content-Rich Professional Development Grounded in Classroom Practice. This resource development project would produce two professional development modules for middle school science teachers, one on Force and Motion (emphasizing teaching English learners) and the second on Energy and Chemical Change (emphasizing the integration of literacy). Guides for staff developers would accompany the resources. These modules will incorporate design principles used in a previously developed set of elementary science teacher resources. The pilot and field test populations include teachers of diverse student populations. Science content, ELL and literacy experts are in included in the review process. The leadership team benefits from the prior development work. A commercial publisher has expressed interest in publishing the resources. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Schneider, Steven Mayumi Shinohara Kirsten Daehler WestEd CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 899304 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0455866 October 1, 2005 Strategic Integration of Mathematics and Science. This research project studies the impact of strategic integration of relevant math and science topics on teachers' knowledge and beliefs, their classroom practice, and their students' understanding and beliefs. Teachers in a control group will receive comparable professional development in which science and mathematics are covered separately. The target population of grades 2-5 teachers comes from 20 schools in Eugene, OR, a region with a socio-economically diverse student population. The proposal hypothesizes that the strategic integration will lead to more frequent and effective use of mathematics in science teaching and improved student outcomes. The project employs both qualitative and quantitative research measures and proposes a robust dissemination plan, including outreach to rural districts in Oregon. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Baxter, Juliet David Moursund Dean Livelybrooks University of Oregon Eugene OR Joseph Reed Continuing grant 1849495 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455868 August 1, 2005 Bridging the Gap Between Content Knowledge and Practice: Improving Middle School Teachers' Content Knowledge and Classroom Practices. This three-year project focuses on scaling up the SimCalc project and emphasizes bridging mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) on proportional reasoning and argumentation as part of teachers' classroom practices. The preliminary findings from the SimCalc project suggest that the increase in teachers' content knowledge without explicit instruction in teaching strategies did not lead teachers to change their approach to supporting student reasoning. The current study is exploratory and will test the hypothesis that Bridging Professional Development (BPD), professional development that helps to bridge content knowledge and classroom practice, can effect positive teacher change and to understand how BPD can accomplish this. This exploratory study is the first of a larger research agenda; future studies will include a large-scale randomization and another that explores the impact of BPD on student achievement. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Knudsen, Jennifer Susan Empson Nicole Shechtman SRI International CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1593640 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0455877 July 1, 2005 Mentored and Online Development of Educational Leaders for Science (MODELS). The project is a five-year study centering on the need for schools to develop and sustain technology-rich, school-based professional development activities rather than rely on university-based professional development. It addresses two major challenges of implementing innovative professional development: a)transitioning professional development to schools and b)assessing its effects on teacher and student learning. It is common for research-based and technology -rich curricula to be introduced to teachers through university-based professional development programs, but its transition to schools requires careful planning, monitoring and support from the university at the initial stages. This program provides a detailed research plan to build on a university-based mentor model to design school-based approaches. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Linn, Marcia James Slotta University of California-Berkeley CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2388349 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0456124 June 1, 2005 Teacher Learning of Technology-enhanced Formative Assessment. This research study investigates the impact of the wireless environment on high school science using a purposeful sampling of schools with high implementers. Five schools will be examined and extensive data in multiple forms will be collected on each. The project uses in-depth case studies to examine context factors (e.g. technology implementation plans, school culture, extent and type of teacher professional development and teacher background) and critical interactions that may influence science instructional practice in wireless high school science classrooms. The study will result in an evidence-based and theoretically grounded professional development model that will inform professional developers, administrators, policy-makers and teachers. The research will enable the PIs to develop a professional development model to help schools make reasonable choices about initial installation, deployment and training; and to help teachers to access digital resources with ease, select resources that will further their teaching goals, effectively evaluate the quality of a digital resource in terms of the additional value that it affords to enrich science understanding and content, develop pedagogical strategies to enable student interactivity with such resources to enrich classroom discourse and interaction, and develop strategies to use digital resources effectively in being able to assess student work. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Leonard, William Allan Feldman Ian Beatty University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 2499968 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0456304 March 15, 2005 Partnership for Arts, Science and Technology Learning (PASTeL). The goal of this planning grant is to establish an innovative collaborative of arts and science institutions to enhance informal science learning in Boston. The project will create a partnership between Northeastern University, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Wang Center for the Performing Arts to enhance the delivery of informal science programming for families with children ages 5-12 using interactive programs and exhibits. The planning project will develop and prototype programs across science themes that relate to each partner's mission, while highlighting science concenpts and topics. Deliverables include a front-end evaluation, pilot programs and then preliminary design of web modules. A national advisory comittee will convene to assist with the planning process while careful study of each site will be undertaken to determine how to maximize learning opportunities for participants in the diverse learning venues. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bansil, Arun Marta Hersek Nicholas Gross Northeastern University MA Mary Ann Steiner Standard Grant 74630 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0513405 April 1, 2005 SGER: Affinity Learning Authoring Tools. The National Center for Information Technology in Education (NCITE) has developed the Affinity Learning System through a CCLI proof-of-concept grant. They report that it has proven to be a very effective educational research tool that has provided insight into student learning strategies and misconceptions. In order to build on this capability they need funding to substantially enhance and modify the programming. Such an effort will reveal if the tools can be fully implemented and if it will then serve to benefit research, inform educators and improve online education. The project objectives are to design and pilot-test an authoring interface that provides a graphical representation of lesson components and allows abstraction or information hiding to mitigate the complexity inherent in the Affinity Learning design process; and to overcome intrinsic challenges in lesson decomposition by investigating new conceptual approaches such as basing decomposition on the identification of student misconceptions. This grant allows the PIs to overcome technical barriers that, once accomplished, will allow development of education environments and research protocols to proceed. This opportunity exists now and must be completed before further development is possible. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Soh, Leen-Kiat Arthur Zygielbaum University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Michael Haney Standard Grant 98428 7271 SMET 9237 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0514426 April 1, 2005 Building a Research Agenda for Online Teacher Professional Development Models. In spite of an ongoing investment in developing online professional development, scant research is available on the effectiveness of these programs or how the underlying models could improve through sharing insights about design and implementation. Both professional development and distance/distributed learning would benefit from a collaboratively developed research agenda that contrasts current findings from exemplary projects, builds collective insights from these results, and proposes key themes and related methodologies for studying the evolution of effective online Teacher Professional Development (oTPD) models. With this grant, the Harvard's Graduate School of Education (HGSE) will host an invitational conference for exemplary oTPD projects to share insights and to develop such a research agenda. HGSE will organize a two-day, invitational research conferences of about one hundred participants, including scholars, practitioners, policymakers, funders and other stakeholders. The organizers will select roughly ten oTPD projects to prepare a position paper and present their work. The selection will be based on the following criteria: Each project will have a design and model based on theory and research, research or evaluation results, and a plan for scalability and sustainability; The suite of projects will span a range of oTPD content, a range of audiences and a range of pedagogies. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Dede, Christopher Harvard University MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 96279 7271 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0514431 September 15, 2005 First International Mathematics Teacher Education Study (TEDS-M). The project will study how teachers of mathematics are prepared across 40 countries that are part of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) network. Specifically, the study will address the following questions: 1. What is the level and depth of the mathematics and related teaching knowledge attained by prospective primary and lower secondary teachers that enables them to teach the kind of demanding mathematics curricula currently found in the higher achieving countries? 2. What learning opportunities available to these prospective teachers enable them to attain such knowledge? 3. What are the intended and implemented policies that support these teachers' achieved level and depth of mathematics and related teaching knowledge? How do teacher policies influence the structure of their opportunities to learn mathematics at national and institutional levels? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Tatto, Maria Sharon Senk John Schwille Michigan State University MI James S. Dietz Continuing grant 3997723 7645 7625 7298 7271 1666 SMET 9177 5980 5979 5978 5977 5976 0116000 Human Subjects 0514542 September 1, 2005 RAISE (Research Agenda in Science Education): Shaping a Research Agenda in Science Education Conference - A Phase II Project to Enhance Education Research, Practice and Policy. The RAISE (Research Agenda in Science Education) conference is a forum to bring together the professional societies and organizations, representatives from K-12 science education, and invited experts whose task it is to outline, design and construct the scaffolding underlying the progress model for science education research. This first-ever collaboration of professional societies, science educators, and organizations in science education and science is a comprehensive process by which to directly and systematically design and implement a robust progress model in science education, and ultimately a more systemic research agenda in science education. Using the products of the progress model, policy makers, educators and researchers can be more responsive to important needs in science education, identify and use the best knowledge that has been accumulated, and, very importantly, develop and apply relevant new knowledge and understanding in all educational settings. The ultimate goal of the conference is the development of the research agenda and associated activities that will inform policy and practice which in turn supports excellence in science education that is needed and sought by society. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Wheeler, Gerald John Penick Patricia Simmons Vincent Lunetta National Science Teachers Assoc VA Joseph Reed Standard Grant 230618 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0514620 September 1, 2005 STEM Alternative Certification for Teachers Conference (STEM ACT); Washington, D.C., 2006. The STEM Education Institute and the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst would host a conference in the Washington, DC area in the late spring of 2006 to explore issues related to the alternate certification of STEM teachers. Conference participants would include STEM faculty, science teacher educators, administrators, policy makers and practitioners. The goals of this proposed gathering are: (1) to explore current knowledge about alternate certification programs and how they might incorporate current research on teaching and learning; and (2) to develop an agenda for future research in this area. The conference deliverables will include (1) an executive summary for decision makers; (2) a document reviewing best practices; and (3) a proposed research agenda for education researchers and funding agencies. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Sternheim, Morton Allan Feldman Joseph Berger University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 200001 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0514672 September 1, 2005 Cicadas and Forests Education. The goal of this project is to educate children between the ages of 10 and 18 about the ecology of insects and forests, how human activities affect their interaction, and how scientific research is conducted. It will disseminate information throughout Indiana based on research award DEB 0345331, Cicadas and Forests Education. For a period during May and June 2004 the United States was captivated by periodical cicadas in an unusual convergence of popular and scientific interest. This project will use this heightened awareness as a vehicle for informal science education as additional broods emerge in 2007 and 2008 in the Midwest and South. The project will use existing video footage from the research to produce a documentary film on periodical cicadas for airing on public television stations and distribution on DVDs to schools; an interactive computer-based presentation in PowerPoint; and an interactive 3-D animation of the cicada life cycle for use in a science center. Project collaborators include local public television stations, Wonderlab (a science museum), the Indiana State Museum and school systems in Indiana. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION POP & COMMUNITY ECOL PROG DRL EHR Clay, Keith Indiana University IN Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 74994 7259 1182 SMET 9177 1182 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0514746 August 1, 2005 What's the BIG Idea?: Science and Mathematics for Children in Your Public Library. "What's the BIG Idea?" will infuse STEM content and concepts into librarians' practice in order to establish the public library as the site of ongoing, developmentally appropriate, standards-based STEM programming for young children and their families. This project will facilitate the infusion of STEM content and concepts into all aspects of library service -- programming, collections development, displays, newsletters, and bibliographies. Science educators and advisors will review and critique the project's STEM content. Building on prior NSF-funded projects, an experienced team of STEM developers and trainers will provide librarians with the content, skills and processes needed to stimulate innovative STEM thinking. Vermont Center for the Book (VCB) will train and equip librarians from three different library systems -- Houston, Texas, the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System in New York and statewide in Delaware. The strategic impact of this project is ongoing STEM programming for children and families in large, small, urban and rural libraries. VCB will investigate these questions, among others: How can the public library become a STEM learning center? What information, knowledge, training and materials do librarians need to infuse appropriate science and mathematics language and process skills into their practice and programming? Who are the community partners who can augment that effort? How can the answers to these questions be disseminated nationally? Innovation stems from: 1) STEM content to incorporate into their current practice and 2) skills and processes to create their own STEM programming. In addition, the results will be transferable to a wide range of libraries throughout the nation. The Intellectual Merit lies in augmenting librarians' current expertise so that they can incorporate STEM content and materials into all aspects of the library, a universal community resource. The Broader Impact lies in creating a body of content and approaches to programming that librarians all over the country can use to infuse mathematics and science language and content into their interactions with peers, children, families and the community. This will allow inquiry into what and how new informal STEM knowledge and practice can be effectively introduced into a variety of library settings. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Anderson, Sally Gregory DeFrancis Vermont Center for the Book VT Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1606644 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0514775 July 1, 2005 SGER: Examining the Feasibility of Developing a "Scalability Index". This study will examine the feasibility of developing a quantitative index that measures the relative scalability of an innovation. Research findings typically show substantial influence of contextual variables in shaping the desirability, practicality, and effectiveness of interventions. Developing a quantitative strategy for assessing the relative ease with which innovations successful under ideal conditions can scale up into relatively inhospitable settings will aid in many types of educational improvement. Just as estimating standardized effect sizes across published experiments that have used all manner of statistical techniques for ascertaining their original findings has proven a useful way of comparing the relative educational efficacy of different interventions, so a similar cross project index that estimated the relative scalability of innovations is of potential value to individual investigators, to practitioners and to policy makers. Identifying factors within the intervention's context that represent important conditions for success and summarizing the extent to which the effect of the intervention is sensitive to variation in each will provide prospective adopters of the innovation a better sense of what its likely effectiveness would be in their own particular circumstances. An initial step that is essential to creating a viable scalability index is the careful specification of a sensible framework of contextual factors that represent possible general conditions for success of educational innovations. For many types of innovations, a relatively small set of contextual factors are often very influential in determining effectiveness. This project will create such a subset of all possible contextual factors and investigate its utility in real data. At its core, the evaluation of the sensitivity of an intervention's impact to select contextual conditions is a question of statistical interactions. In a single study, such questions are usually addressed by the inclusion in the statistical models of interactions between the treatment and its conditions for success. One approach, then, to the creation of a true scalability index is to ensure that such interactions are included in the statistical models that underpin the data-analyses conducted to assess the implementation of educational interventions. The several effect sizes anticipated for the intervention under each of the interacting conditions can be pooled into a global index of scalability that captures the extent to which the intervention's effect size is sensitive to variation in the conditions for success. However, important technical challenges to implementing this approach in practice may render this method infeasible. The intellectual merit of this proposed activity is its examination of statistical approaches to quantifying scalability. Whether or not a scalability index is feasible, the insights gained by attempting to produce this metric will inform other initiatives to develop generalizable metrics from implementation data. If the scalability index proves valid and is practical given the types of datasets produced by implementations of innovations, its broader impact and significance to the field is threefold: 1. prospective adopters of an innovation will have a better sense of what its likely effectiveness would be in their own particular circumstances, 2. policymakers will have a better sense of which innovations are most promising in their potential for adaptability to a wide range of settings, and 3. researchers can contrast the scalability of various types of innovations, thereby gaining insights into how to improve design and implementation. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Dede, Christopher John Willett Harvard University MA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 141197 7180 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0514884 July 15, 2005 Evaluation of the Noyce Scholarship Program. This proposal seeks to conduct an evaluation of the Noyce program. There are four components to the evaluation: statistical analysis of the MIS data; analysis of project reports; case studies of the projects that build on project evaluations using a participatory evaluation model; and a review of the related literature PROGRAM EVALUATION ROBERT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PGM DRL EHR Lawrenz, Frances University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 499002 7261 1795 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0514981 August 15, 2005 Sea Monsters 3D: A Large-format Film and Outreach Program. National Geographic Television is producing a large-format, 3D film, "Sea Monsters," about prehistoric marine reptiles. The project will also include formative and summative evaluations, educational materials for home, after-school and classroom use, professional development for educators, an interactive website and innovative outreach to underserved youth. The film will present the current scientific understanding of Mesozoic marine ecosystems and the biology and behavior of prehistoric marine reptiles. The storyline of the films sets paleontological discovery into historical context, and reveals much about the scientific method and process of inquiry. Innovative intercutting between live-action paleontology sequences and photo realistic 3D animation of the reptiles will bring the fossils to life and allow audiences to make connections between the remains that are uncovered and the reptiles' activities, all of which are driven by concrete evidence in the fossil record. Sea Monsters will have a strategic impact on the field of informal science education by using groundbreaking computer-generated imagery technologies, and by demonstrating that a strong, dramatic storyline is a powerful and effective method for communicating scientific concepts. Standards-based lesson plans for the classroom and informal activity guides for families will augment the impact of the film. National Geographic has teamed with leading scientific experts and formal and informal education specialists to inform and advise the project. Multimedia Research and Knight-Williams Research Communication, respectively, will conduct formative and summative research. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Truitt, Lisa Erica Meehan National Geographic Television DC Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2000000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515387 August 1, 2005 Yuungnaqpiallerput (The Way We Genuinely Live) Masterworks of Yup'ik Science and Survival. The Anchorage Museum of History and Art, working with the Calista Elders Council, will develop a 5,000 sq ft traveling exhibition presenting 19th-century Yup'ik Eskimo technologies, their contemporary applications, and the underlying scientific processes. Featuring Yup'ik artifacts, it will integrate indigenous knowledge into the teaching of basic science principles as well as demonstrate the role played by science in everyday life. The exhibition will be organized around seasonal activities practiced in the past and retaining modern relevance. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will develop the comparative exhibits on modern science and technology, and the Imaginarium will develop complementary educational programming. Primary audiences will include rural Alaska Natives, both youth and elders, non-Native Alaska residents and visitors, as well as venues outside Alaska. By demonstrating how indigenous knowledge can be related to modern science, this exhibition provides a model for the informal science education field on how to incorporate cultural aspects of their own communities into museum exhibitions and programs. In addition, it demonstrates how artifacts and hands-on science activities can be combined effectively to create engaging educational experiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fienup-Riordan, Ann Suzi Jones Anchorage Museum Association AK Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2035111 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515468 November 1, 2005 Successful Scaffolding Strategies in Urban Museums: Research and Practice on Mediated Scientific Conversations with Families and Museum Educators. The "Successful scaffolding strategies in urban museums: Research and practice on mediated scientific conversations with families and museum educators" project seeks to simultaneously advance existing research on learning in informal settings, and to improve museum educator practice in mediating understanding with families in an urban museum. This collaboration between the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, Florida, and the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) will focus on three research questions: 1. What are several underlying characteristics of successful and unsuccessful strategies for scaffolding understanding of collaborative groups while interacting and talking at life science based exhibits?; 2. How can such identified strategies for scaffolding understanding of collaborative groups be best translated to inform teaching practices in museums, using teacher research as the focus?; 3. Can these scaffolding strategies be disseminated beyond MOSI in a published and replicable model for other informal learning centers? This project is designed to identify, practice and disseminate successful scaffolding strategies, studying, first, how they are used by families visiting MOSI without mediators, and, second, with museum educators. They then will collaborate with museum educator researchers (MERs) to analyze digital audio/video and other data, carefully abstracting new scaffolding tools. This is followed by practice and reflection and broader dissemination with the goal of understanding essential aspects of successful and unsuccessful scaffolding. A "teacher research model" will be used for museum educator professional development. By intertwining demonstrated and effective scaffolding research and practice with populations typically left out of informal education research, the anticipated strategic impact will be in: * Advancing current understanding of a new area of informal learning research centering on scaffolding practices; * Redefining scaffolded teaching practice with museum educator researchers; * Creating a model for conducting collaborative research with families, youth and schools typically not included in museum research and evaluation; * Contributing to overall research on collaborative sense-making conversations in museums; and * Increasing the ability of museum educators who interact with the public, their supervisors and trainers to promote self-directed learning. Once the researched strategies and methodologies for identifying those strategies are documented, future researchers can efficiently add to the body of understandings. This project will have broad implications for all informal learning, no matter the location. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lombana, Judith Doris Ash Museum of Science and Industry FL Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 2177667 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0515470 June 15, 2005 Goosebumps! The Science Behind Feeling Scared. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The California Science Center (CSC) proposes to develop Goosebumps!, a 5,000 sq.ft. traveling exhibition on the science behind feeling scared for the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative. The exhibition will utilize emotional engagement, as well as aspects of popular culture, to involve visitors in aspects of physiology, neurology, psychology and sociology that relate to the fear response. Exhibit experiences will evoke the fear response in a nonthreatening way and then make those responses the subject of personal exploration. The exhibition will also provide an opportunity for visitors to participate in a Caltech scientific research project based on the fear response. The Science Museum of Minnesota will collaborate with CSC in developing this exhibition. BROADER IMPACT: The exhibition will reach some five million visitors during a five-year tour to 12 other science centers, including the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA; the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History in Fort Worth, TX; the Museum of Science in Boston, MA; the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, MN; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland, OR; and the Columbus Museum of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, OH after opening at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA. It will advance the field through offering new ways to engage the public in science through explicit focus on visitor emotional engagement. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bibas, David California Science Center Foundation CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2244704 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515489 October 1, 2005 The Human Spark. WNET is producing "The Human Spark," a multimedia project that includes a four-part television series (4 x 60 min) for national primetime broadcast on PBS, innovative outreach partnerships with museums, an extensive Web site and outreach activities, including a Spanish-language version and companion book. Hosted by Alan Alda, "The Human Spark" will explore the intriguing questions: What makes us human? Can the human spark be found in the differences between us and our closest genetic relative -- the great apes? Is there some place or process unique to the human brain where the human spark resides? And if we can identify it, could we transfer it to machines? The programs will explore these questions through presenting cutting-edge research in a number of scientific disciplines including evolution, genetics, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral science, anthropology, linguistics, AI, robotics and computing. The series will highlight opposing views within each field, and the interdisciplinary nature of science, including its intersection with the humanities. The series will develop a new innovative format, the "muse concept", which involves pairing the host with a different scientific expert throughout each program. The outreach plan is being developed with a consortium of four leading science museums, American Museum of Natural History in New York, Museum of Science in Boston, The Exploratorium in San Francisco, and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, paired with their respective local public television stations. An additional six museums and local broadcasters will be chosen through an RFP process to develop local initiatives around the series. Multimedia Research and Leflein Associates will conduct formative as well as summative evaluations of the series and web INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lipworth, Jared Graham Chedd Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1300000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515494 October 1, 2005 Fantasy Sports Games as Cultures for Informal Learning. This project will research distributed, online fantasy basketball games, which are quite popular with many kinds of players, including informal science education under-represented groups, and which entail some degree of informal statistical reasoning and decision-making strategies. The game is not playing basketball per se, but taking on the role of a team owner or coach who needs to decide how best to compose a team given necessarily limited resources. The research team will provide a method for framing and researching statistical understanding and decision making of expert and novice players, then, based on the research, will develop scaffolded techniques for helping players become more reflective on and adept with the statistical knowledge and decision making strategies they use. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Smith, Brian Priya Sharma Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 751120 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0515517 August 1, 2005 How Scientists Work. This project is a multimedia initiative designed to increase the public and youth understanding of how scientists work. Deliverables include "Pulse of the Planet" radio programs in both English and Spanish; related web news features and photo galleries at National Geographic.com; and formative and summative evaluations of the project. The project will select 27 scientists and citizen scientists (7 of them Latinos) to provide first-person "insider" stories of scientific endeavor using the "audio diary" format. They will be provided with minidisk field recording kits and digital cameras and given hands-on training by the PI. Excerpts from their diaries will be used on the nationally broadcast radio programs and website. Some of these will feature citizen science projects. The project's partners include The Self-Reliance Foundation and the Hispanic Radio Network that will produce Spanish-language adaptations of Pulse of the Planet programs; the National Geographic will create editorial features for its news website; and Citizen Science project partners including Cornell's Lab of Ornithology, and Earthwatch, among others will encourage direct participation in projects linked to the radio and web information. It is estimated that 1.25 million people will hear each of the radio programs and 50,000 unique visitors will read the stories on the web site. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Metzner, Jim Jim Metzner Productions Inc NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1000000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515526 October 1, 2005 Design Squad: Season One. WGBH is producing a new PBS television show with accompanying Web and outreach activities for 9- to 12-year-olds, to inspire a generation of budding engineers. "Design Squad" (working title) will be a 13-part television series, which combines the appeal of a game show with the drama of real-world challenges to engender enthusiasm and promote understanding of, and interest in, engineering and technology. Behind all the fun that this lively show envisions lays a serious educational purpose -- to get kids to think like engineers and understand how to use science and technology to solve real-life problems. The television programs will be complemented with materials and training for engineers to mount "Design Squad" events in public venues and run workshops in schools, afterschool programs and libraries, and an extensive companion web site. "Design Squad 's" three intended strategic impacts are to: (1) address a critical need in engineering education and children's television, (2) increase students' knowledge of engineering and the design process and (3) improve the public image of engineering, especially among girls and minorities. The WGBH production team will be lead by Brigid Sullivan and Kate Taylor. The Series Content Director is Dr. Daniel Frey of MIT. Goodman Research Group, Inc. will conduct the evaluation of the project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sullivan, Brigid Wolsky Marisa WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2649999 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515528 September 1, 2005 Windows on Earth. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: TERC will develop Earth Window, a visualization system for generating photo-realistic Earth images and fly-overs that offer a new method for earth science visualization designed for non-scientific audiences. Based on front-end research to determine a baseline of visitor knowledge and misconceptions, the project team will create the Earth Window Research Lab using the GeoFusion visualization engine and WorldSat "digital earth" remote sensing database. This prototype will undergo formative evaluation with visitors to explore a variety of interfaces, navigation systems, levels of interactivity and presentation formats, along with researching the roles of metaphor, user control, false color, authenticity and changes over time to determine how best to employ this technology in ways that maximize visitor learning. BROADER IMPACTS: Based on the outcomes of the formative research, TERC will refine the visualization technology and integrate it into different types of existing exhibits at four museums: Museum of Science (MA); Montshire Museum (VT); National Air and Space Museum (DC); St. Louis Science Center (MO). "Windows on Earth" will enable some 1.8 million people to benefit from remote Earth sensing datasets, allowing them to explore the planet in ways not otherwise possible and thereby improve understanding of key issues in Earth science and their connections to daily life. In addition, the project will develop, test and refine a new visualization tool that then can be replaced and applied by the science museum community at large. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Barstow, Daniel Marlene Cole TERC Inc MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1780375 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515549 September 1, 2005 Creating a National Infrastructure of Support for Extended Explorations in Science and Engineering in After-school Programs. EDC and the Lawrence Hall of Science propose an intensive, innovative mentoring and professional development model that will build the capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) to deliver high-quality science and engineering curricula to children in after-school programs. The program's goal is to alleviate two consistent problems of after-school STEM providers: high turnover rate and the ability to lead/teach high quality science activities. The project will put in place a broad network of trainers in three regions of the country, leveraging the expertise and collaboration of two well-established and trusted national informal education networks. The extensive collaboration involves 14 organizations total including nine science centers (of varying sizes), three state 4-H agencies, the National 4-H Council and EDC. The primary audience for this project is the trainers (science center, 4-H, others) who currently (or may in the future) train CBO staff. EDC, LHS, and three "mentor" science centers will supervise these trainings and develop the new PD resources designed to improve the quality of training that CBO staff receive from these and other trainers. The National 4-H Council will help coordinate training and dissemination of products through the 4-H national network Goodman Research Group will conduct formative and summative evaluations of the project. DELIVERABLES: This project will deliver: 1) a model of prolonged training and support to build the capacity of CBOs to lead high quality science and engineering curricula with children; 2) a mentoring model to support and supervise trainers who work directly with CBOs; and 3) professional development tools and resources designed to improve the quality of training delivered to CBO staff. STRATEGIC IMPACT: This project will impact the national after-school professional development field by (a) demonstrating a model for how science-center, 4-H, and other trainers can build the capacity of CBOs to improve the way they lead science and engineering projects with children, (b) nurturing a cadre of mentor institutions to assist others to adopt this capacity-building and professional-development model, and (c) developing professional development tools and resources that improve the quality of training delivered by trainers to CBO staff. COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS: The three "mentor" institutions are: (1) the Lawrence Hall of Science, (2) the Science Museum of Minnesota, and (3) the Boston Children's Museum. The six science centers include (1) COSI Toledo in Toledo, OH; (2) Headwaters Science Center in Bemidji, MN; (3) Providence Children's Museum in Providence, RI; (4) Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, NY; (5) River Legacy Living Science Center in Arlington, TX; and (6) Explora in Albuquerque, NM. The three 4-H partners include (1) 4-H New Hampshire, (2) 4- H Minnesota, and (3) 4-H California. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Zubrowski, Bernard Charles Hutchison Education Development Center MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2075016 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515566 August 15, 2005 DragonflyTV's Science Center Showcase. Twin Cities Public Television is producing a new national initiative, the "Science Center Showcase" (SCS) for DragonflyTV, the weekly science television series targeted at children ages 9-12. The initiative will entail six new episodes presenting children engaged in inquiry-based investigations, on-location in science centers across America. The series presents authentic inquiry-based investigations, created by and for children. The programs focus on children doing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. Each investigation will demonstrate the direct connection between learning experiences in science centers and the application of those lessons in everyday experience. The SCS will involve ten or more science center partners, and be coordinated with the assistance of lead partners, ASTC and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Multimedia Research and RMC Research will conduct formative and summative evaluations, respectively. The SCS model combines DragonflyTV's unique strengths in media with the rich resources of the nation's science centers. For informal science professionals, the SCS will define new ways media and museum professionals can work together and learn from each other. It will also provide new opportunities for partnerships and collaboration between public television stations and science centers across the country. For the television audience, the programs will demonstrate the richness and variety of sciences experiences for kids in science centers and beyond. Through new collaborative efforts with ASTC, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and other science centers, the DragonflyTV's "Science Center Showcase" project has the potential to communicate to a national television audience the richness and variety of engaging opportunities for authentic STEM inquiry that are available for young people at science centers across the country. The project also has the potential to a) contribute to research into how knowledge is transferred from science centers to experiences in the natural world, and b) educate exhibit developers and television professionals in new approaches to informal science education. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Twin Cities Public Television MN Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 1521556 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515572 September 1, 2005 Teenage Designers of Learning Places for Children: Creating After-school Environments for STEM Education. The St. Louis Science Center, in collaboration with the City College of New York and the Science Museum of Minnesota, will combine their considerable expertise with youth programs to create new opportunities for after-school STEM learning. Teens, ages 14-17, currently participating in the "Youth Exploring Science" program at the St. Louis Science Center and the Youth Science Center at the Science Museum of Minnesota will receive intensive training to prepare them to assume the role of lead designers of Learning Places that will be created in nine-after school programs in St. Louis and St. Paul. "Learning Places" are educational environments supported by hands-on activities and innovative strategies that integrate science, mathematics and technology into after-school programs. In the final year of the grant the project will be disseminated to five museums across the US including the Pacific Science Center (Seattle, WA), Headwaters Science Center (Bemidji, MN), Explora (Albuquerque, NM), and Sciencenter (Ithica, NY). Youth program staff, and staff and administrators in after-school programs and partnering museums will also benefit from training and professional development. Deliverables include 27 "Learning Places," a teen training program, a Resource Guide for implementation and research contributions to the field. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Miller, Diane Holly Hughes Theresa Stets St Louis Science Center MO Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2012313 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515589 August 1, 2005 Building Demand for Math Literacy. "Building Demand for Math Literacy" is a comprehensive project designed to increase arithmetic and algebraic mathematical competency among underserved youth, as well as high school and college students trained as Math Literacy Workers. This project builds on the success of the nationally renowned Algebra Project that is designed to foster mathematics achievement among inner city youth. Math Literacy Workers will deliver after school activities to African-American and Hispanic youth in grades 3-6. In addition to offering weekly math literacy workshops, Math Literacy Workers will also develop and implement Community Events for Mathematics Literacy and activities for families in the following cities: Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Jackson, MS; Miami, FL; Yuma, AZ; New Orleans, LA; San Francisco, CA and Newark, DE. The strategic impact will be demonstrated in the knowledge gained about the impact of diverse learning environments on mathematics literacy, effective strategies for family support of math learning, and the impact of culturally relevant software. Collaborators include the Algebra Project, the TIZ Media Foundation, and the Illinois Institute of Technology, as well as a host of community-based and educational partners. The project deliverables consist of a corps of trained Math Literacy Workers, workshops for youth, training materials and multimedia learning modules. It is anticipated this project will impact over 4,000 youth in grades 3-6, 700 high school and college students, and almost 4,000 family and community participants. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Moses, Omowale Leroy Kennedy Young People's Project, Inc. MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2348713 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515597 September 1, 2005 Children's Library Discovery Center (CLDC): 'Science in the Stacks'. The Queens Borough Public Library (QBPL) will develop "Science in the Stacks," an integrated, multi-sensory, self-paced informal learning environment within its forthcoming Children's Library Discovery Center. It will include 36 Discovery Exhibits developed by the Exploratorium, three Learning Carts for scripted activities by librarians, six Information Plazas, a Discovery Teens program, a web site and supporting educational activities. The theme will be multiple pathways to the world of information. QBPL will be collaborating locally with the New York Hall of Science and the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Overall, QBPL receives some 16 million visits per year; the target audience for this project is children ages 3 to 12. In addition to its public impact, "Science in the Stacks" will have professional impact on both the science center and library fields, showing how it is possible to combine their different modes of STEM learning in complementary ways. Although library-museum colaaborations are not new, this one is the first attempt to combine their respective learning resources on a large scale. It offers the potential to serve as a new model for both fields, enabling visitor (patron) entry into self-directed STEM learning through books, media, programs or hands-on activities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Rudder-Kilkenny, Lorna Thomas Rockwell Marcia Rudy Queens Borough Public Library NY Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1735594 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0515599 September 15, 2005 Water Planet. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will develop "Water Planet," a 5,000 square foot traveling exhibit, web site, and associated programs focusing on the new and evolving field of Earth system science. It will apply the dynamic technologies of "Science-on-a-Sphere," " Digital River Basin," and "GEO-Wall II" to engage museum visitors in the processes by which water mediates many interactions among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryoshpere, biosphere and geosphere. Through these techniques, it will explore the potential of using large satellite and ground-based datasets, computermodeling, simulations and visualizations to increase public understanding of Earth system research. Scientific collaborators include the National Center for Earth System Dynamics (Universiy of Minnesota, Twin Cities); Center for Advanced Materials for Purifiction of Water with Systems (University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana); and Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (University of Arizona, Tucson). BROADER IMPACTS: "Water Planet" will reach some three million people, with a focus on local water conservation and pollution issues and the way the entire planet functions. In addition, through collaboration with the University of Connecticut Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officers (NEMO) program, the exhibition will help educate local government officials at exhibition venues. SMM also will partner with the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Headwaters Science Center for educational outreach programs. These applications of scientific visualization technology and lessons from this project will be shared with the science museum at large through a web site created for this purpose and other forms of professional dissemination. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hamilton, Patrick Roberta Cooks Douglas Johnston Gary Woodard Paul Morin Science Museum of Minnesota MN Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2399989 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0517892 August 1, 2005 America's Ocean Challenge (AOC) -- A Planning Grant Proposal for a Large-format Film. Summerhays Film is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a large-format film and related educational materials to educate Americans about issues related to U.S. territorial waters. The critical strategic impact of the full project, entitled America's Ocean Challenge (AOC), is to measurably increase the American public's understanding and appreciation of our marine heritage, leading to public awareness of personal responsibilities for maintaining ocean health. The goal of the proposed planning phase is to complete planning for a comprehensive ISE program to be delivered in three phases over ten years. The work is being carried out in collaboration with The Ocean Project and supported by an advisory committee of scientists and informal science education specialists. Knight-Williams Research Communication will conduct front-end evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Summerhays, Soames April Bucksbaum The Baum Foundation CA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0517906 July 15, 2005 ISE/PIs-Aging Network Partners Conference to be Convened in Washington, DC, in the Fall of 2005. The SPRY Foundation is requesting funding to organize a conference that will include principal investigators from ISE projects and representatives of the Aging Network to identify strategies to engage older adults in infromal lerning. The conference will present and critique existing programs, discuss new and sustainable models, and encourage the development of a network of ISE providers and organizations that serve older adults. Deliverables include a conference report with recommendations, the "Guide to Including Older Adults in Informal Science Education Programs", post-conference publications and presentations at the Association of Science and Technology Centers Annual Conference and the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies in Aging. Addtionaly, pre-conference surveys will inform the planning process for this innovative meeting. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Morgan, Russell SPRY (Setting Priorities for Retirement Years) Foundation MD Mary Ann Steiner Standard Grant 248197 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0519124 April 15, 2005 Annual Conferences and Networking Support for Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC) Principal Investigators. This project will organize and provide logistical support for annual conferences that would serve the TPC PI community and promote dissemination of the research and resources developed by their projects. The project intends to create an Advisory Board of TPC PIs to provide input on the conference agenda and presenters. The project's overall goal is the creation of a community of scholars through face-to-face discussions at the annual meetings and on-going knowledge sharing between meetings through an on-line network facilitated by EDC. The PIs have organized previous successful national conferences of this scale and have the individual and organizational capacity to provide the services described in the proposal. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Berns, Barbara Judith Sandler Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2596504 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0520319 July 1, 2005 Roadside Science: Informal Science Education for the Eastern Sierra Nevada Byways. This project proposes a new approach for delivering informal science education to the traveling public through scenic highway programs. This pilot project would engage travelers as they drive along the 220-mile Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway between California and Nevada, a corridor that traverses an unspoiled landscape rich in natural resources and unique contributions to scientific research. The project plans to use the new Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) to broadcast informal science education "stories" via transmitters along the highway. Students in afterschool programs will develop the content of the microcasts and related hands on activities. These microcasts would then direct travelers to roadside pull-offs, visitor centers and museums to engage in hands-on science activities that are led by local, trained docents. The planning grant will be used to create, implement and evaluate a pilot test site at an established roadside pull-out that will include signage, radio broadcasts, docent-led activities and participant surveys. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Collopy, Michael Susan Szewczak Clark University of Nevada Reno NV Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0520892 June 1, 2005 Mathematical Knowledge for K-8 Teachers: What, Why, How -- A Conference to be Convened at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, California, May 25-28, 2005. The authors propose a conference on the mathematical knowledge needed for teachers of grades K-8, to be held at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, during the month of May, 2005. Participants will be drawn from the mathematics research community, together with researchers in mathematics education and school and district education personnel. Sessions at the conference will assume various formats, from individual presentations to panel discussion to small group discussion. A volume of proceedings will be generated and disseminated. The goals of the proposal are to examine a variety of issues connected with the mathematics needed to teach on this level. This issue has become the subject of significant national discussion. While mathematics courses and curriculum for engineers, for computer scientists, for mathematics and physics majors are routine, similar specialized mathematical materials for teachers have not been developed. Nor has the mathematical community engaged in serious discussion of what this body of mathematics might be. The present proposal is to convene a group of mathematicians and educators to further this discussion. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Eisenbud, David Mathematical Sciences Research Institute CA Paola Sztajn Standard Grant 49688 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0523232 July 1, 2005 Photonics Leaders. This is a request for a three-year youth project entitled "Photonics Leaders" to provide 60 11th and 12th grade students with experiences that will provide them with a richer understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers as human endeavors that require hands-on skills, resourcefulness and communication skills that are not often addressed in the high school science and mathematics classroom. "Photonics Leaders" seeks to enhance access to science and science careers for all students, especially minority students, by giving the opportunities to participate in real scientific investigations making use of technological tools. The project has chosen this theme because it allows students to investigate the technology that they encounter day to day. They will engage in collaborative, hands-on activities that explore photonics technology and the science framework that supports that technology. The project will have links to the North Carolina standard course of study in chemistry, environmental/earth science, and physics. They will investigate how the physics of light and the technology of solid-state electronics meet in devices such as how optical communications are used in TV remote controls or CD players. ITEST DRL EHR Hilliard-Clark, Joyce David Haase North Carolina State University NC Julia Clark Standard Grant 796812 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0524762 September 15, 2005 Build IT: Girls Building Information Technology Fluency Through Design. SRI and Girls, Inc. of Alameda County will develop a problem-based program for underserved middle-school girls. "Build IT" will serve 300 girls in three years providing each with 150 contact hours of programming. The program is designed to increase IT fluency, motivate girls to engage in IT related activities, encourage the pursuit of IT careers and increase interest in mathematics. Participants will progress through three stages: Apprentice, Journeygirl, and Specialist. Apprentices learn how to use Internet communication tools and interact with design professionals in a variety of IT fields. Journeygirls engage in software design and create small mobile devices while working in conjunction with software engineers in Stanford University's Learning, Design, and Technology Program. Specialists continue to work in design teams and build valuable project and resource management skills. A curriculum will be developed that builds on NSF-funded products such as Techbridge (HRD 00-80386) and Imagination Place (HRD 97-14749), while addressing communication technologies, networking, wireless and mobile communication tools, web development and computer programming. Troubleshooting and leadership skills will also be included. Additional activities consist of professional development for Girls, Inc. staff to build IT fluency, as well as Family Tech Nights to encourage parental involvement. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Koch, Melissa Marie Bienkowski Melissa Bryan SRI International CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 972353 7259 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0524799 September 1, 2005 SeaTech: Underserved Teens Hooked on Ocean Technology!. The Ocean Institute (OI), in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps), Capistrano Valley Boys & Girls Clubs (B&GC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), is developing "SeaTech," a multi-year, Youth-based ITEST program providing 120 female and minority middle and high school students from underserved populations with 391 contact hours of information technology (IT)-intensive oceanographic research experiences. SeaTech content focuses on understanding the acoustic behaviors of whales and dolphins, specifically, sound production, noise impacts and acoustic population census in California, the Bering Sea and the Southern Ocean. SeaTech offers a two-year core program for 13 & 14 year olds consisting of a "Breadth of Exposure" phase and a "Depth of Skills" phase totaling 299 hours. The core program has three distinct elements -- after-school clubs, field explorations and summer research institutes -- and is augmented with efforts before and after: an Early Pipeline Development phase (52 hours) for youth age 12, and Internships (40 hours) for youth age 15. The three-year ITEST grant will host three cohorts of 40 participants each. Each youth participant will receive 391 total contact hours. Through efforts directed at parents, SeaTech anticipates involving 60 parents in about 80 hours of activities each year. Coordinated through and with the expertise of Capistrano Valley B&GC, recruitment will include orientation and information programs, a bilingual brochure and direct efforts by B&GC staff. In addition, recruitment will happen from local schools. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: IT-based studies of marine mammal bio-acoustics will 'hook' student interest in after-school clubs, field explorations and summer research institutes. SeaTech advances understanding of the role of broader pipeline development in addressing chronic recruitment and retention problems in teen-targeted IT programs. BROADER IMPACTS: SeaTech programming has been meticulously and demonstrably integrated into the afterschool programming at the B&GC. The SeaTech Club provides organizational structure to the teen activities at the B&GC; however, the IT curriculum is also integrated into two nationally renowned extant structures called Career Launch and Club Tech. Findings from the project's examination of recruitment, retention and parental involvement will have broad implications to the field of informal science education. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Helling, Harry John Hildebrand Kelly Reynolds Ocean Institute CA Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 896105 7259 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525014 September 1, 2005 Tech-Success. The proposers intend to establish a three-year science and engineering (S&E) and information technology (IT) program to serve 110 middle and high school students with disabilities. Building on a technology infrastructure established through an existing public-private partnership between Tech-Now, Inc., the University of Oklahoma-Norman plans to create innovative S&E and IT activities for these targeted students. To further ensure success of the program, this effort will be guided by lessons-learned from 40 years of experience by the university in training and developing a variety of service programs targeting citizens with disabilities. The importance of the proposed work is well-documented based on national, state and local data that show a significant percent of Oklahoma City School's students are disabled. The leadership of the proposed program is uniquely qualified to implement the project given its long history of working with persons with disabilities. The proposers intend to engage the students in year round, innovative, in-depth activities using the Tech Now curriculum. Students will also conduct individual projects, visit college and technology training centers and industry sites, participate in job shadowing and in internships for which they will receive a stipend. The aim of the partnership is to promote greater understanding among a select number of persons with disabilities, and later all stakeholders in the broader community about the usefulness of S&E and IT knowledge and skills in everyday life. The project accomplishments will be disseminated via the statewide high school high tech program under the financial sponsorship and guidelines of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Oklahoma Department of Education. ITEST DRL EHR Cook, Rebecca University of Oklahoma Norman Campus OK Celestine Pea Standard Grant 898364 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525040 October 1, 2005 Urban Ecology, Information Technology, and Inquiry Science for Students and Teachers. Boston College will partner with scientists, science educators, guidance counselors and public school teachers and students to develop, evaluate and disseminate IT materials for integration into existing field-based urban ecology modules (such as the Ecoscenario module in FOSS and the bioacoustics module in Active Physics) for grades 7-12 in six schools within the Boston Public School district. The goal is to use information technology to engage 100-400 students and approximately 100 teachers in real-life, field-based, local investigations in urban ecology. Because the majority of students in the district are minority or economically disadvantaged and low performing, the project could eventually impact thousands of students who are traditionally underrepresented in STEM careers and have reduced access to emerging information technologies. The project's design is research-based and meets documented IT and STEM needs of underserved populations. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Barnett, George Eric Strauss Charles Lord David Blustein Boston College MA David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1428584 7645 7259 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0525115 September 1, 2005 Highly Interactive, Fun Internet Virtual Environments in Science (HI-FIVES): Using Web-based Gaming to Improve Student Comprehension of Information Technology in Science. This problem will give teachers experiences using web-based gaming and simulation software. Teachers will use authoring systems to develop educational games and try the games out in their classrooms. In the process, they will be learning content as well as programming and technology skills. Teacher participants will be recruited from an existing NSF-funded teacher fellowship program at North Carolina State University. They will attend a summer program, working with project staff and university faculty, to develop their activities. They will then spend a year refining their products and helping other teachers use them in their classrooms. A special focus will be on teachers of students with special needs and of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The outcome of this project will be 15 web-based science games that are classroom-tested, teacher-developed, and linked to state and national standards. An instructional guide for each game will also be produced. The instructional guide, as well as the games themselves, will be made available on websites. Other forms of dissemination will include workshops and presentations at professional meetings. Evaluation, both formative and summative, will be done by an outside organization. Items to be evaluated center on teachers' improvement in pedagogy, guidance counselors' awareness of IT career paths, and students' content knowledge in technology and basic sciences. ITEST DRL EHR Annetta, Leonard Thomas Miller John Park Robert Young Valerie Brown-Schild North Carolina State University NC Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 1217537 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525118 September 1, 2005 Community for Rural Education, Stewardship, and Technology (CREST): A Comprehensive Project for Students and Teachers. Through this project, the PI will establish a learning community along the coastal region, including isolated islands, of Maine. The Island Institute has been active in Maine for more than 20 years, and has an established rapoire with the schools and school districts of the region. In addition, the program is working in collaboration with Bowdoin College and local fishery industries to prepare students and teachers in using Information Technology (IT), especially Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Further, as fisheries have played an important role in the history of these isolated communities, the placed-based context and ethnographic research by this group will entice students and teachers to learn these technologies. Moreover, the program targets grades 6-12, including 63 teachers and 700 students in the three years of its operation. Participating teachers will have more than 120 contact hours per year including 56 hours of contact during the summers of Years 1 and 2, and 32 hours during Year 3; whereas students will participate, with teachers, in one-week workshops that focus on technologies used in the fisheries industry. ITEST DRL EHR Kermish-Allen, Ruth Michael Kimball Robert Snyder Shey Conover Island Institute ME David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1219918 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525119 October 1, 2005 Crime Scene Information Technology (CSIT). The Crime Scene Information Technology (CSIT) project directed by the New York Hall of Science (NYHOS) seeks to enhance middle school science curriculum with forensic science and IT applications and introduce educators and students from underserved communities to IT career opportunities in forensic science. As a comprehensive project, the project directly serves 60 teachers and 300 students in grades six through nine, 600 guidance counselors and 200 school personnel including school administrators. An additional 700 students participate in ancillary activities, while 5,780 students are reached indirectly. The NYHOS has a successful track record of providing informal science learning programs to area schools. Designed to improve public understanding of science and technology, the NYHOS is the only hands-on science and technology museum in New York City and possesses the largest collection of hands-on science exhibits. Along with the NYHOS, project partners include the NYC school system, the American Academy of Forensic Science, and the Public Education Association (NYC-based not for profit). Designed to facilitate the acquisition of IT content and skills within the context of forensic science, interdisciplinary investigations (e.g., earth science, life science, math, biology, chemistry, physics, computer science and geography) utilize image processing, physics simulation, database analyses and superimposition of maps. Project components include professional development workshops, summer intensives, student innovation camps, field trips, curriculum module development, portable lab development and a CSIT symposium. As a result of the project, forensic science-based curriculum modules and five portable forensic science labs will be available to schools for use with the existing science curricula. Teachers contribute to the development of the forensic science curriculum modules and portable labs. Predominantly Title I designated, partnering schools serve large populations of underserved and underrepresented students. Teachers receive intensive professional development in IT concepts, skills and applications to further the skills and awareness of IT career and educational paths for students. Receiving 120 contact hours, teachers work directly with students at one- and two-week Innovation student summer camps at the museum to test the module and lab investigations. The career exposure component includes field visits to forensic labs and other IT-related sites, as well as IT-related guest speakers. An advisory committee comprising expertise from forensic science, informal science, information technology and K-12 provides guidance and direction to the project. The project will produce forensic science curriculum modules and mobile portable forensic science labs for broad dissemination. ITEST DRL EHR Gupta, Preeti New York Hall of Science NY Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1229900 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525162 September 1, 2005 SoBRO TEC. This is a request for The South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBRO), a community-based organization, to partner with Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Vision Education & Media, a firm specializing in technology education, for a three-year, youth-based program: SoBRO TEC. The program will serve up to 180 minority high school youth from the South Bronx -- a community beset by poverty, failing schools and social problems-in a project-based, design-centered program. The goals are to develop the participants' technological fluidity within the context of the local urban environment and to broaden the entry points to IT-related careers for these minority and low-income participants through exposure to IT applications in professional and creative settings (not mutually exclusive). This three-year program consists of a series of after school, semester-length modules and a summer program. Students will meet for at least two hours per day, three days per week for a total of 11 weeks per semester; summer programs will meet for 20 hours per week during seven weeks; reaching a maximum of 230 contact hours per year. The modules engage students in three areas of technology: Information Technology in Urban Spaces, exploring products of urban design that involve IT systems and networks such as transit systems, parks and recreation and public service offerings as well as the cellular phone; Art and Entertainment Technology, film and performance technology and music production; and Architectural Modeling Technology, materials and building strategies and building your dream house. The summer program offers three options that build on these modules: field trip series, community web-building projects, and internships. ITEST DRL EHR Harvey, John Jack McGourty Laura Allen South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation NY Julia Clark Standard Grant 684990 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525171 September 1, 2005 Physical Computing for Students and Teachers. This is a three-year project designed to build the capacity of high school teachers to provide physical computing (an emerging field in pre-college education) experiences for their students. Physical computing is a participatory activity in which the computer becomes aware of the human and produces environments or objects that express the technical, aesthetic, social or political vision of the human designer in ways that amuse, amaze or inform. Its intellectual merit is rooted in an interdisciplinary approach of applying STEM knowledge and skills to develop original and creative products and environments that, while firmly rooted in science and mathematics, also encompass the arts and humanities. The inquiry-based approach of the initiative promotes discovery and deepens understanding of physical computing and the STEM knowledge and skills it embodies. Over the course of three years the project's goals will be reached by serving approximately 90 high school teachers and 270 students, primarily low income youngsters and underrepresented minorities, through their courses and after school programs. The deliverables include: a physical computing curriculum guide, training programs for teachers and students; a project website; networks; professional development programs and conferences. All written materials and professional development programs will be prototyped, reviewed and revised annually, with the final versions completed at the end of Year Three. ITEST DRL EHR Brownstein, Bonnie Institute for Schools of the Future NY Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 1375328 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525178 September 1, 2005 The SUCCEED Apprenticeship Program. "The SUCCEED Apprenticeship Program" targets rising 9th grade students in Durham, NC and the Research Triangle communities of Durham and Orange Counties. This program will provide an intensive, multi-year experience for 100 students over a three-year period. Students will be recruited and trained to participate in computational science projects in computer modeling and simulation. Research teams of ten apprentices and one mentor will meet two hours per week during the school year and eight weeks in the summer. Students will contribute to four hands-on projects: the National Digital Science Library (metadata tagging and web design), SUCCEED (website design and web applications), Digital Durham (postcard database), and Sigma Xi (web support). Students are recruited from the existing enrichment programs or nominated by teachers. Partners include Sigma Xi international engineering honor society and the Digital Durham Project. Participants will receive an impressive 780 contact hours during two years of participation. PROGRAM EVALUATION ITEST DRL EHR Panoff, Robert Robert Gotwals Garrett Love Patricia Jacobs Trudi Abel Shodor Education Foundation Inc NC Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 905289 7261 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525183 September 1, 2005 Expanding the Data Cycle: Empowering Middle Level Teachers and Students to Integrate Information Technology, Data Skills and Science Content. This proposal is to facilitate middle-school science teachers and students using Earth system science data. The project provides middle-school teachers with the ability to access and analyze Earth science data sets, use data analysis tools (IT), and adapt them in a way that addresses both the interests and curricular needs of their students. It also enable the students of the participants to use Earth science data in a meaningful way and teach them skills with IT tools that they will carry with them in the future. The project produces customized educational activities that use Earth science data and data analysis tools featured in the Earth Exploration Toolbook, that will be made available to the broader educational community through the project Web site, the Using Data in the Classroom Portal of the National Science Digital Library (NSDL -- www.nsdl.org) and the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE -- www.dlese.org). By having these tools on the web these resources are discoverable and thus usable to teachers nationally and internationally. The program involves 75 middle-school teachers over three years, 150 middle-school students in the summer workshops, and up to 9,000 students during the school year as the teachers implement the activities they developed during the summer with their students. Teachers are involved in a year-long teacher professional development program that includes a summer workshop and year-long support through online discussions, teleconferences and a one-day meeting. Customized data-rich activities cataloged in DLESE and elsewhere will be an outcome of this project, as will a group of teachers and students better prepared to use Earth science data and data analysis tools to help them understand current societal issues. ITEST DRL EHR Ledley, Tamara Brian Drayton Joni Falk TERC Inc MA Kusum Singh Standard Grant 1156558 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0525217 October 1, 2005 XTech: A Collaboration of the Exploratorium and the San Francisco Beacon Initiative. The X-Tech program will bring together the Exploratorium and staff at five Beacon Centers to create an innovative technology program using STEM and IT activities previously tested at the Exploratorium. At each X-Tech Club, two Beacon Center staff and two Exploratorium Youth Facilitators will work with 20 middle school students each year for a total of 300 participants. Youth Facilitators are alumni of the Exploratorium's successful Explainer program and will receive 120 hours of training in preparation for peer mentoring. Each site will use the X-Tech hands-on curriculum that will focus on small technological devices to explore natural phenomenon, in addition to digital imaging, visual perception and the physiology of eyes. Parental involvement will be fostered through opportunities to participate in lectures, field trips and open houses, while staff at Beacon Centers will participate in 20 hours of professional development each year. ITEST DRL EHR Altmann, Vivian Exploratorium CA Leslie K. Goodyear Standard Grant 899875 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525221 September 1, 2005 EcoScienceWorks: Exploring and Modeling Ecosystems Using Information Technology. Maine is a rural state with unequal access to computers and information technology. To remedy this, the Maine laptop program supplies iBooks to every seventh and eighth grade student in the state. The goal of EcoScienceWorks is to build on this program and develop, test and disseminate a middle school curriculum featuring computer modeling, simple programming and analysis of GIS data coupled with hands-on field experiences in ecology. The project will develop software, EcoBeaker: Maine Explorer, to stimulate student exploration of information technology by introducing teachers and students to simple computer modeling, applications of simulations in teaching and in science, and GIS data manipulation. This is a three-year, comprehensive project for 25 seventh and eighth grade teachers and their students. Teachers will receive 120 contact hours per year through workshops, summer sessions and classroom visits from environmental scientists. The teachers' classes will field test the EcoScienceWorks curriculum each year. The field tested project will be distributed throughout the Maine laptop program impacting 150 science teachers and 17,000 middle school students. EcoScienceWorks will provide middle school students with an understanding of how IT skills and tools can be used to identify, investigate and model possible solutions to scientific problems. EcoScienceWorks aligns with state and national science learning standards and integrates into the existing middle school ecology curriculum. An outcome of this project will be the spread of a field tested IT curriculum and EcoBeaker: Maine Explorer throughout Maine, with adapted curriculum and software available nationally. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Allan, Walter Eric Klopfer Eleanor Steinberg Foundation for Blood Research ME Kusum Singh Standard Grant 1356272 7259 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525224 October 1, 2005 Marine Biotechnology and Bioinformatics. The Marine Biotechnology and Bioinformatics project represents a collaboration between San Jose State University, California State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB), and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories to incorporate biotechnology and bioinformatics into the teaching and learning of biology at the middle and high school levels. Based on an NSF-funded pilot, the project has expanded to include additional schools and underrepresented communities, new multi-media instructional materials, redesigned professional development, industry involvement and enhanced partnerships. Serving schools at the middle and high school levels, the project involves 60 teachers and 45 students, and will ultimately reach approximately 6,000 students indirectly by project end. Program components include a three-week summer workshop, six follow-up meetings during the school year, teacher mentoring, lesson development and a web-cast career series. During the summer students and teachers conduct marine science research experiments using biotechnology and bioinformatics. Through data generation (biotechnology) and data analysis (bioinformatics), scientific questions related to a specific marine organism will be investigated. Using the vehicle of lesson study, lesson design will occur concurrently with research cycle activities. Middle and high school students join teachers during the final week of the summer session to participate in the lessons developed by teachers. Lesson modification and refinement will continue the final week and during the school year follow-up sessions. Wireless web casts will provide additional teacher support, while monthly web casts for students will feature interactive discussions with bioinformatics and biotechnology experts. Undergraduate and graduate students at the partnering institutions who are studying IT, bioinformatics and biotechnology will serve as teaching assistants and will also provide technical support for the web casts. ITEST DRL EHR Bartl, Simona Robertta Barba Henrik Kibak San Jose State University Foundation CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 996955 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0525235 October 1, 2005 Science Mission to Planet Earth (SMPE): IT-Integrated Coastal Education. The "Science Mission to Planet Earth (SMPE): IT-Integrated Coastal Education" project takes advantage of the Louisiana coastal features to integrate science and mathematics for students and teachers in grades 6-8 in urban and rural settings. This project will involve 200 middle school students and 20 teachers per year (a total of 600 middle school students and 60 teachers over the three-year period) from urban and rural settings. This project promotes the use of information technology to gather and transmit data images via GIS Remote Sensing and to set up situations or displays via visualization simulations. The use of technology for this project serves as a means to introduce earth science concepts to middle school students through "real world" discussion of the issues associated with the Louisiana Coastal Zone (wetlands and marshes, climate change, fisheries habitat, land use, urban sprawl). This project is linked to the GLOBE project that addresses similar issues. SMPE builds upon the GLOBE project as it emphasizes a new component, stressing the use of information technology and potential careers associated with technology. The plan for promoting teaching, training and learning is evident in the proposal and is well defined. The plan includes an initial intensive three-day mathematics/science workshop to support the implementation of the project along with classroom visits from PI and project managers. Teachers will receive 130 contact hours. Additional support is provided through teacher conferences, in-service hours via satellite linkages and summer institutes. Students will participate in two four-week institutes. Adequate class time and after-school time is provided for students to use the IT in support of the STEM courses as well as the provision to use field trips to showcase IT careers. Carnegie Learning has a sub award with SMPE. ITEST DRL EHR Namwamba, Fulbert Diola Bagayoko Michael Stubblefield Luria Stubblefield Southern University LA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1585956 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525261 September 1, 2005 Pueblo ITEST of New Mexico. This project is a collaboration among the Santa Fe Indian School, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and local school districts partnering to provide students, teachers, and tribal mentors with experiences using GPS/GIS, mathematical modeling and computer graphics. The work is based on a model in the Santa Fe school in which curriculum is designed around problems and practices in traditional Pueblo Indian culture and life. Selected students and teachers will participate in a summer program, with coordinated follow-up sessions during the following school year. Students will be assigned internships in a pueblo community in a tribal department, working with a community mentor as an IT specialist. In addition, five advanced students will take a college-level course in IT. Evaluation will take advantage of both mainstream and traditional pueblo indicators of success, including benefit to the community, students' allegiance to their pueblo identity, the development and use of IT curriculum in schools, and college application and matriculation rates. Dissemination likewise will address mainstream audiences (through professional conferences and journals) and traditional cultures (through tribal organizations and web pages). ITEST DRL EHR Dozier Enos, Anya Santa Fe Indian School NM Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 1165769 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525274 September 1, 2005 Invention Factory. The intent of this proposal is to establish a three-year, youth-based program aimed at developing, enhancing and/or expanding students' interest in Science and Engineering (S & E) and Information Technology (IT). The objectives are to: (1) stimulate interest in S & E among students who are currently underrepresented in S & E and IT fields; and (2) provide students with skills in IT that will enable them to conduct needs analysis, design, fabrication and evaluation of devices that meet the needs of disabled/elderly people. The content focus is electronic with embedded microcomputers. Approximately 400 students in 8th through 12th grades will be targeted by the program. Students will participate in weekly tutorial sessions, monthly hands-on workshops and weeklong summer programs to improve their knowledge and skills in S & E and IT. The expectation is that 400 students in 8th through 12th grades will use their knowledge and skills to reach up to 150 disabled/elderly persons during the award period. The project has a focus but flexible recruitment and selection process aimed at selecting a high percentage of at-risk students, although the program is not limited solely to that population. To ensure participation by all targeted schools, each school will be given a quota of openings. In addition, the proposers defined a rich array of scaled up experiences that move students from awareness and introduction about S & E and IT to design and application of those concepts. Weekly sessions, monthly workshops and weeklong summer programs with scientists and IT professionals will comprise most of the work. The intended outcome of the program is to deliver tangible products and adapted electronic devices via CD, DVD and web-based resources. ITEST DRL EHR Speitel, Thomas Neil Scott University of Hawaii HI Celestine Pea Standard Grant 1079838 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0525277 August 1, 2005 Arctic Climate Modeling Program (ACMP). The Artic Climate Model Program (ACMP) is designed to improve student performance in the Bering Strait School District (BSSD); a school district that serves isolated idigenous communities in the northeastern peninsula of Alaska. The PI is building on a community-inclusive infrastructure that was established over an eight-year period. The plan of action for this program is, by necessity, adapted to the lifestyle of the community at large. As the population primarily survives by subsistence living, the families must hunt and fish during the summer months so as to acquire sufficicent commodities for the winter. Therefore, teachers and students will be active participants in the ACMP during the academic year. Using multiple technologies, including GIS and STELLA numerical modeling software, AMCP will infuse mathematical and physical science phenomenal themes, focusing on climatic impacts to the communities' daily lives. Each teacher will receive a mininum of 156 contact hours of instruction per year. Overall, this program will directly include 375 teachers and 5,100 students during its three years of operation. ITEST DRL EHR Berry Bertram, Kathy University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus AK David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1194513 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0527150 May 1, 2005 Connecting STEM Disciplines in High School with a Research University; A Conference to be Held at the University of Georgia, April 11-12, 2005. This proposal is a request for support for a two-day symposium that will provide funds to bring teachers and their minority high school students who are excelling in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to a statewide symposium to hear and interact with university researchers who will be sharing cutting edge research at the State's flagship university -- The University of Georgia. This interaction will provide high school teachers opportunities to update their knowledge of cutting edge research in the STEM disciplines and become familiar with the opportunities their students can consider in the STEM disciplines. The students will also have the opportunity to shadow researchers and scientists at the symposium, in their laboratories and their classes for two days. The request will provide funds to support ten minority students and one of their science teachers TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Kleiber, Pamela University of Georgia GA Angelicque Tucker Blackmon Standard Grant 5000 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0527540 September 1, 2005 Flood of Mud: The Roanoke River -- Past and Future. "Flood of Mud: The Roanoke River -- Past and Future" is a video project examining long-term impacts of historic land clearing and erosion on temperate rivers and their floodplains. The 17-minute video targets youth and adult visitors to the North Carolina Aquariums. The video highlights the NSF-funded research project EAR-0105929, "Modeling the Impacts of Post-settlement Sediment Deposition on Floodplain Vegetation," which applies paleoecological and dendrochronological methods and computer modeling to examine and predict the impact of sedimentation on forest composition, productivity and functioning of the lower Roanoke River in North Carolina. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Stylinski, Cathlyn Philip Townsend University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences MD Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 74938 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0527920 October 1, 2005 Grounded and Transferable Knowledge of Complex Systems Using Computer Simulations. This project concerns the use of interactive computer simulations to teach scientific concepts governing complex adaptive systems. The formal principles underlying these systems are applicable across a wide range of domains. Although the broad applicability of these principles speaks to their importance, it also represents a challenge to educators to convey these principles in a way that students can appreciate the principle at a sufficiently abstract level that the student can transfer the principle across superficially unrelated domains. The current research addresses the question of when and how do have students transfer what they have learned about scientific principles to new situations. Our proposed research explores methods for teaching students about scientific principles in a manner that leads to grounded yet transportable knowledge. A central inquiry of this proposal concerns the relation between the superficial, concrete details through which a phenomenon is presented, and the abstraction of deeper scientific principles underlying the phenomenon. Our experiments explore the role of perceptually-based simulations in fostering students' scientific understanding. By observing how active exploration of one simulation benefits understanding of a subsequently presented simulation based on the same principle, we can assess whether the scientific principle has been successfully abstracted. Experiments will explore the roles of graphical concreteness, narrative contextualization, language specificity, and diagrams on students' implicit and explicit knowledge of scientific principles. One research outcome will be prescriptions for how and when concrete and highly contextualized materials should be used, compared to idealized and decontextualized materials. One line of research focuses on the language that accompanies interactive computer simulations by manipulating the concreteness and abstractness of words. These experiments explore how best to use words to foster transferable knowledge: by gradually introducing increasingly abstract language, by combining abstract language with concrete visuals (or vice versa), or by using concrete but metaphorically related words. A second line of experiments aims to give participants first-person experiences with scientific principles to test whether they promote spontaneous transfer across analogous situations. Using the scientific principle of Signal Detection Theory, we will compare direct experience with a signal detection task with explicit instruction. Further experiments will determine if the advantages of experience vs. instruction are modulated by the perceptual concreteness of the simulations, and the narrative richness of the training scenario. The scientific goal of the inquiry is to gain an understanding of how perceptual experience can lead to abstract conceptual understanding, and how conceptual understanding can change perceptual experience. The practical goal is to translate this understanding into general educational principles for integrating computer simulations into classroom activities. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Goldstone, Robert Linda Smith Indiana University IN Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 196086 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0528303 July 15, 2005 Magic Porthole: An Interactive, Educational Web-Mystery. Proposal Number: 0528303 Institution: Yale University Dept. of Biology PI: Janine Selendy Project Title: Magic Porthole: An Interactive, Educational Web-Mystery This planning grant proposal would develop the logistical, programming and creative specifications for production of Magic Porthole, an innovative Web-based science game for 8-14 year olds. The content and learning will focus on the value and significance of intact coral ecosystems to human communities, encouraging young people to seek more sustainable relationships with their environment. The project will use existing video footage of coral reef life along with new live action footage, text, stills, music and flash animation. The 8-14 year olds will be engaged in a sustained mystery story that will pull them more deeply into scientific content. The organizational collaborators are environmental education and media organizations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Selendy, Janine William Finnegan Jan Post Horizon Communications CT Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0529065 August 15, 2005 Transfer of Scientific Abilities. The study is a controlled experiment to assess students' ability to transfer knowledge across the physics curriculum The goal of this proposal is to investigate whether laboratories in which students design their own experiments promote the development of certain scientific abilities and foster both near and far transfer. It examines whether some instructional innovations help students in a university science class to develop the abilities that they need for the workplace. The results of this study should provide a significant test of whether or not student scientific abilities can be developed in physics that transfer to a new content area and to a different social setting. The term scientific abilities is defined as the process to be reflective and critical about a problem; it includes designing an experiment, identifying assumptions in a mathematics procedure, collecting data, and communicating results. The project involves an experimental design with 160 students in introductory physics courses taught with a science learning approach. Students are randomly assigned to experimental and control groups that will compare traditional laboratories with student-designed experiments. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Etkina, Eugenia Alan Van Heuvelen Cindy Hmelo-Silver Rebecca Jordan Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 610990 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0529213 October 1, 2005 Building a Network Between Civil Engineers and Science Museums. The Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE), in collaboration with the Museum of Science, Boston, is organizing the first steps toward developing a nation-wide effort to bring together science museum professionals and civil engineers with the purpose of forming a long-term collaborative network. The network's purpose would be to facilitate a mutual understanding of each other's perspective and knowledge base with the intention of creating collaborative projects that would develop deliverables for the public understanding of engineering and engineering research in particular. This 18-month effort includes two workshop sessions along with background fact-finding surveys, interviews, museum site visits and data collection about previous and extant informal science education activities and products in this area. This endeavor is being positioned as a model for other similar collaborations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Reitherman, Robert Peter Wong Consortium of Universities for Res in Earthquake Engineering CA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 232655 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0529472 September 1, 2005 Collaborative Research: The Cultural Context of Native American Science Education. The long-term goal of the researchers is to improve science learning for Native- American students and so to reduce the disparity between majority and minority culture students' science achievement. The project will provide a controlled test of the claim that bridging cultural differences in how one understands science will lead to improved learning of science content knowledge. The PIs' previous research with the Menominee has indicated that rural Native-American children begin school with a relatively precocious understanding of biology, but that this initial knowledge of the natural world does not translate into superior learning in traditional science curricula. On standardized tests Menominee children score above the national average in science in fourth grade, but by eighth grade it is their worst subject. The PIs explore the hypothesis that Native-American practices may clash with the cultural context and methodology used in the formal teaching of science. The proposal includes studies that will explore the educational relevance of cultural differences in approaches to the teaching of science and it includes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an after-school program. The initial studies will continue the researchers efforts to identify barriers to Native-American science learning and to develop and test strategies for building on the cultural knowledge that Native-American children bring to the classroom. Research on children's folkbiology has been conducted almost exclusively with individuals from urban North American populations. The proposed research will bring more evidence to bear on the problem of science learning in minority culture contexts. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Podlasek, Joseph American Indian Center of Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 174584 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529485 September 1, 2005 Using Formative Assessments: The Role of Policy Supports. The project proposes a study that examines how social and professional networks mediate the conversion of women's qualifications to career outcomes and specifically addresses how and why do networks matter for women's career outcomes in science and engineering. The study proposes a two-phase approach: (1) conduct a baseline national survey of scientists and engineers in six STEP fields; (2) conduct a network analysis of "critical mentors" aimed at uncovering the networks that emerge around key faculty. The two-stage design will provide detailed multi-level quantitative data for statistically modeling and rich qualitative evidence that enhance the quantitative analysis. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Goertz, Margaret Leslie Nabors Olah University of Pennsylvania PA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1350000 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529502 September 1, 2005 Coordinating Social and Individual Aspects of Generalizing Activity: A Multi-tiered 'Focusing Phenomena' Study. A central and enduring goal of education has been to provide learning experiences that generalize beyond the specific conditions of initial learning. However, research studies and national assessments in mathematics indicate that students often perform poorly on real world applications and many students graduate unable to connect school mathematics to work or everyday settings. Furthermore, researchers' progress in supporting the generalization of learning has been limited due to theoretical problems with the transfer construct. One reason why attempts to help students productively generalize their learning experiences have not been as successful as anticipated may be because existing accounts do not adequately account for both social and individual aspects of generalizing activity. The construct of focusing phenomena was developed to account for the ways in which features of social environments influence what students attend to mathematically and how these features in turn affect the particular ways in which students generalize their learning experiences (Lobato & Ellis, 2002a, 2002b; Lobato, Ellis, & Munoz, 2003). Focusing phenomena are observable features of classroom environments that regularly direct students' attention toward certain (mathematical) properties or regularities when a variety of features compete for students' attention. Exploratory comparative work (Ellis & Lobato, 2004) suggests that it is possible to generate a profile, which refers to a contrasting set of focusing phenomena (across a variety of instructional treatments) linked conceptually with an associated set of students' generalizations for a given topic. In the proposed study, profiles are developed in a more rigorous and systematic way than was possible in the exploratory work, eventually developing predictive models that will describe how changing the nature of focusing phenomena affects the nature of the associated individual generalizations. To accomplish this goal, a complex research design comprised of a set of integrated studies is utilized to investigate three research questions: 1. Profile. How are the various ways in which students generalize their learning experiences ("transfer" in the actor oriented transfer perspective) across a range of instructional treatments related conceptually to the various focusing phenomena that get established in the classrooms? 2. Links among Tiers. What are the relationships among: (a) teachers' content knowledge and lesson goals, (b) the focusing phenomena that emerge in their classrooms, and (c) the ways in which students in these classrooms generalize their learning experiences? 3. Content and Character of Generalization. What is the mathematical content and the character of the generalizations students construct about linear and quadratic functions? What are the trajectories as students develop more sophisticated, powerful generalizations over time? Intellectual Merit. The intellectual merit of the proposed study lies in the development of profiles of conceptual relationships connecting teachers' knowledge, focusing phenomena in classrooms, and associated student generalizations. The profiles provide a useful contrast of the types of foci that are related to productive student generalizations with those that unwittingly afford less powerful student generalizations. This research also contributes to the ongoing transfer debate by further developing focusing phenomena as a transfer mechanism. Renewed interest in transfer is demonstrated by two recent NSF-funded conferences on transfer (Lobato, 2004; Mestre, 2003) and by the inclusion of transfer as one of six important research challenges for the next decade of research in Schoenfeld's (1999) AERA presidential address. Broad Impact. The development of the profiles can result in benefits for teachers and their students, by demonstrating how the durable concepts that students take away from instruction are influenced by many subtle and often unintentional aspects of teaching practices. Just as there is a range of alternative conceptions and misconceptions that students construct for any given mathematical topic, there is a range of possible mathematical foci to which teachers can direct students' attention. Being sensitive to these multiple foci can help teachers identify potential traps and suggest generative alternatives. This research also contributes to implementation theory by demonstrating that even when curricular materials are good and the conditions of implementation fidelity are met, many micro-features of instruction can come into play that work to undermine reform. The results can help fulfill the challenge of the NRC report (2004) to attend to the complex interactions among key features of an instructional program, existing instructional practices, and characteristics of particular student subgroups that program evaluations should consider. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Lobato, Joanne Amy Ellis San Diego State University Foundation CA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1337668 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529522 September 1, 2005 Evaluating Astronomy Learning in Immersive Virtual Environments. The goal of the Astronomy Learning in Immersive Virtual Environments (ALIVE) Project is to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of computer-generated immersive virtual environments (VEs) for teaching astronomical concepts in college introductory astronomy classes. The study will find optimal learning modes for astronomy, and quantify the benefits that immersive VEs may have for enabling spatial learning. The experiment will compare the advantages of immersive VEs over their non-immersive counterparts. ALIVE establishes a collaboration between a four-year urban university and a regional science museum. The study will take place in the introductory astronomy classes at the Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD), using the digital full-dome theater at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS). The three-year study will use MSCD's diverse urban student population as test subjects, and will be broken up into two stages. Phase I will develop the materials for the experiment, while the experiment and follow-up analyses will take place in Phase II. The study will use interactive, real-time software developed at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS). Astronomy class students at the Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD) will be surveyed to determine what astronomical misconceptions they already possess. From these frontend evaluations, learning modules using VE simulations will be developed to supplement the introductory astronomy curriculum. In the experiment, pre-course, post-course, and curriculum tests will be used to determine the efficacy of immersive visualizations presented in DMNS' Gates Planetarium versus the same visual simulations in non-immersive settings (i.e., shown on a flat screen in a normal classroom), as well as a control case using traditional classroom multimedia. The project will stimulate and support the development of astronomy education modules used in multi-user facilities such as smart classrooms and digital planetaria. Such modules can also be used for informal science education in immersive digital theaters. An important sub-study will look explicitly at gender-related trends, since there is evidence that women exhibit greater gains than men in certain virtual navigation tasks when using an immersive VE. These results may have the potential to increase female participation and retention in the sciences. These activities are strongly aligned with the goals of NSF GPRA Strategic Plan 2001-2006. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Yu, Ka Kamran Sahami Denver Museum of Nature and Science CO Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 415120 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0529579 September 15, 2005 Cognitive Development and Beyond. The overarching goals of the proposed project are to characterize the nature of early cognition as well as to continue the development of curricular and assessment tools. It will yield knowledge about how to design learning environments to nurture young learners in science and how to diffuse innovative science programs in early childhood settings. It will also provide the field with diagnostic research-based assessments that will enable us to understand starting points of different groups of learners, to track individual children's progress, and to assess the cumulative impact of high-quality science programs over time. The proposed work builds on the PIs' programs for children in the target age range of 3 to 7 years. Gelman's Preschool Pathways to Science (PrePS), aimed at preschoolers, is to be partnered with Massey and Roth's Science for Developing Minds (SDM), aimed at kindergartners and first graders. Both programs are influenced by findings that science knowledge involves coherent and organized content, specialized vocabulary that is tied to the content, and tools of doing and communicating. The PIs will address the issue of diffusion by studying and documenting the introduction of PrePS with new teachers in three new demographically diverse sites. They will also develop sets of tasks, based on published well-tested developmental paradigms, to benchmark competence for ages 3-7 across a wide socioeconomic range of children in domains that are foundational for science and math learning. These include quantity and measurement; animacy, causality, and material kinds; and scientific reasoning. The PIs will conduct experimental studies investigating the learning impacts of re-representational REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gelman, Rochel Christine Massey Kimberly Brenneman Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 1009624 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529582 October 1, 2005 Promoting Conceptual Change in Reasoning. The general goal of this project is to advance theory and practice in the area of promoting scientific reasoning among middle-school students studying the life sciences. Despite the importance of such strategies in people's professional, civic, and personal lives, adults as well as adolescents are typically poor at evaluating and interpreting research evidence. The project has three subgoals. The first subgoal is theoretical: To advance our understanding of how students learn to reason scientifically. The second goal is instructional: To study how to teach strategies that people need to evaluate and interpret scientific research. The third subgoal is methodological: To develop techniques for adapting the microgenetic technique, involving small-grained quantitative and qualitative analyses, to classroom settings. The two proposed studies will be conducted in diverse New Jersey middle schools. Study 1 will be an expert-novice study investigating the nature of students' tacit reasoning schemas and how students' schemas differ conceptually from experts'. This study will generate an understanding of the kinds of conceptual changes that are involved in learning reasoning schemas. Study 2 will be a microgenetic study that tracks students in six classes over 4 to 5 months as they learn from instruction that incorporates reasoning seminars. Building on preliminary work with middle school students, the project will develop seminars modeled on graduate research seminars. The research seminars will be implemented by integrating a variety of evidence evaluation activities into the middle-school life-sciences curriculum, including dramatic research scenarios, hands-on inquiry, PDA-based simulations, discussions of media reports of research, and multiple study evaluations. The overall goals of Study 2 are (a) to trace patterns of change in students' argumentation and reasoning and (b) to gain an understanding of the instructional events that engender these changes. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Chinn, Clark Allen Richard Duschl Ravit Duncan Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 1087352 7625 1666 SMET 9251 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0529612 September 1, 2005 Collaborative Research: The Cultural Context of Native American Science Education. The long-term goal of the researchers is to improve science learning for Native- American students and so to reduce the disparity between majority and minority culture students' science achievement. The project will provide a controlled test of the claim that bridging cultural differences in how one understands science will lead to improved learning of science content knowledge. The PIs' previous research with the Menominee has indicated that rural Native-American children begin school with a relatively precocious understanding of biology, but that this initial knowledge of the natural world does not translate into superior learning in traditional science curricula. On standardized tests Menominee children score above the national average in science in fourth grade, but by eighth grade it is their worst subject. The PIs explore the hypothesis that Native-American practices may clash with the cultural context and methodology used in the formal teaching of science. The proposal includes studies that will explore the educational relevance of cultural differences in approaches to the teaching of science and it includes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an after-school program. The initial studies will continue the researchers efforts to identify barriers to Native-American science learning and to develop and test strategies for building on the cultural knowledge that Native-American children bring to the classroom. Research on children's folkbiology has been conducted almost exclusively with individuals from urban North American populations. The proposed research will bring more evidence to bear on the problem of science learning in minority culture contexts. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Washinawatok, Karen Native American Educational Services WI Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 121891 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529636 September 1, 2005 Developing a Research-Based Learning Progression for the Carbon Cycle: Transformations of Matter and Energy in Biogeochemical Systems. This project will study the development of a learning progression: a coherent account of the development of students' reasoning about the role of carbon in environmental systems, based on old and new research. The role of carbon in environmental systems includes physical and chemical changes in matter, growth and decay of plants and animals, photosynthesis and cellular respiration, matter cycling and energy flow in ecosystems, and the effects of humans and human technologies on these processes. Products of this project will include: 1. A longitudinal description of children's learning that documents strands in the development of elementary through high school students' conceptual understanding and ability to use this knowledge. This account will be based in part on a synthesis of existing research, including research done by the project PI's and consultants. The project will conduct new research that builds on prior work, fills in gaps, and validates findings for a sample of American students that spans major subgroups. 2. Validated assessments that measure student understanding of matter and energy transformations in biogeochemical systems at the upper elementary, middle school, and high school levels. The assessment system is based on progress variables defined in the longitudinal description of children's learning. The system will include both embedded assessments for use in classrooms and link tests that form the basis of a systematically designed large-scale assessment program. These assessments will be used for a survey of student reasoning in a sample of rural, urban, and suburban classrooms. The assessments will be made available to large-scale assessment developers and classroom teachers through the BEAR Assessment System. 3. Reports of teaching experiments focusing on students' reasoning when they encounter challenging questions about environmental systems in resource-rich classrooms. These reports will capture the dynamics of learning-both successful learning by students who master key conceptual tools and practices and barriers to successful learning. The teaching experiments will be conducted in rural, urban, and suburban classrooms at the upper elementary, middle, and high school levels. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Anderson, Charles Michigan State University MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1288072 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529639 September 1, 2005 Context, Culture & STEM Education. Intellectual Merit: The proposed study is designed to explore ways in which American Indian and Alaskan Native students and their teachers in selected communities make use of cultural experiences relevant to science and mathematics education. The proposed research is intended to provide a stronger evidentiary base to support sustained improvements in STEM settings and their subsequent diffusion. The findings from the proposed research may inform the development of STEM education in multiple educational contexts. The goals of the study are (1) to determine how community and cultural concepts, and student experiences with their heritage, impact the ways they make sense of the mathematics and science they encounter in school; (2) to understand what factors are critical to properly identifying and measuring the ways in which context and culture shape the learning of science and mathematics in American Indian and Alaskan Native populations; (3) to determine ways in which teachers' practices incorporate and build upon students' experiences as conventional forms of STEM knowledge are introduced and developed in school; and (4) to develop a research-based framework and methods that can help indigenous groups assess the forms of culturally-based science and mathematics knowledge that exist within communities, and how those local forms can be related to the ones that are recognized in formal education settings. To learn more about how to address these needs, in year one researchers will visit seven communities to select four that have the most prominent and varied culturally-related science and mathematics instructional programs and that offer opportunities for strong research collaboration. During the main data collection carried out in year two, researchers will spend six person-weeks spread over two field visits at each of the four selected communities. Data will be gathered systematically in five areas: sociocultural context, influence of place, interpersonal interactions, ethnically-related knowledge, and teacher practices of presenting conventional STEM knowledge. Data collection during a final visit will focus on extending understanding and addressing areas for investigation that arise from iterative analysis in year two. Broader Impact: This study addresses the insufficient research base on teaching and learning related to the mathematics and science education of rural, indigenous students. The knowledge developed in this study will contribute explicitly to the ongoing dialogue about how culturally different approaches to knowledge and knowledge construction can be reconciled and beneficially incorporated in the classroom as part of the pursuit of equitable and powerful STEM education for all students. The framework and methods identified within this comparative exploratory study will form the basis for future large-scale investigations of their applicability to other populations. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Nelson-Barber, Sharon WestEd CA Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 1036800 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529642 September 1, 2005 Women in Science and Engineering: Network Access, Participation, and Career Outcomes. The project proposes a study that examines how social and professional networks mediate the conversion of women's qualifications to career outcomes and specifically addresses how and why do networks matter for women's career outcomes in science and engineering. The study proposes a two-phase approach: (1) conduct a baseline national survey of scientists and engineers in six STEP fields; (2) conduct a network analysis of "critical mentors" aimed at uncovering the networks that emerge around key faculty. The two-stage design will provide detailed multi-level quantitative data for statistically modeling and rich qualitative evidence that enhance the quantitative analysis. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Melkers, Julia Eric Welch University of Illinois at Chicago IL Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1230808 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0529648 October 1, 2005 Making the Invisible Visible: Children and Teachers Learning about Physical States and State Changes. This project will study how children and their teachers come to understand the invisible processes and mechanisms that underlie states and state changes in the water cycle. These studies are designed to test the effectiveness of a concept formation and explanation-based approach to learning and instruction. They also test the effectiveness of visual graphics and corrective feedback in learning difficult physical concepts that have multiple processes occurring simultaneously. We know that explanation-based instruction increases understanding, learning, and retention of information. The structuring of text material in clear, explicit, causal, and explanatory ways is highly effective in achieving understanding and retention immediately and over the long term. The use of visual graphics in teaching about invisible physical processes, however, may be a critical variable for ensuring accurate understanding, above and beyond the coherence of a text. Receiving corrective feedback that compares the correct answer to an incorrect or incomplete answer may also be critical. The review of curricular materials used in elementary school science classes on this topic noted the clear absence of explicit concept definitions as well as explicit causal links that explained the relationships among many core concepts. Further, the explicit acknowledgement of ongoing parallel processes was never mentioned. In contrast, our curriculum for the current studies provides explicit definitions of all the concepts, explanations of all the processes, and a focus on the unfolding of parallel processes. The curriculum was designed using an ideal end-state model of what it would mean for a student to have a correct and complete understanding of the water cycle. This model is used as a basis for assessments as well as instruction. The model is also used to suggest when and how graphics may be incorporated most effectively into instruction, as visual explanations of important, but invisible processes. The study will include students and teachers in Chicago public schools. In the first two years of studies, 3rd and 4th grade teachers, 3rd and 4th grade students, and students from 7th and 12th grades will be pulled out for special instruction on these science units. Instruction will vary in terms of the amount and kind of feedback given to students to address misconceptions, whether students self-explain the materials out loud or not, and the presence or absence of static or animated visual graphics. In the third year, 3rd and 4th grade teachers who have first served as learners in our studies will then implement and teach the units in their own classrooms. The effectiveness of the new curriculum will be tested in two ways. In all three years, learning will be assessed via pre-post interviews and tests with students and teachers who receive different versions of the unit. We will also compare our students' performance to the performance of students who have not received our curriculum, but who have used other curricular materials like the FOSS system. Students will be compared on their knowledge of the water cycle and on their knowledge of general science concepts REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stein, Nancy James Pellegrino Jennifer Wiley University of Chicago IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 1166720 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529650 September 1, 2005 Collaborative Research: The Cultural Context of Native-American Science Education. The long-term goal of the researchers is to improve science learning for Native- American students and so to reduce the disparity between majority and minority culture students' science achievement. The project will provide a controlled test of the claim that bridging cultural differences in how one understands science will lead to improved learning of science content knowledge. The PIs' previous research with the Menominee has indicated that rural Native-American children begin school with a relatively precocious understanding of biology, but that this initial knowledge of the natural world does not translate into superior learning in traditional science curricula. On standardized tests Menominee children score above the national average in science in fourth grade, but by eighth grade it is their worst subject. The PIs explore the hypothesis that Native-American practices may clash with the cultural context and methodology used in the formal teaching of science. The proposal includes studies that will explore the educational relevance of cultural differences in approaches to the teaching of science and it includes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an after-school program. The initial studies will continue the researchers efforts to identify barriers to Native-American science learning and to develop and test strategies for building on the cultural knowledge that Native-American children bring to the classroom. Research on children's folkbiology has been conducted almost exclusively with individuals from urban North American populations. The proposed research will bring more evidence to bear on the problem of science learning in minority culture contexts. REESE DEVELOP& LEARNING SCIENCES/CRI RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Medin, Douglas Northwestern University IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 776069 7625 1698 1666 SMET OTHR 9251 9177 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0529680 July 1, 2004 Teachers Experiencing Polar Research Initiative. 9904860 SHIPP This 5-year program works with 12-16 new teachers each year who are participating in the NSF Teachers Experiencing Antarctica or Arctic program. Its plan is to help with the selection of those teachers, help prepare them for research in the polar regions, work with them on transfer to the classroom activities, prepare the scientists to work with the teachers in both the research and education setting, and oversee and manage an extensive website for communication between teachers. To increase the effectiveness of communication from the ice in near-real or real-time the program will leverage the use of technology (Internet and CU-See Me). This electronic networking along with that at national meetings is designed to sustain the growing network of teachers, researchers, curriculum developers, administrators, and students that constitute the Polar Learning Community. Teachers who participate in a research experience in either polar region are expected to close mentor three of their peers in the use of the research paradigm in their classroom and use the NSF supported polar curriculum (Project GLACIER). Mentoring is for a minimum of 127 hours for each of three teachers and is required upon completion of the polar research experience. Accountability is maintained through a journal shared with the senior personnel of the project and project evaluator. Transfer to the classroom activities begins with a workshop session before going to the ice and in extensive follow-up workshops upon return from the ice. In addition to the TEA teachers, TEA associates will participate in the program's activities as well. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC EARTH SCIENCES RES IN DISABILITIES ED DRL EHR Hickox, Sara University of Rhode Island RI Sharon M. Locke Continuing grant 360954 7300 5208 5112 1545 SMET OTHR 9177 1079 0000 0529766 September 15, 2005 Integrating Ethics into Graduate Training in the Environmental Sciences. This project is developing, incorporating, and assessing ethics modules on six topics designed for graduate courses in the environmental sciences: 1) responsible conduct of research; 2) data analysis; 3) sustainability; 4) cost/benefit analysis; 5) environmental risk-analysis; 6) decision-making under uncertainty. This fills a need for strengthened ethics education in the natural sciences. Ethics education in the natural and social sciences has been much less systematic than in medicine, business, and engineering. Further, ethics education in the natural sciences is often limited to instruction on the responsible conduct of research (RCR). This topic is typically handled in a single class meeting or an on-line training module, and is seldom accompanied by training in ethical sensitivity or ethical decision-making skills. Graduate students are typically inculcated in research methods to view their research as objective and value-free. Research in the environmental sciences, however, often influences society and the environment in profound ways, and the conduct and interpretation of this research is rich in ethical assumptions and issues. Minimal training in the RCR is not adequate in educating graduate students about the full ethical dimensions of their research. We are investigating the hypothesis that expanded ethics education that encompasses ethical issues inherent in the content of scientific research as well as attention to the ethical conduct of scientific research will both improve students' appreciation of traditional RCR training and enrich students' understanding of the ethical context of their research in the environmental sciences. Intellectual Merit: This project is seeking major advances in both the content and pedagogy of ethics education by developing and assessing the impact of curricular modules on topics in the environmental sciences. The research component of the project will test two hypotheses. The first is that increased emphasis in graduate education on ethical frameworks and ethical reasoning skills is correlated with a better understanding of and/or attitudes toward RCR. The second hypothesis is that extending ethics education beyond RCR is correlated with a better understanding of and/or attitudes toward ethics education in the sciences. Our modules will provide future scientists with an appreciation of the range of ethical issues they will face and the skills needed to address them. Broader Impacts: While most scientists are committed to ensuring that their students appreciate the importance of scientific integrity, this topic is one many scientists feel under-prepared to teach. Tested, off-the-shelf modules that provide curricular support are thus a welcome addition to many instructors engaged in graduate education. This project is assessing how much ethics education is sufficient relative to identified learning objectives, enabling faculty to judge how best to incorporate the modules. The pedagogical techniques and assessment strategies that are being developed in the first year of this study will be implemented in graduate courses at Carnegie Mellon, Penn State Harrisburg, and at Slippery Rock University in subsequent years. Our results are being widely disseminated both by creating pedagogical modules and case study analyses for electronic publishing on the web pages of the Rock Ethics Institute, and through journal publications. Ethics & Values of SET RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DECISION RISK & MANAGEMENT SCI DRL EHR Tuana, Nancy Donald Brown Kenneth Davis James Shortle Klaus Keller Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Myles G. Boylan Standard Grant 235550 7915 1666 1321 SMET OTHR 9177 7491 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0530998 July 1, 2005 SCIENCE ASSESSMENT: RESEARCH AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Two conferences would disseminate research and best practices in the domain of science assessment. The conference presenters would be the Principal Investigators of recent NSF-funded projects that studied approaches to assessing the science understanding of pre-college students. The intended audience would be grades 3 - 12 teachers of science, science supervisors, school administrators and professional development providers. Modeled after a recent NSTA-sponsored conference entitled "The Linking of Science and Literacy in the Classroom," the proposed conference format would be a combination of plenary sessions, panel presentations and small group discussion sessions. The presenters would also contribute chapters to a book to be published following the conference, extending the dissemination to a much larger audience. An Advisory Board of assessment experts has been established to guide the conference planning process. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Douglas, Rowena National Science Teachers Assoc VA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 238297 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0531120 May 15, 2005 Promoting Understanding of Trigonometry for Technologically-Reliant Trajectories. The project focuses on an analysis of the trigonometric concepts and skills needed to successfully traverse a "knowledge supply chain" towards three technologically reliant fields: semi-conductor fields, graphic arts, and acoustic analysis and design. The study is designed to examine how to establish an explicit linkage between career preparation for high technology positions ranging from technician to engineer or artist and the academic preparation of a high school in the particular instance of trigonometric reasoning. It is believed that such redesign of school practice will be necessary to support a larger segment of the population in pursuing and mastering mathematics-related concepts and skills. DRL EHR Confrey, Jere Washington University MO John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 428213 7256 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0531886 June 15, 2005 QEM/TPC Information and Technical Assistance Workshop to be Held in Washington, DC, May 6, 2005. The authors propose a conference offering technical assistance to new performers responding to the Teacher Professional Continuum Solicitation for FY06. The workshop will be held in Washington, DC on May 6, 2005. Invitations will be sent to fifty participants from minority-serving institutions. The goal is to increase participants' awareness of the overall TPC program and of the opportunities for support that the TPC program offers. Each institution will identify two faculty participants: one from the education faculty, and another from the institution's STEM departments. The workshop will include presentations by TPC program officers, award recipients and QEM consultants. Participants will be required to submit a one-page project summary for a TPC preliminary proposal prior to the workshop. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR McBay, Shirley QUALITY EDUCATION FOR MINORITIES NETWORK DC Julia Clark Standard Grant 109326 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0532150 October 1, 2005 Coastal Quest: Developing a Learnscape Approach for Edutourism. This planning project seeks to study new ways to tap into family vacation agendas as opportunities for increased learning. It will assess and prototype a variety of program development activities related to outdoor and indoor experiences for families on vacation to the Grand Strand coastal region of South Carolina, and potentially to other such vacation spots around the country. Such experiences are intended to facilitate family learning about coastal ecosystems. The planning work is a collaborative effort among professionals in university and museum organizations along with the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Luken, James Sharon Gilman Coastal Carolina University SC Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 74611 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0532214 September 15, 2005 A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of High School Mathematics Textbooks of Two Types of Student Learning. The project evaluates high school students' mathematics learning from textbooks embodying two distinct approaches to content organization: an integrated approach (Core Plus) and a subject-specific approach (students follow an Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II sequence). The study will be conducted in schools using both approaches but with different groups of students. Student learning over a two-year period will be tracked using standardized measures of achievement along with specially designed measures to assess depth of knowledge, skills acquisition, conceptual development, and disposition toward mathematics. The study involves over 3000 students with project classes randomly chosen from a large pool. The extent to which curricula are implemented in each classroom will be carefully assessed and subsequently used in data analyses that examine student learning under each approach to content. REESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Grouws, Douglas Ira Papick Robert Reys James Tarr Oscar Chavez University of Missouri-Columbia MO Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 2239120 7625 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0532446 September 1, 2005 Studying Robust-Design Strategies for Developing Innovations Effective and Scalable in Challenging Classroom Settings. This project studies the extent to which a technology-based curricular innovation developed through "robust-design" strategies is effective in increasing students' educational outcomes across a range of challenging classroom settings. Evolving an intervention for extreme scalability - even into contexts in which some of its conditions for success are attenuated or lacking - requires "ruggedizing" its efficacy when parts of its intended enactment are absent. Developing an innovation capable of adaptation into most school sites involves designing interventions that retain a substantial proportion of their effectiveness despite relatively barren settings, such as many urban districts, in which some of the innovation's important conditions for success are missing or attenuated. Under these circumstances, major aspects of an innovation's design will not be enacted as intended by developers, so evolving robust-design strategies and studying the efficacy under inhospitable conditions of interventions produced using these ruggedized strategies is important. This project will assess such a strategy for extreme scalability This project will assess such a strategy for extreme scalability through design-based research on large-scale implementations of a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) curriculum across a spectrum of contexts. Each year, robust-design methods will draw on the prior implementation's results to develop and study a further ruggedized version with increased effectiveness in extreme conditions. Through this research, the project will develop and validate sophisticated methodologies for determining the sensitivity of the MUVE's impact to four selected, varying contextual conditions (extent of teacher professional development involvement, class size, student previous achievement, and student engagement) and for assessing the MUVE's overall effectiveness. The project will also generate 1) robust-design heuristics for increasing the ruggedness and scalability of technology-based educational innovations, and 2) extreme-implementation strategies for aiding with the enactment of technology-based educational innovations under attenuated or absent conditions of success. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Dede, Christopher Harvard University MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1778460 7180 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 0532536 October 1, 2005 Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network. The Museum of Science (MOS) seeks to establish a Network, a national infrastructure designed to foster public awareness, engagement and understanding of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE). As part of this undertaking, MOS will create a set of interactive, media-based and discourse-based educational productes based on NSE; generate new knowledge about design for learning and produce a sustainable network that involves inromal educators and researchers. Core partners are the Exploratorium and the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM). This project will establish for the first-time an open national network that links science centers across the nation, focusing for this award on the development and delivery of exhibits and programs addressing the interdisciplinary content areas of NSE. In addition, the Network will establish ties and collaborative relationships with university-based NSE research centers, including MRSEC's and NSEC's. An educational research and development component will address the challenges of public understanding of a difficult-to-grasp emerging field. Project deliverables will be created primarily at three sites. The Center for NISE Research at the Exploratorium will collect, develop and disseminate knowledge about how to communicate to target audiences. The NISE Center for Public Engagement at MOS will develop a network media framework for dissemination to other science centers, network radio (with WBUR), and produce forums for dialogue and deliberation with adult audiences. The NISE Center for Exhibit and Program Production and Dissemination at SMM will develop interactive exhibits, exhibition packages for distribution, and immersive media environments programs. Development of deliverables will involve the following science-technology center partners: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), OR; New York Hall of Science, NY; Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, TX; Museum of Life and Science, NC; Sciencenter, NY; and Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC). NSE research partners include Main Street Science, Cornell University; Materials Research Society; University of Wisconsin Madison, MRSEC Interdisciplinary Education Group; and Purdue University, Envision Center for Data Perceptualization. The resulting Network and the knowledge gained as a result of this project are intended to produce a dramatic improvement in the capacity of the science center field to engage and educate the public about NSE, both in quality and quantity. By Year Five, there are expected to be NSE exhibits and activities at some 100 sites across the nation. In addition, the NSE research community should gain a deeper appreciation of the role that science centers can play as intermediaries in conveying scientific research to the public. NANOSCALE SCIENCE & ENG EDUCAT COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION NANOTECHNOLOGY UNDERGRAD EDUCA MATERIALS CENTERS & EDUCATION NANOSCALE: INTRDISCPL RESRCH T DRL EHR Bell, Lawrence Robert Semper Thomas Rockwell Paul Martin Carol Lynn Alpert Museum of Science MA David A. Ucko Cooperative Agreement 19999169 7457 7298 7259 7219 1736 1674 SMET OTHR MANU HPCC 9218 9178 9177 9146 7452 7451 7259 7222 7219 5980 5978 5977 5946 5922 5921 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0533221 September 15, 2005 Philadelphia ISEOST Symposium -- A Planning Grant. The University of Pennsylvania's Out of School Time Resource Center is requesting a planning grant to conduct a symposium that will be used to develop a unique professional development model for informal science educators and out-of-school time providers. Project collaborators include the Philadelphia Zoo, Education Works and Branch Associates. The Symposium will include speakers, workshops and discussion groups designed to introduce the professional development model and obtain feedback and support from area educators. It is anticipated that by engaging representatives from both fields, the project will result in more focused, outcomes-based programs for diverse student audiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Peter, Nancy University of Pennsylvania PA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0533460 September 1, 2005 SGER: College Level SMET Course Taking Pattern and High School Mathematics Curricula. The College Level SMET Course Taking Pattern and High School Mathematics Curricula project seeks to conduct preliminary research on the effects of standards-based mathematics curricula on post-secondary STEM achievement and course-taking patterns of students at colleges and universities in Minnesota. An outgrowth of the Local Systemic Change initiative, the current pilot study on student outcomes of Minnesota high school graduates attending the Twin Cities Campus of the University of Minnesota, which involves more than 5,000 students from almost 250 high schools, has uncovered complexities in data collection methodology. As the project prepares for a statewide study to involve 25 institutions of higher education (IHEs), complexities with data collection need immediate attention. The opportunity exists now to address these complexities while data are available, particularly at small rural high schools, and while the partner IHEs are poised to collaborate. The conditions for accomplishing the study on mathematics curricula effects at the postsecondary level on a statewide level are unprecedented. A SGER grant will allow the Investigator to proceed with this important research to determine whether there are detectable differences in college mathematics performance by students with traditional and standards-based high school curriculum backgrounds. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Post, Thomas University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Paola Sztajn Standard Grant 97535 7355 7271 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0533572 September 1, 2005 A National Symposium to Develop an Effective Model for the Professional Development of K-12 Engineering and Technology Education Teachers. The primary focus for the National Symposium is to develop research-based models for the professional development of K-12 engineering and technology teachers. Science and mathematics educators have used effective, research-based, professional development programs and materials to strengthen the skill set for practicing science and mathematics teachers. However, technology education, as a less mature field of study, has less experience in developing and delivering research-based professional development practicing technology teachers. With the emerging alignment of technology education with engineering, the need for effective professional development models has become more critical. The goal of the National Symposium is to assemble a group of key stakeholders with specialized expertise in professional development from science, mathematics, engineering and technology to share expertise and explore models for standards-based professional development. Key goals of the symposium are to: (a) examine the applicability of existing teacher professional development models for engineering and technology education; and (b) develop a foundation for developing models for technology education professional development, based on contemporary pedagogy and androgogy. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The National Symposium will be organized around carefully selected thematic sessions focused on specific aspects of professional development. Each session will begin with invited presentations of scholarly papers, followed by discussion to probe and clarify key ideas. A discussant will be designated to initiate the conversations and a session moderator will facilitate each session with a major goal of maintaining a focus on the development of models of professional development for engineering and technology. The ultimate goal of the presentations will be to produce: (a) a preliminary professional development framework for engineering and technology education; and (b) a set of issues to focus the agenda for subsequent model and framework development. BROADER IMPACTS: The National Symposium will produce a framework for engineering and technology education professional development based on a synthesis of the professional development literature and the expertise shared at the symposium. Following the symposium a public forum will be convened to share issues and models with the profession at large. In addition, the published proceedings of the National Symposium and a monograph, which will include a synthesis of the proceedings and the professional development models developed, will be disseminated through direct mail to key stakeholders. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Custer, Rodney Jenny Daugherty Illinois State University IL Michael Haney Standard Grant 199747 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0535318 August 15, 2005 SGER: Elementary Mathematics Lab. The Institute for Advanced Study is developing more fully the exploratory research program at the Elementary Mathematics Laboratory (EML) at the Park City Mathematics Institute and diversifing the group of participants to include more research mathematicians and a broader range of teachers and mathematics educators. The EML is centered on an observed, ten-day summer school course for about 20 fifth-grade students from Park City (Utah) Schools. The EML provides these students with a mathematically rigorous summer school experience while offering mathematicians, researchers and educators an opportunity to test and refine theoretical ideas about mathematics education of children. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Griffiths, Phillip Deborah Ball Institute For Advanced Study NJ John S. Bradley Standard Grant 49961 7181 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0535492 October 1, 2005 Building Evaluation System Capacity for STEM Programs: Enhancing Capability and Advancing Practice. This is an evaluation systems development project. It is based on the assumption that we know little about how evaluation systems are developed or can be themselves evaluated. This is especially so because of the complexity of evaluation demands given the range of current methods and approaches and contexts of evaluation. What is proposed is to use structured participatory mixed methods system approaches to: identify the needs that STEM educators and evaluators have for evaluation of their programs; develop a formal model of an evaluation system to address those needs; identify the major components of that system and how they might work together; and operationalize one or measures of evaluation capacity building that can be used to assess evaluation system development. The model and measures will be implemented and tested in a pilot project in a New York City that includes both formal and informal STEM education programs. The project is intended to contribute to our fundamental knowledge regarding the nature and structure of evaluation systems, how they can be developed more effectively and how to evaluate their development. By "evaluation system" the project means "an arrangement of various components - values and principles, methods, resources, and structures - designed to conduct and support an evaluation capability". Usually an evaluation system is a way to support many separate evaluation projects, and often with the express purpose of being able to integrate and compare the results of these distinct evaluations. The project does not claim there are no resources for evaluation. Rather it is that there are too many, or resources varying in quality and not screened or adapted for use in particular contexts. It is a lack not of resources but of systems for supporting evaluation. Thus, the proposed project is designed to: develop a model of STEM evaluation system needs and how they might be addressed; develop one or more measures or evaluation capacity that can be used to assess change efforts; and pilot test a capacity-building effort in two local STEM programs while simultaneously testing the evaluation capacity building assessments developed. Project partners have indicated support including the schools (the Biology Teachers Institute and the informal science Cornell Garden Mosaics project); STEM research groups at Cornell (nanobiotechnology project with education outreach, integrative graduate education and research traineeship project for scientists and engineers, science inquiry partnerships, and environmental inquiry IMD project. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Trochim, William Stephen Hamilton Cornell University - State NY James S. Dietz Standard Grant 746133 7261 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0535831 December 15, 2005 Phase II: Evaluative Research and Capacity Building in the Mississippi Delta. The primary purpose of the Evaluative Research and Capacity Building (ERCB) Delta project is to develop an interest and capacity for evaluative studies of critical STEM educational issues and problems among STEM faculty at five of the regional and historically black Mississippi Delta higher education institutions. Although these colleges and universities graduate most of the teachers and administrators working in Delta schools, with the exception of those trained in Phase I of this project, the faculties have not previously been involved in comprehensive evaluation of STEM educational policies and practices. The principal objective of this proposal (Phase II of the project) is to continue the work begun under the original project as a model to enhance the evaluation capacity of a selected group of faculty members, and the infrastructure of institutions that serve the Mississippi Delta region. This entails developing faculty skills and institutional expertise in order to build sustained capacity to conduct evaluation and evaluation research on STEM and STEM-related issues. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Brown, Robert Ronald Love University of Mississippi MS Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 699891 7261 SMET 9177 9150 0535942 May 17, 2005 Journey to El Yunque: Studying the Effects of Hurricane Georges. The "Journey to El Yunque" is a website to improve middle school students' understanding of ecology and changing ecosystems. The bilingual web-based learning environment allows students to investigate the effects of Hurricane Georges on the Caribbean National Forest known as El Yunque. The materials address selected science standards. Embedded assessments are included. Teacher support materials are connected to the "Exploring the Environment" website hosted by NASA. Parent support pages are provided INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR McGee, Steven Jess Zimmerman Steven Croft The Learning Partnership IL David A. Hanych Continuing grant 145818 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0537035 September 1, 2005 When Science and Literacy Meet: Creating Support for Teachers Implementing Writing in the Science Classroom. This project proposes to create two books and a professional development manual about the roles and practice of writing-to-learn strategies in science classrooms. The books will emphasize the importance of purposeful writing as a learning tool. This work builds on the author's research on the connections between writing-to-learn and improved student understanding and performance in science. The first book will target K-6 teachers and the second will address the needs of 7-12 teachers. Separate books are proposed to meet the distinctly different pedagogical demands of elementary vs. secondary classrooms and to address the greater level of content knowledge associated with the secondary science. Heinemann Publishers has agreed to include the books in their science & literacy series. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Hand, Brian Lori Norton-Meier University of Iowa IA Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1497405 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0537050 August 15, 2005 A Proposal to Conduct Additional Follow-up Activities to QEM'sTeacher Professional Continuum Information and Technical Assistance Workshop Held on May 6, 2005. QEM organized a conference offering technical assistance to new performers responding to the Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC) Solicitation for FY06, held in Washington, DC on May 6, 2005. The present proposal outlines some activities intended to continue this support to new performers and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) with the hope they will be eventually represented in the TPC portfolio. Three activities are outlined: 1) a one-day follow-up workshop for MSIs which have submitted a preliminary proposal to the TPC program and who participated in the May 6, 2005 workshop; 2) the preparation of a report on teacher education programs at other government agencies, and at major philanthropic foundations which have tried to attract the participation of MSIs. 3) a seminar for NSF program officers on the findings in the report (2). TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR McBay, Shirley QUALITY EDUCATION FOR MINORITIES NETWORK DC Julia Clark Standard Grant 110759 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0537198 September 15, 2005 Building Cognitive Tutors with Programming by Demonstration: When Simulated Students help Cognitive Modeling and Educational Studies. This project will develop a novel design for an Intelligent Authoring System for Cognitive Tutors. The system includes a machine learning facility - called the Simulated Student - that generates a "cognitive model" which can perform the subject task just as students do. The Simulated Student learns the production rules in the cognitive model much like a human student: by observing examples of worked-out problem solutions, reading associated instructions, and getting feedback on solution attempts. The author provides the examples, English instructions, and solution feedback, and thus acts more like a teacher than a programmer. In this way, the Simulated Student allows authors to bypass the time-consuming and difficult-to-learn programming that is currently required to build the Cognitive Model component of a Cognitive Tutor. The key technology behind Simulated Students is programming by demonstration, in which machine learning is integrated tightly into a user interface. We plan to use learning methods based on Inductive Logic Programming and Statistical Relational Learning. With the proposed Intelligent Authoring System, an author will perform the following steps to build a tutor: (1) build a graphic user interface (GUI) for the tutor; (2) demonstrate solutions, by solving problems with the GUI and annotating steps with instructional messages, thus providing training data for the Simulated Student to learn production rules that replicate the demonstrations; and (3) test the production rules and giving the Simulated Student feedback on its solutions for another set of problems. This effort builds upon a suite of Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT), which includes a built-in GUI builder, a facility to demonstrate solution steps and recode them, and facilities to write and test production rules. The proposed Intelligent Authoring System will be implemented by integrating the Simulated Student into CTAT, so all three authoring steps will be a natural extension of existing authoring tools. This project has broader impacts in advancing intelligent systems technology and in providing better cognitive tutors by allowing teachers to be authors. REESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Cohen, William Ken Koedinger Noboru Matsuda Carnegie-Mellon University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 499473 7625 7180 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0537224 October 1, 2005 The Molecular Rover: Learning Science from Close Engagement with Molecular Phenomena. This project will develop and apply new educational technology tools that will guide students' exploration of complex 3D molecular structures and the forces that affect them. Equipped with a set of tools, e.g. virtual probes, students will navigate above, below and through molecules exploring forces among molecules that define structures such as large biopolymers (e.g. DNA or proteins), ionic lattices, liquid crystals, cell membranes, or ligand-receptor complexes. Virtual probes will help students recognize the effects of functional groups on electrostatic properties and characteristics of complex molecular surfaces. The universality of those molecular structures, coupled with the use of a friendly interface, allows for a qualitative introduction to the molecular underpinnings of material science, physics, chemistry and molecular biology appropriate for both high school and college. Using the Molecular Workbench, an open-source modeling and authoring system, the project will create a unique blend of molecular dynamics and 3D environments with teacher-authoring capabilities. A logging system to explore student learning with models will be developed based on Jmol scripts. This will facilitate the study of students' learning from static and dynamic 3D molecular models. A comparison of 2D and 3D molecular models based on the same content will be made. The software for this project will be freely available and potentially have a broad impact on millions of students. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Tinker, Robert Boris Berenfeld Concord Consortium MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 299815 7180 SMET 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0537251 October 1, 2005 Science Online: Learning Through Collaborative Writing of an Open-Content Scientific Encyclopedia. The question that this project addresses is whether the new online publishing paradigm represented by Wikis can be successfully leveraged for science education? In this research, collaborative software that extends Wiki technology to support science learning by high-school students will be created. Students will learn about science content and method by collaboratively researching and writing about controversial science topics, supporting their writing with strong citations, and publishing their writing on the Internet. The site that is available to the students is Science Online. Science Online is an open-content science encyclopedia-anyone may add or modify its content at any time. This site will be persistent (similar to wikipedia) and will grow organically over time to the point that it becomes a useful reference for the general public. In addition to being useful in itself, this more importantly will help create a motivating, authentic context for high-school science students contributing to Science Online. The research hypothesis for education research is that having a real audience for published work will encourage students to be more engaged, since they see their work product as having real value to others. Second, Science Online will allow students to demonstrate sophisticated meta-cognitive strategies as they reflect on the real audience for their writing and what that audience may or may not understand. Tools to support the students in their use of Science Online will be developed and made available to the public. Additionally, lesson plans will be developed to incorporate the use of Science Online in science instruction in High Schools and will be made available to the public. REESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Bruckman, Amy GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 345812 7625 7180 SMET 9251 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0537468 October 1, 2005 Learnings about K-12 Science Curriculum Implementation and Dissemination: A Two-day Symposium to be Convened in Washington, DC, in the Late Fall of 2005. The project proposes a symposium bringing together the four NSF funded Science Implementation and Dissemination Centers along with other experts to focus on the following themes: 1. curriculum design and selection 2. curriculum-focused professional development 3. curriculum implementation in schools and districts 4. future directions The purpose of the meeting is to synthesize the existing knowledge base around science curriculum use and to examine the lessons learned about the above themes gained from the experiences from each Center. Products will include monographs that address each theme and a synthesis of the final evaluations from each Center. The PIs have a plan for distribution and dissemination of the monographs, including putting them in book form and creating a process for electronic distribution. An Advisory Committee will guide the development of the Symposium through representation from each Center, along with national consultants. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Berns, Barbara Judith Sandler Education Development Center MA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 209954 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0538974 September 15, 2005 Effects of a Coach-focused Professional Learning Model on Lesson Development, Lesson Delivery and Student Learning, Achievement and Performance. This project would research the impact of the instructional coaching model developed for science teachers in the Spokane Washington Public Schools. The model, which includes instructional coaching, lesson study, grade-level team capacity building and data driven dialogue, is set in the context of a district-wide science curriculum with well-defined core units, program guides and student assessments, and an established tradition of strong administrative support. The research examines several indicators, including student scores on state (WASL) and local tests and classroom observations, surveys and interviews that monitor changes in teacher practice. The study involves grades 5-10 science teachers from six elementary, six middle, and five senior high schools. Schools will be assigned to control or treatment conditions, and teachers from those schools will be observed using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) for evidence of change in practice. Project leaders include the district science supervisor who was co-PI of two NSF Teacher Enhancement grants, the district curriculum director, a prominent science education researcher and an expert in research and evaluation. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Short, Karin Jim Minstrell Eric Magi Spokane School District #81 WA Joseph Reed Continuing grant 2494636 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0539190 September 1, 2005 Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice in Professional Development: A Conference to be Convened in Washington, DC, in the Spring of 2006. This conference, planned for the spring of 2006 in Washington, DC, would present results from recent studies of large-scale professional development efforts in mathematics and science to teams of state level policy makers responsible for designing, implementing and presenting professional development. The conference focuses on assisting state leaders in the development of effective strategies for their local context. Participants will receive briefing manuals to use when communicating conference information to their local colleagues. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Blank, Rolf Iris Weiss Council of Chief State School Officers DC Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 198140 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540041 August 15, 2005 SGER: Transformative Research Anchored in Science Learning and Teaching Environments (TRANSLATE). This SGER proposal, a response to current national initiatives focused on secondary science instruction, would collate, examine and broadly disseminate current scholarly research in three critical areas of secondary science education: Inquiry; Reforming Instructional Practices; and Roles of Technology in Instruction. The goals of this proposal include (1) informing practitioners of existing studies; (2) sharing knowledge across the science teacher education community and (3) providing the science education research community with an overview of existing studies and an agenda for future work. The proposed secondary science study would be rapidly and broadly disseminated at professional meetings and through three books, one in each of the critical areas, to be published as part of the NSF/ESIE Foundations series. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Luft, Julie Arizona State University AZ Michael Haney Standard Grant 200000 7271 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540841 October 1, 2005 QEM/TPC Regional Information and Technical Asssistance Workshops. This project will support three regional technical assistance and information workshops for the Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC) program. These workshops will continue the outreach plan to the community of minority-serving institutions, intended to increase their representation in the TPC portfolio. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR McBay, Shirley QUALITY EDUCATION FOR MINORITIES NETWORK DC Julia Clark Standard Grant 383506 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0541686 September 1, 2005 Connecting STEM Disciplines in High School with a Research University Follow-up Evaluation. This TPC Conference Proposal is a request for a follow-up to a successful exploratory grant which brought seven minority students who are excelling in the STEM disciplines and their teachers to a statewide undergraduate research two-day symposium. This proposal seeks to bring high school minority students and teachers together with university scientists engaged in STEM research. The participants will have the opportunity to interact with scientists who will serve in a mentoring role. The symposium will bring teachers and their minority high school students who are excelling in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to a statewide symposium to hear and interact with university researchers who will be sharing cutting- edge research at the State's flagship university -- The University of Georgia. This interaction will provide high school teachers opportunities to update their knowledge of cutting-edge research in the STEM disciplines and become familiar with the opportunities their students can consider in the STEM disciplines. The students will also have the opportunity to shadow researchers and scientists at the symposium, in their laboratories and in their classes during the symposium and periodically throughout the year. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Kleiber, Pamela University of Georgia GA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 25000 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0541723 September 1, 2005 Meeting the Challenges of Accountability in Mathematics and Science: Using Data to Achieve Results -- A Resource for Practitioners. This SGER proposal is a timely response to school districts' urgent need for guidance in both analyzing the vast quantities of student test data they are currently receiving and developing effective strategies for using those data to promote better student performance and overall school improvement. The proposed products include both print and web-based resources for practitioners and would be based on the PI's research-based studies over the past three years of how districts use data in decision-making. Written for a practitioner audience, the monograph would focus on using data to guide school improvement plans with particular attention to addressing achievement gaps, meeting the needs of special populations and connecting classroom-based assessments to high stakes test data. The monograph would include protocols and several case studies developed by the PI through her NSF-funded "Using Data Project" (ESI-0221415), and would ultimately be published through the NSF Foundations series. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Love, Nancy TERC Inc MA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 199958 7271 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0542093 October 1, 2005 SGER Undergraduate Evaluation Training. The proposed SGER project will provide undergraduate evaluation training and a professional certificate, with an emphasis on cultural competence. The project is unique in the level at which evaluation education is initiated. Currently, evaluation education is only provided at the graduate level. (See Peterson's Undergraduate Guide, 2005). The project provides an opportunity to explore the feasibility of providing undergraduate evaluation education. Because undergraduate evaluation concentrations are not currently offered, the project incurs some risk. It is feasible that the undergraduate students are not ready for the rigor of research training required to be a competent evaluator. However, it successful, the undergraduate standards set forth in this project can establish an emerging trend in undergraduate education. The success of this project will inform curriculum development linking undergraduate and graduate evaluation education. The undergraduate program will provide the foundation for a logical progression of evaluation knowledge building at the graduate level. In addition, the emphasis on cultural competence and the recruitment of students of color will broaden the pipeline diversity base. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Madison, Anna University of Massachusetts Boston MA Karen F. Zuga Standard Grant 199073 7261 SMET 9237 9177 0542103 September 15, 2005 The Intersection of Diversity and Learning: A Two-day National Conference to be Convened at the University of Georgia Education Center, Athens, Georgia, March 31 - April 1, 2006.. This is a request for a two-day TPC Conference that addresses the relationship between diversity and learning with an emphasis on preK-12 STEM. What is known and understood about issues of diversity and equity as they play out in a more global, technological and complex society remains relatively minute. The goal of the conference and the subsequent structure is to consider and empirically identify: (a) teaching strategies for pre-K-12 education which encourage females and under-represented minorities to pursue further STEM coursework; (b) best practices for recruiting females and minority students in STEM majors; (c) organizational policies and practices that create inclusive climates for diversity within STEM workplaces and professions; and (d) strategies for using technology in order to create opportunities for community development, especially in poor and minority communities. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Hill, Janette Kecia Thomas Robert Fecho Jenny Oliver Talmadge Guy University of Georgia GA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 47539 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0544549 October 1, 2005 A July, 2006 Conference to Formulate a Collaborative Mathematics-focused Research Agenda for Education Researchers in the United States and in Africa. The authors propose a conference, together with preliminary and follow-up activities, and involving American and African researchers in mathematics education, particularly in the professional development of teachers. The goal of the project is to discuss common issues that face American and African teachers and students, and to map out a research agenda that can be worked on collaboratively in the future, together with some discussion about the technical aspects of such collaborations. The conference will take advantage of the convergence at the Pan-African Mathematical Olympiad of mathematicians, educational researchers, and education officials from across the continent of Africa. This event will be held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in July, 2006. This award is co-funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering. INTERNATIONAL PLAN & WORKSHOPS TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR McBay, Shirley QUALITY EDUCATION FOR MINORITIES NETWORK DC Paola Sztajn Standard Grant 201516 7299 7271 SMET 9177 7507 5976 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0545445 October 1, 2005 Effects of Content-focused and Practice-based Professional Development Models on Teacher Knowledge, Classroom Practice and Student Learning in Science. This research project examines four different professional development modalities and their impact on teacher learning, practice and ultimately, student outcomes. The research variables are the amount and nature of pedagogical content knowledge exposure during a 24-hour professional development treatment. The options include (1) content instruction, case studies and concurrent classroom teaching in the content domain; (2) content and case studies; (3) content and concurrent teaching; and (4) content instruction only. The content domain (electric circuits) will employ a teacher resource module from the "Understanding Science" series developed by WestEd. The research design includes random assignment of participants and analysis of pre/post data on content and pedagogy from all teacher participants. The PI has a strong physics background and will be responsible for the preparation of the professional development providers who will lead the treatment sessions. Participants in the study will be drawn from school districts in the San Francisco Bay area of California; Los Angeles, California; Mobile, Alabama and two additional sites. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Shinohara, Mayumi Joan Heller Judith Little WestEd CA Joseph Reed Continuing grant 1970930 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0545947 October 15, 2005 Learning Science within Informal Environments. The National Research Council, through its Board on Science Education, will carry out a synthesis study of informal science learning based on a workshop funded by a prior NSF planning grant. The intellectual merit of this project is based on the formation of a committee of experts representative of the diversity of the field who will engage in a fact-finding process on learning science in informal settings, deliberate about the evidence and produce a major report that will be published by the National Academies Press. The study will describe the status of knowledge in the field currently, articulate a common framework for the next generation of research on informal science learning and provide guidance to the community of practice. By presenting what we know about the characteristics of effective informal science learning environments across a range of outcome measures, the study will achieve broader impacts by assisting practitioners, policymakers and researchers in directing their efforts towards realizing the potential of informal science education for advancing public science literacy. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schweingruber, Heidi National Academy of Sciences DC David A. Ucko Continuing grant 1376000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0548171 September 15, 2005 ICLS 2006: Making a Difference, 2006 in Indiana. This proposal will support graduate students and new researcher to participate in the International Conference of the Learning Society in Indiana. Four activities will be covered by the grant , Methods Workshops for new researchers . Travel and registration for junior researchers . Travel and registration support for doctoral students . Doctoral Consortium In addition, an evaluation of the project will be conducted. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Barab, Sasha Thomas Duffy Kenneth Hay Daniel Hickey Indiana University IN Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 50000 7271 7180 1666 SMET 9177 0548386 September 15, 2005 Workshops: Building pipelines, developing leadership. This project is to conduct three training workshops/conferences and attendance at the joint American Evaluation Association/Canadian Evaluation Society conference in Toronto in 2005/6. The workshops aims to develop leaders of diverse national and ethnic groups in evaluation and thereby increase the diversity of the STEM workforce. Specific goals of the proposed project are: To provide training conferences to graduate students in order to develop valuable curricula and evaluation knowledge generation, To improve the knowledge base of graduate students from STEM and other social science disciplines interested in evaluation, To develop a leadership pipeline model guided by social agenda/advocacy evaluation frameworks that address issues of access, opportunity, and power that are faced by non-profit organizations, foundations, and other agencies. The project will develop a format of quarterly training activities to include an orientation and networking in the field of evaluation, advancing the conceptual and methodological tools of becoming a culturally responsive evaluator, and building sustainable communities through evaluation and the role of evaluation in promoting social change. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hopson, Rodney Duquesne University PA Deh-I Hsiung Standard Grant 49830 7261 SMET 9177 0550847 June 16, 2005 Exploring the Development of Beginning Secondary Science Teachers in Various Induction Programs. This five-year research study will focus on the impact of different teacher preparation and induction models, as well as on the quality and persistence of secondary science teachers. Combining the strengths of case-based research with a quasi-experimental design this study will follow 120 secondary science teachers for three years from four different and well characterized preservice - induction programs. Many of the "newly" inducted teachers will be assigned in multicultural, diverse or urban settings and the broader impact will include not only the teachers in the study but the potential impact on their students. The rationale for this project is well developed from the literature on the STEM teaching workforce as well as reports from the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. The rationale for the induction program approaches are also well supported in the literature and is extended through the literature on early STEM teacher development. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Luft, Julie Arizona State University AZ Sharon J. Lynch Continuing grant 1669601 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0552294 July 1, 2005 ITR: Evaluating education -- what are we measuring and how?. The educational system can be viewed as a dynamic environment influenced by many factors. In this project a multi-agent interaction and simulation model will be investigated as a tool for evaluating educational systems as dynamic environments. The long term aim of the tool will be to model the interaction between education policy and human learning by first using typically measured factors such as test scores and economic status and they exploring other factors that are harder to quantify but which may result in a more accurate model. The proposed work involved three phases: (1) constructing an initial model and calibrating it against historical data; (2) examining how other, less typical characteristics can be quantified and expanding the model to include these additional measures; and (3) introducing the model to education policy makers, building a user-interface that they can use and understand; and conducting a pilot study with potential users. The research team consists of computer scientists, dynamical system theorists, multi-agent researchers, school system experts, and AI researchers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sklar, Elizabeth CUNY Brooklyn College NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 94932 1666 SMET 9251 9177 1686 1657 0553072 August 15, 2005 Multi-Level Assessment for Enhancing Mathematical Discourse, Curriculum, and Achievement in Diverse Elementary School Classrooms.. Intellectual Merit The proposed study uses contemporary insights about assessment, language, mathematics education, psychometric theory, and educational research to "bridge the gap" between worthwhile mathematics instruction and high-stakes testing. The effort builds on the research summarized in several NRC expert panels and the ideas which have been emerging in interdisciplinary efforts to develop a broader understanding the impact of educational testing on teaching and learning. The project will start with a multi-level model of formative assessment that emerged in two prior NSF funded studies. In an unprecedented collaboration, this approach will be refined and validated by a team of experts representing mathematics education, mathematical sciences, linguistics, educational testing, and educational assessment. The project advisory panel consists of international leaders in each area, including individuals who are also spearheading interdisciplinary advance across these areas. Broader Impact Broad impact is expected because the approach meets the demand of the NCLB act for immediate and continual gains on criterion-referenced tests for all students, without undercutting other educational goals. In addition to directly advancing elementary mathematics instruction, the project offers a scalable, worthwhile alternative to the ubiquitous "test-prep" interventions that often do more harm than good. The project will broaden classroom assessment to directly advance students' discourse, fluency, and understanding, and guide teachers' remediation and curricular refinement. As such the project will forge new insights for using classroom discourse and formative feedback for accomplishing these broad goals which oftentimes are treated as if they are in conflict. The approach features two levels of classroom assessments (semi-formal and formal) and an innovative "conversational" approach to formative feedback. Existing (commercial and public domain) assessments will be used to create 26 open-ended quizzes and 2 multiple-choice exams. The quizzes are aligned to existing curriculum, completed after appropriate regular lessons, and are ungraded. The exams consist of items that are aligned with the subdomains of the pertinent criterion referenced test, are completed at the end of the semester, and are formally graded. .Learner oriented formative feedback rubrics will be developed for both. The rubrics offer detailed, technically accurate explanations of the problems, without directly stating the "correct" answer. Students use their completed assessments and the rubrics to discuss their collective understanding of the assessed topics. Simple video-based coaches guide them toward worthwhile feedback conversations; materials and guidelines will help teachers (1) align assessments to their existing curriculum, (2) use initial performance and mathematical discourse to improve that curriculum, and (3) provide informal and formal remediation. The study will focus on fifth-grade mathematics, and take place in two Georgia elementary schools that serve a high proportion of ethnic and linguistic minorities. Across three year-long implementations, success is ensured by using design-based and linguistic methods to directly enhance students' mathematical discourse and teachers use of formative feedback , while indirectly maximizing students' performance on four outcome measures (an innovative discourse-based assessment, CTB's open-ended Balanced Assessment in Mathematic, Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Content Test, and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills). The schools will be randomly assigned to implementation or comparison conditions. The first year will consist of piloting and iterative refinements with just one implementation teacher. During the second year, the three or four fifth grade teachers participating at the implementation school will be assigned to different conditions to test the individual and collective impact of the quizzes and exams. Gains on the outcome measures will be compared to similar fifth-grade classrooms at the comparison school. These results will be used to define a final version that will be implemented by all fifth-grade teachers at the implementation school. Students' performance at the implementation school will be compared to the performance of all of the fifth-graders in the comparison school on all four outcome measures. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Hickey, Daniel Melissa Gresalfi Indiana University IN Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 793180 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0554837 December 1, 2005 The Role of Schools in Mediating the Academic, Social, and Psychological Effects of a Forced Evacuation on Youth. This study examines the role of schools in helping youth adopt to their life after the catastrophic event of Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of Gulf coast residents, both affluent and poor, moved to Fort Worth, Texas. Schools possibly provide the foundation for families and adolescents to become adapted to their new life. The study is would examine sociological, and psychological influences on the social and academic outcomes of children and their families who were forced to move to new neighborhoods. The study would describe the characteristics of the adolescents evacuated to Fort Worth area, measure psychological and social well-being (such as anger), examine school response to needs of new students, and study the reaction of local homeowners, churches, and governments. The study would obtain information from 300 adolescents moved to Fort Worth, interview parents of the adolescents, interview principal and teachers in the schools of the adolescents, and interview leaders of local organizations. The researchers intend to develop reports that will be disseminated at educational land sociological conferences, seek publication in journals for those fields, create reports on best practices, and seek to report their findings to the media. The theoretical perspective of this proposal is taken mostly from sociology and education with some reference to psychological concepts of well-being. The research question is centered on how adolescent children adjust to totally new environments forced on them by relocation. Many of the relocated students are minority who may be moved to majority dominant schools. The investigators would obtain information from students, families, and school leaders to better describe the types of adjustments that were necessary and how well they were accommodated. They would investigate how the institutional structures of family and schools help, or not help, students adjust to an entirely new environment forced on them by destruction of their New Orleans homes. HURRICANE KATRINA DRL EHR Barrett, Edith Maria Martinez-Cosio Carrie Ausbrooks University of Texas at Arlington TX Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 164428 7582 SMET 9237 9177 7582 7326 0116000 Human Subjects 0555086 November 1, 2005 SGER Collaborative Research: Surviving Katrina and its Aftermath:A Comparative Analysis of Community Mobilization and Access to Emergency Relief by Vietnamese and African Americans. The flooding of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina on August 30 revealed several fissures in local, state, and national strategies for emergency preparedness and disaster relief. Geographically, the hardest hit areas were those inhabited by socioeconomically marginalized communities; these also were the areas that had restricted access to communications about evacuation, the extent of the flooding, and evacuation procedures. The Katrina disaster serves as a wake-up call and reveals how racial inequality and economic disparities are still a societal reality. There is an urgent need to analyze the spatial, socioeconomic, and psychological consequences of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on the most vulnerable segments of our society: those who are economically marginalized, racially marked, spatially segregated, and/or linguistically isolated. The interdisciplinary team consists of geographers, Asian- and African-Americanists, Vietnamese language specialists, a nursing scientist, sociologist, and historian with complementary analytical and language skills. The study area is located in the easternmost sections of New Orleans residential subdivisions that have an almost equal distribution of Vietnamese Americans and African Americans. The research will address: (1) The pre-Katrina socio-spatial configuration of the Vietnamese American and African American communities in the study area, and what damage Katrina caused to these communities. (2) Whether previous experiences of involuntary geographic displacement of evacuees, especially among Vietnamese Americans, as well as gender, cultural, linguistic, legal status, geographic, and socioeconomic differences affect their perceptions of risk and uncertainty, access to emergency relief services. Also, it will examine which similarities and differences exist between the two communities in how each community negotiates evacuation and access to emergency relief services, relocation assistance and rebuilding funds through existing racial/ethnic and/or faith-based community networks, as well as their adaptation to temporary or permanent resettlement of their community and business rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. (3) The similarities and differences in physical and psychological vulnerability between the two groups of interests after the disaster and what are the critical factors contributing to their physical and psychological outcomes. This study will evaluate the mental and organizational decision-making process by the two study groups in the face of uncertainty and produce policy recommendations to better serve the needs of such communities during the recovery period and better prepare for similar disasters in future. HSD - DYNAMICS OF HUMAN BEHAVI DRL EHR Airriess, Chris Ball State University IN Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 25761 7319 SMET 9237 9177 7582 0116000 Human Subjects 0555135 November 1, 2005 SGER Collaborative Research: Surviving Katrina and its Aftermath:A Comparative Analysis of Community Mobilization and Access to Emergency Relief by Vietnamese and African Americans. The flooding of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina on August 30 revealed several fissures in local, state, and national strategies for emergency preparedness and disaster relief. Geographically, the hardest hit areas were those inhabited by socioeconomically marginalized communities; these also were the areas that had restricted access to communications about evacuation, the extent of the flooding, and evacuation procedures. The Katrina disaster serves as a wake-up call and reveals how racial inequality and economic disparities are still a societal reality. There is an urgent need to analyze the spatial, socioeconomic, and psychological consequences of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on the most vulnerable segments of our society: those who are economically marginalized, racially marked, spatially segregated, and/or linguistically isolated. The interdisciplinary team consists of geographers, Asian- and African-Americanists, Vietnamese language specialists, a nursing scientist, sociologist, and historian with complementary analytical and language skills. The study area is located in the easternmost sections of New Orleans residential subdivisions that have an almost equal distribution of Vietnamese Americans and African Americans. The research will address: (1) The pre-Katrina socio-spatial configuration of the Vietnamese American and African American communities in the study area, and what damage Katrina caused to these communities. (2) Whether previous experiences of involuntary geographic displacement of evacuees, especially among Vietnamese Americans, as well as gender, cultural, linguistic, legal status, geographic, and socioeconomic differences affect their perceptions of risk and uncertainty, access to emergency relief services. Also, it will examine which similarities and differences exist between the two communities in how each community negotiates evacuation and access to emergency relief services, relocation assistance and rebuilding funds through existing racial/ethnic and/or faith-based community networks, as well as their adaptation to temporary or permanent resettlement of their community and business rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. (3) The similarities and differences in physical and psychological vulnerability between the two groups of interests after the disaster and what are the critical factors contributing to their physical and psychological outcomes. This study will evaluate the mental and organizational decision-making process by the two study groups in the face of uncertainty and produce policy recommendations to better serve the needs of such communities during the recovery period and better prepare for similar disasters in future. HSD - DYNAMICS OF HUMAN BEHAVI DRL EHR Chen, Angela ChiaChen Wei Li Karen Leong Karen Adams Verna Keith Arizona State University AZ Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 99383 7319 SMET 9237 9177 7582 0116000 Human Subjects 0555136 November 15, 2005 Evacuees Perceptions of Disaster Relief and Recovery: Analyzing the Importance of Social and Kinship Networks Among Hurricane Evacuees on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The central question of the study is about the role that social (and kinship) networks in determining a person's success in the aftermath of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina. "Success" refers to the individual's capacity to obtain physical and emotional relief as well as to maintain a strong perception of eventual community recovery in the immediate disaster aftermath. Social networks serve as the glue holding individuals together, they form much of the structure from which the information comes that we use to make decisions and take actions. Social networks may protect individuals from disasters like Hurricane Katrina and they may act as an emergency response system to aid recovery after such disasters. Some social networks are strong while others are weak. Some individuals with the same level of wealth may have suffered a similar level of damage to their lives from Hurricane Katrina, but some cope well personally and economically while others do not. Many individual attributes affect the responses as do attributes of social networks. Understanding the attributes of these social networks could prove valuable in both preparing for and recovering from future disasters. For example, extensive local area family ties, strong ties with neighbors, or the development of neighborhood and civic organizations may each be key to having people both be better prepared for a future disaster and recover from it. If so, then for those communities without strong local family ties, the neighborhood and civic organizations may more frequently necessary to prepare for disaster preparation. . To study the role that social networks play, the researchers will conduct a field survey in Hancock and Harrison counties, two of the hardest counties in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. The survey instruments will measure the strength and number of kinship and neighbor relationships for individuals within various Mississippi Gulf Coast communities. The analysis will provide a measure of bonding and bridging networks within their immediate community. Measures of personal relief and perceptions of recovery will be examined in a statistical analysis. A similar analysis will be used to look at the effects of individuals' social and kinship networks versus their socio-economic standings on disaster relief and recovery perceptions. The broader impact of this research is that it will enhance the ability of communities and groups to understand how aspects of public policy, health, safety and public welfare can be addressed in advance and in the aftermath of catastrophic natural events by identifying community social networks. HSD - DYNAMICS OF HUMAN BEHAVI DRL EHR Swanson, David Mark Van Boening Richard Forgette University of Mississippi MS Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 96212 7319 SMET 9177 9150 7582 0116000 Human Subjects 0555266 December 15, 2005 Collaborative Proposal: SGER: Social Measures of the Katrina Aftermath. The proposed work will undertake a multistage cluster sample of household addresses in New Orleans, supplemented by a phone banks survey. The goal is to collect 500 respondents by May 2006. The survey questionnaire will ask about the decision to evacuate, survival experiences, demographic data, the kinds of needs that people had a different timepoints before, during, and after the hurricane. The survey has been designed by Edd Hauser, and will be piloted on refugees at UNC-Charlotte and Duke before used in the field. The first draft is under preliminary review by Duke Institutional Review Board, and will be modified according to their feedback. The first part of the analysis will summarize the survey data, and provide cross-tabulations that show how different survival experiences are associated with age, pet ownership, income, and so forth. This is standard statistical analysis, but will help identify which aspects played dominant roles at different phases of the emergency. The second part of the analysis will fit a social network model to the data, extending previous work on mathematical models for the kinds of help people need and from whom they get help. The nodes in the social network model will be people or agencies, and the edges in the network describe the kind of help that is required. The research will be conducted jointly by David Banks, Edd Hauser, and John Lefante (working with Maria Sirois). David Banks and John Lefante are in charge of the survey design and data analysis. Edd Hauser, head of the Regional Center for Homeland Security and Major Disaster Management, is in charge of questionnaire design. Maria Sirois is a graduate student in Biostatistics in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane; she and John Lefante are in charge of data collection. Maria Sirois is a member of the National Guard, the Louisiana Search and Rescue Team, and a certified first-responder. The intellectual merit of the proposed research is twofold. First it will provide a statistical analysis of the factors affecting the survival experience of people in New Orleans before, during and after Katrina. Second, it will extend the social networks models applied in previous studies of disaster response by using the new class of latent space models and the data obtained from the Katrina event. The broader impact of the proposed research is that it will provide guidance and insight for future disaster relief efforts, and highlight the interactions between people and agencies that were most/least effective at various stages of the response. HSD - DYNAMICS OF HUMAN BEHAVI DRL EHR Hauser, Edwin University of North Carolina at Charlotte NC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 26355 7319 SMET 9237 9177 7582 0116000 Human Subjects 0555908 December 15, 2005 Collaborative Proposal: SGER: Social Measures of the Katrina Aftermath. The proposed work will undertake a multistage cluster sample of household addresses in New Orleans, supplemented by a phone banks survey. The goal is to collect 500 respondents by May 2006. The survey questionnaire will ask about the decision to evacuate, survival experiences, demographic data, the kinds of needs that people had a different timepoints before, during, and after the hurricane. The survey has been designed by Edd Hauser, and will be piloted on refugees at UNC-Charlotte and Duke before used in the field. The first draft is under preliminary review by Duke Institutional Review Board, and will be modified according to their feedback. The first part of the analysis will summarize the survey data, and provide cross-tabulations that show how different survival experiences are associated with age, pet ownership, income, and so forth. This is standard statistical analysis, but will help identify which aspects played dominant roles at different phases of the emergency. The second part of the analysis will fit a social network model to the data, extending previous work on mathematical models for the kinds of help people need and from whom they get help. The nodes in the social network model will be people or agencies, and the edges in the network describe the kind of help that is required. The research will be conducted jointly by David Banks, Edd Hauser, and John Lefante (working with Maria Sirois). David Banks and John Lefante are in charge of the survey design and data analysis. Edd Hauser, head of the Regional Center for Homeland Security and Major Disaster Management, is in charge of questionnaire design. Maria Sirois is a graduate student in Biostatistics in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane; she and John Lefante are in charge of data collection. Maria Sirois is a member of the National Guard, the Louisiana Search and Rescue Team, and a certified first-responder. The intellectual merit of the proposed research is twofold. First it will provide a statistical analysis of the factors affecting the survival experience of people in New Orleans before, during and after Katrina. Second, it will extend the social networks models applied in previous studies of disaster response by using the new class of latent space models and the data obtained from the Katrina event. The broader impact of the proposed research is that it will provide guidance and insight for future disaster relief efforts, and highlight the interactions between people and agencies that were most/least effective at various stages of the response. HSD - DYNAMICS OF HUMAN BEHAVI DRL EHR Lefante, John Tulane University LA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 79238 7319 SMET 9237 9177 9150 7582 0116000 Human Subjects 0555934 December 15, 2005 Collaborative Proposal: SGER: Social Measures of the Katrina Aftermath. The proposed work will undertake a multistage cluster sample of household addresses in New Orleans, supplemented by a phone banks survey. The goal is to collect 500 respondents by May 2006. The survey questionnaire will ask about the decision to evacuate, survival experiences, demographic data, the kinds of needs that people had a different timepoints before, during, and after the hurricane. The survey has been designed by Edd Hauser, and will be piloted on refugees at UNC-Charlotte and Duke before used in the field. The first draft is under preliminary review by Duke Institutional Review Board, and will be modified according to their feedback. The first part of the analysis will summarize the survey data, and provide cross-tabulations that show how different survival experiences are associated with age, pet ownership, income, and so forth. This is standard statistical analysis, but will help identify which aspects played dominant roles at different phases of the emergency. The second part of the analysis will fit a social network model to the data, extending previous work on mathematical models for the kinds of help people need and from whom they get help. The nodes in the social network model will be people or agencies, and the edges in the network describe the kind of help that is required. The research will be conducted jointly by David Banks, Edd Hauser, and John Lefante (working with Maria Sirois). David Banks and John Lefante are in charge of the survey design and data analysis. Edd Hauser, head of the Regional Center for Homeland Security and Major Disaster Management, is in charge of questionnaire design. Maria Sirois is a graduate student in Biostatistics in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane; she and John Lefante are in charge of data collection. Maria Sirois is a member of the National Guard, the Louisiana Search and Rescue Team, and a certified first-responder. The intellectual merit of the proposed research is twofold. First it will provide a statistical analysis of the factors affecting the survival experience of people in New Orleans before, during and after Katrina. Second, it will extend the social networks models applied in previous studies of disaster response by using the new class of latent space models and the data obtained from the Katrina event. The broader impact of the proposed research is that it will provide guidance and insight for future disaster relief efforts, and highlight the interactions between people and agencies that were most/least effective at various stages of the response. HSD - DYNAMICS OF HUMAN BEHAVI DRL EHR Banks, David Duke University NC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 30402 7319 SMET 9237 9177 7582 0116000 Human Subjects 0601654 August 15, 2005 CAREER: Strategies Developed by Chemistry Graduate Students in Pedagogical and Empirical Content Knowledge. Strategies Developed by Chemistry Graduate Students in Pedagogical and Empirical Content Knowledge. The study investigates the professional development of graduate students in two distinctly different areas, pedagogical content knowledge or PCK, and empirical content knowledge, ECK. Empirical content knowledge is defined as the knowledge of strategies, knowledge of research tools, and content knowledge that define successful research practice in a field. The definition of PCK for successful teaching is the knowledge of teaching strategies , the particular student population, areas of common difficulty, and teaching tools. The context for study of both areas is one of situated learning as graduates students work in teaching laboratories and research laboratories. Inquiry also concerns the characteristics of the learning environment for new graduate students, particularly learning conversations about research and/or pedagogy. Since problem solving is the essence of successful research or teaching practice, one assessment of strategies will originate from solution-pathway analyses created by graduate students as they solve problems authored by the research & teaching directors in a virtual learning environment. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Bond-Robinson, Janet Arizona State University AZ Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 223502 9150 1666 SMET OTHR 9177 1187 1045 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0608666 December 1, 2005 QuarkNet. This is a five-year project engaging science teachers in cutting-edge research at Department of Energy National Laboratories and at universities across the nation. During the lifetime of the project 60 universities and laboratories from 28 states will participate. Each summer 24 lead teachers, two from each of 12 "university science centers" will hold 8-week summer research appointments at Fermilab. At Fermilab they will work under the guidance of a physicist from a university or laboratory near their homes. All of the research will focus on research related to Fermilab and CERN experiments. The following year these lead teachers and their mentor physicists will lead a year-long research program at each of the 12 centers for up to 10 local associate teachers. These local programs include two components: a 3-week research experience, and ongoing communications via e-mail and a website. The website is the basic starting point for transfer to the classroom of the research experiences and access to near real time data. It is expected that teachers will add to the website through adapting datasets to their needs and developing online experiments. QuarkNet and the high-energy particle physics collaborations are committed to maintaining these centers and the accompanying 8-week summer research experience through the 15 years of the high energy particle physics experimental program with research and related sources of funding. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Bardeen, Marjorie Michael Wilde Universities Research Association Inc DC Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 55577 7300 SMET 9177 0618730 September 1, 2005 Collaborative Research: The Cultural Context of Native American Science Education. The long-term goal of the researchers is to improve science learning for Native- American students and so to reduce the disparity between majority and minority culture students' science achievement. The project will provide a controlled test of the claim that bridging cultural differences in how one understands science will lead to improved learning of science content knowledge. The PIs' previous research with the Menominee has indicated that rural Native-American children begin school with a relatively precocious understanding of biology, but that this initial knowledge of the natural world does not translate into superior learning in traditional science curricula. On standardized tests Menominee children score above the national average in science in fourth grade, but by eighth grade it is their worst subject. The PIs explore the hypothesis that Native-American practices may clash with the cultural context and methodology used in the formal teaching of science. The proposal includes studies that will explore the educational relevance of cultural differences in approaches to the teaching of science and it includes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an after-school program. The initial studies will continue the researchers efforts to identify barriers to Native-American science learning and to develop and test strategies for building on the cultural knowledge that Native-American children bring to the classroom. Research on children's folkbiology has been conducted almost exclusively with individuals from urban North American populations. The proposed research will bring more evidence to bear on the problem of science learning in minority culture contexts. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Washinawatok, Karen East-West University IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 354652 7625 1666 SMET 9177 9818619 January 1, 2000 Exhibit Management Services to the National Science Foundation. DRL EHR McFarland, Rayford 21ST CENTURY EXPO GROUP MD Conrad G. Katzenmeyer BOA/Task Order 0 9819914 September 1, 2000 Classroom Assessment in Mathematics, Grades 4-12: Development of a Three-stage Professional Development Program. 9819914 VACC The University of North Carolina at Greensboro will develop and test, over a five-year period, a professional development program in assessment in mathematics for teachers in grades 4 to 12. A total of seventy-two hours of professional development will be delivered through three workshops: Assessment Literacy, Developing Classroom Assessment Skills, and Honing Classroom Assessment Skills, as well as classroom follow-up. A writing team composed mostly of classroom teachers will develop the workshop materials. The Assessment Committee of the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics will review the completed materials. Workshop leaders will be selected and trained to pilot the materials in middle and high schools in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The materials will be disseminated through a series of conferences publicized through the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Bright, George Jeane Joyner Charles Wallis University of North Carolina Greensboro NC Paola Sztajn Continuing grant 1157924 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9908597 April 1, 2000 Coastal Rural Systemic Initiative. Fayetteville State University, on behalf of a consortium of pre-college and higher education administrators and practitioners, has submitted this proposal to implement systemic reform strategies to improve science and mathematics instruction in forty-seven impoverished, rural school districts in the coastal counties of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The project, called the Coastal Rural Systemic Initiative, will accomplish its goals by workshops and on-site technical assistance to teachers and administrators that will increase the understanding of instructional reform and the capacity of the districts to accomplish the reform. The initiative will operate through regional facilitators who will develop and administrator activities such as: curriculum institutes and on-site support; program improvement reviews; school renewal conferences; leadrship institutes and on-site facilitation; community education foundations; collaborators conferences; and formal partnerships with other education reform sponsors. RURAL SYSTEMIC INITIATIVE PROG SYSTEMIC REFORM DRL EHR Blanton, Roy Perry Massey Elsie Leak Marc Drews Richard Layman Fayetteville State University NC Lura J. Chase Cooperative Agreement 6298996 7366 1538 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909265 February 1, 2000 Journey To Planet Earth. 9909265 WEINER Screenscope, Inc., is producing three programs in the PBS series, "Journey to Planet Earth." The series has the goal of helping the general public understand and cope with the difficulties of developing a global agenda that addresses the environmental concerns of the next millennium. The series will examine the earth using the latest satellite imagery as well as from providing a more closeup view through the eyes of people who inhabit the many different regions of the world. It will use intimate personal portraits to show how people's every day lives are affected by both local and global environmental pressures. The series will link the sciences with economics, politics, geography, and history. Each episode will feature four to five related stories and case studies selected from different geographic regions and about people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The television series will be supported by an informal, community-based outreach program in science museums and neighborhood centers, activity kits and teaching guides, interactive workshops on the World Wide Web, and strategic partnerships with environmental organizations to raise public awareness of the series and the outreach activities. The Co-PIs and producers of the television series are Marilyn and Hal Weiner. They will work closely with a group of advisors including: Chet Cooper, Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Edward Frieman, Director Emeritus of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Vice Chancellor of the University of California; Nay Htun, United Nations Development Programme; Tom Lovejoy, Counselor to the Secretary for Biodiversity and Environmental Affairs, Smithsonian Institution; Per Pinstrup-Andersen, International Food Policy Research Institute; and Maurice Strong, Chairman of the Earth Council and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In addition, each episode will have two research scientists who are experts on specific disciplines being featured. Outreach will be developed in association with the Chicago Academy of Sciences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Weiner, Marilyn Hal Weiner SCREENSCOPE, Inc. DC Hyman H. Field Continuing grant 1339102 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909370 April 15, 2000 Developing, Supporting, and Aligning Classroom and Large-Scale Assessment to Substain Education Reform: Phase One. Standards-based reform in science education continues to move forward at the national, state, and local levels. The increasing numbers of standards-based initiatives not withstanding, a serious obstacle to continued progress is a sparseness of classroom assessment practices that both comport with the National Science Education Standards and lead to improvements in student learning. This project, therefore, investigates an innovation that has the potential to raise student achevement in science education to the level and quality espoused in standards-based reform efforts: the development of models and practices to enhance teachers' formative assessment repertoires. Using a variety of research methods, this projects investigates and develop assessment procedures that teachers can employ to promote the quality of science teaching and learning, and related areas of mathematics. While the focus initially is on formative assessment practices - paying particular attention to the impact of these types of classroom assessments on student learning, engagement, and sense of purpose -it then moves to teachers' summative judgements (assignments of grades, for example) and their link to formative work. An additional aspect of the project is to identify issues associated with broader implementation of programs for teachers that support these assessment practices, then develop and test model plans for high quality professional-development activities about classroom assessment procedures that comport with the research findings. The research also investigates the challenges associated with promulgating these models and practices to large numbers of teachers. Thus the study aims for wide dissemination of ways in which students respond to changes in science instruction and assessment that aim to enhance their roles in classroom assessment, including in peer - and self assessment. Toward the end of the initial three-year period, the study begins to probe how classroom assessment and large-scale assessment might be mutually reinforcing to raise educational quality. A second phase - to study and formulate alternative large-scale assessment systems that integrate classroom assessments with examination data for accountability and monitoring purposes - may follow if evidence warrants. DRL EHR Atkin, J. Myron Richard Shavelson Stanford University CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1505125 7256 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 9909402 January 1, 2000 The DNA Files. 9909402 SCOTT SoundVision Productions is producing new programs for "The DNA Files." This highly regarded and very successful radio series is designed to further public understanding of genetic science as well as the ethical, legal and social issues emanating from genetics and biotechnology. These five, new, one-hour programs and feature segments will be on topics that have emerged in recent years as significant developments in the realm of genetic research such as pollution prevention and reduction and the patenting of gene sequences and related genetic information. Specific topics tentatively planned for the new programs include: "The Ecology of Genetic Engineering," "The Genetics of Memory and Aging," "The Genetics of X and the Genetics of WHY," and "Genetic Diseases of the Brain." The programs and features will also introduce those products and processes that, while currently viewed as only future fantasies of the biotech industry, are likely to become real in one or another within the lifetimes of the current generation of public radio listeners. The major outreach component of the project will be via a World Wide Web site. This is a particularly appropriate medium for outreach for this project since demographic studies indicate that most members of the public radio audience have computers and are able to access the web. SoundVision will upgrade the present "The DNA Files" web site to become a more active and integrated part of the project. Every program will have a dedicated section on the web site that will provide expended information and resources beyond those included in the broadcast. The web will provide a forum for public interaction with the issues by engaging the scientists, related experts, policy makers and the public. The project also will make cassette tapes and transcripts of the programs available on request. The PI is Bari Scott, who is the Executive Producer for the series; Jude Thilman will serve as Project Director. The programs are hosted by NBC Dateline reporter John Hockenberry and distributed by National Public Radio. Project advisors in the field of genetics include Elbert Branscomb, Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Troy Duster, Charles Epstein, Ted Friedman, Henry Greely, Leroy Hood, Ruth Hubbard, Sheila Jasanoff, Arthur Kaplan, Daniel Kevles, Mary Clair King, Phillip Kitcher, Julie Korenberg, Michael Malinowski, Desmond Mascarenhas, Pilar Ossario, Gerald Rubin, Lee Silver, and Sylvia Spengler. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Scott, Barinetta SoundVision Productions CA Hyman H. Field Standard Grant 627680 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909404 February 15, 2000 CYBERCHASE. 9909404 SHEPPARD The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET) is producing 13 half-hour animated television programs to engage youth aged 8-11 in the fun and challenge of mathematics. Cyberchase will encourage viewers to develop and sustain positive attitudes toward mathematics, help increase their mathematics knowledge and skills, and actively involve them in mathematical reasoning and problem solving. The premise of the series is that a dastardly fiend is on a mission to take over cyberspace. Three youngsters are summoned into the cyberworld to stop him. Their only weapon: BRAIN POWER! Repeatedly, the young heroes find themselves in danger and must use math and logic to escape. In addition to the television series, Cyberchase materials and outreach will continue to involve children in mathematics. Outreach components include: A web component that provides mathematical activities and content 100,000 free copies of a Cyberchase magazine An insert in the 4th grade edition of Weekly Reader - reaching 30,000 teachers and 800,000 children. Teachers guide to facilitate classroom use of the series The incorporation of Cyberchase activities into the afterschool and weekend programs of Boys & Girls Clubs, the Urban League, and the AAAS Black Church Project The PI and Co-Executive Producer for the project is Sandra Sheppard, WNET's Director of Educational Video. The Co-Content Directors are Cary Bolster, Director of PBS Mathline's K-12 projects, and Michael Templeton, former Content Director of "The Magic School Bus." The Co-Executive Producer will be Kristin Martin, formerly Executive Producer for "The Magic School Bus." Advisors to the project include Glenda Lappan, Frances Curcio, Joel Schneider, Solomon Garfunkel, Laura Jeffers, Jimmie Rios, Susan Markowitz, Virginia Thompson, Simon Graty, Cyrilla Hergenham, Kay Gilliland, and Deborah Anne Robertson. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Sandra Michael Templeton Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Hyman H. Field Continuing grant 2972045 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909405 February 1, 2000 "The Human Body" - A Large Format Film. 9909405 O'LEARY The Maryland Science Center is developing a large format film project on the inner workings of the human body. The film, to be produced in collaboration with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), SDA of Canada, and the Science Museum of London, will focus on the daily activities of the human body -- the simple yet astonishing things that happen throughout one's body on a single day. Emphasis will be placed on such everyday events as hearing, sneezing, eating, healing, crawling and seeing. It will be complemented by a range of ancillary educational materials including teachers' guides, a web site, and a small exhibit for placement in theater lobbies. The co-Executive Producers for the project are James O'Leary and Greg Andorfer, both from the Maryland Science Center; Richard Dale from the British Broadcasting System; Alison Roden from the Science Museum of London; and Andre Picard of SDA Productions. Michael Ackerman, Assistant Director for High Performance Computing and Communications at the National Library of Medicine of the NIH, and Lord Robert Winston, Professor of Reproductive Medicine at London's Imperial College, will be the project's principal advisors. Other advisors include: Harry Chugani, Neurochemistry, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit; Susan Greenfield, Neuropharmacology, Oxford University, London; Chris Firth, Wellcome Institute of Cognitive Neurology, London; Michael Preece, Institute of Child Health, University College, London; John B. West, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego; and Scott Frazer, Head of Biological Imaging, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR O'Leary, James Gregory Andorfer Maryland Academy of Sciences MD Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1946523 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909406 March 15, 2000 Titanic Science. 9909406 RATCLIFFE The Maryland Science Center requests $1,586,279 to develop "Titanic Science." The Maryland Science Center will develop an 8,000-square foot interactive traveling exhibition focusing on recent scientific and forensic investigations surrounding the Titanic tragedy of 1912. A planning grant from NSF enabled key personnel to participate in the five-week 1998 scientific expedition to the Titanic wreck site and interact with professional scientists. This expedition will target the general public and provide educational services for students in grades 6-9. The exhibition will travel to 15 host sites and be seen by over 2.5 million visitors. To help parents and educators make the most of this exhibition, a Titanic Explorers Kit and teachers guides will be developed. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ratcliffe, Stephanie Gregory Andorfer Maryland Science Center MD Barry A. Van Deman Continuing grant 1586279 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909409 January 1, 2000 Living On Earth/Ecological Literacy Project. 9909409 CURWOOD The Informal Science Education Program has been supporting the radio series "Living on Earth" for several years. The World Media Foundation is now adding environmental science and technology features to "Living on Earth" and is developing and testing an outreach component that will involve youth as researchers and radio producers. The science and technology features, ranging in length from four to twenty-four minutes, will depart from the usual news-driven reports on the programs. Many of the segments will illustrate basic building blocks of environmental science, technology and related mathematics. Others will profile diverse pioneers in these disciplines. The radio programs will be the framework for an interdisciplinary exploration program for youth. Working with a team of educators from the Antioch University Graduate Program in Environmental Education, the project staff will develop a program in which secondary school aged youth cooperate with peers to produce professional, concise reporting on local environmental issues. Living on Earth will feature the best of the student work on National Public Radio and highlight these pieces as an expanded feature on its website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Curwood, Stephen World Media Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 884379 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909411 February 1, 2000 Active Learning as a Basis for Reform of Undergraduate Life Science Education. Meaningful reform in science education is onlly possible if we sucessfully translate knowledge gained from educational research to practical applications in the classroom. Guided by emerging theory, we must determine what classroom approaches will best faculty to help students attain more meaningful learning. It is through this applied research that we will reach the goal of a general population that understands science. The first steps in detemining if more "meaningful learning" is occurring is to measure the knowledge and skills base of students as they enter our courses (the input state) and to define, in explicit terms, measurable outcomes that reflect the desired learning (the output state). This project focuses first on developing appropriate tools for measuring conceptual change and conceptual learning in physiology. The project then uses these measurement tools to examine the effectiveness of active learning techniques (helping students build and test mental models) in helping students remedy existing misconceptions and improve conceptual learning. The project consists of three studies. The goal of Study 1 is to gain a better understanding of the actual knowledge and skills base of undergraduate students entering physiology courses and to determine the prevalence of misconceptions held by these students. Study 2 examines the types of instructor-students interactions that lead to successful conceptual change (remedy of existing misconceptions) in the student laboratory environment. Study 3 examines two approaches to helping students build appropriate mentals models of physiological systems (i.e., conceptual learning). One set of experiments is designed to determine if helping students build and apply general models of recurring in physiology (as opposed to viewing the concepts in terms of situationally specific models) leads to greater conceptual learning. A second set of experiments focuses on two questions related to the use of problem solving as a vehicle for promoting conceptual learning. First, do problem solving exercises provide a conceptual framework that enhances conceptual learning? Second, is the manner in which the problems are used (i.e., to provide a contexual framework during mental model building or as a culminating exercise requiring application of the mental developed) a significant factor in determining the degree of conceptual learning attained? The results of this project are relevant to all science education. To help students gain the broadest understanding of science, we must discover, in the context of the actual classroom, what instructional techniques best help them build and use appropriate mental models. DRL EHR Modell, Harold Physiology Education Research Consortium WA Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 458422 7256 SMET 9177 9909475 January 1, 2000 Learning from Lesson Study, A Japanese Approach to Developing Teaching Skills and Innovations. Recent international studies have elicited a great deal of interest in Japanese educational practices. For example, researchers and practitioners alike have expressed excitement about uncovering better approaches to teaching mathematics by examining the Japanese lessons that were collected as part of the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS). Japanese models of professional development are also receiving growing attention. We now know quite a bit about how Japanese teachers develop and refine their teaching by working together in school based groups to carefully plan, implement, and revise lessons. In fact a number of researchers have argued that that this popular form of practice-based inquiry, called jugyokenkyu [lesson study], could be of great interest to American educators. In this project we argue for combining these two trends. Looking at the TIMSS tapes in and of itself is not likely to affect practice in any significant way. The conversations that these tapes engender need to be built upon by having teachers engage in a meaningful and goal directed follow up activity. We suggest that lesson study can provide such an activity and argue for embedding teachers' analysis of TIMSS tapes in the broader context of doing lesson study. More specifically this project has three main goals: 1) understanding how to adapt lesson study to a US context, 2) assessing the impact on individual teachers of participating in lesson study, and 3) exploring how to bring lesson study to scale in US schools. DRL EHR Fernandez, Clea Teachers College, Columbia University NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 384759 7256 SMET 9177 9909496 June 1, 2000 Wonderwise 4-H. 9909496 DIAMOND The University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM), in a partnership with Nebraska Cooperative Extension 4-H, is developing a series of informal science education modules that focus on bringing engaging science activities to young people -- especially girls aged 8-12 in rural communities. These kits or modules will feature the research and life stories of women scientists who will be strong role models for these youth. The modules are correlated to 4-H curriculum in the topics of food safety, water geology, remote sensing in agriculture and range management. The modular kits will contain an activity book, a biographic video, a CD-ROM and the associated hands-on materials to do science activities for understanding the science concepts discussed and illustrated by the featured researcher. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Diamond, Judy Gary Heusel University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 830325 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909501 January 1, 2000 FIRE. 9909501 VECCHIONE WGBH Educational Foundation is producing a four-hour documentary special, "Fire," to be broadcast as a NOVA special. The series will present the story of fire as an important but often overlooked key to understanding the natural world and our shared environmental history. Humans have used fire in virtually every aspect of our existence: for heat and light, as a tool and a source of power, for the private rituals of spiritual life and the monumental reshaping of entire landscapes. Fire acts as a significant agent of change in our world today, and the interaction of fire and humans is now acknowledged as a significant part of global climate change research and of biodiversity and ecosystem health studies. Fire will examine these and other powerful and fundamental scientific questions related to fire being explored today. The project will integrate fire history with an understanding of the scientific principles of fire chemistry and behavior, and it will link that knowledge with ecology, agriculture, forestry and resource management. An integrated outreach campaign will accompany the television series. It will be built around a resource kit, offered in both print and CD-ROM formats, with activities and other resources for families and youth organizations at the late elementary and early middle school level. There also will be special web pages within NOVA's award-winning web site that will include the "Fire" resource kit materials. The PI and Series Producer will be Judith Vecchione whose credits include the NSF-supported series on women scientists today, "Discovering Women." Paula Apsell, Executive Producer for NOVA, will be Executive-in-Charge. The Film Director will be Kirk Wolfinger whose prior NOVA productions include "Submarine!," "Titanic's Lost Sister," "Daredevils of the Sky," and "To the Moon." The Series Senior Advisor is Stephen J. Pyne, Professor of History at Arizona State University. Dr. Pyne is an environmental historian and author of the five-book "Cycle of Fire" suite. Other advisors include: Norman L. Christensen, Dean of the Nicholas School of Environment at Duke University; Johann Georg Goldammer, Senior Scientist and leader of the Fire Ecology and Biomass Burning Research Groups of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry; Robert Huggins, Servicewide Education Coordinator for the National Park Service; Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago; Marcella Russell, Regional Liaison for the Massachusetts Parent Involvement Project; and Brian Stocks, Senior Fire Research Scientist at the Canadian Forest Service. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Vecchione, Judith WGBH Educational Foundation MA Hyman H. Field Continuing grant 571170 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909566 March 1, 2000 Project Mathematics = Easy as PI. 9909566 KRAKAUER The North Carolina Museum of Life & Science requests $627,003 (54.6% of a total $1,148,397 project budget) to develop "Mathematics=Easy as Pi." This will be a three-year statewide project from the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science on behalf of the 15 member museums of The North Carolina Grassroots Science Museum Collaborative to develop and implement programs and exhibits that will assist families, children and teachers to understand and appreciate mathematics. The components are a public celebration of mathematics name Pi day that will be held in 15 museums on March 14th of each year, teacher professional development workshops, 12 hands-on tabletop exhibits for 13 museums, and a Sharing math guide for use by families and children. This initiative will serve more than 2.7 million young people and adults in North Carolina over the initial three-year project. The materials will have continued usage beyond the project timeframe. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Briere, Dean North Carolina Museum of Life and Science NC David A. Ucko Continuing grant 753156 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909569 May 15, 2000 Identification of the Factors Associated with Student Achievement in Mathematics and Science: the Linkage and Comparative Analysis of TIMSS and LSAY. This proposal requests support for the linkage and analysis of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY). It would identify primary factors associated with student achievement in mathematics and science. In addition, it would use a classification system developed for TIMSS to construct curricular measures from data collected by LSAY. The linkages would enhance the value of each data set and yield additional information about the interplay of family and home contexts and curricular and classroom processes on achievement. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Miller, Jon Northwestern University IL Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 972167 7256 1666 SMET 9177 9909573 May 1, 2000 Making Models. 9909573 SMITH The Museum of Science in Boston will develop exhibits and programs for visitors to use models as tools for understanding the world around them. It is the 4th stage of a six-part, long-range vision and plan that focuses on comprehending science as a way of thinking and doing. "Making Models" will serve over one million visitors per year, mostly families and school groups. The models to be featured include physical, biological, conceptual, mathematical, and computer simulation models. Four (4) specific science inquiry skills will be stressed, which are associated with making and using models: recognition of similarities, assessment of limitations, communication of ideas, and the creation of one's own models for developing personal understanding and appreciation of the world in which we live. In tandem with this new exhibit, some current exhibits and programs will be modified to meet these modeling goals. Demonstrating the application of these new exhibit techniques for other museums and science centers, and evaluating how visitors learn in this setting will also be performed, with the results disseminated on a national level. The Museum will collaborate with two (2) other nationally known sites in this development and evaluation of exhibit components, creation of new teacher development programs, and the development of models-related web resources. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Smith, Douglas Lawrence Bell Paul Fontaine Museum of Science MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1727701 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909591 January 1, 2000 Bringing out the Algebraic Character of Arithmetic. We propose to longitudinally investigate children's algebraic concepts and notation from grades 2 through 4 in order to understand how they develop in accordance with their understanding of number and quantity. Classroom teaching experiments in mathematics will provide a setting for the work. The research will be largely exploratory, relying upon analyses of classroom episodes, clinical interviews, and written productions by the children. This methodology yields more than a convenience vantage point for observing children's development; it influences their very mathematical learning and thinking. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Carraher, David Analucia Schliemann TERC Inc MA Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 1025713 7256 1666 SMET 9177 9909705 February 15, 2000 Cosmic Horizons: Our Place in Space and Time. 9909705 GOULD The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory will develop "Cosmic Horizons: Our Place in Space and Time." This will be a 5,000-square-foot traveling exhibition to help visitors explore the extraordinary recent breakthroughs and current mysteries in our scientific understanding of the structure and evolution of the universe. Cosmic Horizons will reach over 3 million people on its tour of nine to twelve science museums. A coordinated set of programmatic activities and resources for adult and family audiences, materials for teachers and students, and on-site workshops for host venues will be developed in partnership with Boston's Museum of Science to maximize the impact of this space-science education endeavor. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Gould, Roy Mary Dussault Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1615668 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909707 March 1, 2000 The World Technology Initiative. 9909707 WARD Public Radio International (PRI) is developing and producing a three-year technology initiative in the internationally distributed news and information radio series, "The World." The series is co-produced by PRI, the BBC World Service, and WGBH/Boston. PRI will establish a Technology Desk and assign a reporter full-time to covering technology. In addition, "The World" will benefit from the full resources of the BBC Science Unit. Technology reports will be produced in several radio formats including: At least 26 direct news reports annually (approximately four minutes each) Technology updates in daily newscasts (approximately 52 minutes per year) A weekly Lab Report highlighting emerging technologies (approximately three minutes each) Three monthly in-depth features (Approximately five minutes each) Two major annual in-depth series of five installments each (approximately six minutes each) This emphasis on the latest technology developments will provide listeners with up-to-date information about important developments in such areas as nanotechnology and micro-electrical machines, quantum cryptography and genetic manipulation of agricultural products. In depth reports would cover topics such as the Human Genome Project and the influence of technology on archaeology. PRI will work with the Exploratorium in San Francisco to design and produce outreach components for the project. A web resource will be developed to extend and deepen technology covered in broadcasts over the radio. It will include further information about topics, directions for conducting experiments, transcripts of technology reports and bibliographies of additional resources. PRI and the Exploratorium also will implement a three-year pilot project to involve children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the creation of online broadcasts (webcasts) on technology-related themes. This element of the project will determine whether programming derived from a news program and produced by children for children is an effective production model and whether the model is appropriate for replication. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ward, Melinda Carol Hills Public Radio International MN Hyman H. Field Continuing grant 366137 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909729 January 1, 2000 Assessing the Cultural Validity of Science & Mathematics Assessments. This study seeks to understand and assess the cultural validity of science and mathematics assessments used widely in elementary schools. The aim of the study is to understand how students from different cultures react to specific forms of test items so that the factors can be made more explicit and then considered in the development of standardized tests. The investigators will administer test items selected from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) to diverse populations ranging from Chinese urban to rural Yup'ik. The investigators propose to work individually with each cultural group and ask them to "think aloud" as they engage in solving items on the assessment. Students will explain how they interpreted the item and how they relate its content to their personal experience. Another instrument would be used to measure soci-cultural activity. PROGRAM EVALUATION RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Nelson-Barber, Sharon Guillermo Solano-Flores WestEd CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 935222 7261 7256 1666 SMET 9177 9909732 March 1, 2000 Engagement, Assessment & Epistemological Reconciliation in Technology Supported Learning Environments. This study builds on prior research of a genetics learning environment to consider how motivation and learning are impacted by new formative assessment practices and by the practices associated with accountability-oriented reforms. Secondary life science teachers will implement the GenScope computer software within a curricular context that is consistent with contemporary views of learning and instruction (such as outlined in the recent National Research Council report, How People Learn). Within this context, students in different classes will be presented with increasingly explicit learning standards and increasingly salient recognition or \rewards for performance on a set of formative assessments. Following the framework advanced by Greeno, Collins and Resnick in the 1996 Handbook of Educational Psychology, engagement and learning in each class will be examined using three competing models of knowing & learning. The results should provide comprehensive evidence regarding new and controversial assessment practices-when employed in contemporary curricular contexts. More broadly, the entire set of results will be used to compare different approaches for reconciling competing models of knowing and learning. This is expected to help clarify the relations between competing perspectives and practices, particularly concerning engagement and the motivation. This clarification is critical for developing a new pragmatic model of motivation that is relatively consistent with contemporary models knowing and learning. DRL EHR Hickey, Daniel Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc. GA Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 128418 7256 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 9909764 February 1, 2000 Math in the Garden. 9909764 WHITE Math in the Garden is a collaborative project between the University of California's Botanic Garden and 17 organizations around the nation that work with underserved urban youth, as well as rural communities. The project will create a series of five (5) guidebooks with activities that bring adults and children together in the garden to learn the mathematics inherent in the nature of gardening. The materials and activities will teach mathematical concepts and skills, feature plants, flowers, and fruits as math manipulatives, promote active learning, and support NCTM and National Science Standards. The guides will organize activities into clusters for various times of the year and contain appropriate activities for elementary through middle school-aged youth. Partner organizations will coordinate a trial test. Afterwards, the formative evaluation will guide the revision and finally, national distribution of the guides will be in conjunction with Dale Seymour Publishers. A national Advisory Committee of mathematicians, botanists, science educators, math educators, botanical garden staff, and leaders working in community gardens has been established. The entire project will be evaluated at every stage of development for its ability to increase math skills, garden knowledge, and to encourage young people to engage in active, inquiry learning. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Barrett, Katharine University of California-Berkeley CA Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 925217 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9909828 May 1, 2000 DragonflyTV: A New Science Show for Children. 9909828 HUDSON Twin Cities Public TV is producing 13 half-hour programs of a new science show for children to be on public television. The show would be based on the children's magazine, "Dragonfly," and would present children doing science experiments that they developed and planned themselves. From time to time, the children would be joined by adult scientists who tell of their own research, their discoveries, and their love of science. The goals of the project are to foster in children a greater interest in science and the process of scientific inquiry; demonstrate the parallels between children's scientific explorations and the research conducted by professional scientists; and feature and promote science projects involving under-represented communities, particularly ethnic minorities and girls. Outreach for the project will include a monthly "Young Investigator's Field Book," a Dragonfly TV teachers' companion multi-page insert that will be integrated into the NSTA grade school and middle school journals for teachers, and a Dragonfly TV website. The project also will establish community outreach partnerships with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the 4-H National Science and Technology Network. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Gerald Wheeler Christopher Myers Twin Cities Public Television MN Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 1089290 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9910154 August 1, 2000 Translating a Curriculum-embedded Assessment System to Two New Curricula: Using the "Progress Variable" as Organizing Principle -- A Planning Grant. 9910154 WILSON Citing the dearth of models of what works in terms of integrating assessment reforms into a curriculum, this project will develop a set of "progress variables" that mediate between the specific detail in assessments associated with particular curricula and the more general contents of Standards documents. These progress variables will permit teachers to track student progress through a particular curriculum. Calibrated scale maps that map student growth will be developed. The purpose of the planning grant is to demonstrate the feasibility of the transfer of the BEAR Assessment System (developed for SEPUP's "Issues Evidence and You") to two middle school FOSS units. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Wilson, Mark University of California-Berkeley CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 78212 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9910207 June 1, 2000 Content, Coaching, and Acculturation: A New Community of Practice for Beginning Teachers. 9910207 SHORE The project implements a discipline-based, beginning teacher program for middle- and high-school science teachers in San Mateo County and Oakland school districts. Building on an 18-month "proof of concept," the project demonstrates that linking beginning teacher programs to content-rich, learning institutions and existing teacher learning communities provides new teachers with critical content, coaching and acculturation at this pivotal stage in their development as teachers. The project will work with 200 beginning teachers (teachers will be drawn from San Mateo County and the Oakland Unified School District) and 150 experienced teachers new to the Exploratorium's teacher institutes over five years. One hundred Exploratorium Teacher Institute alumni will serve as in-class coaches and mentors. Another 375 teachers, who represent the pool from which future mentors will be drawn, will receive advanced training. The project includes both formative and summative evaluation components. The induction model will be disseminated to 90 professional developers around the country. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Shore, Linda Paul Doherty Exploratorium CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2983974 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9910634 June 15, 2000 Schools Around the World (SAW): A Planning Grant. 9910634 CROSS This collaboration between the Council for Basic Education, two school districts, and the Center for Children and Technology at EDC, proposes a project to expand on the existing Schools Around the World (SAW) Project. SAW is an international professional development effort that focuses on improving science instruction in grades 4, 8 and 10 by having teachers examine student work. SAW enables teachers to build on TIMSS by giving them concrete opportunities to examine student work in an international context (in additional to schools in the US, other participating countries include Australia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal and the United Kingdom). In addition to supporting teachers in examining student work using international standards, the project will: (1) conduct a formative evaluation that will guide subsequent project activities; (2) support a self-study on the use of interactive technology by SAW teachers and; (3) provide support for the SAW Science Advisory Group to provide additional project guidance. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Stoel, Carol Christopher Cross Marie Baker Council for Basic Education DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 49992 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9910843 April 1, 2000 The Writing Project. 9910843 SEARCHINGER Ways of Knowing, Inc. is developing "The Writing Project," two one-hour television documentary programs about the science (the archeology and written history, anthropology, and cognitive science) of writing systems and, at the same time, about "creative writing," from cuneiform tablets to e:mail. The programs will show how writing is a different thing from speech, and how it did not evolve, like speech, but had to be invented. The goal of the project is to inform a wide, general audience about the most important technological invention since the beginning of civilization, to introduce them to the science of writing systems (grammatology), and to create an original "Introduction to Writing" for colleges and high schools. During this planning phase, the staff will conduct the research needed to bring order and focus to the topic and develop a treatment for presenting the topic in the two films. The PI and his colleagues would draw upon the wisdom of numerous experts in the field of science of writing including three world renowned scholars: William Bright, University of Colorado, Professor Emeritus, UCLA, and editor of "Written Language and Literacy;" Peter Daniels, author, scholar, lecturer on grammatology, and editor of "The World's Writing Systems;" and Victor Mair, Professor of Chinese at U-Penn. On the literary side, writers to be interviewed in the planning phase include Kurt Vonnegut, Elmore Leonard, and Helen Vendler. Specific costs involved in the nine-month planning phase include travel; producer, writer, and researcher fees; fees to consultants; and mini conferences of experts. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Searchinger, Gene Ways of Knowing, Inc. NY Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 53186 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9910967 March 15, 2000 Inside the Classroom. The "Inside the Classroom" study will involve classroom observations of approximately 600 elementary, middle school, and high school mathematics teachers in 150 schools in 50 districts throughout the United States. This study is to be conducted in conjunction with the 2000 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education and will add to our knowledge of the frequency of class activities as reported by teachers with an understanding of the quality of instruction as assessed by knowledgeable observers. Data will be collected by observers experienced in the use of the Classroom Observation Protocol developed by Horizon Research, Inc. for the evaluation of NSF's Local Systemic Change Initiative. Additional training will be provided, including the rating of videotaped lessons and classroom visits by teams of observers to maximize interrater reliability. Results of the study will be presented in a complete technical report, a highlights report aimed at policymakers, and a book suitable for a general audience. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Weiss, Iris Mark St. John Horizon Research Inc NC Conrad G. Katzenmeyer Standard Grant 629275 7261 SMET 9177 9911224 June 1, 2000 A Study of Place: Satellite Technology Fuses Earth Science and Human Geography. 9911224 PAGET 'A Study of Place" integrates geographic visualization technologies into the study of earth science and geography at the middle school. Two modules, each of four to six weeks duration, are "The Antarctic Continent: Ice Climate and Exploration,' and 'The Atlantic and Its Coasts: Currents and Commerce.' Each module is driven by science and geography standards and has a common sequence. A dilemma or mystery of an historical event in a particular geographic setting frames the unit. Central earth science concepts are developed in tandem with investigative, image analysis, and mapping skills. Core understandings are built in the context of current research. A parallel study in a related or extended setting is carried out and becomes the assessment. The materials use satellite images, advanced geographic visualizations and other computer technologies. The materials are disseminated on the Web as are teacher guides that support teachers in their learning to use non-traditional classroom strategies. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Paget, Katherine TERC Inc MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 925322 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911313 March 15, 2000 IMD - The Development of Innovative Texts to Support Guided Science Teaching. 9911313 PALINCSAR This project will develop text-based instructional materials that allow the interweaving of 1st- and 2nd-hand investigations in order to maximize children's learning about the products of science as well as the nature of scientific reasoning. These materials are modeled after a scientist's notebook: a new genre that they developed to promote the maintenance of an inquiry stance while conducting investigation with text. These notebook texts are tailored to elementary school science curricula in grades one through five: Insights, Science and Technology for Children (STC), and Full Option Science Study (FOSS). INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Palincsar, Annemarie University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Maria A. Ruiz-Primo Continuing grant 399785 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911354 March 1, 2000 Object Lessons: Inquiries in Natural History for Elementary Schools. 9911354 DOW "Object Lessons: Inquiries in Natural History for Elementary Schools" is a natural history-based approach to teaching science. This approach introduces authentic objects and specimens into the classroom, providing a framework for extensive outdoor as well as indoor investigations, collaboration across grade levels in order to facilitate long-term investigations, exploring seasonal comparisons and building a data base of information that can support continuing schoolyard inquiries. Real objects are supplemented by accurate models, scientific drawings, photographs and written materials for children, together with suggested lessons and background materials for teachers. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Dow, Peter David Hartney Stanley Wegrzynowski SUNY College at Buffalo NY David A. Hanych Continuing grant 1740861 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911374 June 1, 2000 Kids. 9911374 BARNETT This four-year project is based on the instructional approach of having students discuss why incorrect thinking portrayed in "cases" of students' work is actually wrong. Students examine incorrect work and identify what errors caused the incorrect answers. The project will develop video and print materials for K-8 students, along with professional development materials for teachers on how to use the student materials. At grades K-3 the materials will focus on beginning number and operation concepts, and at grades 4-8 the materials will focus on rational numbers. In total there will be 81 full lessons, 126 mini lessons, 10 "Kids' Cases" for grades 4-8; all of these materials will be developed in English and Spanish. There will also be two videotapes (one for primary grades and one for intermediate grades) to help students learn to engage in discourse. The teacher materials will be teaching guides for each full lesson and mini lesson, 3 teacher's manuals (grade K, grades 1-3, and grades 4-8), and two additional videotapes (one for primary grades and one for intermediate grades) on conducting mathematical discourse. Preliminary research was conducted to validate the effectiveness of the pedagogical approach used by the materials, and extensive piloting of the materials will take place in California, Arizona, Missouri and Georgia. The evaluation will include analysis of students' learning of key concepts, teachers' use of materials, and the degree of dissemination. The materials are expected to be published by Heinemann and disseminated through a national network and an administrators' roundtable. The project will be conducted by WestEd in San Francisco. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Barnett-Clarke, Carne WestEd CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1991048 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911401 April 15, 2000 Deepening Conceptual Understanding in Middle School Life Science. 9911401 CLEMENT This project will develop model curriculum units designed to produce deeper conceptual understandings in areas of the life sciences (Energy and the Human Body) that involve complex visual models. The curriculum for grades 7-9 will be subdivided into five distinct units of study: cell structure and function (cellular respiration emphasis), pulmonary respiration, circulatory system, digestive system, and relationship of respiration and ecosystems. The curriculum will require six weeks to cover a few of the units, several months to a semester to cover all of the units, and can be integrated with existing curricula or used as a stand-alone program. The curriculum will be comprised of a teacher's guide, student workbooks and a CD-ROM. The units will be developed in conjunction with a team of middle school teachers and will also utilize findings from current research on learning that have developed instructional methods for teaching complex visual models in biology. Learning outcomes will be assessed using transfer problems and alternative assessment tools that measure integrated conceptual understanding. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Clement, John University of Massachusetts Amherst MA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 849221 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911410 June 1, 2000 Extending Mathematical Power (EMPower). 9911410 STEINBACK The Education Research Collaborative at TERC in Cambridge, MA, is adapting and extending the materials from three NSF-funded instructional materials development projects in order to meet the needs of out-of-school youth, adult learners, and other non-traditional students enrolled in adult basic education, pre-GED, GED/high school equivalency, and transitional courses to college. The materials being adapted are Investigations, Connected Mathematics, and Interactive Mathematics Program. Eight units are being developed around the topic areas of: Number Sense; Patterns, Functions, and Relations; Geometry and Measurement; and Probability and Statistics. Support materials for instructors are being developed along with the instructional materials, and professional development activities are being provided as well. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ENRICHMENT COURSES DRL EHR Steinback, Myriam Mary Jane Schmitt TERC Inc MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2254800 7355 7300 7259 1537 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911558 April 1, 2000 Systemic Reform of Mathematics K-5 for Virginia. 9911558 PATTY Funded under the guidelines for "Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement," this five-year project is a partnership among Virginia Tech, the Albemarle County Public Schools, and the Montgomery County (Va.) Public Schools. The project expands to the elementary grades the partner's ongoing, common work with middle and high school teachers of mathematics in the Local Systemic Change (LSC) project "Systemic Reform of Grades 6-12 Mathematics in Rural Virginia." All 629 teachers who teach mathematics in the 27 elementary schools in the two participating county systems receive at least 130 hours of professional development and support for curricular implementation. Albemarle County has adopted "Investigations in Number, Data and Space," and Montgomery County has narrowed its selection to "Investigations" or "Everyday Mathematics." The professional development consists of summer institutes beginning prior to implementation, and sessions that are held throughout the school years for the duration of the project. The project provides 173 hours of professional development for the teachers at all grade levels, K-5. Leadership is provided by teams, with each team consisting of a university faculty member, a mathematics supervisor/coordinator, one additional leader in each county, and six elementary teacher leaders. A cadre of 54 teacher leaders -- two in each school -- contributes to the sustainability of the project beyond the life of its NSF funding. In addition to the required LSC core evaluation, the project's evaluation includes a component to track change/growth in teacher's content knowledge, as well as attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics. Auditable cost sharing is derived from Virginia Tech and the partnering school districts. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Patty, Clarence Jesse Wilkins Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 2894459 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911563 September 1, 2000 Southern San Diego Bay Science LSC K-8 Project. 9911563 SCHEFFLER ScienceTIP is a teacher enhancement initiative for K-8 teachers in the Sweetwater middle schools and the four feeder elementary districts in California. This planning grant project will use a systemic approach to further define the steps required to accomplish three major goals. These final goals are: 1) adopt and implement a K-8 standards-based science curriculum, 2) form a collaboration between teachers and administrators of the participating schools with science content experts in the area in order to provide a professional development program for standards-based instruction, and 3) change classroom practice so that students leaving the K-8 system move forward prepared for high school science courses. The planning grant will use the NSRC model involving school district leadership teams. These teams will meet during the planning timeframe in order to address five (5) elements for effective science education programs. From this planning, a long range strategic plan will be produced. This final plan will be coordinated into a full proposal for later submission. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Scheffler, Immo Robert Dean University of California-San Diego CA Cheryl L. Mason Standard Grant 50000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911569 July 1, 2000 Technology Modules on the World-Wide Web. 9911569 SHAW "Technology Modules on the World-Wide-Web" is a collaboration between engineering and technology education faculty members from two SUNY campuses, to design and develop six Technology Education modules for grades 11 and 12. The modules are accessible through the world-wide web, but also via CD-ROM. Topics are Principles of Engineering; Product Development and Automation; Energy and the Environment; Communication and Information Technology; Transportation; and System Integration and Society. The modules allow computer-assisted simulation, and are meant to supplement the more typical hands-on activities of technology teachers. The primary pedagogic strategy is case-based learning, each case involving a real-world technology situation, such as retro-fitting the lighting system of a house to make it more energy efficient. Manuals are prepared to guide teachers through cases. National pilot field test sites are integral to the evaluation. The project draws upon materials previously developed in the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program in areas such as information systems, and semi-conductor manufacturing. The materials resonate with the emerging national Standards for Technology Education now being finalized by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA); and relate directly to technology education content and learning standards of New York's Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST) curriculum, and to Project 2061 benchmarks. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Shaw, David SUNY at Buffalo NY Daniel Householder Continuing grant 999990 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911614 July 15, 2000 Integrating Core Content: Development of an Integrated Science Program for High School. 9911614 BYBEE This two-year, multidisciplinary science program based on the college text, "The Sciences: An Integrated Approach," by James Trefil and Robert Hazen provides an alternative to the traditional sequence of science courses in the ninth and tenth grades. The materials are developed by first choosing the learning goals, then providing assessments to determine that the learning goals are achieved. For the ninth grade, rigorous science is learned through the use of cross-cutting themes with different integrating vehicles: energy through personal and social perspectives, the material world through science and technology, cycles through history and nature of science, and evolution through science as a human endeavor. In the tenth grade, modules concentrate on experiences from each discipline with connections to the others. After this course, students should be able to continue taking other disciplinary or multidisciplinary standard or honors courses. In addition to the student materials, there is a teachers' guide providing content and strategies for teaching the activities and two implementation guides addressing awareness and planning for change and ongoing implementation needs of the teachers of integrated science. A professional development program is also developed. Field testing is in eight sites nationally. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Bybee, Rodger Pamela Van Scotter Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 2311024 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911615 May 1, 2000 A BSCS Implementation and Dissemination Project for High School Science Education. 9911615 BYBEE BSCS will form a dissemination and professional development center that will raise national awareness of 21 high school science curricula developed with NSF support, and provide professional development to teams from high schools and/or school districts in selecting appropriate curricula and implementing the adoption process. In addition, the project will implement a pilot project where current earth science and physical science teachers who are teaching out of field can receive training in both the content and the skills needed for inquiry-based science instruction. An analysis will be conducted to determine how the pilot model can be transferable to other sites. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Landes, Nancy Janet Carlson Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 6190932 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911630 April 1, 2000 An Integrated Early Childhood Science Curriculum: The Key to School Readiness. 9911630 FRENCH This project has the potential to influence early childhood education by creating, testing, and disseminating a science-centered preschool curriculum that enhances science understanding and the intellectual development of all children in the 3-5 age cohort, particularly girls, low income and minority children. The curriculum, sufficient for one year, will consist of coherent and integrated, science-based, classroom activities, and related material for assessment and parent involvement. Science topics provide the contexts for activities across the curriculum and support the development of a rich knowledge base and problem solving skills. Science-based materials for outreach to parents will be developed utilizing "Science ZipKits" that will link day care/school centers and homes and continue the science explorations begun in the centers. The new instructional materials will be based on current activities that are developmentally appropriate, engaging for all preschoolers, and have been shown to be effective for all children. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR French, Lucia University of Rochester NY Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 500697 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911671 July 15, 2000 Cracking the Code: A Video Series for Secondary Level Students. 9911671 FLICK This project will produce an integrated, video-based instructional resource on the current DNA-based revolution in biotechnology, covering the related science history, basic science concepts, current technology and surrounding social issues. It is directed at students and teachers of biology in grades 8-12. In addition to a 5-part series of 20- to 30-minute instructional videos, there will be a comprehensive teacher's guidebook and a web site to provide additional background information, classroom learning activities and independent research projects. Basic knowledge of genetics, particularly molecular genetics, is becoming more and more important for every person in our nation. Recent advances in food production and medicine in particular mandate that all people have a solid understanding of fundamental genetic principles. However, the content is new and complex. This project will introduce difficult concepts in genetics with an engaging format designed to appeal to the student audience through the creative use of music, animation and humor. It will easily integrate into existing biology curricula, and will serve as a launching point for inquiry-based investigations. There is a well-conceived dissemination plan, which includes public broadcasts on Public Broadcasting Stations in the US and Canada, with subsequent sales. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Flick, Joann David Gudaitis Jack Micay Agency for Instructional Technology IN David A. Hanych Continuing grant 514110 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911679 June 1, 2000 Preparing Elementary Teachers to Help Students Shift from Arithmetic to Algebraic Reasoning. 9911679 CARPENTER This professional materials development project will create materials to support elementary teachers in creating classroom opportunities that enable children to move from arithmetic thinking to algebraic reasoning. Principal Investigators from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and the University of California, Los Angeles, will collaborate in the design and development of the materials. The project builds on 12 years of cognitively-guided instruction professional development and research in addition to research on algebraic reasoning. The current materials will be appropriate for elementary teachers of grades K-6. The teacher materials will consist of a book and a set of video episodes on CDs that include (1) an analysis of the development of students' algebraic reasoning, (2) narrative and video cases of children solving key problems, (3) classroom interactions that support the development of critical constructs, (4) problems that teachers can pose to their students that make student's algebraic thinking explicit, and (5) reflection questions and writing prompts that encourage teachers to make explicit their own thinking about the development of algebraic thinking, their understanding of algebra, and the ways in which they can engage students in their own classrooms. Leader resource materials will provide information to professional developers about paths teachers take in learning about students' algebraic reasoning and ways to support that development. These materials will include a description and discussion of activities for (1) developing teachers' mathematical understanding, (2) supporting teachers in constructing problems and developing classroom discourse, (3) conducting inquiry about the development of student thinking, and (4) developing communities that support inquiry and teacher learning. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Carpenter, Thomas Megan Franke University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Monica B. Mitchell Continuing grant 1620142 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911734 July 1, 2000 Project ICAN: Inquiry, Context and Nature of Science. 9911734 LEDERMAN This proposal, sponsored by Oregon State University, will carry out a five-year leadership program in secondary science which, over the life of the project, will impact 400 teachers, mostly in schools in rural Oregon. In a three-week summer program the project staff will teach participating teachers content knowledge, supervise teachers in current research projects, practice techniques for using inquiry in the classroom, demonstrate techniques of using technology in the classroom in support of science inquiry and work with teachers to develop appropriate pedagogy. During the academic year the teachers will receive support from project staff to help them implement the program and to help them work with colleagues. Each year a cadre of teachers, designated as mentor teachers, will be selected from the participants to work with other teachers in the project for the duration of the activities. Thus, by the end of the project a substantial number of the workshop teachers will have significant mentoring experience. All teachers in the project will be supported in the schools as they implement inquiry techniques in their classrooms. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Lederman, Norman Paul Farber Kenneth Krane Michael Mix Oregon State University OR Julia Clark Continuing grant 1211311 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911754 March 15, 2000 PRIME Mathematics Project, K-5. 9911754 THORNTON "PRIME" is a collaborative effort involving Illinois State University's Mathematics Education faculty and Peoria District 150. Targeting the second largest urban school district in Illinois, this Local Systemic Change project will serve all 337 K-5 classroom mathematics teachers, and their principals. The project was developed in response to teachers' request for professional support in implementing "Investigations in Number, Data and Space," a reform elementary mathematics curriculum that is aligned with both state and national standards. This 3.5-year teacher enhancement program involves each teacher in nearly 150 hours of professional learning. This program features three intensive summer sessions focused on improving teachers' understanding of mathematics content -- geometry, rational numbers, data and statistics -- and teaching practices related to the implementation of the Investigations program. Systematic, substantive follow-through during subsequent school years in the form of grade level seminars, after school workshops, and extensive, classroom-based support from "PRIME" staff, will be provided. A Mathlinks Committee of 32 lead teachers from the 16 schools participating in the Project serves to monitor grade-level coordination and implementation of Investigations, and provides local input to PRIME staff for project activity. The PRIME project further benefits from significant support from a parent, community and business collaboration that focuses on student learning. By engaging all stakeholders, the PRIME collaborative seeks to promote and support qualitatively different approaches for teaching and teaming K-5 mathematics. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Barrett, Jeffrey Linda Millen Gail Illuzzi Illinois State University IL Karen D. King Continuing grant 1516501 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911769 June 1, 2000 DIMACS Connect Institute. 9911769 ROBERTS This proposal, sponsored by Rutgers University, will carry out a three-year project which will involve 30 High School teachers each year of the project who will commit to a six-week, two-summer research experience -- four weeks in the first summer and two weeks in the second summer. The research is in the area of discrete mathematics -- especially graph theory -- with an emphasis on applications. The first summer includes an educational program centered on content, mentored research work, teacher-researcher interaction, and classroom implementation sessions. Follow-up will occur during the academic year and includes research activities for students. The school program will culminate with presentations about the research projects in a spring conference. In the following summer the teachers will be involved in a more sophisticated series of research projects. Also teachers will report on the implementation in the classroom of the materials which were based upon the research topics. The second year teachers will act as mentors with the next cohort of teachers to help their transition to research and classroom implementation. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Roberts, Fred Linda Lesniak Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Mark Saul Standard Grant 766292 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911770 April 15, 2000 Lesley/TERC Science Education Master. 9911770 DOUBLER TERC and Lesley College propose a four-year, professional development materials project to develop and deliver an online science education masters degree program for teachers, curriculum specialists and instructional resource persons responsible for K-8 science education. The program will prepare participants to integrate inquiry-based science pedagogy and web-based information technologies into daily practices. The project will also deepen understanding of online learning models and strategies for professional development. The 33-credit hour program will be comprised of six-credit hour modules and an introductory three-credit hour course entitled "Try Science." Participants will do one module of work each college term, thus completing the program in two years. Each module will have two instructors who together will bring science and pedagogy expertise to learners. Participants will conduct real-world investigations, which will be facilitated through on-line instruction. This approach will open the course to those from areas without convenient access to university campuses. With increasingly common technologies-Internet connectivity, a web browser and CD-ROM-learning will be accessible in teachers' homes or schools in asynchronous time, allowing teachers to better balance personal commitments and professional growth. Approximately 25 participants will move through the master's degree program together. In addition, within the project time frame, it is anticipated that a minimum of 500 teachers will receive 90-135 hours of professional development. The request is for $2,447,668. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Doubler, Susan Linda Grisham TERC Inc MA Robert D. Sherwood Continuing grant 3243389 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911771 June 15, 2000 LEARN II: Atmospheric Science Explorers. 9911771 McLAREN This 18-month project instructs teachers, primarily from grades 6-8, in seven selected rural school districts in Western Colorado, in the basic concepts of atmospheric science. It will bring 35 teachers (five from each district) for a three-week summer workshop for intensive content, pedagogical and leadership training. The workshop will increase the teachers' knowledge of the atmospheric sciences and mathematics, enable them to develop activity-based teaching strategies, show them how to use current educational technologies, increase their leadership skills and provide them with laboratory and field experiences as they work with UCAR scientists. During the school year these teams of lead teachers will work with 21 teachers in their district (for a total of 182), aided by UCAR scientists, instructors from Colorado's Science Discovery Program and the Annenberg/CPB Internet training program. The atmospheric science curriculum will be based upon the materials developed by the original Project LEARN program and includes modules entitled "Atmospheric Dynamics," "Ozone in Our Atmosphere" and "Cycles of the Earth and Atmosphere." TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR McLaren, Carol University Corporation For Atmospheric Res CO Wayne Sukow Cooperative Agreement 676918 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911772 May 1, 2000 Targeted Investigations in Environmental Science for Grades 9 -12. 9911772 CRISTINI This project will produce a professional development package based on an interdisciplinary investigation of the use and disposal of chemical pollutants. This theme allows integration of the content into biology and chemistry courses as well as courses in mathematics, social studies, civics, health and others. The approach is to field test and refine the package, ultimately producing a combination of web-based instructional materials and CD-ROM's for high school teachers. This will be accomplished through a series of On-line and On-site Institutes. Teachers will be given guidance on how to train students to collect their own data, how to access other data sets on-line, and how to do real-life problem solving using GIS. Among the goals are to provide cross-disciplinary content, provide a model for formulating pivotal questions, provide technical tools appropriate to facilitate cross-disciplinary linkages, provide inquiry-based activities, provide assessment strategies, and make TIES accessible to educators regardless of location. Because of the cross-disciplinary nature of the professional development package, teachers will be able to utilize their skills to enhance teaching in a variety of subjects (chemistry, biology and environmental science), and can be incorporated into the classroom no matter which set of student instructional materials are used. Teachers from urban, suburban and rural communities in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania will field-test the materials at Summer Institutes and during the academic year. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Cristini, Angela Ramapo College of New Jersey NJ David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1135608 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911778 April 1, 2000 Critical MASS: Critical Mathematics and Science Synergy. 9911778 CAMINS In this five-year Local Systemic Change project the Hudson and Fitchburg Public Schools are collaborating with the University of Massachusetts-Lowell to implement a systemic change program for all K-5 elementary teachers and all 6-8 middle school teachers of mathematics and science in the two districts. Also providing expertise to the project will be the Education Development Center and TERC. The project will build upon four years of standards-based mathematics and science curriculum implementation and teacher enhancement in each district. Both districts have adopted and are committed to using only reform-based, NSF-funded curricula at both the elementary and middle school levels. The participating teachers will take part in 160 hours of professional development over the life of the project. The majority (130) of these hours will occur at the teachers' schools, in their classrooms and during their contract day. The Pedagogical Content Knowledge Workshops will be held in six half-day, school-time sessions per year for the five years. The Workshops will broaden and deepen the teachers' content knowledge, while using an inquiry, reform-based instructional approach. In-class support will be provided by the districts' mathematics and science specialists as well as a cadre of 54 specially prepared Teacher Leaders. Lastly, the Summer Synergy Institute will give participants the opportunity to intensely examine and develop conceptual and instructional synergy between mathematics and science. The project will impact two districts, 13 schools, 314 teachers and 6,450 K-8 students. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Camins, Arthur Paul Jablon Sheldon Berman Anne Collins Hudson Public Schools MA Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1413000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911792 March 1, 2000 VISIT: Virtual Immersion in Scientific Inquiry for Teachers. 991792 XIE "Virtual Immersion in Scientific Inquiry for Teachers (VISIT)" is an Online Collaboratory for teachers to participate in ongoing scientific investigations of contemporary problems in their localities. This project will immerse 200 secondary teachers from Detroit and Boston in investigations that use extensive data analysis tools, supported by colleagues and scientists throughout the year. These activities support state curricula and frameworks in chemistry, environmental science, ecology, biological and earth sciences. The investigators will receive graduate credit from EMU. An additional 800 teachers would be "explorers" with some limited exposure to key topics and skills. The VISIT model and materials will be disseminated both nationally and in Southeastern Michigan through the educational programs of local, state, and national scientific government agencies, online courses, special science education projects and systemic initiative projects. VISIT plans to engage at least 1,000 teachers over three years and to replicate the model and materials in at least six other urban areas. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Xie, Yichun Beverly Hunter Eastern Michigan University MI Michael Haney Continuing grant 1247050 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911807 April 1, 2000 Creating a National Cadre of Webwatchers. 9911807 MOHLING This project builds the professional infrastructure needed to identify and organize web links that augment science instruction. The NSTA SciLINKS program provides standards-based links keyed to textbooks. Educators are the key to identifying those links, and this project establishes that core group of educators and the protocols, and it assesses the effectiveness and usefulness of such online materials. It also ensures that the sites are consistent with the NSES and that there is open access for all science teachers, parents and other stakeholders. Forty teachers participate in the first summer, thirty are added the second, and twenty more the final summer. They develop the coding process that identifies high quality web-based materials and they engage in professional development on how web resources can be correlated to the National Science Education Standards and the Benchmarks. In addition, the project provides an interactive web site to share information and to develop and distribute a Guidebook for Web Assessment. Extensive evaluation is included to determine the usefulness of the sites. Online monitoring is done of registered users, and sessions at national conferences are used for dissemination and to provide feedback to the developers. Two layers of advisory groups guide the efforts. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Mohling, Wendell National Science Teachers Assoc VA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1043303 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911808 May 1, 2000 Curriculum Resources for K-8 Technology Education. 9911808 BRITTON This project will create four curriculum resources that would be of benefit to science teachers needing orientation to technology: (a) a resource guide to exemplary curriculum materials in technology education at the elementary and middle school grades; (b) a workshop series that uses the guide to introduce technology concepts to teachers and curriculum specialists in technology and science education; (c) a manual that will enable professionals to run similar workshops; and (d) a website for dissemination. The resources to be selected will be consistent with standards for technology education, as published by the International Technology Education Association. The resource guide features emerging curriculum materials from projects funded by the National Science Foundation. Materials will reflect technology education, science curricula that emphasize technology education, and curricula that integrate technology and other subjects. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Britton, Edward Senta Raizen WestEd CA Daniel Householder Standard Grant 469834 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911825 July 1, 2000 Teacher Enhancement in Chemistry: Creation of a Master in Chemical Education Program for Secondary School Teachers in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 9911825 DAI This five-year project will provide for up to 20 teachers of chemistry each year to be brought into a two-year, two-month program which will culminate in the participants receiving a Masters of Chemical Education. The participants will be chosen from the areas of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania which are in proximity to the University of Pennsylvania's campus. The participants will work over three summers and two academic years to reach the goal of a Masters degree. The chemistry department is working with the School of Education to develop and maintain the program. The project will provide tuition and fee scholarships to the participants, including parking. At the conclusion of this five-year program it is expected that 60 teachers will have received their Masters degree with another two cohorts having nearly completed it. The university is committed to institutionalizing the project, and will provide the necessary support for the last two cohorts in particular. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Dai, Hai-Lung Kenneth Tobin University of Pennsylvania PA Michael Haney Continuing grant 744427 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911829 June 15, 2000 Exhibition Layout and Visitor Movement in Science Museums -- A Small Grant for Exploratory Research. 9911829 WINEMAN With a Small Grant for Exploratory Research, Georgia Tech Research Institute will identify and measure the properties of spatial layout that affect visitors' exploration and exposure to information in science museum exhibitions. It is the nature of museum learning that it is associated with movement in space. The ways in which displays are arranged in spatial sequences, the ability to simultaneously view different objects, the grouping of objects in space, the rate of change in directions, the relative distance between one display and another, all become powerful aspects of the presentation of knowledge that are far more important in the museum than they are in any other learning environment. This study will apply new techniques for spatial analysis to provide rigorous, quantitative descriptions of spatial layout. These descriptors will then be used to understand how layout affects visitor movement patterns in exhibitions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Wineman, Jean John Peponis GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Barry A. Van Deman Standard Grant 95334 7259 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911831 March 1, 2000 Addressing Accessibility in Middle School Mathematics. 9911831 KLEIMAN This two-year project will develop a prototype of professional development materials to help middle grades mathematics teachers learn how to adapt NSF middle grades curriculum materials, classroom practices, and assessments to meet the needs of students with cognitive and language disabilities. The prototype will include sample lessons adapted from these curriculum materials to provide models for teachers. The materials will also help professional development providers assist mathematics and special education teachers in working together to improve instruction for students with the targeted disabilities. The professional development materials will support teacher professional development activities across an entire school year, with mathematics and special education teachers meeting together in study groups approximately once a month. Teachers will learn about the principles of universal design for learning and then complete "design experiments" in which they will apply these principles to adapt instruction to account for the targeted disabilities. The professional development materials to be developed in this project will address requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997. The materials will be piloted in several school districts in the Boston area and will be evaluated through analysis of teachers' design experiments, self-reports, and action plans. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Kleiman, Glenn Judith Zorfass Education Development Center MA Monica M. Neagoy Standard Grant 453517 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911834 September 1, 2000 National Inquiry Leadership Project. 9911834 RANKIN The Exploratorium's Institute for Inquiry works with teams of district professional developers and leaders to help them incorporate inquiry into their elementary science program reform plans in ways consistent with the vision outlined in the National Science Education Standards. This project would expand and broaden that work through the research and development of five modules designed to enhance the capacity of professional development providers to introduce elementary teachers to inquiry-based approaches to science teaching, insure appropriate usage and explanation of science content, and improve the quality of professional development in elementary science education. Each module will include a core set of inquiry-based activities that can be used by science specialists as they work with elementary teachers to help them improve classroom instruction. The modules will include: "An Introduction To Inquiry;" "Hands-on Curriculum Toward Enhanced Inquiry;" "Learning Content Through Inquiry;" "Classroom Strategies for Teaching Inquiry and Assessing Student Learning;" and "Designing In-depth Inquiry Experiences." All modules will be made available at no cost and will be able to be accessed via the Exploratorium website. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Rankin, Lynn Barry Kluger-Bell Exploratorium CA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 2750000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911841 February 1, 2000 Mathematics in the City: Professional Development Materials on Number and Operation for Teaching and Learning. 9911841 FOSNOT This project is a collaboration between the City University of New York - City College (CUNY) and the Freudenthal Institute and will develop a variety of K-8 mathematics teacher inservice materials broadly related to number sense: (1) a documentary video on Number and Operation and (2) sets of materials for each of the grade bands of PK-2, 3-5, and 6-8. Each set will contain a book, a hyper-linked text CD of the "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) related to number sense, and three interactive CDs for use in inservice activities with accompanying activity manuals for instructors. For grades PK-2 the focus is early number sense and addition/subtraction, for grades 3-5 the focus is multiplication and division, and for grades 6-8 the focus is fractions/decimals. The project builds on existing, successful, face-to-face inservice with teachers; the materials will translate this inservice into a format that can be widely disseminated. The materials are intended to be useful for both inservice and preservice education. The materials will be field tested in university courses, LSC projects, Exxon Education Project sites, several "virgin" sites (where reform mathematics instruction is not already well entrenched), and an Internet site (funded by Heinemann Publishers). It is expected the materials will be published by Heinemann, possibly in cooperation with NCTM. Long-term use of the materials will be supported in teacher institutes through CUNY, with possible additional arrangements with Heinemann and NCTM. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Fosnot, Catherine Betina Zolkower Hersch Sherrin CUNY City College NY Ron Tzur Continuing grant 3289620 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911843 February 1, 2000 Developing Educational Leadership in Computational Science. 9911843 HUSKAMP This national project provides training and support in computational science for 200 high school teachers from 50 schools. Participating teachers receive 180 hours of instruction and up to 18 CEUs as part of this leadership program. The first cadre begins with the SC2000 national high performance computing, and networking conference and the second cadre with the SC2001. Each is followed by support and in-service training events during the school year from a national support structure consisting of the proposing institutions. Included are Summer Institutes for each to refine and extend the computational science skills of the teacher participants. The purpose of this project is to investigate how computational science can best be presented and integrated into the high school curriculum in a variety of school districts and how computational science affects student learning of topics in mathematics, chemistry, biochemistry, environmental science and physics. This project builds on previous work and leverages the efforts of the proposing institution and its partners, who have extensive investments in computational science. The partners include the Krell Institute, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the Ohio Supercomputer Center, the Shodor Education Foundation, and the University of Alabama, as well as the sponsoring professional societies of the SC conferences, the Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Huskamp, Jeffrey Robert Panoff Scott Lathrop Helen Parke Ernest Marshburn Edna Gentry East Carolina University NC Michael Haney Continuing grant 1130503 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911848 May 1, 2000 Extended Physics Community: Modeling and Web-based Professional Development Program. 9911848 MEISNER This project, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, will carry out a project to teach teachers in North Carolina the modeling method pioneered by Hestenes et al at Arizona State University. The institution has created a collaboration with neighboring state institutions (Appalachian State University and North Carolina A&T), the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and local school districts. The program will teach the modeling method to physics teachers, physical science teachers and technology teachers. Altogether 356 teachers will be involved in modeling workshops and each teacher will be in the project for two summers. A group of Master Teachers, trained during in the summer workshops, will be expected to implement the modeling method in their classrooms and, with the help of the resources on the web specifically developed for the project, will help peer teachers also implement the modeling method in their classrooms. At the same time as the development of the on-site program for teachers, an on-line resource will be developed which will be available to teachers at the national level. This interactive web-site will be an "anytime, anywhere" source of information for teachers throughout the country and will also be available to provide graduate credit for those teachers who fulfill appropriate requirements. This site will demonstrate the modeling approach of Hestenes and demonstrate to teachers how to move students through their misconceptions of simple physics principles. It is estimated that 150 teachers will take advantage of the credit option. Matching funds amount to 27% of the NSF award. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Meisner, Gerald Harol Hoffman Nina Morley Mike Turner Patricia Blanton University of North Carolina Greensboro NC David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1468633 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911849 February 1, 2000 Teaching Reflectively: Extending and Sustaining Use of Reforms in the Mathematics Classroom. 9911849 COLEMAN This four-year Local Systemic Change project is designed to lead all teachers of mathematics in the Madison School District to use reflective teaching strategies and to sustain these instructional changes over time. The Madison District, in collaboration with Arizona State University, will provide professional development for all K-8 teachers over the life of the project. The TREASURmath project will assist teachers in implementing the NSF-funded curricula (Connected Mathematics Project and Investigations in Number, Data and Space) adopted in the district. During the project each participant will take either an algebra or geometry course provided by Arizona State University. This content course will broaden and deepen participants' understanding of mathematics. All participants will also take part in a weeklong curriculum-specific summer institute, which will help them develop the content, pedagogical, technological, and research knowledge to teach reflectively. The institute will be offered at three levels to accommodate teachers who have had differing levels of experience and participation in prior professional development. Also, all teachers will take part in grade level meetings one half-day every two weeks. Thirteen Mathematics Teacher Leaders (MTL) will be released half time to provide ongoing support and direction to the teachers in their schools. The impact of this project will be on 347 teachers in seven schools who serve over 5,000 students. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Califano, Linda James Middleton Alfinio Flores Madison School District #38 AZ Monica B. Mitchell Continuing grant 1561500 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911850 May 15, 2000 Earth-View: Leadership in Earth/Environmental Science for North Carolina Schools. 9911850 DAWKINS This three-year project proposes to provide professional development and leadership training for 45 teachers in the content of earth and environmental sciences covering the state of North Carolina. The teachers will meet each summer in different parts of the state to learn directly about the environment in that region. These regions are the coastal region, the cental region and the western, mountain region. These teachers, at the end of the three years, will then provide training to other teachers in their geographic area of the state. Each teacher will have very substantial professional development, well beyond 100 hours, approaching 240 hours over the three years. In addition, each teacher would be given graduate credit plus other recertification units for successful completion of the professional development. No teachers outside the state of North Carolina will be eligible for participation. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Penick, John Stanley Riggs North Carolina State University NC Wayne Sukow Continuing grant 386677 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911855 July 15, 2000 The Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP). 9911855 SNOW The Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP) is a four-year project that involves Nebraska teachers and students in the detection of very high-energy cosmic rays. Each summer six new high school teams of one teacher and up to three students will participate. Participation begins with a four-week session at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln working to set up CROP detectors, troubleshoot the instrumentation, collect data, interpret local cosmic ray event data, and share the extremely high energy cosmic ray event data with colleagues from around the state. Over the four years of the project 30 teachers and 240 students will have participated in structured research activities with the senior scientists. CROP involves teachers and students in a fundamental physics research experience, beginning with pre-data collection activities such as detector refurbishing and installation, debugging of the electronics locally, calibration of equipment, continuous data collection and maintenance of the experimental components. It is research that depends on students and teachers in a meaningful way. "The experiments begin right in the classroom, continue through the school year, and via coordinated Internet sharing of data, extends beyond the schoolyard's boundaries. The anticipated, extremely high-energy cosmic ray events require a very large distributed array of detectors that can be regularly maintained. The location on school roofs across the State of Nebraska provides that. The transfer to the classroom is enhanced by the self-contained classroom activities that have been developed for this purpose and are tied to the instrumentation and data collection as well as the decay of cosmic rays. This carefully crafted project mimics the way fundamental research is done; that's what's being done. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC ELEMENTARY PARTICLE ACCEL USER DRL EHR Snow, Gregory Daniel Claes University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1374005 7300 1643 1253 1221 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911857 March 1, 2000 Science Co-operatives. 9911857 SHYMANSKY "Science Co-operatives" is a five year Local Systemic Change project designed to transform the elementary science program of 35 rural school districts in Missouri and Iowa. The project will work directly with 75 schools, enhance the content and pedagogical knowledge of 1,405 teachers, and impact over 19,000 students. Three university-based project teams (University of Missouri-St. Louis, the University of Iowa, and Iowa State University), assisted by expert consultants and facilitated by 9 local Co-op field coordinators will deliver summer and school-year teacher enhancement activities. Telecommunications will allow experts to deliver inservice instruction to teachers within and across cooperatives on a variety of science, pedagogical, and special topics. The fiber optic systems involved include the Iowa Communication Network (ICN) and the Missouri Research and Educational Network (MOREnet), both fully interactive educational video networks that link universities, community colleges, school districts, and other sites. Professional development will have, at its core, the implementation of units from three NSF-sponsored elementary science curriculum development projects: FOSS, STC, and Insights. Additional teacher inservice activities will be patterned after the highly successful "Science Parents, Activities, and Literature" that helped teachers integrate their science teaching with other disciplines. An independent evaluation will use both qualitative and quantitative methods to measure the impact of the project on students' opportunities to learn science, attitudes towards science and achievement, and teachers' knowledge of science and improved classroom practice. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Shymansky, James George Cain Brian Hand University of Missouri-Saint Louis MO Glenn C. Markle Continuing grant 3912743 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911868 May 1, 2000 Capital Region Science Education Partnership(CRSEP) LSC Project Assessment in the Service of Standards-based Science Teaching. 9911868 FALCO The proposal is for a five-year LSC project submitted by the Capital Region Science Education Partnership (CRSEP) in collaboration with the University at Albany SUNY. The partnership includes the Schenectady City School District, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake central Schools, Watervliet City Schools and Bethlehem Central Schools, a combination of high poverty urban and suburban districts. All the districts have implemented the instructional materials, Science and Technology for Children (STC) in grades K-6 and MS/STC units are currently being field-tested. The professional development program for teachers includes the use of formative assessment in the service of teaching. Central to the partners' belief is the tenet that recognizes assessment not only as a means to measure student achievement but also as a catalyst for effective contemporary science education reform. An applied research component will study and evaluate the effectiveness of this unique approach to professional development and materials for use by professional developers nationwide will be produced. The project will involve all 427 teachers of science grades K-8 in 28 schools in the four districts. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Falco, John Audrey Champagne Schenectady City School District NY Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 3294663 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911883 May 1, 2000 Science Teacher Enhancement in the Pikes Peak Region (STEP-uP). 9911883 MOONEY "Science Teacher Enhancement in the Pikes Peak Region (STEP-Up)" is a K-6, five-year, Local Systemic Change project for school districts in the Colorado Springs area to implement and support long-term science education reform in standards-based content, pedagogy, curriculum and assessment. The reform effort grows out of a comprehensive planning process led by the five core districts and with Colorado College, Pikes Peak Community College, the Hewlett-Packard Company and the United States Space Foundation. The project will impact 47,000 kindergarten through fifth-grade students and their 1,300 teachers in 74 schools. Implementation of the science program will be accomplished through a three-tiered staff development model: Induction and Mentoring efforts; courses in Science Content, Pedagogy and Assessment; and Leadership Development programs. Tier one is designed to meet the needs of teachers new to the kit-based science approach, while tier two is aimed at introducing experienced teachers to unifying concepts that blend science content and pedagogical understanding. The third tier impacts selected teachers and administrators by providing them with long-term advanced programs in science and science education to further ensure a new culture of reflective teaching and sustainable reform. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Mooney, Linda Paul Kuerbis Colorado Springs District II CO Carole Stearns Continuing grant 690206 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911885 June 1, 2000 Research Experiences in Industry. 9911885 HARPOLE This three-year "Teacher/Student Development through Research Experience" project (TSD) involves 25 teachers per year, grades 7-12, in a high tech workplace/research experience. Each of these teachers will mentor at least four of their peers for a minimum of 60 hours. The summer experience includes 3-weeks in an industrial internship at Peavey Electronics. A fourth week will be spent at Mississippi State where the teachers receive heop with the transfer to the classroom component. A 3-day work experience in a local industry (local to the teacher's place of employment), and academic year follow-up sessions follow this. The content sessions are concurrent with and interspersed with the the internship at Peavey Electronics. The sessions include work with the SCANS report. They are delivered using the industrial model of just-in-time-learning. The workplace mentors are engineers, scientists and workers at Peavey Electronics as well as university faculty, scientists, and highly qualified teachers. Teachers will ideally participate as teams from the same school. The ideal team has a science, mathematics and a technology education teacher. To ensure participation from districts with limited resources and a high minority enrollment, a commitment has been made by two such school districts to participate in the project. Five teachers from each district will participate. ADVANCED TECH EDUCATION PROG TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Harpole, Sandra Mississippi State University MS Karen F. Zuga Continuing grant 1298650 7412 7300 SMET 9178 9177 1032 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911886 September 1, 2000 Preparing Leaders to Improve the Teaching of Physical Science on a Statewide Basis. 9911886 BEDENBAUGH This three-year project would provide for the professional development of a total of 410 teachers of physical science in the state of Mississippi at grades 8 and 9. To accomplish this task a twelve-module instructional development manual based upon exemplary materials will be developed. This manual would then be used as the basis for providing content and pedagogical enhancement for 130 teachers of exemplary status and one faculty member drawn from the two- and four-year colleges across the state. The first five teams would use the first three modules to the same five groups of 26 persons. The next summer would be a repeat using modules 7-9 for the first session and 10-12 for the second so that the 130 teachers would have all twelve modules in hand. The final project year would have the ten three-person teams at ten sites each providing the professional development to 26 new teachers for a total of 260 in year three. The total number of teachers directly affected by the project becomes 410 high school teachers and 10 college faculty. Each two teams would operate in one of the five (5) congressional districts and be coordinated by the five Intermediate Service Districts of the Mississippi Department of Education. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Bedenbaugh, John Iva Brown J. Emory Howell Angela Bedenbaugh University of Southern Mississippi MS David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1251013 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911894 July 15, 2000 Teachers' Earth Science Institute. 99-11894 OTUONYE This unusual five-year Teacher Student Development through Research Experience (TSD) project brings together real life miners, research scientists, and teachers in a working mine and inactive mines to participate in mining activities and the associated laboratory research activities surrounding minerals. In year-one, 24 teachers from the Upper Peninsula of MI will participate in a six-week program that includes: content and skills preparation; working with scientists and engineers, in working and inactive mines, collecting specimens and cataloging them; and, hone leadership and change agent skills to enhance the transfer of the research/high tech mining experience back to the classroom. The six-week summer research and field experiences are complemented by professional development activities over a 12-month period. In years two and three the participant pool will include teachers from neighboring states: WI, MN, IN, OH, and IL. Each year 24 additional middle and high school teachers will participate. In years four and five teachers will come from a national pool focusing on those regions that have extensive mining activities. Teachers may earn five (5) graduate credits from MTU. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES DRL EHR Otuonye, Francis Fritz Erickson Richard Tieder Michigan Technological University MI Wayne Sukow Continuing grant 1449046 7300 1575 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911904 March 1, 2000 Mathematics and Science Enhancement K-5 Using Technology. 9911904 GREGG MASE K-5 is a five-year Local Systemic Change project designed to deepen K-5 science and mathematics education reform in the Clark County School District of Nevada. The University of Nevada at Las Vegas and the greater Nevada University System will cooperate with the District by providing professional development and content expertise. The 1,033 elementary teachers in 18 schools in the project will take part in the 130 hours of professional development during the life of the project. The MASE K-5 project builds on prior LSC projects in several ways. Six of the strongest MASE schools will now be utilized as leadership sites by becoming Collaborative Learning Center Schools (CLCS) in each geographic area of the District. These CLCS will be models of best practice that will guide the implementation of innovative, reform-based curricula and pedagogy. CLCS will pair with new project schools, thus mentoring and assisting new schools while advancing their own practice. Teachers from new project schools will take part in demonstration/laboratory lessons and other professional development opportunities at the CLCS. Professional development for MASE K-5 teachers will be offered during workshops, seminars and institutes as well as during site-based study groups. The MASE K-5 project will utilize Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) and Lead Teachers who already are professional development leaders in the District. These teachers will assist in the leadership of the project by co-teaching (with content experts and outside consultants) the summer institutes and workshops, leading study groups, facilitating school-based sessions, conducting demonstration/laboratory lessons at the CLCS, and other leadership development and organizational tasks. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Davis, Thelma Christy Falba William Speer Clark County School District NV Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 4745500 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911928 April 1, 2000 Project Merit: Mathematics Education Reform Initiative for Teachers. 9911928 LAMB "Project MERIT: Mathematics Education Reform Initiative for Teachers," a five-year Teacher Enhancement project, continues and expands a prior NSF-supported planning project to address the established need of middle school mathematics teachers to improve knowledge of the content of mathematics and how students learn mathematics. MERIT builds capacity for change through professional development by nurturing a mathematics leadership team (MLTs) and 125 mentor teachers (MMTs), one or more from each of the 55 county school systems in West Virginia. Using the NSF-supported MathScape instructional materials as the vehicle for change, MERIT provides for the systematic delivery of instruction in the pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics to more than 950 middle grades mathematics teachers. Over the life of the project, the 35-member mathematics leadership team (MLTs) participates in 36 days of formal professional development; the 125 mentor teachers (MMTs), 45 days; the approximately 950 middle grades mathematics teachers, 18 days; school/county administrators, 9 days; and higher education faculty and administrators, 10 days. Project evaluation includes both student and teacher components. Evaluation of student achievement is made using the Stanford Achievement Test-9 (SAT-9) and ACT Explore. The teacher component assesses growth in teacher content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and classroom implementation strategies. The project is a collaborative effort among the W. Va. Department of Education, the University and State College Systems of W. Va., the W. Va. Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the W. Va. Mathematics and Science Coalition. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Lamb, Larry Deborah Seldomridge Elizabeth Frye James McKay West Virginia Department of Education WV Ron Tzur Continuing grant 6241995 9150 7300 7181 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9911936 June 1, 2000 Rocky Mountain Mathematics Leadership Collaborative (RMMLC). 9911936 MARTIN The thirty-seven-month "Rocky Mountain Mathematics Leadership Collaborative (RMMLC)" is designed to support and sustain the professional development of mathematics teacher leaders in the Rocky Mountain Region (Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming). This Teacher Enhancement project creates school mathematics leadership teams in 30 high schools and 30 middle schools to support implementation of high quality, comprehensive mathematics instructional materials. Each school-based leadership team consists of the principal/administrator, a parent, a guidance counselor, the mathematics department chair (if the position exists) and mathematics teacher leaders. Each of the 210 teacher leaders in RMMLC participates in 210 - 462 hours of professional development over the life of the project. In addition, the project provides 140- 252 hours of professional development to another 110 mathematics teachers/colleagues in project schools. The summer professional development activities are comprised of a two-day Leadership Summit and a one-week Leadership Academy. During the school year, school leadership teams meet monthly at the building site and attend fall and spring Summit meetings. Teacher leaders also participate in four additional days of leadership development. An institute provides RMMLC high school participants the professional development necessary to expand their understanding of mathematical content, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment using the Interactive Mathematics Program materials. Project evaluation includes student, teacher and leadership components. Growth in participating teachers' knowledge of mathematical content and standards is assessed. Student learning is assessed in Colorado using statewide and school-specific proficiency levels of the Colorado State Assessment Program's Mathematics Assessments during the three years of the project. RMMLC extends and draws on the experiences of two NSF-funded Teacher Enhancement projects in the Rocky Mountain region: TEAM 2000 (a secondary mathematics project, which expires in FY 2000) and COMMSTEP (a middle grades mathematics Local Systemic Change project). TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Martin, Cathy Jean Klanica James Loats Lewis Romagnano Joellen Killion Rocky Mountain School for Expeditionary Learning BOCES CO Karen D. King Continuing grant 1640892 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9912017 July 1, 2000 The Impact of Calculus Reform on Long-term Student Performance. ICalculus reform has been a major educational innovation extending over the past decade and more. Many colleges and universities have adopted, at least in part, some form of calculus reform in their calculus courses. The reform has also been the focus of considerable controversy in the mathematics community, with vocal defenders and opponents to be found within many mathematics departments. However, there has been little empirical evidence to support either position. A previous review of the literature on calculus reform by one of the authors (Ganter) concluded that findings were mixed regarding impacts on student achievement and attitudes. This study attempts to provide information on long-term effects of calculus reform by employing matching sets of students who were enrolled in either "traditional" or "reform" calculus classes. The performance of these students, drawn from classes in 7 institutions, will be examined in courses subsequent to calculus. A larger sample of seniors from these same institutions will also be tested on their knowledge of calculus. The interest of employers in calculus reform backgrounds will also be explored. The study will be carried out by the Principal Investigators with the assistance of 7 evaluation "Fellows" drawn from the institutions involved in the study and trained by the Principal Investigators. The "Fellows" will then be a continuing resource for the mathematics and science communities. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Ganter, Susan Jack Bookman Clemson University SC Conrad G. Katzenmeyer Standard Grant 407223 7261 SMET 9177 9912019 May 15, 2000 Global Change Education Using Western Science and Native Observations. 9912019 SPARROW This project will provide Alaska teachers and students opportunities to engage in original global change research and to promote global change education in Alaska. Teachers and students in grades 5-12 will conduct large scale, long-term data collection and analysis. Teachers and students from rural school districts serving Alaska's five distinct native cultures (Yupik, Inupiaq, Aleut, Athabascan, and Tlingit/Haida) will participate. Eighteen teachers per year will be trained in the GLOBE program's procedures. The teachers will then be guided in expanding these studies to include locally significant observations and knowledge from local experts (which will include scientists and tribal elders). The new research projects, for which students will collect and analyze data, include a tree growth /tree ring study, a lake and sea ice study, and a global change in growing seasons study. Teachers will initiate research in the summer and continue the research during the academic year, staying in contact with scientist mentors via the Internet. The proposed project will provide teachers and students the opportunity to conduct research locally and to translate scientific research into meaningful classroom activities. Native observations relevant to the local environment will be used to motivate student interest in science, and to support and extend their awareness of global climate change. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION DRL EHR Sparrow, Elena Sidney Stephens Leslie Gordon University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus AK David B. Campbell Continuing grant 967901 7300 5208 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9912078 April 1, 2000 Exploring the Role of Science in K-8 Literacy Education. 9912078 SAUL "Exploring the Role of Science in K-8 Literacy Education" is a five-year project that will produce a series of conferences, books, a CD-ROM and a web site that will address the issue of reading and writing within the context of science instruction for young students. The project is designed to highlight meaningful, salient and useful connections between inquiry-based science teaching and literacy instruction. The project will develop, organize and share information from both the science and literacy communities on connections between and among hands-on activity, text-based information resources, student cognition and teacher practices. The project will also provide science educators with resources they can use to increase attention to science at both the local and national level. It will disseminate information about when, how and under what circumstances science and literacy connections should be fostered. Activities will include a series of conferences that address the concerns of various stakeholders in both the science and language arts communities. By promoting those inquiry strategies advocated by science educators that can improve children's reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking skills, the role of science instruction at the elementary school level will be reinforced and enhanced. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Saul, E.Wendy University of Maryland Baltimore County MD Carole Stearns Continuing grant 1389972 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9912394 April 15, 2000 "Sea Changes for Social Science and Education: Woods Hole at the Millennium," Woods Hole, Massachusetts, June 22-25, 2000 -- A Conference Grant. 9912394 WHITE This nine-month project has been awarded for the purpose of partially supporting a conference in the social sciences at Woods Hole on June 22-25, 2000. The conference purposes are to disseminate current knowledge and trends in the social sciences to teacher educators, curriculum and staff development specialists, and publishers. In addition a second purpose is to inform efforts to reform and revitalize the teaching and learning of the social sciences in U.S. schools. These discussions will be based upon the current literature and experiences of the attendees. The conference will cover the areas of political science, economics, and the behavioral sciences. The participants will be approximately 60 in number. Special consideration is given to include younger scholars in these areas. There will be a publication in the form of a CD-ROM for others to have access to the conclusions reached by the conference. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR White, Charles Social Science Education Consortium Inc CO Wayne Sukow Standard Grant 29147 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9979864 January 1, 2000 Dick, Jane, & Spot Meet the Information Age: Diversifying Genres Used in Early Literacy Instruction. This research project tests the hypothesis that diversifying the genres of text used in early literacy instruction, focussing in particular on informational text, will aid children in using such texts in later grades and result in better learning of information based subjects such as science. The project consists of a longitudinal, experimental study. Low Social Economic Status (SES) students in 30 classes are followed for a two-year period from first through second grade. At random, 10 classes are involved in an intervention designed to diversify the genres of text used in their literacy instruction. Another 10 classes are involved in an intervention that similarly increases overall experience with text, but does not diversify the genres of texts used, thus providing a targeted comparison group. The final 10 classes comprise a traditional control group. Students' performances on norm-referenced tests of reading achievement, reading inventories, and prompted writing samples will be compared for the three groups using growth modeling methods and inferential statistics. DRL EHR Duke, Nell Michigan State University MI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 994219 X235 SMET 9177 7180 0116000 Human Subjects 9979904 January 1, 2000 Explicit Explanation of Genre Within Authentic Literacy Activities in Science: Does It Facilitate Development and Achievement?. This descriptive and experimental study has two purposes: (1) To describe the development of knowledge of five written science genres among second and third grade students in two types of instructional contexts: (a) instruction which incorporates authentic science literacy activities but without explicit teaching of the linguistic features of these genres; and (b) instruction which incorporates authentic science literacy activities with the addition of explicit teaching of the linguistic features of these genres; (2) To compare the affects of instruction of types (a) and (b) on students' science reading and writing achievement. The five written genres chosen for focus in this study are all authentic to the discipline of science and will be involved in students' regular science instruction. As such, the study addresses important but under-researched questions about effective uses of text in primary grade science education. In addition, the study addresses key questions in the field of language and literacy regarding the efficacy of explicit teaching of discourses of power for learners from nonmainstream, low-social economic status (SES) communities. The study will involve twelve classes drawn in equal numbers from low- and middle- SES school districts employing platoon-style science instruction (in which science for all classes within a school is taught by a single teacher). Each class will be followed as a cohort through second and third grade as they experience science instruction led by a science teacher trained in one of the two instructional interventions described above. The teachers' instruction and students' responses to it will be carefully monitored and documented over time. In addition, quantitative data about each student's ability to comprehend and communicate science content through specific genres will be collected at six points during the two years. Data analysis will allow comparison of the two instructional interventions and also test the effect, if any, of student SES. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV ARCTIC RESEARCH PROJECTS OPP FRONT OFFICE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION DRL EHR Purcell-Gates, Victoria Michigan State University MI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 839785 X235 7180 5201 5137 5101 SMET OTHR 9177 7180 5201 5101 2816 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 9980464 February 1, 2000 Museum-Related Multimedia and Virtual Environments for Teaching and Learning Science. This research project is creating and evaluating multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) that use digitized museum resources to enhance middle school students' motivation and learning about science and its impacts on society. MUVEs enable multiple simultaneous participants to access virtual architectures configured for learning, to interact with digital artifacts, to represent themselves through graphical "avatars," to communicate both with other participants and with computer-based agents, and to enact collaborative activities of various types. The project's educational environments are extending current MUVE capabilities in order to study the science learning potential of interactive virtual museum exhibits and participatory historical situations in science units using the NSF-funded Multimedia and Thinking Skills (MMTS) program, an inquiry-centered curriculum engine. George Mason University's (GMU) Virtual Environments Lab, the Division of Information Technology and Society in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH), and pilot teachers from the Gunston Middle School in Arlington, Virginia are co-designing these MUVEs and implementing them in a variety of middle school settings. In particular, this project is studying how the design characteristics of these learning experiences affect students' motivation and educational outcomes, as well as the extent to which digitized museum can aid pupils' performance on assessments related to national science standards. This research also is examining both the process needed to successfully implement MMTS-based MUVEs in typical classroom settings and ways to enable strong learning outcomes across a wide range of individual student characteristics. DRL EHR Dede, Christopher Lynn Fontana Jim Chen David Allison Kevin Ruess George Mason University VA Kenneth C. Whang Continuing grant 1008906 7256 SMET 9177 9980476 April 1, 2000 An Investigation of Pedagogical Factors Influencing Student Understanding of Geometric Proof. The purpose of the three-year study is to develop an empirically grounded theoretical model that relates pedagogy to student understanding of geometric proofs. By engaging in the logical reasoning that is associated with mathematical proof, students develop vitally important critical thinking skills. In addition, proof is fundamental to the discipline of mathematics because it is the convention that mathematicians use to establish the validity of mathematical statements. This study focuses on geometric proof because geometry is traditionally the course in which students are first required to construct proofs. Despite the fact that student difficulty with proof has been well established in the literature, existing empirical research on pedagogical methods associated with the teaching and learning of geometric proof is insufficient. This research study, focuses on the effects of curriculum and pedagogy on student understanding of geometric proof. In order to assess the effectiveness of the pedagogical methods used by participating teachers, the project focuses on two components of student understanding of proof, namely, students' beliefs about what constitutes a proof and students' proof-construction ability. Specifically, the project has four objectives: 1. To document student understanding of proof in order to update and expand existing research in this area; 2. To characterize evolving student beliefs about what constitutes a proof (using Dreyfus and Hadas' (1987) six principles) in proof-based geometry classes and to link these characterizations to aspects of the pedagogy including sociomathematical norms, nature of the activities, and teacher beliefs; 3. To characterize students' evolving proof-construction ability in proof-based geometry classes and to link these characterizations to aspects of the pedagogy including sociomathematical norms, nature of the activities, and the teacher's instructional philosophy; and 4. To describe the effects of participation in a research study focused on their classrooms on teachers' practice and perspectives that guide their practice. In order to achieve these objectives, the principal investigators will spend two years in the classrooms of several teachers recording the beliefs and proof construction ability of the students as well as the beliefs held and the pedagogical methods used by the teachers. Teachers will read and reflect on the existing research on geometric proof, will work collaboratively with the researchers to develop instructional materials, and will implement these materials in their classrooms. In addition, the study will focus on the sociomathematical norms established in each of the classrooms, as these norms relate to students' understanding of proof. Data will be analyzed as it is collected as well as in the third year of the study in order to develop models that describe how pedagogical interventions influence student understanding. Findings from this project will be disseminated to the mathematics education research and teaching communities. Research findings will have implications for curriculum, pedagogy, and teacher enhancement DRL EHR McCrone, Sharon Tami Martin Illinois State University IL Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 409371 7256 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 9980479 January 1, 2000 ISE-Chocolate!. 9980479 GOLF "Chocolate!" is a travelling 4,500 sq. ft. exhibit developed and produced by the Field Museum of Chicago. The visitor is invited on a journey through time, where they can explore the interactions between humans and ecosystems, and discover how cultures have shaped -- and have been shaped by -- this gift of nature, chocolate. The exhibition and its associated programs will promote awareness of the process natural products undergo as they are integrated into our lives, and will encourage the visitor to question how cultural traditions, people, and the environment are intertwined. The exhibition consists of four (4) areas. Exploring the cacao tree (Threobroma cacao) beginning with its ecological requirements (Bounty from Nature's Garden), its practical and ritual use by Mesoamerican societies (Food of the Gods), its introduction to Europe several hundred years ago (Bitter Seeds of Sweet Success), and finally its important role in international markets today (Where Money Grows on Trees) will all be highlighted. Throughout the entire exhibition, connections between natural ecosystems and human cultures will be reinforced within the context of contemporary conservation issues. The "Chocolate!" exhibition and programs will tour North America, coordinated by SITES and reaching 1,000,000 visitors over three (3) years. In addition, a website will ensure long-term public and classroom access to the educational materials related to cacao and chocolate. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Golf, Anamari M. Frances Muraski-Stotz Field Museum of Natural History IL Barry A. Van Deman Continuing grant 602268 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9980494 January 1, 2000 Is Hands-On Inquiry Science Any Good? A Comparison of Student Learning in Hands-On and Textbook-Based Elementary Science Classes. This study is a three year effort to examine what students learn in two different kinds of elementary science classrooms: traditional expository, text-oriented instruction compared with hands-on, inquiry-oriented instruction. The latter describes an approach to learning in which students acquire knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas as well as first hand experiential understanding of how scientists study the natural world. The emphasis is on learning by doing and discussing, and the priority is on scientific thinking skills and conceptual understanding. In a second phase, the study examines the teaching associated with high- and low-achieving classrooms for each of the two instructional conditions. Millions of dollars have gone into supporting hands-on inquiry science reforms over the past several decades. These large-scale efforts, particularly important for less affluent students across the country, are vulnerable however, for they are viewed by some as too expensive or too demanding of teachers. Furthermore, there is little evidence of the relative merits of the two approaches. The nationwide emphasis on accountability, with an intense focus on literacy and math and a bias towards easily tested factual knowledge, pressures schools away from hands-on inquiry science. This study will contribute substantially to our knowledge base on the relationship between elemetary science instruction and student learning, with important implications for practitioners, policy makers and the public. This study compares 5th grade students' learning in two instructional conditions, with 20 classes in each condition matched for key characteristics. In addition, the study explores connections between student performance and instruction, utilizing data from teacher surveys, interviews, assignments, and classroom observations. Student achievement is assessed with an array of measures, including standardized tests of language arts and math; standardized science knowledge items and a performance task from NAEP or TIMSS; other short science performance tasks; and extended science investigation tasks developed and validated for this research. The study will address long-term, important outcomes such as those called for in Project 2061: deep conceptual understanding, persistence at difficult problems, retention of important knowledge over time, and transfer of investigation strategies to challenging novel situations. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Aschbacher, Pamela Jerome Pine James Bower California Institute of Technology CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1093487 7256 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 9980498 April 1, 2000 Memory: A Traveling Exhibition. 9980498 PEARCE The Exploratorium will design, build and travel an exhibition on human memory called "Memory: A Traveling Exhibition." This 3,000-square-foot exhibition will approach human memory from biological, cognitive, personal and cultural perspectives. "Memory: A Traveling Exhibition" will be a smaller, moveable version of a successful exhibition at the Exploratorium in 1998. A recent boom in scientific research dealing with memory has generated a corresponding need for science centers to inform the public about the nature and significance of findings. This exhibition will be designed to increase the public's awareness of the extent, importance and nature of their memories, as well as their understanding of how cognitive scientists study the mind. The exhibition will travel to science centers across the nation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pearce, Michael Kathleen McLean Joe Hastings Exploratorium CA David A. Ucko Standard Grant 612274 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9980519 January 1, 2000 The Development of Scientific Thinking and Conceptions of Science in College Science Students. The Development of Scientific Thinking and Conceptions of Science in College Science Students The project is a three-year comparative study of general (as opposed to field-specific) student outcomes of introductory college science instruction will be compared with those resulting from more traditional instruction. Assessments will be conducted in a large state university, several private colleges, and several junior colleges. A rich, mutimodal assessment methodology will be employed, including the following components: 1. Interviews of students to assess their scientific epistemologies. A modified version of the Nature of Science Interview will be employed. 2. On-line essay-style assessments of students' higher-order scientific inquiry and basic quantitative skills. Two new instruments developed in previous research will be combined and refined for this project. 3. On-line student surveys covering student demographics, attitudes, and motivation. 4. Classroom observation, including detailed coding of teaching method and content. An observational protocol developed in previous research will be employed. 5. Faculty interviews. The methodology will be deployed in three interrelated subprojects. First, student outcomes will be assessed and correlated with instructional practices and demographic variables in 12 courses distributed factorially across the three types of institution, two levels of innovation, and two disciplinary areas (biology and earth/environmental science). This project will produce a rich picture of higher-order cognition in today's college student and of the cognitive gains associated with various instructional practices. Second, a sample of students from the 12 courses will be followed longitudinally for the duration of the project. The persistence and further development of early gains in cognitive skills and epistemology will be assessed. Students' choices of major field of study will be added to the demographic analyses of this data. This project will produce rich data on the development of scientific epistemology and cognitive skills in contemporary college students, and it will allow the assessment of the hypothesis that early explosure to inquiry-oriented instruction triggers persistent cognitive and motivational change. Third, three intervention studies will be undertaken in which the researchers work with faculty members for courses that were assessed in the first year to redesign their courses to improve general student outcomes. The course will then be reassessed. The intervention projects concern the introductory chemistry curriculum at a large university, an interdisciplinary general science course at a small college, and geoscience course at a small collge. This project will attempt to use early findings of the assessment research and cognitive-informed principles of instructional design to improve student gains in general inquiry and quantitative skills and in epistemological sophistication. Overall the project will produce research findings and new assessment techniques that will have an impact on changing college science education to meet national standards for improving students' understanding of the nature of science and skills in scientific reasoning. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stillings, Neil Carol Smith Mary Anne Ramirez Hampshire College MA Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 997613 7256 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 9980536 April 1, 2000 A Comparative Psychology of School Subjects: Promoting Epistemological Sophistication in Elementary Science Learning through the Study of History. This research addresses the fragmentation of the school day and the disconnectedness of science education within the elementary curriculum. The purpose of the study is to explore whether pedagogical activities can be implemented in elementary classrooms that foster connections across science and history that enhance the epistemological sophistication of students learning science. The project will involve a series of design experiments that involve providing students and teachers with intellectual tools to make explicit the similarities and differences of thinking in science and history. Because these similarities and differences are rarely explicit topics of classroom debate, students are typically left on their own to make connections from one subject to the next. As a result those least able to bring conceptual coherence to the school day-students-end up shouldering the burden of having to do so. The intellectual tools that this project will seek to foster are ones that science and history share. These are tools of discourse and argumentation. If the project is successful in helping students appropriate and adapt the discursive tools of argument related to core ideas of evidence and cause in science and history, it should achieve two goals: (i) students will learn to appreciate the continuity of intellectual work and its essential specificities by discipline and (ii) students will begin to treat intellectual resources as useful beyond narrow circumstances. Because the fragmentation of the school day is no less a challenge for elementary school teachers, the project will also research and support teachers as they make connections across science and history. Building upon an established tradition of discipline-specific research on cognition and learning, this project will pursue a comparative psychology of school subjects as an empirical project organized around a set of educational interventions. The proposed extension of the discipline-specific approach is motivated by the fact that this approach fails to provide an account of how forms of inquiry in one discipline might shape intellectual endeavors in another-an issue of considerable importance given the fragmentation of the school day. The broad intellectual goal of this project is to build a theory of the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. The series of design experiments will be conducted in fifth-grade classrooms in collaboration with teachers. The project will collect and analyze naturalistic discourse data and use software designed specifically for supporting argumentation during science learning. The broad educational goal of these design experiments is to offer an "existence proof" that cross-disciplinary structures can be cultivated that simultaneously do justice to the specifics of distinct disciplines while at the same time establishing appropriate intellectual connectedness. In so doing, students and teachers are likely to gain greater confidence in the value of school knowledge. By explicitly highlighting the similarities and differences between science and other subjects (in this case, history), students can learn early in their educational careers that science is a generative, connected, and relevant intellectual activity. DRL EHR Herrenkohl, Leslie Philip Bell Reed Stevens University of Washington WA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 963181 7256 SMET 9177 9980573 September 1, 2000 Enhancing the Education Research Infrastructure to Conduct Large-Scale Studies of Policy and Practice. This is a proposal for a system of activities intended to develop a strong research infrastructure in education. It contains a program of research and training for conducting quantitative education policy and practice-related research using large-scale national and international data sets. It would support a fellows program to federal agencies, doctoral fellows, a small grants competition, training in statistical data base analysis, and a series of special targeted meetings "think tanks" for special focused issues not addressed otherwise. Researchers, mostly at beginning levels, would compete for these programs from fields of mathematics, sciences, education, sociology, economics, and psychology and often work across disciplines. The Grants Board would meet 3 times a year to recommend grant awards and to monitor the grant activities. The grant is managed by an office at University of California, Santa Barbara. SCIENCE RESOURCES STATISTICS RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Levine, Felice Gerald Sroufe American Educational Research Association DC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 2943923 X997 X613 W401 8800 7256 1666 SMET 9177 9980574 September 15, 2000 Rural Systemic Initiative Research Studies. This proposal seeks to examine the effects of the Rural Systemic Program in Category I and Category II. The evaluation methods include the careful selection of a team of senior evaluators and doctoral/post-doctoral students whose expertise is cross-sectional. We propose that the team design instruments using GPRA format, wherever feasible, to provide a summative evaluation of The Program. Because the RSI program is the most recent, we propose that each project is targeted for participation in one or more studies, including the current planning sites and the unsuccessful planning/implementation sites. The program design allows the team to integrate expertise and to share findings in a timely manner. The project relies on data gathered as Core Data I and Core Data II as well as the collection of evaluation specific observations, interviews, and surveys. The project also provides for wide dissemination of the results through professional organizations, scholarly publications, and local, state, national news media. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Warner, Linda Dennis Brown Suahbetainu Kahni, LLC WI Bernice T. Anderson Continuing grant 490983 7261 SMET 9177 9980592 January 1, 2000 Parents in poverty and science education reform: A relational systems approach. The focus of this research is on parents in poor urban communities and the relationships they establish and the roles they play in elementary schools that are active in implementing reform-based science education. We intend to move the research around parents and science education beyond the underdeveloped belief that parent participation is good for students. We want to know what this participation looks like in centers of urban poverty involved in school science reform efforts, how parents negotiate their actions and understandings with others involved in school science reform, and how a relational systems model might help to shed new insights on the roles parents play in school science reform in poor urban areas. Because we are focusing on parents in urban poverty and because we intend to understand the complexity and depth of parent participation in school science reform, we will make a concerted effort to draw half of the parent participant pool from community, family homeless shelters. These questions are significant given that 20% of all children attend school in urban poverty, and the city represented in this study supports large numbers of homeless families. Specifically, this REPP proposal outlines a program of research designed to analyze the nature, qualities, and impact of parental relationships and interactions in elementary schools serving poor urban children in Austin, TX that are working to improve science instruction within the scope and spirit of current science education reform initiatives. While it is generally acknowledged that where you find good urban schools you will find caring and motivated parents, it has been difficult to construct an account of parental interaction, grounded in everyday practice, that goes beyond either a general belief that caring and motivated parents matter in effective school reform or a laundry list of things that "good parents" do for their children's education. Using qualitative research methodology, we will research the following questions: - BELIEFS AND ACTIONS. How do parents in poor urban settings perceive "best practice" in science education in schools initiating science education reform, and what do they see as their role in helping to enact such a process? How do such parental beliefs "measure up" against expectations held by others in the science education reform process (children, teachers, administrators, community leaders) about best practice and parents' roles in such a process? What do parents do to enact their beliefs: at home? in the community? at schools? - SUSTAINING RELATIONSHIPS. How do parents in poor urban settings negotiate common understandings about beliefs and practices and build sustaining relationships with each other and with actors within the school (teachers, administrators, and their children) in school districts acting to reshape science education in line with current ideas of best practice, especially if and when their beliefs and practices differ from expectations held by these audiences? What are the nature and qualities of these relationships? What kinds of support structures (institutional, material, intellectual) sustain these interactions and relationships? - SCIENCE EDUCATION REFORM. In what ways does documenting and analyzing the formation, nature, and qualities of sustaining relationships between parents and actors within schools- and the kinds of beliefs and actions those relationships support-shed light on what it means to enact school reform in science education for children in poor urban centers? How might we develop, refine, and implement this model in science education reform? DRL EHR Empson, Susan University of Texas at Austin TX Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 654069 7256 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 9980597 February 1, 2000 Students' cognitive, affective, socio-demographic characteristics and school/classroom instructional contexts as factors in mathematics and science achievement: Analyses of TIMSS.. Students' Cognitive, Affective, Socio-demographic characteristics and school/classroom instructional contexts as factors in mathematics and science achievement: Analysis of TIMSS. The proposed research will develop an integrative and broad framework for understanding mathematics and science achievement in secondary school student. The project is a three-year study of the critical factors related to mathematics and science laearning in secondary schools. There is a persistent national concern about the mathematics and science achievement of the U.S. secondary students. The major purpose of the proposed study is to identify, analyze and examine the interrelated factors that have been shown by research and theory to be related to mathematics and science learning by developing a more comprehensive conceputal framework. Despite growing body of knowledge in the area of academic achievement, research findings in mathematics and science learning have been inconsistent and have produced limited understanding of the processes of achievement in these critical subject areas. Research has linked mathematics and science achievement o several important domains: socio-demographic variables such as gender, ethnicity, race and social class; cognitive and affective variables such as prior achievement, ability interest, motivation, attitudes and beliefs; teacher, classroom and school variables such as opportunity to learn (OTL), instruction and social context of the classroom. Using these constructs, theoretically sound and a priori models will be developed and estimated to understand the effects of these variables on mathematics and science achievement and their interrelationships with each other. Multivariate analytical procedures such as Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) will be used to analyze the data. The two nationally representative data sets that would be used in the study are the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY). These two data sets, being cross-sectional and longitudinal respectively, offer different analytical advantages. This project was proposed as a three-year secondary analysis of existing survey data for the secondary school students collected for the Third International Mathematics and Science study. It would focus only on US students, but would luse the information collected in that study on their attitudes toward science and their gender, race, and social class. The proposal also would use a longitudinal study, Longitudinal Survey of American Youth, to expand this analysis. DRL EHR Singh, Kusum Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA N. Hari Narayanan Continuing grant 195611 7256 SMET 9177 9980600 January 15, 2000 Making Thinking Visible: Promoting Model-Building and Collaborative Discourse in W.I.S.E.. Order to design, test, and refine rich tasks for middle and high school students in the domain of plate tectonics. The notion of making thinking visible is used in two ways. First, students will engage in drawing tasks, making their models of plate tectonic phenomena explicit and then use their models as artifacts for reiterative cycles of collaborative discourse and model-revision. Second, students will be provided with a set of prototypes of dynamic, runnable models of plate tectonic phenomena so that they can visualize dynamic, causal, and temporal processes and use this "experiential" knowledge to test, critique, and revise their models. The goal here is to promote knowledge integration and promote meta-knowledge of model-revision. Next, we will foster students' knowledge integration by helping students learn from one another in two ways. First they will engage students in collaborative discourse about the evolution of the theory of plate tectonics. Second, they will engage east and West Coast students in discourse about plate tectonic-related phenomena using intriguing questions about the geological phenomena in each geographical area. The goal is to promote students' inquiry and knowledge integration using discourse to address intriguing questions that are personally relevant. With respect to model-based learning, outcomes of this project will include: findings about students' model-based learning and reasoning, the affordances made by "visualizing" the runnable prototypes, and insight into how these processes may be different from conventional pencil and paper model-based tasks. Regarding collaborative discourse tasks, outcomes will include: the types of explanations students construct for each other and how meaning is co-constructed in collaborative discourse. Outcomes will also include findings regarding the nature of students' epistemologies of science and of scientific models, and differences between 6th and 9th grade students in terms of their epistemologies. Further outcomes will be flexible WISE units for 6th and 9th grade students who utilize model-based tasks, visualization, and collaborative discourse to promote students' understanding of the causal mechanisms underlying plate tectonics and the development of the theory of plate tectonics. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gobert, Janice Concord Consortium MA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 313994 7256 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 9980619 March 1, 2000 Live @ the Exploratorium: Origins. 9980619 SEMPER The Exploratorium requests $1,389,665 to develop "Live @ the Exploratorium: Origins." The Exploratorium will conduct a three-year pilot project to develop an experimental series of Webcasts, related Web-based resources, and museum activities . The project will use new communications technologies to create an ongoing link between Internet and museum audiences and current scientific research efforts at observatories around the world where scientists are investigating the origins of matter, the universe, the Earth, and life itself. The Exploratorium will establish a remote connection to six science research locations investigating particle physics, cosmology, polar research, earthquake research, astrobiology and genetics. During each live Webcast museum visitors and Internet visitors will be able to interact with scientists at the remote observatories. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Semper, Robert Exploratorium CA Barry A. Van Deman Continuing grant 1332791 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9980620 January 1, 2000 Molecular Workbench: Reasoning with Atomic-Scale Models. Atomic-scale models are a set of mental and computer models that relate a wide range of macroscopic physical, chemical, and biological phenomena to basic properties of atoms and molecules and their interactions. These models encompass more kinetic molecular theory because they include electrostatic forces, chemical bonds, and light interactions. All atomic models are difficult for students to learn, and so educators are recommending delaying their introduction until the end of middle school. But learning to reason witn atomic-scale models is a critical preparation for introductory science courses and absolutely necessary for modern approaches to biology. Students must somehow acquire these challenging concepts between school and high school. We propose to develop a rich interactive software micoworld called the Molecular Workbench that will help make the atomic level wolrd as familiar to students as the macroscopic world. The software will be based on a few principles: classical mechanics, the forces between atoms, rules for covalent bonding, and phonton interactions. Using these basic principles, the computational model can exhibit a wide range of macroscopic phenomena. The resulting software will be highly interactive, allowing students to experiment with an infinite variety of forces, atoms, molecules, and bond rules. An optional force-feedback mouse will give students the sensation of interacting directly with atoms and molecules and feeding the forces that determine their interactions. The goal of this project is to build the Molecular Workbench, design excellent standards-based learning materials that exploit its capacity, and test the ability of typical students to use the resulting approach to learn to reason with atomic-scale models. Our measures of success will be based on the quality of student reasoning about atomic-level phenomena and their manifestations at the maco level both with and without the software. We will look for indications that students become more like experts by exhibiting a richer and more accurate web concepts and applying their understandings to new problems. Concept maps, and electronic records of student performance on challenges that measure student tranfer, and structured interviews will provide the data for a series of studies of student learning. This will be a three-year projects. Software development will require the first two years. Prototype software will be used in the first year to support clinical interviews designed to refine the software, learning materials, and research design. An urban eighth grade class will be used for a detailed implementation study in the second year. In the third year, a second research site will be established. To study both the teacher preparation needs for our approach and to gather data about student learning at different grades, we will offer a workshop for 20 teachers who will implement the materials in grades 6-10 in the third year of the project. We will prepare these teachers to use and evaluate embedded assessments that include concept maps and transfer challenges. These data will be available to the project. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Berenfeld, Boris Robert Tinker Concord Consortium MA Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 1554733 7256 1666 SMET 9177 9980628 February 1, 2000 Inventing to Prepare for Learning: Instruction that Increases Student Readiness for Deep Understanding in Statistics. The goal of this project is to explore an innovative model of statistics instruction and assessment that prepares students to learn more effectively from many styles of instruction, including traditional lectures. Many children have difficulty learning to use and understand mathematical representations. One of the reasons for this difficulty is that children often do not understand the work a given representation has been designed to accomplish. For example, they tend to view symbolic formulas as rules that make life harder, not easier. This project will study classroom environments that help middle-school students appreciate the work that statistical representations need to perform, and in this way, it will prepare them to learn about those representations. A central feature of these environments is that students invent their own procedures and representations for solving problems about quantitative situations. For example, if students are learning about variability, very simple situations might include the sets of numbers {2 4 6 8} and {4 5 5 6}. The students are reminded that there is a procedure for determining a single value that captures what is the same about the sets; namely, the average. The students' task is to build a method for determining a single number for each set that can characterize what is different, in this case, the variability. After they create their own methods (often a range formula), they receive new sets that draw their attention to other properties of distributions (e.g., the middle numbers -- {0 2 4 6 8} vs. {0 0 0 0 8}). After several cycles of inventing, assessing, and revising, the students are prepared to learn about and use conventional approaches to variability (e.g., standard deviation). The goal is to help students notice important quantitative properties, and to prepare them to learn how conventional representational solutions elegantly capture those properties. DRL EHR Schwartz, Daniel Gautam Biswas Joyce Moore Vanderbilt University TN Finbarr C. Sloane Continuing grant 149878 7256 SMET 9177 9983393 June 1, 2000 CAREER: Building a Theory of Teacher Learning With and About Mathematics Curriculum: The Role of Innovative K-12 Materials in Elementary Teacher Education. This project focuses on the professional development of prospective elementary teachers in the context of current mathematics education reform efforts in the United States. Challenging conventional views of mathematics teaching and learning, reform visions posit the processes of investigation, sense-making, and communication as central mathematics classroom activities. Numerous empirical studies over the past decade have indicated that teachers' attempts to enact reform visions in their classrooms are fraught with conceptual and practical challenges, many of which relate to teachers' lack of personal familiarity with reform-oriented instructional practices and representations of mathematics. In light of this situation, this project creates opportunities for prospective teachers to learn about mathematics and pedagogy by working with reform-oriented K-12 curriculum materials, and examines how such experiences can promote meaningful, long-term changes in prospective teachers' conceptions and classroom practices. In the mathematics and methods courses required of prospective elementary teachers, strategies will be developed for using reform-oriented curriculum materials to support the transformation of prospective teachers' conceptions of mathematics, teaching, and learning. The specific challenges that teachers encounter through engagement with curriculum materials, and the impact of these challenges on teachers' conceptions and early classroom practices, will be investigated using interpretive case study methods. Through examination of prospective and beginning teachers' learning with and about curriculum, this project will produce vital findings about the role that innovative curriculum materials can play in the educational reform process. Such results have potential to impact the content and processes of teacher preparation and professional development programs in mathematics education. DRL EHR Lloyd, Gwendolyn Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 438352 7256 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 9984429 June 1, 2000 CAREER: Making Culture Visible: Using Technology to Foster Culturally Responsive Instruction. Contemporary views of learning (Cole, 1996; Gardner, 1991; Perkins, 1992; Saxe, 1991; Wertsch, 1991) have emphasized the importance of attending to the interactions among learners their contexts, and tools they use to mediate their interactions. However, in the transformation of these views of learning into classroom instructional materials and practices under the banner of constructivism little attention has focused on the dimensions of culture and context that are influenced by the experiences of ethnicity, language variation, or race (Lee, 1994). Attention to these cultural dimensions are of central importance, particularly to learning in school contexts, considering the increasing diversity of students in U.S. schools and the continued performance gap between minority and majority. The research focuses on understanding the complex interrelationship among culture, technology, instruction, design and student engagement and cognitive gain. This CAREER proposal seeks to provide an avenue for this exploration in the context of designers', teachers', and students' use of the Lyric Reading Authoring Tool (described below) and its products. Lyric Reader is a tool that enables designers to build culturally responsive beginning literacy learning environments that use oral text (i.e. song lyrics, playground chants) drawn from children's cultural capital as sources of reading material. Specifically, this research will focus on the development of a conceptual framework of the complex interrelationship among culture, technology, instruction, design and student engagement and cognitive gain by exploring the following questions: What are the cognitive and motivational benefits of using culturally responsive learning environments with emergent readers from diverse ethnic and language backgrounds? How can Lyric Reader, a software-authoring tool, scaffold designers in the construction of culturally responsive computer-based learning environments? In what ways can accessibility to on-going assessment data about students performance in culturally responsive learning environments influence teachers' design of classroom learning supports and their perceptions and expectations of low achieving, low income? Through the exploration of these three questions, this research hopes to contribute to an understanding of how technology can support designers and teachers in drawing on the cultural capital of all students. DRL EHR Pinkard, Nichole University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 309558 7256 SMET 9177 1045 9984484 May 15, 2000 CAREER: The Role of Design Representation in the Synthesis Process. The research proposed is a cross-disciplinary study of the design processes used by student design teams at Montana State University. The study unit will cover senior design projects (or 'capstone' courses) in 5 engineering disciplines and 2 non-engineering disciplines. The investigator proposes to study the role representation plays in designers' reasoning and creative processes based on an emerging theory of design representation. Data collection and analysis activities will test and further develop this theory, while controlling for other factors that impact the success of design projects. Data collection will focus on characterizing the design process of each student team, and measuring project outcomes. Design process data will include design representations used, time/effort expended designing with these representations, design progressions, and timing of key decisions. Project attribute data will also be collected, such as team composition and diversity, motivation, technical skills, resources available, and so forth. Qualitative thematic analysis will look for patterns that distinguish "good" projects from "poor" projects. Statistical analysis will correlate design process attributes to project outcomes such as person-hours spent on the project, creativity and completeness of the final design, feasibility of final design, and whether design objectives have been met. The proposed education activity will incorporate the research results into instructional materials and/or intervention strategies designed to enhance students' synthesis capability. These will be implemented into one or more courses, and outcomes assessed to determine the impact of the intervention and/or new materials. This will also serve as a test for the newly developed theory on the synthesis process. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sobek, Durward Montana State University MT James S. Dietz Continuing grant 462618 9150 7256 1666 SMET 9177 9150 1045 9984612 March 15, 2000 CAREER: Exploring Authentic Inquiry: Factors that Influence Students. This proposal is a five-year plan of research and instructional development investigating undergraduate biology students' learning of the process of science through an inquiry-based lab exercise. Understanding the process by which scientific knowledge is generated is an essential part of many science curriculum standards and frameworks. Most standards and frameworks for science education emphasize that students need to engage in scientific inquiry themselves in order to understand the process of science. In order to apply these standards in the classroom, it is necessary to have answers to the following questions: 1) Process: Can undergraduate students perform scientific inquiry in a teaching laboratory? 2) Outcome: To what extent does perfroming a scientific inquiry exercise help students to understand the process of science? 3) Important Features: How do variations in the activity affect the students's learning of the process science? This project will build on previous work to explore answers to these questions in the context of a technically simple but educationally rich lab exercise, the Red and White Yeast Lab. The Red and White Lab is based on an engineered strain of baker's yeast. When this strain is spread on a petri plate, it produces a patch with a red center and a white edge. Students are given fresh plates and sterile toothpicks; their assisgnment is to use these tools to account for why the center is red and the edge white. During this lab, the students make their own hypotheses and models, design their own experiements based on variables that they define, and interpret their own date. They argue about date and the interpretation of data and use these arguments to refine their experiments. In this experimental environment, the students are be free to contruct knowledge in a manner that shares many epistemological features with authentic scientific investigation. The PI has used and developed this lab for the past 5 years with introductory-level biology students. A description of this lab will be published this fall and this lab will be disseminated as part of the NSF-Funded ResearchLink 2000 project. The PI's teaching responsibilities in the Biology department include teaching the two semester General Biology series, TA training, and acting as an education resource in the Biology department. The Red and White Yeast Lab is the first lab in the first semester course in this series. The findings of this study will inform the development of the lecture, lab, and TA training as taught by the PI and will be distributed internationally. The project will analyze classroom videotape and interviews to analyze the process and outcome of the lab in terms of these four issues: (a) What is the nature of scientific 'proof'? (b) How do hypotheses and experimental data interact? (c) How do scientists respond to anomalous data? (d) How are conflicts of ideas resolved in the scientific community? The five studies that compose this project are based on the three above; all three questions will be addressed in different contexts in each of the five studies. The studies will begin by developing measures of process and outcome. They will also examine the coupling between process (what the students do) and outcome (what they learn from what they did). The remaining studies will focus on the effects of manipulations of the lab exercise on students' process and outcome. These manipulations will involve key features of authentic experimentation: choosing experiemental questions and variables; designing experiments; revising techniques; and using multiple experiemtal methods. The findings of the studies presented in this proposal will contribute to the understanding of scientific reasoning in undergraduate students as well as and to an understanding of the design and evaluation of inquiry-based laboratory exercises. As an exemplar of these principles and practices, this project will produce a throughly-tested laboratory exercise and accompanying teacher training materials designed to communicate an understanding of the process of science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR White, Brian University of Massachusetts Boston MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 497711 7256 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 9984773 March 15, 2000 CAREER: Broadcast and the Bits: Enhancing Educational Television with Digital Justification. This research focuses on children's television and how it can be enhanced with digital technologies. We envision the convergence between television and computing leading to new types of learning interactions between children and parents around television content. In particular, we may be able to borrow features from educational reform movements to develop novel, informal learning around television. For instance, if we can model question-asking and inquiry strategies to parents and children, they may be able to adopt and use them to structure learning conversations in the home. We add a new layer of digital information to the analog television experience, justification structures that explain how and why a television program is intended to facilitate learning. By providing additional meta-information about the educational intentions of a program, we hope to engage parents and children in critical reflection and inquiry around television content. The justification structures are digitial design rationales, capturing elements of the production process that would otherwise be hidden from viewers (e.g., historical justifications for the inclusion of content, alternative viewpoints and additional questions that were omitted from the final program). To develop the justification structures, we will examine how television producers currently design and develop their programming. As we understand their practices and conceptions of learning, we will define justification structures that make explicit the tacit assumptions underlying their programming decisions. We will then design and deploy digital television technologies to families in low-income housing projects with the goals of: o Developing a theory of justification that describes the content and rationale behind children's television programming o Assessing the impact of justification structures on parent-child interactions and learning o Rethinking the content of educational television in light of these justification structures DRL EHR Smith, Brian Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 368814 7256 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 9985146 April 1, 2000 CAREER: Advancing Teacher Development and Mathematics Learning Through the Integration of Knowledge and Practice. Advancing Teacher Development and Mathematics Learning through the Integration of Knowledge and Practice. The broad aim of this proposal is to better understand the mathematics teaching and learning process for communities of students and teachers and to improve that process. The research will explore the relationship between individual understanding and the broader communities in which people learn, drawing upon a range of qualitative and quantitative methods. In-depth, longitudinal case studies of 3 high schools will be conducted, focusing jointly upon teachers and students. Two of the schools teach both 'traditional' and 'reform' mathematics programs; the third offers a curriculum that combines different approaches. Approximately 1000 students will be monitored in the 3 schools as they progress through their different programs from freshman to senior years. In addition, the relationships between teaching and learning will be examined in a number of focus classes in each school. An integrated analysis of the mathematics teaching and learning process will be conducted. This will examine the relationships among the knowledge, beliefs, and practices that constitute learning, and that have traditionally been treated as distinct. The complexity of such an analysis will be made possible through the use of an analytical framework that will address the identities that teachers and students develop within the mathematics teaching and learning experience. The results of the research will help define new courses for prospective mathematics teachers and teacher educators. The courses will be based upon the principle of learning through analysis of practice. A variety of issues will be identified, such as teaching methods, technology, assessment, and cultural diversity. For each issue, educational research findings will be combined with one or more particular exemplars, carefully selected from the case-study schools. An exemplar could illustrate, for example, a student-teacher interaction; an example of innovative teaching or assessment; a departmental conflict or a particular use of technology. Exemplars will be presented to student teachers using videotapes of classroom lessons, along with teachers' reflections and plans, student work, and student reflections on their learning. One of the aims of the new programs is to cultivate sustained professional discourse. The use of particular cases drawn from the case study schools will encourage such inquiry by providing shared reference points and the development of a common vocabulary. The prospective teachers and teacher educators will have the opportunity to discuss and learn from complexly related practices of teaching and learning for individuals and groups of students. Such conversations can provide a means for teachers not only to develop and clarify their own understandings, but also to develop an identity as a contributing member of a profession. In addition to the new courses that will be developed at Stanford, case-based analyses of teaching and learning will be disseminated to the broader mathematics education community. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Boaler, Jo Stanford University CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 557972 7256 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 9985158 April 1, 2000 CAREER: Designing Hypertext Materials for the Science Classroom: Understanding Students' Changing Cognitive Representations. My research and teaching plans are geared towards designing and implementing online science resources to help students learn science, and providing professional development activities for teachers. My plans integrate an interdisciplinary approach to designing and using hypertext resources in science classrooms, evaluating the cognitive demands of student learning while using such material, as well as associated professional development initiatives for teachers. The aims of my research plan are: (1) Design, implement and evaluate hypertext material for the science classroom. These materials will focus on helping students understand interrelationships between principles and concepts so that they learn science as an integrated body of knowledge, not as a set of isolated facts. There are numerous interrelationships that students need to understand in order to effectively use and do science. For example, in understanding planets, physics shades into chemistry, astronomy, and geology, and biology shades into chemistry, in understanding osmosis. (2) Through empirical studies, understand students' changing cognitive representations as they learn from these materials. This will help not only in understanding student learning but will also help understand how students learn from hypertext materials, thus providing guidelines for better design. My teaching plan has the following aims. (1) Continue developing the graduate program in Instructional Media and Technology. (2) Integrate professional development activities for teachers along with design and implementation of research materials. (3) Build an interdisciplinary team of students to enable the design and integration of technology in science classrooms. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Puntambekar, Sadhana University of Connecticut CT Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 356578 7256 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 9986372 May 1, 2000 Connected Mathematics Phase II. 9986372 LAPPAN Michigan State University is revising the "Connected Mathematics Project (CMP)" materials designed for middle school students. In preparation for the revision, critical reviews of the first-edition materials are being sought from mathematicians, teachers, technology experts and education researchers. Additionally, student achievement data is being collected to assess the depth of understanding and proficiency with fractions, decimals, percents and integers that students are developing. The author team uses this input and the experience gained from implementation of the first edition to revise the student texts, teacher resource materials, assessment materials and implementation materials. Materials for the professional development of teachers are also being developed. Prior to publication, every unit is to be critically reviewed by a mathematician, two other authors and five experienced teachers. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Lappan, Glenda Elizabeth Phillips James Fey Susan Friel Michigan State University MI John S. Bradley Continuing grant 4605421 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9986419 August 15, 2000 TEEMSS: Technology Enhanced Elementary and Middle School Science. 9986419 TINKER The power of educational technologies is brought into science education for grades 5-8 by creating science materials that use easily implemented electronic technology. The project is structured to increase our understanding of how teachers at the middle school level can incorporate electronic technology and whether their students learn mathematics and science concepts more effectively through the use of the technology. The materials address two important science standards at the middle school level: force and motion, and transfer of energy. The units are constructed to enhance or replace modules in other curricula. They support data collection and analysis, integration of mathematics, understanding changes and modeling. Measurements are made using inexpensive, but sensitive, probeware connected to handheld computers. The Pedagogica software adds scaffolding, guided inquiry and student assessment to the probeware. Student learning of complex relationships can be facilitated by the use of probeware. Models and simulations allow students to explore behavior that is difficult to understand by traditional means. Teacher support materials encourage teachers change practice for a few weeks. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Tinker, Robert Concord Consortium MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1214087 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9986610 December 1, 2000 Investigating Life. This project will support the development of a new high school biology curriculum tentatively titled "Investigating Life". The curriculum is based on the National Science Education Standards and emphasizes an active, constructivist learning program that integrates interactive, Web-based instructional media. NSF funding will support the formative and summative evaluation of the curriculum, and will measure how well it helps students meet the Standards, impact student attitudes toward science and engage students in critical inquiry and dialog on scientific issues. The new curriculum will utilize the interactivity of the World Wide Web, the storytelling abilities of a short textbook, and an inquiry-based program of "wet" labs and fieldwork. The textbook will present the enduring concepts of biology in a narrative that identifies themes coursing through the broad diversity of biological topics and relates these themes to students' lives. The program will include curriculum support for teachers and parents. The evaluation program will focus on the effectiveness of integrating Web-based instruction into the biology curriculum, both in terms of helping students learn and helping teachers teach. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Bodzin, Alec Brad Williamson Lehigh University PA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 952877 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9986612 May 1, 2000 Mosaic II: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Effects of Systemic Reform on Student Achievement. 9986612 KLEIN This project builds on the earlier funded Mosaic Study and proposes to maintain the focus that relates instructional practice to student achievement in mathematics and science programs, but extends the research in several ways. 1. The project will focus primarily on middle school classrooms. 2. It will follow students over a three-year period to permit longitudinal analyses of the relationships between achievement and instructional practice. 3. Measures of teaching practices will be expanded to include interviews, classroom observations, inspection of artifacts, etc. This will allow exploration of teacher content knowledge and broader aspects of the systemic initiatives that are directly related to teaching and learning. 4. The project will involve a closer examination of student achievement by exploring the degree to which selected assessment subscores are or are not sensitive to the reforms. 5. Three to five sites will be identified for participation in the study. 6. The new analytic techniques developed by this project will be useful to researchers and practitioners as they evaluate future programs. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Klein, Stephen Laura Hamilton Rand Corporation CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 4390981 7355 1666 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9986613 September 1, 2000 Integrating Scientific Research and Technology into 9-12 Grade Earth Science. 9986613 HALL-WALLACE The proposed project, "The Earth Puzzle," is a series of four (4) modules that focus on teaching core concepts in Earth science for 9th grade students. The modules are based in case studies of real problems using real data. The problems will involve global scale investigations to provide a framework for understanding local case studies. Topics addressed by students include weather and climate change, natural hazards mitigation, and changing Earth systems. The materials will incorporate geographic information systems (GIS) technology to facilitate data visualization, manipulation and analysis. Special attention will be given to integrating mathematics and geography into the curriculum. Assessment and evaluation studies will focus in whether student knowledge and reasoning skills are improved by the in-depth activities of the proposed materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Hall, Michelle University of Arizona AZ Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1200000 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9986846 June 1, 2000 Case Studies of Elementary Student Inquiry in Physical Science. 9986846 HAMMER The project is designed to address two pressing needs of professional development in elementary science education. First teachers need better preparation in science; second they need preparation in understanding students' scientific thinking. Both are essential in meeting the objectives in recent state and national standards for science education, especially those of promoting student inquiry. The proposal is to develop a volume of written and video case studies as materials to be used to promote teachers' substantive investigation of student inquiry in science. This development will take place in collaboration with a group of 24 elementary school teachers whom the PIs will recruit directly from local schools. The PIs will work with these teachers over three years in month-long summer institutes and in two-hour, bi-weekly meetings during the school years. The meetings will integrate teacher study of physics with their study of students' reasoning in physics. The summer institutes will include adaptations of existing introductory courses in the areas of force and motion and electricity and magnetism. The final project will be a collection of case studies selected from what the teachers produce and organized to illustrate a progression of sophistication in student inquiry. The expectation is that the materials will be useful for preservice teachers as well as for experienced inservice teachers, including those developing applications for NBPTS certification. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Hammer, David Emily van Zee University of Maryland College Park MD Glenn C. Markle Continuing grant 1022034 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9986854 May 15, 2000 Science By Design: A Professional Development Packet for Middle-School Science Teachers. 9986854 CRISMOND "Design" is an aspect of the science standards with which middle school teachers have little experience, and where the professional development need is acute. "Science by Design" takes this need as its starting point. Its focus is to upgrade the content and pedagogical knowledge of science teachers' knowledge in design-based science. The primary approach is to create eight videotaped vignettes of design in action based on exemplary design-based curricula. They will illustrate exemplary teachers and are based on prototypic design curricula developed in the United States and in Britain. The vignettes can be utilized in professional development meetings to engage teachers in reflective talk. Beyond videos, the project will produce supporting CD-ROM and paper-based professional development materials that provide commentary by internationally known engineering design and technology experts on the design process, the culture of design, and pitfalls one can expect in teaching design in classrooms. To integrate design activities into their classrooms successfully, teachers engage in activities that help them acquire expert knowledge in using design-based science to challenge students. That knowledge is anchored in exemplary curriculum materials and on prototypic demonstrations. In turn, these teachers then help their students to acquire scientific expertise by constructing scientific knowledge through insights provided by the design process. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Crismond, David GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Daniel Householder Continuing grant 1200000 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9986862 May 15, 2000 Montana Teachers Investigate Ecology: MT-TIE. 9986862 BREWER This project will provide ecological research training and experience to teachers of grades 6-12 in Montana. After an initial two-week orientation workshop, ten teams of teacher-pairs will team up with a research scientist mentor and undergraduate students for a 40-day research fellowship (20 teachers per year). Scientist mentors will be drawn from the University of Montana, the US Forest Service, and the Montana Natural History Center, which will formalize a partnership between local schools and these agencies. Teachers will participate in a series of four two-day follow-up workshops during the academic year to develop ecological inquiries for their own students based on their summer research experiences. Undergraduate ecological interns, the project staff, and the mentor scientists will support teachers in their efforts throughout the school year. This project will enable teachers to develop problem-solving skills, confidence in inquiry-based teaching and learning, improved scientific literacy, and a greater long-term interest in science by using ecological investigations focused on topics and issues of local interest. Teaching practices that focus on "learning by doing" and inquiry instruction will be promoted, the development of local ecological research sites during and beyond the project will be supported. The project will instill scientific ways of thinking and understanding in participating teachers and their students through the development of authentic research experiences in their schoolyards and adjacent habitats. TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Brewer, Carol Elaine Caton Christine Kuschel Lisa Blank Lisa Mills University of Montana MT David B. Campbell Continuing grant 195144 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9986869 June 1, 2000 Project Inquiry: Building a Presence for Science in the Lowcountry. 9986869 TEMPEL "Project Inquiry" will improve the science literacy of all elementary students' grades 3-8 in Berkeley County School District (BCSD) and Charleston County School District (CCSD) in the low country of South Carolina. This five year, Local Systemic Change (LSC) project will provide all teachers (640 BCSD and 728 CCSD) grades 3-8, with at least 135 hours of professional development. The school district will support professional development for grades K-2 teachers by using Eisenhower, state and local funds. Inquiry-based curriculum materials, (Full Option Science System and Science and Technology for Children), teaching strategies, and assessment will promote content knowledge that is consistent with the SC Science Frameworks and the National Science Education Standards and will move both districts significantly closer to full implementation of standards-based science teaching. Materials Resource Centers already established in both districts will provide a systematic way to distribute hands-on science materials to all classrooms. Faculty from higher education institutions such as the Medical University of South Carolina, the College of Charleston, The Citadel Charleston Southern University and Trident Technical College will play a role in supporting the professional development activities and serving on a Steering Committee. Business partners such as Bayer, DuPont, Santee Cooper and BP/Amoco will also provide expertise in science. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM DRL EHR Tempel, Carol Pam Coffey Berkeley County School District SC Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 5028500 7355 7300 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 9987942 May 1, 2000 Systemic Initiatives: Student Achievement Analysis Study. Four research questions will guide the project's work: 1 - What are the most effective ways the data sets submitted to NSF by systemic initiatives can be used for evaluating the success of systemic reform and understanding its dynamics, both winthin and across SIs? 2 - How is the precision of analysis required to answer research question #1 above dependent upon qualities of the student assessments and data, including reliability, validity, and comparability of the tests? 3 - What analytic statistical models best fit the data linking the systemic initiative to student achievement and how can these be demonstrated in a prototyype analyses? 4 - What lessons can be learned and communicated to the field from this project about the kind of database design and analysis that is more and less useful for evaluating and understanding systemic reform? EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Clune, William Norman Webb University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 305000 7365 7261 SMET 9177 9987943 May 15, 2000 ESR Student Achievement Data Set Analyses. The goal of this project is to assess the relationship between student achievement in mathematics and science and the System Incentiative Program. We hope to accomplish this through a variety of means. First, we will analyze the existing data made available to the NSF from local SI sites both by itself and relative to other national data sets. Second, we will employ two pilot data analyses to access the fasibility of comparing local test results to a national reference scale of science and math performance (the NAEP). Finally, we will disseminate our findings to the NSF, participating units (such as schools and school districts) and the general public. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Schneider, Barbara Michele Zimowski Thomas Hoffer National Opinion Research Center IL Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 396169 7365 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 9987997 May 15, 2000 ESR Student Achievement Data Set Analysis. The goals of this proposed study are to: - Increase the understanding of the role of evaluation in SI - Examine the feasibility of using existing data sets to draw conclusions about SI effectiveness - Develop and test an impact model that can be used to assess the efficacy of systemic initiatives - Devise recommendations to help guide NSF and others on data collection and analysis to assess the impact of educational reforms on student achievement. Through this study, a greater understanding to educators, policymakers, and researchers will be provided about the impact of systemic initiatives on student achievement, how they have been evaluated in the past, and how they might be evaluated in the future. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR McColskey, Wendy Richard Basom John Sanders University of North Carolina Greensboro NC Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 273650 7365 7261 SMET 9177 9988050 March 15, 2000 Assessing the Impact of Systemic Initiative Programs: Modeling Best Practices of Data Collection, Analysis, and Dissemination of Results from Educational Research. The purpose of this study is to complete an empirical assessment of the specific effect of Statewide, Urban, and Rural Systemic Initiative Programs on improving the pedagogical practices and student achievement in science and mathematics Using the six reform drivers as a guide, a study has been designed to assess the types of data produced and reported by SI programs, methodological procedures to assess the procedural (process drivers) and empirical (outcome drivers) effects of these programs, to identify innovative techniques and approaches to enhance the analysis of SI data, and improve methods for dissemination and use of results on the impact of SI programs. Four objectives have been identified to ensure the purpose of the proposed study are met. The first objective of this study will be to investigate and collect all available data on SI programs. The second objective is to standardize a mechanism for interpreting data reported from the SI programs. The third objective is to model additional strategies for conducting educational research on SI programs using data from Arkansas and three school districts within Arkansas. The final objective is to develop a practitioner's guide on measurement and statistics and will be designed to enhance the dissemination of results from SI programs and educational research. The identified outcomes from this study include: (a) A NSF SI database that could be used by other researchers interested in investigating the impact of SI programs, (b) An empirical assessment of specific effects from past and current SI programs, focusing on all six reform drivers to identify the most successful elements of each program, (c) A comprehensive review of current practices toward analyzing data and demonstrations of procedures that may enhance the interpretation of results and can be easily employed, and (d) A model that may be employed to enhance the quality of data developed or collected, the analyses that can be completed in future assessments to identify specific program or classroom effects using this data, and a practitioner's guide on measurement and statistics to improve dissemination of results obtained from SI or educational programs. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Mulvenon, Sean Ronna Turner University of Arkansas AR Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 211081 7261 SMET 9177 9988080 April 15, 2000 Analyzing Student Achievement in Statewide, Urban, and Rural Systemic Initiatives. Five study questions will guide the activities of the research team: 1 - to what extent can the student assessment data be appropriately linked across reform sites? 2 - What types of linking strategies are appropriate in which of the sites to improve the comparability of reform outcomes? 3 - How can information on the process drivers, saturation and alignment be combined across sites to support meaningful inferences? 4 - Given the data already available in the data sets and the data to be gathered from the sites, what statistical methods can support inferences about "causality" from the sites, what statistical methods can support inferences about "casuality" from covariation among reform activities and swubsequent student assessment results? 5 - How should future reform efforts be structured and reported to facilitate improved inferences both within and across reform sites? EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM REFORM PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Kromrey, Jeffrey John Ferron Cynthia Parshall University of South Florida FL Bernice T. Anderson Standard Grant 399556 7365 7261 SMET 9177 9152 0455629 September 1, 2006 Developing Teacher Instructional Leadership Capacity. This study, Developing Teacher Instructional Leadership Capacity, is designed to advance knowledge on learning and teaching in ways that inform practice. The Bedford Central and White Plains School Districts, in collaboration with Fordham University, will explore how school districts can build capacity for teacher leadership and peer mentoring to improve elementary mathematics teaching at a critical transition point in the professional development continuum for which there is little research. They propose to study the process in which teachers make the transition from teacher to effective mentors to their peers in strengthening their math content knowledge, classroom practice, and use of constructivist curriculum. The study will examine this critical transition point by researching two different models of professional development for classroom teachers in grades 3-5 in six schools across the two districts. Two district schools, one in White Plains and one in Bedford, would be randomly assigned to Treatment/ Model A. Similarly, two district schools, one in White Plains and one in Bedford, would be randomly assigned to Treatment/ Model B. Two schools would serve as the control group. The study will explore which model is more effective in developing teacher leadership capacity. At the end of five years, the study will assess the extent to which the models have turned out effective teacher leader/mentors, and built the capacity of teachers in the district to deliver effective instruction and student achievement in mathematics. At the conclusion of the fifth year, if one model were identified as more effective, teachers in the district would receive training in that model beginning in June of 2010. This will lay the groundwork for the districts to capture the skills of these teacher leaders to turnkey the most promising model in the other schools in the districts. As a result of data warehousing, and state and federal accountability requirements, the project team will follow student achievement information on state assessments beyond elementary school into middle- and secondary-level education. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Mitchell, Kenneth Bedford Central School Distrcit NY Joseph Reed Continuing grant 0 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0514808 January 15, 2006 Science and Math in Spanish-language Media. The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) will collaborate with the Children's Museum of Houston, Miami Museum of Science and the New California Media (an association of over 500 ethnic media organizations) to provide youth ages 7-10 with standards-based science and math activities using newpapers as a vehicle. Mathematics and science challenges, already field-tested by the LHS, are presented as educational inserts using cartoons, on a weekly or monthly basis. The content to be addressed includes numbers and operations, algebra, geometry, science as inquiry and life science through engaging formats in Spanish-language newspapers. While building on the "Newspapers in Education" program, strategic impact will be realized by demonstrating the ability of a more intensive approach to reach families of underserved and underrepresented audiences through a collaboration of print media, museums, libraries, schools and community organizations. The ultimate goal is to increase exposure to informal science education activities at museums and in Spanish-language media. Deliverables include the newspaper activities (designed for families to use at home), family sessions at local libraries, science centers, after school programs and community organizations as well as a festival and website. Promotional sessions at New California Media Expos and workshops at the Asociation of Science and Technology Centers conferences will introduce the project to media and museum partners. This project will target underserved communities in California, Texas and Florida and is estimated to reach more than 450,000 families by year three. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Franco, Jose University of California-Berkeley CA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1694633 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0515449 June 1, 2007 Research Video News: Catalyst for Increasing Engagement of General Audiences. This project will produce 90-second science news stories for commercial local newscasts and science center exhibits, and determine how they change engagement with and interest in science by general audiences. Each video news story will reach approximately 2.1 million viewers that tune in to a local ABC or NBC affiliate newscast. The evaluation will study the cumulative impact of repeated exposure to these broadcast news segments. In addition ScienCentral will partner with the Maryland Science Center to investigate the use of the videos in exhibits using handheld devices and showing them on large screens. The project deliverables include two hundred and twenty 90-second video news stories over 3 years aired by ABC and NBC affiliates; complimentary web stories with links to additional resources; evaluations of both the broadcast videos and their use in a science center. The project will also evaluate the partnership between ScienCentral and the Maryland Science Center to guide future expansion of video programming. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Augenbraun, Eliene Julia Schulhof ScienCentral Incorporated NY Sandra H. Welch Fixed Price Award 1840699 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0525111 January 1, 2006 SPIRIT: Silicon Prairie Initiative on Robotics in IT. The "Silicon Prairie Initiative on Robotics in IT" (SPIRIT), a collaboration between the University of Nebraska and Omaha Public Schools, is a three-year Comprehensive ITEST Project for Students and Teachers. SPIRIT targets 105 science and mathematics teachers in grades 7-8, each of whom receives more than 100 hours of summer professional development and 50 hours of follow-up support in developing in-school curricular activities. More than 9,000 students are expected to participate through in-school and summer programs. The centerpiece of the project is a unversity level TekBot (TM) learning platform that is being adapted to the middle school level. This platform can be used to demonstrate basic applications in wireless, video and signal processing, sensors, video displays, electronics, control systems, embedded systems, digital logic and introductory programming. The curriculum to be developed in the project employs TekBots as a fundamental strategy for problem-based instructional activities. It is adaptable, expandable and cost-effective, providing learning experiences that can extend into high school and college. Results will be disseminated through publications and presentations, teacher workshops, displays prepared for the Omaha Children's Museum and collaborations with other universities using robotics platforms. An interactive, dynamic website will be created with modules and tutorials, uploadable programs, chat rooms and links to robotics research. ITEST DRL EHR Chen, Bing Neal Grandgenett University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 1170488 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0525575 July 1, 2006 From Research to Practice: Redesigning AP Science Courses to Advance Science Literacy and Support Learning with Understanding. The College Board seeks NSF support to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the nation's Advanced Placement (AP) science courses. Based on recommendations from the National Research Council's report "Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools," the project will build frameworks for curriculum, assessment and professional development in AP Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Environmental Science. Recommendations from Learning and Understanding call for focusing on depth versus breadth in each of the sciences, and "helping students achieve deep conceptual understanding of the content and unifying concepts of a discipline." Other recommendations that the College Board will pursue in creating the new frameworks are: (1) articulation of an explicit cognitive model of how students learn in each domain, (2) identification of intermediate and long-term learning outcomes, (3) description of observable performance indicators, (4) design of structured performance tasks that elicit those indicators, and (5) training teachers to use their understanding of the learning model to select appropriate instructional activities. The project also builds on a planning activity (EHR 0332223) that has created a process for AP course redesign of the AP Biology course. PHYSICS EDUC & INTERDISCIP RES REESE CCLI-Phase 3 (Comprehensive) BROADENING PARTICIPATION INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM OFFICE OF SPECIAL PROGRAMS-DMR PROJECTS GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC SPECIAL PROGRAMS IN ASTRONOMY DRL EHR Pellegrino, James Jeanne Pemberton Mark Reckase Kristen Huff The College Board NY Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2155537 9134 7625 7493 7487 7355 7271 7222 1978 1733 1253 1219 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0528840 January 1, 2006 Predictively Improving the Problem Solving of Science Students. This complex project would continue work by Ron Stevens to create an experiment with Interactive Multi-Media Exercises (IMMEX) to improve student performance in Chemistry under certain conditions. The research would compare the effects of an intelligent tutoring (ITS) feedback system with a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) system. Secondly, the project would use an online collaborative problem-solving approach to create an improved model of student problem solving practices. The intent is to improve the learning rate of novices in chemistry. The students would be chosen from an existing field sample of thousands of high school and college students. The purpose of the study is to improve the IMMEX model. The study will involve creating an intervention and conducting a post-test quasi-experimental design. The studies will be conducted with over 10,000 students who will be randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. Supporting data for extending models will include gender, ethnicity, motivation measures, course identity, and standardized test scores. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Stevens, Ronald University of California-Los Angeles CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1307769 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0529482 January 1, 2006 Developing Conceptual and Teaching Expertise in Physics Graduate Students: An Integrated Approach. Although there have been many projects for training TAs, little research has focused on the specific nature of the challenges. This project details the expectations, attitudes, and epistemologies of graduate teaching assistants towards educational reform, and develops a learning environment to help them overcome problems. The project is addressing two issues surrounding the education and professional development of physics graduate students. Graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) are often expected to play significant roles in implementing "collaborative active learning" sessions, where students work in small groups. However, many TAs have trouble teaching in this format, partly because of their views about how students learn. Also, some physics graduate students do not continue to develop conceptual expertise, reaching a deep level of qualitative understanding of core physical concepts that facilitates both research and teaching. This is because graduate coursework often stresses mathematical methods rather than conceptual expertise. The professional development of TAs in physics departments is typically handled separately from graduate education in physics. Research suggests, however, that it might be effective and efficient to foster conceptual expertise and teaching expertise in a unified way. In this pilot project the investigators are creating and teaching a professional development seminar designed to help graduate students develop sophisticated teaching practices and "learning theories" to apply both to their teaching and to their own learning. The project is conducting research on the ways in which the structure of TA seminars and associated teaching in a reformed introductory physics course changes TAs' teaching, conceptual expertise, and epistemologies - their views about the nature of knowledge and learning. Teachers' epistemologies strongly affect their success at implementing collaborative active-learning materials. One issue is the extent to which TAs think students can learn from listening to mini-lectures vs. working through problems for themselves. Another is the importance they attach to addressing everyday experiences and preconceptions as part of learning physics. Thus, the investigators are observing graduate students who are participating in this project using a variety of methods (including periodic interviews and videotaped observations of their teaching) to probe their epistemologies and their approaches to teaching and learning. By comparing TAs in the program to an absolute standard of effective practice and by analyzing in depth the trajectories of their epistemologies and teaching practices, the investigators are developing hypotheses that can be tested rigorously in a subsequent project. TAs in the sciences include almost all of the next generation of university science faculty; in physics they are involved in much of the actual delivery of introductory physics classes, typically responsible for all small-group environments. Since many of the most effective instructional innovations developed for introductory college-level physics are delivered in small-group environments, the ability of TAs to deliver reformed instruction is critical to the success or failure of a reform. GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Scherr, Rachel Edward Redish Andrew Elby David Hammer University of Maryland College Park MD Myles G. Boylan Standard Grant 209806 7172 1666 SMET 9177 0529599 January 1, 2006 The Development of Children's Teleo-Functional Bias. As biotechnology and medical research become ever more relevant to this nation's economic and physical well being, the importance of well conceived and carefully designed scientific curricula has never been greater. In that context, this project concerns the nature of - and appropriate pedagogical response to - a pattern of thought that is, on the one hand, prerequisite to the development of scientific literacy but that, on the other hand, can be profoundly deleterious to the elaboration of a true scientific understanding of biological processes. Teleo-functional reasoning explains entities and events in terms of the purposes that they serve. It is foundational to literacy in the life sciences because it distinguishes western schooled adults' conceptions of biological versus non-biological natural phenomena: While adults view entities such as nostrils as existing "for" particular functions (e.g., breathing), they tend to view entities such as caves as purposeless even though they perform many activities (e.g., producing stalagmites). However, despite their centrality to drawing a basic scientific distinction, most non-experts' specific ideas about function are an obstacle to biological understanding. This is because they are motivated by a mistaken view of natural selection as a goal-directed process akin to intentional design rather than as a blind mechanism. Understanding the origins of this scientific misconstrual, and designing effective curricular materials to counter it as early as possible, is therefore crucial to the promotion of lifelong literacy and learning in biology. To that end, the goal of this research is to empirically explore the nature of young children's teleo-functional intuitions as they enter the formative years of their scientific schooling, and to use this empirical foundation as the basis for an innovative, exploratory educational intervention to teach 5- to 8-year-old children natural selection. This emphasis occurs in response to several recent findings indicating the need for such work. First, current studies suggest that until well into elementary school, children appear to construe all kinds of living and non-living entities - clocks, lions, ponds, mountains, clouds and their properties - as existing for a purpose (DiYanni & Kelemen, 2005a; Kelemen, 1999ab, 2003; but see Keil, 1992). In consequence, unlike adults, pre- and elementary school children do not seem to differentiate living from non-living natural phenomena along teleo-functional lines. Second, research also suggests that young children's purpose-based attributions are motivated by intuitions that natural phenomena are products of intentional design (Piaget, 1929; Evans, 2000a, 2001; Kelemen, 2004). As a result, young children therefore already show the hallmarks of reasoning patterns recognized as persistent impediments to a scientific understanding of biology. In exploring possible reasons why children possess such intuitions plus potential instructional responses to these ideas, this research is intended as the initial step in a larger research program that, in partnership with early childhood educators, and an expert international advisory panel of inter-disciplinary researchers, seeks to directly apply methods and insights from cognitive developmental research to the design of innovative and empirically informed early scientific instruction. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kelemen, Deborah Trustees of Boston University MA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 657988 7625 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0535787 January 1, 2006 The Inquiry Science Instruction Observation Protocol (ISIOP) Development Project. The revised proposal seeks funding to develop an inquiry science instruction observation protocol (ISIOP) to identify the nature and extent of inquiry science instruction for for middle school science environments based on previous work of the research team (Inquiry Synthesis Project) that built a comprehensive framework from review of science instruction research on the notion of inquiry science instruction. The protocol for the current project is expected to derive from the conceptual framework of the previous project work. The ISIOP is claimed to be closely aligned with the National Science Education Standards and the way scientists do science. The research objectives are to: 1) develop a middle grades science classroom observational protocol based on a conceptual framework of inquiry science instruction from previous research and theoretical writings, 2) rigorously test the reliability and validity of the protocol, 3) assess the usability of the protocol by evaluators of science education programs, and 4) disseminate the protocol, reliability and validity trial results, and directions for use through professional evaluator networks. The project is designed to proceed in four phases: ISIOP test framework specification and development (Jan to Oct 2006), classroom pilot test with 10 teachers and 30 observations to establish inter-observer agreement (Oct. 2006 to Jan 2007), classroom pilot test to establish discriminant validity and test tailoring to discipline-specific science contexts (April 2007 to Jan 2008), and evaluator expert analysis and dissemination to determine usability by target audience (Jan 2008 to Oct. 2008). PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Minner, Daphne Abigail Jurist Levy Education Development Center MA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 499628 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0535793 January 1, 2006 Advancing the State-of-the-Art in Evaluation: Field-Testing and Disseminating an Educative, Values-Engaged Approach to Evaluating STEM Education Programs. This is a follow-up to a project funded in 2002. It seeks to continue the development of an educative, values-engaged approach to STEM education evaluation that addresses questions of program quality and educational equity, i.e., integrate values into the evaluation of STEM programs. The approach focuses on the important contribution of evaluation to STEM knowledge generation and learning and to the political requirements for equal access, opportunity and representation in STEM educational policies, programs and practices. It raises questions about the impact of equity and diversity of values on STEM education and thus offers a new approach to understanding the disparities in STEM education effectiveness PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Greene, Jennifer University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IL Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 800000 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0535794 April 1, 2006 Measuring Graduate Student Retention and Progression. The proposed follow-on project seeks to strengthen the capacity of the NSF funded Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) network to evaluate recruitment and retention of underrepresented African American, Hispanics, and Native Americans in STEM fields. The AGEP network consisted of 23 alliances serving approximately 80 institutions. The previous work led to development of a preliminary framework and some indicators to track underrepresented student recruitment, retention, academic progress, and degree completion at the participating institutions on a longitudinal basis from 1996-97 through 2002-03. The new work would extend this implementation into subsequent years and would investigate ways to refine the framework and to standardize indicators better across institutions. The main goal of this work is to establish an "evaluation culture" at each AGEP institution that would be guided by a central framework across institutions and that the individual institutions could adapt to their local circumstances. PROGRAM EVALUATION MINORITY GRADUATE EDUC ACTIVIT DRL EHR George, Yolanda American Association For Advancement Science DC Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 1135508 7261 1515 SMET 9178 9177 0535816 May 1, 2006 Measuring Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching: Evaluation Module Development and Dissemination. Intellectual Merit: This proposal draws on existing efforts to develop measures of elementary and middle school mathematical knowledge for teaching. Different from conventional assessments of mathematical knowledge (e.g., the SAT or Woodcock-Johnson assessment), these measures investigate the special mathematical knowledge teachers use to work in classrooms with students. For instance, these measures assess not only whether teachers know that 1 3/4 1/2 = 3 1/2, but also whether they can explain what this equation means, can construct a concrete representation or word problem which corresponds to it, and can understand and generalize from an unusual solution method for this problem. This proposal responds to a number of challenges that have arisen while disseminating these measures to researchers. Currently, the Learning Mathematics for Teaching project (LMT) disseminates pre-piloted forms and technical information for evaluating teacher learning in K-8 number and operations, pre-algebra and algebra, and geometry. Teacher learning opportunities, however, frequently focus on more narrowly defined topic areas for instance, rational number concepts and operations. Yet items capturing teacher knowledge of rational number compose only one component of LMT's number concepts and operations measures. Because these current measures include other topics, they are unlikely to be appropriately sensitive to the content and effects of such professional development. In response, this proposal argues for the construction of evaluation modules designed to be sensitive to and allow research and evaluation in the following areas: rational numbers; proportional reasoning; geometry; data analysis and probability. In all but the last topic area, for which LMT will create an entirely new set of items, the project will review and supplement existing items, create a form composed of items that capture key teacher competencies in these areas, pilot this form, then compose technical materials that support these modules' use. These technical materials will include two parallel forms and pre-equated raw-score-to-standardized-score conversion tables, to facilitate straightforward scoring. This proposal also describes plans to improve the quality of dissemination training by exploring the nature of problems that arise when outside evaluators use these measures, and describes work to improve measures of teachers' knowledge of student learning around content. Intellectual Merit This proposal grows from a well-established measures development project. At every step in this project's history, the provision of high-quality measures has coincided with and in some ways, depended upon progress in building theory about content knowledge for teaching mathematics, and exploring new areas in measurement design and scaling. This will be the case in the work proposed here, as well. Broader Impact This proposal enhances the infrastructure for research on teacher learning. These measures can be used to evaluate teachers' learning in pre-service teacher education programs; to make comparisons between preparation in traditional teacher education programs and alternative routes to certification; to judge the efficacy of professional development aimed at improving teachers' content knowledge for teaching; and to estimate the effects of curriculum materials designed to improve teachers' knowledge of mathematics and students. These measures are accessible to users with limited technical expertise, comparable across programs and approaches to professional development, and of high technical quality. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Phelps, Geoffrey Deborah Ball Stephen Schilling University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1048184 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0535818 September 1, 2006 Assessing Teacher Competency in Formative Assessment. The purpose of the project is to create a tool that can be used in classrooms to inform teachers of science knowledge they need for instruction. The tool would help determine whether middle school science teachers are competent in interpreting assessment data and providing feedback to foster student development. The investigators would construct teacher assessment tasks based on statewide science standards, validate them, and use them in an online learning environment for teacher learners. The investigators imagine that their project is a capacity building project that develops innovative frameworks and tools to enhance capacity of evaluators of small and large-scale education programs. The investigators plan to conduct some basic research to observe the characteristics of middle school science teachers understanding and use of formative assessments. Much of the theoretical design is based on previous work in England by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam. They intend to investigate teacher content knowledge and learner context as well as the attitudes and beliefs of teachers about the role of learners in the classroom. The study would focus on a unit of Human Body Systems in a middle school of Bellevue Schools in Washington. The researchers have worked with these districts previously and have access to the schools and teachers for this project. The methods involve collecting video, observing teacher interactions, and study of the formal assessment tools. Self-reported questionnaires will be used to identify indicators of teacher knowledge and background characteristics. About 8 data collection instruments will be designed after being adopted from existing large-scale studies. The amount of data will allow both quantitative measurement and qualitative descriptions of the school events. The results of the study are expected to create a new description of the dimensions of teacher formative assessment understandings and practices. This information will allow them to construct a set of a series of scenarios to measure teacher formative assessment competency. The project will produce a new method for teachers to use in classrooms. REESE DRL EHR Minstrell, Jim Min Li Ruth Anderson FACET Innovations, LLC WA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 520043 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0537078 February 1, 2006 The Effectiveness of Massively Multiplayer, Game-Based Learning in Science Education. The unpalatable pedagogical experience of large lecture classes may be a significant factor in first year college students dropping out of engineering. Approximately 50% of prospective engineers are weeded out in large lecture courses their very first year in college (Seymour and Hewett, 1997). Students appear to be leaving because they are not engaged in the content. One way to address this problem is to develop and implement technology-based teaching environments that are more engaging and motivating to students, either as a substitute for, or adjunct to, lecture-based instruction. Video games hold promise in this regard because they are inherently engaging and have the potential to be effective teaching tools. Despite the growing popularity of the notion that video games can be used to teach science content, the idea has been subject to little (if any) scientific scrutiny. Hence, we seek in this project to examine the pedagogy that underlies educational games, and begin rigorous testing of a particular gaming format that appears to be promising. Specifically, our purpose is to examine the effectiveness of a massively multiplayer game for teaching college freshman physics concepts. Our main hypothesis is that an engaging multiplayer game can serve as an effective adjunct to traditional teaching methods, resulting in improved learning of targeted materials and enhanced motivation to remain in science and engineering. In addition, we will manipulate various features of the game design itself to determine whether (and how) several theoretically derived propositions about learning apply in this environment. The project will extend a commercial-grade multiplayer physics game that has already been under development for three years, and use it to teach introductory physics concepts to college students. We expect that a game-based approach to physics instruction will result in students learning more physics content, retaining more physics content, becoming more motivated to learn and showing better inclination to study science and engineering. These hypotheses will be tested by experiments conducted in introductory physics classes at the University of Central Florida and through releasing six versions of the game to the public and tracking game play. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIV DRL EHR Cannon-Bowers, Janis University of Central Florida FL Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 597630 7180 SMET 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0540152 February 15, 2006 Life Changes. The New York Hall of Science is overseeing a complex, four-year applied research and traveling exhibit development project on "precursor concepts" to the theory of evolution. These concepts pertain to key ideas about life -- variation, inheritance, selection, and time (VIST) -- and are organized around the principle that living things change over time. The central research question is: Can informal, museum-based interventions prepare young children (5 -12) to understand the scientific basis of evolution by targeting their intuitive pre-evolutionary concepts? The work involves many collaborators -- museum personnel around the country, university researchers, exhibit designers and evaluators, web designers, the Association of Science-Technology Centers and a number of advisors in the biological sciences, psychology and in informal and formal education. The products include applied research studies that will add to the conceptual change knowledge base in cognitive psychology, a 1,000 square-foot exhibit plus discovery boxes, a section on the UC-Berkeley Understanding Evolution web site, extensive on site and online staff training opportunities for participating museums and others, several dissemination activities including two research symposia, and bilingual (English and Spanish) exhibit materials and family guides. The project is positioned as a new model in informal science education for integrating research, development and evaluation, with applicability beyond the life sciences to other STEM fields. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Weiss, Martin Margie Marino Sean Duran Preeti Gupta Evelyn Evans New York Hall of Science NY Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2716731 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540185 March 1, 2006 Project NestWatch. Cornell University, in collaboration with Seavoss Associates, Inc. and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), is requesting funding to support two citizen science projects and related research. "Project Nestwatch" will include "Virtual Nestwatch," an online exhibit and data collection project that enables individuals to participate in data collection from their home computers. "National Nest Registry," the second project, is field-based and focused on species that participants may find in their backyard or local community. A subset of the National Nestwatch participants will engage in team-based observations supported by ornithologists from the Smithsonian Institution as part of SERCs Neighborhood Nestwatch program. Finally, a quasi-experimental research component will examine the effectiveness of virtual field-based and guided field-based participation exemplified in the Virtual and National Nestwatch projects. The research component will include 100 subjects per treatment. The impacts are identified as increasing public understanding of bird biology, ecology, life cycles, environmental issues and the research process while encouraging careers in science. It is also anticipated that this project will create collaborative online learning communities. The strategic impacts include the development and testing of a new online citizen science model and the resulting research and evaluation findings. Deliverables include ten online exhibits in real-time, a stored repertoire of over 50 archived Nest Box Cam attempts or data sets, online instructions and tutorials, and a data entry system. SERCs Neighborhood Nestwatch participants will work directly with scientists to capture, measure, color-band and record data on such common species as house finches, American robins, phoebes, cardinals, bluebirds, tree swallows and wrens. It is estimated that this project will reach over 45,000 individuals through on-line, independent field-based and mentored experiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bonney, Richard Janis Dickinson Andre Dhondt Caren Cooper Paul Allen Cornell University - State NY Leslie K. Goodyear Continuing grant 1740386 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0540187 February 15, 2006 Great Lakes Coalition for Watershed Education: Listening to the River Project. The Coalition for Watershed Education, consisting of the Land Access Information Association, Great Lakes Children's Museum, Interlochen Public Radio and Northwestern Michigan College Great Lakes Studies Institute will implement a comprehensive science education project for youth and adults. The major components include: Watershed Discovery field experiences, Soundscapes radio broadcasts, Waterscapes exhibits, a project website, and the expanded Great Lakes Coalition for Watershed Education. Watershed Discovery is a field-based experience for youth ages 11-17. Teams of 6-10 youth will work with mentors who specialize in GPS, GIS, geology and geography to research and collect data on the Great Lakes watershed. These students will also use their new knowledge to produce radio segments as part of the Soundscapes component. Youth teams will be trained to interview sources, gather information and write scripts for use on the local National Public Radio affiliate. The Great Lakes Children's Museum will design a permanent, interactive watershed of 1,500 square feet, as well as a traveling exhibit of 500 square feet for visitors ages 7-12. Other deliverables include "A Community Guide to Watershed-based Science Education" (available in print and CD-ROM), a one-day regional dissemination conference, and an interactive website. Strategic impact will be realized through the development of a novel model for watershed education, its subsequent replication and summative evaluation outcomes. It is estimated that over 40,000 children will be reached by this community-wide initiative. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR VanderMeulen, Joe Land Information Access Association MI Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1384094 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540261 January 1, 2006 ExFiles: An Online Science Exhibit Community. Following their experience with the 2003 NSF-funded conference, "Best Practices in Science Exhibition Development," the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) is creating for informal science education practitioners a dynamic online system, "ExFiles," for contributing to, using and conducting communications about a database on exhibitions. At least 1,000 practitioners are expected to use the site over the course of the three-year project, which will be sustained by ASTC after the grant period. The website is being populated initially with a set of at least 40 exhibitions representing a variety of scientific domains, sizes and interpretive and design strategies. Promotion of the site is being assisted by several associations: National Association of Museum Exhibitions, Association of Children's Museums, American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, American Zoo and Aquarium Association and the European Network of Science Centres and Museums. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pollock, Wendy Kathleen McLean Association of Science-Technology Centers DC Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 843984 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540273 April 15, 2006 Peep and the Big Wide World (Season 3). WGBH will produce and distribute 10 new episodes of the award-winning television series "PEEP and the Big Wide World ," which is targeted to preschoolers. In addition, the project will expand the PEEP Web site, and develop and evaluate an online multimedia tutorial to help educators engage preschool children in science. The project's three intended impacts are to (1) engage preschoolers in science explorations that promote positive attitudes and inquiry skills, (2) empower parents to encourage and support their children's science activities, and (3) provide educational resources and professional development for preschool educators via a curriculum that contributes to the emerging field of preschool science education. The project's innovative deliverables include a television show that has a unique style and content, a Web site that is navigable by non-readers, and outreach activities that fulfill an important need for preschool science education. The series is produced by WGBH and broadcast on TLC and Discovery Kids. The project's collaborators, which include organizations such as Head Start, the National Education Association, Countdown to Kindergarten, American Library Association, and Boston Children's Museum, help promote the series' educational goals across different platforms, maximize resources, extend impact and reach underserved audiences. The Goodman Research Group will conduct the project summative evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2900000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540279 February 1, 2006 Cyberchase Season 5: Math and Inventions: My Big Idea. Thirteen/WNET New York will develop and produce ten new episodes for a fifth season of Cyberchase. Broadcast daily on 340 PBS stations, Cyberchase has helped millions of children acquire a stronger foundation in mathematics. Cyberchase's content spans the 3rd-5th grade standards of the National Council of Mathematics. Ancillary materials, outreach and a highly popular Web site extend the learning and help make Cyberchase the sole mathematics media project available for the target age group of 8 to 11 year-olds. The new season will introduce a new campaign, "Math & Inventions: My Big Idea", to link mathematics and technology education and involve children in the invention process. These new programs will enrich the series' content while keeping viewers tuning in to the current shows. Plans include enhancing the Web site, building the inventory of multi-media outreach activities, strengthening the show's presence in after-school programs, and launching a new relationship with the museum community. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of two new elements to "My Big Idea" and a prototype of the online "Invention Machine." MediaKidz Research and Consulting (MRC) will conduct the pilot phase of a groundbreaking research study to evaluate the impact of varied media, and the interactions between the television series, Web site and outreach components, on children's mathematical thinking and attitudes toward mathematics. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Sandra Michael Templeton Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1530000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540300 October 1, 2006 Hispanic Science News Service. This project will create the infrastructure to provide Hispanic media with an ongoing source of high-quality science news tailored to meet the needs and interests of Hispanics. The proposed Hispanic Science News Service website will be a downloadable internet resource site for Hispanic print, radio and internet editors, journalists and producers to access science stories, radio capsules and science information resources. This service would be promoted through partnerships with the National Association of Hispanic Publishers, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and The Hispanic Radio. Specific media deliverables will include: Exploracion, a weekly, Spanish-language newspaper column; La Ciencia en Breve: El Universo a tu Alcance (Science News Briefs); Exploracion, a daily science radio news capsule; and uploads of science content to the Univision.com website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Russell, Robert Carlos Alcazar Self Reliance Foundation DC Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2267137 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540306 January 1, 2006 Informal Learning and Science in Afterschool: A Research and Dissemination Project. The McLean Hospital, working with the Exploratorium and Reginald Clark and Associates, proposes an intensive study of "typical" afterschool programs (those lacking specialized training, funding or partnerships). This study will build basic knowledge and data about how effective informal science activities can be developed for and presented by these after-school programs. It will consist of a sample size of at least 300 informal science after-school programs and include a variety of data collection methods such as surveys, phone interviews, and in-depth case studies. The project relies upon 50 leaders of youth organizations (CSAS - Coalition for Science After School) building upon the work of two NSF-funded conferences in 2003 and 2004. Afterschool leaders will be able to use this knowledge to increase and improve informal science in localized after-school settings as well as to set up demonstration projects. The study takes a holistic approach, connecting (a) features of strong informal science to (b) student outcomes/benefits to (c) core program components (curriculum, staffing, and support structures). The research will serve as a baseline for future studies in informal learning, as well as for policy recommendations. Strategic impact will be realized as this comprehensive study contributes important knowledge, documentation and tools for the rapidly developing after-school field, while expanding opportunities for informal learning in after-school programs. Additionally, this work will address sensitive measures that take into account the particular contexts of the after-school environment, youth development (particularly underserved youth) and powerful informal science learning. The results will be widely disseminated to after-school youth development and informal science education leaders, policymakers and funders through a program assessment tool, a Research-to-Practice Symposium and a policy recommendation paper. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Noam, Gil Bronwyn Bevan Reginald Clark McLean Hospital MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 942744 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0540335 May 1, 2006 Crime, Science and Inquiry: An Integrated Exhibit and Web-based Learning Initiative. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will utilize the popular areas of criminal investigation and forensic science to create a 5,000 square foot national traveling exhibition and an accompanying web adventure. The project builds upon the work done during the planning grant (ESI-0307473). The target audience is families with middle-school aged children and school groups in grades four through nine. The project partners include Rice University Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative, Boys & Girls Clubs and 14 science museums in EPSCOR states. The potential strategic impact of this project will be a new model for developing an exhibit and website that are fully integrated from the beginning with the same learning goals. The evaluation will provide information about how an integrated exhibit and website is developed and its impact. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Walter, Charlie Fort Worth Museum of Science and History TX Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2429234 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540358 January 1, 2006 Model Master Naturalist Programs: A Minnesota/Florida Collaboration. The University of Minnesota and the University of Florida are collaborating on the creation of a Master Naturalist Program for adults that will serve as a model for nationnwide dissemination. This program, which builds on the existing Florida Master Naturalist Program, will provide intensive 40-hour training sessions in ecology, natural/cultural history and the environment for volunteers in Minnesota. Participants will then complete 40 hours of supervised volunteer service at local natural history centers while volunteers in both Florida and Minnesota will have the option of participating in advanced training workshops. Staff members at informal science education institutions and natural history centers take part in train-the-trainer workshops to assist with dissemination. Deliverables include three training modules (Big Woods, Big Rivers; Prairies and Potholes; North Woods, Great Lakes), advanced training workshops, local Master Naturalist Chapters, annual conferences, training materials and workshops for Master Naturalist Instructors, and a project website. It is anticipated that this project will result in the implementation of 64 Master Naturalist workshops, directly reaching 1,280 volunteers, while 750 participants are anticipated for advanced training workshops. It is estimated that 130 staff will participate as Master Naturalist Instructors. Indirect impacts will be realized as volunteers contribute more than 51,000 hours in service to nature centers and informal science institutions interacting with public audiences while conducting natural history activities. Strategic impact will be realized in the outcomes of the comprehensive evaluation plan that will assess immediate and longitudinal impacts on public and professional audiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Blair, Robert Karen Oberhauser Martin Main Amy Rager University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1349491 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0540417 March 1, 2006 Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA). "Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA)" is an innovative project that creates unique partnerships between informal science education institutions and local colleges conducting research in ocean sciences, with an emphasis on earth, biological and geochemical sciences. The project enables over 100 undergraduate and graduate students that are enrolled in the Communicating Ocean Sciences college course to create engaging learning activities and teaching kits in conjunction with their informal education partners. Institutional teams include: Long Beach Aquarium and California State University-Long Beach; Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University; Virginia Aquarium and Science Center and Hampton University; Liberty Science Center and Rutgers University; and Lawrence Hall of Science and University of California-Berkeley. Students learn valuable outreach skills by providing visiting families and children with classes, guided tours and interactive learning experiences. Deliverables include a three-day partner workshop, a series of COSIA Handbooks (Collaboration Guide, Informal Education Guide and Outreach Guide), an Informal Science Education Activities Manual and Web Bank of hands-on activities. Strategic impact will be realized through the creation of partnerships between universities and informal science education institutions and capacity building that will occur as informal science institutions create networks to support the project. It is also anticipated the evaluation outcomes will inform the field abut the benefits of museum and university partnerships. The project will impact more than 30,000 elementary and middle school children and their families, as well as faculty, staff and students at the partnering institutions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Halversen, Catherine Craig Strang University of California-Berkeley CA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1836576 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0540418 June 15, 2006 Quest: Exploring our Natural World. KQED is requesting funds to produce weekly radio science news reports, a weekly television magazine program, a dynamic online website that supports and extends the broadcast material and to create and maintain an active consortium of 13 participating STEM organizations. The project's working title is "Quest: Exploring Our Natural World." Quest's goals are to raise the profile of STEM issues that affect or occur throughout the Northern California region and activate citizens to discuss and investigate STEM issues. STEM content will include research fields that include Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Earth Sciences. Most of the stories will include content about the technology and engineering used to support scientific endeavors. The KQED Educational Network EdNet will administer the community and educational outreach initiatives, including creating viewer/listener guides, developing and delivering workshops, and providing information built around Quest media. The project design involves innovative use of multiple platforms and collaborative partnerships with local informal educational institutions. The project's collaborators include the Bay Institute, California Academy of Sciences, Chabot Space and Science Center, East Bay Regional Park District, Exploratorium, Girl Scouts, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Hall of Science, Oakland Zoo and The Tech Museum of Innovation. Rockman Et Al will conduct the evaluation of the Quest initiative. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McCann, Sue Ellen KQED Inc CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2476479 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0541862 January 1, 2006 Integrating Science and Mathematics Education Research into Teaching: A Conference for Students, Teachers and University Faculty in Science, Mathematics, and Related Fields. This proposal from the University of Maine Center for Science and Mathematics Education is a request for a TPC Conference/Symposium to fund a six-day national conference and summer academy entitled "Integrating Science and Mathematics Education Research into Teaching." The purposes of the conference are: (1) to bring together all participants in the science and mathematics education research enterprise (teachers, administrators, scientists and mathematicians, education faculty, future teachers) to exchange ideas about research and curriculum innovation ongoing in their fields; and (2) help teachers integrate research-based instructional strategies, particularly those that depend on innovative uses of technology, into their teaching practices TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR McKay, Susan Francois Amar Michael Wittmann Owen Maurais Eric Pandiscio University of Maine ME Julia Clark Standard Grant 175243 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0546077 January 1, 2006 New Earth Explorers: A Planning Grant. This planning grant is for developing a PBS television series focusing on dramatic but little-known geologic stories tied to world-famous cultural and historic sites in places such as Greece and Rome. The full project would consist of four broadcast television programs, an interactive web site, DVD's and outreach activities. The planning grant would support preparation of television program treatments, front end and formative evaluation, advisory committee meetings, development of an outreach plan and collaborations with partners. This project builds on previous NSF supported work (GEO-0331151). INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Prose, Doug Diane LaMacchia Earth Images Foundation CA Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 74738 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0546078 August 1, 2006 CAREER: A Study of Pedagogical Practices and the Development of Students' Science Identities. The proposed project explores the use of the concept of students' science identities as a factor in evaluating the effectiveness of science pedagogies. The investigator aims to push evaluations of pedagogies beyond questions about what students know and can do to questions about how effective pedagogies are in producing students with long-term senses of themselves as science learners and participants. The objectives of the project are: 1) to determine what counts as meaningful scientific practice in standards-based classrooms at different grade levels through discourse analysis and surveys; 2) to chart the development of students' understanding of and attitudes toward science over time; 3) to identify specific teaching practices, at different grade levels, that those understandings and attitudes; and 4) to develop professional development materials designed to support teachers' efforts to foster those practices that improve student attitudes, practices, and understanding of science. This project will engage teachers, pre-service teachers, and graduate students in professional development experiences that dovetail with research objectives. REESE DRL EHR Carlone, Heidi University of North Carolina Greensboro NC Sue Allen Continuing grant 467015 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0546164 June 1, 2006 CAREER: Examining prospective teachers' learning of three mathematics teaching practices-posing, interpreting, and responding-during teacher preparation. This project focuses on three mathematics teaching practices --posing mathematical problems, responding to students' mathematical ideas, and interpreting students' mathematical thinking -- that are discussed in teacher preparation courses as practices that directly affect student learning. These practices are essential to the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning and demand a deep understanding of mathematics in the context of teaching. Research has found these practices to be underdeveloped in prospective teachers of mathematics and to be challenging to learn. In spite of the amount of attention they tend to receive in teacher preparation courses little is known about how these practices develop at the beginning stages of a teacher's career. This means that the field of mathematics teacher education has incomplete knowledge about how best to help prospective teachers move towards more sophisticated understandings and enactments of these practices. The research and educational agenda proposed in this project are critical to improving the design and implementation of mathematics teacher preparation programs and experiences. This project will study the practices of posing, interpreting, and responding using cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. The cross-sectional study will characterize the focal practices at each of three stages in the elementary teacher preparation program at Michigan State University. The longitudinal study will focus on the development of the focal practices as prospective elementary school teachers move through the teacher preparation program and into their first and second year of teaching. Factors that afford and constrain the development of these practices will also be examined through in-depth case studies of ten participants. The educational goal of the project is to provide professional development for mathematics teacher education instructors. This professional development will consist of regular instructor meetings throughout the length of the project that will parallel the activities of the research group. As the research group works to develop the research instruments, for example, the instructor group will focus on adapting the research instruments to their teacher education classrooms. The goal of these educational activities is to, in collaboration with practicing mathematics education instructors, make the research tools and findings generated by this project useful to the teaching practice of mathematics teacher educators. REESE DRL EHR Crespo, Sandra Michigan State University MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 579255 7625 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0546513 October 1, 2006 CAREER: Embedded Computing and Authentic Inquiry in Middle School Science. Since its inception, scientific inquiry has been based on the materials, tools, and equipment that scientists procure and develop for their research. Beginning in the 1980s with microcomputer-based laboratories, schools have introduced such equipment. This new technology, however, has often been employed in the fashion of much school science laboratory work, where students perform measurement-confirmation experiments rather than deep inquiry-based investigations. Over the last ten years, the use of classroom robotics has become prevalent across the K-12 grade levels. Much of this robotics work exhibits the characteristics of inquiry-based science: students are highly engaged as they frame problems, experiment, debug problems, and pursue solutions. Why is classroom robotics successful in inspiring students to take charge of their work, while classroom science has trouble getting students' attention? The key is that agency is in the hands of students. Providing capable, extensible and inviting technology to teachers and students is also important. This project will use and extend research technology - the Handy Cricket microcontroller - with the goal of characterizing and then providing materials that can be readily assimilated into authentic inquiry-based work by teachers and students. The project includes research and development components. The PI will investigate how beginning and practicing middle school science teachers perform their own inquiry-based science experiments, reflect on and make sense of their own experiences, and then bring these approaches to their students. Subsequently, how these teachers' students practice science inquiry using Crickets and what they learn will be studied, and compared with the practices and learning of students in control classrooms. The project will create deep linkages between computing science and middle school science content, and develop improved technology for widespread classroom use. The PI will collaborate closely with faculty and staff of his university's graduate school of education, and will co-teach sections of science methods courses required of the student-teachers in its program. These individuals and other teachers who participate in professional development workshops will be invited to be involved in classroom trials using project materials and approaches. The development plan includes an international component, extending the PI's previous collaborations with leading educator/researchers in Ireland and Germany. The project's intellectual merit stems from its goal of understanding and promoting authentic science inquiry by teachers and students, and creating deep connections between computing and middle school science. Its potential for broader impact is based on its practical, classroom-based approach, which will ensure materials and pedagogical strategies that can be employed widely. REESE DRL EHR Martin, Fred University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Foundation MA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 478476 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0546856 September 1, 2006 CAREER: Connecting with the Future: Supporting Identity and Career Development in Post-secondary Science and Engineering. Some of the most important steps students take toward a Science and Engineering (S & E) career are choosing the right coursework, experiences, and mentors to help them accomplish their career goals. To help students choose career paths in S & E, and persist in the face of inevitable difficulties and disappointments, we need to understand how they conceptualize their futures (Packard & Nguyen, 2003). The concepts and processes involved in this conceptualization make up a person's future time perspective (FTP). The more accurate, complete, and viable a person's FTP, the more likely they are to succeed, both in the present and in the future. By better understanding how students think about their futures in S & E, we can better support and guide them, increasing the number of students who choose and succeed in S & E careers. This project will develop and validate a model of FTP and apply it to evaluating interventions intended to help students choose and persist in engineering career paths. It has three phases. In Phase I, a model of students' FTP, and, in particular, their future as engineers will be developed and tested. In Phase II, the model will be extended, tracking students from freshman year to senior year in order to explore the relationship between students' FTP, their academic performance, and their motivation to pursue careers in engineering. Because of the longitudinal nature of the project, students who move from engineering into other scientific fields, into science education, or into a non-science-oriented career will also be tracked. Phase III will begin the process of using what has bee learned in the previous phases about the motivational profiles of successful engineering students to evaluate programs already in place to recruit students into engineering. This research will be conducted at Arizona State University (ASU), a university notable for the diversity of its student body, not only in ethnicity and language, but also socioeconomic status and family educational experience. The diversity of ASU's student body and the large sample that will be tracked will support the extension of findings from this project to other universities. The PI will work with a consortium of universities in the Southwestern United States for dissemination of research results and consultations about interventions at other universities. REESE DRL EHR Husman, Jenefer Arizona State University AZ Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 506199 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0550176 July 1, 2006 Foundations of Algebra in the Elementary and Middle Grades: Supporting Students to Make, Represent and Justify General Claims about Operations. This project develops images, extended examples, and principles that illustrate how the articulation, representation and justification of general claims about operations evolve in the elementary grades and how this work supports the transition from arithmetic to algebra in the middle grades. A Sourcebook developed by staff and teacher-writers provides an account of this work across the school year in grades 1-6 and commentaries that help teachers consider the underlying pedagogical and mathematical aspects of the work. An online course uses the Sourcebook as a text to enegage teachers in implementing these ideas in their instruction. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Russell, Susan Jo Deborah Schifter Virginia Bastable TERC Inc MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1227739 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0552481 June 1, 2006 The Ice Age Large-format Film. Giant Screen Films is planning the development of a large-format film and related educational materials to educate the public about the vast transformations Earth has endured through the ages, the causes and effects of cyclical icing, and current Earth Systems science research. The strategic impact of the full project, entitled "The Ice Age," is to provide a stimulating resource to supplement existing programs centered on public understanding of our planet's long-term climate changes. The goal of the proposed planning phase is to develop a shooting script that effectively integrates the wide array of scientific disciplines around this topic in an engaging manner and to craft a detailed plan for an innovative array of outreach efforts to engage informal learners and underserved audiences. The work is informed by a group of expert scientists, including Dr. Maureen Raymo, Dr. Larry Agenbroad, Dr. Todd Hinkley, and Dr. Richard Alley, among others, and by front-end evaluations conducted by Learning Experience Design. David Clark is film director; Mike Parfit, writer. The National Ice Core Lab, the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, and The Mammoth Site will collaborate with the project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kempf, Donald Giant Screen Films IL Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 73265 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0553174 June 1, 2006 Building Systems for Quality Teaching and Learning in Science. This project will develop tools and materials that address the need schools have to implement results-oriented teacher learning programs that ensure highly qualified science teachers in every classroom. The project will (1) develop and disseminate the Building Systems for Quality Teaching and Learning in Science Simulation and Facilitator Guide, and (2) develop and disseminate three Building Systems for Science Learning Modules. The three modules are titled: 1. Knowledge and Beliefs Guiding Effective Science Instruction, 2. Assessing Science Instruction and Results, and 3. Enhancing Science Teaching & Learning. The intended audience for these products will be science leaders who support teacher professional development in science, including science teacher leaders, professional development providers, department chairs, curriculum coordinators, and university faculty in science, science education and educational leadership. The project products will use a simulation as a vehicle for teacher change and student improvement. The simulation will contain multiple scenarios drawn from authentic experiences with schools/districts involved in the process of implementing change in science education. In the simulation, participants will encounter many of the complex issues that confront schools/districts that are implementing change, and develop knowledge and skills to address those issues. The development process will involve a three year period of development, trial testing and revisions that will involve increasing numbers of trainers and teachers. In the final year 50 facilitators will train between 1,250 and 1,500 teachers. A team of three external experts will review the materials prepared. Corwin Press has agreed to publish the materials. A plan of formative and summative evaluation is included in the project. Dissemination will be through the publisher, national conferences, NSTA bookstore, NSDL, TE-MAT, MSP-Net and LSC-Net. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Mundry, Susan Katherine Stiles WestEd CA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 909958 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0553215 May 1, 2006 Target Inquiry: Investigating the Teacher and Student Effects of a New Model in Chemistry Teacher Professional Development. This five-year research project has as its central aim the testing of a particular model of teacher professional development with secondary school chemistry teachers. The Target Inquiry (TI) model emphasizes the importance of the inquiry process in teaching and learning science by combining a research experience for teachers (RET) with curriculum adaptation and action research. TI has been translated into a chemistry emphasis for an existing M.Ed. program at Grand Valley State University in Michigan by integrating the key features of effective professional development programs with experiences designed to impact instruction and student outcomes in chemistry. A longitudinal study involving comparisons between the participant and control groups as well as measures of participant change over time will investigate the nature of the impacts on teachers and their students. Data will be collected pre-program, after each core experience, end of program, and one and two years post-program. Quantitative instruments such as American Chemical Society examinations and observational measures of classrooms will be used in addition to qualitative methods such as teacher interviews and classroom artifacts. The major research questions are: 1. How do the three core experiences (chemistry research, materials adaptation, and action research) impact in-service high school chemistry teachers' (a) content knowledge in chemistry; (b) attitudes and beliefs about scientific inquiry and self-efficacy; and (c) classroom instructional methods? 2. How do the core experiences build upon one another? 3. What connections do teachers make between the core experiences? 4. How does teacher participation in TI affect student achievement? 5. What impact does TI, a three-year, coherent, inquiry-focused PD program continue to have on teachers classroom instructional practices and student achievement after program completion? Funding from the Dreyfus Foundation and Grand Valley State University is being used to support the TI implementation with twenty teachers and this award is funding the in-depth research study of the effects. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Yezierski, Ellen Deborah Herrington Grand Valley State University MI Joseph Reed Continuing grant 1020136 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0553769 October 1, 2006 Exploring the Effects of Teacher Research Experiences on Classroom Inquiry. This project is studying two RET models at Florida State University. The first is offered by the Center for the Integration of Research and Learning (CIRL) at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. The researchers characterize it as a traditional RET in which teachers are placed in individual faculty laboratories to participate in on-going research. Participants in this program come together daily for discussion and activities focused on pedagogical issues. The second is offered by the Office of Science Teaching Activities (OSTA) in the College of Arts and Sciences. It is a non-traditional program with two scientists and two master teachers working full time with participants who develop their own scientific research agendas. In the second program participants also engage in "inquiry on the process of inquiry" in which they conduct a pedagogical research project on the essential features of inquiry. The researchers are examining the impact of these programs on teacher knowledge and practices, professional development and retention, and student learning. The project will "generate a deeper and more generalizable knowledge of the necessary features of RET's." The research goals are to (1) analyze the essential features of RET programs, (2) examine participants' understanding and enactment of inquiry, (3) study interactions with the personal characteristics of participants, and (4) assess the influence of inquiry teaching on student learning in science. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Granger, D. Ellen Sherry Southerland Patricia Dixon Florida State University FL David A. Hanych Continuing grant 2942235 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0553929 June 1, 2006 Researching Science and Mathematics Teacher Learning in Alternative Certification Models. This research is examining science and mathematics teacher learning in the context of an alternative certification program (designed for individuals with baccalaureate degrees in science or mathematics) employing two different models of field-based preparation. In one model pre-service teachers are participating in an eight-week summer session and will become independent full-time teachers with complete responsibility for instruction. In the second model pre-service teachers are participating in the same eight-week summer session followed by a guided yearlong internship under the mentorship of a veteran teacher. In both models interns are continuing to enroll in university courses. To examine teacher learning in these two models the researchers are collecting longitudinal data from 72 participants at five transition points in their programs. Using a data collection cycle that includes lesson planning, observation, stimulated recall and reflection, the researchers are building a rich data set about teacher knowledge. The intellectual merit of the project is derived from the qualifications and commitment of the investigators to advance knowledge concerning teacher learning in different models of alternative certification. The findings are enhancing the science and mathematics education research literature where data on science and mathematics teacher learning in alternative certification programs and in field settings is scarce. The project's broader impact is based on: (1) its potential to inform the research community about science and mathematics teacher learning; (2) its implications for the design and implementation of alternative certification programs; (3) its implications for the design and implementation of field-based internships in science and mathematics teacher preparation; and (4) its potential to impact policymaking concerning teacher certification/licensure. The ultimate beneficiaries of such research on teachers are K-12 students whose learning opportunities in science and mathematics will increase as the quality of the teaching workforce increases. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Abell, Sandra Kathryn Chval Fran Arbaugh John Lannin Patricia Friedrichsen University of Missouri-Columbia MO Joan T Prival Continuing grant 1656212 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554186 May 1, 2006 Researching Mathematics Leader Learning. "Researching Mathematics Leader Learning (RMLL)" is a five-year research project to study mathematics professional development leaders' understandings and practices associated with developing mathematically rich learning environments. Using quantitative and qualitative research methods, RMLL investigates this issue by considering: How can leaders cultivate professional development environments in which teachers have a greater opportunity to grapple with and deeply understand mathematics? Working with four groups of mathematics leaders (75 to 100 total), RMLL studies how explicit attention to the cultivation of sociomathematical norms influences leaders' understanding of the process of creating mathematically rich environments and the impacts on their practices. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Mumme, Judith Catherine Carroll Elham Kazemi Rebekah Elliott WestEd CA Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 1895999 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554217 July 1, 2006 Across the Sciences: Multidisciplinary Learning for Teachers through Multimedia. Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) will conduct a professional development series to improve the content knowledge of science teachers. "Across the Sciences," a ten-unit series requiring approximately 145 hours to complete, will better qualify 9th and 10th grade science teachers to teach multicisciplinary science courses. The number of these courses is increasing. Teachers prepared in one science discipline will benefit from opportunities to increase and deepen their interdiciplinary science content knowledge and their understanding of student needs associated with learning science. The target audience is in-service and pre-service teachers who anticipate teaching courses that use a multidisciplinary approach, or teachers who over the past 3-5 years have begun to teach multidisciplinary science. Special care is given to materials developed for teachers in resource-poor schools and for those who need additional knowledge to deliver science in a culturally competent framework. Teachers participating in this project have the option to register for college credit through Montana State University and thus move toward recertification and/or earning an advanced degree. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Van Scotter, Pamela David Davis Oregon Public Broadcasting OR David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1199948 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554219 June 1, 2006 Analyzing and Improving Teacher Practices to Foster Discourse in 9th and 10th Grade Mathematics Classes. This project will explore the role of teacher-student discourse in mathematics classes in grades 9 and 10. Their work will take place at one high school with a very diverse student body in New York. They will implement this study to evaluate strategies for improving the frequency and conceptual richness of teacher-student discourse. Since none currently exists in the mathematics education community, the researchers will develop a discourse assessment instrument (DI) for the mathematics classroom. The first year of the project will be used to design and refine this instrument. The researchers will form a study group of teachers at the high school and have them discuss research literature, reflect on practice as observed through the use of the discourse instrument, modify and refine the discourse instrument and explore new strategies. All of this is to be done with a view towards increasing teacher-student rich mathematical discourse and making the teachers action researchers in the project. Two of the lead researchers have been involved in facilitating study groups with teachers in their previous work. The researchers will use teachers as action researchers in this project. Teachers will explore literature on methodology and on classroom discourse. They will engage in research in their own and each other's classrooms, keep journals, participate in designing and refining the instruments and strategies and will disseminate findings along with the research team. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Kabasakalian, Rita Melkana Brakalova Fordham University NY John S. Bradley Continuing grant 335000 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554262 April 1, 2006 CLUSTER: Investigating a New Model Partnership for Teacher Preparation. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This research oriented project integrates the informal and formal science education sectors, bringing their combined resources to bear on the critical need for well-prepared and diverse urban science teachers. It represents a partnership among The City College of New York (CCNY), the New York Hall of Science (NYHOS), and the City University of New York Center for Advanced Study in Education (CUNY-CASE). It integrates the Science Career Ladder, a sustained program of informal science teaching training and employment at the NYHOS, with the CCNY science teacher preparation program. The longitudinal and comparative research study being conducted is designed to examine and document the effect of this integrated program on the production of urban science teachers. Outcomes from this study include a new body of research related to the impact of internships in science centers on improving classroom science teaching in urban high schools. Results are being disseminated to both the informal science education community (through the Association for Science and Technology Centers and the Center for Informal Learning in Schools, an NSF supported Center for Learning and Teaching situated at the San Francisco Exploratorium) and the formal education community (through the National Science Teachers Association and the American Educational Research Association). The Science Career Ladder program engages undergraduates as inquiry-based interpreters (Explainers) for visitors to the NY Hall of Science. Integrating this experience with a formal teacher certification program enables participants to coordinate experiences in the science center, college science and education classes, and K-12 classrooms. Participants receive a license to teach science upon graduating. The approach has its theoretical underpinnings in the concept of situated learning as noted by Kirshner and Whitson (1997, Situated Cognition: Social, Semiotic and Psychological Perspectives, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum). Through apprenticeship experiences, situated learning recreates the complexity and ambiguity of situations that learners will face in the real world. Science centers provide a potentially ideal setting for situational learning by future teachers, allowing them to develop, exercise and refine their science teaching and learning skills as noted by Gardner (1991, The Unschooled Mind, New York: Basic Books). BROADER IMPACT: There is a well-documented shortage of science teachers in urban school districts. The causes of this shortage relate to all phases of the teacher professional continuum, from recruitment through training and retention. At the same time, the demographic composition of American teachers is increasingly out of synch with the demographics of the student population, raising concerns that a critical shortage of role models may be at hand, contributing to a worsening situation in urban schools. In the face of these challenges many innovative teacher recruitment and teacher preparation programs have been developed to augment traditional pathways to teaching. These programs range from high school academies for students expressing an interest in teaching to the recruitment and training of individuals making mid-life career changes. The CLUSTER program described above represents a new alternative. There are more than 250 science centers in the United States. Many of these have extensive youth internship programs and collaborative relationships with local colleges. Therefore, the proposed model is widely applicable. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Gupta, Preeti New York Hall of Science NY Terry S. Woodin Continuing grant 634935 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554269 April 1, 2006 CLUSTER: Investigating a New Model Partnership for Teacher Preparation. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This research oriented project integrates the informal and formal science education sectors, bringing their combined resources to bear on the critical need for well-prepared and diverse urban science teachers. It represents a partnership among The City College of New York (CCNY), the New York Hall of Science (NYHOS), and the City University of New York Center for Advanced Study in Education (CUNY-CASE). It integrates the Science Career Ladder, a sustained program of informal science teaching training and employment at the NYHOS, with the CCNY science teacher preparation program. The longitudinal and comparative research study being conducted is designed to examine and document the effect of this integrated program on the production of urban science teachers. Outcomes from this study include a new body of research related to the impact of internships in science centers on improving classroom science teaching in urban high schools. Results are being disseminated to both the informal science education community (through the Association for Science and Technology Centers and the Center for Informal Learning in Schools, an NSF supported Center for Learning and Teaching situated at the San Francisco Exploratorium) and the formal education community (through the National Science Teachers Association and the American Educational Research Association). The Science Career Ladder program engages undergraduates as inquiry-based interpreters (Explainers) for visitors to the NY Hall of Science. Integrating this experience with a formal teacher certification program enables participants to coordinate experiences in the science center, college science and education classes, and K-12 classrooms. Participants receive a license to teach science upon graduating. The approach has its theoretical underpinnings in the concept of situated learning as noted by Kirshner and Whitson (1997, Situated Cognition: Social, Semiotic and Psychological Perspectives, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum). Through apprenticeship experiences, situated learning recreates the complexity and ambiguity of situations that learners will face in the real world. Science centers provide a potentially ideal setting for situational learning by future teachers, allowing them to develop, exercise and refine their science teaching and learning skills as noted by Gardner (1991, The Unschooled Mind, New York: Basic Books). BROADER IMPACT: There is a well-documented shortage of science teachers in urban school districts. The causes of this shortage relate to all phases of the teacher professional continuum, from recruitment through training and retention. At the same time, the demographic composition of American teachers is increasingly out of synch with the demographics of the student population, raising concerns that a critical shortage of role models may be at hand, contributing to a worsening situation in urban schools. In the face of these challenges many innovative teacher recruitment and teacher preparation programs have been developed to augment traditional pathways to teaching. These programs range from high school academies for students expressing an interest in teaching to the recruitment and training of individuals making mid-life career changes. The CLUSTER program described above represents a new alternative. There are more than 250 science centers in the United States. Many of these have extensive youth internship programs and collaborative relationships with local colleges. Therefore, the proposed model is widely applicable. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Steinberg, Richard Barbara Schroder Bert Flugman Federica Raia CUNY City College NY Terry S. Woodin Continuing grant 1359998 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554309 June 15, 2006 Mathematics for Teaching: A Problem-based Resource for Teachers. This project builds on a very successful program of summer institutes for mathematics teachers, graduate students and university faculty at the Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) run by the Institute for Advanced Study and supported in part by Boston University and EDC. In this project they will produce, publish and disseminate a strong mathematics content curriculum for in-service secondary mathematics teachers and prepare a group of specialized teacher-leaders to deliver this curriculum across the country. The program works on the theory that an immersion experience moves teachers to a higher order of understanding; formality and precision are crucial in mathematics; and teachers thrive in a mathematical community. Important components of this project are that expert teachers will ensure that the mathematics is relevant to the professional lives of secondary teachers and mathematicians will be core members of the development and review team. The materials produced for these courses contain ingredients for a problem-driven curriculum connecting advanced mathematical knowledge with the mathematics used by secondary teachers, in and out of their classrooms. Mathematics courses that connect upper-division university mathematics to secondary mathematics are not typically available to teachers. This program uses very well respected mathematics and mathematics educators to prepare content rich materials that will be tested at a prominent facility with teachers. They will also be working with presenters at this time to prepare facilitators guides for the materials. The developers currently have five three-week courses. The proposal will allow them to 1) add exposition and detailed commentary for facilitators; 2) add courses where there may be gaps in the mathematical topics and 3) prepare teachers who will work with mathematicians to develop and teach the materials to their colleagues using the PCMI professional development approach. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Griffiths, Phillip Albert Cuoco C. Clemens Institute For Advanced Study NJ John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1199783 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0554379 June 15, 2006 Teaching Ecosystem Complexity through Field Science Inquiry. This four-year project results in a training manual, web-based resources, and training opportunities in field-based ecology for high school teachers. The teacher professional development is led by Professional Development Providers (PDPs), teams of scientists, science educators and experienced teachers who provide in-service teacher training. Some PDP are located at nature centers and similar sites where PDPs engage in ecological research. The training manual provides directions for engaging classroom teachers in real ecological research. The project is based upon prior work by scientists and educators in five Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and is designed to increase teacher content knowledge in ecological concepts, improve their higher level thinking skills and interest more Hispanic students in ecology. To support the latter objective the project's materials are translated into Spanish. Recruitment of teachers who are proficient in Spanish for pilot and field-testing of the materials in Spanish occurs at four of the five sites. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Dresner, Marion Andrew Moldenke John Moore Ariel Lugo Portland State University OR David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1191340 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554405 May 1, 2006 TECT: Teaching Engineering to Counselors and Teachers. "Teaching Engineering to Counselors and Teachers (TECT)" is a proof-of-concept project to develop, test and evaluate a diversity-enhanced, STEM-based, professional development workshop for high school teachers and career guidance counselors. The project team is developing educational materials and running workshops that focus on pedagogical methods for incorporating hands-on activities into STEM classrooms in order to expose all students to technology and engineering. The long-term goal is to broaden and increase the diversity of students entering engineering-based college degree programs. In addition, improved career guidance counselor training materials are being created to assist counselors in promoting engineering careers to a wider audience of students. This project uses an existing NSF funded ATE project that focuses on high school students who are underrepresented in engineering by involving them in a competitive program, Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS), which is conducted via after school clubs and summer camps. This project makes use of the existing summer camps as a time to conduct teacher and counselor in-service education to promote a view of diversity in engineering and technology education. The teacher and counselor workshops are one week in length and are held in conjunction with the summer camps. In the summer workshops associated with the camps, the teachers and counselors are observers of students, learners of new content and participants in teaching. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Gehrig, Gary James Conrad Stephen Kuyath Deborah Bosley Lyndon Abrams University of North Carolina at Charlotte NC Daniel Householder Continuing grant 300000 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554414 June 1, 2006 Professional Development Materials to Develop Student Knowledge and Skills of Scientific Argumentation. The "Professional Development Materials to Develop Student Knowledge and Skills of Scientific Argumentation" project is a proof of concept project. This project proposes to produce prototype professional development materials to enhance the capacity of middle school teachers to increase students' science knowledge and argumentation skills (making claims, challenging claims, supporting claims with reasons, criticizing those reasons and explaining judgments). Subsequent to the development of the prototype, the project investigates the level of teacher implementation of the professional development materials. A total of 36 middle school teachers participate in the piloting of the professional development resources. Teachers participate in two weeks (60 hours) of professional development to learn how to implement the curriculum in their classrooms. They engage in 90 hours of on-line and after school activities to refine their understanding of argumentation skills. Approximately 1000 7th grade students will be impacted by the project. The project documents the development of scientific argumentation skills of the middle school students. The argumentation skills are predicted to benefit students beyond the middle school years. Research data on cognitive strategy, instructional procedures, cooperative discussion, writing protocols and the effectiveness of the professional development support material will be collected. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Ellis, James Janis Bulgren University of Kansas Center for Research Inc KS Sharon J. Lynch Standard Grant 351684 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554416 July 15, 2006 Developing an Integrated Assessment and Support System for Elementary Teacher Education. This is a multi-faceted project for which the project team is developing, implementing and evaluating a prototype for an integrated assessment system in elementary teacher education in mathematics. The system is: (a) supporting the development of student teachers in using mathematical content and language/reading knowledge for teaching mathematics; (b) supporting the development of the school faculty and university faculty who work with them, in analyzing teaching practice and providing feedback; (c) facilitating cooperation and common understanding across these different communities of practice; and (d) warranting the quality of the teacher education program and the decisions made about readiness-to-teach mathematics. The project is focusing on three settings for professional learning: the subject matter methods course and related field instruction; the student teaching semester and related seminar; and, for assessment purposes, the initial induction year. The project also is documenting both the development of the student teachers in the practice of teaching mathematics to students from diverse backgrounds and of cooperating teachers and field instructors as they learn to analyze the practice of the student teachers and provide feedback. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The intellectual merit of this project lies in the development, implementation, research and evaluation of the assessment system. The research questions being examined are: 1. To what extent does the available evidence support the validity of the assessment system for supporting and monitoring learning, for warranting decisions about readiness to teach, and for evaluating the quality of the teacher education program? 2. To what extent does the assessment system differentiate among teachers with different levels of experience? 3. To what extent does the available evidence demonstrate student teachers' capability of working in different contexts and with students from diverse academic, socioeconomic, language and racial and ethnic backgrounds? 4. What is the developmental trajectory of Cooperating Teachers and Field Instructors participating in the curriculum with respect to (a) their mathematical knowledge for teaching and (b) their ability to analyze, evaluate and give useful feedback on teaching practice -- especially as it relates to the use of mathematical content knowledge and knowledge of reading/language for teaching mathematics? BROADER IMPACTS: The prototype system is being documented and disseminated such that other education programs can either adopt it as is, adapt it to their local context or develop a system of their own following its developmental principles. Implementation of the system is designed to facilitate collaborative learning between school and university communities and to allow educational institutions and agencies to document the validity of local decisions about beginning teachers' readiness to teach. The preparation materials being developed -- which include a set of analyzed records of teaching practice along with guidelines for using these materials -- are being made available electronically and via workshops, presentations and peer-reviewed publications so that teacher education programs and agencies can use them for professional and program enhancement and development. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Moss, Pamela Annemarie Palincsar Deborah Ball Mark Wilson Tim Boerst University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Lee L. Zia Continuing grant 1586202 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554434 August 1, 2006 How Do Induction and Continuing Professional Development Affect Beginning Middle School Math Teachers' Instruction and Student Achievement?. This project will study the impact and effect of the use of induction for first year middle grades mathematics teachers in three districts in Tennessee and Kentucky, including rural and urban settings. The purpose of this proposal is to study the links of components of induction to improved instruction and student achievement. In the first year the team will develop a conceptual framework for the study of the induction process and adapt and refine a coherent, integrated set of research instruments. During the course of the project they will 1) draft the instruments; 2) validate these ideas and findings through focus groups; 3) hold a working conference to share ideas, and to assess the face and content validity of the instruments and 4) conduct two rounds of cognitive interviews to refine the instruments. In years two to five they will study the sources of support for new math teachers' content and pedagogical content knowledge development, including mentorship, formal and informal interactions with other teachers and other aspects of school and district induction. They will build on earlier work to explore how the quality of these supports influences the development of middle school math teachers' content and pedagogical content knowledge, the content and quality of their instruction and their students' achievement. They will initiate a longitudinal study of all new middle school math teachers in each of three districts (estimated at 15 new teachers per district), using their portfolio of research instruments. In the second and third years of the longitudinal study, they will add an additional cohort of beginning teachers in each district as well as continue to follow the teachers who they began to study the prior year, for a total of 135 teachers across the four-year longitudinal study. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Smith, Thomas Laura Desimone Vanderbilt University TN Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1930146 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554440 March 15, 2006 TPC Proof-of-Concept: Digital Libraries go to School. The primary goal of this project is to help teachers learn to use NSDL resources in ways that meaningfully affect their practice in STEM content areas while increasing their skills as designers of learning activities. The target audience is in-service middle school and high school math and science teachers and student-educators in pre-service math and science courses. The objectives of this three-year project are to: 1) design and implement a teacher development model; 2) design and implement a STEM content development model; 3) contribute teacher-designed learning activities to NSDL; and 4) use evaluation and research to measure impact on teaching. The teacher/content development model will be pilot tested in workshops with small groups of in-service teachers in Utah and New York in urban and rural districts. Participants will receive follow-on support from project experts and peers. At the same time, teacher-created content will be reviewed according to a rubric developed by an external Review Committee and contributed to NSDL. The workshop curriculum will be adapted for use in pre-service teacher education classes at SUNY Cortland and USU. Pre-service participants will receive support from in-service teacher communities and project experts. Workshop materials will be adapted for delivery in alternate formats. Evaluations of the impact on teaching and STEM content knowledge will be conducted throughout the project by project staff and an external evaluator. The institutions involved include Utah State University, the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Core Integration at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and the State University of New York at Cortland. NATIONAL SMETE DIGITAL LIBRARY TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Recker, Mimi Kaye Howe Utah State University UT Michael Haney Standard Grant 491587 7444 7271 SMET 9178 9177 7444 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554441 July 1, 2006 Content Mentoring and Its Impact on Middle Grades Mathematics and Science Teacher Effectiveness. This is a proposal to test whether mentoring middle school science and math teachers by University Ph.D. STEM faculty has a positive effect on the teachers' understanding of science, their teaching ability and the learning outcomes of their students. This proposal will investigate the impact of content mentoring by University professionals on middle school science and mathematics teachers' knowledge, skills, dispositions and overall ability to effectively facilitate student learning and achievement. The goal of this research study is to strengthen the theoretical underpinning of best practices in middle grades math and science teaching and to enhance the knowledge base for teacher recruitment, preparation, induction and retention DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Boger, David Elizabeth Davis Robin Liles North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University NC Julia Clark Continuing grant 1500000 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554468 August 1, 2006 Project I.D.: Instrument Development for Exploring the Professional Growth Continuum. "Project I.D." is identifying pivotal experiences of career science teachers that have promoted their advancement along the teacher professional continuum. The goal of the project is to develop an instrument that informs researchers about professional development opportunities that successful, empowered science teachers recall as having impacted their teaching and their overall sense of professionalism. The project is using a methodology in which teachers draw behavior over time (BOT) graphs while telling their stories of empowerment. An earlier study of 15 teachers identified three distinct phases of professional growth during the careers of teachers. "Project I.D." continues this investigation during year one with a new group of 50 teachers, half of which are drawn from the Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science Teaching. The remaining teachers roughly approximate the makeup of science teachers statewide. During year two the 50 teachers meet in small regional focus groups of ten teachers each. These focus groups identify pivotal career experiences and assist in the early development of an instrument. The project is designing an instrument that collects similar data more efficiently through the use of technology. During year two, the project is administering this instrument to a group of 50 teachers and then to a larger group of teachers (250+). In year three, the project is administering the instrument to still larger groups of teachers. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Barufaldi, James Mary Hobbs University of Texas at Austin TX David A. Hanych Continuing grant 286311 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554470 June 1, 2006 An Investigation of Elementary Teachers' Learning, Understanding and Use of Research-based Knowledge about Students' Mathematical Thinking. This is a Full Scale Research TPC Project that is using classroom and individual teaching experiments, along with numerous and extensive interviews, to investigate how pre- and in-service elementary school teachers construct meaning and pedagogical relevance for research on students' mathematical thinking before, during and after instruction that presents teacher-friendly syntheses of that research. The project is investigating: (a) the nature of teachers' understandings of students' mathematical thinking before and after instruction on that thinking, (b) the processes by which teachers learn about students' mathematical thinking while participating in instruction, (c) factors affecting teachers' learning of this material and (d) effects of learning this material on teachers' conceptualizations of mathematics learning, teaching and assessment (including annual state mathematics assessments). Such research is crucial for designing, implementing and assessing mathematics education programs throughout the teacher professional continuum. It is helping educate teachers to deal with two major forces: teaching mathematics in ways that produce deep conceptual understanding and achieving success in annual state mathematics assessments. Project results are being disseminated through two other grant projects, a "Teachers for a New Era" project and a "PROM/SE NSF MSP" project. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Battista, Michael Michigan State University MI David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1152228 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554472 May 1, 2006 Communities of Effective Practice: A Professional Stem Development Model for Teachers of American Indian Students. This pilot project establishes and implements a professional development model with teachers of Native American students by creating a culturally relevant science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teacher in-service model for 30 grade 4-6 teachers from schools from two nations in Utah. The in-service program relies on community advisory panels, current standards and best practices in science, mathematics and technology education, by implementing engineering and technology education activities as a means of teaching science and mathematics. The goal is to improve teacher preparation in science and mathematics for Native Americans by creating culturally relevant curriculum materials with the help of community advisory panels and providing each teacher participant with at least 100 hours of structured professional development. The long-range goal is to develop an in-service model that can be transported to other Native American nations and schools. STEM and education faculty, community teachers, parents and leaders, as well as, tribal elders are to work together to assure the professional development model and materials are developed in a culturally inclusive manner. The evidence-based outcome of this project is that Native American students effectively learn mathematics and science with the longer-term influence being improvement in student achievement. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Becker, Kurt Rebecca Monhardt James Barta Utah State University UT Joseph Reed Continuing grant 299854 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554477 August 1, 2006 Small Sustainable Alternatives to Big Reform. This exploratory project would survey available instruments for annual teacher performance assessment, seeking those that are conceptually consistent with the reform-oriented mathematics and science instruction. The PI expects to identify and analyze several instruments that have empirical support and are aligned with "the operating constraints of school districts." The project would develop a web-based index of these protocols and their relevant support literature. This exploratory project is intended as groundwork for a larger project exploring the PI's hypothesis that an effective teacher assessment instrument coupled with feedback to teachers would drive significant and low cost school reform. The larger project would study several school districts that use one of the highly rated assessment instruments, documenting the impact of the constructive feedback provided to teachers on their subsequent practice. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Kennedy, Mary Michigan State University MI Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 159887 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554486 June 1, 2006 Linking Teacher Preparation to Student Learning in Mathematics and Science. This full scale research project is examining relationships among pre-service teachers' developing understanding of learning in mathematics and science, the enactment of these understandings as they begin teaching and the learning outcomes of their students. The objectives are (1) to inform the design of teacher preparation programs, pushing beyond craft to evidence-based design choices based on models of teacher learning trajectories, and (2) to support the development of appropriate tools to assess the impact of teacher preparation program features on elementary- and middle-school student learning. Research teams at Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh are documenting and analyzing undergraduate and graduate students' developing conceptions of mathematics and science learning as they move through their teacher preparation programs and into their first teaching assignment. Analyses of participants' performances on structured assessments, supplemented by interviews and observations, are utilized in a longitudinal design to articulate trajectories of change in participants' understandings. In addition, the research teams are assessing the learning of participants' Grade 2-6 students, using tasks that tap understanding of these targeted ideas. The research addresses a well-documented gap in scholarship on the development of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and the impact of this knowledge on both teaching practice and student learning. The work includes the development of valid measures to assess the "value added" of teacher preparation programs for student learning. The project is a first step toward developing a network of scholars in university-based teacher preparation programs that vary in size, duration and approach. This network will pursue coordinated research on the typical trajectories of development in university-based teacher preparation programs and on how variations in learning affect teachers' later effectiveness in supporting student learning. The objective is to provide empirical findings on the implications of different program design choices and thus enable the optimization of key variants. The longitudinal investigation is organized around a small number of "linchpin" concepts in mathematics and science that are associated with a well-articulated research base on student learning. This study is intended to provide a model for conducting research on teacher preparation in a comparative manner. Moreover, the assessments of teacher and student learning will have wide value outside the participating network of scholars and will assist in the broader effort to enhance the contribution of teacher education programs to our national goals for improving education. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Singer-Gabella, Marcy Ellice Forman Jennifer Cartier Vanderbilt University TN Joan T Prival Continuing grant 1993904 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554527 May 1, 2006 Resources for Supporting Lesson Study in Mathematics. Building on the work of the "Lesson Study Communities in Secondary Mathematics" project, this three-year initiative creates professional development materials that support secondary mathematics teachers in improving teaching and learning through lesson study. Resources include a lesson study course for teachers and a leadership guide for lesson study leaders and coaches. Together, these resources support school districts in launching a lesson study program with a strong mathematical focus, an emphasis on teacher learning within the lesson study model and support for building the local lesson study leadership needed to implement and expand a lesson study program. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Gorman, Jane June Mark Education Development Center MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 899773 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554535 June 1, 2006 Designing Learning Organizations for Instructional Improvement in Mathematics. This five-year project investigates, tests and refines a comprehensive set of conjectures about school and district support structures that enhance the effectiveness of teacher development interventions in mathematics. The project involves middle schools in four urban school districts that have partnered with the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh and has both a formal hypothesis-testing component and a design research component. One outcome of the project is an implementation support framework that identifies key support structures, explains why they are important and illustrates how their development can be accomplished. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Cobb, Paul Thomas Smith Vanderbilt University TN James T. Fey Continuing grant 2268861 7645 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554541 July 1, 2006 SOAR (Strategic Organization, Assistance, and Resources) for Washington Mathematics. This conference was designed to assist districts and schools across the state to develop strategic and coherent plans for professional development in mathematics to improve instruction and achieve higher levels of mathematical learning for all students. There will be two weeklong summer conferences for participants to experience and analyze the potential merits of five innovative professional development resources for elementary mathematics. This project has three main goals: 1) to experience and analyze professional resources in elementary mathematics teacher development; 2) to mobilize districts within the state to develop five-year action plans aimed at elementary teacher development; and 3) to create a network of elementary professional educators who can support one another as they design and carry out their action plans. The expected outcomes from these conferences are as follows: 1) Participating districts will create a five-year action plan to strengthen the knowledge and skills of elementary mathematics teachers in order to improve student learning that includes an assessment of that plan. 2) The conference organizers will develop a statewide website to give districts access to the action plans, descriptions of professional resources for elementary mathematics teachers and an up-to-date directory of state expertise in mathematics professional development. 3) There is a commitment from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for continued funding to support annual face-to-face networking of professional educators in elementary mathematics. During the first summer conference teams from schools and/or districts have the opportunity to experience and analyze the professional development resources. Each school or district sends a four to six person team that may include administrators, teacher leaders, curriculum developers and specialists, and parents. The total attendance should be about 100 participants. Between the two summers the principal investigators and the panelists will meet with each participating team to further develop their action plan. This work will be supported by funding from participating schools and/or districts. During the second summer conference participating teams receive support as they build capacity in their schools or districts to use the resources showcased in the first conference. Participating teams must identify a cadre of professional educators (e.g., curriculum specialists, coaches and/or teacher leaders) who will become more knowledgeable in the use of the materials that have been included in their long-term plans. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Kazemi, Elham University of Washington WA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 199974 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0554556 June 15, 2006 Analyzing and Building Science Inquiry Skills through Evidence-based Technology Integration. The purposes of this proof-of-concept project are to assist teachers in analyzing their own science inquiry skills as well as those of their students via the development of an inquiry skill analyzer (iSA); and to assist teachers in selecting, designing, developing, implementing and evaluating technology-supported learning activities to develop science inquiry skills, especially in identified weak areas through the development of an inquiry activity portal (iAP). The iSA is a non-threatening, learner-friendly environment to diagnose strengths and weaknesses in science as inquiry (both student and teacher). Teachers can use that analysis to select and adapt technology-enhanced inquiry activities found in the iAP to target specific skills development. The iSA will allow teachers to track student progress in inquiry skills and to evaluate the effects of the chosen activities to guide their future practice. The iAP will provide teachers with easily identifiable resources that target specific inquiry skills and it will also provide science teachers with a platform to share their experiences and evidence of student results from using the resources, thus building a community of practice among middle grade science teachers interested in improving inquiry skills. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Lou, Yiping Pamela Blanchard Louisiana State University & Agricultural and Mechanical College LA Michael Haney Standard Grant 394650 7645 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0554566 May 1, 2006 System-wide Change: An Experimental Study of Teacher Development and Student Achievement in Elementary Science. "System-wide Change: An Experimental Study of Teacher Development and Student Achievement in Elementary Science" tests the impact on student achievement of a content-rich, systemic intervention in teacher development for elementary school science in a large, urban school district. "System-wide Change" is a broad-based approach to science teaching and learning that involves a partnership among university scientists, science educators, and K to 12 practitioners. It addresses preservice and in-service teacher education and curricular development and is supported by a comprehensive NSF Math and Science Partnership (MSP) known as SCALE (System-wide Change for All Learners and Educators). The study will test the achievement benefits of the System-wide Change elementary science component, which provides fourth- and fifth-grade teachers with professional development in summer institutes and ongoing coaching and mentoring in the use of detailed instructional guides for elementary science. The instructional guides contain conceptual lessons coupled with science immersion units that bring teachers and students through a full cycle of inquiry in core problems of scientific investigation. This should lead to deeper understanding of science, higher scores on science achievement tests, and reduced inequality of science achievement. The experiment contrasts (a) schools with lead teachers who attended a summer institute and all of whose fourth- and fifth-grade teachers receive coaching and mentoring to implement the instructional guides, with (b) control schools whose teachers received the instructional guides but not the associated professional development. This research will reveal the causal impact of the teacher development activities on student learning of standards-based science. It will take place in Los Angeles, the largest district in the SCALE partnership and a context in which raising test scores in science is a great need and high priority. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Gamoran, Adam Geoffrey Borman Theodore Bartell Kimberle Kelly University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 2000000 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554579 May 1, 2006 A Study of Professional Learning Communities Amongst Secondary Science & Mathematics Teachers: Changes, Support Systems, Student Learning. This 52-month research project is designed to study the Partnership for Reform in Secondary Science and Mathematics (PRiSSM) professional development model that began in summer, 2004 with 45 lead teachers from 22 schools across six Washington state school districts. Mathematics and science teachers from feeder middle and high schools were supported in forming cross-district, cross-discipline professional learning communities (PLCs). The PLCs first developed a common vision of high quality teaching and learning, then collaboratively developed and pursued an inquiry question focused on instructional practice. Approximately 100 "Expanded Team" teachers will join PRiSSM in both 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 to establish school-based PLCs, led by the lead teachers and supported by PRiSSM facilitators. Teacher activity in this school university collaboration includes 1) participation in the year-long PLC collaborative inquiry and, 2) forty hours of summer coursework or other PD related to the area of inquiry. The research on this model will contribute to the knowledge base on professional development through an empirical investigation of the model of supported teacher collaborative inquiry described above. Specifically, the research addresses how the interactions amongst PLC teachers contribute to new understandings about teaching, learning, and disciplinary content, and whether this translates into changes in classroom practice. A mixed methods research design will be used. Four PLCs will be purposely selected to provide in-depth understandings of the relationships amongst supported teacher collaborative inquiry, changes in classroom practices and improved student learning. Individual teacher case studies will be conducted inside these larger contexts. Teacher learning in relation to PD implementation will be determined with a variety of instruments including classroom observations, participant interviews, surveys and audio/video records of PLC meetings. Student achievement relative to national science and math content standards will be assessed through researcher-designed, classroom-based assessments as well as standardized state assessments. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Nelson, Tamara David Slavit Anne Kennedy Washington State University WA Julia Clark Continuing grant 1744492 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554594 August 1, 2006 Undergraduate Science Course Reform Serving Pre-service Teachers: Evaluation of a Faculty Professional Development Model. This project focuses on critical needs in the preparation and long-term development of pre-service, undergraduate, K-6 teachers of science. The goal is to investigate the impact on these students of undergraduate, standards-based, reform entry level science courses developed by faculty based on their participation in the NASA Opportunities for Visionary Academics (NOVA) professional development program. Thirty reform and 30 comparison undergraduate science courses from a national population of 101 diverse institutions, stratified by institutional type, are being selected and compared in a professional development impact design model. Data is being collected using multiple quantitative and qualitative instruments and analyzed using comparative and relational studies at multiple points. Research questions to be explored include: determination of short-term impacts on undergraduate students and long-term effects on graduated in-service teachers in their own classroom science teaching; identification of characteristics of reform courses that produce significant impacts and identification of characteristics of effective faculty development efforts. The intellectual merit of the project evolves from the large sample of reformed courses available for study (all based on the same extensive longitudinal professional development model developed through NOVA). The study is advancing understanding of effective faculty professional development and of the characteristics of undergraduate science courses that impact student subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge. The broader impacts of the project stem from the diversity of the student populations and variety of the institutions involved in the study. The population from which the study sample is drawn consists of over 30% minority institutions, is geographically diverse, and is representative of the variety of teacher preparation institutions. The study is advancing the teaching, training and learning of undergraduate science faculty and their students at the 30 institutions directly involved and, more broadly, at a national network of institutions. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Sunal, Dennis Dean Zollman Cheryl Mason Cynthia Sunal University of Alabama Tuscaloosa AL Terry S. Woodin Continuing grant 1688752 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554615 July 1, 2006 The Classroom Ecosystem Explorer (CEE): Developing and Testing a Multimedia Tool to Support Early Grades Instruction in Science. The Classroom Ecosystem Explorer (CEE), a proof of concept project, is designed to assist K-3 teachers in teaching life and physical science for conceptual understanding. CEE integrates videos, stills and voice-over into one multimedia web-based tool. The video presentations are organized to teach practicing or pre-service teachers to analyze complex classroom dynamics and students' preconceptions, scientific understandings or misconceptions. CEE is intended for use in teacher education and professional development programs. The program provides teachers with experiences in understanding details related to the "how" of high quality science teaching. The professional development activities illuminate what happens in planning and in arranging science classrooms to promote student learning. The project will implement a quasi-experimental research design where researchers compare the implementation of three models. This project impacts approximately 30 teachers and an estimated 600 students. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Erickson, Frederick Noel Enyedy University of California-Los Angeles CA Sharon J. Lynch Continuing grant 370000 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0554616 September 1, 2006 Learning Assistant Model of Teacher Education in Science and Technology. The "Learning Assistant Model for Teacher Education in Science and Technology (LA-TEST)" research project is testing the effectiveness of the 'Learning Assistant Model' for recruiting, preparing, and retaining STEM K-12 teachers. Talented undergraduate STEM majors are hired as Learning Assistants (LAs) to work with STEM faculty to transform undergraduate courses. These LAs are the target of teacher recruitment efforts. Fifteen percent of the STEM majors who have participated as LAs have decided to become K-12 teachers as a result of their LA experience, most of whom have formally committed to teach in high-needs school districts. Three specialized research teams are investigating the development of content and pedagogical knowledge among LAs, as well as their teaching practices. The work of each research team is being synthesized to demonstrate the effectiveness of the LA model for improving secondary and post-secondary STEM and teacher education. This project has broader impacts including the development of a suite of survey instruments that can be used by researchers interested in testing the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs or course transformations in general, or conceptual or pedagogical knowledge specifically. The LA model itself can be used as a mechanism for recruiting teachers, enhancing student knowledge and facilitating the transition of STEM majors from two- to four-year colleges. The project's intellectual merit is evidenced by its multi-disciplinary nature involving a broad range of expertise, research methodologies and contexts. This project is producing a more complete picture of the teacher professional continuum focusing not only on teacher certification programs and K-12 contexts but also on students' experiences in STEM departments and the role of STEM research faculty in preparing future teachers. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Otero, Valerie Michael Klymkowsky Steven Pollock Derek Briggs University of Colorado at Boulder CO Joan T Prival Continuing grant 2018525 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0554651 April 1, 2006 Designing Professional Development Resources that Lead to Effective Science and Expository Writing Instruction. This project would develop professional resources to help elementary teachers strengthen their students' writing skills, particularly writing in science notebooks. The proposed resources would include print and multi-media formats for teachers and handbooks for their professional development providers. The project is based on a highly successful program developed in the Seattle Public Schools. During the program's six-year history it has undergone extensive evaluation by Inverness Research Associates demonstrating the program's efficacy and positive impact on student performance. Co-PI Fulwiler received foundation grants to further develop and refine components of these resources. Prior to dissemination the proposed resources would undergo further field tests in central Washington and rural Maine. Heinemann Publishers is committed to publishing the completed resources. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Woo, Elaine Betsy Rupp Fulwiler Kathryn Show Seattle Public Schools WA Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 909671 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0554652 November 1, 2006 Inquiry into Practice. "Inquiry into Practice" is a five-year sequence of research on teacher professional development that is documenting how middle and secondary school science teachers first develop a perspective on science learning, translate that perspective into their own teaching practice and finally make explicit links to their colleagues. The research is carried out in the tradition of design research in education that bridges theoretical research and educational practice. Specifically, it is investigating the impact of professional development based on model-based reasoning, supported by Lesson Study and an apprentice-like program in teacher leadership. The program consists of two cycles of professional development with selected teachers in California. A cohort of 30 teachers begins the program in year one and a second cohort in year three. Each cycle includes two summer institutes in which teachers learn to use scientific data to construct and apply explanatory models. Each institute also includes modeling of effective pedagogical strategies and instruction in leadership skills. Over the two years, the emphasis gradually changes from primarily instruction in scientific models to primarily instruction in leadership skills. Each cycle also includes academic year support through Lesson Study groups. Multiple measures are used including teacher content knowledge and facility with models instruments as well as classroom observations, interviews and analysis of teacher writings and lesson plans. The key research questions of the project are: 1. What are teachers' understandings of critical science concepts and how do their understandings change when they approach science as a process of producing and testing models? 2. What are teachers' conceptions of effective pedagogical practices in the science classroom and how do those perspectives change through their own experiences with a modeling approach? 3. What roles do teachers currently play at their school sites and how does participation in the program affect their work with teachers at their school site and in other settings? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Passmore, Cynthia Wendell Potter University of California-Davis CA Julia Clark Continuing grant 1414299 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0600171 February 15, 2006 A Conference to Synthesize and Advance Research on Teachers' Use of Mathematics Curriculum Materials, February 15-16, 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona. This conference provides a forum to compile and synthesize contemporary research on teachers' use of mathematics curriculum materials. The conference supports the development of an edited book on this topic by bringing authors together and enhancing the focus and coherence of the book. Another important outcome of the conference is the creation of a community of scholars and practitioners who do research in this area. Participants in the conference will include authors of selected book chapters, members of the research advisory board, and members of the practitioner advisory board. The expected book audience is composed of mathematics education researchers, curriculum developers, professional developers, and school district decision makers. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth Janine Remillard Gwendolyn Lloyd Iowa State University IA Paola Sztajn Standard Grant 49481 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0600793 July 1, 2006 Tracking Katrina: Algebra Project Instructional Materials Development Using Stories by Displaced New Orleans Students. The Algebra Project, Inc., will use the opportunity of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to infuse new ideas into the re-building of education in New Orleans. They will use the occasion to introduce new materials for mathematics education that give voice to students' experiences in the aftermath of the hurricanes. These materials will assist educators in New Orleans and many other sites as they work on issues that have been raised by these events. The project has three objectives: (1) to produce classroom instructional materials that use New Orleans students' stories as a starting point for the development of mathematics concepts; (2) to produce a resource database of student-generated stories and other materials and a guide for classroom use; (3) to produce a report by the now dispersed students, teachers and concerned community members from the New Orleans 9th ward with recommendations for addressing the aftermath of the hurricanes in the New Orleans schools as well as in other schools where displaced students are enrolling. The project will use software tailored for the development work and these products will be available for use by others over the internet. The project will enable members of the school community of the Frederick Douglass High School in the New Orleans 9th ward, its feeder middle school and members of two other New Orleans 9th ward high schools to collaborate with the Algebra Project, which has been developing instructional materials for high school mathematics under NSF grant #0137855. Student-generated stories (for example, a story of an evacuation trip) will serve as the starting point for instructional modules that target some specific mathematics concepts contained in the national and state mathematics frameworks for Grades 6-10. Staff of the Algebra Project, and of Students at the Center, will use methods that have already proved effective in their past work to motivate students and local education stakeholders to address educational issues that have arisen in the aftermath of the hurricanes. This project offers a way for educators who have been working with these students and families to facilitate the development of student-centered instructional materials and community-centered ideas for educational initiatives in New Orleans. The project will also generate specific instructional materials that will be useful for years in the future. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Moses, Robert Alan Shaw James Randels Staffas Broussard Algebra Project Inc MA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 199866 7355 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0601731 March 1, 2006 Survey and Analysis of Decision Making in the Displaced Populations from Hurricane Katrina. The researchers propose to conduct a follow up survey of populations displaced by hurricane Katrina. They are aware of previous studies of disasters using survey approaches and have proposed a coherent model of interactions of social and human nature following disasters. RAND had already collected data from 1100 persons in September 2005 and proposes to follow up with further surveys of 300 evacuees in Jackson and Mobile. They would focus questions on decision making for efforts to repatriate or relocate to other communities. They propose to develop a broad analytic framework for simulation modeling of large populations base in utility theory, evacuation network theory, health beliefs, economic theory, and social network theory. The study will collect information from displaced persons to answer questions about their safety and health, their socio-economic background, factors that influenced their decisions during evacuation, and their plans for employment and housing. Their data will permit a descriptive and analytic examination of how their decisions were influenced by factors such as income, religion, and education. They would develop an analytic framework for future follow-up survey data collection efforts. The empirical results of the prior surveys would be analyzed in light of decision-making theories to improve the existing frameworks. They would plan an instrument to follow up evacuees who return to the disaster areas. And finally, they would make progress in developing a general analytic framework for simulation modeling of behaviors of large populations in disaster situations. REESE HSD - DEC, RISK & UNCERTAINTY DRL EHR Patel, Kavita Rand Corporation CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 262470 7625 7322 SMET 9237 9177 7582 0116000 Human Subjects 0607635 February 1, 2006 SGER: Exploratory Study of Data Mining Techniques Applied to Educational Research Data. This SGER proposal seeks to apply emerging research on data mining to the analysis of educational video text. The proposal will review in depth existing literatures from both the mathematics research community and the education research community. An advisory team of leading mathematics educators and statisticians will review the work. One of the expected outcomes of the proposal is reduce the amount of time education researchers must spend in analyzing the video by using these advanced technologies. The study will also explore whether these techniques can provide different insights into video text data. The proposal will contribute to further collaboration between mathematics researchers and education researchers. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Inniss, Tasha Spelman College GA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 68333 1666 SMET 9237 9177 0608013 April 1, 2006 Proposal for an International Conference on Mathematics: Analyses of IEA Studies in Mathematics; November 9-11, 2006; Washington, DC. The purpose of this proposal is to support writing papers for analysis of the data files from the Third (or Trends) International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The themes for the book include curriculum instruction, and school systems. The book would focus on the learning of mathematics, with a specific focus on Algebra. The papers would be presented at an international conference at Brookings Institution in 2006. The International Association for Evaluation in Educational Achievement (IEA) would invite its members to attend a conference to present papers on the analysis of TIMSS. The Brookings institution proposes to use this opportunity while hosting the meeting itself to write a book that conducts secondary analysis of the data sets for the studies that have been conducted in 1995, 1999, and 2003. The proposal contains an outline of the papers that would appear in the final volume. It would address topics related to student achievement such as student ability tracking, technology and instruction, curricular breadth, school size, teacher preparation, and effects of instructional reform. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Loveless, Tom Brookings Institution DC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 150000 1666 SMET 9177 0608936 February 1, 2006 A Workshop to Identify and Clarify Nanoscale Learning Goals; February 2006, Menlo Park, California. This SGER proposal is a response to the urgent need to establish content guidelines and learning goals that can facilitate the development of nanoscience instructional resources for students in grades 7-12. The requested funds would support a meeting of a select group of practitioners, nanoscience researchers, science education researchers and instructional materials development experts to identify the key ideas in nanoscience and order them in a logical learning sequence appropriate for pre-college learners. Several NSF-funded projects currently developing nanoscience instructional resources are challenged by the difficulty of connecting this new and interdisciplinary topic to existing science education standards that are the foundation of traditional secondary science curricula. The proposed project would focus on relating nanoscale content to the standards, identifying developmentally appropriate content for each grade level and developing a vision for the inclusion of new interdisciplinary content in the standards. The availability of a sequenced set of nanoscience learning goals would also inform the education outreach efforts of the NSF-funded Nanoscience and Engineering Research Centers. The project would disseminate findings through an NSF/ESIE Foundations monograph for practitioners and articles in scholarly journals for science and education researchers. All materials would be posted on a public access web site. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Krajcik, Joseph University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 122418 7355 7271 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610053 September 15, 2006 Acceso la Ciencia: Haciendo la Ciencia Accesible para los Padres y de los Ninos Latinos en Comunidades Rurales / Access Science: Making Science Accessible for Latino Parents .... To address a lack of informal science education opportunities and to increase community capacity to support STEM education for their children, Washington State University's Yakima Valley/Tri Cities MESA program, the Pacific Science Center, and KDNA Educational Radio have developed a set of informal science initiatives that offer complementary learning opportunities for rural Latino families. The goal of this four-year program is to create a sustainable informal science infrastructure in southeastern Washington State to serve families, increase parental awareness, support and involvement in science education and ultimately increase the numbers of rural Latino youth pursuing STEM-related under graduate studies. This program is presented in English and Spanish languages in all of its interconnected deliverables. -Two mobile exhibits, beginning with one focused on agricultural and environmental science developed by The Pacific Science (PCS) Center. -Curriculum and training in agriculture, life sciences and facilitating learning. -Curriculum and training for community members to provide support to parents in encouraging the academic aspirations of their children developed by PSC and MESA. -420 Youth and parents from the MESA program trained to interpret exhibits and run workshops, community festivals, family science workshops and Saturday programs throughout the community. - Four annual community festivals, quarterly Family Saturday events, and Family Science Workshops reaching 20,000 people over the four-year project. -Take home activities, science assemblies, a website and CDs with music and science programming for community events. -A large media initiative including monthly one hour call-in radio programs featuring science experts, teachers, professionals, students and parents, 60-second messages promoting science concepts and resources and a publicity campaign in print, radio and TV to promote community festivals. These venues reach 12,500-25,000 people each. -A program manual that includes training, curriculum and collaborative strategies used by the project team. Overall Accesso la Ciencia connects parents and children through fun community activities to Pasco School District's current LASER science education reform effort. This project complements the school districts effort by providing a strong community support initiative in informal science education. Each activity done in the community combines topics of interest to rural Latinos (agriculture for instance) to concepts being taught in the schools, while also providing tools and support to parents that increases their awareness of opportunities for their children in STEM education. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pratt, James Michael Trevisan Washington State University WA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2977584 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0610122 September 1, 2006 Penguin Science. This project will produce an educational 30-minute DVD/TV film and interactive website with classroom materials about climate change and its effects on biota by presenting past and current research on the Adelie penguin, Antarctica's most accessible indicator species. The project will target students in grades 5-8. Each component of "Penguin Science" will present an engaging case study to teach students about ecology, the complex science of climate change and its impacts, both positive and negative. It will not only feature the work of David Ainley and co-PI's Grant Ballard and Katie Dugger, but also William Sladen who began the first NSF-sponsored penguin studies 48 years ago during the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Archival film clips of Sladen and his work from the 1970 documentary, "Penguin City" (CBS), will convey the value of long-term research and show biotic changes during just one professional lifetime. The project will be completed in 2007 to coincide with the International Polar Year. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ainley, David H.T. Harvey & Associates CA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 5299 5298 5295 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610156 February 1, 2006 Cyberinfrastructure for Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education. The PI will review the efforts of ESIE that contribute to NSF's investment in cyberinfrastructure (CI) during the four-year period from January, 2002 until December, 2005. As noted, NSF defines CI in such a way that it includes high performance computing; data, data analysis and visualization; collaboratories, observatories, and virtual organizations; and education and workforce development. It is the contention of the PI that ESIE has contributed to each of these through programs and projects. Since NSF is likely to make a substantial investment in CI in the next few years, it is critical that ESIE capture relevant information about its current portfolio as a foundation to planning future efforts that are more concerted within EHR and symbiotic with other directorates. This project will produce a summary of the current work characterizing the ESIE investment in cyberinfrastructure. It will be reported in narrative and database form and presented in various forums. ITEST DRL EHR Thakkar, Umesh University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IL Michael Haney Standard Grant 12219 7227 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610253 February 15, 2007 Maya Skies: Research and Capacity-building in Fulldome Planetariums. The Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, CA is forming and leading a national collaboration producing Maya Skies, a full-dome digital planetarium theater project with several deliverables: a 25-minute Maya Skies show, a model for collaborative production in the full-dome field, research on full-dome immersion experiences and learning, the establishment of a national consortium of seven full-dome theaters and professional development workshops for the field. The research, conducted by the Institute for Learning Innovation, will test the degree to which personal relevance influences free-choice learning experiences. New technologies for digital, high resolution image data-capturing of archaeological sites will be employed. The project's goal is to advance the digital planetarium field with innovations in show production and research and with increased impact on public audiences and the practice of planetarium professionals. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Zwissler, Alexander David Beining Martin Storksdieck Chabot Space and Science Center CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2801309 7259 SMET 9180 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0610270 August 1, 2006 Native Science Field Centers. Hopa Mountain, in collaboration with Blackfeet Community College, One Step Further, and Ogala Lakota College, will develop "Native Science Field Centers (NSFC)" to provide year-round informal science education for youth ages 8-18 and adults. Informal science education professionals are also served through the publications and materials designed to support programs targeting Native communities. The "NSFCs" will be located on the Blackfeet, Fort Belknap, and Pine Ridge reservations. The centers will develop "TribalWatch" environmental science programs that will be disseminated to six other tribes in the Missouri River Watershed. The "Tribalwatch" programs create a STEM career ladder for youth and adults to develop scientific expertise, knowledge of monitoring and an understanding of management of local lands. New technologies will be created for the evaluation of Native science programs that incorporate indigenous evaluation methodologies. Key partners include the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the Field Museum of Natural History and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Deliverables include "Native Science Field Centers," "TribalWatch" programs and a "TribalWatch" toolkit and training plan. Strategic impact will be realized through capacity building within Native communities, research and documentation of programming practices and dissemination of the toolkit and publications to informal science education professionals, 32 tribal colleges and other educational organizations that serve Native communities. It is anticipated that this project will reach 100,000 Native and non-Native youth, adults and informal science education practitioners in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sachatello-Sawyer, Bonnie Helen Augare Hopa Mountain, Inc. MT Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1998501 7259 SMET 9180 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0610272 August 15, 2006 Science and Technology Program. This project will develop a Digital Technology Institute and Youth Radio Science Desk as new components of the existing Youth Radio organization. The project's Digital Technology Institute and Science Desk will train and engage 450 low-income and underrepresented youth ages 14-24 in Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, DC. An additional 300 youth will be engaged through quarterly community outreach programs. Youth Radio currently reaches wide audiences through traditional media such as NPR and emrging media such as podcasting and vodcasting. This project will produce 60 short-format radio programs for distribution on NPR, iTunes and MTV Interactive, as well as other distribution outlets. Organizational partners include media organizations, scientists and youth organizations around the country, universities and technical partners such as sound and animation studios. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR O'Leary, Ellin Youth Radio CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1292382 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610307 March 1, 2007 STUFF: The Materials that Shape our World. WGBH is requesting funds to produce a four-hour NOVA television special with accompanying Web and outreach activities about the pervasive role of materials in our lives. The overarching goals of the project are to: 1) enhance public engagement in and understanding of materials science, including appreciation of its effects on society; 2) promote collaboration among educators, scientists and community-based organizations to reach a broad audience; and 3) create effective methods of expanding informal science learning that can be evaluated for their lasting impact on the field. The mini-series, "STUFF: The Materials that Shape our World," will offer an appreciation of the human and scientific factors that drive innovation in materials science, from ancient breakthroughs to today's explosion of biological and nanomaterials. The four episodes, themed around "Stronger," "Smaller," "Smarter" and "Cleaner" will provide a clear focus on the interdisciplinary nature of materials science and showcase dramatic stories of past inventions and exciting new discoveries. The NOVA team in association with the Materials Research Society (MRS) will produce the series. The "STUFF" series is anticipated to be broadcast on PBS in the fall of 2008. WGBH and MRS will work with local PBS stations to train local scientists in public outreach. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the project components, and Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the series and the outreach efforts. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION MATERIALS CENTERS & EDUCATION OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1770000 7259 1736 1253 SMET 9180 9177 7259 1736 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610320 September 15, 2006 Outreach To Space -- Collaborative Models for Rural Community Engagement -- Active Science Learning In Informal Public Venues. SCITECH will develop and deliver ten sets of twelve portable interactive exhibits and educational programs on space exploration to 220 venues in five states. The project is based on a collaborative of ten small science museums: Imaginarium (Anchorage, AK); Bluedorn Imaginarium (Waterloo, IA); Science Station (Cedar Rapids, IA); Discovery Center (Rockford, IL); Lakeview Museum (Peoria, IL); SCITECH (Aurora, IL); Evansville Museum of Arts and Science (Evansville, IN); Science Central (Fort Wayne, IN); Children's Science Museum (Terre Haute, IN); Science Works (Ashland, OR). The Exploratorium will build the exhibits and conduct a residency program of professional development for staff from the participating museums. The exhibits and programs are intended to reach some 330,000 people in rural and lower-economic areas at 220 nontraditional destinations (fairs, festivals, libraries, scouts and youth clubs). These activities are designed to increase interest in and knowledge of astronomy and space exploration. In addition, this project will provide capacity building and professional development for the small museums, as well as a model that can be used by others not participating directly in this project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Carlson, Shawn Sarah Wolf Sheldon Schafer Kua Patten Mitch Luman Science and Technology Interactive Center (SCITECH) IL Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2498009 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610333 September 15, 2006 The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Science Unit. MacNeil Lehrer Productions will expand and enhance the work of the The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Science Unit to further the public's awareness and understanding of critical science-rooted issues. The NewsHour Science Unit will have multiple points of impact -- TV, radio, online, podcast, DVD distribution and community-based collaborative outreach. Deliverables include a minimum of 15 documentary-style field reports annually as well as a minimum of 12 in-studio reports, live discussions, and multi-segment series highlighting specific areas of science (e.g. nanotechnology and the International Polar Year). Profiles of individuals working in various scientific fields, as well as online chats with scientists and science policy makers will communicate the excitement and possibilities of scientific careers. Partners in the proposal include the Association of Science and Technology Centers, the PBS Program Club and local PBS stations. During the first year The NewsHour will work with at least five key ASTC members to develop a content sharing partnership that is optimal for all partners. Two initial partners are the Museum of Science, Boston, and the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science. In each subsequent year, an additional five science museum organizations will be added to the local/national network that will use new technologies such as RSS (real time syndication service) and podcasting as well as traditional Web links to deliver materials from The NewsHour to partners as well as from participating organizations to each other and back to the Online NewsHour Web site. Rockman et al will provide evaluation services. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Crystal, Lester MacNeilLehrerProductions VA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 2500000 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610345 August 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: The Trail of Time: A Geoscience Exhibition at Grand Canyon National Park. In this collaborative project, the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Arizona State University (ASU) will create a paved 3-km long walking trail along the south rim of Grand Canyon in partnership with the National Park Service. The "Trail of Time" is to be marked as a time line with one meter corresponding to one million years of Earth history, along with interpretive wayside exhibits. This place-based geoscience exhibition using Grand Canyon as an immersive environment is designed to help visitors gain an understanding of the magnitude of geologic time, as well as key processes and events in the geologic evolution of the region. An online Virtual Trail of Time and printed materials will also be developed. The "Trail of Time" will reach a large percentage of the four to five million people each year who visit the Grand Canyon, including many who would be unlikely to attend an exhibition at a science museum. It also offers new methods of interpretation, with the potential to impact many other sites within the large National Park Service system. The evaluation of learning in this natural setting should add to our knowledge of outdoor interpretation, as well as how best to communicate the concept of deep time. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Semken, Steven Arizona State University AZ Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 272909 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0610348 July 15, 2006 !nformalScience.org: Building a Web Community for Informal Science. The University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE) proposes to redevelop its web-site, http://www.informalscience.org, which has become the primary online resource for researchers and practitioners dedicated to dissemination and development of knowledge about informal science and learning. The redesigned site will include more multimedia elements, an expanded research database and an improved search function. The site will be expanded by adding a quarterly Informal Learning Research newsletter (with the American Educational Research Association), conference reporting, interview articles, monthly evaluation tools and tips articles, Informal Science in the News clipping service, Research Toolkit and a listserv. It also will include digitized resources of the Visitor Studies Association. This web-site will support the continued creation of a cumulative body of empirical research and improve connections between research and practice. In so doing, it will foster the continued development of a community of practice in informal STEM education. This project will significantly enhance a major element of the infrastructure for this field. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Crowley, Kevin Catherine Eberbach Marti Louw University of Pittsburgh PA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 807675 7259 SMET 9180 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610350 October 1, 2006 Community Science Learning through Youth Astronomy Apprenticeships (YAA). -- AWARD NUMBER: 0610350 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Irene Porro INSTITUTION: Massachusetts Institute of Technology TITLE: Community Science Learning through Youth Astronomy Apprenticeships TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT: $ 2,208,077 FY 2006 AWARD AMOUNT: $ 1,264,757 ABSTRACT: Community Science Learning through Youth Astronomy Apprenticeships (YAA) investigates the development of the personal, socio-cultural and physical context of learning through the experience of underrepresented urban high school youth in a three year astronomy and space science program. Science education centers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Boston community-based after school centers and the Institute for Learning Innovation evaluation team will collaborate on developing this project resulting in documentation of the program's impact and a portfolio of tools, strategies and curricula. Through presentations at conferences, support from NASA in identifying potential national sites and a year four national conference for 50 professionals to introduce the tool kit the model will be replicated in various forms on a national scale. Drawing from existing astronomy program for high school students at the Timothy Smith Network Community Technology Centers, youth apprentices partner with program fellows who are recent college graduates trained in the use of remote telescopes, a related astronomy curriculum and National Institute for Out of School Time's project based learning workshop. The fellows work with the apprentices and build relationships with the after school staff at eight of the TSN centers. The apprentices conduct astronomy investigations in partnership with scientists, the fellows and with the use of remote telescopes. They then translate their personal learning and enthusiasm into outreach programs for younger children, families and community members at a series of after school programs, events, Community Star Parties, and local television shows. The project offers 64 adults from after school programs training and support and 360 young people opportunities to continue in progressive levels of independence and responsibility surrounded by a rich array of resources and advisors. The project evaluation documents the key principles and strategies for success that will be useful to future YAA sites. In Boston the outreach program will reach 700 family members, 600 teens and preteens and 600 senior citizens and adults. When the dissemination plan is in full operation 6500-9500 people across the country will participate in astronomy programs connected to the YAA model and the SAO MicroObservatory Remote Telescope Network. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Porro, Irene John Belcher Mary Dussault Susan O'Connor Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 2208077 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0610352 October 1, 2006 Science Now, Science Everywhere. The Liberty Science Center (LSC) will develop "Science Now, Science Everywhere (SNSE)," a three-year project using mobile phones to expand exhibit learning at three LSC exhibits. Goals of the project include conducting intensive research on the capabilities of mobile phones for exhibit learning; developing methods with mobile technology to sustain and expand informal learning beyond the science center; investigating the effectiveness of mobile learning, as a means to engage wider audiences and underrepresented groups in science learning; and inspire new generations of technology users to participate in informal science learning. "SNSE" research will greatly expand upon limited findings on pedagogical and technological issues associated with mobile learning. Results will be disseminated to the field at professional conferences, via the project's website, and at the Association of Science and Technology Centers' RAP Sessions at the Liberty Science Center. An online resource and planned symposia for ISE professionals will be hosted by LSC on the "SNSE" process with review of the research and guidance on how to utilize project prototypes. Collaborators include Caterpillar Mobile, the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at Rutgers University, the Institute for Learning Innovation, and Verizon Communications. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR LaBar, Wayne Denise Bressler Liberty Science Center, Inc. NJ Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1118885 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0610363 July 15, 2006 Citizen Science: Development and Dissemination of a Model for Program Developers. Citizen science projects engage members of the general public in professionally directed research and participatory action research projects that investigate local environmental issues. The Cornell University - Laboratory of Ornithology is requesting funding to support a national conference and the development of a web-based Citizen Science Toolkit to inform these programs. The Toolkit will provide a framework for scientists and educators to develop, implement and evaluate independent citizen science projects. Deliverables include an invitational conference where best practices will be identified, in addition to the electronic toolkit that will include a Citizen Science Manual and instruments for assessing the effectiveness of projects. A virtual community of educators that develop and implement citizen science projects in a variety of STEM areas will be created. It is anticipated this work will improve the quality of citizen science projects across the country. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bonney, Richard Janis Dickinson Kenneth Rosenberg Jason Mobley Steven Kelling Cornell University - State NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 249545 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610378 August 15, 2006 Fierce Forces. The North Alabama Science Center (NASC) will develop an interactive virtual learning experience in atmospheric science that combines a 3-D large-screen format presentation with interactive program activities. The project will be designed to run on the statewide network of Immersive Theaters located at three science centers across Alabama: NASC in Huntsville; Gulf Coast Exploreum in Mobile; and the Alabama Wildlife Federation Field Center in Montgomery. The project concept integrates scientific methods of inquiry into a virtual hands-on learning program, providing a mechanism for social-based informal learning about atmospheric science. To sustain engagement beyond the science center venue, ancillary materials will be developed, including a unique, interactive website. A project advisory committee consisting of members of the informal learning community, industry, academia, pedagogical practitioners and researchers, informed by front-end, formative and summative evaluation, will guide project development. The evaluation will provide findings to inform the future development of immersive theater programs, and other exhibit formats that may combine data visualization with data explorations. The project will expand its audience in Alabama through development of a Spanish-language version and its website developed in concert with the immersive theater program. The North Alabama Science Center's project will allow programs created for its immersive theater system to be used in other content visualization systems at other science centers. As a long-term impact this will enable new venues nationwide utilizing other content visualization systems to use the proposed project at their respective sites. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Moulton, Angela Mike Botts The North Alabama Science Center, dba Sci-Quest AL Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 317158 7259 SMET 9180 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0610393 August 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: The Trail of Time: A Geoscience Exhibition at Grand Canyon National Park. In this collaborative project, the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Arizona State University (ASU) will create a paved 3-km long walking trail along the south rim of Grand Canyon in partnership with the National Park Service. The "Trail of Time" is to be marked as a time line with one meter corresponding to one million years of Earth history, along with interpretive wayside exhibits. This place-based geoscience exhibition using Grand Canyon as an immersive environment is designed to help visitors gain an understanding of the magnitude of geologic time, as well as key processes and events in the geologic evolution of the region. An online "Virtual Trail of Time" and printed materials will also be developed. The "Trail of Time" will reach a large percentage of the four to five million people each year that visit the Grand Canyon, including many who would be unlikely to attend an exhibition at a science museum. It also offers new methods of interpretation, with the potential to impact many other sites within the large National Park Service system. The evaluation of learning in this natural setting should add to our knowledge of outdoor interpretation, as well as how best to communicate the concept of deep time. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES DRL EHR Karlstrom, Karl Laura Crossey University of New Mexico NM Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1829450 7259 1575 SMET OTHR 9180 9177 9150 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610406 August 15, 2006 FETCH With Ruff Ruffman, Season Two. FETCH, produced by WGBH, is a new PBS television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to 6- to 10-year olds. The program brings science learning to young children by uniquely blending live-action with animation, game show convention with reality programming, and humor with academics. The intended impacts are to 1) cultivate in children "scientific literacy" -- an appreciation for and enjoyment of science, the skills necessary to become independent investigators and a broad understanding of scientific concepts; 2) provide project collaborators with content-rich activities for informal science education in a range of settings; and 3) demonstrate how media can be used to teach substantive science. The requested funds will allow the project to expand the science curriculum with 20 new half-hour episodes and expand the Web site, focusing on three new science themes: human body, force and motion, and earth and the environment. In addition, funds will support new educational resources for afterschool partners and a toolkit for FETCH exhibits, which will be developed in coordination with museum partners. Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the television show and the museum toolkit. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 2659999 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610409 October 1, 2006 Wild Research: A Whole-Zoo Exhibit and Inquiry Program. Miami University - Ohio/Project Dragonfly is developing "Wild Research," a multi-faceted collaborative project with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and with a consortium of ten zoos and aquariums around the country, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the Society for Conservation Biology, and Conservation International. Project deliverables include a centrally-located 4,500 square-foot Wild Research Discovery Forest exhibit and six Wild Research Stations around the Cincinnati Zoo, a Wild Research Consortium and Wild Research Leadership Workshops for zoo professionals, conservation scientists and educators, a Wild Research Web site with visitor password access to exhibit data they collected, and 90-second radio pieces for the 90-Second Naturalist program. Institute for Learning Innovation is conducting the formative and summative evaluations. The Ohio Assessment and Evaluation Center is conducting a separate evaluation focused on this extensive institutional collaboration process. The primary public impact is to explore new ways zoos and aquariums can incorporate inquiry-based activities on site and to help visitors understand the work of conservation scientists. The project also aims to improve the practice of zoo and aquarium professionals nationwide in inquiry-based experiences and communicating about conservation science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Myers, Christopher Samuel Jenike Miami University OH Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2491329 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610427 October 1, 2006 WolfQuest: Learning through Gameplay. The Minnesota Zoo and Educational Web Adventures will design and develop "WolfQuest," an online, 3-D, multiplayer videogame based upon the behavior, biology and social structure of the gray wolf. This dynamic interactive experience will allow learners to become a virtual wolf (avatar) to explore gray wolves within an authentic virtual replication of wolf habitat and social structure. The scientifically accurate graphic representations of the virtual environment will afford rich and robust learning of wolf behavior, biology and habitat ecology. Participants are intended to emerge from the learning experience with a clear understanding of wolf conservation issues in the real world. "WolfQuest" is supported by a website that will function as a self-sustaining community of learners who will participate in discussion forums with wolf experts, and receive ongoing gameplay information and interaction with other participants. Additionally, the project website will provide educational guides for parents and teachers, interpretive materials, incentives to reward participants' achievements acquired through "WolfQuest" gameplay and provide a link to informal environmental organizations throughout the country. The national informal education network will afford regional customization of "WolfQuest," as well as provide social interaction among participants and organizations. The national participant network will disseminate and promote the "WolfQuest" game and wolf-related science programs. Two kiosk installations will be deployed at the Minnesota Zoo and the International Wolf Center for extended learning opportunities at those sites. Project assessment will aggregate data on learners' content acquisition, attitudinal change, game engagement and will yield guidelines for the field on effective practices in development of science education games, along with appropriate methodologies for evaluating game-based learning. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Spickelmier, Grant David Schaller Minnesota Zoo Foundation MN Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 609160 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610429 August 1, 2006 DragonflyTV GPS: Smaller Museum Series. Twin Cities Public Television is producing seven new episodes for the DragonflyTV GPS (Going Places in Science) series. DragonflyTV is a weekly science television series on PBS targeted at children ages 9-12. DragonflyTV GPS presents children engaged in inquiry-based investigations, on-location in science centers across America. The purpose of this project is to 1) complete a full season of GPS episodes, giving PBS programmers a complete "season" and 2) shine the GPS spotlight on the network of smaller science museums, showing the distinctive contribution they make to their communities and to informal science education. The series presents authentic inquiry-based investigations, created by and for children. The programs focus on children doing their own scientific investigations and sharing the excitement that comes from making their own discoveries. Each investigation will demonstrate the direct connection between learning experiences in science centers and the application of those lessons in everyday life. DragonflyTV segments are cleared for any and all uses beyond broadcast, and are distributed on DVDs, videotapes, streamed online and even offered for iPod downloads. The GPS programs will involve ten or more science center partners, and be coordinated with the assistance of lead partners -- the Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC) and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Multimedia Research and RMC Research will conduct formative and summative project evaluations, respectively. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Twin Cities Public Television MN Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 1821105 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0610436 October 1, 2006 Geometry Playground: An Immersive Learning Laboratory. The Exploratorium in San Francisco is developing "Geometry Playground: An Immersive Learning Laboratory," a four-year collaborative project with playground designers Landscape Architecture, Inc., the Science Museum of Minnesota, and three science and children's museums around the country (Brooklyn Children's Museum, Sciencenter - Ithaca, NY, Science Works - Ashland, OR). Project deliverables include: an indoor 4,500 square foot traveling exhibition that includes a combination of immersive, table-top hands-on and electronic game elements on spatial and mathematical learning (Shape Garden, Surface City and Pattern Jungle); outdoor versions of selected exhibits from the full exhibition for public and school playgrounds and museums; a Web site that is optimized for Web-enabled mobile phones; three artist residencies related to exhibit design; and Exploratorium-staff conducted research studying variables that affect learning geometry in immersive environments. The project aims to engage public audiences with geometry in new ways both in museums and throughout communities and to improve the profession's knowledge base on learning in physically immersive environments. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Rockwell, Thomas Joshua Gutwill Exploratorium CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2993050 7259 SMET 9180 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0611794 November 1, 2006 Exploring the Impact of Specialists on Science Learning at the Elementary Level: A Conference to be Held in Boston, Massachusetts, Late Fall 2006. The Center for Science Education at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) proposes an invitational conference to define, describe and examine existing models for using elementary science specialists; explore the educational, policy and financial issues that impact the use of science specialists; and most importantly, develop a research agenda to assess the quality and effectiveness of specialist-managed elementary science programs on student outcomes. Existing literature about the role and impact of science specialists is limited. What exists focuses primarily on descriptions of various models and debates about their relative merits. Although many school districts employ different models for using science specialists as a part of their elementary science program, there currently is little about the effectiveness of any of these models in enhancing student science learning. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Pasquale, Marian Education Development Center MA Joseph Reed Standard Grant 165726 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0611994 April 1, 2006 Science & English Language Learners (ELL): Rsch. Practical Approaches & Policy Directions for Classroom Teachers, School & District Level Administrators, & Univ. Teacher Educators. The National Science Teachers Association will host two, one-day conferences on Science and English Language Learners, focusing on the urgent need to provide access and opportunity to learn science to this group of students who constitute the fastest growing segment of K-12 students in the United States. These conferences will be presented in association with the NSTA Area Conference, scheduled for Baltimore in November, 2006, and the NSTA 2007 National Conference in St. Louis. They will feature NSF-funded projects that address demographic, economic, sociocultural and professional perspectives on how science and learning English intersect and overlap. A growing and promising body of research on student learning when science and English are taught in a mutually supportive environment will be presented, highlighting best practices for science education for English Language Learners. An important and heartening impact of that research shows that science can be taught in ways that promote access and achievement for all students, but make the critical difference for students in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms. The audience at each conference is expected to be 400 K-12 teachers, science supervisors, school administrators and professional development specialists. The conferences and the subsequent dissemination of their products will provide timely and much needed guidance to districts, schools and teachers on how best to prepare all students in our increasingly diverse classrooms to meet the science learning requirements of No Child Left Behind. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Douglas, Rowena National Science Teachers Assoc VA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 199857 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0612953 June 1, 2006 Closing the Science and Mathematics Teaching Quality Gap in K12 Schools: Proposal for Symposia. The symposium focuses the nation's attention on a critical policy issue -- the severity of teacher turnover in STEM K-12 mathematics and science -- and identifies evidence-based strategies for addressing this issue. The project proposes a symposium that brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners and opinion leaders. The meeting is designed to: (1) develop a comprehensive picture of the current knowledge base around teacher turnover; and (2) identify key strategies to improve the retention, quality and diversity of the STEM teacher workforce. The Intellectual merit of this proposal lies in building on the established record of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) who have produced several far-reaching reports. The broader impact will be in the identification of policies that can address teacher turnover and retention, disseminate them widely and begin to identify a future research agenda. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Carroll, Thomas Kathleen Fulton Karen Smith Edward Crowe National Commission on Teaching and America's Future DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 180558 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0617664 October 1, 2006 Develop an Innovative Interactive Smart Material Exhibit for Children's Museum of Houston. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project is based on NSF-CCLI-EMD, 0341143, Development of a Smart Vibration Platform Experiment. The 24-month-long project is part of a continuing collaboration between the PI at the University of Houston and the staff of the Children's Museum of Houston (CMH). CMH is in the process of developing an exhibition on "smart materials," and has a stepwise exhibit development plan that involves the PI and his engineering students. The project work is adapting a device on the vibration dampening effect of magneto-rheological (MR) fluids from an educational application in an undergraduate mechanical engineering environment to a museum exhibit for ages 8+. MR fluids have the unusual property of being able to transform from the liquid state to a semi-solid state when subjected to magnetic fields. They are being used in the design of buildings in earthquake prone areas. The development team consists of the PI and college seniors in their Senior Capstone Design course, an education program evaluator at the University, and exhibits and program staff from the museum. Deliverables include a smart materials "earthquake dampening" exhibit and a touch-screen activated "video jukebox" unit on the research scientists and students and on the MR fluid. The CMH Kids' Committee is providing input on the exhibits as well. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Song, Gangbing University of Houston TX Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0618069 May 1, 2006 Conference Proposal: A Study Group on Pacific Island Issues in STEM Education. Since the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, many schools with limited resources have been heavily impacted by this legislation, among them the schools in the Pacific Islands. NSF began addressing this problem by holding a workshop to identify successes and challenges for all Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in November, 2003, in response to the White House Initiative on AAPI (See www.aapi.gov.) The proposed conference will assemble knowledgeable indigenous professionals from a range of U.S. Pacific Island jurisdictions (Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau), Guam, and the state of Hawaii, along with key players from New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and Alaska, to address STEM education, evaluation, and workforce needs among Pacific populations, fulfilling an important recommendation from the field. They will draw from the successes emerging from recent efforts to articulate a set of guiding principles needed to ensure standards for good practice among educators and evaluators in Pacific settings and that can guide practice/decisions in any school working to serve the needs of Pacific Island students. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Nelson-Barber, Sharon WestEd CA Deh-I Hsiung Standard Grant 82966 7261 SMET 9177 0623259 September 1, 2006 Instructional Coaching in Mathematics: Researchers and Practitioners Learning from Each Other -- A Three-day Conference to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, March, 2007. During the past decade teacher professional development has emphasized models that are job-embedded, sustained over time and focused on the nature of classroom teaching. The effectiveness of one of these models -- instructional coaching -- is just beginning to be researched. The goal of the proposed conference is to bring together researchers, mathematics coaches and staff developers of coaches so they can inform each other about their work, develop new questions for research, acquire new coaching tools and strategies and build a professional network for communication and collegial inquiry to be sustained after the conference by electronic communication and file-sharing. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Heuer, Loretta Education Development Center MA James T. Fey Standard Grant 140566 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0623808 February 15, 2007 An innovative approach for attracting students to computing: A comprehensive proposal. This is a proposal for a 3 year, $1,297,456 project to be conducted as collaboration among 5 higher education institutions and one school system across the country, with St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA serving as the lead institution (other collaborators are from Colorado School of Mines, Ithaca College, Santa Clara University, Duke University, and Virginia Beach School System). The primary goal is to attract and retain students in computer science, especially women and underrepresented minorities (including two EPSCoR states). To this end, the project will use Alice, a software program that utilizes 3-D visualization methods, as a medium to create a high-level of interest in computer graphics, animation, and storytelling among high school students, hence to build understanding of object-based programming. Such an IT focus on media and animation is aligned with national computer science standards. The project will build a network of college and high school faculty, who will offer workshops and provide continuing support during the academic year. In each site, pairs of teachers from each participating school (total = 90) will learn with university faculty via a 3-week summer program in which an introduction to using Alice for teaching will be followed by teacher development of materials for students that will then be used to teach high school students. An experimental start at one site will be followed by implementation at four additional sites and culminated with revised implementation at the sixth site (1-4-1 design). ITEST DRL EHR Moskal, Barbara Catherine Skokan Colorado School of Mines CO Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 349889 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624434 February 1, 2007 Medibotics: The Merging of Medicine, Robotics and IT. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is working with faculty, students and staff in four high-minority urban school districts in New Jersey to integrate robotics programming, engineering design and information technology into existing curricula for grades 7-12. NJIT's Newark College of Engineering and the Center for Pre-college Programs (the Institute's outreach program to hard-to-staff school districts) are collaborating to (1) develop grade-appropriate curriculum units and modules aligned with state and national content, educational technology and technological literacy standards, (2) train 60 teachers how to use the instructional materials and (3) place engineering graduate students in middle and high schools to help teachers integrate the materials into their courses. The goal of the project is to enlarge the number of students from underrepresented groups who are interested in pursuing IT and STEM careers by engaging secondary students in ten robotics activities that involve computer programming to solve grade-appropriate biomedical engineering problems. ITEST DRL EHR Rockland, Ronald Howard Kimmel John Carpinelli New Jersey Institute of Technology NJ David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1050814 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624440 October 1, 2006 CSI: Arkansas. The goals of "CSI: Arkansas" are twofold: to improve the science pedagogy (including the use of technology) employed by mid-South Delta region high school teachers and to improve science and technology learning by students with a concomitant increase in the number of students who enter post-secondary education, particularly those who chose STEM/IT career preparation. Workshops for teachers and students will be presented using forensic sciences as an integrating theme. Forensic sciences allows teachers to integrate an inquiry-based approach to pedagogy through a wide variety of activities. Work-force skill development for students will also be facilitated by engaging in team-based problem-solving activities. Teachers will receive mentoring during the year and will engage in a variety of follow-up activities. Parents and school counselors will also be invited to participate in sessions, to help give them tools to encourage students to continue in post-secondary education, and specifically in STEM career preparation. ITEST DRL EHR Yanowitz, Karen Staria Vanderpool Carol Ross Tanja McKay Arkansas State University Main Campus AR Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1006802 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0624479 February 15, 2007 An innovative approach for attracting students to computing: A comprehensive proposal. This is a proposal for a 3 year, $1,297,456 project to be conducted as collaboration among 5 higher education institutions and one school system across the country, with St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA serving as the lead institution (other collaborators are from Colorado School of Mines, Ithaca College, Santa Clara University, Duke University, and Virginia Beach School System). The primary goal is to attract and retain students in computer science, especially women and underrepresented minorities (including two EPSCoR states). To this end, the project will use Alice, a software program that utilizes 3-D visualization methods, as a medium to create a high-level of interest in computer graphics, animation, and storytelling among high school students, hence to build understanding of object-based programming. Such an IT focus on media and animation is aligned with national computer science standards. The project will build a network of college and high school faculty, who will offer workshops and provide continuing support during the academic year. In each site, pairs of teachers from each participating school (total = 90) will learn with university faculty via a 3-week summer program in which an introduction to using Alice for teaching will be followed by teacher development of materials for students that will then be used to teach high school students. An experimental start at one site will be followed by implementation at four additional sites and culminated with revised implementation at the sixth site (1-4-1 design). ITEST DRL EHR Lewis, Daniel Fred Triefenbach Santa Clara University CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 102209 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624528 February 15, 2007 An innovative approach for attracting students to computing: A comprehensive proposal. This is a proposal for a 3 year, $1,297,456 project to be conducted as collaboration among 5 higher education institutions and one school system across the country, with St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA serving as the lead institution (other collaborators are from Colorado School of Mines, Ithaca College, Santa Clara University, Duke University, and Virginia Beach School System). The primary goal is to attract and retain students in computer science, especially women and underrepresented minorities (including two EPSCoR states). To this end, the project will use Alice, a software program that utilizes 3-D visualization methods, as a medium to create a high-level of interest in computer graphics, animation, and storytelling among high school students, hence to build understanding of object-based programming. Such an IT focus on media and animation is aligned with national computer science standards. The project will build a network of college and high school faculty, who will offer workshops and provide continuing support during the academic year. In each site, pairs of teachers from each participating school (total = 90) will learn with university faculty via a 3-week summer program in which an introduction to using Alice for teaching will be followed by teacher development of materials for students that will then be used to teach high school students. An experimental start at one site will be followed by implementation at four additional sites and culminated with revised implementation at the sixth site (1-4-1 design). ITEST DRL EHR Dann, Wanda Ithaca College NY Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 72020 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624543 September 1, 2006 IT Girl: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Solving Real World Problems Using 3D Modeling and Information Visualization. "IT Girl" is an innovative youth-based program designed to engage middle and high school girls in building competency and interest in science, technology, engineering and math careers through collaborative technology and science-intensive projects in game development and information visualization. The project triangulates Girlstart's successful program structure of after-school activities, Saturday and summer technology camps, intensive parent involvement, field experiences, with innovative curricula in visualization and game development. Program objectives include improving technology skills in girls; providing access to internships at local technology companies and to professional women in STEM careers. Girlstart maintains long established relationships with local firms and professional organizations, including the Austin Game Development Association and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. In addition, all participants will receive assistance in identifying a clear educational and career path to STEM careers. The project will provide girls and parents with a comprehensive program of guidance and support designed to help girls prepare and apply for college, including encouragement to enroll in Austin Community College's Early College Start programs and AP classes. The program targets underrepresented and economically disadvantaged girls from the Austin Independent School District. Sixty high school students will participate in 138 contact hours of programming, and 40 middle school girls in 125 contact hours. The project will advance research and knowledge on girls and technology, focusing on how informal learning experiences in advanced technologies, not generally taught in schools, can most successfully interest girls in STEM. ITEST DRL EHR Kareem, Zakiyyah Rachel Muir Girlstart TX Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 898976 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0624549 October 1, 2006 Girls Creating Games: Cafe Universo. Built on a prior NSF-HRD funded "Girls Creating Games: Increasing Middle School Girls' Interest in Technology," ETR Associates proposes "Girls Creating Games: Cafe Universo," a three-year, out-of-school technology program for rural, Latina, middle school girls from the Central Coast of California. Each of 80 girls will spend 120 hours/year for two years building and publishing web-based digital games that imagine life in outer space based in astrobiology content. The project utilizes Numedeon, Inc.'s online virtual world "Whyville?" combined with The SETI Institute's astrobiology curriculum. The Pajaro Valley Unified School District's after school program provides the program and recruitment structure through their existing after school program. Activities are organized around a three-semester after school and summer program. New process strands support and evaluate IT/science activity, focus on group cohesion, learning by design with project-based IT, linking science to IT, and career and identity exploration. Strategies to meet the participant's social needs include pair programming, peer mentoring, family activities and adult female IT role models. Staff development, evaluation of the girl's involvement and web based documentation provide sustainability. In order to provide scalability the program proposes extra funding for materials development for intended delivery to a group of national after school providers who have requested this resource, and the online community of "Whyville?." ITEST DRL EHR Bean, Steven Jill Denner ETR Associates CA Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 1079291 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624553 October 1, 2006 Students That Are Ready for Technology (S.T.A.R.T.). Lehigh University proposes "S.T.A.R.T. (Students That Area Ready for Technology)" program will promote academic achievement in information technology (IT) for at-risk middle and high school students in the Greater Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. "S.T.A.R.T." will include summer and academic year programs on information technology for seventh through twelfth grade students. "S.T.A.R.T." will build on successful curricula developed for the Lehigh Valley Partnership for Teaching Fellows, an NSF GK-12 project. Summer and year round curricula will include programming remotely controlled mobile robots in a simulated Martian landscape (7th & 8th grade students), creating a web-based music juke box using Macromedia Flash (9th & 10th grade students), and enhancing a "design-first" approach to learning Java (11th & 12th grade students) with the intent of preparing them for the AP Computer Science test in two years. Math skills will be developed continually with the help of the web-based "24" game. They will include self-directed multimedia, intelligent tutoring and frequent mentoring by college undergraduate and graduate students to encourage more women and minorities to pursue computer science and enter the information technology workforce. The "S.T.A.R.T." program will be completely integrated into Lehigh's existing academic infrastructure for "S.T.A.R." to ensure the new IT outreach activities are sustainable long term. ITEST DRL EHR Blank, Glenn Helen Columba Henry Odi William Pottenger Lehigh University PA Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 1050996 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624565 February 15, 2007 Digispired: Digital Inspiration for Interactive Game Design and Progamming Skills. Digispired (Digitally Inspired) is a three-year project to provide 90 urban and rural low-income middle school students with opportunities to learn computer programming (i.e. C++), computer animation and digital imaging to create interactive games. Students will be recruited from Halifax, Hopewell and Prince Edward Schools of the Southside Virginia Regional technology consortium. Students will receive 144 hours of instruction per year (80 hours in the summer and at least 64 hours on Saturdays during the school year). Some of the activities include the following: 1) exploring 3D animation using Kahootz and Robolab, 2) investigating the use of digital imaging and digital audio for game environments and 3) programming a LEGO robot. The students will focus on developing games to understand the importance of four major science topics: a) environmental conservation, b) health and nutrition, c) exercise and physical activity, and d) substance abuse. Students will have opportunities to develop logical thinking and to enhance their programming skills, creating their own learning objects and interactive games. Parents are also an integral part of this project. They participate in 60 hours of face-to-face workshops on topics like using the Internet, conducting scholarship and financial aid searches and understanding brain-based learning. All instructional and professional development resources developed by Digispired staff and at least 50 video games created by the students will be available for download from the project website. ITEST DRL EHR Talaiver, Manorama Ehsan Sheybani Giti Javidi Seung Yang Longwood College VA Michael Haney Standard Grant 891016 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624577 September 1, 2006 A Laser Academy for High School Science Teachers. The Physics Department at Queensborough Community College will conduct a "Laser Academy for High School Science Teachers," building on the success of the "Laser Scademy for High School Students." Photonics -- the study of optics, lasers and fiber optics -- is a technical field where the shortage of qualified personnel is particularly acute. The Laser Academy for teachers will offer science teachers opportunities to learn about, experience and use information technologies within the context of photonics. The teachers will then integrate this content into their physical science lessons. The project will serve 22 high school science teachers each year for three years (a total of 66 teachers) as well as their students -- estimated at more than 3,000 each year upon completion of the project. The activities/products include: . a three-week summer session (six to eight hours per day) to develop conceptual understanding of the theories underlying various IT-related technologies and to acquire competence in a variety of skills relevant to these fields (general optics, fiber optics, electronics, lasers, computers as tools, computer programming, robotics, remote control). Two day-long sessions will be devoted to educational research and best practices for teaching science. . a week-long summer immersion program during which participants will test the effectiveness of learning modules they developed. (The summer immersion program will have a special focus on recruiting and training female students through the "Girl Tech" component of the proposal. Approximately 48 students will be recruited each summer.); . support to participating teachers during the school year. Faculty will visit the schools on a regular basis (estimated at ten hours per participant) to help set up equipment and assist teachers with lesson planning and implementation; and . an end-of-the-year conference where participants will meet to discuss their experiences in the program, what worked, and future activities. ITEST DRL EHR Marchese, Paul Tak David Cheung Cheryl Bluestone George Tremberger Haishen Yao CUNY Queensborough Community College NY Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 1050310 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624578 September 1, 2006 Students Investing in Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (SIMET). This proposal, "Students Investing in Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (SIMET)," is a request from Jackson State University for a three-year project that outlines a year-round program that includes: Saturday sessions, online/telephone homework support by a college-age mentor, a two-week summer residential camp, workshops for parents and internships. The program will serve a total of 90 underrepresented students over three years, with 15 students each year in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades and 15 students each year in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. The year-round and summer components together will engage students in various computer and mathematical skills and concepts with a focus on mathematical concepts and computer literacy, using basic word processing programs. The content focuses on a combination of mathematics, mathematics software and desktop applications. The proposal outlines two levels (7-9 and 9-11) of a year-round program which consists of eight Saturday sessions during the school year, weekly on-hour sessions online with mentors, and a two-week residential summer program at Jackson State University. During the second summer, students, both at middle and high school levels, will participate in an internship. The internship for the younger students will take place on-campus while the older students will take place both on- and off-campus. Participants will receive 120 contact hours a year with SIMET faculty and personnel. Parents will engage in activities for 16 contact hours each year. By providing intensive experience in IT and mathematical concepts, the project aims to prepare students with IT knowledge and increase the students' knowledge of STEM careers. ITEST DRL EHR Holbrook, Edna Pamala Heard Jackson State University MS Julia Clark Standard Grant 1057306 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0624582 October 1, 2006 Biomechanics and Robotics Explorations for IT Literacy and Skills in Rural Schools. East Carolina University is helping science and mathematics teachers from 20 rural high schools in North Carolina infuse information technology into their courses by providing them with professional development and ongoing technical support as the teachers develop inquiry-based biomechanics and robotics problem-solving lessons to stimulate student interest and learning in STEM and IT. The project is providing 60 teachers and guidance counselors with a two-week Information Technology Academy for Teachers, 180 low-income students with a three-week residential IT Academy for Students, and parents/caregivers with a Parents-Teachers Symposium to broaden their perspective on IT and provide a forum for teachers and students to share their project experiences and discuss links between project-related learning and career pathways. Other project activities include an IT Orientation Seminar for principals, teachers and university faculty and an in-school Implementation Support program that involves graduate students. The project's biomechanics exploration uses sensors to investigate the human gait; the robotics exploration focuses on assembling and programming robot rovers. Students are acquiring knowledge about spatial relationships, measurement, geometry, programming, robotics and biomechanics connecting into various science and math classes. They are also becoming familiar with engineering analysis software such as MatLab and MathCAD. ITEST DRL EHR Kauffmann, Paul Gail Ratcliff Cathy Hall Dana Espinosa East Carolina University NC David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1354847 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624590 October 1, 2006 DinoMap: Spatial Analysis of Fossil Finds in the Northern Plains. "DinoMap" provides intensive professional development for 7th and 8th grade math and science teachers from northeastern Montana, an area that includes the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. The project focuses on the application of geospatial technologies, including global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing, to understanding the rich fossil record of the Northern Plains, a subject of great scientific, economic and cultural significance in the region. Over three years, University of Montana staff will provide 60 teachers with technology-embedded content instruction in paleontology through a series of four winter workshops. Participating teachers subsequently use the instructional materials in their classrooms to demonstrate concepts of measurement, algebra, and geometry, and to introduce concepts of scientific modeling, including descriptive, process, statistical, and conceptual models. Teachers also participate in a two-week summer institute at the Fort Peck Field Station of Paleontology where they develop various hands-on learning activities for their students. Approximately 120 students are expected to participate in the summer institute, where they will reinforce concepts learned in class through hands-on use of geospatial technologies and, in doing so, learn about key geological and biological processes. Students participate in authentic paleontological research, contributing to the development of a geodatabase, and becoming producers rather than merely consumers of new information. Students also meet professionals who use geospatial technologies that relate to specific community and tribal issues and concerns. A career video series highlighting young geospatial professionals, including women and minorities in particular, is being produced for wide dissemination though the internet, conferences and various training programs. Together with its partners, Explore Digital Education, Inc. and Fort Peck Paleontology, Inc., The University of Montana provides on-going technical assistance, instructional design support, student internships and on-line learning activities through an on-line education forum. ITEST DRL EHR Almquist, Heather George Stanley University of Montana MT David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1335181 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624591 October 1, 2006 Robotics and GPS/GIS in 4-H: Workforce Skills for the 21st Century. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in partnership with Nebraska 4-H, will build upon an existing collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University and Carnegie's Robotics Curriculum program to produce an innovative program focusing on Robotics, Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), as applied to the domain of precision agriculture and environmental science. The program aims to improve STEM learning outcomes, attitudes towards science and career path development of rural youth ages 12-15. Evaluation efforts will test how STEM experiences delivered via the 4-H informal learning model supports interest in STEM careers. The target population consists of 200 youth in 25 4-H clubs, as well as 50 4-H leaders and parents, the latter to receive professional development instruction in summer camps. The project operates year-round through the 4H clubs, and provides a summer program. The program will use existing 4H and Carnegie Mellon robotics curricula of 50 lessons and 130 hours of instruction, and will develop ten additional lessons of 30 hours in GIS and GPS. The pedagogical approach is the "4H experiential model," adapted from Kolb (1984). ITEST DRL EHR Barker, Bradley Viacheslav Adamchuk University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 864139 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624615 February 1, 2007 Using Squeak to Infuse Information Technology into the STEM Curriculum in Grades 7-12. This project targets approximately 75 STEM teachers (one cohort of 25 teachers each year) and 150 grade 7-12 students over three years, focusing on the Squeak media authoring tool as a modeling environment to infuse IT skills into the core STEM curriculum. Using Squeak allows STEM teachers to create 'virtual laboratories' in which to engage students in inquiry-based learning. The project is proposed as collaboration with New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick County Schools -- all Southeastern North Carolina (SENC) school systems heavily populated by rural, underserved students. In the first year the project will target grade 7-8 students and their teachers; in the second year grade 9-10; and in the third year grades 11-12. The teachers will be recruited by technology and curriculum coordinators from each of the three SENC counties, six of whom are key personnel in this proposal. Each of the teachers will then recruit two of his/her students for the summer workshop. Teachers will receive 132 hours of professional development, including a one-week summer workshop (30 hours), 72 hours of on-site training sessions during the academic year, and an experience of teaching their recruited students for 20 hours (10 more hours devoted to planning/reflecting). ITEST DRL EHR Tagliarini, Gene Sridhar Narayan Shelby Morge University of North Carolina at Wilmington NC Michael Haney Standard Grant 1180847 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624631 October 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: Building an Internet Community of Design Engineers (iCODE). The University of Massachusetts Lowell and Machine Science Inc. propose to develop and to design an on-line learning system that enables schools and community centers to support IT-intensive engineering design programs for students in grades 7 to 12. The Internet Community of Design Engineers (iCODE) incorporates step-by-step design plans for IT-intensive, computer-controlled projects, on-line tools for programming microcontrollers, resources to facilitate on-line mentoring by university students and IT professionals, forums for sharing project ideas and engaging in collaborative troubleshooting, and tools for creating web-based project portfolios. The iCODE system will serve more than 175 students from Boston and Lowell over a three-year period. Each participating student attends 25 weekly after-school sessions, two career events, two design exhibitions/competitions, and a week-long summer camp on a University of Massachusetts campus in Boston or Lowell. Throughout the year, students have opportunities to engage in IT-intensive, hands-on activities, using microcontroller kits that have been developed and classroom-tested by University of Massachusetts-Lowell and Machine Science, Inc. About one-third of the participants stay involved for two years, with a small group returning for all three years. One main component for this project is the Handy Cricket which is a microcontroller kit that can be used for sensing, control, data collection, and automation. Programmed in Logo, the Handy Cricket provides an introduction to microcontroller-based projects, suitable for students in grades 7 to 9. Machine Science offers more advanced kits, where students build electronic circuits from their basic components and then write microcontroller code in the C programming language. Machine Science offers more advanced kits, which challenge students to build electronic circuits from their basic components and then write microcontroller code in the C programming language. Machine Science's kits are intended for students in grades 9 to 12. Microcontroller technology is an unseen but pervasive part of everyday life, integrated into virtually all automobiles, home appliances, and electronic devices. Since microcontroller projects result in physical creations, they provide an engaging context for students to develop design and programming skills. Moreover, these projects foster abilities that are critical for success in IT careers, requiring creativity, analytical thinking, and teamwork-not just basic IT skills. ITEST DRL EHR Christy, Samuel Machine Science Inc. MA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 368398 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624632 October 1, 2006 TechMath: Real World Math, Technology and Business Connections. TechMath goals are to prepare in-service mathematics and science teachers to develop critical and analytical thinking, information technology skills, and mathematical understanding through problem-based instruction. The project will serve 70 high school teachers from twelve school districts in rural North Carolina. A concentrated effort will be exerted to recruit teachers from diverse backgrounds. Two cohorts of teachers will participate, one in each of the two years of the project. The first year for each cohort will include emersion in technology and mathematics as used by the business partners and will culminate with the formation of a TechMath team consisting of a mathematics or science teacher, a student and a business partner. The teachers and students will choose the business partner, visit the partner and work with them on a real problem they may have. Over thirty business partners have been identified. Each team will produce a teaching module that fits into the existing curriculum and is based on the local business problem. A total of 70 teachers and 70 students will be directly involved in the project. Project work will be done in after-school and weekend settings throughout the academic year, and the modules will be used in the classroom during the year. The project includes a two-week summer workshop and a career retreat with all participants at the end of each year. The teams will develop, test and evaluate modules to be used in future teaching. ITEST DRL EHR Marshburn, Ernest rose sinicrope Ronald Preston John Parker Evelyn Eckstein East Carolina University NC Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1195048 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0624642 February 15, 2007 An innovative approach for attracting students to computing: A comprehensive proposal. This is a proposal for a 3 year, $1,297,456 project to be conducted as collaboration among 5 higher education institutions and one school system across the country, with St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA serving as the lead institution (other collaborators are from Colorado School of Mines, Ithaca College, Santa Clara University, Duke University, and Virginia Beach School System). The primary goal is to attract and retain students in computer science, especially women and underrepresented minorities (including two EPSCoR states). To this end, the project will use Alice, a software program that utilizes 3-D visualization methods, as a medium to create a high-level of interest in computer graphics, animation, and storytelling among high school students, hence to build understanding of object-based programming. Such an IT focus on media and animation is aligned with national computer science standards. The project will build a network of college and high school faculty, who will offer workshops and provide continuing support during the academic year. In each site, pairs of teachers from each participating school (total = 90) will learn with university faculty via a 3-week summer program in which an introduction to using Alice for teaching will be followed by teacher development of materials for students that will then be used to teach high school students. An experimental start at one site will be followed by implementation at four additional sites and culminated with revised implementation at the sixth site (1-4-1 design). INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Rodger, Susan Duke University NC Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 191356 7259 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624654 February 15, 2007 An innovative approach for attracting students to computing: A comprehensive proposal. This is a proposal for a 3 year, $1,297,456 project to be conducted as collaboration among 5 higher education institutions and one school system across the country, with St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA serving as the lead institution (other collaborators are from Colorado School of Mines, Ithaca College, Santa Clara University, Duke University, and Virginia Beach School System). The primary goal is to attract and retain students in computer science, especially women and underrepresented minorities (including two EPSCoR states). To this end, the project will use Alice, a software program that utilizes 3-D visualization methods, as a medium to create a high-level of interest in computer graphics, animation, and storytelling among high school students, hence to build understanding of object-based programming. Such an IT focus on media and animation is aligned with national computer science standards. The project will build a network of college and high school faculty, who will offer workshops and provide continuing support during the academic year. In each site, pairs of teachers from each participating school (total = 90) will learn with university faculty via a 3-week summer program in which an introduction to using Alice for teaching will be followed by teacher development of materials for students that will then be used to teach high school students. An experimental start at one site will be followed by implementation at four additional sites and culminated with revised implementation at the sixth site (1-4-1 design). ITEST DRL EHR Hodgson, Jonathan St Joseph's University PA Leslie K. Goodyear Standard Grant 611902 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624663 October 1, 2006 Global Challenge Award ITEST Program. The "Global Challenge Award ITEST Program" will engage young women and minority high school students in a series of integrated STEM activities. International teams of approximately 200 14-17 year old students will participate in the program receiving 280 hours of mentoring and tutoring from research scientists, engineers, mathematicians and project leaders. Eight to 10 team challenges will be designed to build students' prerequisite knowledge and skills to succeed in the annual GCA competition. Each year, students will participate in three primary activities: 1) hands-on engineering challenges, 2) the GCA World Challenge, and 3) individual mathematics tutoring and portfolio development to demonstrate science learning. The team goal is to create an innovative solution to address global climate change and a presentation that shows each team member's understanding of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics of their solution, as well as its global business potential. Educators participating in this project will receive over 120 hours over the life of the project. Approximately 135 parents or adults will participate in at least 60 hours of project activities. EAPSI COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ITEST EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES DRL EHR Grasso, Domenico David Gibson Josephine Herrera University of Vermont & State Agricultural College VT Michael Haney Standard Grant 940169 7316 7298 7227 1575 SMET OTHR 9177 9150 7715 5978 5945 5942 5927 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624669 October 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: Building an Internet Community of Design Engineers (iCODE). The University of Massachusetts Lowell and Machine Science Inc. propose to develop and to design an on-line learning system that enables schools and community centers to support IT-intensive engineering design programs for students in grades 7 to 12. The Internet Community of Design Engineers (iCODE) incorporates step-by-step design plans for IT-intensive, computer-controlled projects, on-line tools for programming microcontrollers, resources to facilitate on-line mentoring by university students and IT professionals, forums for sharing project ideas and engaging in collaborative troubleshooting, and tools for creating web-based project portfolios. The iCODE system will serve more than 175 students from Boston and Lowell over a three-year period. Each participating student attends 25 weekly after-school sessions, two career events, two design exhibitions/competitions, and a week-long summer camp on a University of Massachusetts campus in Boston or Lowell. Throughout the year, students have opportunities to engage in IT-intensive, hands-on activities, using microcontroller kits that have been developed and classroom-tested by University of Massachusetts-Lowell and Machine Science, Inc. About one-third of the participants stay involved for two years, with a small group returning for all three years. One main component for this project is the Handy Cricket which is a microcontroller kit that can be used for sensing, control, data collection, and automation. Programmed in Logo, the Handy Cricket provides an introduction to microcontroller-based projects, suitable for students in grades 7 to 9. Machine Science offers more advanced kits, where students build electronic circuits from their basic components and then write microcontroller code in the C programming language. Machine Science offers more advanced kits, which challenge students to build electronic circuits from their basic components and then write microcontroller code in the C programming language. Machine Science's kits are intended for students in grades 9 to 12. Microcontroller technology is an unseen but pervasive part of everyday life, integrated into virtually all automobiles, home appliances, and electronic devices. Since microcontroller projects result in physical creations, they provide an engaging context for students to develop design and programming skills. Moreover, these projects foster abilities that are critical for success in IT careers, requiring creativity, analytical thinking, and teamwork-not just basic IT skills. ITEST DRL EHR Martin, Fred Douglas Prime Michelle Scribner-MacLean University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Foundation MA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 715103 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624672 December 15, 2006 IT-E3Tools: Information Technology Engineering and Environmental Education Tools. A three-year partnership of the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering and the San Diego Supercomputer Center focuses on getting approximately 22,000 sixth- through ninth-grade students and 360 teachers involved in using information technology through gaming in order to solve complex problems related to STEM content. It provides summer experiences for girls through established area summer camps such as TechTreck and Sally Ride Science and in-service on the related content and activities for San Diego area teachers so the project can influence all the students of those teachers. A greater, but less intense impact on students is through encountering the game on the web. The game will be a problem-solving game bringing the students as avatars in contact with environmental problems they must solve. The solutions will require using virtual tools that have been used in the classroom and involve consulting with scientists. ITEST DRL EHR Ferrante, Jeanne Steven Buckley University of California-San Diego CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 1199743 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624709 September 1, 2006 BUILD IT - Using Underwater Robotic Vehicles to Build IT and Pre-Engineering Skills. By employing a design challenge to program an underwater vehicle to perform tasks, this project seeks to teach students about information technology, science and problem solving. Students and teachers involved in the project have face-to-face interaction with Stevens' women and underrepresented minority faculty, researchers and undergraduate students who help them design and test underwater robotic vehicles. Teachers, guidance counselors, and parents are provided with information about career options in information technology. Seventy teachers, 35 guidance counselors and 140 selected students participate in workshops at the Stevens Institute of Technology. The project provides all the equipment necessary for classroom use and support so teachers can implement the activity in their respective classrooms. The information technology in use includes: ROBOLAB (programming language based on LabVIEW), LEGO robotics components, microcontrollers, sensory data and data analysis, communication technologies and electronics. ITEST DRL EHR McGrath, Elisabeth Victor Lawrence Jason Sayres Stevens Institute of Technology NJ Orrin Shane Standard Grant 1199376 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624718 October 1, 2006 Probes and Models Across the Curriculum: Information Technology in Science Instruction (IT-SI). The goal of this three-year, comprehensive ITEST project is to prepare diverse middle- and high-school students for careers in information technologies (IT) by engaging them in designing inquiry-based science activities that use computational models and real-time data acquisition and analysis. The project provides 126 hours of lab-based, credit-bearing activities for 90 teachers and support for classroom implementation. Participants meet for two weeks in the summer of 2007, twice face-to-face plus online during the academic year, and again the following summer for one week. The program is offered at three sites, each supporting 30 participants: Desert Sands, CA; Olathe, KS; and Boston, MA. The three sites were selected to give the project a national reach by including geographic and ethnic diversity from the start. The schools participated in the development of the project and intend to continue and expand it post-funding. Additional dissemination efforts, including a project website and publication in the Concord Consortium's biannual newsletter, will reach many more. Participating teachers learn basic electronics, programming and design skills that will enable their students to install, configure and use a wide range of sensors for measuring experiments with computers. They also learn to teach students to use, modify and create computational models. The team designing these activities provides a nationally recognized leadership in the use of probes and computational models in education. The skills teachers learn in this program enhance science teaching while giving students a solid foundation for IT-based careers in computer hardware and software engineering. The project will make its materials widely available to students, teachers and professional development trainers. ITEST DRL EHR Staudt, Carolyn Concord Consortium MA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 1256303 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624728 August 15, 2006 Dan River Information Technology Academy (DRITA). This proposal, the "Dan River Information Technology Academy (DRITA)," is a request for a three-year program for high school students from underserved populations who are interested in pursuing IT or STEM careers. The overall goal of DRITA is to provide opportunities for promising African American or Hispanic youth to (1) develop solid Information Technology skills and (2) acquire the background and encouragement needed to enable them to pursue higher education in STEM fields, including IT itself and other fields in which advanced IT knowledge is needed. A total of 96 students will be recruited over the course of the three years. Each DRITA participant will receive 500 hours of project-based content. The project includes both school-year modules and a major summer component. Delivery components will include a basic IT skills orientation; content courses in areas such as animation, virtual environment modeling, advanced networking, programming, GIS, robotics, and gaming design; externships; a professional conference/trade show "simulation," and college/career counseling. Parent involvement is an integral part of the program and includes opportunities for parents to learn from participants, joint college visits, and information sessions and individual assistance in the college admission process. ITEST DRL EHR Brown, Julie Maurice Ferrell Institute for Advanced Learning & Research VA Julia Clark Standard Grant 898136 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0624729 September 1, 2006 The IT Community Support Project. The University of Hartford is requesting funding for a youth-based project that will serve 352 economically disadvantaged and underserved middle and high school youth in Hartford, CT. The project will enable participants to gain IT skills in computer engineering and web applications. Partners include the University of Hartford Center for Professional Development and Hartford Public Schools. During the first year students are "Explorers" and the content focus will encompass computer architecture, network systems, web design and communications. During Year 2 "Specialists" learn software development, advanced communications and business skills. Finally, in Year 3 students are "Entrepreneurs" and may provide computer skills training for community members at "Our IT," a business that is student-operated. "Our IT" will be located on the University of Hartford Asylum Avenue campus. Concurrently with the IT training, students receive career counseling and complete a business skills workshop that will enable them to design and develop "Our IT." Each summer participants will complete a four-week practicum in which they receive training in workforce skills, mentoring, A+ certification and participate in paid internships. Students will also produce a DVD on IT careers, a project website, and learn to refurbish computers that are then donated to community members. ITEST DRL EHR Kruger, Colleen University of Hartford CT Leslie K. Goodyear Standard Grant 895953 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0624747 September 15, 2006 Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers Using Catfish and their Environment as a Model. This proposal is a request for a three-year comprehensive project for students and teachers. The Mississippi Valley State University project entitled "Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers Using Catfish and their Environment as a Model" proposes to serve approximately 1,500 students (500 per year) and 75 teachers (25 per year) with at least two representatives from each county. The target population will be students and teachers from a ten county area in the Mississippi Delta. The project will serve a cohort of 20 ninth grade students during each summer and 500 students each academic year within a ten-county target area. A local catfish pond has been designed for use in the project. The project occurs over a three-year cycle. Project design is described as a year-round structure with each year's IT focus specified. For example, the first year will focus on water quality; the second year on the microbiology of fish diseases; and the third year on environmental sciences. These areas relate directly with catfish farming, and the training experience should enhance teachers' knowledge and understanding of IT and its distribution to STEM subject areas. Teachers will be provided on-going support during the academic year. Pilot testing by the teachers will be conducted in the summer component with students participating in the project who will also be engaged in a program of hands-on activities in technology. By providing students and teachers experiences using a pond designed for project use and year-round instructional activities, this project proposes to stimulate interest in STEM disciplines while improving student outcomes. ITEST DRL EHR Hall, Louis J. Mississippi Valley State University MS Julia Clark Standard Grant 1246239 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0624761 February 15, 2007 Green Table Productions. The Little Haiti Housing Association proposes a partnership with three Computer Clubhouses of Miami, Florida and the YWCA of Greater Miami. The result of this partnership, Green Table Productions, offers 90 Haitian and African American 7-12 grade current clubhouse members, 30 at three neighborhood clubhouses, with an intensive three-track media development program in video, music and graphic arts production. The program aims to improve young people's ability to express themselves with technology, collaborate and work in teams, solve complex problems, develop, plan and execute complex projects and develop self esteem and self-efficacy. After having completing one of the three tracks, older teens will participate in local media internships and younger teens will support the clubhouse activities as youth mentors. The program will evaluate the difference in outcomes for the teens in the general Clubhouse program and teens entering this higher end process. Products from the core program will be housed in the Clubhouse's Village network where 20,000 youth around the world provide online materials and critique each other's work. Family outreach includes quarterly parent meetings, college prep guidance and individual meetings with parents. Career development includes the internships, Clubhouse mentors and a series of guest speakers. ITEST DRL EHR Trigg, Brenda Little Haiti Housing Association, Inc. FL Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 294336 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624767 October 1, 2006 Improved STEM Preparation through Humane Gaming Camp and High School Education. This Comprehensive ITEST project is based on the premise that using gaming as a context in which to integrate the learning of mathematics, computer science and art would heighten student interest in the broader area of STEM education as well as develop computer science skills that students could use in a variety of careers. Previous research on game-developer pedagogy is used as the theoretical basis for the project and the project has a strong tie with a major game development company in the Denver area. Teachers (60 over three years) and students (135 over three years) partcipate in an intense two-week summer humane gaming camp. The emphasis on "humane" game development is intended to attract more women into the game development community (and STEM education) where their numbers are very low. During the year teachers implement the gaming ideas in their classroom to facilitate students' creation of games. At the end of the academic year, students present the games at a game fair. The summer workshop teacher professional development is supplemented by quarterly workshops during the academic year. External evaluation, both formative and summative, takes place as part of the project. ITEST DRL EHR Leutenegger, Scott Debra Austin Rafael Fajardo University of Denver CO Michael Haney Standard Grant 1176572 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0624772 September 1, 2006 TechREACH: Technology and Research Experiences through After-School Clubs for High-Risk Students. The "TechREACH" project is designed to reach underserved middle school students and teachers in rural, eastern Washington. The project goals are to increase interest in STEM and IT, build the capacity of school and community audiences, and increase the number of students pursuing STEM careers. Project partners include Washington State University MESA, Digipen Institute of Technology, and the Red Llama software company. The project activities include after school clubs led by certified teachers, a two-week summer technology workshop, e-mentoring, teacher professional development, parent outreach, and college preparatory support. After school clubs will use the NSF-funded MESA Real-World Mathematics through Science Modules to investigate local community issues by conducting research with scientists and mentors. The modified modules will enable students to learn about the Washington apple industry in Year 1, community design in Year 2, and renewable energy in Year 3. Summer research activities will provide students with an in-depth understanding of robotics (Year 1), animation (Year 2), and video game programming (Year 3). IT skills and content will emphasize the use of GIS, GPS, robotics, web-based programming, 3-D modeling, 3-D animation software and videogame programming. This project will serve 180 students ages 12-18 in six rural schools. ITEST DRL EHR Peterson, Karen Karen Manuel Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology WA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 897526 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0625940 October 1, 2006 A Museum-based After-School Program Examining Amphibian Ecology. "A Museum-based After-School Program Examining Amphibian Ecology" is a partnership between Dr. David Skelly's research lab and the Peabody Museum at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The program will engage 20 middle and 20 high school students from under-represented groups in the New Haven Public Schools in an experiential program focused on science literacy, STEM career awareness and college preparation. The program is based on Dr. Skelly's work on the meta-community dynamics of amphibians and their predators and the scale up from local dynamics to larger spatial scales. This program combines an environment-based research program with an established youth program called "Evolutions." Participants conduct hands-on research activities at Dr. Skelly's Connecticut research site, develop a traveling museum exhibition, host an ecology seminar series, present their work at local schools and produce their own science pod casts. The work of the young people will reach a wider local audience numbering in the thousands with the museum exhibits pod casts and elementary school outreach programs. The project will result in a program tool kit including strategies for setting up these types of partnerships, how to engage families and how to administer the program. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Skelly, David Yale University CT Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 74901 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0627821 March 1, 2006 Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: IMP for the 21st Century. This project involves revising the Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP), a four-year, integrated, problem-based, college-preparatory, high-school mathematics curriculum developed with funding from the State of California and the NSF. Revisions will build on successful elements of the program in ways that respond to the changing context of mathematics education. The revisions will focus on three objectives. First, the curriculum will be strengthened by making changes that give the program greater flexibility. This will be accomplished by adding a major technology component, and by making content changes that respond to recent state and national policy documents. Second, the professional development program will be strengthened through leadership programs that produce more professional development leaders and by creating consistency and sustainability through a Professional Development Handbook that articulates IMP's vision of successful professional development. Third, dissemination and implementation efforts will be strengthened by developing new materials about all aspects of IMP that will inform and address concerns of educational decision makers such as school boards, administrators, parents, and teachers. These efforts will be carried out with the guidance of a broad-based steering committee. There will be general evaluation of all project components, as well as analysis of the mathematical content of the revised curriculum materials. Cost sharing includes substantial contributions from the publisher and from San Francisco State University. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Robinson, Eric Ithaca College NY John S. Bradley Continuing grant 516687 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0627986 October 1, 2006 The Impact of Standards-based, Traditional, & UCSMP High School Mathematics Curricula on Post-secondary Student Achievement, Course-taking Patterns, & Persistence in STEM Classes. This investigation searches for evidence of the effectiveness of standards-based mathematics curriculum materials on postsecondary STEM achievement, course taking patterns and persistence compared to results from graduates who were exposed to other high school mathematics curricula. Approximately 30 postsecondary institutions in Minnesota and 30,000 students representing over 325 high schools are sampled. A retrospective cohort design and hierarchical linear modeling is used to quantify the longitudinal impact of curriculum type on postsecondary STEM performance. Results will help educators, school districts, students, parents and academicians to make more informed decisions about appropriate mathematics curricula for their student population. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Post, Thomas Michael Harwell University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1498241 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628005 October 1, 2006 Rational Number Project: Instructional Module for Fractions, Decimals, and Percents. This three-year, $554,418 project extends the past work of the Rational Number Project (RNP) at the elementary school level by developing a module for teaching fractions, decimal, and percentages at the middle school level. In line with the NCTM Standards, the module is developed collaboratively by university scholars and classroom teachers on the basis of constructivist principles of learning, particularly the Lesh model of translation among multiple representations. The development takes place within classrooms in Minneapolis Public Schools, where more than 50% of the students come from underserved populations (42% African American, 13% Hispanic). To better cater to the needs of such students, an expert of culture and second language is a member of the project interdisciplinary team. The module consists of 23 lessons that cover about 4-5 weeks of instruction. It includes relevant assessment instruments/methods and written materials and video clips for teachers (online workshop). The module is first developed and piloted in an urban classroom (5th or 6th grade), where project personnel team teach it with the classroom teacher. Student data (interviews, artifacts, observations) are collected and analyzed to inform revision of the pilot module. Field test takes place in other classrooms, including teachers who use it on the basis of the written and online materials alone to examine the extent to which the materials can be adopted without intensive face-to-face professional development. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Cramer, Kathleen Terry Wyberg University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN John S. Bradley Continuing grant 554418 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628052 January 1, 2007 Applying Research on Science Materials Implementation: Bringing Measurement of Fidelity of Implementation (FOI) to Scale. This Instructional Materials Development applied research project is a three-year study of implementation of NSF-supported science instructional materials in Chicago. The project seeks to scale up studies of fidelity of implementation. It produces a suite of instruments accompanied by a User's Guide for future research. The project identifies "critical components" of the curricula being studied and "fidelity criteria" to determine the extent to which those components are present with fidelity in instruction. After field-test, the instruments are used in 90 Chicago Public Schools. Data analysis defines "typologies" of implementation and explores the relationship between those typologies and student achievement. The project also explores uses of the instruments for mathematics and in other settings. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Century, Jeanne Rose Andrew Isaacs University of Chicago IL Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1151773 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628082 October 1, 2006 Ramps and Pathways: A Constructivist Approach to Teaching Physical Science. This project is creating age-appropriate physical science curriculum that uses balls rolling on student-constructed ramps for children age 3-8 years. Students are expected to develop practical understanding of the movement of objects along ramps and pathways that leads to knowledge about concepts of forces and motion. They will improve their ability to engage in scientific inquiry and to solve engineering problems related to ramp structures, and develop positive attitudes about science and themselves as science learners. Professional development materials are being created that support early childhood educators in understanding force and motion and how to support young children's construction of mental relationships that reflect content knowledge and their inquiry in the context of ramps and pathways. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Zan, Betty University of Northern Iowa IA Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1732503 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628091 October 15, 2006 The Bio-Math Connection. This project will develop 15 modules for high school students that connect biology, computation, and mathematics with corresponding teacher materials and professional development activities. The project will build on the extensive experience of and be conducted as collaboration among Rutgers University (New Brunswick), the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS), the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP), and Colorado State University. The modules will draw on an approach to biological phenomena as involving information processing, in three illustrative areas conducive to learning at the high school level: Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Mathematical Methods in Epidemiology, and Mathematical Methods in Ecology. These areas are likely to bring excitement about contemporary interconnections between the biological and mathematical sciences to the high school classrooms, hence increase student motivation to study both subjects. The modules will include self-contained text and problem situations (including web-based interactive materials) that can be used separately in high school mathematics courses or biology courses, as well as in Bio-Math integrated courses. Most modules will include about ten 40-minute class meetings, whereas a few will include 1-2 lessons that can be inserted into the existing curriculum. All modules will be developed within a four-phase process that includes pilot testing by teachers who are also involved in module development, field testing by teachers who received training workshops (at least five schools), evaluation and dissemination. Modules will be made available to high school mathematics/biology teachers, free of charge, during the first three years of the project (print and electronic formats). Both formative and summative evaluation will be conducted to examine the merit/impact of the project. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP CISE EDUCAT RES & CURRIC DEVEL BE: NON-ANNOUNCEMENT RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM DRL EHR Roberts, Fred Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2377856 7645 7355 1709 1629 1260 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628122 January 1, 2007 Thinking with Data: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach. This project is developing a data literacy curriculum for 7th grade students which will be composed of four two-week units to be taught in social studies, mathematics, science and English courses. The curriculum will utilize data on water use and quality in Ohio, chosen because other communities will have comparable data to modify the curriculum to meet their needs. Central to the curriculum will be the issue of fairness and how data are used to make societal decisions. The curriculum will be pilot tested and field tested in three middle schools in Ohio. Research will be conducted on the efficacy of an instructional model called Preparation for Future Learning (PFL). The underlying tenant of this model is that learning is enhanced if students become familiar with a problem and its context before a solution is developed. In this case, the social studies unit will be the preparation for the learning that will occur in mathematics and science. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Cook, Dale Karen Swan Philip Vahey Kent State University OH Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 979271 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628132 October 1, 2006 Foundation for Mathematical Literacy: High School Materials Based on Mathematically-rich Experiences, Professional Development and Community Involvement for Underserved Populations. This three-year, $2,749,731 project will build on the past work of the Algebra Project to develop materials for teaching, according to constructivist principles of learning, algebra and geometry at the high school level. The modules in algebra will focus on the following topics: Road Coloring - functions (discrete); Trip Line - integers and their properties; Relay Races - linear equations; Winding Games - modular arithmetic; Mechanisms - functions (continuous); Flagway Game - polynomials; and Random Walk - probability and statistics. To augment underserved students' pursuit of life pathways that require mathematics (algebra) knowledge, the project focuses on creating learning experiences that begin with realistic situations relevant to students' life. Reflection on those experiences is then promoted via pictorial representation/modeling of the events, conversing about them using intuitive language ("People Talk"), discussing them using structured language ("Feature Talk"), and learning/using symbolic representations of the underlying mathematical structures (including calculators/computers). The materials to be developed will be aligned with state and national standards, will require double periods of daily mathematics instruction for four years, and include research-based teacher support programs (20 workshop days focusing also on the social-emotional domains) and community development activities. Besides externally conducted formative and summative evaluation of the project, a research component is set out to examine how students develop the concept of function within such environments. Accordingly, the project material development teams, consisting of mathematicians, mathematics educators, curriculum writers, school and community leaders, will collaborate with a publisher to assure timely, wide dissemination. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Moses, Robert Ed Dubinsky Gregory Budzban Algebra Project Inc MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2994481 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628143 October 1, 2006 Urban Ecology Course Materials Created with a Universal Design for Learning Framework. The Lynch School of Education and the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College are partnering with the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) to develop, test, evaluate and disseminate a year-long set of urban ecology course materials for use in high school-level capstone science courses. The standards-based materials emphasize locally-relevant field studies and incorporate principles of Universal Design for Learning and Educative Curriculum. Other features include (1) an on-line resource center that links to professional development resources, (2) a student-written urban environment newspaper called "Green Times," and (3) a writing support toolkit. Evaluation and research studies focus on measuring effectiveness of the materials in promoting content understanding, self-efficacy in science and inquiry abilities of students in urban high schools, particularly those from underrepresented groups. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Strauss, Eric Charles Lord George Barnett Tracey Hall Katherine McNeill Boston College MA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 2084428 7645 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628151 September 15, 2006 DeepThink: Thinking Deeply about Biodiversity and Ecology. The Deep Think Project will use inquiry to examine students' thinking on concepts of biodiversity and ecology. The project will work in the Detroit Public Schools with 4-6 grade students and both preservice and inservice teachers. Assessments will be developed building on the Principled Assessment Development for Inquiry (PADI) project that provides design templates for the development of inquiry assessments. The implementation of the curriculum and assessments will be examined using a quasi-experimental research design exploring both professional development and instruction and will lead to new insights into the pathways in which content and reasoning knowledge develop. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Songer, Nancy Philip Myers Amelia Gotwals University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2974263 7355 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628171 October 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: Biocomplexity and the Habitable Planet -- An Innovative Capstone Course for High School. This project will develop a set of instructional materials that engages students, teachers and their parents in the science of coupled natural human (CNH) systems. Teacher guides, a website and family/community materials accompany the four student modules (which focus on an urban watershed, an urban/agricultural system, Amazonia and a polar system). The curriculum provides material for a yearlong capstone course; individual modules can be used as replacement units. In an era of global human impact on the environment, understanding the "complex fabric of relationships" between humans and the environment is of unique urgency for all citizens. It is no longer possible to study "natural" systems without considering human interactions. There is a need for high school materials that reflect this critically important fact, and that also support students to engage in authentic investigations of systems phenomena. To address this need, Biocomplexity draws on current research by the Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and other CNH Biocomplexity grantees as the basis for the materials. Biocomplexity is inquiry-based. Student materials scaffold activities to support all students -- particularly those from historically underserved backgrounds -- to learn successfully. Curriculum design is informed by research on progression in student learning of scientific content and reasoning. Developed using the "backward design" approach, Biocomplexity ensures that instructional strategies promote learning the key ideas. Biocomplexity is an "educative curriculum:" teacher materials provide extensive and practical support that increasing teachers' content knowledge and pedagogical skills. This proposal promises to effectively link the high school classroom with important current science and at the same time extend and strengthen the learning of core scientific and mathematical concepts, in the context of an innovative curriculum incorporating authentic scientific inquiry and using a case-based approach. Furthermore, the project will make a significant contribution to educational research on students' understanding of models and their use in science inquiry. This curriculum makes a unique contribution to the field because of its grounding in current research on Biocomplexity. Its focus on CNH systems, situated in urban, rural and other settings, results in problem-based cases in applied science that will compel the interest of students from all backgrounds. Students experience authentic scientific inquiry, exploring the same fundamental ideas that engage scientists and researchers. Informed by the best recent research -- both scientific and educational -- the curriculum will reflect the growing importance of science unifying insights from many fields of biological inquiry. Community elements serve to develop strong ties between school, parents and communities. The partnership with researchers at LTERs and elsewhere will have positive synergistic outcomes for the LTERs' education programs, while connecting a new range of nationally important research centers with high school classrooms across the country. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE CLUSTER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP ERE General ENVIR SOCIAL & BEHAVIOR SCIENC LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH ECOSYSTEM STUDIES DRL EHR Puttick, Gillian Brian Drayton TERC Inc MA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1380336 7645 7381 7355 7304 5209 1195 1181 SMET 9278 9177 5209 1691 1689 1195 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0628181 October 1, 2006 The Science of Atoms and Molecules: Enabling the New Secondary Science Curriculum. Many schools have revised the sequence of high school science courses to be taken in the order physics, chemistry and biology. The Science of Atoms and Molecules is supplemental material, constituting about 10% of the course work and providing a progressive understanding of the centrality of atomic scale phenomena and their implications in each discipline. Upgrading the computational models developed in the Molecular Workbench, the materials allow students to experience the atomic world and build models that can be used to understand and predict macroscopic phenomena. Focused on the concepts of molecular biology, the basic physics of atoms and molecules is developed so that it can be further developed in chemistry. Student understanding of these concepts is leveraged to address ideas in molecular biology. For each of the three disciplines, two topics of two class period duration are developed for each of four strands: motion and energy, atoms and molecules, charge, and light. Professional development teachers need to use the materials and integrate them effectively into their courses is also developed as are assessments. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Reichsman, Frieda Concord Consortium MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1139836 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628189 October 1, 2006 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Biocomplexity and the Habitable Planet - An Innovative Capstone Course for High School. This project will develop set of instructional materials that engages students, teachers, and their parents in the science of coupled natural human (CNH) systems. Teacher guides, a website and family/community materials accompany the four student modules (which focus on an urban watershed, an urban/agricultural system, Amazonia and a polar system). The curriculum provides material for a yearlong capstone course; individual modules can be used as replacement units. In an era of global human impact on the environment, understanding the "complex fabric of relationships" between humans and the environment is of unique urgency for all citizens. It is no longer possible to study "natural" systems without considering human interactions. There is a need for high school materials that reflect this critically important fact, and that also support students to engage in authentic investigations of systems phenomena. To address this need, Biocomplexity draws on current research by the Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and other CNH Biocomplexity grantees as the basis for the materials. Biocomplexity is inquiry-based. Student materials scaffold activities to support all students -- particularly those from historically underserved backgrounds -- to learn successfully. Curriculum design is informed by research on progression in student learning of scientific content and reasoning. Developed using the "backward design" approach, Biocomplexity ensures that instructional strategies promote learning the key ideas. Biocomplexity is an "educative curriculum:" teacher materials provide extensive and practical support that increases teachers' content knowledge and pedagogical skills. This proposal promises to effectively link the high school classroom with important current science and at the same time extend and strengthen the learning of core scientific and mathematical concepts, in the context of an innovative curriculum incorporating authentic scientific inquiry and using a case-based approach. Furthermore, the project will make a significant contribution to education research on students' understanding of models and their use in science inquiry. This curriculum makes a unique contribution to the field because of its grounding in current research on Biocomplexity. Its focus on CNH systems, situated in urban, rural and other settings, results in problem-based cases in applied science that will compel the interest of students from all backgrounds. Students experience authentic scientific inquiry, exploring the same fundamental ideas that engage scientists and researchers. Informed by the best recent research -- both scientific and educational -- the curriculum will reflect the growing importance of science that unifies insights from many fields of biological inquiry. Community elements serve to develop strong ties between school, parents and communities. The partnership with researchers at LTERs and elsewhere will have positive synergistic outcomes for the LTERs' education programs, while connecting a new range of nationally important research centers with high school classrooms across the country. ERE General DRL EHR Berkowitz, Alan Steward T. A. Pickett Institute of Ecosystem Studies NY David B. Campbell Standard Grant 183035 7304 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0628199 October 1, 2006 A Learning Progression for Scientific Modeling. The project is a 42-month research and development effort to develop a learning progression for scientific modeling and investigate its implementation in two grade bands. The project focuses on the scientific practice of modeling because of its centrality in both the practice of science and as a vehicle for science learning. A learning progression characterizes variations of the practice that are appropriate for learners, and a sequence of successively more complex versions of that practice possible for learners. A learning progression for a scientific practice contains; (a) a model of the target practice appropriate for learners, (b) the starting points of learners' intuitive understandings and practices, (c) a sequence of successively more sophisticated understandings and practices, and (d) instructional supports to help learners develop the practice. The theoretical contribution of the proposed work is to develop an empirically-tested learning progression for scientific modeling. The project identifies two related learning goals for modeling that serve as the two major constructs it will track: modeling practices and metamodeling knowledge. Each construct is broken into several progress variables that are tracked across time. The project will provide an empirically-supported learning progression for a key scientific practice, scientific modeling. Although the field has produced snapshots demonstrating the promise of engaging learners in scientific practices, systematic empirical research demonstrating how the practice can develop across years is lacking. The specific instructional materials created as part of the project can serve as a model other developers can use to design materials supporting scientific modeling and other practices. The model for educative curriculum materials as a form of teacher support can be adapted to support teacher learning about modeling or other scientific practices in other curriculum materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Reiser, Brian Joseph Krajcik Elizabeth Davis Christina Schwarz David Fortus Northwestern University IL David A. Hanych Continuing grant 2614706 7355 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628242 October 1, 2006 A Technology Exemplar: Post-Textbook UDL Materials. This proposal is for the development of technology-rich science curriculum exemplars for grades 3-6 based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. The project will create sufficient materials to test the effectiveness of the approach and provide an exemplar that can inspire additional content and further development. A rich set of professional development materials to support teacher implementation of UDL science curriculum in the classroom is planned. Probes are used for lab investigations and computational models are used for experimentation in virtual environments. The products include seven two-week inquiry modules united by an energy theme and based on national standards. The modules engage students through driving questions, such as "Why are there clouds?" and "What do plants eat?" Variable scaffolding is provided for both kinds of inquiry. Graph and modeling software will be developed that can express data and relationships using text and vocalization as well as various representational formats. A total of twenty-five test classrooms in Acton, MA, Anchorage, AK, Maryville, MO, and Fresno, CA plan to participate in formative and summative testing of the materials. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Staudt, Carolyn Concord Consortium MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 2163796 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628245 October 1, 2006 The Inquiry Project. This learning progression project will develop a learning progression in scientific inquiry about the nature of matter. The effort will result in a research-guided system of curriculum, assessment and professional development focusing on the transition from a macroscopic to a microscopic understanding of matter that occurs in upper elementary and middle school. The project has a close collaboration with scientists and urban schools. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Doubler, Susan Roger Tobin David Carraher Jodi Asbell-Clarke TERC Inc MA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 3182845 7645 7355 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628253 October 1, 2006 Supporting the Development of Model-based Reasoning. The project will test a learning progression for modeling that spans the elementary and middle grades. Modeling instruction will be organized around concepts in life sciences that cumulate to a strong conceptual understanding of micro and macro evolution. The work will take place in two districts with underserved children. A curriculum strand will be created, assessments developed and a longitudinal research study conducted. The project also includes an extensive professional development model and accompanying dissemination strategy. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Schauble, Leona Richard Lehrer Vanderbilt University TN Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2984398 7355 7271 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628264 September 1, 2006 Engaging Middle School Students in Student-directed Inquiry through Virtual Environments for Learning. The Information Technology in Science Center for Teaching and Learning (ITS) at Texas A&M University and The Center for Innovative Learning and Assessment Technologies (CILAT) at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will develop five web-based modules for middle school science that engage students in student-directed inquiry and provide teachers with professional development in facilitating this inquiry. These modules will immerse students in virtual environments for learning (VELs) where they will take on the role of scientists engaged in a complex task. The virtual settings presented in the VELs will support students in designing and carrying out their own investigations. Like scientists, students will identify questions, design and conduct scientific investigations, use virtual versions of the tools to gather and analyze data, develop products in which they use evidence to support their reasoning and collaborate with peers to analyze alternative arguments. Each module will address the National Science Education Standards for grades 5-8 and will integrate grade-appropriate mathematical skills. Each VEL will be designed by an interdisciplinary team consisting of a scientist, a science educator, a district-based science curriculum specialist and an instructional designer. Field tests will occur during the 2nd through 4th years progressively from grade 6 through 8. At least 200 students and 15 teachers will be in the sample and an equivalent comparison population will be used. Ultimately, the project will produce findings related to design features, protocols, professional development and instruction that supports achievement for all students and decreases the differences in achievement. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Pedersen, Susan Jane Schielack Scott Slough Douglas Williams Texas A&M Research Foundation TX Michael Haney Standard Grant 1685499 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628272 October 1, 2006 Seeds of Science / Roots of Reading: Developing a New Generation of Research-based Elementary Science Instructional Materials. "Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading: Developing a New Generation of Research- based Elementary Science Instructional Materials" will develop and test three inquiry-based science units for 3rd-4th grades -- one each in life, earth and physical science. The Seeds/Roots series is an integrated science-literacy instructional program based on a successful NSF-funded proof-of-concept initiative. Seeds/Roots builds on revision of units in the Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) Program; but updates and employs a new, multi-modal "Do it, talk it, read it, write it" learning model, with literacy used in the service of science inquiry. The learning model capitalizes on natural synergies between science and literacy to the benefit of both domains, and emphasizes support for English Language Learners. With other funding sources this proposal will leverage NSF's initial investment in this program and build on its success to enable the commercial launch of the entire grades 2-5 program. The project will also develop an online guide to the entire series as well as materials for administrators and parents/caregivers. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Barber, Jacqueline P. David Pearson University of California-Berkeley CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1899979 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628867 March 1, 2007 The Science Behind Climate Change: A Journey to Reedy Glacier,. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project focuses on the Reedy Glacier Antarctic research of Brenda Hall (OPP 0229034) and its relevance to the residents of and visitors to Maine. Collaborators include the University of Maine, the Maine Discovery Museum, the Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain Sports (an environmentally active retail company with several stores around the state). The primary deliverable is the development of an interactive software program that presents information and experiences in a two-tiered concept approach -- on the Reedy Glacier and its connection to Maine and on the process of science. The software is being configured into kiosks at the three partnering organizations, into a DVD format for informal and formal settings to be distributed at cost and onto a University of Maine Climate Change web portal currently under separate development. The project web site will provide source code for the portal design so others may use it to create portals and modules of their own. The Maine Discovery Museum intends to create additional exhibitry on the topic with resources outside this proposal, and the Acadia National Park will use the programs in teacher education workshops. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hall, Brenda Molly Schauffler University of Maine ME Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 74500 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0628879 August 15, 2006 Statistics for Action. The goal of this Planning Grant is to create and pilot embedded mathematics activities in an effort to increase numeracy skills of adults in community advocacy groups. The project is designed to explore the manner in which adults address mathematics issues related to community problems, design interventions that will assist with the understanding and interpretation of data, the use of mathematics and experiment with focused activities to explicate mathematical ideas. Three proof of concept intervention activities will be pilot tested with members of urban and rural community action groups in Boston, Massachusetts, and in a rural Appalachian town in Tennessee. The project partners include the Center for Literacy Studies, Boston Asthma Coalition, Haitian American Public Health Initiative and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense Fund. Project deliverables include a needs assessment and the design and evaluation of mathematics interventions to ascertain the impact on adults' use and confidence. Strategic impact will be realized by exploring community groups as an informal education setting for introducing contextualized STEM content. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schmitt, Mary Jane Mary Beth Bingman TERC Inc MA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 74728 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0628938 October 1, 2006 The Fabric of the Cosmos -- A Planning Grant. WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting a planning grant to support the development of "The Fabric of the Cosmos," a four-hour NOVA series to be broadcast in the fall of 2009, and an accompanying Web site educational outreach campaign, and project evaluations. Based on the book of the same name, "The Fabric of the Cosmos" will build on the collaboration that resulted in the acclaimed NOVA miniseries "The Elegant Universe," leveraging author and physicist's Brian Greene's ability to get people excited about physics. The goals of the projects are to: 1) enhance public awareness and appreciation of the ongoing quest to understand the fundamental laws of nature, through the evolution of two key concepts: space and time; 2) find innovative ways of using television, the Web and other public forums to bring exciting ideas in science to people who are unlikely to encounter them elsewhere; 3) forge effective collaborative partnerships with the physics community to maximize the educational impact of the project; and 4) encourage individuals to explore scientific concepts and remain engaged with developments in science throughout their lives. The proposed planning phase will include planning meetings with partner organizations, including the American Physical Society, work with project advisors, and writing a detailed treatment for one hour. Multimedia Research will conduct third-party evaluation of the treatment during the planning phase, which will inform the development of the entire series as well as the Web and outreach activities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 67729 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0628972 October 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: Development, Testing and Implementation of Digital Imaging Techniques for Enhanced Learning Applications in HD, 3D and Dome Theater Immersive Environments. This is a collaborative planning project led by PIs at the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM). The work will develop and test several new technical methods both of acquiring underwater and terrestrial scientific image material by WHOI staff and of applying it to the needs of the research community and of digital projection theaters in the informal education world, specifically to HD, 3D, and digital planetarium environments. The planning efforts are intended to feed into the eventual production of shows by SMM and by the new Minnesota Planetarium, and then to similar theaters around the country. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Halvorson, Joel Science Museum of Minnesota MN Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 16455 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0628977 October 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: Development, Testing and Implementation of Digital Imaging Techniques for Enhanced Learning Applications in HD, 3D and Dome Theater Immersive Environments. This is a collaborative planning project led by PIs at the Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM). The work will develop and test several new technical methods both of acquiring underwater and terrestrial scientific image material by WHOI staff and of applying it to the needs of the research community and of digital projection theaters in the informal education world, specifically to HD, 3D, and digital planetarium environments. The planning efforts are intended to feed into the eventual production of shows by SMM and by the new Minnesota Planetarium, and then to similar theaters around the country. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lange, William Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 58545 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0628988 October 1, 2006 Identifying a Framework for University-sponsored ISE -- A Planning Grant. Colorado State University proposes to identify the framework and infrastructure needed for the university's main campus and pueblo campus to deliver informal science education to school aged youth and their families with a particular focus on Hispanic families. The two-year planning process will include workshops, surveys, focus groups and interviews with key partners in the community that provide programming and advocacy for the targeted audience of school age children and Hispanic families in particular. An advisory board and core team of planners will use data gathered from this process to inform the development of the infrastructure model and to identify STEM concepts and formats, compelling University resources and faculty Professional Development needs in this University/Community partnership. The results of this planning initiative will provide tools, infrastructural plans and community awareness that will support future opportunities for delivering programs to specific school age audiences and developing the capacity of the faculty/staff to work with new audiences. These future efforts will support the ultimate goal of increasing school age children's participation in ISE and ultimately the numbers of Hispanic youth who go on to participate in STEM careers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bruyere, Brett Guadalupe Salazar Colorado State University CO Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 74999 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0629063 September 1, 2006 Disseminating Computer Clubhouse Knowledge and Practice: A Planning Grant. The Computer Clubhouse Network, based at the Museum of Science in Boston, has developed a successful model for engaging youth ages 10-18 in technology-related activities. This planning grant will build on the best practices acquired over the 12-year history of the Computer Clubhouse and identify materials and resources to support professionals at community sites and after school centers with similar goals. The planning activities will inform the creation of professional development workshops and resources to improve the quality of technology programs for youth. Project partners include the MIT Media Lab; Fairfax County Department of Community and Recreation Services (Fairfax, VA); Westside Youth Technology Entrepreneur Center (Chicago, IL); Little Haiti Housing Association (Miami, FL); and Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Los Angeles, CA). The project deliverables include an analysis of existing programs; a staff needs assessment; examination of effective professional development strategies, pilot workshops and online resources, and a matrix to measure program effectiveness. Strategic impact will be realized through the design of resources that support content-rich programs and improve sustainability in community technology programs nationwide. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Breslow, Gail Museum of Science MA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 74988 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0629086 October 1, 2006 "Go Figure" -- A Planning Grant. WGBH is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a new public television initiative aimed at enhancing young children's mathematical competencies. The target age for the "Go Figure" series is 3- to 6-year olds. The goal of the proposed planning phase is to: complete a math curriculum serving as the overall pedagogical framework for the series; develop a production bible that will include descriptions of the format, setting, characters, tone, sample storylines and possible interstitials; produce a sample script and animatic, and conduct formative testing of the animatic. Devising an outreach strategy in collaboration with key national partners will also be part of the planning phase. The project will be developed by the WGBH children's television team, and advised by leading child development specialists and experts in early math education. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sullivan, Brigid WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 74958 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0629109 October 1, 2006 Spring Watch Planning Grant. National Wildlife Federation is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a six-part television mini-series called "Springwatch USA" and related educational materials. "Springwatch" will focus on phenology and engage viewers to report their findings of specific natural phenomena, via the web. The goal is to educate children, families and self-appointed citizen naturalists of all ages on the core science concepts associated with phenology and ecology and the hallmark animal and plant responses to the seasonal transition from winter to spring. A second goal is to familiarize the American public with broader, cutting-edge concepts of how longer term changes in climate may also be significantly shifting some of the accepted norms for the progression of spring in North America. The proposed planning phase will include: audience research, meetings of science and education advisors, development of episode plans, conceptual design of field identification and educational materials as well as the protocols that will serve to standardize the data and make it useful for scientific, education and interpretive purposes. National Wildlife Federation will be collaborating with Animal Planet and Painless Productions to create the "Springwatch" series INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Tufts, Craig National Wildlife Federation VA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 71863 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0629191 October 1, 2006 Professional Development Framework for Informal Environmental Educators. Environmental Education Association of Oregon is launching a planning process to determine if a state-wide certification program emphasizing informal science pedagogy, STEM content and research science engagement is the best approach to supporting the professional development of environmental educators. The planning team consists of museums, zoos, forestry, park and wetland conservation groups, nature centers, small environmentally focused businesses, universities and community after school informal education centers. The planning will result in a needs assessment of professional development interests, a set of Oregon specific core stem and facilitation competencies, diversity strategies, and evaluation rubrics that will lay the groundwork for a potential core certification framework. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Rhoads, Linda Environmental Education Association of Oregon OR Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0629266 June 1, 2006 CAREER: Examining the mutual construction of learning and teaching in university mathematics classrooms. To investigate the teaching undergraduate mathematics that strives to allow students to develop personally meaningful understandings of the mathematics in typical undergraduate curricula through a case study of one teacher; and To develop a professional development program for graduate teaching assistants from a theoretically based perspective. In addition, this teaching assistant certification program will be a site for research in teacher development through a teacher development experiment. In particular, the work on this project is toward developing models of teaching at the undergraduate level that both extend and inform what is known about teaching at the K-12 level. These models then form a basis for implementing professional development programs that can affect reform at the undergraduate level, leading to a cohesive K-16 mathematics education program. The first phase of the project, underway in the 2001-2002 academic year is an intensive case study of one mathematics faculty member, teaching calculus, noted for innovative instruction that leads to meaningful mathematical participation among his students. The case study involves daily interviews with the instructor on his plans and the results of his interactions with the students in class, which are also videotaped and observed. The focus of the analysis on this teacher looks at: ways in which this teacher uses his content knowledge in practice; ways in which he incorporates technology into teaching calculus, and the ways in which he deals with the dilemmas of teaching in the university setting. In addition, analysis of student work provides insight on the possible impact that instruction has on student learning. The second phase of the project is the developmental research on graduate teaching assistant professional development. Using a Teacher Development Experiment [TDE] (Simon, 1999) model and emergent and situative theoretical perspectives, the research and development focuses on developing and testing instructional tasks used with graduate teaching assistants in a university-sponsored Teaching Assistant Certification Program. The results of this research lead to both a better understanding by the field of the processes involved in teaching at the university level, in understanding the professional growth as teaching assistants of future faculty, and in materials to use to foster growth of future faculty. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR King, Karen New York University NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 346081 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0629377 October 1, 2006 EESE: Graduate Education in Research Ethics for Scientists and Engineers. This award is made under the Ethics Education in Science and Engineering Program (EESE: NSF06-524). In this project, an interdisciplinary team of researchers and educators is integrating research ethics into graduate programs in the life sciences, biotechnology, and engineering. The team is creating a coordinated series activities in research ethics at the graduate education level in order to prepare both faculty and graduates who are members of the growing community of scholars who highly aware of ethical issues in science and engineering research and committed to the advancement of integrity, honesty, and responsibility in these spheres. The activities targeting graduate students include three workshops, a freestanding course, and a capstone activity designed to provide graduate students with a conceptual framework in research ethics and related problem-solving skills. Faculty members are participating in professional development workshops in order to learn how to design effective research ethics cases and materials to provide graduate students with practice and guidance in confronting ethical challenges in research. Key workshops are "ethics across the curriculum" (EAC) and faculty-mentoring workshops to foster collaboration between faculty experienced with integrating ethics and those new to the task. Faculty teams are engaged in developing cases and classroom materials in an EAC Toolkit, an online environment for developing best practices in ethics teaching (NSF SES-0551779). This project includes detailed assessment efforts. It is engaged in identifying project components that are good candidates for transfer and use in other institutions. It is also documenting its deliberate efforts to ensure the project's sustainability beyond the period of NSF support. Intellectual Merit: This project is adapting and integrating successful approaches to ethics pedagogy. EAC activities are being integrated with a freestanding course in graduate research ethics to develop new synergies between the two. The project is creating new understandings and insights in moral psychology. Studies have shown that mastery of teachable skill sets underlies exemplary behavior and good works. Activities being developed for the graduate and faculty workshops, the research ethics course, and the mentoring program will help test and assess these understandings in the context of graduate research ethics. Broader Impacts: Broader impact is planned in four different dimensions. First, the faculty community involved in the design of the free-standing course and accompanying materials in graduate research ethics is also designing many of them in Spanish to make them realistically "accessible" as well as available to Spanish-speaking stakeholders. Second, the set of faculty development workshops in research ethics - a tool of high potential value - is being documented to facilitate its transfer to and use in other institutions. Third, the project is providing mentoring opportunities to graduate students in several outreach contexts at the undergraduate and high school levels. One such activity is a summer camp held at UPRM for incoming science and engineering students. Finally, this project is opening a dialog between North and South America. Stakeholders are exchanging EAC expertise and innovations in research ethics teaching and practice, cases, exercises, and modules. This exchange is disseminating the ethical issues and challenges faced by scientists and engineers working in diverse contexts. This is especially important in disseminating the global impacts of engineering and scientific research and practice. REESE FUNCTIONAL & REGULATORY SYS CL DRL EHR Ferrer-Negron, Jorge William Frey Efrain O'Neill-Carrillo Didier Valdes Carlos Rios-Velazquez University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez PR Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 214038 7625 7473 SMET 9179 9177 9150 7491 1228 0629443 October 1, 2006 EESE: University of Kansas Initiative on Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (KUI-EESE). This award is made under Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (NSF 06-524). Intellectual Merit: Ethical conduct is the hallmark of excellence in engineering and scientific research, design, and practice. While graduate programs in these areas routinely emphasize procedural ethical conduct, and scientists and engineers generally observe the principles of ethical practice in their everyday research, few receive the formal ethics training that would enable them to navigate through the often subtle ethical complexities that they encounter in the design and decision-making processes related to their research. Even more rare are data that point to the most effective educational model or models for providing such critical training. The University of Kansas Initiative on Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (KUI-EESE) is bringing together experts in ethics, educators, and graduate students in the sciences and engineering, and best practices related to learning methodologies to develop a variety of graduate level ethics education courses. These are being implemented broadly in graduate science and engineering programs at the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and University of Missouri-Kansas City. The effectiveness of various types and combinations of courses is being assessed in order to articulate and promote best practices and enhance our understanding as to how institutions of higher education can work to produce a deeper understanding of ethical conduct and decision-making in their graduates. These approaches include standard graduate-level exposure to ethical concepts, enrollment in a new stand-alone course, enrollment in a new embedded course, and dual enrollment in stand-alone and embedded courses developed through KUI-EESE. Through a combination of external measures (Vanderbilt University's Responsible Conduct of Research Baseline Assessment Tool) and internal measures (Defining Issues Test, May's Moral Evaluation Scales, and analysis of instructor-produced course portfolios), benchmark ethical understanding is being measured among graduate students and compared with students who have participated in one or more of the KUI-EESE educational initiatives. Broader Impacts: KUI-EESE has been developed to ensure that the lessons learned are not only widely disseminated, but also highly portable. The multi-institution design is providing the principal investigators with data that can be generalized across institutions and used to reinforce the project's focus upon enhancing existing institutional efforts in graduate ethics education in ways that are both feasible and cost-effective. A multifaceted dissemination plan is being used to broadly disseminate the results of this work across the respective campuses of participating institutions and beyond. This plan includes the development of a web-based ethics resource clearinghouse; the creation of an on-line faculty community for sharing ideas, questions, and successes related to graduate ethics education; the encouragement of faculty to present their work with the project at their respective professional conferences and in their respective professional journals; the creation of a multi-institutional Faculty and Student Ethics Colloquium; and the creation of a new interdisciplinary faculty forum for the dissemination of ideas and strategies across academic disciplines. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES REESE FUNCTIONAL & REGULATORY SYS CL DRL EHR Rosenbloom, Joshua Douglas May Steven Starrett Daniel Bernstein Richard De George University of Kansas Center for Research Inc KS Myles G. Boylan Standard Grant 300000 9150 7625 7473 SMET 9179 9177 9150 7491 0116000 Human Subjects 0632064 January 1, 2007 IPY: Collaborative Research: Live from the Poles; A Multimedia Educational Experience. This project brings together polar researchers, science centers and broadcast media reporters to tell the story of four polar research expeditions to the general public, teachers and students. The four expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic were chosen based on their relevance to the three primary IPY research emphasis areas defined by NSF. A science writer and a professional photographer/oceanographer reporting on each expedition will do daily webcasts on the Dive and Discover web site as well as several scheduled real-time phone patches to audiences at the Museum of Science, Boston, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, The Field Museum (Chicago), the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Pacific Science Center (Seattle), the Birch Aquarium (San Diego), National Public Radio stations, CBS News, and to student "reporters" writing for Scholastic Online. Programs will also be broadcast on University of California TV. A museum exhibit at the WHOI Exhibit Center will highlight polar research. Components of it will either travel to partner museums or be replicated in the partnering museums. Photo archives of the expeditionary material will also be created and made available to interested users. ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Fontaine, Paul Peter Wong Museum of Science MA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 97202 5208 5130 SMET 9177 5299 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0632085 October 1, 2006 IPY: Teachers' Domain -- Polar Sciences. The WGBH Educational Foundation is supporting K-12 teachers and students in learning about the focus, findings and implications of current research efforts in polar regions by developing and pilot testing the prototype of a digital library collection of relevant media-based resources. The project integrates with proposed research, education and outreach activities associated with the International Polar Year 2007-08 (IPY), leveraging the inherent appeal of the Arctic and Antarctic regions to teach about related science issues and their relevance to the Earth system. This initiative builds upon and expands the power, scope and established user base of WGBH's Teacher's' Domain (www.teachersdomain.org), a featured portal in NSF's National Science Digital Library (NSDL). This award-winning online service currently presents nearly 1,000 annotated rich-media resources selected and produced specifically for K-12 educators, organized by commonly taught curriculum topics in the Life, Physical and Earth/Space Sciences. The new "Polar Sciences" collection prototype will include video segments, interactive activities and other rich-media drawn from the archives of WGBH, PBS and a wide range of organizations, agencies, universities and other media outlets involved in polar studies, all fully contextualized in the Teachers' Domain model (e.g., with background essays, standards correlations, lesson plans, etc.). Structured to serve as a platform for additional media-based educational resources developed during and after the course of the IPY term, this prototype collection will also include a new "guided exploration" component that featuring multi-media resources produced as part of field studies conducted through the Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) program at the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS). DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION DRL EHR Sicker, Theodore WGBH Educational Foundation MA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 236342 7645 5208 SMET OTHR 9177 5299 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0632175 October 1, 2006 IPY: Engaging Antarctica. "IPY: Engaging Antarctica" is an informal science education project designed to increase public awareness of Antarctic geological research and discovery during the International Polar Year. Submitted through NET Television, the project will produced a PBS one-hour television documentary for air on NOVA in fall 2008 (w.t. "Antarctica's Icy Secrets") complemented by a multi-faceted outreach effort. The intended impacts of "Engaging Antarctica" are to: 1) enhance the general public's awareness and understanding of scientific research conducted in Antarctica; 2) create innovative collaborations for developing and disseminating Antarctic educational materials; and 3) enhance our knowledge of how youth and adults understand Antarctic research. The documentary will illuminate geoscience research as it being accomplished throughout IPY and specifically focus on the ANDRILL project, a major focal point during the global campaign of polar education and analyses. The program will document how scientists search for evidence to resolve conflicting hypotheses regarding ice sheet history and dynamics. NOVA Online will create a companion site for the program. In addition, the outreach materials include the Flexhibit, a digital package of high resolution images and files (visual and audio) accessible via the web, at no cost to the user. These will include scientist's stories in their own words, and inquiry-based activities developed by LuAnn Dahlman, the TERC geoscience curriculum specialist. Dahlman will work with the ARISE educators who have been selected to go to Antarctica to work with the ANDRILL science team. Mini-grants will be given to youth organizations in low income communities to participate in the trial test of the Flexhibit activities and enable participation in the project. Multimedia Research will conduct front-end and formative evaluation. Summative evaluation will be conducted by Multimedia Research and Amy Spiegel, from the University of Nebraska Center for Instructional Innovation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Farrell, J Michael Judy Diamond LuAnn Dahlman University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 1246068 7259 5208 5130 SMET OTHR 9177 9150 5299 5295 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0632194 January 1, 2007 IPY: Pole to Pole. This project will produce a multi-part radio project including eight half-hour documentaries, 40-50 short radio features, an audio clearinghouse and a website on scientific research in the Polar Regions. The content of the programs support the goals of IPY. The project will be produced with four international radio partners: the science units of The Australian Broadcasting Co., the BBC World Service, Radio Deustche-Welle and Radio New Zealand. These international collaborators will look at issues such as the influence of conditions in Polar Regions on global climatic change, how animals adapt to rapid environmental change, survival in extreme environments and processes of change among native people in the Polar regions. The programs will reach a large audience in the United States as well as internationally through the collaborating partners. The clearinghouse/website will be designed to provide organized learning resources and an audio archive of the project's radio programs and archival interviews and sounds for use by both the general public and professional audiences. There will be both formative and summative evaluation of the programs and website. COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ARCTIC NATURAL SCIENCES ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Rankin, Moira Soundprint Media Center, Inc. MD Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 579087 7298 7259 5280 5130 SMET OTHR 9177 9150 7259 5980 5979 5978 5946 5941 5912 5299 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0632219 January 1, 2007 IPY: Collaborative Research: Live from the Poles; A Multimedia Educational Experience. This project brings together polar researchers, science centers and broadcast media reporters to tell the story of four polar research expeditions to the general public, teachers and students. The four expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic were chosen based on their relevance to the three primary IPY research emphasis areas defined by NSF. A science writer and a professional photographer/oceanographer reporting on each expedition will do daily webcasts on the "Polar Discovery web site (http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu)" as well as several scheduled real-time phone patches to audiences at the Museum of Science, Boston, the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, The Field Museum (Chicago), the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Pacific Science Center (Seattle), the Birch Aquarium (San Diego), National Public Radio stations, CBS News and to student "reporters" writing for Scholastic Online. Programs will also be broadcast on University of California TV. A museum exhibit at the WHOI Exhibit Center will highlight polar research. Components of it will either travel to partner museums or be replicated in the partnering museums. Photo archives of the expeditionary material will also be created and made available to interested users. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION DRL EHR Linder, Christopher Frederic Heide Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 483955 7259 5208 SMET 9177 5299 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0632262 November 1, 2006 POLAR-PALOOZA. This project proposes using three complementary strategies to engage, inform and inspire large audiences. (1) A national tour called "Stories from a Changing Planet" that will include in-person presentations and hands-on activities by Polar scientists at science centers, museums, libraries and schools across the country. (2) the "HiDef video Science Story Capture Corp" team of professional videographers HD footage will be made available as public domain materials accessible to government research agencies, universities,science centers and others. (3) Video and Audio podcasts distributed throught iTunes, google, Yahoo and IPY websites. The project will have front end, formative and summative evaluations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ARCTIC NATURAL SCIENCES DRL EHR Haines-Stiles, Geoffrey Erna Akuginow Jayne Aubele Geoff Haines-Stiles Productions NJ Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 1370994 T681 H235 H117 7259 5280 SMET OTHR 9177 5299 1079 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0632401 January 1, 2007 IPY: PolarTREC -- Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating. "PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating)" is a three-year teacher professional enhancement program that will advance polar science education by bringing K-12 educators and polar researchers together in hands-on field experiences in the Arctic and Antarctic. PolarTREC activities and products will foster the integration of research and education to produce a legacy of long-term teacher-researcher collaborations, improvement of teacher content knowledge and teaching practices, shareable online learning resources based on real-world science, improved student knowledge of and interest in the Arctic and Antarctic, and broad public engagement in polar science. ARCUS will adapt and extend existing Teacher Research Experience (TRE) models and its own experience delivering TREC -- a TRE program supported by NSF for the Arctic -- to develop PolarTREC, a comprehensive, sustained field research experience program for K-12 teachers focusing on IPY science themes at both polar regions. Thirty-six teachers will spend two to six weeks in the Arctic or Antarctic studying a topic relevant to one of the IPY emphasis areas, with "Live from IPY" calls, Internet presentations, and podcasts from the field, daily teacher journals, interactive bulletin boards, photo galleries, online multimedia learning resources and activities, and participation in CARE (Connecting Arctic/Antarctic Researchers and Educators) web-meetings to support translation of experiences into the classroom and beyond. PolarTREC is relevant to the education goals of the IPY by 1) providing a hands-on field research experience that can be realistically implemented in the polar regions; 2) broadly disseminating teacher experiences to students and other professionals; 3) developing a sustainable learning community; and 4) providing clear and appropriate measures of project success through a formative and summative evaluation. Additionally, the PolarTREC evaluation will provide a basis for replicating or expanding the program structure and best practices. PolarTREC will benefit from close coordination with logistics providers and international programs to ensure operational feasibility and an international reach. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR ANTARCTIC EARTH SCIENCES DRL EHR Warburton, Janet Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. AK David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1227637 7271 5208 5130 5112 SMET OTHR 9177 7259 5980 5979 5978 5941 5912 5299 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0632450 January 1, 2007 Bayesian Pedagogical Agents for Dynamic High-Performance Inquiry-Based Science Learning Environments. This is an award to study pedagogical agents. Pedagogical agents are embodied software agents that have emerged as a promising vehicle for promoting effective learning. They provide customized problem-solving experiences and advice that are precisely tailored to individual learners in specific contexts. By co-habiting a rich inquiry-based learning environment with learners, pedagogical agents can observe learners' problem solving activities, offer situated advice, and actively support learners' iterating through cycles of questioning, hypothesis generation, data collection, and hypothesis testing. However, inquiry-based learning also presents a significant challenge: the very "openness" of the learning environment introduces multiple sources of complexity into tutorial planning. To address the complexities associated with supporting inquiry-based learning, this project proposes the use of Bayesian pedagogical agents that leverage recent advances in Bayesian and decision-theoretic computational models of reasoning to promote self-regulated learning experiences that are both effective and engaging. It will develop a full suite of Bayesian pedagogical agent technologies for inquiry-based science learning environments. To promote effective and engaging learning processes and outcomes, it will create Bayesian pedagogical agents that leverage probabilistic computational models that systematically reason about the multitude of factors that bear on decision making to infer learners' beliefs, goals, and plans, including strategy use, from their problem-solving actions. By introducing pedagogical agents into the visually engaging environments that typify high-end game platforms and embedding them in dynamically generated science narratives, it will address the complementary goals of achievement and engagement. The project will also provide a comprehensive account of the cognitive processes and results of interacting with Bayesian pedagogical agents in inquiry-based science learning by conducting extensive empirical studies. To understand the cognitive mechanisms by which self-regulated inquiry-based science learning occurs with middle school students interacting with Bayesian pedagogical agents, the project will take a multi-method approach to investigating the use and effectiveness of Bayesian pedagogical agents. In both controlled laboratory and classroom-based field settings, these studies will investigate the central issues of self-regulation with respect to both achievement (science content knowledge, transfer, and effective strategy use, including strategy selection and strategy shifting) and engagement (self-efficacy, situational interest, and mastery orientation with an emphasis on persistence) to determine precisely which technologies and conditions contribute most effectively to learning processes and outcomes. The intellectual merit lies in the marriage of Bayesian networks and education research. The broader impact is in the promise of vastly improved technology for education. REESE DRL EHR Lester, James Hiller Spires John Nietfeld North Carolina State University NC John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 605436 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0632519 September 15, 2006 Collaborative Research: Learning About Complex Systems in Middle School by Constructing Structure-Behavior-Function Models. The proposed research will study what and how middle-school children learn about complex systems, the lesson plans used by middle-school teachers, and the mental models children develop as a result of classroom activities. The main learning goal is to promote the acquisition of a deep understanding of the nature of complex physical and biological systems at multiple levels of abstraction and aggregation by middle-school children. In particular, the proposed project will explore the use of structure-behavior-function (SBF) models in the establishment and maintenance of classroom fish-aquarium systems as the context for learning about complex systems. The main technology goal is to design, develop and evaluate an interactive environment called ACT built around an interactive SBF modeling tool for use in middle-school classrooms. The project expects the children to use the ACT environment in conjunction with physical aquaria and existing NetLogo simulations of aquaria. Instead of prescribing a specific method for using the ACT environment, there will be support for multiple lesson plans. The evaluation criteria for the learning goal will be the depth and accuracy of the SBF models developed by the children, and the effectiveness of the SBF models in the establishment and maintenance of classroom aquaria. The usefulness of the ACT environment for these tasks will be assessed in middle schools in central New Jersey, which have very diverse demographics. REESE DRL EHR Goel, Ashok Jon Spencer Rugaber GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 313923 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0632544 October 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: S-CASTS: A System for Collaboration Among Students, Teacher and System. This multi-institution, multi-disciplinary project investigates the use of models of collaboration, especially as embodied in collaborative human-computer interface systems, in the augmentation of existing flexible software tools for mathematics education. It draws on prior work and expertise in two complementary fields: (1) mathematics education: the development of representational tools for data and probability, and (2) multi-agent systems research: the development of a theoretical model of collaboration and its deployment in the design of collaborative human-computer interfaces. It simultaneously raises research questions and will contribute to research in both fields. Over the course of three years, the project will develop three pedagogical tools based on techniques for collaborative interface design. These systems will entail the development of new plan-recognition algorithms and human-computer interface designs. They will be tested in several middle school classrooms using the probability modeling software Model Chance. In Year 1, a tool will be created for teachers to provide them with a representation of their students' work organized around possible plans. In Year 2, this resource will be extended to one that can alert teachers to students who may need immediate assistance and provide some representation of how their planning may have gone awry. Finally, in Year 3, the lessons of the previous two years will be brought to bear on the design of a pedagogical module that will interact directly with the student when it senses that he may need some assistance or advice. The intellectual merit of the project resides in the computer science and education research. The broader impact lies in the project's promise for improving mathematics education. REESE DRL EHR Grosz, Barbara Harvard University MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 284193 7625 SMET 9251 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0632546 September 15, 2006 Collaborative Research: Learning About Complex Systems in Middle School by Constructing Structure-Behavior-Function Models. Background: Artificial Intelligence theories of model-based analogy in conceptual design have led to a methodology and a language for building functional and causal models of complex systems called Structure-Behavior-Function (SBF) models. An SBF model of a system explicitly represents its structure [S] (i.e., its configuration of components and connections), its functions (F) (i.e., its output behaviors), and internal causal behaviors [B] (i.e. its causal processes that compose the functions of the components into the functions of the system). The SBF language provides a vocabulary for expressing and organizing knowledge in a hierarchy, which captures functionality and causality at multiple levels of aggregation and abstraction. Empirical research in the Learning Sciences using the SBF methodology have led to substantial evidence that while experts model a complex system in terms of its structure, behaviors and functions, novices express primarily the structure of the system, demonstrate minimal understanding of its functions, and largely miss its behaviors. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Jordan, Rebecca Cindy Hmelo-Silver Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 319232 7645 7625 SMET 9251 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0632580 September 15, 2006 Collaborative Proposal: Technologies for Improving Laboratory Experiences in Advanced Technical Education. The purpose of this project is to develop technologies for improving laboratory experiences in advanced technical education through the use of internet-accessible, virtual laboratory facilities. Laboratory experiences are a central component of advanced technical education, allowing students to see how what they are learning in the classroom can be put it into practice, enabling them to appreciate the real-world implications of what can seem like very abstract concepts. While the importance of labs is taken for granted by university faculty, the quality of laboratory experiences is highly variable. Reasons for this include the limited understanding of how students learn from lab assignments and the kinds of experiences that are most effective in achieving educational objectives, the time demands that lab assignments place on both faculty and students and the high cost of laboratory facilities, which makes it difficult to maintain adequate facilities for advanced courses. The project seeks to address these issues in the context of advanced technical courses in networking, using an existing facility, called the Open Network Laboratory (ONL). ONL has proved to be a valuable educational tool that allows students in advanced networking and information technology courses to have a substantial laboratory experience that builds upon and strengthens their classroom instruction. ONL is built around a set of extensible, gigabit routers and allows remote users to perform a wide range of experiments and demonstrations, allowing them to directly observe the effects of various parameters on system behavior. This allows them to compare observed behavior with behavior predicted by analytical methods or simulation, helping them to solidify their understanding of the underlying principles, and helping them appreciate the difference between analytical predictions and measurements of real systems. The project activities include a detailed educational study of how sophisticated internet-accessible virtual laboratories such as ONL can enhance the quality of advanced education, and the development of a series of technical enhancements to ONL that will make it more useful as an educational tool. The educational research component will involve faculty at two universities, who are using ONL to teach courses in networking to advanced undergraduates and graduate students, and who will work together with researchers specializing in learning and in evaluation of educational methods. The planned technical enhancements include tools to facilitate instructor observation and interaction with students engaged in laboratory exercises, enable collaboration and information-sharing among students, recording and playback of laboratory sessions to enable asynchronous review and automated analysis, and tools to enable students to contribute to an on-line knowledge base accessible to other students. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in its expected contributions to improved understanding of how laboratory experiences affect student learning and on how specific technical features of internet-accessible virtual laboratories such as ONL, contribute to the overall learning experience. The broader impact of the project lies in its potential use as a nation-wide education resource for educating network engineers. REESE DRL EHR Turner, Jonathan Jere Confrey Sergey Gorinsky Washington University MO John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 439620 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0632586 September 15, 2006 Collaborative Proposal: Technologies for Improving Laboratory Experiences in Advanced Technical Education. The purpose of this project is to develop technologies for improving laboratory experiences in advanced technical education through the use of internet-accessible, virtual laboratory facilities. Laboratory experiences are a central component of advanced technical education, allowing students to see how what they are learning in the classroom can be put it into practice, enabling them to appreciate the real-world implications of what can seem like very abstract concepts. While the importance of labs is taken for granted by university faculty, the quality of laboratory experiences is highly variable. Reasons for this include the limited understanding of how students learn from lab assignments and the kinds of experiences that are most effective in achieving educational objectives, the time demands that lab assignments place on both faculty and students and the high cost of laboratory facilities, which makes it difficult to maintain adequate facilities for advanced courses. The project seeks to address these issues in the context of advanced technical courses in networking, using an existing facility, called the Open Network Laboratory (ONL). ONL has proved to be a valuable educational tool that allows students in advanced networking and information technology courses to have a substantial laboratory experience that builds upon and strengthens their classroom instruction. ONL is built around a set of extensible, gigabit routers and allows remote users to perform a wide range of experiments and demonstrations, allowing them to directly observe the effects of various parameters on system behavior. This allows them to compare observed behavior with behavior predicted by analytical methods or simulation, helping them to solidify their understanding of the underlying principles, and helping them appreciate the difference between analytical predictions and measurements of real systems. The project activities include a detailed educational study of how sophisticated internet-accessible virtual laboratories such as ONL can enhance the quality of advanced education, and the development of a series of technical enhancements to ONL that will make it more useful as an educational tool. The educational research component will involve faculty at two universities, who are using ONL to teach courses in networking to advanced undergraduates and graduate students, and who will work together with researchers specializing in learning and in evaluation of educational methods. The planned technical enhancements include tools to facilitate instructor observation and interaction with students engaged in laboratory exercises, enable collaboration and information-sharing among students, recording and playback of laboratory sessions to enable asynchronous review and automated analysis, and tools to enable students to contribute to an on-line knowledge base accessible to other students. The intellectual merit of the activity lies in its expected contributions to improved understanding of how laboratory experiences affect student learning and on how specific technical features of internet-accessible virtual laboratories such as ONL, contribute to the overall learning experience. The broader impact of the project lies in its potential use as a nation-wide education resource for educating network engineers. REESE DRL EHR Wolf, Tilman University of Massachusetts Amherst MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 161234 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0632587 October 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Coupling Conversational Interactivity with Multimedia in Support of Physics Learning. A variety of interfaces have been used to enable students to interact with learning technologies. In addition to point and click, text and various media are in common use. However, these technologies seldom attempt to provide an interface that is similar to a conversation between two people. Building on work at the Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute, we have applied such a conversational interface to the enhancement of physics teaching and incorporated it into the Physics Teaching Web Advisory (Pathway), an environment which has proven effective in physics teacher education. This project is extending this unique learning environment; formally studying student learning within the environment; and establishing, through this research, design principles which are specifically focused on this new mode of computer-student interaction. CMU's Synthetic Interview (SI) provides the user with the feeling of a conversational interaction through a combination of a video of a person and a highly reliable natural language interface. During this project the SI system will be tightly integrated with other media such as video, text, animations, illustrations, and simulations. The result will give the students the impression of a person who is talking directly to them and explaining complex concepts with highly interactive illustrative media. Our hypothesis is that the combination of the SI with other interactive multimedia will create a system that will improve student understanding of topics in physics. This hypothesis will be rigorously tested in the research component of this project. One can imagine a variety of ways in which learning can proceed when the SI software is coupled to other presentations on the screen. The on-screen person can refer to other objects, direct a student to interact with these objects before continuing with any other effort, and help the student directly with his/her learning. Thus, the learning environment is tightly controlled by the system. The control could also be rather loose. The on-screen person can recommend but not require actions with other learning presentations or simply point out that they are available. At present, software for this type of interaction, particularly including the conversational mode, is not available. Thus, no research is available to help developers of learning technologies know what type of coupling is best for improvement of learning. This research will investigate what types of integrations are most effective in providing scaffolding for student learning of physics concepts, for encouraging students to reflect on their learning, and for enhancing transfer of knowledge to the learning of physics. REESE DRL EHR Zollman, Dean N. Sanjay Rebello Kansas State University KS Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 329238 7625 SMET 9177 9150 1707 0116000 Human Subjects 0632636 October 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: S-CASTS: A System for Collaboration Among Students, Teacher and System. This multi-institution, multi-disciplinary project investigates the use of models of collaboration, especially as embodied in collaborative human-computer interface systems, in the augmentation of existing flexible software tools for mathematics education. It draws on prior work and expertise in two complementary fields: (1) mathematics education: the development of representational tools for data and probability, and (2) multi-agent systems research: the development of a theoretical model of collaboration and its deployment in the design of collaborative human-computer interfaces. It simultaneously raises research questions and will contribute to research in both fields. Over the course of three years, the project will develop three pedagogical tools based on techniques for collaborative interface design. These systems will entail the development of new plan-recognition algorithms and human-computer interface designs. They will be tested in several middle school classrooms using the probability modeling software Model Chance. In Year 1, a tool will be created for teachers to provide them with a representation of their students' work organized around possible plans. In Year 2, this resource will be extended to one that can alert teachers to students who may need immediate assistance and provide some representation of how their planning may have gone awry. Finally, in Year 3, the lessons of the previous two years will be brought to bear on the design of a pedagogical module that will interact directly with the student when it senses that he may need some assistance or advice. The intellectual merit of the project resides in the computer science and education research. The broader impact lies in the project's promise for improving mathematics education. REESE DRL EHR Rubin, Andee Clifford Konold TERC Inc MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 352867 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0632657 October 1, 2006 Collaborative Research: Coupling Conversational Interactivity with Multimedia in Support of Physics Learning. A variety of interfaces have been used to enable students to interact with learning technologies. In addition to point and click, text and various media are in common use. However, these technologies seldom attempt to provide an interface that is similar to a conversation between two people. Building on work at the Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute, we have applied such a conversational interface to the enhancement of physics teaching and incorporated it into the Physics Teaching Web Advisory (Pathway), an environment which has proven effective in physics teacher education. This project is extending this unique learning environment; formally studying student learning within the environment; and establishing, through this research, design principles which are specifically focused on this new mode of computer-student interaction. CMU's Synthetic Interview (SI) provides the user with the feeling of a conversational interaction through a combination of a video of a person and a highly reliable natural language interface. During this project the SI system will be tightly integrated with other media such as video, text, animations, illustrations, and simulations. The result will give the students the impression of a person who is talking directly to them and explaining complex concepts with highly interactive illustrative media. Our hypothesis is that the combination of the SI with other interactive multimedia will create a system that will improve student understanding of topics in physics. This hypothesis will be rigorously tested in the research component of this project. One can imagine a variety of ways in which learning can proceed when the SI software is coupled to other presentations on the screen. The on-screen person can refer to other objects, direct a student to interact with these objects before continuing with any other effort, and help the student directly with his/her learning. Thus, the learning environment is tightly controlled by the system. The control could also be rather loose. The on-screen person can recommend but not require actions with other learning presentations or simply point out that they are available. At present, software for this type of interaction, particularly including the conversational mode, is not available. Thus, no research is available to help developers of learning technologies know what type of coupling is best for improvement of learning. This research will investigate what types of integrations are most effective in providing scaffolding for student learning of physics concepts, for encouraging students to reflect on their learning, and for enhancing transfer of knowledge to the learning of physics. REESE DRL EHR Stevens, Scott Michael Christel Carnegie-Mellon University PA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 329955 7625 SMET 1707 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0632767 October 1, 2006 Tracking Career Paths of CLT Doctorates. The project will conduct a study of the Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLT) doctoral students to track their career paths immediately following their CLT participation. A mix of quantitative and qualitative measures will be designed, tested and employed to address ten specific research questions pertaining to degree productivity of the program and the relationships between awardees' initial career decisions and specific program features. The study will yield new information both about the productivity of the CLT program as a whole and as compared with non-CLT doctoral programs in STEM education fields. These findings can contribute to improving the design and implementation of future doctoral programs. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR McCullough, James SRI International CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 315833 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0633128 September 1, 2006 Providing Access to the Second ACM International Computing Education Research Workshop (ICER 2006). This project will facilitate the emergence of a productive research community in the field of computing education by supporting attendees of the 2006 International Computing Education Research Workshop. People who are doing computing education research today rarely have external funding to do that research or to attend meetings to share and discuss their research. This project will help bring researchers, especially those who have limited or no funding, who are junior, or from small colleges or underrepresented groups, to an interdisciplinary forum to discuss exploratory and emerging research in computing education. It will also support researchers from outside computing, but whose work in areas such as developmental psychology is relevant to computing education, and scholars studying issues of prime importance to computing education like broadening participation. Computing education does not have an extensive research base or a vibrant community of research-based practice, and struggles with the problem of everything being invented locally. This grant will help nurture a community of researchers and fuel the development of a body of educational research in the field. This can have far reaching impacts, such as changing the practice of computing education, attracting and retaining a diverse student body, and establishing computing education research as a significant sub-discipline of computing research. REESE DRL EHR Anderson, Richard University of Washington WA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 18000 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0633774 October 15, 2006 Synthesis Research: Evaluating Instructional Scholarship in Engineering. This synthesis project is being conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, and its main objectives are to identify new options -- with respect to choices of metrics, processes for evaluation of metrics, and agents to perform the evaluation of metrics -- for evaluating scholarly teaching, and to validate the options identified by the engineering education community and other relevant stakeholders. The specific tasks include: convening an organizational meeting of the study committee; commissioning background papers by knowledgeable experts; convening a meeting of the study committee to review the background papers and finalize plans for a stakeholders-meeting white papers; hosting of a stakeholders meeting; and synthesizing these inputs in to final report to be distributed to all engineering deans and chairs in the US. This is envisioned to be the first phase of a two-part effort; the second phase would move towards broad implementation of these metrics in various institutions. An ultimate goal of this program of work is not only to improve teaching in engineering, but also to improve the status of teaching excellence relative to research productivity in the engineering community. The intellectual merit of this project lies in the synthesis of research on evaluation of teaching, its particularization to the engineering discipline; and the identification of choices for metrics of the scholarship of teaching, schemes for evaluation of selected metrics, and agents to evaluate the selected metrics that are acceptable to engineering faculty, departments, and disciplinary groups. If valid and reliable means to assess instructional scholarship are identified, and they are accepted by the engineering community, then greater attention would be devoted to scholarly teaching by engineering faculty and departments. The broader impact of such attention would be improved student learning and, eventually, enhanced performance by working engineers. REESE DRL EHR Fortenberry, Norman National Academy of Sciences DC Daniel Householder Standard Grant 198775 7625 SMET 9177 0633856 January 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: REESE- Assisting and Assessing Middle School Science Learning in Formal and Informal Settings. An important goal of formal education is to prepare students for future learning when there is no longer classroom supervision. To continue learning, people need to learn to self-assess their own progress and understanding. We are investigating the social basis of self-assessment for learning. Specifically, we hypothesize that, under identifiable conditions, assessing others can support self-assessments that promote content learning plus the ability to develop self-assessment strategies that can be applied in the future. In this project, we take advantage of Teachable Agent technologies where students learn by teaching computer agents through the use of well-formed visual representations. Teachable Agents, using simple artificial intelligence techniques, can then reason based on what they have been taught. This creates optimal conditions for self-assessment, because students' assessments of their agents' performance is also an assessment of their own knowledge. The work occurs in the context of teaching the key ecosystem concepts of interdependence and balance to middle school students. Students will first create Teachable Agents that are linked to their curriculum on pond and river ecosystems, and use this learning experience to create a new Teachable Agent that can sustain multiple fish in a home aquarium system. Students will also use the Teachable Agents in a new homework model that leverages current trends in home computer use and connects learning in formal and informal settings; students log on, chat with one another, and their agents interact with another in an on-line virtual environment. Overall, the proposed project joins three important strands of research assisted by advanced technology tools: The learning of dynamic processes in science; the social basis of self-assessments for learning; and, the improvement of connections between formal and informal learning settings. REESE DRL EHR Biswas, Gautam Vanderbilt University TN Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 467355 7625 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0633915 January 1, 2007 The Impact of Early Algebra on Later Algebra Learning. The goal of this research project is to help clarify what effect the introduction of algebra in elementary school has on students' mathematical performance and learning in middle and high school. In their Early Algebra (EA) study, the investigators had demonstrated the feasibility of teaching elementary school students about algebraic relations and representations. They now propose to follow a group of 55 students as they enter middle and high school. This group of 55 students will be formed by the 26 students who participated in the EA lessons for three years and a cohort of students, from the same school (29 students), who were taught early algebra by their regular classroom teachers. The research team will collect information about the current schools' algebra curricula, videotape lessons, interview students, collect data on students' performance in class and in assessments mandated by the school, the district, and the state, and collect its own assessment data that allows performance to be compared to results published by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The longitudinal analysis promises to inform policy-makers and mathematics educators about the long-term effects of introducing algebra early. REESE DRL EHR Brizuela, Bárbara Analucia Schliemann Tufts University MA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 936229 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0633918 October 1, 2006 Effectiveness of Pedagogical Agents in Regulating Students' Understanding of Science. This award focuses on examining the effectiveness of using animated pedagogical agents (APAs) as external regulatory agents designed to foster middle school and college students' understanding of complex and challenging science topics (e.g., the circulatory system). Contemporary cognitive and educational research provides evidence that the potential of computer-based learning environments for facilitating learning may be severely undermined by students' inability to regulate several aspects of the learning. For example, students should regulate key cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, social, and affective processes in order to learn about complex and challenging science topics. This research will be conducted in the context of a mixed-initiative intelligent tutoring system called AutoTutor that simulates the discourse patterns and pedagogical strategies of human tutors. The focus of our grant is on conducting interdisciplinary research examining: (1) the role of embedded animated pedagogical agents in collecting data of the complex interactions between cognitive and metacognitive processes during learning about complex science topics with AutoTutor; (2) the effectiveness of animated pedagogical agents as external regulating agents used to detect, trace, model, and foster students' self-regulatory processes during learning about complex science topics with AutoTutor; and (3) the effectiveness of scaffolding methods delivered by animated pedagogical agents in facilitating middle school and college students' selfregulated learning about complex science topics with AutoTutor. REESE DRL EHR Azevedo, Roger Arthur Graesser Danielle McNamara Vasile Rus University of Memphis TN John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 904581 7625 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0633928 October 15, 2006 Improving Access to STEM Education for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students. The proposed research project addresses the question of why it is that only about 25% of deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students enrolled in postsecondary education programs in the U.S graduate. In particular, it looks at why it is that D/HH students in STEM classrooms learn less than do their hearing classmates even when supported by skilled signers. The primary objectives of the proposed project is to understand how such students learn in STEM field and to develop strategies for ameliorating the adverse effects of (1) their learning through "mediated" channels (i.e., interpreting or text), (2) their need to deal with concurrently-presented information in a consecutive fashion (i.e., deaf students cannot look at both an interpreter and visual materials at the same time), (3) their relative lack of content knowledge and integrative learning strategies (as compared to hearing peers), and (4) their limited metacognitive skills. Experiments will involve deaf and hearing students, deaf and hearing faculty, skilled sign language interpreters, and C-Print (a real-time text) operators. STEM lectures will be presented under a variety of conditions, including by videotape to allow for proper counterbalancing and random assignment of subjects. Students' prior content knowledge and learning will be assessed, and analyses will include consideration of demographic (e.g., family, education, communication) information on deaf students available from institutional databases. REESE DRL EHR Marschark, Marc Michael Stinson Rochester Institute of Tech NY Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 996003 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0633945 October 1, 2006 Building a Knowledge Base for Teaching: Design and Test of Research-based Toolkits for Mathematics Lesson Study. The intent of this project is to rigorously investigate Lesson Study, an increasingly implemented form of professional development in which a group of teachers work together in a cycle of instructional improvement that integrates research and practice. The team studies existing curricula, plans a research lesson (meaning a lesson they will jointly study) that embodies their ideas about teaching in that domain and their long term goals for students development, have one team member teach the lesson while the others observe and collect detailed data on student responses, and collaboratively analyze the data and use it to reflect on the lesson, the unit, and teaching-learning more broadly. The proposed study grows out of the observation that in spite of the rapid spread of Lesson Study (LS) to more than 335 US schools and across 32 states, many LS groups do not draw on research-based knowledge in the process. Thus the project will develop and test two LS toolkits which are designed to help practitioners use and build upon research-based knowledge of mathematics teaching and learning. Research questions address improvement of learning, processes of learning with the toolkit, spread of research-based ideas about mathematics teaching and learning enabled by the toolkit, and evidence that the toolkit-supported lesson study can aid development of a knowledge base for teaching. Phases of the work include: a) toolkit assembly, formative assessment, revision, and tesing by expert and novice study groups; b) testing of revised toolkits and comparison with Lesson Study implementation without toolkits, c) testing of sustainability of the process, and d) data analysis and reporting in venues and forms that assure wide dissemination. REESE DRL EHR Lewis, Catherine Rebecca Perry Mills College CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 999861 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0633950 September 15, 2006 Policy Diffusion and Organizational Effects on STEM Women in Higher Education. This project is investigating the institutional diffusion of policies and practices that have aimed at increasing the number of women in the various science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in United States universities. This study is building upon previous studies directed at individual and career level outcomes, but its focus is on institutional level changes and effects relative to gender diversity in graduate education and in the science and technology professoriate. The research is being driven by questions on how innovations and reforms in one part of an institution might impact another and about the channels and spheres of influence that determine whether policy directives and related initiatives can lead to sustainable reform at the graduate level in higher education. Accordingly, the research is examining whether institutional and organizational dynamics lead to isomorphic policy adoption and programs (or not) while controlling for internal characteristics and conditions in various research universities. Thus this project is examining both the horizontal and the vertical institutionalization of policies on gender diversity in STEM fields and their relative outcomes, and is considering the effect of policy antecedents and consequences in mapping the policy process and delineating policy adoption, diffusion, and outcomes across and within universities. The project is incorporating an institutional diffusion framework into an event-history model to capture related issues. It is testing eight hypotheses about the horizontal and the vertical institutionalization of policies on gender diversity in STEM fields (aggregated and disaggregated) and their relative outcomes. Event-history analyses of the timing of policy adoptions and responses facilitate the investigation of temporal variability in the diffusion process and the impact of organizational programs and initiatives promulgated by external forces. The intellectual merit of the proposed study lies in the fresh insights that it is providing for characterizing and understanding institutional transformation. An advantage of the diffusion framework approach is that it is allowing simultaneous empirical analysis of internal and external processes. By focusing on vertical and horizontal diffusion and considering institutional processes and dynamics, the study is providing a more comprehensive approach and framework than can be found in typical individual level studies of STEM women. Thus, it will contribute to a broader understanding of institutional dynamics as a fundamental feature of the policy process and will allow for delineation and specification of the theoretical underpinnings for related diffusion processes. The broader impact of the study lies in its contribution to knowledge of both symbolic and practical institutional and cultural dynamics and their further application to exploratory efforts in a variety of social scientific and education fields. The study is expected to also provide insight into how policies aimed at increasing graduate STEM degrees awarded to women and at faculty recruitment and advancement can be implemented throughout and across universities and how they can be applied more generally under different conditions. REESE GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 DRL EHR McNeely, Connie L George Mason University VA Myles G. Boylan Standard Grant 910619 7625 7179 SMET 9177 0633951 October 1, 2006 Creation, Coordination, and Activation of Resources in Physics and Mathematics Learning. Prop ID: REC-0633951 Title: Creation, Coordination, and Activation of Resources in Physics and Mathematics Learning PI: Wittmann, Michael C. Institution: University of Maine This project seeks to study introductory college level courses in physics, mechanics, and mathematics. The research questions involve the processes by which students become able to use resources across contexts (such as between mathematics and physics), how ideas in math and physics form a resource network, and what mechanisms trigger individual resources or coordinated networks. The researcher will conduct clinical interviews, small group interviews, and statistical analysis of survey questions as well as videos from classroom and help sessions. The data being collected would be analyzed for purpose of describing the development of students as they refine skills in mathematics and physical reasoning. A small group of students (15) at the University of Maine will be the subject of the study. The outcome of this project is expected to be a "better model of student reasoning and learning". The reviewers were particularly interested in the possibly useful observations about the connections between mathematics and physics learning. Papers would be prepared for all education research associations, including physics. REESE DRL EHR Wittmann, Michael John Thompson John Donovan University of Maine ME Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 662914 7625 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0633952 September 15, 2006 Transforming Elementary Science Learning through LEGO(TM) Engineering Design. This project addresses the need for improved learning and teaching of science in the elementary grades. The investigators propose to address this need through the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative engineering-based science curriculum for grades 3-5. The first specific objective of this activity is to measure what and how students learn from engineering design challenges tailored to standards-based science concepts. The second objective is to establish best practices for designing engineering curricula that are more effective at promoting students' fundamental understanding of and interest in science content. The third objective is to determine whether engineering contexts improve elementary teachers' practice of science instruction. In this activity, we seek to advance theory, design, and practice in the emerging field of elementary-school engineering education, which we believe can motivate and deepen the learning of science. To accomplish the proposed goals, researchers will collaborate closely with participating Boston-area teachers. During year one, investigators will collaborate with teachers to develop a series of curriculum modules that pose engineering design challenges whose solutions require understanding of specific science content. The learning objectives of these modules will be aligned with the National Science Education Standards (NSES) for grades K-4 and the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks for grades 3-5. The instruction and assessments will be designed according to three sets of requirements: (1) the concerns and experience of the collaborating classroom teachers, (2) the Project 2061 criteria for science curriculum set forth by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and (3) the analytical, creative, and practical domains of Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence. The curriculum will use the LEGO(TM) MINDSTORMS toolset for prototype construction and ROBOLAB (TM) software for algorithm development. These instructional materials have been proven to be engaging and authentic tools for children's engineering. One example of a proposed curriculum module is "Cities in Motion," in which students spend six sessions building and programming LEGO (TM) robotic models of a typical city's fleet of vehicles, including cars, snowplows, bicycles, trains, and buses. Students program their vehicles to interact with each other and work to meet requirements for weight, speed, and strength. Desire to succeed in this engineering design project will motivate students' mastery of NSES content standards about "Position and Motion of Objects," "Properties of Objects and Materials," and "Systems, Order, and Organization." The data from teacher and student studies will be analyzed to answer the following three driving research questions: (1) Does engineering-based science instruction improve 3rd-5th grade students' analytical, creative, practical abilities related to science content, as well as their memory of science content? (2) How are the attitude, engagement, and self-efficacy of both teachers and students affected by the use of engineering design problems to teach science? (3) Does the efficacy of engineering based science instruction depend on demographic characteristics of the students? The primary intellectual merit of the proposed activity includes (1) the contribution of needed systematic research on the efficacy of elementary-level engineering education for science instruction, and (2) the development of new and potentially more effective methods for engineering-based science instruction. The broader impact resulting from the proposed activity is that educators will be empowered to (1) prepare students for a society that is increasingly dependent on understanding of engineering and technology and (2) to build students' interest and competence in math and science. This impact will be achieved through the dissemination of the instructional materials, pedagogical innovations, and research findings generated by collaborating investigators and teachers. REESE DRL EHR Rogers, Chris Linda Jarvin George Barnett Tufts University MA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 998145 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0633953 January 15, 2007 Collaborative Research: Tutoring to Apply Conceptual Understanding of Ordinary Differencial Equations: Analysis for Cognitive and Computable Patterns. Differential equations are mathematical descriptions useful for modeling dynamic phenomena. Problems such as describing fluid flow, the spread of a disease, and stock option prices are often solved by appealing to differential equations. When students of science and engineering learn the techniques of differential equations it can be difficult for them to move from technical, symbolic mathematical manipulations to a more qualitative, conceptual understanding. This project investigates how to tutor students in such conceptual understanding. It will study the techniques and pedagogical knowledge employed by expert tutors and try to teach these techniques to less experienced peer tutors. It will develop new tests to measure how well students comprehend differential equations on a conceptual level and study the efficacy of various tutorial methods. And it will investigate how to build software for computer-assisted tutoring of differential equations, where a computer follows the conversation and suggests some of the expert methods to the inexperienced tutor. REESE DRL EHR Kim, Jung Hee Kathy Cousins-Cooper North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University NC Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 234836 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0633955 February 1, 2007 Sources of Mathematical Thinking. To understand and enhance mathematical cognition, one must understand the building blocks from which it is constructed and the processes by which those blocks are assembled to yield new concepts and skills. Past findings reveal four representational systems at the foundation of elementary mathematics: a system for representing exact small numbers, a system for representing exact small numbers, a system for representing approximate large numbers, a system of set-based quanitification as in the natural language quantifier plural, and a system for representing geometric relation of distance, angle and sense. The proposed experiments build on these findings and probe the processes by which children master new numerical and geometrical concepts through short-term, lab-based training. REESE DRL EHR Spelke, Elizabeth Susan Carey Harvard University MA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 997363 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0633975 January 1, 2007 Does It Work? Building Methods for Understanding Effects of Professional Development. The project intends to rigorously investigate challenging questions about the effects of professional development on teacher learning, classroom practice and student achievement. A technical advisory panel provides strong methodological support, and capacity for dealing with issues in mathematics education, teacher professional development, and problem solving. The intent is to develop and refine methods for empirically examining the relationships among these variables. Research questions include: what do the teachers learn from InterMath experiences; if the teachers learn from InterMath, do their instructional practices change as a result; and if the teachers' practices change, are there measurable changes in students' achievement. PIs see the study as contributing to educational opportunities for mathematics learners. By studying links along the continuum from professional development to student learning PIs intend to take steps toward" gaining insights to inform practice relevant to these connections. The focus of the study is on one (out of six ) 50-hour grades 7-8 mathematics number concepts course for teacher professional development and comparing treatment teachers to control groups with matching based on similar response patterns across items on an assessment of CKT-M (Content Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics). Pre-post student achievement assessed on state CRCT (Criterion Referenced Competency Test) and NAEP released items. Pre-post teacher observation based on videotapes. While InterMath has apparently been successful no independent study of the program has been carried out and previous work is based largely on teacher self report. The program provides an opportunity for research that may illuminate the connections studied. This is not an evaluation of InterMath but use of the program to study the relationships among the key variables and perhaps contribute to how one might study the relationships. The study has is intended to illuminate connections among the key global variables of professional development, teacher learning, teacher practice, and student achievement in a context where there is reason to believe the received view of practice is in place. REESE DRL EHR Orrill, Chandra Allan Cohen Andrew Izsak University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 999958 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0633986 September 15, 2006 Student Achievement and Teacher Retention in Urban Schools: The Role of Working Conditions and Professional Development. The research will examine how student achievement and teacher retention are affected by various characteristics of schools and teachers, with particular attention paid to school working conditions and teacher professional development. The analysis will employ rich data for middle-school students, teachers, and schools in New York City. This research builds on prior work by Boyd, Grossman, Lankford, Loeb and Wyckoff that developed the core data and examined the effects of teacher preparation on student achievement and teacher retention during the first two years of teaching. This research augments that database with additional information on teachers over their first five years of teaching and the students they teach. The data includes detailed administrative data for over 600,000 math achievement tests for students, socio-demographic data for the students and their peers, detailed information characterizing the backgrounds, qualifications and career histories of math and science teachers as well as the schools in which they teach. Based upon data from three surveys, this administrative data is augmented with extensive information on school working conditions and the professional development that teachers receive, as well as information about the professional activities of teachers who no longer teach in New York City. These data will be employed to estimate value-added models of student-level math achievement and teacher retention. The achievement models will isolate the effects of working conditions and professional development on the achievement gains for middle-school mathematics students. Employing detailed information on the career histories of middle-school math and science teachers, the retention models will examine the effects of working conditions and professional development. The intellectual merit of this research flows from its comprehensive approach and use of detailed data to examine major unresolved questions concerned with improving math achievement and the retention of math and science teachers. To date, there is limited rigorous research that examines the roles of either particular working conditions or professional development with respect to these two important outcomes. The broader impact of the research flows from the project's ability to examine questions of national importance with important support of policymakers from the state and the largest school district in the U.S. The results of this research will provide useful guidance to local, state and national policy. REESE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Wyckoff, James Hamilton Lankford Susanna Loeb Pamela Grossman SUNY at Albany NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 838475 7625 7271 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634013 September 15, 2006 Methods for Synthesizing Regression Results. Intellectual Merit: In this project, the investigators will examine existing indices for representing the results of regression analyses for meta-analysis, and will develop new methods for synthesizing results from regression analyses. Currently, meta-analytic studies often omit regression results due to the difficulty in comparing results across different models. The investigators will consider the appropriate standard errors for these study indices, which are fundamental to most combinations of study results. In addition, they will determine whether existing indices can be used to represent results of related analyses such as structural equation models and hierarchical linear models (HLMs), and will propose new indices if needed. Several special cases will be considered in the research. In particular, results meant to represent group differences (i.e., slopes for dummy variables) will be considered, including cases where regression models contain several dummy variables to represent factors with multiple levels (e.g., two treatment groups and a common control group). Because meta-analysts also often wish to summarize across studies with different designs (e.g., HLM studies with regression studies), the proposed research will outline the conditions under which such cross-design combinations are reasonable. Broader Impact: This study will have broad impacts on syntheses of research in mathematics and science education, and in many other areas (e.g., economics, political science) where regression models and other forms of the linear model are common. The methods provided by this research will enable reviewers to include regression results in meta-analyses together with simpler indices (e.g., correlations, standardized mean differences). Special attention will be paid to synthesis work where subpopulation comparisons (such as within and across underserved group differences) are particularly important. REESE DRL EHR Becker, Betsy Jane Ingram Olkin Florida State University FL Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 429164 7625 SMET 9177 0634025 December 1, 2006 Cross-domain analogical reasoning: Mechanisms and implications. A central premise of the proposed project is that a unique connection exists between analogical reasoning and scientific learning and innovation. The investigators explore the question of how it is that a particular type of analogy, cross-domain analogy, especially supports learning and creativity. First, they will attempt to identify the cognitive and neural components that make cross-domain analogy a powerful form of reasoning. Their analyses will include an examination of individual differences that covary with behavioral and neural markers of cross-domain analogical thinking. Second, they will examine how cross-domain analogies can be used as tools to enhance learning and retention. They will also test cross-domain analogy as a teaching tool by examining whether cross-domain analogies help students form and retain correct understanding of commonly misunderstood science concepts. Third, they will test the extent to which cross-domain analogy can be used to enhance creative thinking in an engineering education context. REESE DRL EHR Gray, Jeremy Yale University CT Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 827754 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634035 September 15, 2006 Advancing Science and Mathematics Educational Research Through Quantitiative Studies of Education Policy and Practice. The purpose of this proposed project is to provide both research and training for beginning researchers interested in conducting statistical analysis of educational topics. This proposal represents a continuation of an AERA project initiated in 1990 to support small research projects, dissertation grants, fellows, and special projects about the statistical analysis of education surveys created by the National Center for Education Statistics or the National Science Foundation. The AERA Grants Board is made up of leading statisticians and researchers from major US universities and from the administrators of the AERA who review small research proposals 3 times a year. The program also supports an annual conference for dissertation grant awardees and small grant recipients to enhance the discussion of the purpose and techniques of statistical analysis. The investigators will prepare a summary of the results of the grants awarded by the program that have achieved publication. SCIENCE RESOURCES STATISTICS REESE DRL EHR Levine, Felice Gerald Sroufe American Educational Research Association DC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 2250000 T988 T487 8800 7625 SMET 9177 0634041 December 1, 2006 Implicit Cognition in STEM Education. The Implicit Cognition in STEM Education project (I.C.STEM) will test specific hypotheses about the development and influence of implicit STEM cognitions in student performance, especially for girls and non-Asian minority students, members of groups known for disproportionate attrition from the STEM pipeline. Recent studies have demonstrated that implicit attitudes and stereotypes predict important STEM outcomes like self-identification with the domain, engineering test performance, and college calculus grades. The current project takes advantage of a natural experiment: It will include girls attending a single-sex, inner-city charter school in Chicago that uses a randomized lottery to select its students, girls who had applied to the lottery but were not selected, and a comparison group of students in a ethnically diverse school system in Florida. The researchers will make use of experimental, quasi-experimental, observational, and longitudinal designs and multiple measures and analytic methods so as to be able to make causal claims about the interaction of different factors, such as single-sex and coed classrooms, determining STEM attitudes, persistence, and performance. REESE DRL EHR Nosek, Brian Frederick Smyth University of Virginia Main Campus VA Sue Allen Continuing grant 826554 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634043 December 1, 2006 Strengthening Tomorrow's Education in Measurement: STEM. The proposed project is an initial step toward solving a compelling problem that has received insufficient research attention in mathematics education: Why do U.S. students perform and understand measurement so poorly, in contrast to other content domains and students' in other developed countries? The problem is well-documented, but no comprehensive, empirically-grounded explanation has been advanced. Absent such an explanation, efforts to redress the problem via changes in curricula, professional development, or teacher education will remain unfocused and ineffective. The research literature (e.g., Clements, 1999; Lehrer, 2003, Strom, Kemeny, Lehrer, & Forman, 2001) suggests that four factors shape the problem, directly and in interaction: (1) deficits in published elementary and middle school curricula, (2) problems in teachers' enactments of those curricula, (3) problems in the character of classroom discourse about measurement, and (4) teachers' own knowledge of measurement. Recognizing this interactive complexity, this project will assess the capacity of elementary and middle school curricula to support robust student learning of measurement of length, area, and volume. Drawing on the existing research literature, the project will (a) assess the deficits and strengths of elementary and middle school curricula, and (b) characterize how key topics in these curricula are enacted by teachers in their classrooms. Four elementary and three middle school curricula were selected based on market-share, differences in design (publisher-developed vs. NSF-funded) and local adoption patterns. Their complete content for length, area, and volume will be evaluated using a framework, built from research, that details the elements of robust understanding. That content includes (1) basic approach, (2) explicit content statements, e.g., definition of area, and (3) all problems, tasks, and activities linked to the target measures. Each evaluation will yield a curriculum profile that will be communicated to each author team and revised, if appropriate, from their feedback. Teachers' presentation of lesson sequences in key topic areas (introduction to length, complex lengths, introduction to area, perimeter & area, and surface area & volume) will then be analyzed using the same framework. The primary objective is to estimate the extent to which written curricula contribute to the problem of weak student learning; a secondary objective is to trace how teachers enact these measurement topics in their classrooms, as a step toward modeling the contributions of all major factors listed above. Intellectual Merit. This project will provide a detailed, research-based analysis of the capacity of current published curricula to support robust student learning of core measurement content. Analyses of teachers' enacted curricula will characterize how written materials combine with other factors to shape students' learning, productively or not. The conceptual frame and the curricular profiles will support analyses of other written curricula (e.g., those in high-performing countries), teachers' enacted curricula, and students' learning. Broad Impact. Length, area, and volume are taught in all elementary and middle grades, but too often instruction is ineffective. Failing to learn the conceptual foundations of measurement undermines subsequent STEM learning across a wide spectrum of content. The project will expand and enrich the work of the current NSF-funded Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum where analyses have primarily focused on number, algebra, and reasoning. REESE DRL EHR Smith, John Michigan State University MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 451062 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634044 January 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Assisting and Assessing Middle School Science Learning in Formal and Informal Settings. An important goal of formal education is to prepare students for future learning when there is no longer classroom supervision. To continue learning, people need to learn to self-assess their own progress and understanding. We are investigating the social basis of self-assessment for learning. Specifically, we hypothesize that, under identifiable conditions, assessing others can support self-assessments that promote content learning plus the ability to develop self-assessment strategies that can be applied in the future. In this project, we take advantage of Teachable Agent technologies where students learn by teaching computer agents through the use of well-formed visual representations. Teachable Agents, using simple artificial intelligence techniques, can then reason based on what they have been taught. This creates optimal conditions for self-assessment, because students' assessments of their agents' performance is also an assessment of their own knowledge. The work occurs in the context of teaching the key ecosystem concepts of interdependence and balance to middle school students. Students will first create Teachable Agents that are linked to their curriculum on pond and river ecosystems, and use this learning experience to create a new Teachable Agent that can sustain multiple fish in a home aquarium system. Students will also use the Teachable Agents in a new homework model that leverages current trends in home computer use and connects learning in formal and informal settings; students log on, chat with one another, and their agents interact with another in an on-line virtual environment. Overall, the proposed project joins three important strands of research assisted by advanced technology tools: The learning of dynamic processes in science; the social basis of self-assessments for learning; and, the improvement of connections between formal and informal learning settings. REESE DRL EHR Schwartz, Daniel Stanford University CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 499992 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634049 January 15, 2007 Collaborative Research: Tutoring to Apply Conceptual Understanding of Ordinary Differential Equations: Analysis for Cognitive and Computable Patterns.. Differential equations are mathematical descriptions useful for modeling dynamic phenomena. Problems such as describing fluid flow, the spread of a disease, and stock option prices are often solved by appealing to differential equations. When students of science and engineering learn the techniques of differential equations it can be difficult for them to move from technical, symbolic mathematical manipulations to a more qualitative, conceptual understanding. This project investigates how to tutor students in such conceptual understanding. It will study the techniques and pedagogical knowledge employed by expert tutors and try to teach these techniques to less experienced peer tutors. It will develop new tests to measure how well students comprehend differential equations on a conceptual level and study the efficacy of various tutorial methods. And it will investigate how to build software for computer-assisted tutoring of differential equations, where a computer follows the conversation and suggests some of the expert methods to the inexperienced tutor. REESE DRL EHR Glass, Michael Karen Keene Valparaiso University IN John S. Bradley Continuing grant 219390 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634070 September 15, 2006 Teacher Quality and Student Success: Testing the K20 Science Professional Development Model (K20 Science) for Rural Science Teachers. The University of Oklahoma's K20 Center is a leader in school-wide reform. For over ten years, using primarily private foundation grants, K20 Center has promoted the 10 IDEALS of High Achieving Schools by working first with school administrators and then whole schools from across the state. The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century established the need of an on-going system to improve student knowledge and interest for scientific and technological advances with the following goals and actions: summer institutes, inquiry groups, leadership training, and Internet portals. Through its early, and continuing programs, K20 Center improved school leadership and technology integration in school systems. In recent years the K20 Center added more direct classroom interventions and content- and inquiry-based professional development to its programs. With this proposal, the K20 Center seeks to expand current programs and empirically test the K20 SCIENCE Professional Development Model addressing teacher quality and student success in small, isolated rural schools with high Native American population. The K20 SCIENCE Model supports the National Commission's goals by improving science teacher knowledge through authentic research experiences, lesson study, and professional learning communities (PLC) with networking, Internet portals, and technological support for extensive professional development of rural science teachers. After field-testing, comprehensive evaluation, and commensurate revisions, the K20 SCIENCE model will be shared regionally, nationally and internationally through professional meetings and publications, including through the National Rural Education Association to assist replication in other rural contexts. Intellectual Merit: This project will use quantitative measures to document changes in teacher content knowledge, classroom practices, efficacy of teaching, PLC development, peer coaching and mentoring, teacher quality and student success following teacher participation in a Summer Research Institute and subsequent professional development support interventions. Each separate piece of the model is based on research showing positive impact on learning in theory or in practice; yet no piece can stand alone to provide comprehensive reform of science education. The K20 SCIENCE model brings teacher content knowledge and inquiry experience, transfer to classroom practice, and support for professional innovation and interactive instruction into a single, testable program . Broader Impacts: The K20 Center network of 500 rural schools provides an extensive infrastructure from which to design, implement, test, revise, and share results of rural education innovation. Oklahoma's schools serve a diverse K-12 student population that has more than three times the poverty rate of the national average . Nearly 25% of Oklahoma students drop out of high school between 9th and 12th grade, and too many Oklahoma high school students fail to learn higher levels of science that lead to college graduation and scientific and technical careers. Particularly disadvantaged are Native Americans. K20 SCIENCE will directly impact low-income, rural schools serving diverse populations. REESE DRL EHR Greene, Barbara Jon Pedersen Mark Nanny Henry O'Hair University of Oklahoma Norman Campus OK Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 994297 7625 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0634071 September 15, 2006 Curriculm Policy Effects on Math and Science Coursetaking, Achievement, and Preparation for College In Chicago Public High Schools. Some of the most prominent efforts to improve math and science learning today focus simply on students' exposure to curriculum--getting more students to take college preparatory coursework, while also increasing the rigor of such coursework. Yet, it is not known if just changing and expanding the courses in which students are enrolled will have a substantial effect on learning in science and math, particularly as participation expands to students who have traditionally not been enrolled in such courses, and whether there are potential costs to this approach. The efficacy of such reforms will likely depend upon the ways in which they are implemented, the capacity of schools to enact more rigorous coursework without sacrificing quality, the degree to which students actually receive more challenging and engaging instruction, and the capacity of students to respond to increased rigor. Extant research does not tell us the degree to which such curricular reforms improve student outcomes, nor what kinds of students or schools are best served by such changes in course requirements and offerings. The proposed research rigorously evaluates the efficacy of large-scale curricular reform in a large, urban mostly-minority school district, Chicago. Since 1997, Chicago has enacted a number of curricular reforms aimed at increasing students' exposure to rigorous coursework, including raising graduation requirements for all students, expanding AP courses in neighborhood high schools, and requiring double algebra courses for students with low skills. The researchers already have access to administrative records, elementary and high school standardized test scores, high school course transcripts, and college records on the population of students attending Chicago Public Schools since 1991. This allows for a rigorous, longitudinal analysis of the effects of large-scale curricular reforms on student outcomes, including ACT scores, course grades, high school graduation, and college outcomes. The data allow for examination of growth over time of individual students, and comparisons of this growth across pre- and post-reform cohorts of students. The four investigators on the research team all have substantial expertise conducting research on high schools and working with schools to make use of their research. All have very strong statistical skills and substantial experience using the longitudinal data required for this work. This study will help guide urban schools as they make decisions about investing resources into particular courses to enhance student achievement and educational attainment. increased opportunities for advanced coursework may improve outcomes across the board, but it is likely that the findings will be more nuanced and complex. This study will also show the obstacles and costs to implementing rigorous curriculum in schools that have not traditionally offered such courses. The results will be published in multiple outlets to reach different types audiences. Reports will be aimed at practitioners, showing the effects of the different types of curricular reform on student outcomes for different types of students in schools with different levels of structural capacity, as well as the barriers to implementation. Scholarly articles will be written to explain the methodology for studying large-scale curricular reforms, and to discuss the implications for theories on learning and on the effects of school organizational structure. Members of the research team have a long history of working with the Chicago Public Schools to incorporate research results into policy and practice. They actively try to present their work in ways that are accessible to practitioners as well as scholars. The members of this research team will also share this work with the many organizations and individuals who are working on issues of high school reform around the country. REESE DRL EHR Allensworth, Elaine Melissa Roderick John Q. Easton Valerie Lee University of Chicago IL Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 970787 7625 SMET 9177 0634074 September 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Investigating Issues of the Individual and the Collective along a Continuum between Informal and Formal Reasoning. Undergraduate engineering, science and mathematics majors in the United States begin their university mathematics training with several calculus courses, but then move on to such courses as differential equations and linear algebra. Mathematics majors and minors may also study real analysis or abstract algebra. Students often find the transition from taking calculus courses to taking more formal, proof-based mathematics courses particularly challenging, and often a stumbling block to further academic success. Sophomore and junior level courses such as differential equations, linear algebra, geometry, and courses introducing set theory and logic constitute a core collection of courses that have the potential to facilitate this transition. The main goals of this project are to make contributions to theory and methodology in terms of the continuum between informal and formal mathematical reasoning. In particular, the PIs will develop theoretical means for interpreting the transition to formal, proof-based mathematics courses. They do so by using four different perspectives on the nature of the individual and collective growth of knowledge. The methodological products will include strategies for data collection and data analysis that allow for insights into student learning within and between each of the four different theoretical perspectives. The mathematical context for this work will primarily be linear algebra, with insights drawn from our prior work in differential equations, geometry, and set theory. REESE DRL EHR Rasmussen, Chris San Diego State University Foundation CA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 276057 7625 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634083 September 15, 2006 Building STEM Education and Evaluation Capacity through Research on Logic Model Use. The major intent of the project is to examine the use of logic models in evaluation practice in ways that provide an empirical base for understanding and improving the use of logic models throughout the stages of design, implementation, and evaluation of STEM education programs. Concurrently the project engages eight graduate interns of color in conducting this inquiry (students are enrolled in an internship at Duquesne sponsored in part by AEA). The internship training and will be evaluated and improvements of the training in response to what is learned will be documented. Research questions address actual and stated purposes of logic models in the study context, how logic models drive work through all phases of the evaluation and reporting, what knowledge is drawn upon in use of logic models, what consequences follow logic model use, and what differences show up across types of programs. Methodology for examining logic model use and appropriateness includes: multiple measures include telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, observations, e-mail correspondence, online surveys, and case studies. REESE DRL EHR Hopson, Rodney Rosalie Torres Duquesne University PA Celestine Pea Continuing grant 862846 7625 SMET 9177 0634099 September 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Investigating Issues of the Individual and the Collective along a Continuum between Informal and Formal Reasoning. Undergraduate engineering, science and mathematics majors in the United States begin their university mathematics training with several calculus courses, but then move on to such courses as differential equations and linear algebra. Mathematics majors and minors may also study real analysis or abstract algebra. Students often find the transition from taking calculus courses to taking more formal, proof-based mathematics courses particularly challenging, and often a stumbling block to further academic success. Sophomore and junior level courses such as differential equations, linear algebra, geometry, and courses introducing set theory and logic constitute a core collection of courses that have the potential to facilitate this transition. The main goals of this project are to make contributions to theory and methodology in terms of the continuum between informal and formal mathematical reasoning. In particular, the PIs will develop theoretical means for interpreting the transition to formal, proof-based mathematics courses. They do so by using four different perspectives on the nature of the individual and collective growth of knowledge. The methodological products will include strategies for data collection and data analysis that allow for insights into student learning within and between each of the four different theoretical perspectives. The mathematical context for this work will primarily be linear algebra, with insights drawn from our prior work in differential equations, geometry, and set theory. REESE DRL EHR Zandieh, Michelle Arizona State University AZ Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 178074 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634103 March 15, 2007 Moving Teachers and Students from Arithmetic to Algebraic Thinking in Murphy School District (K-5): Building Multilevel Insight. This research project is grounded in an approach designed from over 20 years of research on Cognitively Guided Instruction (Carpenter, Fennema, Franke, Levi, & Empson, 1999). In addition, we will leverage recent work on formative assessment based on the same cognitive model that drives (Black & Wiliam, 1998a). The formative assessment based on the work of Black and Wiliam along with CGI are two of the only programs of research to link professional development to teacher learning to student learning (Black & William, 2004; Wilson & Berne, 1999). We also leverage multilevel theory to understand how these programs can effect change on teacher knowledge, classroom practice, and student learning. Rather than understanding one level, this project looks to understand how professional development influences the complex interactions within classrooms and schools that produce important learning gains in mathematics. The research will be conducted in a high need inner city school district that will serve as a national model for the evaluation of professional development in mathematics education. The project will also inform efforts to understand the instructional practices that promote substantive learning in mathematics for Latino students and English language learners. REESE DRL EHR Sloane, Finbarr Daniel Battey Arizona State University AZ Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 832339 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634519 October 1, 2006 CareerBound: Internet-Delivered Resilience Training to Increase the Persistence of Women Ph.D. Students in STEM Fields. Intellectual Merit The study is addressing the question of whether deliberate resilience training "delivered via the Internet" can strengthen women doctoral students' persistence in physical sciences, engineering and mathematics, fields where women display high rates of attrition even as their numbers in doctoral programs have continued to rise. An internet-based, multimedia-enhanced program is being developed and evaluated for its effectiveness in reducing attrition and strengthening career aspirations and personal skills of female doctoral students in selected fields at multiple universities. Grounded in the literatures of career development, self-efficacy, and empirically supported interventions and instructional tools, the set of personal and psychosocial skills are addressed as "resilience skills" and the psycho-educational strategy to strengthen these skills as "resilience training." The courseware is designed to inoculate participants against documented interpersonal, climate, and role challenges women face in male-dominated STEM fields. It uses interactive critical incident technology to create an audio-visual library of narratives by prominent senior women scientists and engineers who have handled such situations successfully. It provides training in specific coping skills, including decision-making, problem solving, cognitive restructuring, conflict management, negotiation, and communication. Based on comparisons both with control conditions and estimated persistence baselines by discipline, the training will be evaluated on measures of personal competence such as coping self-efficacy and interpersonal skills, reports of intentions to achieve the doctorate and enter STEM careers, and records of academic persistence and degree completion. An expert advisory council drawn from the national science, engineering, and educational research communities is augmenting the expertise of the PIs. Broader Impacts This project is providing a potential new tool for broadening participation among women seriously under-represented in STEM. It has the potential to reach all of the thousands of women who are in STEM doctoral programs across the nation. Evidence of effectiveness will inform practice for IGERTS and other doctoral reform initiatives. More broadly research results will be disseminated through professional and disciplinary associations such as the ASEE, AWIS, WEPAN, SWE, American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society, American Educational Research Association, and Council of Graduate Schools, and through National Academy networks and those associated with IGERT, PFF, and CID, and through publications in appropriate journals such as Journal of Engineering Education, Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, the Psychology of Women Quarterly, and the Journal of Higher Education. This web-based intervention is easily and inexpensively scalable, and capable of adaptation. REESE GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 DRL EHR Bernstein, Bianca Nancy Russo Arizona State University AZ Myles G. Boylan Continuing grant 1200000 7625 7179 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0634617 September 15, 2006 Seeing the Data ... and Beyond: Gordon Research Conference, Workshops, and Mini-Grants to Foster Visualization Research in Science and Education. Increasingly, scientists create visualizations of what they cannot easily see or adequately comprehend: from nano-molecules and nano-structures to cosmic reality; of phenomena real and abstract, simple and complex. With the aid of graphics specialists, scientists also make visual maps of complex data sets in order to comprehend better those data. Science educators often use images created by scientists to facilitate student learning. The connections, however, between and among scientists and science educators are often weak. Visualizations may be developed with little reference to the cognitive demands placed on learners. Educators may use the visualizations in ways that are not scientifically accurate. The purpose of this grant is to nourish a community of scientists and educators to advance the development and educational usefulness of scientific visualizations. This project consists of three phases. The first phase is a series of pre-conference workshops organized by a cognitive scientist and a chemistry educator, focusing on "Assessing the Effectiveness of Visualizations" and "Conceptual Aspects of Visualization Design." The second is the Gordon Research Conference itself on July 1-6, 2007, in Rhode Island. The third phase will be a series of mini-grants to stimulate the design of cross-disciplinary research in visualization and learning. REESE OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY AC DRL EHR Watters, Christopher Middlebury College VT Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 127353 7625 1253 OTHR 9150 0000 0635004 September 15, 2006 A Synthesis of Research on the Effects of School and Classroom Composition on Math and Science Achievement and Related Outcomes. The proposed literature survey will synthesize social science and educational empirical research on the effects of school and classroom composition on secondary school math and science achievement and related educational outcomes. Composition refers to the racial, ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic status demographic mix of students in schools and classrooms. The synthesis will focus on math and science outcomes in several areas: achievement, educational attainment, and SMET occupational aspirations and attainment. The project has four goals: (1) to identify, collect, code, and rigorously evaluate the extant social science and education research base on the topic; (2) to produce several stakeholder-friendly documents that present the empirical findings in ways that social scientists and legal scholars, educational policy-makers, and school district leaders can readily use; (3) to develop a theoretical model that accounts for the ways demographic variations in school and classroom compositions affect math and science educational outcomes; and (4) to identify an agenda and appropriate research design to complete the substantive knowledge base and to test the theoretical models. REESE DRL EHR Mickelson, Roslyn University of North Carolina at Charlotte NC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 209790 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0635090 September 15, 2006 Synthesis of Research on Advanced High School Coursework in Science and Mathematics. This synthesis project will use epidemiological, longitudinal, and economic methods to study the effectiveness of the Advanced Placement (AP) Program. In doing so, the project will pull together information on the components that make advanced high school coursework most effective for different groups of students. The AP program has experienced tremendous growth over the past two decades and government support for the program is increasing, so a focus on AP with regard to the kind of rigorous instruction that broadens participation in these courses addresses an important policy issue. REESE DRL EHR Sadler, Philip Harvard University MA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 199787 7625 SMET 9177 0635409 October 1, 2006 Meta-Analysis Study of the Effects of Teacher Professional Development with a Math or Science Content Focus on Improving Teaching and Learning. Prop ID: REC-0635409 PI: Blank, Rolf K. Institution: Council of Chief State School Officers Title: Meta-Analysis Study of the Effects of Teacher Professional Development with a Math or Science Content Focus on Improving Teaching and Learning This synthesis project would collect empirical studies of teacher professional development in mathematics or science and conduct a meta-analysis of them. The studies would be located from recent evaluations of MSP project, state agencies, and various other places that are yet to be announced by the researchers and are expected to be more abundant because of the demands of federal programs and NSF funding for the MSP. The purpose of the study is to measure the extent to which improving teacher quality, through improved preparation, is effective. The statistical measurements would include student achievement as well as teacher development measures. The study would provide information across states as well as national averages about the extent to which teacher understanding of content areas makes them more effective teachers. REESE DRL EHR Blank, Rolf Andrew Porter Council of Chief State School Officers DC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 199205 7625 SMET 9177 0635444 January 1, 2007 New Trends in Gender and Mathematics Performance: Meta-Analytic Synthesis. The proposed synthesis project will examine, by means of meta-analysis, the research evidence on gender differences in mathematics performance. The stereotype that girls and women lack mathematical ability is held by children and parents, as well as by mathematics and science teachers. The goals of the research are as follows: First, the PI will conduct a comprehensive meta-analysis of research on gender differences in mathematics performance to indicate whether a gap exists and whether there are specific areas in which males and females differ. Second, the PI will conduct moderator analyses to ascertain variations in the magnitude of gender differences in mathematics performance along dimensions such as age and cognitive level of the test as well as ethnicity. Third, the PI will ascertain whether males show larger variability in their scores, compared with females. Fourth, the PI will examine large national data sets such as the NLSY and NAEP to analyze the available data for gender differences in mathematics performance. Fifth, the PI will use large cross-national data sets, including TIMSS, PISA, and IAEP, to examine international patterns of gender differences and also determine whether correlations exist between countries' gender equality index and the magnitude of the gender difference. REESE DRL EHR Hyde, Janet Amy Ellis University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 199838 7625 SMET 9177 0635447 January 1, 2007 Cognitive Underpinnings of Science Learning by Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students. Increasing the number and diversity of students majoring in science is a first step toward increasing the number and diversity of individuals employed in and making contributions in science and engineering fields. One subgroup of particular interest in this regard is individuals with significant hearing losses. Despite a long history of such individuals making contributions to science and technology, increased literacy demands, the nature of some scientific endeavors, and even technologies spawned by scientific progress have created barriers to engagement of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in scientific fields. Recent research has suggested that these barriers have little to do with hearing loss or communication per se, but are the product of differences in the way that deaf and hearing individuals learn and what they know. For example, the academic challenges previously attributed to deaf students' impoverished print literacy skills are also seen in their learning of science via sign language interpreting (two experiments have examined direct instruction from deaf teachers, but replications are needed). These and other findings have helped to reveal a common thread running through a variety of earlier findings indicating that (1) deaf students tend to engage in automatic, relational processing less frequently than hearing peers; (2) hearing students' concept knowledge is more strongly interconnected than deaf peers', partly accounting for (1), and (3) deaf students are less likely than hearing peers to accurately monitor ongoing comprehension. Taken together, these results suggest common cognitive underpinnings to deaf students' chronic underachievement in academic settings, including their well documented challenges in reading. Still to be determined are how these cognitive tendencies develop among deaf students, which students evidence them and which do not, and how we can adjust teaching methods in mainstream settings in order to ameliorate and/or accommodate these cognitive differences. To help address these issues, the PI and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf will hold an international conference on "the cognitive underpinnings of science learning by deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals." The conference will include a two-day open meeting at which prominent investigators will make keynote presentations addressing the cognitive foundations of learning by students with hearing loss, focusing on how the complexities of science and science education potentially are affected by differences between deaf and hearing individuals. The public meetings will be followed by a day of discussions by the invitees and a group of science educators and researchers in order to develop both a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of science education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and to establish a national research agenda in this area. These aspects of the proposed activity, together with the likelihood that many of the issues elaborated also will apply to other students facing academic challenges reflect the broader impact of the proposed activity. The workshop will be hosted by Rochester Institute of Technology and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and will be held in June 2007. The Oxford University Press will publish a scholarly book resulting from the conference. REESE DRL EHR Marschark, Marc Rochester Institute of Tech NY John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 149031 7625 SMET 9177 0635489 November 1, 2006 Synthesizing Rational Number Reasoning for Urban Schools. Successful preparation for and passage of algebra remains a major gateway to pursuit of science, mathematics and technology related careers. Students in urban settings in rational number reasoning (RNR), including multiplication and division, fractions, ratio reasoning, scaling, similarity, and the related ideas of decimal and percents. This configuration of topics is also known as the Multiplicative Conceptual Field (Vergnaud, 1983). This project will synthesize the research literature in this area to strengthen urban practitioners' knowledge of how to prepare students for this critical filter (Sells, 1973). It will implement an innovative approach to construct a new resource base composed of three interrelated elements: a) a bibliographic database of studies with coded and searchable characteristics and abstracts, organized into a visual web of authors, works, and topics, b) a data cube of RNR topics, types of reasoning skills, and grade bands that maps the rich array of assessment items used in these studies to national standards, and c) a synthesis of the work into a conceptual corridor in both visual and narrative formats. The project will interlink these databases to permit teachers to follow an effective conceptual sequence as much as can be identified, while generating relevant assessment items for their students, and identifying related readings for their own professional development. REESE DRL EHR Confrey, Jere Washington University MO Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 141248 7625 SMET 9177 0635491 October 1, 2006 Undergraduate Science Course Innovations and Their Impact on Student Learning. This project examines published and non-published education research studies of instructional innovations and alternative approaches to teaching undergraduate science and will synthesize the results using statistical methods. The study would conduct a systematic examination of undergraduate science course innovations to determine: (1) The range of course innovations that are being implemented in undergraduate science courses; (2) How the features of innovations are aligned with cognitive science learning theory and principles of effective instruction; (3) How course innovation approaches are associated with differences in student learning gains within each specific discipline; and (4) what methods are found to be critical for the effective implementation of course innovations. The researchers will develop a theoretical framework on the basis of cognitive science research and effective learning environments of undergraduate science courses from projects that have an instructional strategy, refer to classrooms, and have reported results. They will conduct a document analysis of course innovations in science courses as discovered in published papers and unpublished documents such as the NSF website. A meta-analysis of the statistical data available in each paper would be conducted depending on the suitable number of studies identified. The broader impact of the study is in its contribution to researchers who would benefit from a systematic analysis of existing studies of undergraduate teaching practices and for educators who wish for advice on how to apply new methods of teaching. The study will produce two documents: (1) a framework for characterizing and evaluating innovations in undergraduate science courses, and (2) a statistical synthesis of the types of course transformations observed in the field, their effectiveness, and the design and implementation characteristics that are associated with their effectiveness. The project would produce published papers that will be submitted to journals in each disciplinary area and presented at professional society meetings. REESE DRL EHR Ruiz-Primo, Maria Araceli Lorrie Shepard Derek Briggs University of Colorado at Boulder CO Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 199867 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0635559 October 1, 2006 Developing an Evaluation Tool for Environmental Field Days. The researchers, in a two year project, that will include collaboration with a panel of experts and qualified practitioners, will synthesize research-based "best Practices" for teaching and learning in informal science education settings to develop a user-friendly assessment tool that can be applied in a variety of informal science education programs. Major research questions are: (1) do gaps exist in the Field Day program curriculum and (2) how can the program be improved? The observational assessment tool will offer data about (1) organizational issues such as staffing, novelty of the setting, flow of traffic, etc. (2) teaching skills of the instructor; (3) commitment of the school's and teacher's to support the informal learning experience through pre- and post- visit activities, etc.; and (4) engagement of students with the informal learning process. Other outcome questions relate to student learning; relationship of ISE experiences to science standards, etc. The first step will be the development and validation of a standard system for evaluating Environmental field days in MN. According to the narrative, Field Days in the State of Minnesota are held in 75% of the State Counties and reach an estimated 10,000 or more students annually. As such they constitute an important opportunity to motivate and engage students who may have had little interest in STEM subjects. Strong support from a variety of institutions and agencies indicate that established organizations are eager for an assessment tool that can be used in their settings to aid continuous program improvement and link program outcomes to science content standards. REESE DRL EHR Carlson, Stephan University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 231429 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0635577 October 1, 2006 Inside the Double Bind: A Synthesis of Literature on Women of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Women of color in STEM are rarely independent subjects of study. As a result, there is relatively little known about how they become interested in science, their systems of support or factors that could make careers in science more attractive to them. This project would synthesize existing research, evaluation and narrative literature concerning factors that facilitate or impede the entry of under-represented minority women into STEM professions. The work would separate effects at the college level, the graduate level, and the professional level. The project will help to illuminate factors that influence initial career choices and subsequent decisions over the course of professional life. The literature is fragmented and currently exists in multiple formats. The meta-analysis and synthesis of knowledge will enhance our understanding of the challenges that women of color encounter in pursuing scientific careers, the strategies they employ to overcome them and the contextual and organizational factors that support their professional development. The results will indicate what is known, what initial findings need to be replicated, and what research gaps need to be identified. The study will stimulate further studies by building a research agenda for scholars and graduate students. REESE DRL EHR Ong, Maria Gary Orfield TERC Inc MA Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 246840 7625 SMET 9251 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0635592 October 1, 2006 A Linked Meta-analysis on Teacher Knowledge. The goal of this research is to develop a model of teacher knowledge as a modifiable characteristic that mediates the effects of other teacher attributes (such as demographics and aptitudes), is modifiable due to interventions such as teacher professional development and teacher education, and has potential impacts on student and teacher outcomes in math and science. The methods of quantitative research synthesis will be used in this effort. Becker, Kennedy and O'Reilly, along with their staff and consultants Jakubowski and Southerland, will conduct a multi-part synthesis involving 1) studies of relationships among teacher characteristics, with a focus on teacher knowledge, 2) studies of teacher professional development and teacher education, and 3) studies relating teacher qualifications and knowledge to outcomes in the areas of math and science education. Parts of the synthesis work are already underway thanks tobuild on two existing NSF-funded projects, headed by Becker and Kennedy (at Florida State University and Michigan State University) and O'Reilly (Abt Associates). The researchers will add to these projects a new synthesis of studies concerning the prediction and modification of teacher knowledge, with attention to the roles of both interventions and other teacher characteristics. This part of the project will include studies that examine teacher learning outside the context of professional development interventions. Such learning will include learning in teacher education programs (teacher preservice education) and the like. These literatures will be merged by building on existing databases developed as a part of the two ongoing projects, using the tools of linked meta-analysis. Linking the findings of these projects will enable the researchers to build new models of teacher learning across the professional development continuum, from pre-service through in-service learning. The intellectual contribution of this research also will include the specification of gaps in the knowledge base concerning teacher learning, which will be identified by examining research on each link in the process of teacher knowledge development (as well as other factors that may impinge upon that process). The empirical models will be constructed by way of multiple linked meta-analyses, also known as model-driven meta-analysis. Becker has developed methods for model-driven meta-analysis and also conducted model-driven meta-analyses on the prediction of child outcomes in divorcing families, sport performance outcomes, and the prediction of gender differences in science achievement. Eventually, the knowledge garnered from this synthesis can be tested in the context of teacher learning in professional development interventions, though that work is not a part of this specific proposal. REESE DRL EHR Becker, Betsy Jane Fran OReilly Florida State University FL Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 211209 7625 SMET 9177 0635598 January 1, 2007 Accumulating Knowledge on Scaling and Sustaining Reform: A Foundation for Future Research. This project has three main goals: 1) To provide a foundation for accumulating knowledge about diffusion and sustainability of reform in education with an emphasis on science education; 2) To identify ways that knowledge about diffusion and sustainability of innovations in other disciplines can inform improvement efforts in education; and 3) To establish a forum for cross-disciplinary collaboration and sharing knowledge on diffusion and sustainability of innovations. These goals will be addressed with two strategies. The first comprises comprehensive literature reviews on diffusion and sustainability of innovation in science education, other areas of education and other fields including business, marketing, medicine, public health, and economics. Intellectual Merit: This project seeks to create a foundation for accumulating knowledge about sustainability and diffusion of reform in education. It takes the essential steps of looking to other fields of scholarship that are more advanced in these areas in order to provide science and mathematics education research with the shared language and conceptual framework necessary for the serious investigation and dialogue that supports accumulation of knowledge in a field. Broader Impact: This project addresses the national need to identify and scale up effective practices or innovations in instruction and education so that the field can begin to make long-term improvements to mathematics and science instruction. As new practices are developed and brought to scale, they will benefit from this project by using its products to explicitly and effectively support innovation adoption, implementation and dissemination. REESE DRL EHR Century, Jeanne Rose University of Chicago IL Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 199276 7625 SMET 9177 0635615 January 1, 2007 Predicting College Acceptance, Majoring in Mathematics and Science, and the Pathway to Teaching in Texas. This Synthesis Project intends to advance understanding of the contributions of course sequences to acceptance at colleges of different levels of selectivity, to subsequent college majors, and ultimately to becoming a highly qualified teacher of mathematics or science. The analysis takes advantage of the Texas system database and clear pathway to teaching. Using the longitudinal THEOP (Texas Higher Opportunity Project) database with information making students available at two time points (with a third to come) the project intends to determine the advantages that high school mathematics and science course sequences accrue to: 1) acceptance of colleges of different selectivity, 2) majoring in mathematics and science at the college level, and 3) entering (or leaving) the pathway to teaching mathematics and science. Student data is augmented with high schools and colleges attended making it possible to study salient race/ethnicity differences in course taking, college acceptance, majoring in mathematics and science, and ultimately in choosing to become a teacher. The analysis not only addresses the key questions noted above but also draws on a synthesis of the literature to examine how the results vary by important high school and student demographic characteristics including not only race/ethnicity noted above but also gender, SES, parental college attendance, and aspirations. This project is intended and has promise to provide directions and evidence upon which future studies can be build to look at who actually becomes mathematics and science teachers after graduation as Wave 3 data for THEOP is collected and the study broadened to other states. REESE DRL EHR Wallace, Marjorie Michigan State University MI Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 104917 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0635628 January 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Facing the Challenges of Learning and Teaching About Evolution: A Synthesis. The purpose of this project is to synthesize the research regarding the learning and teaching of evolution, laying the empirical foundation for the development of curricular resources. A truly effective curriculum, whether delivered in formal or informal settings, should include not only appropriate content, but should also be presented in a way that is developmentally appropriate, capitalizes on effective teaching and learning strategies, takes into account learners' prior knowledge and sociocultural background, and addresses the emotional and motivational issues that may arise. The proposed synthesis project consists of three stages. First, small groups of experts from cognitive and developmental science, evolutionary biology, formal and informal science education, and the philosophy of science will be brought together in a series of regional meetings. Second, the output of these meetings, a series of publicly released meeting summaries on the current state of research and practice, will guide the design of a three-day workshop to be attended by the entire group, at which the full framework will be assessed. Finally, subgroups will then be charged with producing synthesis products for researchers and practitioners. REESE DRL EHR Sinatra, Gale University of Nevada Las Vegas NV Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 56214 7625 SMET 9177 9150 0635629 January 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Facing the Challenges of Learning and Teaching About Evolution: A Synthesis. The purpose of this project is to synthesize the research regarding the learning and teaching of evolution, laying the empirical foundation for the development of curricular resources. A truly effective curriculum, whether delivered in formal or informal settings, should include not only appropriate content, but should also be presented in a way that is developmentally appropriate, capitalizes on effective teaching and learning strategies, takes into account learners' prior knowledge and sociocultural background, and addresses the emotional and motivational issues that may arise. The proposed synthesis project consists of three stages. First, small groups of experts from cognitive and developmental science, evolutionary biology, formal and informal science education, and the philosophy of science will be brought together in a series of regional meetings. Second, the output of these meetings, a series of publicly released meeting summaries on the current state of research and practice, will guide the design of a three-day workshop to be attended by the entire group, at which the full framework will be assessed. Finally, subgroups will then be charged with producing synthesis products for researchers and practitioners. REESE DRL EHR Brem, Sarah Evelyn Evans Arizona State University AZ Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 145241 7625 SMET 9177 0635639 November 1, 2006 Principles for Improving Mathematics Learning in High-Poverty High Schools. This Synthesis Project intends to integrate the literature bearing on the transition from elementary to secondary mathematics in interventions (approaches to high school structure and curriculum), the literature in learning and cognitive sciences, and comparative analyses of mathematics curricula that are more theory-driven. The intent is to examine the effects on student learning. The design of providing a triangulation of the findings from the three literatures is expected to better guide practitioners to promising practices and researchers to potentially high payoff research questions. The literature reviews and the synthesis of findings will be organized around three research questions: 1) Which features of secondary mathematics programs are most often associated with learning gains for under-prepared students? 2) What do these literatures suggest as possibilities for improving mathematics programs for low-income high school students? 3) What are the incompatibilities and tensions between generally effective mathematics curricula and instruction? The analysis is designed to highlight themes (develop a framework and apply it in an analysis) in the three literature reviews noted above (interventions, cognitive science, and curriculum comparisons) and then to synthesize the reviews through some sort of conceptual integration around the three research questions. An Expert Review Group (ERG) of mathematics educators, mathematicians and math theorists, mathematics education researchers, learning scientists, and mathematics high school intervention PIs will be formed to provide an ongoing analysis and critique of the five stage process (recruiting expert group, identifying and summarizing the three literatures, coding the mathematics intervention data, evaluating and refining the syntheses, and disseminating the syntheses). REESE DRL EHR Means, Barbara Charles Patton SRI International CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 199983 7625 SMET 9177 0636124 September 15, 2007 The Role of Media in Supporting Free-Choice Science Learning. Building upon extensive prior work, the Institute of Learning Innovation is developing and implementing a conference to bring together media professionals, researchers, and policymakers that work in ISE to reflect upon recent research and develop frameworks for future practice and evaluation. Various media-related groups (print, broadcast, electronic gaming, etc,) usually have professional conferences in isolation from each other with little sharing of information and research findings. Despite the rapid blurring of boundaries between various media types in the marketplace, researchers and practitioners remain within traditional silos. This conference will bring together 80 media practitioners and researchers for a two-day national conference in order to consolidate and synthesize the research-based theories presented in a pre-conference publication. A series of 3 post-web conferences will build on the momentum generated during the initial conference and generate broader participation within the science learning media community. Rockman et al will evaluate the conference and post conference web community. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Beverly John Falk Institute for Learning Innovation Incorporated MD Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 249966 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0636174 January 1, 2007 Research Sample Profiling. In this SGER proposal, the investigators propose to do some extensive research profiling on education research projects supported by ROLE, EREC, and the REESE program. The objective is to examine the social knowledge networks of the projects, through their citation of other works, in an attempt to understand the social structure of the education research community. REESE DRL EHR Porter, Alan Search Technology Inc GA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 99500 7625 SMET 9251 9237 9177 0636175 September 15, 2006 Algebra: Gateway to a Technological Future -- A Conference to be Convened in Washington, DC, November 9-11, 2006. NSF has supported many projects designed to improve student learning of algebra at all levels. The MAA will bring together approximately 50 mathematicians and mathematics educators on November 9-11, 2006, in Washington, DC, to develop an overview of this prior work, seek common principles that support student success, and provide guidance for the future. Participants will be drawn from leaders in the mathematical sciences community with proven records of prior success. The conference will support the goal of developing a report with a national perspective, and serve to stimulate interest in the report by engaging key members of the community. REESE CCLI-Phase 2 (Expansion) TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Pearson, J Michael Mathematical Association of America DC Paola Sztajn Standard Grant 104175 7625 7492 7271 SMET 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0637336 September 15, 2006 WORKSHOP: The Virtual Instructors Pilot Research Group. This SGER is for the purpose of convening a workshop to set standards for the development of virtual agents for education and training. NSF and other agencies have supported research projects to develop virtual agent technology in automated learning and training systems. Previous research projects have concentrated on the technical aspects of the agents that will make them effective tutors or trainers - e.g. aspects such as engagement, natural dialog, affect (e.g. emotional gestures and expressions), etc. This SGER is timely because many of the agent technologies are ripe for deployment in larger systems. In order for such deployment to be effective, computer standards for the agents must be developed so they can be easily integrated into existing tutoring and training systems. The international workshop will begin the process of developing such standards. Members from the agent research community, learning technologists, and representatives of the standards groups for learning and training technologies will participate in this workshop. The intellectual merit of this award is in the development of a framework for standards for virtual agents. The broader impact of the award is in the possible utilization of the standards for broad dissemination of virtual agent technology. The workshop will be held on the campus of Georgetown University in Washington DC in 2007. REESE DRL EHR Blake, M. Brian Jayfus Doswell Georgetown University DC John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 49013 7625 SMET 9237 9177 1707 0638470 October 1, 2006 A Focus on Mathematics for Education Faculty. The Education Development Center (EDC) proposes a two-part effort to strengthen the mathematics content in courses designed for graduate students in mathematics education. The first part is a one-week workshop for faculty members in education who are responsible for developing content courses for graduate students in mathematics education. These faculty members will experience aspects of being a "student" in such a course and will gain tools and materials to implement similar courses at their home universities. During the subsequent academic year, on-line materials and the opportunity for interaction will support them as they develop and teach courses. CENTERS FOR LEARNING & TEACHIN DRL EHR Sword, Sarah Albert Cuoco Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 487158 7181 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638656 March 15, 2007 U.S. National Commission for Mathematics Instruction -- A Conference Grant. The U.S. National Commission for Mathematics Instruction (USNC-MI) of the National Academy of Sciences requests a conference grant to support the Commission on cooperative research and educational activities across international boundaries. The activities include workshops, conferences and symposia designed to further develop the field of mathematics instruction both nationally and internationally. Specifically, the grant will support (1) a workshop on Chinese and U.S. teacher preparation; (2) a workshop on international comparative assessments in mathematics; and (3) a workshop on challenges in non-university Tertiary Mathematics Education. REESE DRL EHR Ferreras, Ana Katherine Bailey Mathae National Academy of Sciences DC Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 314423 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0638793 April 1, 2007 MarshAccess. The Meadowlands Environmental Center, reaching 60,000 members of the public annually, will develop test and implement the "Marsh Access" program." This project will identify and test appropriate assistive technologies and programmatic approaches engaging 5,000 adults from specific disability groups in outdoor field-based experiences in order to better support their engagement, to foster their interest in science and to improve their scientific literacy. One hundred professionals will participate in conferences and professional development around the implementation of these programmatic approaches and will create plans to implement similar programming in outdoor settings across the nation. Utilizing an accessible outdoor garden and trail in the marshes of the New Jersey Meadowlands, Ramapo College in partnership with the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, Spectrum for Living and the Adler Aphasia Center will identify and prototype kiosks and educational programming. Evaluation and program development will focus on identifying specific tools and approaches for engaging people with visual, hearing, mobility, mental/cognitive and age related disabilities. Data will be collected through observations, surveys and focus groups during a field testing process with groups of individuals from partner agencies over the three years of the program. Deliverables include two programmatic modules focusing on the science, natural history and ecology of the meadowlands, two multi media kiosks at points along the outdoor trail, a set of assistive technologies for use by public audiences in both facilitated and non facilitated experiences, and a set of program materials available to the public outlining the process and findings of the program. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Balutanski, Jean Victoria Madden Angela Cristini Ramapo College of New Jersey NJ Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 852276 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638810 January 1, 2007 "Sharks: Predators through Time" -- An exhibit that highlights active NSF-funded research. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (CRPA) proposal is based on current NSF-funded research, EAR 0418042, on the evolution of giant Cenozoic sharks, including the C. megalodon that lived worldwide during the Neogene from 2 to 15 million years ago. The project is the development of a 3,000 square-foot traveling exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History (University of Florida), with subsequent venues at the Miami Museum of Science and the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), Tampa. The exhibit, "Megalodon -- The Largest Shark That Ever Lived," includes specimens from the museum's collection and many rare specimens that have been donated to the museum recently. Exhibit activities will focus on (1) the process of science, in particular how the PI studies major factors that could have contributed to the extraordinary size of these sharks, and (2) on public misconceptions about sharks, as identified in front-end research already conducted. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR MacFadden, Bruce Darcie MacMahon University of Florida FL Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0638873 April 1, 2007 Sharing the Universe. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) and the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) will conduct a research and implementation project to explore the educational potential of club-affiliated amateur astronomers to engage the public in informal astronomy experiences. Some 20% of amateur astronomers already share their passion through public outreach. The goal of this project is to harness and amplify this existing outreach enthusiasm in order to encourage a greater number of interested amateurs to do more frequent and more effective educational outreach with a larger number and diversity of public audiences. Deliverables include: (1) Phase 1 research with 10 clubs to examine in-depth the characteristics of successful outreach-oriented amateur astronomy clubs; (2) strategies for transferring this effective outreach culture to other clubs through tools, partnerships, and a community of practice; (3) a Phase 2 research study with a core group of 20 clubs to determine the degree to which these interventions promote an outreach culture; and (4) implementation of tested outreach strategies within 200 clubs across the U.S. and an analysis of implications for hobbyists in other disciplines as facilitators for science learning in everyday settings. The project builds on the ASP?s NSF planning grant ( DRL 0002694) which surveyed the outreach practices of amateur astronomers. Partners in addition to ILI include a Planning Consortium of amateur astronomy outreach leaders, and key stakeholders in the astronomy and science education community: the Astronomical League (AL), National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), and the New Jersey Astronomy Center for Education (NJACE). Professional astronomers, informal educators, diversity specialists, sociologists, and hobbyist and citizen science experts serve as advisors. Approximately 4,400 amateur astronomers in 200 clubs will provide informal astronomy experiences to more than one million Americans as a result of the four-year grant. Intended outcomes are to: (1) increase the educational impact of public engagements by amateur astronomers; (2) increase the frequency of public engagements per amateur and per club; and (3) broaden the variety of events and diversity of public outreach venues in order to reach non-traditional audiences such as women, Hispanics, African-Americans, and inner city youth. Five years post- award , the project expects to improve the outreach activities of 9,000 interested amateur astronomers in 450 clubs (nearly doubling current efforts), thereby improving their interaction with a public audience of nearly five million. Evaluation by Inverness Research Associates will study the degree to which the interventions developed and tested as part of this project impacted amateurs? ability and commitment to conduct more and better outreach. It is anticipated that this project will provide deep insights into the culture and educational potential of amateur astronomers as volunteer free-choice educators. The research will also study for the first time in a controlled environment the degree to which ?outreach amateur astronomers? (those amateur astronomers who consistently participate in public outreach) contribute to increased public attentiveness to astronomy. Outcomes will be disseminated to professional societies, the broader informal science education field, and other club-based organizations (such as birding clubs) that would like to expand their capacity to educate the public. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Manning, James Martin Storksdieck Astronomical Society of the Pacific CA Leslie K. Goodyear Continuing grant 1119637 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638891 July 15, 2007 Flight of the Butterflies. Filmmaker's Collaborative, Principal Large-Format LTD, and SK Films, Inc. are requesting funds to produce a large format, 3-D film and multi-component educational materials and activities on the annual migration of monarch butterflies, their life cycle and the web of life at select sites where they land. Project goals are to 1) raise audience understanding of the nature of scientific investigation and the open-ended nature of the scientific process, 2) enhance and extend citizen science programs to new audiences, and 3) create better awareness of monarch biology, insect ecology and the importance of habitat. INNOVATION/STRATEGIC IMPACT: The film will be simultaneously released in both a 3-D and 2-D 15/70 format. RMC Research Corp. will conduct evaluation of the project, including a study of the comparable strengths of the 2-D and 3-D versions of the film and to assess the effectiveness of 3-D to enhance the learning experience. RMC will also conduct a long-term evaluation of the project's citizen science programs. COLLABORATION: This project promises a highly collaborative model of partnerships between the project team and The Smithsonian, Project Learning Tree, Monarchs in the Classroom, Monarch Watch, 4-H through the University of Kentucky Extension and the University of Florida WINGS programs, The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans (SACNAS), Online NewsHour, and Earth & Sky. RMC will conduct formative and summative evaluations to assess the success of project materials in communicating science and achieving the project's learning goals. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Baldwin-Mallory, JoAnna Filmmakers Collaborative, Inc. MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2325361 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638894 August 1, 2007 Radio Lab -- A New Approach to Science Storytelling on Radio. Radio Lab will produce 20 hour-long interdisciplinary science programs and 30 shorter features to be aired on NPR news magazine programs on a wide range of core STEM topics exploring how research is done as well as what the scientific results mean to the listener. The programs are co-hosted by Robert Krulwich, science reporter for NPR, and Jared Abumrad, WNYC radio producer and music composer. The programs are using a new, unorthodox format with music, live sounds and conversations between the hosts designed to appeal to young adult listeners who previously thought they did not like science. Each episode is crafted around a scientific finding and aims to connect the scientific inquiry to philosophical and universal implications. Program topics will include biology and neuroscience as well as physics, genetics, chemistry, math and engineering. The program carriage goal is to have the hour-long programs airing on 100 stations reaching three to four million listeners by the end of the project. The shorter segments will be distributed by NPR in its regular news magazine programs. Programs will also be podcast on NPR and WNYC's web sites, as well as through iTunes. The project will also train NPR science reporters on this new approach to science news content. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Horne, Ellen Jad Abumrad Robert Krulwich New York Public Radio - WNYC NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 788901 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638909 September 1, 2007 Project WISE: Working in Informal Science Education. John Carroll University, Cleveland's International Women's Air and Space Museum and Cleveland Public Schools are partnering in a three-year project to provide a cross-age, collaborative exhibit development experience to increase young peoples' science understanding and interest in science and teaching careers. The program exposes 120+ high school and undergraduate women to the skills of educational program planning and implementation. Content includes science, technology, engineering and math related to flight, and the history and role of women in flight related careers. The project proposes a highly supportive learning environment with museum, science and education experts working alongside students at secondary and undergraduate levels to design exhibits that will meet the interest and needs of the museum, and the young children and families from Cleveland schools who visit. Through qualitative and quantitative methods, the evaluation will measure change in participant career interests, content understanding and perception of science, technology, engineering and math subjects, and skill development in presenting these concepts to public audience members. Public and professional audience experiences will also be evaluated. More than nine hundred local elementary school age children, their families and 15,000 general public audience members will participate in student-designed, museum-based exhibits and programs. Deliverables include a model for university/museum partnerships in providing exhibit development and science learning experiences, three team-developed permanent exhibits about flight and women in science, a set of biographies about women and flight in DVD format and three annual museum based community events. The model program will be informed by national advisors from museum/university partners across the United States who will attend workshops in connection with the projects public presentations in years one and two. These meetings will both provide opportunities to reflect on the program progress and to develop new strategies in the evolution of the program design. Workshop participants will develop plans to implement similar programs in their home locations, impacting another layer of public audiences. The transferability of the model to these new sites will be measured in year three of the proposal. An additional 25,000 participants are expected to be impacted in the five years following the grant period. Beyond the implementation sites, the model's impact will be disseminated by the PI and participants in the program through peer reviewed journals and presentations at national conferences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR DiLisi, Gregory John Carroll University OH Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 493600 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638917 May 15, 2007 Roadside Heritage: Informal Science Education in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Byways. This proposal will develop and disseminate locally developed STEM-rich audio programs for the traveling public, in particular vacationing families, using emerging traveler information technologies, traveling festival kits, and an interactive website. The project is linked to the 220-mile Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway that traverses a dramatic landscape, rich in natural resources and unique contributions to scientific research. Collaborators include the Eastern Sierra Institute for Collaborative Education and the University of California at Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Collopy, Michael Jacque Ewing-Taylor Barbara Ando University of Nevada Reno NV Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2501237 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0638931 March 1, 2007 NOVA scienceNOW. WGBH Educational Foundation is requesting funds to produce the third and fourth seasons of "NOVA scienceNOW," a multimedia project addressing a wide array of science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects via multiple platforms including national PBS broadcast, the PBS Web site and innovative outreach initiatives. Project goals are to help the general public understand the value and importance of scientific ressearch and to encourage an interest in STEM careers among younger viewers. INNOVATION/STRAGEGIC IMPACT: The series provides a significant opportunity to develop a new format for science journalism building on brand recognition but potentially reaching a broader and more diverse national audience. The new host will be Dr. Neil deCgrasse Tyson, an accomplished astrophysicist and charismatic science communicator whose partipation will help the series reach out to a broader demographic. NOVA is planning a new scheduling configuration for these future seasons to maximize audience for the six new programs per year, i.e. the programs iwll run consecutively in the NOVA slot during June and July. COLLABORATION: NOVA has developed a new consortium of PBS stations to advise on the series and to contribute editorially to the programs. This will give the program greater geographic coverage and will provide local contacts with researchers at major universities and institutions connected to these stations. The project will also partner with the American Library Association and Sigma Xi and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in the outreach effort. Multimedia Research, Inc. and Goodman Research Group will conduct formative and summative evaluations, respectively. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2500000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638962 September 15, 2007 CYBERCHASE SEASON 6: GET ACTIVE WITH MATH!. Educational Broadcasting Corporation requests funds to develop and produce ten new episodes for a sixth season of Cyberchase. The new season will introduce a new campaign, "Get Active with Math", that focuses on sports and builder's math. Ancillary materials, outreach, and a highly popular Web site extend the learning and help make Cyberchase the sole mathematics media project available for the target age group. Cyberchase's content spans the 3rd-5th grade standards of the National Council of Mathematics. The new programs will enrich the series' content while keeping viewers tuning in to the current shows and bring non-traditional partners into the fold of informal education. Plans for Season 6 include building the inventory of multi-media outreach activities, strengthening the show's presence in after-school programs and museums through a set of Builder's Math activity kits and a new Web Portal. Innovation/Strategic Impact: Cyberchase continues to build its effectiveness to inspire children to approach mathematics with confidence and enthusiasm by marrying its innovative content with strong partnerships and promotion. The program maintains its unique position on broadcast television and the web. Collaborations: Season 6 initiatives will strengthen existing partnerships and forge new collaborations. The number of museums working with Cyberchase is anticipated to grow to over 30. Work with Girls Inc will include training and recruitment at three Girls Inc regional conferences. Other outreach partners include EWeek, National Association for Girls and Women in Sports, National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the New York Mets and other sports organizations. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the 3D Builder's Math game using an operational prototype working with a sample of students, establishing the ability to use the Cyberchase web site for assessment. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Sandra Michael Templeton Frances Nankin Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 1500000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638963 May 15, 2007 The Black Hole Experiment Gallery: Testing the theories of gravity and of free-choice learning. 0638963 The Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Obervatory will develop the Black Hole Experiment Gallery, a 2,500 sq ft traveling exhibition that will let visitors explore recent breakthroughs in astronomical research on black holes. Intended audience impacts are to deepen understanding of the nature of scientific discovery, enhance interest in and knowledge of our unfolding universe, and foster appreciation of a broader view of science. The exhibition will be accompanied by a portfolio of educational materials and programs, and website. The exhibition will provide a testbed of emerging networking and personalization technologies. Based on partnerships with community-based programs in Oakland, Baltimore, and Boston, underserved teens will assist in the development of exhibits and programs. A video case study for science museum staff professional development will document the exhibition development and decision-making processes used. This exhibition will travel to 9 to 12 science centers on a national tour, reaching some 1.5 million visitors. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Gould, Roy Mary Dussault Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1688701 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0638966 September 1, 2007 Citizen Science Laboratory at Hacienda La Esperanza Reserve. Abstract: The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico, in collaboration with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the Interdisciplinary Center for Coastal Studies, New York Botanical Garden, Puerto Rico Youth at Risk, Boy Scouts, and a host of community businesses, and government organizations, will combine resources to implement a comprehensive citizen science program for individuals ages 12 and older. This project targets local residents, visitors to Hacienda La Esperanza Reserve, and members of community environmental projects on the following topics: archeology and human impacts on local ecosystems; conservation and restoration of wetlands; seed dispersal by bats and birds; ecology of coastal land crabs; flowering and fruiting patterns of local flora; and shoreline and costal processes. Project deliverables include the six citizen science research projects with supporting video documentaries, a comprehensive CiLab website, and the bi-annual CiLab newsletter. It is anticipated that this 2-year project will impact 5,000 individuals. Strategic impact will be realized in the evaluation results generated by this groundbreaking citizen science errort in Puerto Rico. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Baez-Jimenez, Jorge Fernando Lloveras The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico PR Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1000000 9150 7259 SMET 9177 9152 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638970 August 15, 2007 TechXcite. This project will develop a new 4-H Afterschool curriculum called Discovering Technology to be implemented in 7 states potentially reaching 5000 middle school youths and 250 4-H leaders annually. The program would encourage youth in both rural and urban settings to pursue careers in engineering and technology. The project is a partnership of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, the National 4-H Council/4-H Afterschool, North Carolina 4-H and the National Science & Technology Education Partnership (NSTEP). INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Ybarra, Gary Paul Klenk Duke University NC Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1297137 7259 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638977 May 15, 2007 Water's Journey through The Everglades. The University of Central Florida is conducting a 48-month project with the Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS) in Ft. Lauderdale and with Simiosys, Inc. to develop augmented reality (AR) "scientific virtualizations" for the museum's 27,000 square-foot EcoDiscovery Center expansion. The new wing has a science content focus on the Everglades, with experiences that allow visitors to explore questions about this ecosystem across the major variables of space, time, and scale. A Web portal site is also being developed that includes science-related games and contests. A key audience for the deliverables is adolescents. They are part of the project's advisory committee and are being enlisted to assist with the project's formative evaluation processes and to recruit their peers to the exhibit and Web portal. The project is positioned as a model for other museums on the use of embedded augmented reality simulations, and a component of the evaluation plan is to ascertain the feasibility of diffusing the model to other institutions. The Orlando Science Center is participating as a prototype center in the earlier stages of the project. Evaluation faculty at UCF are overseeing formative evaluation. The Institute for Learning Innovation will carry out the summative evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Smith, Eileen Charles Hughes KIM cavendish University of Central Florida FL Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2471845 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638981 June 1, 2007 Informal Science Education Resource Center (ISERC). The Association of Science-Technology Centers, in partnership with the Institute for Learning Innovation, University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments, the Visitor Studies Association and other collaborators, will steward development of an Informal Science Education Resource Center (ISERC) to support ongoing improvement of the national infrastructure for informal science education. For the field, the ISERC will build capacity and support continued professionalization. It will foster a Community of Practice that bridges the many varied forms in which informal STEM learning experiences are developed and delivered for informal audiences of all ages, as well as further knowledge transfer between educational research and practice. Activities will include a clearinghouse for ISE-funded awards to enable others to learn from and build upon this prior work, identification of practices and findings based on project evaluations, and leadership development, with emphasis on increasing diversity in the field. As a secondary emphasis, it will share relevant knowledge and practice with formal educators and university researchers. For Principal Investigators (PIs) funded through ISE awards, the ISERC will create a network through PI meetings, communications and other methods that encourage sharing of deliverables, practices and findings across projects. It will encourage prospective PIs, especially from underrepresented groups and regions, through orientation to the program by web conferences, workshops and additional means. For the ISE Program at NSF, the ISERC will assist Program Officers in reviewing the portfolio, gathering and assessing evidence of project impacts. It also will assist in identifying reviewers, gathering Highlights for internal use, and communicating INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pollock, Wendy John Falk Kevin Crowley Alan Friedman Association of Science-Technology Centers DC Alphonse T. DeSena Cooperative Agreement 3151597 7259 SMET 9177 7295 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0638990 June 1, 2007 PPE (Preschoolers, Parents, and Educators: Strategies to Support Early Science Literacy). The Boston Children's Museum will collaborate with Action for Boston Community Head Start Programs and Evergreene Research and Evaluation on an integrated research-to-practice project whose focus is science learning by pre-school age children. It will produce the following deliverables: a research-based Adult-Child Interaction Inventory (ACII) cataloging a spectrum of nonverbal and verbal interactions that occur during science engagement between parents, grandparents, or caregivers and young children; an ACII User Guide for museum professionals detailing how the inventory can be used for exhibit and professional development; a 2,800 sq ft Peep's World permanent exhibition informed by the ACII research; and a best practices survey highlighting effective strategies for eliciting positive adult-child interactions derived from a Community of Practice established by this project. The project will apply the research findings on nonverbal adult-child behavior to designing exhibits eliciting interactions supporting early childhood STEM learning. Project outcomes will benefit museum exhibit and program developers, preshool educators and families with children ages 3 to 5. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ringel, Gail Timothy Porter Childrens Museum Boston MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1925769 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639001 August 15, 2007 Cielo y Tierra Noticias del Mundo (Sky & Earth News of the World). This project's goal is to reach the underserved Hispanic audience with science radio programs using both broadcast and the internet. The deliverables include 200 ninety-second Earth and Sky programs in Spanish for broadcast on both commercial and public radio stations. The goal is to get distribution on 200 stations by 2008. In addition to the 90-second broadcast programs, the project will produce longer programs (8-15 min.) with interviews with Hispanic scientists, teachers and writers who will serve as role models for Hispanic young people. These short and longer form programs will be on the cieloytierra.org web site along with Spanish language science blogs, daily sky charts in Spanish and links to other relevant Spanish and scientific web sites. The project will use "eblasts" to inform users about the site and help in the creation of an online community of Hispanics interested in science. Project partners include The Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Britton, Ryan Erika Montero EarthSky Communications, Inc. TX Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1315811 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0639021 July 15, 2007 Portal to the Public. The Pacific Science Center (WA), in collaboration with Explora (NM), the North Museum of Natural History and Science (PA) and the Institute for Learning Innovation (MD), will develop, implement, research and evaluate a delivery model for effectively communicating current science to the public at informal science education organizations. Project deliverables will include cost-effective delivery mechanisms, development and testing of professional development workshops for scientists, in-depth research into the factors affecting implementation of the model and a guide to implementation of the model workshops. The project will reach museum professionals at 28 institutions, 275 scientists and 25,000 visitors over three years. It has significant potential for long-term impact on science museums across the nation based on the development, testing and dessemination of a flexible educational program approach that involves partnering with practicing scientists and engineers in their communities. In so doing, it will enhance their capacities to communicate current science and technology to their audiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schatz, Dennis Martin Storksdieck Margaret Marino Kristin Leigh Pacific Science Center Foundation WA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1924116 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639136 August 15, 2006 Enhancing Professional Development for Teachers: Potential Uses of Information Technology -- A Conference to be held in Sacramento, California, September 28-30, 2006. This is a grant for a conference and encompassing events examining the current research base on the uses of and potential for on-line information technology (OLIT) to enhance and change the ways professional development (PD) is provided to teachers in Grades K-12. The planning for this conference will be largely organized and executed by expert K-12 classroom teachers who are members of the National Academies and California Teacher Advisory Councils. The conference will emphasize the current status of the research literature on uses and influences of OLIT on PD. The conference also will explore current applications of various kinds of information technologies in PD, the potential for emerging technologies to not only restructure but transform PD opportunities, and challenges that remain in using information technologies for these purposes. The issues considered include the following topics: 1) the evidentiary base for understanding and evaluating on-line PD, 2) the current state of on-line PD, 3) assessing the effectiveness of on-line PD, 4) the benefits, costs and economics of on-line PD, and 5) the future of on-line PD. Participants in this conference include classroom teachers, researchers of online PD, school personnel responsible for implementing PD, state legislators and staff from CA House and Senate education committees and representatives from the information technology community who are responsible for developing and marketing hardware and software. The major ideas emanating from the conference will be summarized in an NRC report authored by the NRC planning committee and made available through the National Academies Press. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Labov, Jay National Academy of Sciences DC Michael Haney Standard Grant 60000 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0639269 February 1, 2007 Stone Age to Space Age -- Southern New Mexico Academies for Young Scientists. This project is providing 500 fifth graders in Southern New Mexico with a diverse menu of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning opportunities that will continue into seventh grade for these participants. Each student will receive a minimum of 150 hours of out-of-school experiences in Special STEM Saturdays, Family Festivals, and Summer STEM programs. The overarching theme of "Adaptation to the Environment" will serve to integrate a wide range of topics and activities in the STEM disciplines. The project will utilize the rich sources in traditional cultural and the environment provided by the region (Stone Age) and strong local capabilities in the aerospace industry (Space Age). The school population is predominantly Hispanic students, with at least 35% having English as a second language. The families of these students will be recruited to participate in the project, as well as a minimum of 30 educators. Research will be conducted on the effect of the project on students' interest and achievement in STEM disciplines, the role of parents' participation on student success and the effect of high quality professional development for teachers on their interest in STEM. ITEST DRL EHR Brown, Susan Judith McShannon New Mexico State University NM Celestine Pea Standard Grant 799894 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639466 January 1, 2007 Developing an Integrated Pathway for Urban STEM Teaching and Learning in Grades 5-8. The Lynch School of Education at Boston College, the Boston Public Schools Out of School Time Program, the Boston Public School Science Office, the Urban Ecology Institute, UEI at Boston College, Boston's Museum of Science and Onset Computer Corporation proposes to connect classroom science learning in life science and physical science with Out of School time field-based experiences in an urban school district for grades 5-8. The UEI, Lynch School and the Boston Public Schools District have created a national model for an inquiry-based, hands-on approach to science teaching in urban public schools, called the Urban Ecology Field Studies Program. The Program puts the cutting edge discipline of Urban Ecology to work in service to public school students, their science teachers, and out-of-school time (OST) professionals. In the Program, teachers participate in a month-long Summer Institute that provides an introduction to urban ecology and to performing long-term field research with middle and high school students. UEI works with educational professionals both during and outside of school time to take their students outside of the classroom and into the urban environment, using the city as a natural laboratory to study core concepts in biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics. The students will use hands-on field research methods to collect data to form questions and hypotheses in order to understand the world around them. At field sites located near schools, after school programs, and community centers, they study water quality, bird biodiversity, storm water run-off, and other special studies that originate from each student group. A major strength is the Urban Ecology Field Program that will allow the alignment of several successful programs with the Boston Public School life sciences curriculum. ITEST DRL EHR Barnett, George Eric Strauss Charles Lord Katherine McNeill Boston College MA Joseph Reed Standard Grant 799860 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639567 December 1, 2006 Science in the Circle : Integrating Arts and Humanities into Authentic Science Experiences. "Science in the Circle" leverages the rich diversity of arts and sciences resources within the University Circle area of Cleveland, Ohio to engage students in authentic, multidisciplinary science experiences. A collaboration between Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD), the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and several cultural institutions collectively represented by University Circle, Inc., "Science in the Circle" uses the JASON Project to link formal in-school activities with informal after-school and summer activities. Case delivers an extensive, multidisciplinary professional development program for CMSD teachers in grades 6-8 to include content in mathematics, biology, earth science, physics and chemistry. During the out-of-school component CMSD middle school students spend five weeks at each of four University Circle institutions conducting in-depth investigations of student-generated, JASON-related questions from the unique perspective of each partner organization. Museum staff members, CMSD teachers, CMSD high school students and Case teacher licensure students work with groups of students as they use the exceptional resources of each institution to engage in authentic scientific research. These unique perspectives are brought together during the summer two-week workshop when teams of students work collaboratively to prepare a comprehensive, multidisciplinary poster presentation of their work. "Science in the Circle" will impact 100 students and 20 teachers during each of the three years of the program. This project provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the impact of informal learning experiences on classroom performance and student attitudes about science. The program brings students to University Circle institutions that they would likely have never visited otherwise with the hope they become life-long patrons and life-long learners. The program builds on existing partnerships, maximizes the impact of those relationships by working toward a common goal and sets the stage for future collaborations. ITEST DRL EHR Bader, James Brian Davis Elizabeth Voit Sandy Kreisman Philip Safford Case Western Reserve University OH David A. Hanych Standard Grant 786191 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639613 October 1, 2006 SPARK! Igniting Interest and Achievement in STEM through Engineering Design. "SPARK!" involves 100 underrepresented Philadelphia grade 4-8 students in Saturday and summer OST activities based in problem solving and engineering design in order to increase their interest in the STEM disciplines and motivate them to pursue STEM courses in high school. The design challenges are planned to relate to the science and mathematics curriculum and have the following themes: zoo habitats, biotechnology and robotics. The activities take place at Philadelphia Zoo, the iPRAXIS Center, and Penn Engineering laboratories. All teachers involved with the program (program staff, networked schools' teachers, and Penn education and STEM students) are involved in ongoing professional development related to the engineering and design activities and cultural awareness and are encouraged to take advantage of the partnership's formal programs such as the zoo's teacher institute and the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia offered by Penn faculty. ACAD FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS DRL EHR Yoon, Susan Ronald Fricke Ambra Hook University of Pennsylvania PA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 799544 7618 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639629 February 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Project WetKids - Immersion Along the Gulf Coast. The Pascagoula School District in southern Mississippi is partnering with the National Audubon Society (Audubon Mississippi), Chevron-Texaco, Mississippi Naturalists, NASA and the University of Southern Mississippi to extend its existing science curriculum by involving 135 students and 9 teachers from three middle schools in grades 6-8 in out-of-school time scientific investigations of local coastal wetlands. Approximately 50 percent of the students in the district are students of color and/or economically disadvantaged. Project goals are to (1) increase students' understanding, appreciation, attraction and interest in STEM fields and prepare them for high school course work and post-secondary study in science, math and engineering; (2) improve teachers' "content knowledge and pedagogical skills through collaborative experimentation and rich industrial and academic experiences with researchers in STEM fields;" and (3) "establish a sustainable and replicable model for development and implementation of an integrated in- and out-of-school curricular program." The project is conducting research on the impact of the program on student and teacher learning and attitudes, parental involvement and partnership development. ITEST DRL EHR Cwikla, Julie Mark LaSalle Christopher Barry Debra Sivori University of Southern Mississippi MS David A. Hanych Standard Grant 733393 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639632 January 1, 2007 East Bay Academy for Young Scientists. This project addresses the STEM educational needs of underserved, urban communities in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The Emery and Oakland Unified School Districts, Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California at Berkeley, California State University - East Bay School of Teacher Education, and Key Curriculum Press will conduct a three-year project to develop, implement and evaluate the East Bay Academy for Young Scientists (EBAYS). EBAYS will engage students and teachers in community-based research and STEM content learning activities focusing on topics aligned with state and national standards in earth, physical and life science, as well as information technology education. The STEM content of EBAYS will center on relevant environmental, health, cultural and socio-economic issues of local urban communities. The project will be structured around research questions related to these issues, and EBAYS students will collect, organize and present relevant information in teams facilitated by high school age interns affiliated with LHS' ESITA program and UC Berkeley undergraduates. EBAYS will serve a total of 300 students in grades four through eight, with each student having 204 contact hours per year in after-school programs and summer enrichment components. Thirty UC Berkeley undergraduate students and 30 local high school students will also gain valuable teaching and research experiences through their involvement in the project. Through annual public events the project will include the participation of approximately 250 family members and friends of EBAYS students. EBAYS will also provide enrichment experiences for 30 current and/or pre-service teachers, including immersive summer programs and weekend workshops on the community-based research and inquiry learning approaches used in the project. ACAD FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS DRL EHR Cuff, Kevin Darrell Porcello University of California-Berkeley CA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 795057 7618 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639637 January 1, 2007 NSFAYS Project GUTS: Growing Up Thinking Scientifically. The Santa Fe Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge, Santa Fe school district, Santa Fe independent schools and several science-related businesses are collaborating to engage 200 middle school students (grades 6-8) and 40 teachers in out-of-school and summer activities, field trips, and workshops that promote place-based research into complex systems and computer modeling. The study systems include epidemiology, emergency egress, traffic flow, pollution and ecology. The project is targeting high-need students from underrepresented groups (particularly Hispanics and Native Americans) at a time when test scores show a dip in science and math proficiency. The program is adapting, field-testing, and disseminating ten instructional units that are designed for use by students in Project GUTS Clubs. The instructional activities are aligned with state math and science standards and benchmarks. The research plan is focused on understanding how middle school students integrate knowledge of complex systems and place-based learning into their conceptual view of the world. The formative and summative evaluation studies are collecting data on participant diversity, student learning and attitudes, teacher pedagogy and partnership sustainability. ITEST DRL EHR Lee, Irene David Westpfahl Eric Klopfer Geoffrey West Elizabeth Frederick Santa Fe Institute NM David A. Hanych Standard Grant 719332 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639638 October 1, 2006 LIONS: Local Investigations of Natural Science. "Local Investigations of Natural Science (LIONS)" engages grade 5-8 students from University City schools, Missouri in structured out-of-school programs that provide depth and context for their regular classroom studies. The programs are led by district teachers. A balanced set of investigations engage students in environmental research, computer modeling, and advanced applications of mathematics. Throughout, the artificial boundary between classroom and community is bridged as students use the community for their studies and resources from local organizations are brought into school. Through these projects, students build interest and awareness of STEM-related career opportunities and the academic preparation needed for success. ACAD FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS ITEST DRL EHR Coulter, Robert Eric Klopfer Missouri Botanical Garden MO Kusum Singh Standard Grant 684529 7618 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639646 October 1, 2006 Science in the City: A Proposal for Developing Future Scientists. The after-school project, "Science in the City: A Proposal for Developing Future Scientists" proposes to implement several cohesive programs to assist approximately 120 at-risk students learn mathematics and science. The focus is not on a single scientific discipline, but rather the significance of science in everyday activities ranging from art and music to the solution of crime. The project uses the inquiry approach to advance the research component in the activities and will advance discovery and understanding and challenge students to become active learners by engaging them in these challenging STEM experiences. The students will be recruited from low-income minority populations that are performing below grade level. This focus addresses the real challenge of science education in schools and reaching those students who may not be considering a career in science. The project serves as a model mechanism for effective learning interactions among teachers, students, informal science organizations and the business community in the development of an educational workforce. The in-school experiences augment the out-of-school experiences. The method for involving parents in this project is unique and will assist in supporting the goals of the program. ACAD FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS DRL EHR Jansen Varnum, Susan Judith Stull Diane Ketelhut John DiPaolo Temple University PA Joseph Reed Standard Grant 799125 7618 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639656 October 1, 2006 NSF AYS Learning and Youth Research and Evaluation Center (LYREC). The Learning and Youth Research and Evaluation Center (LYREC) is a collaboration of the Exploratorium, Harvard University, Kings College London, SRI International and UC Santa Cruz. LYREC provides technical assistance to NSF AYS projects, collects and synthesizes their impact data, and oversees dissemination of progress and results. This center builds on the Center for Informal Learning in Schools (CILS) that has developed a theoretical approach that takes into account the particular strengths and affordances of both Out of School Teaching (OST) and school environments. This foundation will permit strengthening the potential of the NSF AYS projects to develop strong local models that can generate valid and reliable data that can guide future investment, design and research aimed at creating coherence across OST and school settings. The overarching questions for the work are: 1. How can OST programs support K-8 engagement and learning in science, and in particular how can they contribute to student engagement with K-8 school science and beyond? 2. What is the range of science learning outcomes OST programs can promote, particularly when in collaboration with schools, IHE's, businesses, and other community partners? 3. How can classroom teachers and schools build on children's OST experiences to strengthen children's participation and achievement in K-12 school science? Additionally, the data analysis will reveal: 1. How OST programs may be positioned to support, in particular, high-poverty, female and/or minority children traditionally excluded from STEM academic and career paths; and 2. The structural/organizational challenges and constraints that exist to complicate or confound efforts to provide OST experiences that support school science engagement, and conversely, the new possibilities which are created by collaboration across organizational fields. Data will be gathered from surveys, interviews, focus groups, evaluation reports, and classroom and school data. ACAD FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS ITEST DRL EHR Semper, Robert Bronwyn Bevan Patrick Shields Gil Noam Exploratorium CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 2150503 7618 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639686 December 15, 2006 COMmunities Educating Tomorrow's Scientists (COMETS). The three-year "COMmunities Educating Tomorrow's Scientists (COMETS)" project will implement an earth and space science program with the focus of learning science as inquiry at West Virginia State University, a historically black university, with partners Kanawha County Schools, Bayer Crop Science Corporation and the West Virginia Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences. "COMETS" targets 300 low-income, underrepresented and minority students at four community centers in Charleston, WV, for inclusion in a NASA-centered informal science education program. Through innovative hands-on investigations coordinated with students' formal curricula this program will excite, inspire, promote academic achievement and expand regular school time learning experiences for students in grades 3-6. The "COMETS" parent program, "The Family Tree," is an embracing center that makes an aggressive, deliberate effort to reach parents and custodians of elementary and middle school students to encourage them to help their children achieve their academic goals in math and science and realize the connection between their lives and science. In addition to enhancing achievement, the anticipated outcome of "COMETS" includes promoting positive attitudes toward science education by both parents and students, inspiring students to choose science for their future education and employment paths, and improving the knowledge and appreciation of earth and space sciences in participating educators. Through the professional development of approximately 50 formal, informal and pre-service educators, both "COMETS" students and other students of these trained educators will learn science as inquiry and will be exposed to high quality curricula and materials for approximately two hours per week during the academic year, three hours per week during the six-week summer program, and 30 hours during "COMETS" day camp in the summer of 2008. Participating educators collaborate in vertical teams through a professional learning community to guide "COMETS" activities to support and complement formal curricula. ITEST DRL EHR Cartwright, Tina Joseph Kusimo Brenda Wilson West Virginia State University WV Sharon M. Locke Standard Grant 799990 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639687 December 1, 2006 Franklin County STEM Reserach Academies for Young Scientists (STEMRAYS). This project will provide science research programs for rural grade 4-8 students in after-school and summer programs. The lead partner is the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass), which is just outside Franklin County; the other higher education partner is the only college in this county, Greenfield Community College (GCC). Other partners are the county's eight school districts plus local businesses and informal science organizations. STEMRAYS will connect students and teachers with ongoing interdisciplinary environmental research programs in the region, providing them with authentic science experiences and interactions with scientists, engineers and college and graduate students from UMass, GCC and Smith College. Students and teachers will collect and analyze data that will be used by the scientists and engineers in their research projects, focusing on five environmental research themes: Arsenic, Pioneer Valley Watershed Studies, Weather RATS, Air Quality and Birds. This coupling to active research groups has been demonstrated to provide a richer experience for students than do science "activities" that provide only a classroom-based experience. STEMRAYS research involves major concepts in the biological, physical and earth sciences, as well as significant ideas in engineering and technology. Analyzing, graphing and interpreting data will aid in developing mathematical skills. STEMRAYS will support in-school curricula due to alignment with the Massachusetts Math, Science and Technology/ Engineering Framework. Program features include an online resource bank and career awareness/workplace activities. Project goals for students include increasing their interest in science careers, their knowledge of science content and the role of science in the world. Teachers will increase their understanding of the process of doing scientific research, their ability to engage and motivate students in science and their knowledge of science content. STEMRAYS will deepen the partnership among schools, institutions of higher education, informal education centers and business to support the program and to help sustain it after the grant ends. An educational research program will go beyond the usual project evaluation in studying the impact of STEMRAYS research team model on the students and on the teachers. The pilot phase will offer after school programs in six elementary schools and science clubs in two middle schools. Following summer workshops for teachers and a science camp for middle school students, full-scale implementation will involve 24 teachers and approximately 288 children. ITEST DRL EHR Sternheim, Morton Allan Feldman Brian Adams University of Massachusetts Amherst MA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 799998 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639690 October 15, 2006 Yerkes Astrophysics Academy for Young Scientists. The University of Chicago Yerkes Observatory and a host of education, science, business and community partners will combine resources to implement the Yerkes Astrophysics Academy for Young Scientists. Collaborators include the George Williams College -Aurora University, Consortium of Geneva Lakes Schools, Wisconsin Center for Blind and Visually Impaired, Wisconsin School for the Deaf, National Federation of the Blind, Williams Bay Business Association, Geneva Lake Environmental Agency, Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Science Museum of Tokyo, Hands-On Universe at the Lawrence Hall of Science, and the Astronomy Resources Connecting Schools (ARCS) teachers of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Partnerships. This project targets students in grades 3-8 in southern Wisconsin by providing them with year-round activities under four themes: Observing the Sky; Investigating Light and the EM Spectrum; Using Telescopes, Imaging, and Data Collection Display and Analysis; and Building Instruments. Over 100 students in elementary and middle school will receive 150 hours of out-of-school time programming as they engage in after school activities, observing sessions, field trips, and a week-long summer camp. The summer camp will enable students to build a tabletop projection solar spectrograph. Teacher professional development will be provided by Aurora University's College of Education and emphasize teaching as a scientific process, the relationship between learning and the brain, effective teaching models, the use of technology, and models of universal design. The twenty participating teachers will also learn physics and astronomy content while working with scientists and educators at the Yerkes Observatory. A research and evaluation plan will assess the effectiveness of the comprehensive partnership in achieving project outcomes, as well as the impact on student STEM learning and teacher knowledge and pedagogical practices. This project brings together the talents of scientists, educators and engineers to provide students, including those with sensory disabilities, with the opportunity to make scientific observations, build scientific equipment, and collect and interpret data. ACAD FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS DRL EHR Cudworth, Kyle Richard Kron Doyal Harper Linda Olbinski University of Chicago IL Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 800000 7618 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639694 October 1, 2006 Team Researchers in a GLOBE-al Environment (TRIAGE). The TRIAGE project engages two cohorts of 60 middle school students in authentic research experiences on the theme of environmental sustainability. Students work with faculty and pre-service teachers from Calvin College, teachers from five local school districts, and science professionals from local businesses and the Bunker Interpretive Center and Ecosystem Preserve, the site for the student research projects. Students explore careers in science through the resources of the business partners. Each student receives over 150 hours of out-of-school educational experiences that enhance and supplement their in-class science learning. The project conducts research on the student participants to determine effects on their achievement, interest, self-efficacy and their understanding of the nature of science in comparison to a control group of comparable students not participating in the project. The research also studies changes in the self-efficacy and understanding of the nature of science for participating pre-service and in-service teachers. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ACAD FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS DRL EHR Bruxvoort, Crystal David DeHeer James Jadrich Rachel Reed Kenneth Bergwerff Calvin College MI Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 821722 7645 7618 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639697 October 1, 2006 Robotics: Opportunities for Building Outstanding Talent in the Sciences. The University of North Carolina will implement a comprehensive, year-round project focusing on physics and astronomy for youth in grades 6-8. Project partners include the North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Network (NC-MSEN), Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI), North Carolina Technology Association Education Foundation, Tyco Electronics, IBM Center for Advanced Studies, the North Carolina Museum Collaborative, and the following seven school districts: Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Cumberland, Forsyth, Guilford, Orange, Pasquotank, and Wake. Participants will have electronic access to a 4.6 meter remote controlled radio telescope, robotic telescopes, and optical solar telescopes as they are immersed in robotics, physics, and engineering design. Students will receive 200 hours of contact time as they participate in after school e-mentoring sessions, Saturday academies, and a 15-day intensive summer program. E-mentors from the professional and educational community provide support for students as they advance through middle school and make the critical transition to high school. Students also participate in job shadowing, college tours, career counseling, robotics design competitions, seminars, and conferences. Teachers from participating districts receive professional development to enhance their knowledge of science content and engaging pedagogical practices and are also certified to use the radio telescope. Parents participate in workshops designed to provide information on careers in physics and astronomy. This comprehensive project will provide exciting science and technology experiences aligned with the school curriculum for 210 urban, rural, and suburban youth. ACAD FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS DRL EHR Holoman, Verna Jose D'Arruda Michael Castelaz Rita Fuller University of North Carolina General Administration Office NC Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 798129 7618 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639720 February 1, 2007 Middle Tennessee State University AYS: Energy, Earth and Civilization. This project seeks to improve student knowledge and application, attitudes and beliefs, and engagement in science and mathematics. MTSU leads a partnership to provide 150 grade 5-8 students with over 150 hours of out-of-school learning experiences in science and mathematics. Partners include the Discovery Center, the Adventure Center, the Wilderness Station and the Business Education Partnership of the Chamber of Commerce, in support of students from two middle schools and three elementary schools from the city of Murfreesboro and Rutherford and Cannon Counties. The out-of-school learning occurs during the academic year in "Club Neutron" and in the Business Community Classroom Connection (BC3) summer camps. The learning activities are designed to support the Tennessee State standards in science and mathematics. Twenty-four teachers are participating and are receiving 60 hours of professional development from the project. The project has established links to "Expanding Your Horizons" for girls, and to "Parents Actively Connecting Environments (PACE)" for parents. The project is conducting research on the validity of its educational model and underlying theoretical framework by evaluating the effects of the program on the students and teachers. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES ITEST DRL EHR Gilbert, Linda Kim Sadler Lee Rennick Rachel Anderson Middle Tennessee State University TN Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 789040 9150 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639725 February 15, 2007 NSFAYS Math Achievers. The NSFAYS Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering is a program designed to engage 120 6th grade students in 216 hours of mathematics and engineering activities on Saturdays and in the summer. Students will participate in three courses as they are promoted from 6th through 8th grade. Students from an urban and suburban school district participate in the NSFAYS DAPCEP program. The student population for the NSFAYS DAPCEP program is 95% African-American, 5% Latino and 30% female. Students participate in the following courses: Mathematics of Music, Mathematics of Motion and Mathematics of Machines. School-based concepts are reinforced via these out of school time activities (i.e. fraction to decimal conversion, and the mathematics and scientific derivations of sound creation). Approximately 20 teachers teach students on Saturdays. Teachers also receive 360 hours of professional development over 3 years. The NSFAYS DAPCEP project is a collaboration between the Detroit Public School system, Southfield Public Schools, Diamler Chrysler, Ford Motor Company and The University of Detroit Mercy. ITEST DRL EHR Lee, Jason Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program Inc MI Celestine Pea Standard Grant 853034 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0639783 October 15, 2006 Exploring Sophisticated Data Mining Analytics as a Strategy for Diagnostic Assessment of Rich Student Datastreams. This is a SGER for the development of analytic tools used for data mining in commercial applications (from SAS) to be applied to educational data. The tools will be tested on three sets of data: data streams from Multi-User Virtual Environments; data streams from Intelligent Tutoring Systems; and data streams from Educational Games. This SGER will investigate whether the data mining and analysis tools can help answer educational research questions about the effectiveness of these educational systems for whom and under what conditions. The intellectual merit of this research arises from the development of a set of analytic tools that can be used to answer research questions arising from learning technology systems. The broader impact lies in the development of an analytic infrastructure that can be used by other researchers working in the design and analysis of learning technology systems. REESE DRL EHR Dede, Christopher Harvard University MA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 99994 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0639884 February 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Project WetKids - Immersion Along the Gulf Coast. The Pascagoula School District in southern Mississippi is partnering with the National Audubon Society (Audubon Mississippi), Chevron-Texaco, Mississippi Naturalists, NASA and the University of Southern Mississippi to extend its existing science curriculum by involving 135 students and 9 teachers from three middle schools in grades 6-8 in out-of-school time scientific investigations of local coastal wetlands. Approximately 50 percent of the students in the district are students of color and/or economically disadvantaged. Project goals are to (1) increase students' understanding, appreciation, attraction and interest in STEM fields and prepare them for high school course work and post-secondary study in science, math and engineering; (2) improve teachers' "content knowledge and pedagogical skills through collaborative experimentation and rich industrial and academic experiences with researchers in STEM fields;" and (3) "establish a sustainable and replicable model for development and implementation of an integrated in- and out-of-school curricular program." The project is conducting research on the impact of the program on student and teacher learning and attitudes, parental involvement and partnership development. ITEST DRL EHR LaSalle, Mark National Audubon Society NY David A. Hanych Standard Grant 66606 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0643048 October 1, 2006 Broadening Participation: Developing STEM Community Metrics. The National Academy of Sciences requests support for the development of metrics by which to judge the participation and advancement of persons from underrepresented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and careers. The project will be conducted by the National Academy of Engineering. This proposal is based on four recommendation made by the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) in its 2004 report to Congress on "Broadening Participation in America's Science and Engineering Workforce," ( ([1], pp. 7-8). Two of these recommendations were specifically directed at encouraging accountability among NSF's grantee population: Accountability. NSF should expand its systematic and objective evaluation to assess, understand, and report the effectiveness and impact of its programs and policies on broadening participation by: a. continuing to obtain, refine, and disaggregate data and factors related; to the participation of persons from underrepresented groups in STEM education and careers; b. Working with the STEM community to develop specific goals, timelines, metrics, and using them to motivate, track and hold grantee institutions accountable for progress; and c. Building assessment and outcome reporting related to broadening participation into NSF program design and accountability expectations, where appropriate. Policy Levers. NSF should continue to employ and design new policy levers that focus the attention of principle investigators and their institutions on diversity aspects of the broader impacts criterion, on embedding diversity goals in their research, and on designing and implementing sustainable institutional change that helps STEM become more inviting and supportive of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities at all levels. Activities will include: 1. Identify in collaboration with NSF staff as appropriate, a ten member working group who are collectively representative of NSF's directorates and grantee disciplines - (BIO, CISE, EHR, ENG, GEO, MPS, SBE) as well as NSF's grantee institutional diversity, e.g., research universities, baccalaureate colleges, community colleges, minority serving institutions, etc. and directly experienced in efforts to broaden participation in the science and engineering workforce; 2. Conduct a literature review of existing metrics for assessing breadth of participation used in academic, business, and government environments; 3. Convene the working group to preliminarily identify metrics to judge efforts to identify, attract, engage, support and sustain participation by groups underrepresented in STEM, as well as the actual participation of such persons: 4. Share the metrics developed with the appropriate communities; 5. Refine a final set of integrated metrics; 6. Broadly disseminate project findings to the STEM community. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Fortenberry, Norman National Academy of Sciences DC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 200000 7261 SMET 9177 0643734 August 1, 2007 CAREER:Understanding and Teaching the Processes Used to Comprehend Mathematical Arguments and Proofs. In both reform-oriented K-12 mathematics classrooms and in upper-level university classrooms, a significant emphasis is placed on the activities of justifying and proving. In particular, in these classrooms, we expect students to learn new mathematics by attending to and critiquing the mathematical arguments of others. For these goals to be achieved, students need to be able to understand others' mathematical arguments and to determine whether or not a mathematical argument is valid. Research has shown that students and mathematics teachers frequently lack this ability. We know little about what cognitive processes a person should use to determine whether a mathematical argument is valid or to construct understanding from reading a mathematical argument. The purpose of this proposal is to address both of these issues with the following series of studies: (a) An expert-novice study in which undergraduate mathematics majors and mathematicians are observed as they read and evaluate a collection of mathematical arguments, the results of which will inform (b) The development of pedagogical techniques and curricula materials using a design research paradigm to teach students the knowledge and strategies they need to comprehend mathematical arguments, and (c) A controlled experiment in which the pedagogical techniques developed in (b) will be implemented with a group of students and these students' performance on a post-test will be compared to a control group's performance. Intellectual merit. The proposed work will provide insight into the mathematical practices of reading and evaluating mathematical arguments and will delineate why students find these activities problematic. The proposed work will yield documented effective teaching methods to teach undergraduates the knowledge and skills to read and evaluate mathematical arguments effectively. Broader impact. These results will be of interest to mathematics professors who regularly teach proof-oriented classes and teachers of other scientific disciplines, such as physics, where argumentation plays a pivotal role. These results will also be useful for educators who prepare future teachers of mathematics. The results of these studies will be presented at academic conferences for both mathematicians and mathematics educations, and these results will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Educational goals. I will give workshops for mathematics professors who are looking for new ways to teach proof-oriented mathematics courses and for REESE DRL EHR Weber, Keith Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 320756 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0643920 September 1, 2007 CAREER: Tracing Children's Developing Understanding of Heredity over Time. The objectives for this proposed research are: (1) to study how fifth and sixth grade students develop understandings of key concepts regarding heredity within a school year and across two successive grades, using a Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE); and (2) to study the relationships between the students learning outcomes and the teachers classroom practices. In addition, curriculum adaptation, partnerships with science education researchers and scientists, and professional development workshops will provide learning opportunities for teachers, allowing them to build knowledge and translate it into practice. This proposed study will employ a cross-sectional and longitudinal comparison design involving a total of four fifth-grade teachers and five sixth-grade teachers. REESE DRL EHR Williams, LaTonya Michigan State University MI Sue Allen Standard Grant 496663 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0644131 August 1, 2007 CAREER: Integrating affect, self-control, and intelligence. .Self-control and intelligence can greatly influence people's mental and physical well-being, including their educational and health outcomes. The proposed experiments are intended to make fundamental advances in understanding the nature of self-control and intelligence, especially: a) how they are related to each other; b) the information processing and neural mechanisms that support them; and c) how they influence and are influenced by emotion or affect. Sometimes excess emotion needs to be regulated to behave more optimally (e.g., to resist temptation and impulsive responding), and sometimes the opposite is true: affect can help people behave more optimally (e.g., being mildly anxious about a test can lead to better preparation). The PI's prior work has sought to establish that cognitive and affective aspects of the human mind and brain are integrated in a deep sense, that is, cognition and emotion are not completely separable. In turn, such integration strongly suggests that affect cannot be fully separated from intelligent behavior, including self-control and even logical reasoning. The PI will conduct behavioral, brain imaging, and molecular genetic studies of self-control, as well as a classroom-based intervention to teach Emotional Literacy skills and evaluate the influence of that intervention on self-control and intelligence as outcome measures. If successful, the proposed research will provide a strong basis for follow-up studies into the roles of frustration tolerance, math anxiety, and stereotype threat during STEM learning. Broader impacts. The research described in this proposal will be the core activity of a training program, based in the PI's laboratory at Yale University, intended to increase research capacity in the cognitive neuroscience of science education. The results will add momentum to a major conceptual shift at the core of conceptions of human intelligence, especially the role of affect and self-control. By extension, it has the potential to positively influence educational curriculum and policy. The activity will engage diverse undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows in developing their skills in cognitive neuroscience research, classroom research, and science communication. The PI will visit schools in Kent, U.K., to gain a greater cultural perspective and to contribute to international scientific dialog on affect, self-control, and intelligence. REESE DRL EHR Gray, Jeremy Yale University CT Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 591617 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0644435 September 1, 2007 CAREER: Investigating classroom assessment practices in science. Intellectual Merit: The proposed project attempts to draw from several intellectual threads in science assessment to examine teachers classroom assessment beliefs and practices in the form of understanding their own (latent) interpretative framework for assessment. In contrast to many models proposed in the tradition of formative assessment, this project stresses the central role of teachers interpretative frameworks in assessment practices. A series of studies will be conducted to reveal how teachers think about and implement assessment practices, to identify challenging aspects of classroom assessments, and to construct and validate measures to capture classroom practices. The specific objectives of the proposed research are to: Conduct descriptive research to conceptualize, characterize, and document middle school science teachers understanding and beliefs about classroom assessment. Construct authentic scenario-based assessment tasks to capture the key aspects of teachers classroom assessment practices. Carry out reliability and validity research to validate the constructed tasks. REESE DRL EHR Li, Min University of Washington WA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 426329 7625 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0644469 October 1, 2006 Implementation of the Distance Learning Master's Degree Program in Evaluation for the U.S. Affiliated Pacific. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), in collaboration with the University of Hawaii and ten regional state departments of education, is proposing to implement a master's degree program in evaluation, via distance learning. with the goal to improve educational programs in the Pacific region, including science, technology, engineering, and math. (STEM) This project will continue the work of an earlier grant from NSF/REC for curriculum development, by completing and implementing a course of study specifically designed to meet the unique needs of participants in the Pacific region. The project will incorporate a specialization in evaluation to a preexisting master's degree program within the University of Hawaii (UH-Manoa campus), College of Education, Department of Education Foundations. The program of study will require completion of 30 credit hours over the course of 6 semesters. The two-year program will consist of courses offered in a hybrid asynchronous/synchronous format and is modeled after PREL's distance learning Master of Science degree program in Instructional Technology and Telecommunications. The goal of this project is to increase the capacity of the Pacific region to conduct high quality, innovative, useful, and credible evaluations of educational programs, including STEM. The project will enhance the attainment of this goal by pursuing the following objectives: (1) to increase regional capacity to provide graduate training in evaluation via distance; earning; (2) to increase consideration of culture and context in conducting evaluations; (3) to increase the capacity of regional education agencies to engage in high quality, innovative, useful, and credible evaluations; and (4) to strengthen regional capacity to apply the results of program evaluations in educational program and policy decisions. Long-term impacts of the program are anticipated to include improved data collection systems, continued application of evaluation data in program and policy decision-making, and ultimately higher levels of student engagement, achievement, and competencies in STEM. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Giuli, Charles Pacific Resources for Education and Learning HI Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 499636 7261 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0644701 September 1, 2006 CONFERENCE GRANT: BUILDING THE PIPELINE OF HBCU EVALUATORS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS. The purpose of the proposed project is to build the capacity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the teaching and practice of evaluation, with a focus on STEM education programs. The goal is to diversify and build leadership in the field, as well as strengthen evaluator skills in assessing academic programs focused on STEM with multiethnic and underrepresented populations. This will be accomplished through three major activities: (1) a conference of HBCU faculty evaluators and evaluation consultants to assess their current program evaluation and related research and teaching activities and to identify effective models of evaluation capacity building and networking, (2) the creation of a communications network and mechanism for information sharing regarding evaluation instruction and practice among HBCUs and between HBCUs and other higher education institutions, and (3) a meeting with key leaders from agencies and organizations that promote diversity in evaluation across a variety of educational levels, disciplines and contexts to share the results of the discussions and networking outlined above (NSF, AEA, AERA and APA). The project outcome will be the development of an action plan with recommendations for building evaluation capacity at these institutions and increasing minority faculty and students in the evaluation profession. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Greene, Ruth Johnson C. Smith University NC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 99894 7261 SMET 9177 0645170 October 1, 2006 An Online Digital Video Tool for Community Memory: CSCL Conference Video Data Using Orion. Conference paper presentations are highly complex learning events. After the conference is over, however, papers published in the conference proceedings are the only physical residue remaining. Not only are the meanings embedded in the presentations lost, the many levels of meaning embedded in workshops, poster sessions, and meetings are also missing from public records. Poster sessions, for example, are closely aligned with informal learning environments at museums and science center where attendees move from poster to poster, chat with the presenter, bump into colleagues, and make connections with each other. How could one simulate these kinds of learning experiences in an online environment? How could we capture and learn from diverse kinds of conference events? How can we expand community memory? One approach is that video records can offer both additional cognitive residue as well as a strong experience of social presence that contributes to community building. Access to recorded digital video from conferences can provide attendees with new ways to learn about their field of interest. Attendees from the previous year's conference can view and annotate these video datasets before they attend the conference. After the conference, they can continue to view and interpret videotaped segments, building personalized databases to share with others. With online video of conference events, we not only see these video accounts as windows into worlds of meaning that we might never have been able to comprehend at the moment of the occurrence, even while attending a conference, we also connect with a fuller range of understandings that are embedded in the event. Moreover, new configurations are built by collaboratively sharing interpretations with each other. In this act of reconfiguration the nature of the content under examination is changed. Data are no longer just the video or the published papers, but also the layers of commentary and descriptive measures added in re-viewings. Collective memory is expanded, saved, and made available for future users. To date, little educational research has been done on the inclusion of video for community memory at conference events. In this exploratory research initiative, video excerpts from the 2005 Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Conference (CSCL'05) will be uploaded to the Orion software using a powerful back-end database program. In phase 1 of the proposed project, these selections of video from the conference will be made available to a revised version of Orion which is a research environment that offers video viewing and access to annotation, clustering, and rating tools. In phase 2, a small sample of CSCL'07 attendees will be asked to use Orion. The study of their usage will include videotaped interviews and a survey. Participant use will be investigated using ethnographic video interviews and a survey. The broader impact of this study is to expand community memory for conferences by providing both attendees and virtual attendees with tools and video to participate actively during and after a conference. The intellectual merit of this design and implementation study is grounded in the application of video-based memory systems; this exploratory investigation will advance both individual and community memory of significant conference events before, during, and after the conference which will lead to a greater dispersion and critique of knowledge within a community. REESE DRL EHR Goldman, Ricki New York University NY John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 49993 7625 SMET 9237 9177 1707 0104000 Information Systems 0116000 Human Subjects 0645874 October 1, 2006 Expert-Novice Researcher Mentoring Groups. The 2007 Biannual Meeting of The International Community of Teachers of Mathematical Modeling and Applications (ICTMA-13) will be held on Indiana University's Bloomington campus on June 24-28, 2007. ICTMA-13's theme is Modeling Students' Modeling Abilities Focusing on Design Sciences. Because this theme emphasizes both mathematics and science, both content issues and learning issues, and both issues of theory and practice, it provides an ideal crossroads to promote profitable discussions among researchers who rarely cross paths at conferences associated with existing professional organizations in mathematics education, science education, engineering education, learning sciences, cognitive sciences, instructional technologies, mathematics, the natural sciences, or the life sciences. The proposal seeks support to: (a) hold two interacting and specially targeted research workshops within ICTMA-13 and (b) hold a series of videoconference seminars to maintain working relationships among junior-senior researcher partnerships established at this meeting. One of the most important goals of the proposed project is to help lay the groundwork for progress toward the development of a new research community which draws on multiple research perspectives and which focuses on the development of the kinds of knowledge and abilities that students will need for success in a global society, in knowledge economies, and in a technology-based age of information The intellectual merit of these workshops and seminars can be found in the goals: o To establish strong working relationships involving researchers in engineering education and those focusing on K-12 mathematics education, and o To establish strong working relationships among specially identified pairs of junior and senior level researchers in the preceding fields. The broad impact of these workshops and seminars will be realized through the number of publications produced from the meetings, and by the pairing of internationally known senior researchers, from a wide variety of fields, with junior researchers who have been identified as having exceptional potential. REESE DRL EHR Lesh, Richard Indiana University IN Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 60000 7625 SMET 9177 0646530 July 1, 2007 What's the Use of Plant Colors?. This proposal is based on the PI's active research investigating the physical, chemical, spectroscopic and biological properties of boronic acid substituted chalcones, a subclass of flavonoid plant pigments. Functions of flavonoids include disease resistance, sunscreen protection, plant pigmentation and fertility. This project targets youth in Berrien County, Michigan providing them with hands-on activities involving natural plant pigments and their function. It also provides teachers with supplementary materials to Michigan's core science curriculum and informs the general public about the importance of research in developing a robust R&D sector in Berrien County's mixed economy. Outreach tools include the websites, DVDs, PowerPoint, poster presentations and the Benton Spirit Community Newspaper. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Murray, Desmond Andrews University MI Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 74982 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0646987 March 1, 2007 Bringing Research on Learning to Practitioners in Informal Science Environments. The Board on Science Education at the National Research Council of the National Academies will develop practitioner-focused resources based on a synthesis study on Learning Science in Informal Environments (LSIE), a comprehensive review of educational research funded through a previous NSF award. Project deliverables will consist of a publication, video and digitized web resources designed to guide the application of the research findings presented in the LSIE report. The goals of this project are to support efforts to advance science education for diverse learners, to bridge research and practice, and to provide the broader informal science education communities access to research-generated knowledge. The project will greatly extend the impact of the synthesis study by making evidence-based approaches more widely available and utilized by informal science educators and insitutions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schweingruber, Heidi National Academy of Sciences DC Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 420000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0650520 September 8, 2006 "Evaluation, Knowledge Management, Professional, Technical and Administrative Support Services". Not required. DRL EHR Mitchell, Susan GUARDIANS OF HONOR MD Deh-I Hsiung BOA/Task Order 1 0650796 September 22, 2006 "Evaluation and Knowledge Management Professional, Technical and Administrative Support Services". Not required. UNDISTRIBUTED PANEL/IPA FUNDS PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Mitchell, Susan GUARDIANS OF HONOR MD Bernice T. Anderson BOA/Task Order 2167067 T955 9199 7261 OTHR 0000 0651544 July 15, 2007 SciGirls TV - Planning Grant. Twin Cities Public Television is requesting a planning grant to support the development of a new television series called SciGirls and related educational materials, building off the success of SciGirls Outreach and DragonflyTV. The goal of the planning process is to design a television series that could inspire millions of girls across America to discover the excitement of science, technology, engineering and math. The proposed planning phase will include: audience research about the current TV viewing habits of "tween" girls (ages 8-13), meetings of science and education advisors, formative evaluation of sample video segments, development of a treatment and business plan for the series. Barbara Flagg of Multimedia Research will conduct the formative evaluation of the SciGirls TV short video with girls of the target audience in five locations across the country. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Twin Cities Public Television MN Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 74957 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0651590 May 1, 2007 Providing Access to Scientific Awareness for Minority Populations by Changing the Paradigm -- A Planning Grant. This planning grant is designed to increase science literacy in Native Americans by developing education materials for families that incorporate both a tribal worldview and western science. The intended impacts include an increased value of scientific awareness, acquisition of scientific principles using intergerational learning and enhanced science literacy. The project deliverables include nine toolboxes that will contain tested STEM activities and two planning booklets. Project partners include the Northwest Indian College and the Mt. Baker School District. Strategic impact will be realized through the development of culturally sensitive strategies that can be used to engage Native audiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Edwards, Donia Nooksack Indian Tribe WA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0652343 June 15, 2007 Dialect Loss and Innovation: Documentaries and Outreach Program. North Carolina State University proposes to produce two one-hour documentaries on language diversity in the southeastern United States, one on a receding traditional variety of English on the Outer Banks of North Carolina tentatively titled Vanishing Voices of the Outer Banks, and one on the emergence of Spanish and Hispanic English in the Mid-Atlantic South tentatively titled The Spanish Voice in the New American South. The project is related to NSF research grant BCS-0542139, Old and New Ethnic Dialect Configuration in the American South," but it also connects with the PI's extensive, ongoing public outreach activities related to linguistic diversity. The project contributes to the public understanding of language diversity in American society and the social role of language in community life. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Wolfram, Walter North Carolina State University NC Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 74696 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0652696 September 29, 2006 Technical Assistance and Support Services for NSDL. Not needed. NATIONAL SMETE DIGITAL LIBRARY PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Mitchell, Susan GUARDIANS OF HONOR MD Deh-I Hsiung BOA/Task Order 968687 7444 7261 SMET OTHR 9178 0000 0701317 January 15, 2007 Forces and Forms of Change in Doctoral Education Worldwide II: A Research Synthesis Workshop. The proposal seeks to support a synthesis workshop to address a critical issue facing STEM graduate education - the forces and forms of change in doctoral education, worldwide. The synthesis project is part of a multi-year project to establish an international network of leaders in doctoral education research and innovation to synthesize existing research and knowledge in five critical dimensions of globalization in doctoral education. They are: (1) the impacts of globalization in labor markets on doctoral education; (2) the problem of tensions between national interests and globalized science; (3) the competencies of PhD holders worldwide; (4) the usefulness of existing data for evaluation of doctoral education cross-nationally, and (5) the problem of evaluation and quality assurance as doctoral education globalizes. REESE DRL EHR Nerad, Maresi University of Washington WA Carol F. Stoel Standard Grant 200000 7625 SMET 9177 0702433 December 15, 2008 International Workshop on the Status and Participation of Women in STEM Disciplines and Careers. The Association for Institutional Research will organize and conduct two three-day workshops, scheduled approximately one year apart, to review the existing international knowledge base and exemplary policies and programs designed to enhance the status and participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and careers. In brief, the primary goals of the workshops are to: (1) systematically review relevant international research literatures to enhance understanding of the barriers and challenges to the full participation of all women in STEM disciplines and careers; and (2) identify reliable and credible data sources and data gaps in order to create a research agenda. Using international comparative data, the effects of the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity, commonalities and differences among women in STEM, and strategies, policies, and programs that are effective in enhancing women?s participation in STEM will be identified. Intellectual Merit: The project?s intellectual merit lies in its inclusive systematic approach using intensive and extensive reviews and analyses of the relevant international comparative research and evaluation literatures to catalyze interdisciplinary discussion, and serve as a basis for defining a strategic research agenda. A major component of the workshop will be a guided discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of extant research on policies, practices, and programs at the national, regional, and international levels that enhance women?s full participation in STEM careers. The workshop will identify critical gaps in the data and research literatures on women in STEM fields, and identify comparative data on international cultural and structural differences and commonalities to pinpoint issues and topics for further research on women in STEM fields that transcend national, political, and cultural boundaries. The ultimate goal is to design, implement, and evaluate effective programs and practices to broaden the participation of all women in STEM fields in the U.S. and abroad. Additional contributions include identifying collaborators and creating networks for future international collaborations. Broader Impacts: The project?s broader impact will be realized through the establishment of a repository for multi-national research and an agenda that will eventually result in a rich and competitive technical workforce that is strengthened by the broader participation of all women. The workshop will propose strategies to attract and retain more women across ability, race, and ethnic groups not only into the STEM workforce, but also into STEM leadership positions, thus contributing to achieving the broader goal of strengthening scientific, technical and economic capabilities. Workshop outcomes are expected to include a report that: summarizes reviews of relevant literatures; identifies gaps in research, data collection, and evaluation; and outlines recommendations for establishing strategic research agendas. Findings from the report will be disseminated through a workshop website as well as through presentations at international scientific conferences and meetings and national workforce policy summits. REESE DRL EHR Frehill, Lisa Association for Institutional Research FL Carol F. Stoel Standard Grant 327800 7625 SMET 9177 0703993 April 15, 2007 Linking Learning Science Theories and Measures to Economic Growth Models. This is a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) proposal that seeks to flesh out a stronger link and research agenda between economics theory and methods and the science of learning for the purposes of evaluative research and theory development. The project would be composed of a literature review, a small workshop, and the writing of a paper(s) for publication. All of these activities are proposed to be done as a collaboration of learning scientists at SRI and economists from academia. REESE DRL EHR Roschelle, Jeremy Marianne Bakia SRI International CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 199841 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0704012 August 15, 2006 Identification of Curriculum and Other Factors Associated with Student Achievement in Science. The investigators seek support to continue analysis of a project that has merged information from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) with the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY). The LSAY is a longitudinal study that concentrates on the high school experience for learning mathematics and science of a national sample of students from public high schools. This proposal would concentrate on the learning of science by analyzing the content of textbooks used by the students during their high school years. These textbooks have been identified and coded according to a framework that permits correlation of exposure to curriculum with other factors in the student's educational experiences. The purpose of this project is to identify and model the primary factors associated with U.S. student achievement in science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Miller, Jon Michigan State University MI Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 70742 1666 SMET 9177 0707318 July 15, 2007 Precontact Population Decline and Coalescence: Demonstrating How Archaeologists Know What They Know. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences project is based on current NSF-funded research, BCS-0342661, a study that is modeling the demographic collapse that occurred in the Hohokam region of southern Arizona between A.D. 1300 and 1450. The Center for Desert Archaeology in Tucson, AZ is partnering with the Pueblo Grande Museum (PGM), operated by the City of Phoenix, and the Huhugam Heritage Center (HHC), operated by the Gila River Indian Community in Chandler, AZ. The primary deliverable of the 24-month project is the development of a 700 sq. ft. traveling exhibit that provides visitors with experiences related to how archaeologists research questions such as, how to date pre-historic populations, how to estimate the numbers of people in these populations, how to determine their migration patterns, and how to model the decline of their numbers and "coalescence." The exhibit is based CDA's research philosophy of practicing "preservation archaeology" that uses methods that avoid or limit the disturbance of exiting archaeological sites. The exhibit, being designed and fabricated by PGM staff, incorporates some of the latest innovations in computer animation and GIS that help scientists approach these questions. CDA will create a special section of its website devoted to the research and exhibit, along with an exhibit guide and a special issue of its Archaeology Southwest magazine. The project is positioned also as a vehicle for stimulating continued conversations between archaeologists and Native American peoples. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hill, J. Brett Patrick Lyons Center for Desert Archaeology AZ Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0710836 September 1, 2006 CAREER: University Determinants of Women's Academic Career Success. What university policies and practices are relevant to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of female academic scientists and engineers, and how do they affect career development? The project will: 1) develop a longitudinal contextual database of faculty recruitment, retention, and advancement-related personnel practices in Research Extensive Universities; 2) describe and characterize faculty-related personnel practices in this academic sector; 3) link the contextual database to individual-level data; and 4) develop statistical models to test academic career trajectories within and between academic institutions. The public-use database will be of interest to scholars working in the area of gender, scientific careers and university organizational behavior by providing 1) data that can be linked to individual-level data for statistical analysis that accounts for contextual factors; and 2) data that can be used for descriptive analysis of the personnel and career-development practices of Research Extensive Universities. The research will enhance the ability of policy makers and administrative leaders to understand how the organizational contexts of universities foster conditions of equitable academic career development The study will enable the principal investigator to develop methodological techniques that integrate the use of longitudinal and multilevel data. The research will result in the development of a graduate-level statistics course that is not currently available at Georgia Institute of Technology. The curriculum for the course is likely to be of interest to professors at other institutions as well, and will be disseminated through a professional association and on the Internet. The research team will be comprised of graduate students, undergraduate students, and public K-12 STEM professionals during all phases of the CAREER award. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Gaughan, Monica University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Celestine Pea Continuing grant 450704 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0710915 July 1, 2006 Using the Theory of Successful Intelligence as a Framework for Developing Assessments in AP Physics and Biology. The aim of the proposed research is to create a set of augmented, theory-driven examinations that expand the range of cognitive skills assessed and to examine the impact of this approach on student achievement. The PIs will use the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) programs in Physics and Biology as a testing ground for the project. The augmented exams will be based explicitly on Sternberg's theory of cognitive processing skills. Augmented AP Exams in Biology and Physics would be developed to test students' ability to utilize different cognitive skills (analytical, practical, creative) as well as their content knowledge. Tests would be developed by teams of AP high school teachers working with professors of physics and biology. In Study 1, the PIs will gather content-related validity evidence for the Augmented exams, establishing the extent to which items tap the intended content domains and cognitive-processing skills. In Study 2, the PIs will conduct a psychometric study of the Augmented AP exams, seeking to establish the internal validity of the cognitive subscales. This research has the potential to bring theoretical notions of intelligence and cognitive ability to bear on widely used high-stakes tests. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Sternberg, Robert Tufts University MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 180161 1666 SMET 9177 0711118 July 15, 2007 Pre-Service Science Teacher Education for Hispanic English Language Learners in the Southeast (SHELLS). The population of new Mexicans and first generation Mexican Americans is increasing dramatically in the southeastern United States. New teachers of science are finding it difficult to work with the new group that includes a large number of students from families of low socioeconomic status, with intermittent school attendance patterns in their home country and who lack literacy skills in Spanish as well. The conference and its accompanying Cyberconference are to establish a research agenda to strengthen pre-service education of teachers of science who teach this population of students. The study of existing programs elsewhere forms the basis for understanding their effectiveness, the differences between programs, and the knowledge and skill base needed by the teachers who serve this community. Conference participants include researchers in teacher education, science education, English as a Second Language, bilingual education, second language acquisition and learning, assessment, and sociology of education, as well as pre- and in-service teachers, administrators, and state department personnel from high need, Hispanic-serving school systems and schools. The diverse audience for the conference provides a forum for discussion of major priorities and research areas along with methodological concerns and strategies to implement the research in pre-service teacher education. A post-conference website provides a forum for the continuation of the discussion and the posting of research results. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Sunal, Dennis Cynthia Sunal Miguel Mantero University of Alabama Tuscaloosa AL Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 105376 7355 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0711138 July 15, 2007 Investigating Equitable Discourse Practices in Mathematics Classrooms: Conference Proposal. This Discovery Research K-12 Conference project brings together 30 key scholars and practitioners in the areas of discourse and equity to synthesize and disseminate research findings concerning the implementation of culturally relevant teaching approaches that promote equitable discourse practices in mathematics classroom. The conference takes place in Rochester, NY, in June 2008. Scholars whose research focuses on academic language as a discourse that can be learned, differences between home and school discourses, and teachers use of language in classroom environments search for common findings from their work that have implications for teachers implementation of equitable discourse practices in mathematics. The outcomes of the conference are publications that synthesize and disseminate best practices in relation to equitable discourses as well as the articulation of a research agenda that further supports teachers' efforts. DR-K12 APPLIED RESEARCH DRL EHR Choppin, Jeffrey Beth Herbel-Eisenmann David Wagner University of Rochester NY Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 105493 7646 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0711161 May 15, 2007 Closing the Science and Mathematics Teaching Quality Gap in K12 Schools: Conference on "Induction of Science and Mathematics Teachers into Professional Learning Communities". This conference proposal follows up on a prior Wingspread meeting conducted by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. The earlier meeting focused on the research base around attracting and retaining K-12 STEM teachers. This second conference will build on that prior work and bring together education leaders, STEM researchers and policymakers to explore evidence based approaches to reducing STEM teacher turnover. The outcome of the conference will be a call to action that draws on the best evidence available to identify strategies that increase the retention, quality and diversity of the STEM teacher workforce. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Fulton, Kathleen Karen Smith Thomas Carroll National Commission on Teaching and America's Future DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 174259 7355 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0711264 August 1, 2007 Capacity Building Conference Series: Supporting an Emerging Community of Science Education Researchers. Following on the heels of two successful regional conferences, this project uses funds to cover participants' costs to attend two national conferences which focus upon supporting incipient science education research projects. A primary objective of this project is to provide a venue in which researchers, especially those considered rising stars in the field, can describe their lines of inquiry and to then receive guidance and input about refining those ambitions. The other primary objective is to promote an innovative conference design in which a structured presentation format serves as an incubator for scholarly work. Underwriting by NSF is crucial because it will allow wider participation in this project than would otherwise be affordable. Products of the conference include an electronic proceedings that will be posted to the conference website (www.sciedxroads.org) as well as a book (under contract) documenting the scope and successes of the conference. In addition, the promising scholars attending will generate research papers to be disseminated and published for a wider audience. Ultimately, this project supports developments within science education research even as it advances a fresh vision for professional conferences. As a result, more school-based research will be conducted, more policy-shaping documents will be generated, and more emphasis will be made upon increasing the quality of science learning opportunities for all students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Settlage, John Adam Johnston University of Connecticut CT Sharon J. Lynch Standard Grant 99858 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0711579 September 1, 2007 CAESL2008: International Conference on Assessment for Learning in Mathematics and Science. The primary purpose of this international conference is for participants in the US to exchange views international participants and discuss the latest research findings on (primary) science assessment. The conference will focus on research around building assessment systems that help teachers to diagnose student learning in the classroom but also link meaningfully to large scale accountability systems (in districts or national levels). This challenge is faced not only in the US but in countries throughout the world such as in Canada, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Another purpose of the conference will be to designate clusters of people interested in developing action plans for future research and resource development efforts that capitalize on international perspectives on the challenges currently faced. The project will result in a report, conference proceedings, journal publications, and dissemination via a website through CAESL and its partner organizations. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Timms, Michael WestEd CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 100000 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0714241 August 15, 2007 STEPS - ScienceTheater Education Programming System: A Vehicle for Professional Development, Enhancing Professional Identity, and Communicating Science. The Space Science Institute is establishing a museum educator/theater network of eight museums around the country, pairing larger with smaller institutions. The Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific also are collaborators. The primary audience is informal science education museum educators; secondary audiences are museum visitors experiencing the to-be-developed programs. The Science Theater Education Programming System (STEPS) is a technology that has been developed by the PI and others. The team will be continuing to expand the capability of the system for this project, and the partnering museums are collaboratively creating an initial set of theater programs on astrobiology, along with a suite of training programs and communication formats for educators. The STEPS technology allows these programs to be delivered both on site and via outreach, depending on the goals of each organization. The intent is to form the core of a community of practice that would enhance the professional capacity and identities of informal educators. The theater program format is positioned as a flexible, low-cost alternative to traveling exhibits, particularly for the smaller institutions. Deliverables include: the establishment of the network, the STEPS system and programs, professional development tutorials and workshops, evaluation of the programs, and a research project and report examining the network as a community of practice and vehicle for strengthening the professional identities of museum educators. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McLain, Brad Paul Dusenbery SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE CO Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1863714 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714537 August 15, 2007 Math off the Shelf. Math off the Shelf is an innovative four-year project that is designed to develop an infrastructure for math learning utilizing libraries and afterschool programs. Primary partners include the American Library Association, National Institute on Out of School Time (NIOST), Center for the Mathematics Education of Latinos/as, and statewide library agencies. Deliverables include six to ten culturally responsive, bilingual (English and Spanish) interdisciplinary projects and 15-20 short math/library games for children and their families. Each project includes a theme, a mathematical focus, math related books, interdisciplinary activities, take-home materials for families, and outreach and training materials for informal educators. Project materials build on activities developed in the NSF-funded Mixing in the Math project (04-06675) and will be accessible on the Internet. Regional network leaders will be selected from partner sites in AZ, CA, CT, FL, NY, MA, and MO. TERC staff will work with regional network leaders to train children''s librarians in the use of Math off the Shelf materials. Librarians then train afterschool educators to incorporate topics such as number and operation, geometry, algebraic thinking, measurement, and data analysis into activities for K-6 students and their families. A culminating family event enables students to showcase their math knowledge for community members. Dissemination occurs via citywide, regional, and statewide networks. The project will strategically impact the field via the development of culturally-responsive mathematics materials for families. Additionally, the extensive national dissemination plan incorporates a comprehensive evaluation designed to address curriculum development, audience participation, and institutional impact. It is anticipated that this project will reach 900 children''s librarians and afterschool educators and 9,000 children and their families. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kliman, Marlene TERC Inc MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1531412 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714629 September 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Cosmic Serpent - Bridging Native and Western Science Learning in Informal Settings. Cosmic Serpent - Bridging Native and Western Science Learning in Informal Settings is a four-year collaboration between the Indigenous Education Institute and the University of California-Berkeley targeting informal science education professionals. This project is designed to explore the commonalities between western science and native science in the context of informal science education. The intended impacts are to provide informal science education professionals with the skills and tools to gain an understanding of the commonalities between native and western worldviews; create regional networks that bridge native and museum communities; develop science education programs in which learners cross cultural borders between western science and indigenous peoples; and meet the needs of diverse audiences using culturally-responsive approaches to science learning. Participants are introduced to topics in physical, earth, space, and life science, using an interdisciplinary approach. Deliverables include professional development workshops, peer mentoring, museum programs for public audiences, a project website, and media products for use in programs and exhibits. Additionally, regional partnerships between museums and native communities, a legacy document, and a culminating conference jointly hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian and the Association of Science and Technology Centers will promote future sustainability. Strategic impact is realized through participants'' increased understanding of native and western science paradigms, museum programs that reflect commonalities in the two approaches, partnerships between museums and native communities, and increased institutional capacity to engage native audiences in science. This project directly impacts 270 informal educators at 96 science centers and tribal/cultural museums nationally while the resulting programs will reach an estimated 200,000 museum visitors. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Maryboy, Nancy David Begay Indigenous Education Institute NM Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 401500 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714631 September 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Cosmic Serpent - Bridging Native and Western Science Learning in Informal Settings. Cosmic Serpent - Bridging Native and Western Science Learning in Informal Settings is a four-year collaboration between the Indigenous Education Institute and the University of California-Berkeley targeting informal science education professionals. This project is designed to explore the commonalities between western science and native science in the context of informal science education. The intended impacts are to provide informal science education professionals with the skills and tools to gain an understanding of the commonalities between native and western worldviews; create regional networks that bridge native and museum communities; develop science education programs in which learners cross cultural borders between western science and indigenous peoples; and meet the needs of diverse audiences using culturally-responsive approaches to science learning. Participants are introduced to topics in physical, earth, space, and life science, using an interdisciplinary approach. Deliverables include professional development workshops, peer mentoring, museum programs for public audiences, a project website, and media products for use in programs and exhibits. Additionally, regional partnerships between museums and native communities, a legacy document, and a culminating conference jointly hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian and the Association of Science and Technology Centers will promote future sustainability. Strategic impact is realized through participants'' increased understanding of native and western science paradigms, museum programs that reflect commonalities in the two approaches, partnerships between museums and native communities, and increased institutional capacity to engage native audiences in science. This project directly impacts 270 informal educators at 96 science centers and tribal/cultural museums nationally while the resulting programs will reach an estimated 200,000 museum visitors. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Peticolas, Laura University of California-Berkeley CA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1177154 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714634 August 15, 2007 Access Algebra. Abstract The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will create a 5,000 sq ft traveling exhibition designed to engage families with children ages 10-14 with concepts of algebra. Access Algebra will increase visitor awareness of the role of algebra in everyday life and help them to develop algebraic thinking skills. This exhibition will travel to 21 science centers, reaching some 3.5 million visitors on its national tour. It will be accompanied by an Educator's Guide, Family Guide, and complementary web activities. Access Algebra incorporates testing and implementation of an innovative model for professional development for museum exhibit, program, and interpretive staff. It links the exhibition tour to training at each venue designed to increase knowledge of algebra concepts and to develop facilitation skills in family math learning. The package includes workshops, training DVD, printed guide, Math Toolkit, and website support. Project partners include TERC, Oregon State University College of Education (OSU), and Blazer Boys & Girls Club (BBGC). The BBGC members will participate in exhibit development over an extended (12-week) period, helping to create an exhibition that will engage a target audience of underserved low-income youth. The strategic impact of Access Algebra derives from the development and testing of effective strategies for engaging audiences in exhibit-based informal math learning, along with increasing the capacity of the field for facilitating these kinds of experiences through a new model for professional development. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM DRL EHR Bertschi, Karyn Marilyn Johnson Oregon Museum of Science and Industry OR Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1926465 7259 1260 SMET OTHR 9177 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714645 November 1, 2007 The Fabric of the Cosmos. WGBH plans to produce a special NOVA series, The Fabric of the Cosmos, based on the best selling book of the same name by physicist Brian Greene. The four 60-minute television programs will be the center piece of a multimedia project that employs multiple platforms including national primetime PBS broadcast, the PBS Web site, podcasts, and an educational outreach campaign that features "Cosmic Cafes." Project goals are to: 1) enhance the public's appreciation of physics by exploring the unfinished story of space and time; 2) find innovative ways of using animation and graphics for television, the Web and on the new media platforms to explain these concepts; 3) bring challenging and exciting ideas in science to people unlikely to encounter them elsewhere by holding public events in communities across the country; and 4) forge effective collaborative partnerships with the American Institute of Physics (AIP), American Physical Society (APS), National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP), American Library Association (ALA) and others to maximize impact of the project. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation and Inverness Research Associates will conduct summative evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1770000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714655 August 15, 2007 Terrascope Youth Radio. This project proposes creating a program in which urban teens will develop, report, write, produce and host a regularly broadcast radio program on environmental and Earth-system science. A goal of the project is to reach other urban teens with STEM information in a format that they see as relevant, interesting, and exciting to instill in them a sense of empowerment and knowledge about environmental and Earth system science. The project would create a model for how universities can become engaged in local youth communities broadening the impact of work done by their own researchers. The project brings together a unique set of partnerships including a research university (MIT), city-sponsored youth programs (Cambridge, MA); a local public school system; a national radio network; an established youth radio organization; a nationally-broadcast science news/talk radio program (Science Friday); a web-based organization specializing in the distribution of independent radio programming, and experienced evaluators of informal-learning programs (Goodman Research Group). Guidance in understanding complex environmental issues will be provided by faculty, staff and students of the pre-existing MIT Terrascope program. Participants will see their work distributed nationally, both on air and as podcasts delivered via the Science Friday media site. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bras, Rafael Irene Goodman Ari Epstein Michelle Farnum Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 716676 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714658 August 15, 2007 LEAP into Science: A National Museum/Library Partnership. This collaboration between the Franklin Institute and the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation identifies the role of crucial intermediaries in the science learning of children and points to the opportunities offered through a museum and library partnership to provide engaging science resources in under-resourced communities where many adults lack science expertise and confidence. Through an emphasis on literacy and science, LEAP into Science builds the capacity of after school leaders, teens and parents to be competent science learners and facilitators and to connect science centers, parents and libraries in support of the science learning and achievement of children. Project features include a workshop model for families with K-4 children, enrichment sessions for after school students, family events at the museum, professional development for library and after school youth staff, and a national expansion conference. The conference introduces the project to potential national implementation sites. Case studies of sites from this conference inform a research study investigating the obstacles, modifications and necessary support to initiate and sustain the program model. The formative and summative evaluation measure the impact of this program on children, parents, librarians, and teen workers at the libraries. Fifty-three Philadelphia libraries in addition to libraries in three cities selected from the implementation conference have a direct program impact on 10,000 people nationally, including 300 after school facilitators and children's librarians. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McCreedy, Dale Christine Caputo Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 812172 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0714673 September 15, 2007 BRIDGES: Build, Research, Invent, Design, Grow & Explore through Science. BRIDGES: Build, Research, Invent, Design, Grow and Explore through Science The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the Salvadori Center partner in providing BRIDGES [Build, Research, Invent, Design, Grow and Explore through Science], an after-school program using investigations of the built environment to introduce and reinforce STEM concepts and skills. The program highlights engineering concepts and the design process through hands-on investigations of the built environment done in small groups (with an emphasis on collaborative learning). It is co-taught by Salvadori educators in partnership with NYCHA community center instructors. After an intensive 3-day institute to train NYCHA staff, Salvadori staff members meet weekly with the housing authority staff to provide coaching in facilitation skills and to co-teach projects on building scaled bridges, mapping neighborhoods, investigating tension and compression, and more. In subsequent years, NYCHA after-school instructors take over the teaching with on-going support/professional development from the Center. The target audience is young people 8-12 years old enrolled in after-school programs run by the New York City Housing Authority, who gain content understanding and self concept in terms of their attitude and interest in STEM learning. BRIDGES begins with 5 sites serving 150 children in its first year with five sites added annually. By Year 5, BRIDGES serves 625 children at 25 NYCHA community centers. In addition in Years 4 and 5, the project is disseminated in at least two municipalities outside of NYC. In all 775 youth and 60 after-school educators will be directly impacted by this new program. The strategic impact is to provide strategies and evidence of support necessary for effective scale up of this locally successful program and for bringing school-based materials associated with the project into the after-school time experience. A project book, summative evaluation by The After School Corporation (TASC), and a website will be shared with the field on line, through conference presentations, and publications. The Salvadori Center was founded by Dr. Mario Salvadori (1907-1997), Columbia Professor of Civil Engineering & Architecture, in collaboration with City College of New York Schools of Education and Architecture. Its mission is to stimulate and deepen young people's curiosity and knowledge about math, science, arts and the humanities by using the built environment as an entry point for learning. For over 20 years, the Center has offered research-based teacher development and support, including intensive training institutes, workshops and classroom mentoring programs focused on project-based learning. The Center has reached over 125,000 students in New York City public schools, and its books, videos, and construction kits have been distributed nationally and internationally. The Centers staff are all professionally trained architects, engineers, and science and fine arts teachers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ardizzone, Leonisa Salvadori Center NY Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 485525 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714700 September 1, 2007 Kratt Bros. Creature Team. The Kratt Brothers Company will produce a full-length pilot of Kratt Bros. Creature Team, a television/multimedia project that teaches science concepts through animated adventure stories to 6-8 year old children. Deliverables include the pilot and its evaluation, an online plan, and outreach plans for a new television series designed for PBS. The project materials will infuse age-appropriate content across multiple disciplines of science and emphasize an inquiry-based approach to learning. The goals for the project are to engage the target audience in science learning building on their natural interest in animals; introduce viewers to basic skills of observation and investigation; and foster positive attitudes toward science. Project partners include PBS stations, the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and 4-H. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the project. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kratt, Martin Edward Atkins The Kratt Brothers Company VT Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 275013 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0714703 September 15, 2007 Using Informal Explorations of Living Phenomena to Enhance Science Learning. In this project, the Education Development Center and Campbell-Kibbler Research Associates Inc., are researching the impact of a set of after-school biology materials on under-represented middle school youth at the Boston Nature Center and two University of New Hampshire 4H Clubs. In response to a general need in the field to examine the relationship between learning in informal science programs and learning in school, this project studies the potential of informal contexts to enhance student engagement in the phases of inquiry, giving special attention to the role of visual representations in the early stages of inquiry. The research identifies how visual representations are directly involved in the ability of young people to discern patterns and externalize their own thinking and how these two abilities impact their science confidence and basic knowledge of the biology content in the units. To identify the potential impact of this strategy on in school learning, the in school learning of participating youth is compared to a similar group of children who do not participate in the program. Secondarily the project identifies how the results of this research influence the work of after-school program developers' use of visual tools. The program goal is to provide a rich foundation of out of school experiences for young people upon which they can more readily grasp concepts that are also introduced in the school context. Deliverables include a peer reviewed research paper, two extended biology units using digital and hand made visual representations, and a manual for developing similar programs. The summative evaluation measures the impact of the deliverables on the professional field. The curriculum will be used at hundreds of after school programs and the manual and research paper will impact program developers field-wide by influencing future programs they develop. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Zubrowski, Bernard Education Development Center MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1239883 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714704 September 1, 2007 Strange Days On Planet Earth Initiative Phase Two. Sea Studios Foundation will extend the Strange Days on Planet Earth multimedia initiative to raise public science literacy on pressing environmental issues. Based on pioneering Earth System Science research, Phase Two will be a media and outreach project focused on the ocean and water issues. The goal of the project is to increase public awareness and understanding of the scope and scale of key issues affecting the ocean. At the core of the project is a four part television documentary series for PBS primetime entitled Strange Days, Ocean. The programs will concentrate on four content areas: overexploitation of ocean resources, pollution, coastal development, climate change and the role of the ocean in Earth's system. Each episode is structured around a compelling scientific questions designed to engage the audience in a search for answers based on the most current research from the varied Earth System Science disciplines. The series focuses on explaining how scientists come to know what they know. The series will be complemented by activity-based learning supported by a national consortium of informal learning institutions, a citizen science program, training sessions for informal educators, and a project website. Collaborators include the National Geographic and three new major partners: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Program to expand citizen science programs around invasive species; Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), dedicated to organizing college campus educational events; The Ocean Project (TOP), a network of 600 organizations; plus the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and eight other informal science institutions. Knight Williams Research Communications, and Public Knowledge and Cultural Logic will assess the impact of the series. The project will contribute to the field of informal science education by providing widely applicable communication lessons on ocean and water issues and a model methodology for creating science education media that is credible, informative, and relevant. The results of two unique adult learning case studies will be shared with the field through presentations at national meetings and workshops, and posted online. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Shelley, Mark David Elisco Tierney Thys Sea Studios Foundation CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 859475 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714706 August 15, 2007 A Participatory Model for Integrating Cognitive Research into Exhibits for Children. The Museum of Science (Boston) Discovery Center is collaborating with the MIT Early Childhood Cognition Lab, along with four partner museums around the country (Boston Children's Museum, Indianapolis Children's Museum, Children's Museum of Richmond, Maryland Science Center), a set of science advisors, and evaluator, Barbara Soren. The purpose of the project is to develop and evaluate a variety of methods that will engage adults in activities that help the adults understand and apply current cognitive science research on children's exploratory play and causal reasoning development. The primary audience is adults with young children; secondary audiences are informal science education professionals who operate early childhood exhibit areas and cognitive science researchers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kirshner, Lucy Museum of Science MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 381093 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714741 August 15, 2007 FETCH! Future Scientists Initiative. FETCH is a new PBS television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to 6- to 10-year olds. The program brings science learning to young children by uniquely blending live-action with animation, game show convention with reality programming, and humor with academics. The intended impacts are to: 1) reach the target audience about what it means to be a scientist and encourage them to pursue a science career; 2) provide outreach partners with curriculum that supports content-rich ISE activities and career explorations in varied settings; and 3) demonstrate how media can be used to teach substantive science and share the results of project evaluation with others in the field. The requested funds will allow the project to expand the science curriculum with 20 new half-hour episodes and expand the Web site, focusing on three new science themes that highlight a range of careers: habitats, structures, and chemistry. In addition, funds will support new educational resources for libraries and other youth-serving organizations. FETCH is produced by WGBH; content and outreach partners include the Association for Library Service to Children, the National Wildlife Federation, and the American Chemical Society in addition to outreach partners in 3,200 youth-serving organizations. American Institute for Research will conduct formative evaluation for the project; Goodman Research Group will conduct summative evaluation of both the television show and the FETCH Future Scientist Guide. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2550000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0714744 August 15, 2007 Seasons of Change: Signs of Climate Change in New England and North Carolina. Brown University, a founding member of the 72-member New England Science Center Collaborative (NESCC), is leading Seasons of Change, a traveling exhibit development project involving members of NESCC as well as the 31-member North Carolina Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative. The key concept of the exhibit is how regional iconic "harbingers" are related to climate change - for example, the impacts of a changing climate on the maple syrup industry in New England and shifts in bird migration patterns in North Carolina. Two customizable and modularized versions of an approximately 900 square foot exhibit on local impacts of climate change are being produced for small and medium-sized venues. The project expects to serve approximately 1.5 million visitors in the two regions and is positioned as an innovative model for other regions of the country. A citizen science program will be developed by staff at TERC for those participating centers with outdoor venues. The exhibit is being designed by Jeff Kennedy Associates and MegaFun simulation software designers. NESCC is also developing a project Web site. Goodman Research Associates is conducting both formative and summative evaluation processes on visitor learning and on the project's collaborative process. The Association of Science-Technology Centers will manage the two tours. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hamburg, Steven Richard Polonsky Brown University RI Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1737588 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0714762 July 15, 2007 A Youth-Directed Cafe Scientifique. Abstract A Youth-Directed Cafe Scientifique targets culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse youth ages 11-18 with a web-based program designed to engage students in active discourse on current STEM topics. Building on the adult program of the same name, this youth-centered project also provides opportunities for individual and group activities. Project partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Bradbury Science Museum, Sandia National Laboratory, Los Alamos Women in Science, and the University of New Mexico, which will serve as a source of scientists to act as speakers and mentors. Northern New Mexico Collefe, Santa Fe Community College, University of New Mexico, and theNew Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, as well as area high schools will host discussions and focus group meetings. Recruitment of youth participants will be carried out by New Mexico MESA as well as four local high schools. Project deliverables include a robust model for engaging youth in an active online community and Youth Leadership Teams (YLT). YLT''''s select topics, recruit members, and facilitate Cafe discussions and blogs. Cafe meetings enable youth to explore a topic of their choice in an online session led by a youth host in conjunction with a guest speaker. The follow-up sessions encourage more in-depth exlopration of the topic via interviews, articles, community meetings, and museum exhibits created in collaboration with the Bradbury Museum. The Cafe website will highlight youth produced podcasts, essays on science topics, and a blog. Strategic impact resulting from this project includes the development of a creattive model that effectively engages youth in STEM discourse while meeting the cultural and intellectual needs. It is anticapated that this project will serve over 5,700 youth in three years. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hall, Michelle Selena Connealy Science Education Solutions Inc NM Leslie K. Goodyear Continuing grant 990012 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0714779 September 15, 2007 BioArcade. Red Hills Studios proposes to design and develop BioArcade, a suite of online biology games for youth ages 9 to 13. Unique to the field of educational games is the specialized and innovative modding feature that Red Hills Studio will develop. Modding will allow learners to create their own customized versions of BioArcade games for dissemination to other learners. BioArcade games are intended to encourage extended game play and motivation for learning key biology concepts through exciting interactive game modules developed by a leading group of game developers and science content experts. The underlying educational and scientific framework for BioArcade will be developed collaboratively with Co-PI, Dr. Janis Cannon-Bowers at the University of Central Florida and Roger Bybee at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), along with the projects Scientific and Design Advisory Boards. The project will rigorously evaluate modding as a potential new approach in game design. The modding innovation will be studied in a three-condition randomized controlled trial to determine its effectiveness in promoting deep exploration of scientific concepts and increased knowledge gain. Results of the study will be disseminated to the informal learning community through peer-reviewed educational journals, papers, and presentations at science education and game conferences. Extensive formative and summative evaluations, conducted by Knight Williams Research Communications, will provide valuable insight and assessment of the game design approach for science content learning in informal venues. BioArcade will be widely disseminated daily to millions of young learners online through PBSKids: www.pbskids.org/ INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hone, Robert Janis Cannon-Bowers Red Hill Studios CA Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 636502 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0714890 August 15, 2007 International Congress on Mathematics Education Travel Grant Proposal (ICME-11). Travel grants are provided to teachers, university-level mathematics educators, mathematicians, and graduate students to participate in the 11th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-11) to be held in Monterrey, Mexico from July 6 to July 13, 2008. These events are held under the auspices of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI), a commission of the International Mathematics Union. The intent of the congresses is to present the current status and trends in mathematics education research and in the practice of mathematics teaching at all levels among the countries of the world. These grants will provide opportunities for the mathematics education establishment in this country to keep abreast of issues and approaches that occur in other countries. Many of the problems the US faces in mathematics education are problems shared by other countries. Others are struggling with issues of teacher preparation, the development of new and more effective instructional materials, how people learn mathematics, and the tension between nurturing the top students and access to all. The opportunities for teachers, teacher educators and education researchers to participate in this congress and learn about issues faced by other countries and ways they are dealing with these issues have the potential for very broad impact. The plenary sessions, working groups, and informal conversations will be important venues for learning and exchanging ideas. This is an especially important congress for the US since it is being held in Mexico. In additional to being able to interact with and learn from leading researchers and practitioners from around the world, this congress will allow for more interactions with one of our next door neighbors. Support for this award comes from the Division for Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL), the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE), the Division of Graduate Education (DGE), and the Division of Undergraduate Education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 CCLI-Phase 2 (Expansion) EAPSI GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 DRL EHR Burrill, Gail James Rubillo Michigan State University MI John S. Bradley Standard Grant 250000 7645 7492 7316 7179 SMET OTHR 9178 9177 5977 5922 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0715287 January 1, 2008 Understanding the Tree of Life. Understanding the Tree of Life is a 36-month-long conference project that brings together evolutionary biologists, museum educators (including natural history museums, science centers, zoos, aquaria and botanical gardens), and STEM-education/cognitive psychology researchers with the goal of improving both the research agenda and practice of the use of phylogenetic "tree of life" visual representations in museum exhibits on evolution. The project is multi-faceted, incorporating pilot research studies, a planning meeting and a major conference, and evaluation of the conference and impact on professionals. Participants represent several museums and university-based researchers across the country and one in Israel. Four research groups, twenty planning meeting participants, fifty conference attendees from thirty institutions, and twelve advisors will be involved. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR MacDonald, Teresa Judy Diamond David Uttal University of Kansas Center for Research Inc KS Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 250000 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0719627 August 15, 2007 Mathematics Teachers' on the Job Learning: A Synthesis of Research and Conceptual Frameworks. How do practicing mathematics teachers continue to develop the knowledge and habits of mind that enable them to teach well and to improve their teaching over time? This question about how (and what) teachers learn "on the job" lies at the crux of any effort to provide high-quality teachers for U.S. students. Over the past 25 years, a substantial literature on mathematics teachers' knowledge has accumulated, including research on teacher beliefs, teacher knowledge, teacher change, teacher decision-making, and teacher self-efficacy and identity. This project will provide an accounting of the developments in the field, synthesizing the evidence about the kinds of experiences that promote and sustain the development of teachers. The project involves a strategic review of literature in mathematics education, while drawing on related theories of motivation, self-regulation, identity and efficacy from the disciplines psychology, cognitive science, and sociology. The review is guided by a conceptual framework that characterizes different domains that constitute the environment of teacher's professional growth. The PIs' goal is to help shape the agenda for future research by identifying those aspects of teacher learning that the field has firmly established, those aspects which bear further investigation, and those aspects about which the field currently knows little, but which are likely to be important for developing a full picture of teachers' on-the-job learning. REESE DRL EHR Doerr, Helen Syracuse University NY Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 63018 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0720728 July 1, 2007 Understanding the Nature of Learning In Technology-Supported Environments: Building Capacity. The Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) conference has become an internationally-recognized forum for the exchange of research findings related to learning in the context of collaborative activity and the exploration of how such learning might be augmented through technology. The theme of the 2007 conference, Of Mice, Minds, and Society, denotes the relationship between the technological interfaces (of mice) that supports individual or group cognition (of minds). The theme also reflects the larger societal context in which collaborative activity is valued, promoted, and encouraged (of society). The goal of the conference is to sharpen the community's perspectives on how these threads of CSCL are interwoven and how they interactively contribute to an understanding of the nature of learning in technology-supported environments. An important theme in the CSCL conferences is the development of an active student community. The CSCL conference's Doctoral Consortium provides a forum for students to meet and network with their peers and leading members of the CSCL community. The continued development of young researchers occurs through the Early Career Consortium where newer researchers will have the opportunity to learn from seasoned researchers about issues of content and methodology. This award funds both the Doctoral Consortium and the Early Career Consortium. The intellectual merit of this funding is the development of cross-disciplinary research amongst the graduate students, early career faculty, and senior faculty in this cross-disciplinary field. The broader impact is in the development of the next generation of researchers in CSCL. REESE DRL EHR O'Donnell, Angela Cindy Hmelo-Silver Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 51590 7625 SMET 9177 0722014 September 1, 2007 Student Learning in Science Simulations: A Synthesis. This is a two-year study that will examine science simulation software products (both free and commercial) that are available for grades 6-12 science courses and synthesize the body of literature on student learning in such virtual environments to produce a report that will inform science educators and administrators using and buying middle and high school instructional materials in science. Science simulation software falls into two main categories, virtual laboratories and simulations of phenomena. Virtual laboratories simulate on-screen the experiments that are traditionally performed in real school laboratories as part of biology, chemistry and other science topics. They provide opportunities to use lab materials, equipment, and tools that are designed to mirror those in a real laboratory. Other simulations of science phenomena are used to model things that are not easily observed in real life or where a computer simulation offers other advantages. Simulations may be used to show students scientific phenomena that cannot easily be observed in real time. For example, seeing things in slow-motion (like the motion of a wave) or speeded-up (e.g., erosion caused by a river). Research-based evidence is critical to decision-making for leadership in these contexts, yet the research base is fragmented and there is limited current synthesis and/or meta-analysis is available. This study will fill that gap. For broader impact, the synthesis will provide a balanced consideration of the evidence from the field that is relevant to products available now. It is anticipated that this will be widely used by a variety of groups responsible for the science education of middle and high school students across the nation. The findings will be disseminated throughout the science education community and research community through journal articles, conference presentations and through the publication of a special Knowledge Brief that will be widely distributed. REESE DRL EHR Timms, Michael Kathleen Scalise WestEd CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 199905 7625 SMET 9177 0722268 January 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: Synthesis of Research on Thinking and Learning in the Geosciences. The proposed project will synthesize existing knowledge and articulate unanswered questions in critical areas of research on cognition and learning relevant to the Geosciences. The study will focus on four themes: (a) geological time, (b) complex systems of the Earth, (c) spatial thinking in Geosciences and (d) field-base learning. A small group of experts in geoscience, geoscience education, research on learning, and cognitive science will gather for a week-long learning/brainstorming/writing retreat. The writing retreat will be preceded by a smaller two-day planning meeting, at which they will articulate major questions on each of the four themes, and identify a subset that have sufficient research base for synthesis. Findings will be disseminated through conference, websites, and journals, including a special issue of the Journal of Geoscience Education, and a journal that reaches the learning sciences community. REESE DRL EHR Kastens, Kim Columbia University NY Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 138196 7625 SMET 9177 0722295 August 15, 2007 Mathematics Teachers? On-the-Job Learning: A Synthesis of Research and Conceptual Frameworks. How do practicing mathematics teachers continue to develop the knowledge and habits of mind that enable them to teach well and to improve their teaching over time? This question about how (and what) teachers learn "on the job" lies at the crux of any effort to provide high-quality teachers for U.S. students. Over the past 25 years, a substantial literature on mathematics teachers' knowledge has accumulated, including research on teacher beliefs, teacher knowledge, teacher change, teacher decision-making, and teacher self-efficacy and identity. This project will provide an accounting of the developments in the field, synthesizing the evidence about the kinds of experiences that promote and sustain the development of teachers. The project involves a strategic review of literature in mathematics education, while drawing on related theories of motivation, self-regulation, identity and efficacy from the disciplines psychology, cognitive science, and sociology. The review is guided by a conceptual framework that characterizes different domains that constitute the environment of teacher's professional growth. The PIs' goal is to help shape the agenda for future research by identifying those aspects of teacher learning that the field has firmly established, those aspects which bear further investigation, and those aspects about which the field currently knows little, but which are likely to be important for developing a full picture of teachers' on-the-job learning. REESE DRL EHR Goldsmith, Lynn Education Development Center MA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 56219 7625 SMET 9177 0722333 September 1, 2007 Collaborative research: Alternative strategies for problem solving in science. The goal of the proposed research is to describe the interaction between visuo-spatial and analytical strategies during learning and problem solving in science. Recent studies have indicated that some scientific problems that had been assumed to require a spatial visualization strategy, in fact are often solved by analytic strategies. Therefore, the PIs propose a three-phase project to characterize the use of cognitive strategies during spatial problem solving in both general and organic chemistry. They aim to identify the differential use of visuo-spatial strategies and the availability of analytical strategies for scientific problem solving by students and instructors, individuals with high and low spatial ability, and men and women. They will also develop and evaluate methods of training these strategies. In Phase I of the project they will conduct task and protocol analyses of student and instructor problem solving in the domain of chemistry and in spatial ability measures. In Phase II, they will collect data on students spatial abilities, gender, and educational background to identify the determinants of strategy use in visuo-spatial problem solving, both generally and in the chemistry domain. In Phase III, they will train chemistry teaching assistants to teach alternative strategies to students in their class discussion sections. They will examine the effects of strategy training on problem solving by students of different levels of spatial abilities by assessing their strategies before an after instruction. SLC ACTIVITIES REESE DRL EHR Hegarty, Mary University of California-Santa Barbara CA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 355399 7704 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0722388 January 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: Synthesis of Research on Thinking and Learning in the Geosciences. The proposed project will synthesize existing knowledge and articulate unanswered questions in critical areas of research on cognition and learning relevant to the Geosciences. The study will focus on four themes: (a) geological time, (b) complex systems of the Earth, (c) spatial thinking in Geosciences and (d) field-base learning. A small group of experts in geoscience, geoscience education, research on learning, and cognitive science will gather for a week-long learning/brainstorming/writing retreat. The writing retreat will be preceded by a smaller two-day planning meeting, at which they will articulate major questions on each of the four themes, and identify a subset that have sufficient research base for synthesis. Findings will be disseminated through conference, websites, and journals, including a special issue of the Journal of Geoscience Education, and a journal that reaches the learning sciences community. REESE DRL EHR Manduca, Cathryn Carleton College MN Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 61039 7625 SMET 9177 0723313 September 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Alternative Strategies for Problem Solving in Science. The goal of the proposed research is to describe the interaction between visuo-spatial and analytical strategies during learning and problem solving in science. Recent studies have indicated that some scientific problems that had been assumed to require a spatial visualization strategy, in fact are often solved by analytic strategies. Therefore, the PIs propose a three-phase project to characterize the use of cognitive strategies during spatial problem solving in both general and organic chemistry. They aim to identify the differential use of visuo-spatial strategies and the availability of analytical strategies for scientific problem solving by students and instructors, individuals with high and low spatial ability, and men and women. They will also develop and evaluate methods of training these strategies. In Phase I of the project they will conduct task and protocol analyses of student and instructor problem solving in the domain of chemistry and in spatial ability measures. In Phase II, they will collect data on students spatial abilities, gender, and educational background to identify the determinants of strategy use in visuo-spatial problem solving, both generally and in the chemistry domain. In Phase III, they will train chemistry teaching assistants to teach alternative strategies to students in their class discussion sections. They will examine the effects of strategy training on problem solving by students of different levels of spatial abilities by assessing their strategies before an after instruction. REESE DRL EHR Stieff, Mike Bonnie Dixon University of Maryland College Park MD Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 688178 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723340 August 15, 2007 Mathematics Teachers' On-the-Job Learning: A Synthesis of Research and Conceptual Frameworks. How do practicing mathematics teachers continue to develop the knowledge and habits of mind that enable them to teach well and to improve their teaching over time? This question about how (and what) teachers learn "on the job" lies at the crux of any effort to provide high-quality teachers for U.S. students. Over the past 25 years, a substantial literature on mathematics teachers' knowledge has accumulated, including research on teacher beliefs, teacher knowledge, teacher change, teacher decision-making, and teacher self-efficacy and identity. This project will provide an accounting of the developments in the field, synthesizing the evidence about the kinds of experiences that promote and sustain the development of teachers. The project involves a strategic review of literature in mathematics education, while drawing on related theories of motivation, self-regulation, identity and efficacy from the disciplines psychology, cognitive science, and sociology. The review is guided by a conceptual framework that characterizes different domains that constitute the environment of teacher's professional growth. The PIs' goal is to help shape the agenda for future research by identifying those aspects of teacher learning that the field has firmly established, those aspects which bear further investigation, and those aspects about which the field currently knows little, but which are likely to be important for developing a full picture of teachers' on-the-job learning. REESE DRL EHR Lewis, Catherine Mills College CA Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 80708 7625 SMET 9177 0723412 August 15, 2007 High School Mathematics and Science Pipeline Study. The investigators plan to use a mixed-methods design to test the hypothesis that key approaches to high school reform grease the mathematics and science pipelines for all students in reforming high schools. This study is intended to contribute significantly to the current research, policy, and practices focused on graduating high school students who are prepared for the demands of post-secondary education and the global economy. This study is intended to provide understanding of pipeline progression in reforming high schools and the strategies successful schools employ to ensure timely pipeline progress for all students, particularly those historically underrepresented and underserved in mathematics and science and post-secondary education. The proposed research would examine the effects on pipeline progression in math and science of several different high school reform efforts in North Carolina. The reforms include partnership schools, high school models, and schools that are undertaking their own conversion efforts. This project uses a statewide administrative data set, along with surveys about school practices and some site visits to help untangle school factors that help some schools keep students in the pipeline. The dependent variable is ""in the pipeline and showing mastery"" as demonstrated by end of course exams. The investigators are measuring whether schools that are successful in getting students through a course called Algebra provide rigorous courses or not. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Miller, Luke Julie Edmunds Elizabeth Glennie Urban Institute DC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 997790 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723433 September 1, 2007 Online Science Teacher Professional Development: Optimization of Asynchronous Learning Models. This project will compare and evaluate different models for the delivery of online professional development aimed at elementary science teachers. The focus is on asynchronous (anytime, anywhere) and minimally facilitated models, because these approaches hold promise for reaching large numbers of teachers in a cost-effective way. The research capitalizes on experiences with BCM's award-winning, high traffic website for educators, BioEd Online. The project will investigate: 1) which asynchronous online professional development delivery methods contribute most strongly to teacher and student science learning; 2) whether linking classroom experiences and discussions to asynchronous online learning significantly enhances teacher and student learning; and 3) whether the effectiveness of different delivery models varies among subpopulations of teachers (demographics, specialization, etc.). The objectives are to: 1) compare the effectiveness of four different online delivery modes for both life and physical science (delivery modes consist of: audio only; video content presentation with slides; content embedded in an online interactive case; and content embedded in video lesson demonstration); 2) investigate whether having teachers teach an inquiry lesson and take part in a discussion forum after completing one of the four delivery modes contributes to greater knowledge gains; 3) examine teacher knowledge gains and abilities to apply knowledge to new problems and student lesson-specific knowledge gains; and disaggregate data by content area (life or physical science), delivery mode and teacher demographics; 4) collect qualitative data about asynchronous models in use by interviewing online providers of science teacher professional development; 5) synthesize and report findings to inform current and future online offerings. Intellectual Merit. Online professional development has potential to meet the needs of large numbers of rural and urban teachers for high quality content and standards-based teaching approaches. Web-based delivery offers convenient access to content, content experts, resources, and participation in communities of teacher-learners. Broader Impacts. Web-based professional development removes barriers related to distance, time or and local course availability and can serve large numbers of teachers. As many as 1.5 million elementary teachers may need up-to-date science professional development now or in the near future. There is mounting evidence that web-based instruction can be as effective as traditional instruction, even for novice users. The research will inform the field of asynchronous, web-based instruction in science and contribute to the design of best practice models to meet elementary teachers' professional development needs online. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Moreno, Nancy John Roberts Baylor College of Medicine TX Sue Allen Standard Grant 590044 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723475 August 1, 2007 Synthesizing Video Data on Students' Mathematical Reasoning. This project will develop and implement a 'proof of concept? model for sharing analyzed video data that draws from two decades of NSF supported longitudinal and cross sectional research on the development of students' reasoning and justifying in K-12 mathematics. Episodes from the collection will be made accessible worldwide to provide an invaluable and unique asset to the field that can be used in creative and effective ways by researchers and providers of in-service and pre-service teacher education through the Internet. Analyzed digital video clips, transcriptions and images of students' work will be linked with analytical commentaries, produced and referenced according to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Process Standards for reasoning and justification. Video episodes and supporting materials will be organized into a database and placed on a server for Internet access. In order to make the database contents easily accessible, an indexing scheme made up of attributes or descriptors will be developed and applied, guided by the expertise of a distinguished Advisory Board. The database will be accessible for use by classroom teachers, researchers and teacher educators. The resulting database will enable teachers to study in detail the learning of individual students in classroom settings and in small group work and through individual interviews. A very important aspect of the video data is that it enables one to study how learning actually unfolds. These video tools will make it possible for teachers, teacher educators, and researchers to closely observe students' learning of mathematics and reflect on students' potential for doing mathematics. The collection of video data provides a database for careful analysis and reflection on practice. REESE DRL EHR Maher, Carolyn Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 199998 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723543 September 1, 2007 Methods for synthesizing regression models: The case of education production functions. This proposal seeks to develop and test new methods for meta-analysis and synthesis of research that uses multiple regression models of different specificity. Current methods for meta-analysis focus on the synthesis of effect sizes based on summary statistics such as standardized mean differences, correlations and odds ratios. The intellectual merit of this proposal is the development of methods for synthesizing the results of multiple regression across studies. The methods proposed in this study build on statistical methods for missing data. REESE DRL EHR Pigott, Therese Meng-Jia Wu Loyola University of Chicago IL James S. Dietz Standard Grant 287468 7625 SMET 9177 0723580 August 1, 2007 Exploring Adaptive Support for Virtual Math Teams. On-line learning promises education for the masses, that is quality educational opportunities available to all people, but especially those who are in the greatest need, although this dream is yet to be made a reality. The long term goal of the proposed work is to replicate the impact of local, on-campus programs targeting increased college preparedness and college success of minority and low income students, such as the well known Treisman Berkeley Professional Development Program, in a freely available, on-line learning environment. Making what would normally be a staff intensive program available ubiquitously at a dramatically reduced expense would be an enormous payoff. The proposed solution is to develop a technological augmentation to available human support in a lightly staffed environment. This proposed project brings together a team with expertise in both technological development and careful experimentation both in the lab and in the classroom, a track record for large scale deployment of educational materials, a solid foundation in significant results from prior work which builds on research in the areas of computer supported collaborative learning and tutorial dialogue systems. The broader impact of this project lies in the promise of accessibility to high quality educational resources for everyone. REESE DRL EHR Rose, Carolyn Carnegie-Mellon University PA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 49999 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723600 September 1, 2007 Professional Socialization and Career Selection in Ph.D. Science Education: An Empirical Research Study. This project is examining the professional socialization and career choices of scientists through an in-depth, qualitative investigation of professional socialization in science PH.D programs, employing an embedded case study design. This design is structured as a comparative, ethnographic study of science graduate students, faculty, and staff to address the following question: "What are the elements and processes of professional socialization- both manifest and latent - by which science graduate students come to understand their profession and their own fit within it, and how do these shape their career selection and progress." The study objectives are: To improve our understanding of how graduate students are influenced by tacit and explicit processes to make choices about which careers to pursue; To expose the role of cultural influences as well as other factors, such as skills and knowledge, that are more commonly focused on in graduate education; To show the roles of faculty advisors, peers, departmental culture, and other factors. REESE GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 DRL EHR Laursen, Sandra Heather Thiry University of Colorado at Boulder CO Carol F. Stoel Standard Grant 554792 7625 7179 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723611 September 15, 2007 "Pathways To Algebra" Conference. In 2008, the project is hosting a three-day invitational conference on Pathways to Algebra. Thirty distinguished mathematics education researchers, educators, and research mathematicians from the international community will discuss data, findings, and claims regarding young students' ability to reason algebraically and begin to use algebraic representations. The aim is to achieve a grounded discussion about the place of algebra in early mathematics instruction i.e., a discussion relevant to the work of researchers as well as professionals involved in teacher education and curriculum development. In the months leading up to the conference in Western France, the project is holding moderated online discussions regarding evidence-based claims about algebraic reasoning and learning among young students. Topics will cover issues at the crossroads of mathematics, learning and teaching among which are: The Field Axioms in elementary and middle school: Can young children understand the field axioms (associativity, commutativity, distributivity etc.) and use them to assert generalizations and derive theorems? Algebraic Reasoning and Modelling: What is gained or forfeited by emphasizing quantitative reasoning as a pathway to algebra? Does a measurement approach offer a useful ramp to algebra? Can children's algebraic competence emerge from problems involving rich, 'worldly' contexts?; and Functions and Equations: How might functions constitute a pathway to algebra? How does one shift emphasis from the extra-mathematical/representational uses of functions toward the syntax of written forms? Can young students solve equations? Can they understand equations as the setting equal of two functions? The pre-conference moderated discussions as well as the presentations and debates from the conference itself will be edited in the form of a book about Pathways To Algebra. The present initiative and resulting publication responds to the challenge set forth by the RAND 2003 Mathematics Study Panel that proficiency in algebra in K-12 constitute a focal point for coordinated research and development efforts. It also attempts to clarify the research basis necessary for implementing NCTM's recommendation that algebra constitute a strand woven throughout K-12 education. The findings will be of interest to researchers, policy makers, curriculum developers, and educators. REESE DRL EHR Carraher, David TERC Inc MA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 109746 7625 SMET 9177 0723613 September 15, 2007 Project RISE Pilot Study (PRPS): Addressing Methodological Challenges in Longitudinal Studies of Informal Science Education Outcomes. Education Development Center, Inc. proposes to conduct a two-year pilot study to address critical methodological challenges inherent in doing longitudinal research linking informal STEM experiences and school achievement: first, addressing selection bias through careful selection of a comparison group that is comparable to the intervention group, and second, developing a qualitative design that both complements and extends the quantitative data collected. The pilot study will lay the groundwork for a future longitudinal study looking at the role of informal science education in youth persistence in STEM courses (Project RISE, Role of Informal Science Education in Youth Persistence in STEM Courses). REESE DRL EHR Parker, Caroline Joyce Malyn-Smith Sarita Nair-Pillai Education Development Center MA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 382358 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723638 September 1, 2007 Development and Change of Young Children's Misconceptions about Physics. The goal of the proposed research is to explore the development and change of young children?s misconceptions about physics. The PI challenges the common interpretation of misconceptions as reflecting stable, a priori concepts, some of which must be overcome in order to come to a to sophisticated formal understanding in the domain. A common recommendation is to engage children?s misconceptions first, and then to provide them with disconfirming evidence. Unfortunately, children show a surprising resistance to changing their mistaken beliefs, and spontaneous emergence of correct beliefs is rare. In this proposal, the PI draws on another set of findings in basic cognition indicating that a child?s misconceptions, rather than being a stable part of the child?s knowledge, are an attempt to organize and make sense of the immediate context in which the child acts. These findings imply that a successful teaching intervention could provide children with a sophisticated organizing principle first, rather than letting them come up with one on their own. However, the effectiveness of such an alternative teaching approach has not been tested explicitly. The proposed project will involve 14 randomized and controlled experiments ranging from those investigating the nature and development of children?s tendency to organize pieces of information to those testing the effectiveness of an intervention, based on these principles, with elementary school children. REESE DRL EHR Kloos, Heidi University of Cincinnati Main Campus OH Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 708495 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723686 September 1, 2007 Effects of Inquiry-Based Teaching Experiences on Graduate Students? Research Skill Development. The purpose of this REESE project is to investigate the impacts of inquiry-based science teaching experiences on the development of STEM graduate students as researchers. The investigators will measure the trajectory and magnitude of change in teaching and research skills over time using an array of relevant and contextualized data sources. They hypothesize that graduate students participating in both inquiry focused teaching experiences and advisor-directed research experiences will demonstrate greater growth in scientific reasoning and research design skills than those lacking either experience. Further, it is expected that research-active graduate students will benefit from teaching experiences in either undergraduate or K-12 settings. The team anticipates that specific aspects of skill development may differ as a function of the teaching setting, but that either experience will provide a differential benefit relative to those students who participate exclusively in either research assistantships or teaching experiences. The researchers expect that this work will inform STEM graduate level training in both research and teaching. REESE GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 DRL EHR Feldon, David Jed Lyons Briana Timmerman Michelle Maher Stephen Thompson University South Carolina Research Foundation SC James S. Dietz Continuing grant 705326 7625 7179 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0723699 September 15, 2007 STEM Educational Change Efforts in Higher Education: A Meta-Synthesis of Activities, Strategies, Concepts, and Theories across Disciplines. This project proposes to critically review, integrate, and align the research literatures and perspectives of scholars in three fields: the Disciplinary-based STEM Education Researchers (SER), who focus on change in curricula and pedagogical materials; the Faculty Development Researchers (FDR), who focus on changing faculty and the Higher Education Researchers (HER) who evaluate the policies and structures at various organizational levels that support or impede change. The method will be a meta-synthesis of the three research literatures followed by a four x four classification scheme: change activities and strategies by change concepts and theories that have the most promise for future work. (One or more classifications will be given to each literature entry and literature with credible evidence will be given priority in the scheme.)The ultimate aim of the project is to support the development of an interdisciplinary research and practice agenda for STEM instructional improvement. This process will be strengthened by interviews with 10 leading practitioners in each area followed by the Delphi technique, because practice is often not specified in the literature. The outcomes of this synthesis project will be used to identify: 1) change activities, strategies, concepts, and theories across communities 2) common themes among disparate literatures; 3) evidence to support each change activity and strategy; and 4) promising directions for future research, theory-building, and funding. REESE DRL EHR Beach, Andrea Noah Finkelstein Charles Henderson Western Michigan University MI Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 198379 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723709 August 15, 2007 Visual Modeling Strategies In Science Teaching. The long-term goal of this project is to find principles of instruction for developing students' visual models in science, including design principles for curriculum development, technological tools, and new pedagogical principles. It will pursue specific aspects of this goal by conducting detailed studies of teaching and learning in the context of innovative curricula that focus on developing visual models. We lack studies that bring together insights on models and visualization from cognitive science and strategic planning for model based learning in real classroom interactions. The project will concentrate on methods teachers use to guide full class discussions while using innovative model-based curricula in middle school biology and in high school physical science. The three major parallel tracks of the research are: I: Documenting student imagistic reasoning processes in discussion. II: Identifying classroom teaching strategies that foster the learning of visual models. III: Identifying specific visual modeling strategies (e.g., the use of animations and simulations in small tutoring groups and in full classrooms) The project responds to the need to describe guided inquiry methods that lie between pure discovery and pure lecture approaches. Overall, the project will contribute to connecting three important areas of theory: the cognitive dynamics of imagistic mental simulation; the dynamics of teacher-student co-construction in full class discussions; and theories of model-based learning for conceptual change. These theoretical results will contribute to the practice of pedagogy by providing a more coherent framework within which teachers and other educators can make informed decisions about classroom strategies and pedagogical tools such as animations and simulations. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Clement, John University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 979098 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723795 October 1, 2007 The Ideal Science Student: Helping Teachers Adapt to Diversity in the Science Classroom. Routine expertise, where one gets better and better at a recurrent and stable set of tasks, is not sufficient for science teachers who work in contexts of high diversity. Students, particularly those in urban settings, are extremely diverse in the values that they bring to school-based learning and the ways these values evolve within a classroom. Teachers need to become adaptive experts, who continue to learn and change in response to diverse situations. The hypothesis of this study is that an important pathway to adaptive expertise for teachers is for them to become aware of the variability among their students' values and possible mismatches with their own. This can help teachers develop the habits of seeking relevant information and overcoming the natural tendency to adopt the first problem-solving strategy and solution that comes to mind. It is only by attending to the information that indicates how a situation deviates from the usual one that teachers can continue to learn, adapt and optimize student learning. To investigate this hypothesis, the study will examine the value systems of students and teachers around science learning. Values have not been central to major theories of children's science learning compared to the voluminous research on children's cognition about science. Yet, in a climate of high diversity, it is unreasonable to suppose that cognition about scientific phenomena is the only psychological lever for improving the country's STEM capacity. The goal is to address the socio-cultural aspect of science learning at a level that also includes individual cognition around ideas about what it means to be a good science learner. They will examine how classroom culture affects students' values, science learning and teacher adaptation, and whether it is possible to help teachers flexibly adapt classroom cultures to a diverse population of students. The proposal has four intellectual merits. First, it unites socio-cultural, cognitive and instructional approaches in a theory and empirical agenda relevant to science teaching and learning. There is a large body of research on the effects of inquiry learning and on beliefs and values about science, but less attention has been given to the interaction between inquiry learning and dispositions towards science, even though the two factors together clearly have important impact on science learning and achievement. Second, the proposal rigorously tests the claim that making teachers' and students' values about learning explicit can help science teachers adapt their instruction to the diversity of their classrooms. Third,the proposal offers a theory of children's social models of science learning that may contribute to the explanations for why innovative science materials have not fostered learning of all students and why an understanding of one's roles and responsibilities in the classroom enhances science learning. Fourth, this proposal pushes the theoretical boundaries in the expertise literature. The research should expand beyond the short-term cognitive operations that occur when solving familiar problems to a consideration of the activity and social contexts in which expertise develops. The broader impacts of the proposal are three-fold. First, the project will produce a scalable technology to help teachers and students self-assess their values about learning and teaching. If successful,it may help to reduce the mismatches between teachers' and students' values as a way to improve science learning. Second, the proposal contributes to our understanding of factors that affect the development of adaptive expertise particularly in the activity and social rich context. The studies will also provide a new vision as to how metacognition can support science teachers' professional development by helping teachers and students monitor and revise each other's values and practices. Metacognitive research has not addressed the problem of how to help teachers learn about their students' values, so that they can adapt to different situations. We have created a pair of novel but simple and easily disseminated technology tools that can help teachers learn more about their students' values rather than relying on their pre-existing assumptions, which is important for developing adaptive expertise. Third, the results of the work may contribute to re-conceptualization of diversity, where descriptions go beyond demographic variables, and include the diversity of values that people bring to the endeavor of science. REESE DRL EHR Lin, Xiaodong Daniel Schwartz Teachers College, Columbia University NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 800043 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723829 September 1, 2007 Children's Learning from Multiple Media in Informal Mathematics Education. Many informal science and mathematics education projects employ multiple media, assuming that educational benefits will extend beyond those of a single medium. However, this assumption has not been tested empirically in a comprehensive way. This research uses Cyberchase (a multiple-media, informal mathematics project for 8- to 11-year-olds) to investigate synergy among multiple media components and how they interact to yield cumulative educational outcomes. Research questions: (1) How does mathematics learning from multiple media differ from learning from a single medium? (2) What outcomes derive from engagement with different types of media and what types of synergy occur? (3) How can reliable research methods be developed to assess contributions of individual media and their interactions? (4) How can informal education projects capitalize on the strengths of each medium? (5) How can media components be designed and employed to best complement each other? The research has four phases: (1) Preparatory - Recruit participants nationally with parental consent. Finalize methods and measures. (2) Naturalistic - Track naturalistic use of various Cyberchase media among 600-800 third and fourth graders. Assess mathematical problem solving and attitudes toward math. (3) Experimental - Establish causality by assigning a subset of the participants (N = 300-400) to several experimental conditions that are exposed to different combinations of Cyberchase media. Measure change in attitudes and problem solving from pretest to posttest. (4) Analysis - Employ appropriate regression and model fitting analyses to analyze the naturalistic and experimental data, and to synthesize the two. Because of the paucity of relevant existing research, this research will shed light on the educational impact of Cyberchase and on the design and assessment of multiple-media approaches to informal STEM education overall. It will advance our theoretical understanding of children's informal mathematics learning - specifically, how children learn from various media, what strengths each medium brings to bear, and what synergy might exist among media - and inform the best practice design and evaluation of future informal projects that use multiple media. REESE INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fisch, Shalom Richard Lesh Vincent Melfi Sandra Sheppard Sandra Crespo Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Sue Allen Continuing grant 1321266 7625 7259 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723909 September 15, 2007 Reducing the Racial Achievement Gap: A Self-Affirmation Intervention Approach. The goal of the proposed project is the application of a social-psychological approach to understanding and remedying the racial achievement gap in school and on standardized tests. The study will use field-experimental, laboratory, survey, and longitudinal methodologies to develop and refine an intervention strategy aimed at improving the science and math performance of academically at-risk minority students (African Americans and Latino). In the context of randomized, double-blind experiments, students will either complete an identity-affirming exercise designed to alleviate social identity threat, or complete a similar exercise that excludes the critical treatment.( In a 15 minute exercise students are provided a list from which they select the value of most importance to them. They then write a paragraph about why it is important. Students in the control group will be given the same list, asked to select the least important value and write why that value might be important to someone else.) Outcomes will be official school grades, state achievement test scores, and psychological outcomes related to stress and motivation. The proposed research follows from previous work of the PIs, which offered initial evidence that threats to individuals? social identity (i.e., group identity) can undermine their academic performance. REESE DRL EHR Cohen, Geoffrey Valerie Purdie-Vaughns University of Colorado at Boulder CO Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 948203 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0723953 September 1, 2007 The Effects of Formative Assessment in a Networked Classroom on Student Learning of Algebraic Concept. The Effects of Formative Assessment in a Networked Classroom on Student Learning of Algebraic Concepts This research will investigate the use of formative assessment in a networked classroom as it affects middle grades student learning of algebra concepts. The study will examine the effects of teachers using formative assessment with a system of networked technology and compare them to the effects of teachers using formative assessment without networked technology. The research will focus on student growth in achievement, the effective implementation of formative assessment practices and teacher and student attitudes toward the use of these practices. The project will explore the challenges of implementing formative assessments and research feasible ways for teachers to implement formative assessment strategies. The objectives of the proposed study involve measuring and comparing student achievement and describing and analyzing the implementation process. The project will conduct a two-group randomized study, with teachers as the unit of analysis. The study will use a full-treatment (X1) vs. partial-treatment (X2) design in Year 2 and a continued-treatment (X3) vs. full-treatment design (X1) in Year 3. In Year 2, Group A will be trained in both the TI Navigator and formative assessment, and Group B will be trained in formative assessment only. Teachers in each group will then implement the TI Navigator and/or the formative assessment in their classrooms. The project builds on evolving research on formative assessment, the emerging technology of networked classrooms and best practices of reflective teaching that address the most difficult aspects of formative assessment identified in the research literature related to effective implementation. The study will explore a new way of using technology, investigate a feasible way of implementing formative assessment and closely track how teachers and students use formative assessments and what difficulties arise in the implementation process. The broader impact from this study will result from an analysis of the effectiveness of implementing formative assessment in a networked classroom. By advancing mathematics learning for all students, the potential for building the nation?s capacity in related fields increases. The proposed research will enhance the development of a research-based formative assessment technique employing hand-held technology as well as the aspects of professional development necessary for successful implementation. REESE DRL EHR Olson, Melfried Hannah Slovin Judith Olson University of Hawaii HI Karen F. Zuga Standard Grant 998250 7625 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0723956 December 1, 2007 Video Analysis of Science Teaching: Developing a Shared ?Words-to-images? Analytical Tool. Research on science teaching is limited by the lack of shared images of excellent science teaching looks like. Despite wide consensus that science education research should help teachers teach in ways consistent with reform documents, researchers vary widely in their interpretation of what counts as inquiry in the classroom. This lack of a shared "words-to-images" language makes findings difficult to interpret because similar words are used but they are not anchored to similar images. In addition, because each research project develops its own analysis protocols and coding schemes, cross-project comparisons are difficult. Finally, the lack of a shared language makes it difficult to communicate research results to practitioners, policymakers, and the general public. This study proposes a unique approach to addressing a critical problem in research on science teaching to break down the "silo" approach to science education research and demonstrate the feasibility of developing consensus analytical tools and language that can be used in a wide variety of investigations. Use of these common tools across studies will improve the quality and impact of science education research and improve the communication of research to practice. Video technology, including online accessibility, provides the opportunity to improve science education research quality by developing a shared words-to-images language and analytical tool. Videotapes of science teaching enable researchers to conduct more rigorous, detailed, and revealing analyses of science teaching, and collaborative viewing of lesson video challenges researchers to sharpen definitions and descriptions. In addition, several large-scale studies of science teaching, including the TIMSS video study, provide a strong foundation for the proposed consensus-building. This project will engage diverse science educators in developing a consensus image-based language for describing 5-10 key aspects of science teaching. This language,accompanied by video images, will be described in a Guide for Video Analysis of Science Teaching. The effectiveness of the guide in helping diverse science educators to code video examples reliably will be tested in pilot and field test studies. A literature review of current methods and tools will start the collaborative process. Across a 2-year period, the research team will work with an Expert Panel of 10 leading science educators representing the full range of perspectives in the science education community to: a) select key features of science teaching, b) develop a consensus language for describing the selected lesson features in lesson videos, and c) develop and revise a coding manual to guide analysis of the selected features in lesson videos. The video analysis manual and video examples will go through two rounds of testing and revision using an online, password-protected website: 1) a pilot test involving a diverse group of 25 leading science educators, and 2) a national field test involving 50 participants who reflect the diversity of the science education community. These tests will assess the effectiveness of the manual and video examples in helping diverse members of the science education community develop a shared words-to-images language. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Roth, Kathleen LessonLab, Inc. CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 399854 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0729596 August 31, 2006 Studies using the Multiple-Institution Database For Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD). The investigators propose creating a statistical model of engineering education that identifies difficult student stages for entry into the field. The study would use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including records of all degree-seeking undergraduate students for 9 institutions. They say that the proposal is intended to identify the "holes in the pipeline for the production of professional Engineers. It will provide an estimate of how big each hole is and how it developed. The intent of the study is to pave the way for increasing retention of minorities in engineering. This project is co-funded by the ROLE program in the Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication and the STEP program in the Division of Undergraduate Education. STEM TALENT EXPANSN PGM (STEP) DRL EHR Ohland, Matthew Purdue University IN Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 786541 1796 SMET 9178 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0730260 September 15, 2007 Collaborative Research: Universal Design of Inquiry-Based Middle and High School Science Curricula. Federal Legislation has raised the expectations for students with disabilities within the general curriculum and assessment systems. Science education faces increased accountability for raising science achievement for a much more diverse population, while increasing the emphasis on learning that integrates higher-order thinking skills with content knowledge. Active science learning requires students to develop and use a number of complex skills including reading, observing, collecting and analyzing information, drawing conclusions and presenting findings. The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provide the flexibility of representation and the support of multiple means of expression and engagement to address this need. The Center for Applied Special Technologies (CAST) has pioneered the development of technology to differentiate instruction, mainly in literacy, for students with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. The University of Michigan and Education Development Centers are developing and testing comprehensive science curricula for the middle school and high school, respectively. They bring their joint expertise together to create heuristics for universally designed science materials for middle and high school instructional materials; to build an open source UDL Inquiry Science System (ISS) that enables science curricula to be transformed into digitally supported versions that incorporate UDL features; and to use the ISS to produce four UDL exemplars of chemistry and biology units from tested instructional materials and to evaluate the benefits of these exemplars for middle and high school students with and without learning disabilities. These materials support the development of the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS). DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 RES IN DISABILITIES ED DRL EHR Rose, David Boris Goldowsky CAST, Inc. MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1333301 7645 1545 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0730348 September 15, 2007 Collaborative Proposal: Universal Design of Inquiry-Based Middle and High School Science Curriculum. Federal Legislation has raised the expectations for students with disabilities within the general curriculum and assessment systems. Science education faces increased accountability for raising science achievement for a much more diverse population, while increasing the emphasis on learning that integrates higher-order thinking skills with content knowledge. Active science learning requires students to develop and use a number of complex skills including reading, observing, collecting and analyzing information, drawing conclusions and presenting findings. The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provide the flexibility of representation and the support of multiple means of expression and engagement to address this need. The Center for Applied Special Technologies (CAST) has pioneered the development of technology to differentiate instruction, mainly in literacy, for students with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. The University of Michigan and Education Development Centers are developing and testing comprehensive science curricula for the middle school and high school, respectively. They bring their joint expertise together to create heuristics for universally designed science materials for middle and high school instructional materials; to build an open source UDL Inquiry Science System (ISS) that enables science curricula to be transformed into digitally supported versions that incorporate UDL features; and to use the ISS to produce four UDL exemplars of chemistry and biology units from tested instructional materials and to evaluate the benefits of these exemplars for middle and high school students with and without learning disabilities. These materials support the development of the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS). DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Sutherland, LeeAnn Joseph Krajcik University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 916899 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0730603 September 15, 2007 Collaborative Research: Universal Design of Inquiry-Based Middle and High School Science Curricula. Federal Legislation has raised the expectations for students with disabilities within the general curriculum and assessment systems. Science education faces increased accountability for raising science achievement for a much more diverse population, while increasing the emphasis on learning that integrates higher-order thinking skills with content knowledge. Active science learning requires students to develop and use a number of complex skills including reading, observing, collecting and analyzing information, drawing conclusions and presenting findings. The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provide the flexibility of representation and the support of multiple means of expression and engagement to address this need. The Center for Applied Special Technologies (CAST) has pioneered the development of technology to differentiate instruction, mainly in literacy, for students with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. The University of Michigan and Education Development Centers are developing and testing comprehensive science curricula for the middle school and high school, respectively. They bring their joint expertise together to create heuristics for universally designed science materials for middle and high school instructional materials; to build an open source UDL Inquiry Science System (ISS) that enables science curricula to be transformed into digitally supported versions that incorporate UDL features; and to use the ISS to produce four UDL exemplars of chemistry and biology units from tested instructional materials and to evaluate the benefits of these exemplars for middle and high school students with and without learning disabilities. These materials support the development of the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS). DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Miller, Jacqueline June Foster Education Development Center MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 865064 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0731703 October 1, 2007 Finding NEO: asteroids, lightcurves, and amateur astronomers. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences proposal is based on current NSF-funded research, AST 0607505, "Asteroid Satellites and Spins." Finding NEO (near-Earth Objects) proposes an 18-month-long project to develop on-line and museum traveling exhibit-module deliverables that provide users with both video vignettes of amateur astronomers engaged in NEO asteroid studies and at least three interactive game-like experiences on the science content and processes, specifically the analysis of "lightcurves," i.e., changes in light reflectivity off of spinning asteroids. The staff of the Space Science Institute will create these products in partnership with four small science museums around the country (2 in CO, NY, WI). The on-line material will be user-accessed via current astronomy web sites that already are popular, for example, www.spaceweathercenter.org. The videos and software will be made freely available for download. All materials will be both in English and Spanish. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Harris, Alan James Harold SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE CO Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0731739 May 15, 2008 IPY: Current Climate changes over Eastern Siberia and Interior Alaska and their Impact on Permafrost Landscapes, Ecosystem Dynamics, and Hydrological Regime. This project is establishing long-term permafrost monitoring sites adjacent to schools in the circumpolar permafrost region and providing Native Alaskan students with field experiences and classrooms lessons on permafrost. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) report renewed concerns that enhanced thawing or degradation of permafrost is having a major impact on infrastructures, coastal processes, and Arctic communities. Most remote villages depend on a subsistence lifestyle, and changing climate and permafrost conditions directly affect Native communities. To better understand these changes, the project is drilling boreholes at 50 Alaskan village schools and installing data loggers with temperature sensors that measure hourly air and permafrost temperatures. Teachers at grade levels ranging from elementary to high school are helping their students download and analyze the data in science classes. To support classroom instruction, the project is developing Permafrost/Remote Sensing Classroom Lesson units and a Permafrost/Remote Sensing module to be made widely available on DVD. These activities enable students to collaborate and communicate new ideas, as well as to develop critical thinking skills that transcend the boundaries of the science classroom. Using the Internet, teachers and students can also compare their data with data from other monitoring schools. The scientific information gathered from these stations is also being shared with researchers and the general public via an online permafrost database. The research addresses three of the six International Polar Year themes: The Current State of the Polar Environment, Change in the Polar Environment, and Human Societies in Polar Regions. Through integration of research and education, the project is providing high resolution data on the spatial distribution of the thermal state of permafrost in Alaska, improving the general knowledge of Earth's climatic patterns, bringing science to remote Alaskan villages that tend to have limited exposure to science, and providing an opportunity for younger generations to take part in understanding Earth's climatic and hydrologic systems. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION DRL EHR Yoshikawa, Kenji Vladimir Romanovsky University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus AK David B. Campbell Continuing grant 592109 H191 7645 5208 SMET 9177 9150 5295 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0731828 March 7, 2007 CAREER: The Role of Self-Regulated Learning in Students' Understanding of Science with Hypermedia. This project focuses on the role of self-regulated learning (SRL) in students' understanding of science with hypermedia. SRL is emerging as a significant issue in educational and psychological research. SRL is an active, constructive process whereby learners set goals for their learning and then attempt to monitor, regulate, and control their cognition, motivation, and behavior in the service of those goals. SRL is guided and constrained by both personal characteristics and the contextual features of the environment (Pintrich, 2000). The focus of SRL research over the last three decades has been on learners' academic learning and achievement and has progressively included emphases on cognitive strategies, metacognition, motivation, and task engagement (for a recent review see Paris & Paris, 2001). The broad scope of SRL appeals to educational researchers who seek to understand how students become adept and independent in their educational pursuits. Whether SRL is viewed as a set of skills that can be taught explicitly or as developmental processes of self-regulation that emerge with experience (within a domain, topic, or task), teachers can provide information and opportunities to students of all ages that will help them become strategic, motivated, and independent learners. There are, however, several theoretical and empirical issues that need further research before practical classroom implications can be put forth. How do students' regulate their own learning when using a hypermedia environment to learn about complex science topics? Which processes related to self- and co-regulation do student pairs and teachers use during collaborative learning of complex science topics with hypermedia? What kinds of instructional conditions are more effective in fostering SRL? How can science teachers provide information and opportunities to students of all ages that can help them become more strategic, motivated, and independent learners? Can SRL be taught explicitly as a set of skills or is it a developmental process that emerges from experience (within a task, topic, or domain).This NSF Career project will explore these questions through research that forges new directions in the area of students' self-regulated learning of two complex science topics (the circulatory system and ecological systems) with hypermedia environments (CircSysWeb and RiverWeb). In doing so, the research goals will be: (1) To scale-up research on self-regulated learning across developmental levels and contexts; (2) To examine the role of self- and co-regulation during individual and collaborative learning with hypermedia environments; (3) To examine the effectiveness of co-construction of goals (between teacher and students) during learning of science with hypermedia environments; (4) To examine the effectiveness of strategy instruction training in fostering students' self- and co-regulated learning with hypermedia; and, (5) To examine the effectiveness of adaptive web-based hypermedia environments in detecting, modeling, and fostering students' self- and co-regulated learning of science. RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Azevedo, Roger University of Memphis TN Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 114848 1666 SMET 9177 1045 0731984 September 15, 2007 Savage Yard. This planning grant supports the development of a new half-hour television series with related vodcasts, blogs and outreach designed to inspire young people to consider careers in taxonomy and zoology. Teams of scientists with expertise in every taxonomic category and environmental niche will descend on a typical backyard with the goal of describing and identifying every living organism living there. The project will bring together scientists working in various supported ecology and biodiversity research to act as experts both on camera and behind the scenes. Other collaborators include the Tree of Life project, The Wildlife Society Urban Wildlife Working Group, National 4H, the Verizon Foundation, Thinkfinity Partnership, and the AAAS Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs. Deliverables for the planning grant will be six short (two to three-minute) show segments for evaluation purposes; a website with four sample podcasts and organism fact cards; a marketing kit; and an evaluation from Multimedia Research. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fisher, Albert Robert Hirshon Fisher Television Productions, Inc. CA Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 74936 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0732074 September 1, 2007 Identifying & Evaluating Adaptive Expertise in Teachers. This project examines the nature of adaptive expertise in mathematics education, exploring relationships between this concept from cognitive psychology and effective middle school mathematics instruction. One goal of the project is to operationalize adaptive expertise in mathematics classroom using three dimensions: cognitive models of professional competence, instructional practices, and professional learning. Then, researchers seek to determine whether teachers who are more effective at raising student achievement are more or less adaptive. They use regression modeling to examine associations between teacher effectiveness and adaptive expertise, with teachers' mathematics knowledge for teaching as a mediating factor. They test a series of hypotheses in a one-factor correlational study with 60 veteran middle school mathematics teachers from the San Francisco Bay Area. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Shechtman, Nicole Philip Vahey SRI International CA James T. Fey Standard Grant 299982 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732090 January 1, 2008 Evaluation of the Cognitive, Psychometric, and Instructional Affordances of Curriculum-Embedded Assessments: A Comprehensive Validity-Based Approach. This NSF DR-K12 project falls within the category of Applied Research: Evaluative Studies of NSF Funded Resources and Tools. The overarching goal of this project is to evaluate the assessment components embedded within two NSF-supported mathematics curricula: Everyday Mathematics and Math Trailblazers. The investigators will apply a comprehensive validity perspective that integrates a variety of empirical evidence regarding the cognitive, psychometric, and instructional affordances of multiple assessments embedded in these curricula as part of their overall instructional design. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Pellegrino, James Jim Minstrell Susan Goldman Kimberly Gomez Louis DiBello University of Illinois at Chicago IL James S. Dietz Continuing grant 1768056 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0732109 September 1, 2007 Positive Learning Environments Aiming for Success in Science Education (PLEASSE). This proposal is a request for support for a 3-year exploratory research study aimed at exploring the components and impact of a teacher professional development model (PDM) on teacher performance and student achievement in STEM disciplines at schools serving large numbers of minority students. It seeks to develop a solid empirical basis for strategies to reduce and eliminate the achievement gap in school. It is aimed at exploring the components and impact of a teacher professional development model on teacher performance and student achievement and motivation in STEM disciplines at schools serving large numbers of minority students. It also aims to research and evaluate the impact of teachers who provide students with school experiences that are geared toward fostering high academic achievement. It asks the question, "can a structured intervention aimed at fostering positive student academic attitude be integrated with a quality inquiry science program to increase both student academic outcome and positive achievement-oriented attitudes?" To answer the questions the PI proposes a 3-year controlled study where the impact of PDM on teacher performance will be evaluated using measures of student achievement and attitudes. The plan is to implement research using a corps (30) of elementary and middle school teachers from the Baltimore public schools wherein three groups of teachers will be exposed to a pedagogic only program of study in an institute; another to a content only program of study; and a third group will do studies in an institute focusing on STEM pedagogy and content. The performance of students on a standardized science learning test will determine the extent to which the three groups exposure to content and pedagogy impacts student learning in science. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Norman, Obed Jonathan Wilson Glenda Prime Morgan State University MD Julia Clark Standard Grant 320205 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0732142 October 1, 2007 FUSION SCIENCE THEATER: AN INNOVATIVE MODEL TO SOW AND GROW THE SEEDS OF STEM THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED SCIENCE THEATER. Madison Area Technical College will refine and evaluate the effectiveness of Fusion Science Theater (FST), a combination of theater, science demonstrations, and participatory components, as an ISE teaching model, to test its transferability through development and trials of an exportable version (Science-in-a-Box), and to recruit appropriate partners nationally in preparation for a larger scale implementation and evaluation. A Fusion Science Theater event utilizes the collaborative effort of applied expertise in science, theater and education. These events support playful interactions as characters engage the emotions of the audience. The Act-It Out sequences invite children and parents to become involved in modeling scientific concepts, thus creating an environment where learning is the product of social interaction and kinesthetic, affective and interpersonal learning. To provide proof-of-concept that this a transferable model, an independent, interdisciplinary team from the University of Wisconsin, Madison Biotechnology Center will produce their own FST event that will be evaluated and compared to an existing FST program. The Madison Children''''s Museum will partner as a venue for the event and provide expertise in the planning process. The ultimate project resulting from this planning would include workshops to train collaborative teams from around the country in the principles and practices of FST, promotion of cross-disciplinary collaboration among professionals, and honing of an evaluation design for FST events. The trained teams would then produce FST events that reach children, their parents and the general public. The planning grant project design includes activities necessary to further test, verify and document Fusion Science Theater events. It provides a proof of concept of model effectiveness and transferability. It also initiates, develops and assesses ways to train other groups to implement the model and publicizes the model to national professional networks to spread the work and recruit site teams. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kerby, Holly Madison Area Technical College WI Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 74981 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732143 August 15, 2007 Iterative Model Building (IMB): A Program for Training Quality Teachers and Measuring Teacher Quality. The goal of this project is to improve professional development programs for pre-service teachers (PSTs) as a way to improve student learning in mathematics and science. PSTs engage in a series of teaching cycles beginning by working with pairs of elementary school students to create models of their mathematics and science knowledge (teaching experiments). The PSTs then engage in lesson study groups to develop, teach, and analyze a whole class lesson. The cycle is completed by reexamining students' knowledge in teaching experiments with pairs of students. These teaching cycles are called Iterative Model Building (IMB). Six specific research questions are investigated. The six research questions are: 1.) Do PSTs exhibit growth in their understanding of how students reason; 2.) Do PSTs exhibit growth in their ability to design appropriate whole class lessons and activities based on where students are; 3.) Do PSTs exhibit growth in their ability to plan instruction as part of a collaborative research community; 4.) How do PSTs' beliefs and knowledge about the nature of math and science mature throughout the program; 5.) Are there significant differences between teacher practices in classrooms taught by IMB PSTs compared to other PSTs; 6.) What do teacher quality measures tell us about our current program and the proposed approach? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Galindo, Enrique Valarie Akerson Anderson Norton Meredith Park Rogers Indiana University IN John S. Bradley Continuing grant 880951 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0732151 August 15, 2007 Evaluation of HS Science Courses. This project will collect evidence supporting the validity of test instruments and initial characterization of high school teachers' background and use of materials and pedagogies. Dr. Sadler and his colleagues have developed more than 600 assessment items matched to the National Research Council's Physical Science Content Standards for grades K-12. Each item includes a distractor gleaned from an extensive review of research literature reporting on misconceptions in the physical sciences. With this item-level information, the project will construct and validate multiple forms of test instruments that can be used for the evaluation of interventions (e.g. professional development, implementation of new curricula) and the measurement of aspects of teacher knowledge (e.g. subject matter, knowledge of student misconceptions). The proposed tasks for the one-year project are: 1) a content validity study; 2) the assembly of trial test instruments; 3) a criterion referenced validity study; 4) a reliability study; and 5) the creation of a teacher curriculum and professional development survey. These five tasks will result in well-validated test instruments for high school chemistry and physics students and a survey that can document the variety of curricula, pedagogical approaches, and professional development backgrounds of high school science teachers to be researched at a future date. These well-validated instruments will also be made available to other researchers to aid in their efforts to evaluate specific interventions or programs. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Sadler, Philip Harvard University MA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 409924 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732161 September 15, 2007 Reform Math Students' Transition from High School to College. One important measure of a high school mathematics program?s effectiveness is their graduates? success in post-secondary math courses and more generally their success in obtaining post-secondary degrees. This study will utilize two approaches to collect data that explores questions pertaining to students? actual post-secondary preparedness. The first approach will follow students forward from high school and analyze their college transcripts. This approach has proven successful in development of national data bases such as the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS 88). The second approach will collect data from the set of Institutions of Higher Education to which 50% or more students from the studied high schools matriculate. Both approaches will improve on prior research, which has either, a) reported case studies of small numbers of students, generally without comparison groups, b) relied on self-reports by student volunteers, or c) analyzed the impact of a high school program by reporting achievement of students at a single university, to which only a small proportion of the high school?s graduates matriculate. The proposed study would begin to fill a serious gap in the mathematics community?s knowledge about how NSF sponsored curriculum materials affect students. The proposed study will also provide school districts and researchers with practical and immediately useful knowledge about valid techniques for data collection. Analyzing college transcripts provides more complete data than does collecting summary data from college registrars. However, analyzing students? transcripts is more expensive and time-consuming. This study will determine if the summary data provided by college registrars from the subset of colleges which account for at least 50% of a high school?s graduates produces valid conclusions that are similar to the conclusions produced by analyzing transcripts from a random sample of all graduates. These results will have broad impact on assessing mathematics curricula. DR-K12 APPLIED RESEARCH DRL EHR Kramer, Steven Edward Wolff F Merlino Arcadia University PA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 349991 7646 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0732173 September 1, 2007 Worldviews of Exemplary African-American Science Teachers (WEAST). Mississippi State University will identify characteristics of exemplary African American elementary science teachers and examine the role of mentoring on beginning elementary science teachers and their students. The project goals are: 1) to learn from exemplary African American science teachers about how to better articulate students' cultural knowledge with science disciplines; (2) to expand a knowledge base about the socio-cultural context of science learning, culturally relevant science content and pedagogical skills, and conditions for promoting teaching and learning particularly for African American students at the elementary school level; (3) to develop a knowledge base about mentoring and supporting beginning science teachers, and (4) to advance an empirically informed national discussion about how to address the science gaps in high stakes science achievement tests. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Coats, Linda Jianzhong Xu Mississippi State University MS Julia Clark Standard Grant 339185 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0732184 September 1, 2007 Teachers' Use of Standards-Based Instructional Materials. This study explores the ways middle school mathematics teachers implement standards-based curriculum materials in urban schools. It takes the view that instructional materials are cultural tools and examines how teachers use these tools to plan and implement the curriculum in their classrooms. With a mixed methods approach that combines surveys of teachers in 30 schools in the Newark Public Schools district and closer observations of teachers in selected case schools, the study addresses four research questions: (1) Do teachers perceive mandated instructional materials as a support for improving instruction? (2) How do teachers adapt the instructional materials to attempt to meet the needs of their students and why? (3) What are the school and district level supports and barriers to using the instructional materials identified by teachers? (4) What is the relationship between student achievement and ways teachers implement the instructional materials? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR King, Karen Monica Mitchell May Samuels Carole Mulligan New York University NY Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 998957 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732186 September 1, 2007 An Examination of the Impact of Teachers' Domain as a Professional Development Tool on Teacher Knowledge and Student Achievement in Biology. Teachers' Domain online professional development courses contain multimedia collections of science materials and resources developed by WGBH with support from National Science Foundation (NSF) during the last six years. Using an experimental design, this project will examine the effects of online professional development courses on high school biology teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge, and on their students' knowledge. The impact of using 'rich media' will also be tested. Hierarchal linear modeling techniques will be used to analyze the data. This project will contribute to the knowledge base of what makes a difference in student achievement by testing the efficacy of online professional development for science teachers. The issue of science teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge poses particular problems at the middle and high school level, where a large percentage of teachers are teaching outside their area of expertise. This project will contribute substantially by examining both the effect of professional development on high school biology teachers and the connection between professional development and student achievement. In examining the effectiveness of the Teachers' Domain professional development courses and materials on teachers and students for a diverse group of New York State school districts, it will be possible to understand how teachers can go beyond surface familiarity with basic concepts and textbook presentations and increase their pedagogical content knowledge. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Goldenberg, Lauren Shelley Pasnik Education Development Center MA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1743863 7645 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732204 October 1, 2007 Assessing Instructional Quality in Mathematics: A Comparative Study of High and Low Value-Added Teachers' Videotaped Lessons. Using value-added data from the Los Angeles Unified School Districts, the researchers determine individual teacher effect estimates and investigate their stability across models. This study also investigates the instructional practices of a sub-sample of 30 highly effective and 30 less effective sixth-grade mathematics teachers. Five classroom lessons are videotaped per teacher. The videotapes are coded and analyzed by researchers who are blind to the value-added effectiveness of the teachers. The reliability of measured teaching practice will be investigated by applying hierarchical linear models. Practices of highly effective and less effective teachers will be compared through analyses of variance and regression models. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Kersting, Nicole James Stigler LessonLab, Inc. CA James T. Fey Continuing grant 844146 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732212 October 1, 2007 Toward a Scalable Model of Mathematics Professional Development: A Field Study of Preparing Facilitators to Implement the Problem-Solving Cycle. The proposed study is an effort to bring the Problem-Solving Cycle model of mathematics professional development to scale by fostering the facilitation skills of middle school mathematics instructional leaders (ILs). The study includes 2½ years of preparation and support for all the ILs within a large urban school district with a substantial minority student enrollment. These ILs will implement the PSC with the mathematics teachers in their schools. Researchers will analyze the preparation and support that ILs need, the quality of their implementation, and the impact of the PD process on ILs, teachers, and students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Jacobs, Jennifer Karen Koellner Edward Wiley University of Colorado at Boulder CO Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1045057 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732217 August 15, 2007 A Longitudinal Examination of Children's Developing Knowledge of Measurement: Mathematical and Scientific Concept and Strategy Growth from Pre-K through Grade 5. The project proposes a longitudinal study that investigates the development of an understanding of measurement across 7 grades-from pre-K through Grade 5. Specifically, the project will establish clear cognitive accounts of the development of students' strategic and conceptual knowledge of measurement on increasingly demanding sets of length, perimeter, and area measurement tasks. The research questions are: How do students develop coherent knowledge and integrated strategies for measurement across the developmental span from pre-K though Grade 5? How are students' developing cognitive abilities for perceptual and numerical comparison, for coordinating and discriminating, for deductive logic, and for ordering and nesting sequences related to the development of knowledge and strategies for measurement? How are students' developing abilities for spatial thinking, algebraic reasoning, or proportional reasoning related to their measurement knowledge and strategies? How might students' developing representational fluency for measurement relate to their mathematical and scientific understanding of measurement? How is the development of students' developing knowledge of measurement (especially their use of rulers and other tools, with accuracy and precision) related to the development of their scientific modeling and reasoning across varying contexts? Two longitudinal studies will be conducted at two different sites: a New York site will address the early development of children's understanding and strategies, while an Illinois site will focus on later elementary level development. The researchers propose design cycles with clinical interviews, written interviews, and classroom teaching experiments. DR-K12 APPLIED RESEARCH REESE DRL EHR Barrett, Jeffrey Douglas Clements Illinois State University IL Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1138068 7646 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732233 January 1, 2008 Learning Progressions for Scientific Inquiry: A Model Implementation in the Context of Energy. The project's goals are to (1) devise learning progressions for students and teachers in scientific inquiry and its facilitation, with respect to energy, and (2) develop model materials and strategies for grades 4-5 curriculum and teacher professional development. The research questions are: *What constitutes a learning progression in inquiry that builds toward a conceptual understanding of energy? And how can instruction help? *What constitutes teachers' progression in their abilities to facilitate scientific inquiry? What scaffolding, instructional activities, and professional development activities support teachers' movement along this progression? The work is conducted by research teams from San Diego State University and the University of Maryland. Energy will be treated through concepts in the physical sciences in grade 4, the life sciences in grade 5 and earth science in grade 6. The research will focus on coding students' reasoning about energy concepts by identifying levels of sophistication in argumentation and on their progress in conceptual understanding of energy. The project studies teacher learning through analysis of video data from the professional development sessions, and the degree to which teachers modify instructional practice along with their assessment practices. DR-K12 APPLIED RESEARCH REESE DRL EHR Goldberg, Fred Sharon Bendall David Hammer Janet Coffey San Diego State University Foundation CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 2549961 7646 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732438 September 15, 2007 Encounters: Radio Experiences in the North. This project will create a series of half hour radio programs that will educate audiences about the environment and traditions of the northern Polar Region. Each radio program will be recorded in the wilds of Alaska and northern Canada during close contact with nature providing a direct authentic experience. Cultural anthropologist and author, Dr. Richard Nelson will host the programs on topics such as wildlife, ecosystems, weather and climate, glaciology, communities and land, and indigenous traditions. Distributors of the programs include the Alaska Public Radio Network, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and inserts in NPR's Living on Earth. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Nelson, Richard KCAW-FM Raven Radio AK Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 349075 7259 SMET 9177 5295 1079 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732495 October 1, 2007 The Coaching Cycle: An Interactive Online Course for Mathematics Coaches. The Coaching Cycle project creates an online course for K-8 mathematics instructional coaches. The project targets coaches in rural areas and small schools who do not have access to regular district-wide professional development. It provides training in the skills needed for effective instructional coaching in mathematics by using artifacts collected by practicing coaches to engage course participants in the practice of coaching skills. Because online learning and instructional coaching are fairly recent models of staff development, the project adds to the developing knowledge base about how these interventions support more effective coaching, changes in teachers'' practice, and increased student achievement. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Heuer, Loretta Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 346935 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732502 September 15, 2007 Antarctic Penguins, Teaching the Science of Climate Change: A Celebration of IPY. This project uses penguins to hook students into exploring how science investigates changes in Earths biota and climate. The project builds on a pilot effort, called Penguin Science, and will develop PowerPoint presentations, short video "webisodes," background reading material, and live and interactive website components to engage students in ongoing field research. Students, K-14, will be involved in climate-change research that will include ecology, sedimentology, paleontology, glaciology and oceanography. The project will use the amazingly popular Antarctic pack-ice penguins (Adelie and Emperor) to look at biotic responses to environmental change, and address the question: How do we know what we know? Activities include how the changing environment currently and over the previous 12,000 years has affected the population size and distribution of these creatures. The demography and ecology of Adelie and Emperor penguins appear to be particularly sensitive to changes in land-based and marine ice. The response of species to climate change is very complex and polar species are no exception: in some parts of Antarctica they are declining and in others increasing, both trends related to changing ice. However, these responses are well enough understood that ecologists, geologists, glaciologists and oceanographers have used the dated, sequential penguin occupancy of areas as one proxy for ice sheet retreat and advance, as well as changes in sea-ice persistence, during the Holocene. The patterns revealed by penguins corroborate the information from glacier and sediment cores. The project will compare these proxies (how the data are gathered, how they are analyzed, and what they mean) in a way that will be engaging to students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ERE General ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Ainley, David Grant Ballard H.T. Harvey & Associates CA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 140772 7645 7304 5130 SMET OTHR 9177 5295 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732752 September 15, 2007 IPY: Polar Hydrobot Simulator. Space Science Institute (SSI) is conducting an International Polar Year project in partnership with the Marine Advanced Technology Center (NSF-funded MATE, Monterey, CA) and the Challenger Learning Center of Colorado (CLCC) to produce and disseminate an online simulation of scientific explorations by the latest generation of Antarctic underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROV). The explorations are based on the ROV work of Dr. Stacey Kim of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and of Dr. Robert Pappalardo and Dr. Arthur Lane at the Jet Propulsion Lab. Products include the simulation, supporting materials and guides, a web site, and a CD Master. Targeted audiences include: (a) middle-school to college-aged students who participate in national annual underwater ROV competitions, (b) Challenger Learning Centers in Colorado and around the country, and (c) the "science attentive" public who will access the simulation via links to SSI and other web sites. Simulations will follow a game structure and feature Antarctic polar science. Estimated annual usage levels are: for MATE, 2000; for Challenger Centers, 300,000; for the general public, 100,000. The project is positioned to continue well beyond the official end of the International Polar Year CCLI-Phase 2 (Expansion) INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR McLain, Brad James Harold SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE CO Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 366955 7492 7259 5130 SMET 9178 9177 5295 1079 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732757 September 1, 2007 Learning and Teaching Geometry: VideoCases for Mathematics Professional Development. The Learning and Teaching Geometry project (LTG) creates five video case modules for use in professional development of middle school mathematics teachers. The materials are designed to develop teachers' understanding of mathematics knowledge for teaching similarity. Module I, the foundation module, focuses on a thorough grounding of similarity and contains 6-8 video case sessions. The four extension modules offer options for further exploration: (1) Definitions and Theorems; (2) The Role of Language in Geometry; (3) Choosing and Using Technological Tools; and (4) Bridging to High School Geometry. In total, 18-24 video cases are produced, which, taken together, form the curriculum of a 45 to 60-hour professional development course. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Seago, Nanette Mark Driscoll Patrick Callahan WestEd CA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 1777377 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732793 September 15, 2007 IPY: SPRINTT: Student Polar Research with IPY National (and International) Teacher Training. SPRINTT brings cutting-edge science research and Alaska Native traditional knowledge into K-12 classrooms, bridging the science and society divide while inspiring the next generation of polar explorers. SPRINTT is using an innovative, live, online training format to train hundreds of teachers in how to teach life, Earth, and physical science content in a polar context. Polar scientists directly inform the content and participate in the training. SPRINTT provides teachers with existing and adapted, high-quality, standards-based curricular materials and collaborates with science and education partners to simplify research data and create a user-friendly interface from which students perform their own authentic polar research projects. Students from around the world share their research findings through a collaborative space within the SPRINTT website. The aim is to prepare hundreds of teachers to teach about the significance of the Polar Regions within the Earth system and to present materials and tools with an Alaska Native lens. Through synchronous (live) and asynchronous collaborations, teachers share best practices as they infuse and adopt polar science into their curriculum and learn to effectively facilitate student research. SPRINTT impacts more than 25,000 upper elementary, middle, and high school students around the world. The majority of U.S. students are from underrepresented groups including Alaska Natives, and those from urban and rural areas. SPRINTT spreads the work of IPY-related partners including the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Alaska Native Science Commission, the International Polar Foundation, the National Snow and Ice Data Center, ANDRILL, WWF International, NOAA, Bering Sea Ecosystem Study, and GEOSummit. The project is engaging the public in polar discovery through guided student research projects. Innovative teacher training brings Earth's polar systems into the classroom, and promotes international cooperation as students examine the critical role of the polar regions in global processes and the changes to the Arctic as viewed by native peoples. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Schuster, Glen The U.S. Satellite Laboratory, Inc. NY David B. Campbell Continuing grant 926371 7645 5208 5130 SMET OTHR 9177 5295 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732798 September 1, 2007 Cases of Reasoning and Proving in Secondary Mathematics (CORP). Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and associated universities are developing a practice-based curriculum for the professional education of preservice and practicing secondary mathematics teachers that 1) focuses on reasoning and proving, 2) has narrative cases as a central component, and 3) supports the development of knowledge of mathematics needed for teaching. This curriculum is comprised of eight constellations of activities that focus on key aspects of reasoning and proving such as identifying patterns; making conjectures; providing proofs; and providing non-proof arguments. Each constellation is a set of practice-based activities that are anchored by a mathematical task or set of related tasks. The activities are developed as cases that portray events that unfold in a high school mathematics classroom. Teachers analyze and discuss the cases with other teachers as a way to increase their mathematical knowledge and to develop their ability to understand how students will react to specific tasks. The cases are pilot tested, revised, field tested and revised again before being published. Dissemination includes collaboration with professional organizations and publication. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Smith, Margaret University of Pittsburgh PA James T. Fey Continuing grant 1186426 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732835 September 15, 2007 IPY: Ice Planet Earth. The University of New Hampshire Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space is partnering with the Houston Museum of Natural Science and Evans & Sutherland, Inc. (Salt Lake City) to produce Ice Planet Earth, a 30-minute updateable digital full-dome planetarium show, along with a variety of educational programs by polar researchers, educational materials for teachers, and an Ice Planet Earth Web site maintained by the University. Additional partners include organizations in Pittsburgh, Baton Rouge, Concord, NH, Portland, OR and in Melbourne Australia and Haifa Israel. The project's science focus is on the key role of the polar regions in globally-linked systems through the viewpoint of Earth as a unique ice and water world. Two updateable pre-show products are being developed a five-minute-long Polar Immersion preview as visitors enter the theaters that incorporates changing high-resolution fisheye images taken by researchers in the field, and Polar Events Update just before the main feature begins that will be presented live by planetarium staff. Estimated attendance over the life of the programs is estimated to be a minimum of 1.5 million. Evaluation is being conducted by the Program Evaluation and Research Group (PERG) at Lesley University, Boston. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION GK-12 ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Schloss, Annette Mark Fahnestock Charles Vorosmarty Richard Lammers Carolyn Sumners University of New Hampshire NH Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1122333 7259 5284 5208 5130 SMET 9177 9150 5295 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0732879 September 1, 2007 International POLAR-PALOOZA - Emphasizing the "I" in IPY & Enabling Global Conversations on the Antarctic Treaty. This proposal builds upon the current NSF funded POLAR-PALOOZA project (#0632262) extending the "Stories from a Changing Planet" to learners around the world. This project is a tour of seven nations (China, Malaysia, South Africa, Norway, Canada, Mexico, and Australia) featuring stories told by a diverse team of polar researchers who are also compelling storytellers. A museum or science center in each country serves as the host institution and local coordinator for a suite of 1-2 days of additional education and outreach activities. There are presentations for large general audiences, supplemented by small group interactions with community leaders and local media, providing opportunities to interact directly with polar experts in order to learn about these little-understood regions and to appreciate why the Poles and polar research are relevant to their lives. Special workshops for teachers, undergraduates or other audiences take advantage of the researcher's presence on site. At any one international site, no more than 2-3 of the presenters will be Americans with the rest of the team made up of researchers from the region and host nation. In addition to the personal interactions the project will leverage the already-funded POLAR-PALOOZA deliverables, and provide museums and science centers with online access to a growing set of HD videos. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Haines-Stiles, Geoffrey Erna Akuginow Geoff Haines-Stiles Productions NJ Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 399912 7259 5130 SMET OTHR 9177 5295 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732907 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: IPY: Beneath Antarctic Seas: Visual Documentation of the Marine Ecosystems of the Polar Regions. Norbert Wu and collaborators will create an extensive library of visual media documenting polar marine ecosystems in Antarctica. The PI will partner with the BBC to film and photograph images of marine life in Antarctica at McMurdo and the PI will also film at Palmer. Some of the video footage will contribute to the BBC Natural History Unit production, Life, to be released in 2010. The video and still imagery will also be used to extend the Underwater Field Guide to McMurdo Sound maintained by Scripps. The series of podcasts will profile women researchers at both McMurdo and Palmer. The Ocean Institute will use material as part of their polar science education curricula, "Girls in Ocean Science." Archived materials will be made available to both scientists and the public, and other interested publishing and broadcasting entities, including a number of existing IPY projects. The visual media produced during this project are designed for national and international distribution to enhance the legacy of the International Polar Year. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Wu, Norbert NORBERT WU PRODUCTIONS CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 381639 7259 5130 SMET 9177 5295 1079 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0732945 September 1, 2007 IPY STEM Polar Connections. IPY STEM Polar Connections is a curriculum development and professional development program. It includes residential summer institutes with academic year online communication for in-service teachers who are involved in professional development of their colleagues. During each summer institute, teachers will be introduced to sets of STEM Polar Connections Modules that will emphasize the process of scientific inquiry and will explore a variety of proven techniques for effective teaching, including inquiry-based teaching, cooperative learning, and methods for formative assessment of student learning. The summer institutes at UMass will be designed to advance the knowledge that STEM teachers have of the characteristics of and processes that occur in Polar Regions so that they can effectively field test curriculum modules and disseminate final versions of the modules at the local, regional, and national level. The activities of the STEM Polar Connections Modules will be aligned with the National Science Education Standards and with state standards for each state in the three participating regions. The activities will emphasize the value of advancing society's understanding of the nature and possible causes of changes in the physical environment and ecosystems of the Polar Regions and the relationship of those changes with other physical environments and ecosystems. The interdisciplinary activities of STEM Polar Connections Modules will be also designed to acquaint middle and high school students with the many avenues of polar research, the extent of international collaborations in polar research, and opportunities they will have to participate in that research. The modules will utilize several formats in order to maximize the range of middle and high school STEM programs into which the modules can effectively be integrated. Teachers will be actively engaged in the process of producing final versions of the STEM Polar Connections Modules initially drafted by the STEM Polar Connections staff. A strong educational research component will assess the effectiveness of providing local and regional contexts for conducting research that results in an understanding of Earth's global systems that are influenced by and interact with the physical environments and ecosystems of Polar Regions. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ERE General ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Sternheim, Morton Julie Brigham-Grette University of Massachusetts Amherst MA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 597503 7645 7304 5130 SMET OTHR 9177 5295 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0732955 March 1, 2008 IPY: Improving the Public's Understanding of Polar Research Through Hands-On Fellowships for Science Journalists in the Arctic and Antarctic. This project is being developed for science journalists to increase and improve the reporting of the science of polar environmental change. It is modeled after the existing science journalism program run by the Marine Biological Laboratory since 1986. This project will enable 30 science journalists to travel to the Arctic and ten journalists to Antarctica over three years to study and experience polar research in an intensive, hands-on manner. The program has 3 components: a week long Polar Hands-On course at the Toolik Field Station in Alaska in which the journalists conduct science; a one-week period in which journalists will be teamed to work with polar research scientists; and travel for journalists to travel to Palmer Station in Antarctica to spend two weeks participating in Antarctic research. Journalists will submit regular dispatches about their work in the form of a Polar Science Blog and will produce stories about their experience. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION DRL EHR Neill, Christopher Bruce Peterson John Hobbie Gaius Shaver Hugh Ducklow Marine Biological Laboratory MA Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 365289 7259 5208 SMET OTHR 9177 5295 1079 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733015 October 1, 2007 Linear Algebra and Geometry: Advanced Mathematics For More Students. The Education Development Center is developing, testing, and publishing "Linear Algebra and Geometry", a modular curriculum that can be used for high school capstone courses in linear algebra and its applications. The student resources contain two main parts: 1) a core semester for all students that develops two- and three-dimensional geometry from a vectorial perspective and that treats matrix algebra and its applications to geometry and other high school topics; and 2) twelve stand-alone modules that develop applications of this core to mathematics, engineering, science, and other STEM fields. The package provides high schools with up to three semesters of topics. The materials are field tested and revised before publication. Research is conducted on student learning experiences related to critical aspects of linear algebra and on the effect of the materials on teaching, learning, and the post-secondary performance of students who study from the materials. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Cuoco, Albert Wayne Harvey Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2964284 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733024 September 1, 2007 Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears: Integrating Literacy and IPY in the K-5 Classroom. Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears will maximize the impact of International Polar Year on elementary classrooms by capturing student interest and fostering the ability of elementary school teachers to integrate polar concepts into their teaching by 1) selecting, augmenting, and contextualizing quality learning resources from the National Science Digital Library, the Ohio Resource Center, and other IPY-funded projects; 2) creating 20 issues of a multimedia cyberzine with a combined focus on inquiry-based science and content-rich literacy learning; 3) modifying communication, production, and cyberinfrastructure tools that amplify resource discovery and access to resources and increase the ease of reuse and repurposing of content; 4) disseminating deliverables through presentations, publications, and push technologies; and 5) evaluating the impact of project deliverables on teachers and students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 GEO TEACH ERE General CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Lightle, Kimberly Carol Landis Carl Lagoze Susan Van Gundy Ohio State University Research Foundation OH David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1616125 7645 7611 7304 6891 5208 5130 SMET OTHR 9178 9177 5299 5295 5208 1079 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733048 September 15, 2007 Ice Stories: A Public Educational Resource for IPY. Ice Stories proposed by the Exploratorium strives to create public awareness of the International Polar Year (IPY) and the multi-disciplinary range of IPY research, increase public understanding of the process of scientific research and stimulate an enhanced relationship between IPY research and public outreach activities. Primary project deliverables include: 1) Two workshops for 16 Arctic (workshop 1) and 16 Antarctic scientists (workshop 2) to train them to effectively share their science with the general public. The workshops will cover narrative storytelling, use of video and audio equipment, rough-cut editing, and hands-on camera training. The Exploratorium will serve as an intermediary between the scientists and the public, clarifying content and posting material on the Web. 2) Live Web casts from the Arctic and Antarctic eventually reach 5 a week during each field season. These involve additional scientists, with additional in-situ coverage by the Exploratorium team of Arctic and Antarctic events associated with science and IPY. 3) Creation of a public access Web site where all materials will be posted and archived and updates will be undertaken 2-3 times each week. Materials will leverage existing resources and will include: background on major areas of IPY research, links to national learning standards in STEM, IPY history, biographies of scientists, repurposed material from past Exploratorium Antarctica projects, collected materials from research/production trips to the Arctic and Antarctic and from scientific collaborators, Pod casts, video, RSS feeds, and blogs. 4) An IPY exhibit at the Exploratorium showcasing the materials and sharing of the materials with other museums. 5) Outreach to specific after-school sites will reach underserved and underrepresented children. Independent external evaluation of the project will be conducted by Knight-Williams Research Communications. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR DRL EHR Miller, Mary Robyn Higdon Exploratorium CA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1816717 7259 5208 5130 SMET 9177 5295 1079 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733137 September 15, 2007 Mathematics Instruction using Decision Science and Engineering Tools. A collaboration among educators, engineers, and mathematicians in three universities, the proposed project will create, implement, and evaluate a new, one-year curriculum and textbook for teaching a non-calculus, fourth year, high school mathematics course and accompanied assessment instruments. The curriculum will draw on decision-making tools that include but go well beyond linear programming, to enhance student mathematical competence (particularly solving multi-step problems), improve students' attitudes toward mathematics, and promote states' adoption of the curriculum (initially NC and MI). The first semester of the curriculum will focus on deterministic decision models and the second semester on probabilistic decision models. Corresponding materials and professional development experiences for teachers, including a one-semester university course, will be produced and field-tested, so that a support community is created and sustained. The core assumption for producing the new curriculum is that students are likely to be motivated and successful in learning mathematics via solving problems of relevance and interest to them here and now - not in some remote future. The team will select problem situations/contexts that are conducive to attracting females and underrepresented groups into mathematics and related fields, such as running a T-shirt business, choosing a deductible on collision insurance, and selecting a college or a used car. To assist teachers who implement the curriculum, a web-based teacher support infrastructure will be created, alongside a 'Rapid Response Traveling Help Team' that will provide onsite assistance as needed. Using pre- and post-treatment instruments, an external evaluator will analyze the impact of the new curriculum on student outcomes in a total of 50 experimental and 50 control classrooms in both states (about 3,000 students in all). These classrooms will be selected, stratified, and data of student outcomes analyzed based on socio-economic and underrepresented groups. Seven dissemination strategies will be utilized, including securing a contract with Key Curriculum Press by Year 3, and publishing the textbook and submitting it for adoption to the state-relevant decision-making bodies by Year 5. DR-K12 RESOURCES AND TOOLS DRL EHR Young, Robert Kenneth Chelst David Royster Thomas Edwards Karen Keene North Carolina State University NC John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1714480 7647 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0733140 September 1, 2007 PUM (PhysicsUnionMathematics) Exploration. The PuM project develops and conducts research on a learning continuum for seamless instruction in middle school physical science and high school physics. The project is built on a conceptual framework that uses physical science and physics to strengthen students' concepts in pre-algebra, algebra, algebra 2 and geometry. Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE), an introductory physics curriculum that builds on advances in cognition, is modified to engage students in representing processes and knowledge in multiple ways using real world contexts for students to learn mathematics and physics. The physics Active Learning Guide (ALG) is included as a learning tool. The ultimate goal of the project is to use physics as the context to develop mathematics literacy, particularly with students from underrepresented populations and special needs students. The research component of this R&D project analyzes the effects of the PuM curriculum on students' learning using laboratory exercises, videos and unique experiments and associated equipment while simultaneously investigating teachers' pedagogy content knowledge in a variety of forms. During the period of funding, the project will: (1) develop a middle school and high school curriculum called PhysicsUnionMath (PuM) by adapting the already established curricula from ISLE and ALG for grades 6-12; (2) develop, pilot, and assess five middle school and high school Physics First PuM modules; (3) pilot and assess one full year of the proposed PuM curriculum with honors physics students; (4) design and implement a professional development plan for teachers to learn the program; and (5) study the implementation of this curriculum with the targeted populations. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Etkina, Eugenia Alan Van Heuvelen Suzanne Brahmia Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Joseph Reed Standard Grant 290874 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733143 October 1, 2007 Scaffolding Teacher Learning in Support of Student Inquiry. This 3-year, exploratory Development of Resources and Tools project falls under the Instruction of K-12 Students and Teachers category. The project develops, pilots, and implements online professional development in support of inquiry, focusing on facilitation of student research. The goal is to determine what types of web-based experiences and resources are most effectively support middle school teachers in overcoming the substantial hurdles inherent in enabling students to design and conduct their own scientific experiments. Working closely with the New York State Department of Education, the project creates and tests a series of web-based professional development experiences for 7th and 8th grade teachers. The experiences support implementation of research by students using BirdSleuth curriculum resources developed with NSF funding by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. BirdSleuth is well suited as a pilot project for developing online teacher support because it is designed to engage students in authentic scientific research: making observations, collecting data, asking their own questions, drawing conclusions through research and observation, and publishing their results. This project endeavors to create effective and efficient techniques for scaffolding teachers as they use BirdSleuth to guide students through the various stages of designing, conducting, analyzing, and presenting the results of scientific experiments. Project findings provide the basis for a sustainable set of online resources to serve the needs of BirdSleuth teachers nationwide. If successful at improving the ability of teachers to implement independent inquiry in their classrooms, the project also will serve as a model for online professional development in other STEM projects and disciplines. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Trautmann, Nancy Richard Bonney Cornell University - State NY Joseph Reed Standard Grant 295640 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733169 September 15, 2007 Chemistry Facets: Formative Assessment to Improve Student Understanding in Chemistry. Supported by research on students' preconceptions, particularly in science, and their need to build on the knowledge and skills that students bring to the classroom, this proposal plans to implement a facets-of-thinking perspective for the improvement of formative assessment, learning, and instruction in high school chemistry. Its goals are: (1) to identify and develop clusters of facets (students' ideas and understandings) related to key high school chemistry concepts; (2) to develop assessment items that diagnose facets within each cluster; (3) to enhance the existing web-based Diagnoser assessment system for administering items, reporting results, and providing teacher resource materials for interpreting and using the assessment data; (4) to develop teacher professional development and resource materials to support their use of facet-based approaches in chemistry; and (5) to examine whether student learning in chemistry improves in classes that incorporate a facet-based assessment system. The proposed work builds on previously NSF-funded projects focused on (1) designing Diagnoser (ESI-0435727) in the area of physics, and (2) assessment development to support the transition to complex science learning (REC-0129406). The work plan is organized in three strands: (1) Assessment Development, consisting of (a) development and validation of 20 facet clusters related to Reactions and Interactions, and Energy Sources and Transformations during the first three years through cognitive interviews, and (b) development and validation of 20 items per facet cluster, including their administration to chemistry classes; (2) Professional Development, through which materials will be produced for a five-day teacher workshop focused on the assessment-for-learning cycle; and (3) Technology Development, to upgrade the existing Diagnoser (in physics) in order to include chemistry tasks. Anticipated sets of products include: (a) 8-10 validated facet clusters related to Reactions and Interactions, 8-10 validated facet clusters related to Energy Sources and Transformations, and 12-20 validated items per facet clusters; (b) 1-3 elicitation questions, 1-3 developmental lessons, and 1-3 prescriptive lessons related to each Reactions and Interactions, and Energy Sources and Transformations facet clusters, and a framework for professional development using these content resources; and (c) a web-based Diagnoser for chemistry, including student assessments and teacher resource materials. The evaluation plan consists of three components: (1) a small-scale experimental study to examine the efficacy of the use of Diagnoser with Washington and California high school chemistry students and teachers, (2) an Advisory Board to monitor and assess the work, and (3) an external evaluator who will assess the facet and item development, as well as factors affecting Diagnoser implementation. Dissemination includes free web-based availability via Diagnoser, and workshops and presentations at national meetings. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR DeBarger, Angela Jim Minstrell Carlos Ayala SRI International CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1058857 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733172 September 1, 2007 Application of Evidence-Centered Design to State Large-Scale Science Assessment. The underlying claim of this proposal is that traditional test development processes have failed to produce science assessments that address high-reasoning levels, are not integrated with learning and formative assessments, and are too costly to implement at scale. It faces the challenge of conceptualizing and developing effective and affordable development processes that result in complex, interactive (e.g., simulations, investigations), valid, and standards-based science tasks that can be incorporated into existing statewide testing systems. In order to address this challenge, the proposal aims at (1) determining ways in which ECD enhances the quality of large-scale, technology-based assessments for middle school grades in key science education strands; (2) implementing resulting procedures in operational state-level test development; (3) evaluating the effectiveness and generalizability of these procedures, and (4) disseminating findings to the assessment community. The proposal builds on previously funded NSF research projects, such as Principled Assessment Designs for Inquiry?s (PADI), a REC-supported online system, which has developed data structures, representational forms, and software tools for the assessment of science inquiry concepts and skills (e.g., inquiry cycles, model-based reasoning) that allows efficient item development. The proposal also integrates the Evidence-Centered Design (ECD) methodology on which PADI is based. The ECD approach relates the learning to be assessed to an evidence model that specifies the student responses and scores serving as ?evidence of proficiency?. Further, the proposal integrates the Pearson Educational Measurement (PEM) test development infrastructure to create inquiry-based science tasks, and align those with the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments. Specifically, the project aims at Anticipated products include (a) training materials for intended users, (b) ECD-based processes, (c) data structures and authoring interfaces, (d) exemplar design patterns and science tasks, (e) data analyses of large-scale administration of tasks (previously field- and pilot-tested), and (f) publications in scientific journals. Key questions on quality/validity, efficiency/costs, and technological benefits guide both formative and summative evaluation. Dissemination comprises a technical report series, presentations and workshops at professional organizations? annual meetings, and articles in peer-reviewed journals. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Haertel, Geneva Robert Mislevy SRI International CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1162632 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733180 January 1, 2008 Universal BEATS: Universal BioMusic Education Achievement Tier in Science. The Music Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina State University's Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, and NCSU's Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology, and Science are collaborating to improve elementary education by developing instructional resources for 2nd-5th grade students that infuse cutting-edge content from the emerging field of biomusic into standards-based elementary science and music curricula. The approach uses the musical sounds of nature to help students learn concepts in biology, physical science, and anthropology. The goals of the Universal BEATS project are to cultivate students' interest in interdisciplinary science and to increase and diversify the pool of students entering the STEM pipeline. To achieve these goals, this exploratory project is developing, piloting, and refining four web-based biomusic instructional modules and laying the groundwork, via evaluation studies and dissemination efforts, for a large-scale materials development project. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Gray, Patricia Eric Wiebe David Teachout Sarah Carrier University of North Carolina Greensboro NC David A. Hanych Standard Grant 372345 7645 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733188 September 1, 2007 Astrobiology in the Secondary Classroom Project: An interdisciplinary curriculum developed by a collaboration of scientists and educators from three different minority communities.. This Tennessee State University proposal is a request for support for a 3-year exploratory research study focused on the content, cultural significance, and recommendations for increasing scientific literacy in diverse students living in either urban communities or on tribal reservations. Specifically, this proposal is designed to enhance an existing interdisciplinary high school science curriculum -Astrobiology in the Secondary Classroom (ASC), developed by university professors from the Minority Institution Astrobiology Collaborative (MIAC), classroom teachers, and partnership with scientists from NASA Goddard in an innovative way and conduct research to determine the effectiveness of these materials in three different underrepresented student populations African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americas experiencing an achievement gap in STEM areas at 5 sites. These sites include the NASA Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academics (SEMAA) (1) in the Miami Dade County Public School System in Florida; (2) at Tennessee State University, an HBCU in Nashville; (3) in the Las Cruces Public School System in New Mexico along with two programs on America Indian Reservations; (4) at Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley after school program; and (5) The Chinle Unified School District No. 24 in the Navajo Nation. Two teachers and up to 40 students will participate at each of the five sites, totaling 10 teachers and approximately 200 students. Modules will be developed that have been heavily researched and support the research in this area. Improvements will focus on program alignment and increased use of data sets made available by research scientists. The goals and objectives are (1) to test, validate, and modify the Astrobiology in Secondary Classroom (ASC) curriculum with high school students who are underrepresented in STEM activities; (2) train and support teachers who implement the ASC Curriculum; (3) examine the students' involvement and learning through analysis of real scientific data including cultural differences; and (4) determine the success of the ASC materials in fostering inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making, design, and communication at increasing levels of complexity with student populations experiencing an achievement gap in STEM areas. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gary, Todd Gregory Henry Susan Brown Susan Pfiffner Ruben Ceballos Tennessee State University TN Julia Clark Standard Grant 300000 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733189 August 15, 2007 Project M2: Maturing Mathematicians - Advanced Curriculum for Primary Level Students. The proposed project will build on the success of the M3 project (funded by the U.S. Department of Education) to produce and disseminate K-2 curriculum materials for promoting students' high-level mathematical thinking and competence on the basis of research finding and national standards. Two replacement units of about 4-5 lessons each, one unit on geometry and one on measurement, will be developed, field tested, and revised by a collaborative, cross-disciplinary team (including teachers) and published by Kendal-Hunt. Curricular materials, available in both English and Spanish, will focus on promising discourses of hands-on inquiry of rich problem-situations, presented in real-world and/or scientific contexts, and while utilizing technology. These units will be accompanied with professional development guides and materials for use by trainers of elementary mathematics teachers to promote mathematics content and pedagogical knowledge that teachers need to implement the units with fidelity. Annual professional development models will consist of a one-week summer institute followed by three one-day workshops during the academic year and through a weekly visit to the classroom of field-test teachers. Field-testing will be conducted in 14 classrooms in three different states (CT, KY, and TX), including research, by an external evaluator, about the impact of the materials on student outcomes and on teacher perspectives and practices. Dissemination will include publication of student materials in print and on the web, as well as newsletters and family nights/meals to actively engage parents in their children's math learning. DR-K12 RESOURCES AND TOOLS DRL EHR Gavin, M. Katherine Tutita Casa University of Connecticut CT James T. Fey Continuing grant 1272273 7647 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733195 September 1, 2007 Teacher Helping Teachers Teach Science Inquiry: The "Just ASK" Project. "Teachers Helping Teachers Teach Science Inquiry: The 'Just ASK' Project" develops and evaluates a new generation of adapted science kit (ASK) resources and distance delivery strategies. The goals of the project are to form communities of practice among rural science teachers using web-based resources that allow audio and video connections in real time and to conduct research that examines the impact of these communities of practice on school programs, teaching practices, and student achievement. The project develops and tests teacher adaptations of FOSS, Insights, and STS lessons to make them more appropriate for students in rural schools. The project also develops and tests web-based distance education strategies that enable video, audio, and print interactions among participating teachers and with professional development specialists as well as teacher-to-teacher exchange of lesson plans and other instructional materials over the web. The target audience is elementary teachers, grades K6, in nine rural schools located in Iowa and Missouri. The products of the project will be a vetted set of Adapting Science Kits lessons and accompanying classroom videos specific to FOSS, Insights, and STS kits to be posted on the web and easily accessible by teachers; the formation of a web-based community of practice facilitated by an Elluminate Live portal where ASK activities and classroom videos can be accessed and posted and where teachers can interact with expert ASK teachers and, eventually, with other teachers nation wide; and empirical evidence addressing the impact of ASK communities of practice on school district programs, teachers' classroom practices and student achievement in nine field test school districts. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Shymansky, James University of Missouri-Saint Louis MO Joseph Reed Continuing grant 1515151 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733198 August 15, 2007 STEM Fusion. The proposed project revises and tests integrated STEM modules and an accompanying professional development component that promote differentiated instruction in order to facilitate high school teachers' instruction of 21st Century skills and integrated STEM content. STEM Fusion is a multi-tiered project focusing on the refinement of draft professional resources and the development of teacher skills related to differentiated instruction within integrated STEM instruction. Project goals include: refining, testing, and finalizing draft curriculum modules in science, mathematics, and engineering; developing, refining, and testing a professional development process that promotes the effective curricular integration of science, technology, engineering and math content into real-world applications; and the use of pedagogical strategies that promote differentiated instruction and standards-based curriculum; and disseminating widely models of effective STEM integration utilizing differentiated instruction in the classrooms through the NSDL database, WVDE communication channels, and a STEM Fusion Web portal. High school teachers will participate in revising draft modules and testing an implementation model that increases the focus on content and pedagogical knowledge. The STEM Fusion modules will utilize differentiated instruction to assist teachers in diagnosing the differences in readiness, interests and learning styles of all students in the class, using a variety of performance indicators and formative assessments. Participating teachers will apply critical math, science, and technology knowledge while they test and revise tiered lessons during summer learning experiences and in their classrooms. The curriculum, aligned with current West Virginia and national science, technology, engineering, mathematics standards, as well as with 21st Century skills, will be refined, pilot tested, further refined, and field tested. An integral part of the professional development component and the STEM Fusion curriculum will be effective strategies for teaching special needs, ESL, and advanced students. Teachers will be supported by content-expert facilitators, who will guide the module revision and implementation process and group reflection. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Chadwick, Kristine Arthur Maynard Edvantia, Inc. WV Joseph Reed Standard Grant 300000 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733209 September 1, 2007 Physical Science Comes Alive: Exploring Things that Go. This project creates four half-year units in two subject areas, Force and Motion and Energy Transformations, for two grade bands, K-2 and 3-5. Engineering design, the construction of toys, and problem based learning are the bases of scientific concept development. The curriculum is being published online at the City Technology website and in print form by Science Source. The materials are very simple, mostly available in typical schools. Other materials are being made available as kits through Science Source. The project also does research on student learning as it develops the products. Additional products include concept inventories for the units, assessments, and materials for the professional development of teachers. Pilot and field tests are planned to occur in 17 elementary schools in Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Las Vegas. Teachers carrying out these tests receive 40 hours of professional development. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Benenson, Gary James Neujahr Richard Lehrer CUNY City College NY Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1599697 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733217 January 1, 2008 Multimodal Science: Supporting Elementary Science Education through Graphic-Enhanced Communication. This is an exploratory project to enhance elementary students' engagement in and learning of science through visual communication skills using student-generated graphics in science notebooks. The products include two professional development modules for each grade level 2-5 that explicitly teach specific forms of graphical representation used in science, how these representations complement written and numeric information, and how teachers can promote the thoughtful reflection and discussion of these representations in small-group and whole-class settings. In addition, support materials are provided that guide teachers in effectively using student-produced graphic representations as a formative evaluative tool through embedded assessment. The modules are built upon exemplary inquiry-based classroom activities that are aligned with national standards and are appropriate for the targeted grades. They provide strategies for instruction and assessment, sample work by students, and video of model classroom practice. The project web site and NSF-supported national portals are the primary means for dissemination at this exploratory stage. DR-K12 RESOURCES AND TOOLS DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Wiebe, Eric Michael Carter James Minogue North Carolina State University NC Michael Haney Standard Grant 404216 7647 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733218 September 1, 2007 Semiotic Pivots and Activity Spaces for Elementary Science. This project employs sensing technologies to help transform students' physical actions during play into a set of symbolic (computer) representations in a physics simulation and to engage the children in a developmentally appropriate and powerful form of scientific modeling. The students are in grades K-1 at UCLA's elementary school, and the intervention is based on the existing content unit on Force and Motion. The project creates the following products. 1. Software based on existing sensing technologies to display children's actions as they describe, discuss and simulate motions in the Force and Motion unit. 2. A 4-week curriculum module with a teacher's guide to supplement the Force and Motion unit. 3. Research conducted on how very young children can use these tools to advance their understanding of force and motion, and how they develop more mature ways of scientific modeling and measurement. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Enyedy, Noel University of California-Los Angeles CA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 285101 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733223 January 1, 2008 Fossil Finders: Using Fossils to Teach about Evolution, Inquiry and Nature of Science. The Fossil Finders project engages children in classrooms across the country in an authentic investigation of Devonian fossils. Goals include supporting children in the use of evidence in constructing explanations of natural phenomena, and motivating culturally and linguistically diverse groups of children to engage in learning science. The four-year project is a collaboration of Cornell University Department of Education and the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) in Ithaca, New York. Classrooms from two grade spans (5th/6th and 7th/8th) receive shipped samples of layers of shale from an Upstate New York outcrop. Deliverables include development and testing of an interactive website where children learn how to identify the fossils they find and add their own data to an emerging database. A key focus is on classrooms with a high proportion of underrepresented groups of children (English language learners, [ELL] and children whose race and gender are not well represented in the sciences). Developed materials involve cutting-edge STEM interdisciplinary science content, including environmental science, global climate change, variation, adaptation, biological evolution, and the fossil record. Two groups of pilot teachers receive professional development and contribute to materials development during summer work sessions and field test curriculum the following school year. Fossil Finders is assessing learning progressions of children and teacher understandings of evolutionary science concepts, nature of science, and inquiry. The project is helping children and teachers understand how scientists use evidence to build theory, enhancing abilities to do inquiry, and stimulating interest in paleontology, biology, and geology in target demographics (females, low SES, and ELL students). Fossil Finder's broader impacts include providing a viable national model for informal-formal partnerships in which natural history museums connect with classrooms; providing inquiry-based, authentic science experiences; and potentially broadening participation among underserved groups of students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Crawford, Barbara Warren Allmon Robert Ross Cornell University - State NY David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1188492 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733228 January 1, 2008 SPIRIT 2.0: Silicon Prairie Initiative for Robotics in Information Technology 2.0. Building on previous ITEST funding, the PI is designing and developing a set of curriculum materials centering on a revised version of the NSF funded TekBot robotics platform developed by Oregon State University. Having added to the TekBot, a new robot, called NUBot is being developed by the Technology Development Corporation of the Peter Keitit Institute of the University of Nebraska. These robots are substantially less expensive, than most major commercial kits and use off the shelf parts from local electronics suppliers. The leadership team creates materials for grades 5-8 that address and assess STEM concepts through a robotics curriculum. The curriculum addresses STEM standards through such documents as the NCTM Focal Points and the Atlas of Science Literacy. There are three problem based ways in which students can use the TekBot: building, moving, and programming. The intent is to scale up to a cyber-infrastructure that supports the national distribution and implementation of the curriculum. The cyber-infrastructure provides for summer workshops, distance education, a means of permitting teachers to identify lesson plans based upon their educational objectives, and an internet on call technician as means of teacher professional development. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Chen, Bing Neal Grandgenett C Ostler University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Michael Haney Continuing grant 1626450 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733233 August 15, 2007 Making Sciences: Data Modeling and Argumentation in Elementary Science. The Making Science project is developing, in collaboration with scientists and teachers, ecosystems-focused instructional materials that use sensor data and technology to help second and third graders become more proficient at data modeling and scientific argumentation. The major goals of the project are twofold: (1) provide elementary school teachers with a research-based curriculum that engages students in exploring and visualizing environmental data and using the data to construct scientific arguments that answer questions of interest, and (2) contribute to the cognitive development literature on children's ideas about and abilities for scientific argumentation. The project is advancing our understanding of cognitive development in young children and informing our thinking about learning progressions that involve the collection and use of data. The project addresses two of NSF's grand challenges--improving elementary education and introducing cutting-edge science into elementary school classrooms. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Sandoval, William Noel Enyedy University of California-Los Angeles CA David A. Hanych Standard Grant 299853 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733252 September 15, 2007 Exploring the Frontiers of Science with Online Telescopes. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) researches the use of cyberinfrastructure to implement a strategy for using online telescopes as a laboratory to engage middle and high school students in cutting edge science research while providing them with significant new opportunities to apply STEM concepts, practice inquiry, and design and learn about the nature of scientific discovery. Two laboratory modules, tailored specifically for Earth science, astronomy and physics classrooms explore a range of outstanding mysteries such as the search for habitable worlds and the search for the origins of the universe. These studies emphasize national standards on the behavior of light and the nature of gravity. Students' own work with online telescopes provides a conceptual foundation from which they can explore cutting edge science supplementing their own work with professional images and data from research activities. Laboratory modules are used as embedded assessments to reveal students' mastery of core concepts and skills. Students can share data in a collaborative online journal and scientists from SAO serve as virtual guides - drawing connections between student work and research activities and suggesting additional research challenges. The project develops materials that can be used in both formal and informal settings and investigates the use of techniques from informal science in formal settings. New strategies for assessing student understanding of the nature of scientific discovery are developed. The project builds upon previous development efforts that include working with students underrepresented in the scientific workforce and upon previous professional development projects. Connections to other astronomy and space science projects are made. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gould, Roy Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory MA Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 1191143 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733255 September 1, 2007 Bioinformatics: Learning by Doing. Rutgers University seeks support for a 4-year full-scale project in Bioinformatics. This project addresses two grand challenges-Cutting-edge STEM Content and K-12 Science Assessments. Using DNA Sequencing Analysis Program (DSAP) that will be modified by the proposed project, high school students and teachers will learn molecular biology and modern genetics by working with authentic genomic sequences, and submit their findings for review by scientists. The objective of this project is to develop state-of-the-art web-based tools and resources that will make it possible for high school students to conduct authentic research in bioinformatics. To accomplish this objective the project will employ the following methods: First scientists from Rutgers University Waksman Institute will team with educators from WestEd, a nonprofit research, development and service agency, to produce an online embedded assessment tool that will be used to provide feedback about student understanding of molecular biology, bioinformatics, and related subjects. The project will also take advantage of experienced high school teachers in this regard. Secondly, the DSAP tool (consisting of five separate yet interrelated components: (1) a student DNA sequence analysis scaffolding program; (2) an administrative program that allows teachers to view student work, students to evaluate peers, and teachers to communicate with their students; (3) a staff administrative program that allows the researchers to observe student and teacher work, and interact with both groups; (4) an embedded assessment tool that will monitor and measure student learning; (5) a series of tutorials and "help modules" that will guide students through their DNA sequence analysis. Thirdly, over a four-year period the DSAP tool will be field-tested, revised, piloted, and disseminated guided by formative assessment, project evaluation, and teacher/student feedback. These programs will be designed to be used in two settings: locally, with teachers and students who attend a summer institute at Rutgers University, and remotely, with teachers and students over the Internet. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Vershon, Andrew Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Julia Clark Continuing grant 1276010 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733264 September 15, 2007 The GENIQUEST (GENomics Inquiry through QUantitative Trait Loci Exploration with SAIL Technology): Bringing STEM Data to High School Classrooms. The Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, the Concord Consortium, and Jackson Laboratories are collaborating to develop and test a website, software application, and supplemental instructional materials that use publicly accessible genomics data to foster scientific inquiry among high schools students. The goals of GENIQUEST project are to (1) develop and test software that enables advanced high school students to import, manipulate, and analyze genomics data, (2) increase students' knowledge of biology, data analysis, the nature of science, and computational biology, (3) improve secondary teachers' access to cutting-edge databases, and (4) determine the viability of using online scientific databases for engaging secondary students and teachers in scientific inquiry. Outcomes for students and teachers include developing knowledge, skills, and understandings related to genetic inheritance, data investigation and analysis, the process of scientific inquiry, and collaboration. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Mokros, Janice Stephen Bannasch Jon Geiger Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance ME David A. Hanych Standard Grant 295788 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733268 September 15, 2007 Active Physics Teacher Community. The number of students taking physics in the US is increasing because state requirements and the success of the Physics First and Physics for All Americans movements encourages schools to teach physics in the ninth grade. Schools that adopt these initiatives must move from a model of teaching academically high performing 11th and 12th grade students to a model that works for all 9th grade students. The demographic changes and the increased diversity present challenges to physics teachers. To address this challenge, the traditional professional development model is augmented by an online professional development platform - the Active Physics Teacher Community - that provides just-in-time support for teachers as they are enacting targeted units of the Active Physics curriculum. Teachers are helped in preparing lessons by providing them with formal instruction related to the lessons they are teaching in the classroom. In addition, a moderated forum allows teachers to share classroom experiences, successes and questions with other teachers using the same lessons and the same curriculum and to compare their experiences with other teachers who have used the lessons. Thus teachers are supported both in learning the content and also in representing and formulating the subject in a way to make it comprehensible to others. The study will be done with teachers in large urban centers using four units of Active Physics. One unit of Active Chemistry is also tested to determine the generalizability of the professional development model. In addition, the materials developed and lessons learned are archived in the Active Physics Teachers' Resource Center, a web-based interactive repository to be hosted by the publisher. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Eisenkraft, Arthur University of Massachusetts Boston MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1010676 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733269 September 1, 2007 Ecology Disrupted: Using museum-based science and educational technology to link real world environmental issues to basic ecological principles. The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) proposes a two-year exploratory project to develop ecology curriculum resources for teachers of grades 7-9. The project proposes to advance understanding of basic science and fundamental ecological principles and support schools in achieving national and state ecology standards; to use engaging media to disseminate scientific research in ecological testing, geographic information systems, and biodiversity using the scientific and educational expertise of the AMNH and other institutions; to compare the efficacy of using local, regional, and national environmental case studies for learning ecological principles; and to be inclusive of underrepresented groups through AMNH's extensive outreach and dissemination channels to teachers, students, and families, and through recruitment of educational collaborators. The project will use media such as Science Bulletin Snapshots to engage students with current research and to foster scientific understanding and civic engagement. Through the environmental case studies, students will learn to develop hypotheses, analyze scientific data, and make conclusions. To address the objectives, the project will create inquiry-based case studies to situate several central ecological principles, as determined by national and state standards, into the context of environmental issues. The case-based problem-solving activities, that allow students to discover connections between environmental issues and daily life, explore the interaction of ecological principles with environmental issues, and transfer their knowledge of ecological principles to the context of other environmental issues, will be created. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gano, Steve Robert DeSalle Yael Wyner American Museum Natural History NY Julia Clark Standard Grant 199940 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733272 September 1, 2007 Diagnostic E-Learning Trajectories Approach (DELTA) Applied to Rational Number Reasoning for Grades 3-8. Confrey, Berger and Wilson propose to develop a software diagnostic tool for integrating diagnostic interviews, group administered assessments, and student data in real-time so that teachers can enter and view student status information. This project would concentrate on rational number learning in grades 3-8. The design is based on a model of learning trajectories developed from existing research studies. The diagnostic system to be developed for teachers would be used in assessing their students' knowledge and would identify difficulties in understanding five key clusters of concepts and skills in rational number reasoning. It would also investigate the diagnostic system's effects on student and teacher learning in relation to state standards, assessments, and curricular programs. The five areas include understanding: (1) multiplicative and division space; (2) fractions, ratio, proportion and rates; (3) rectangular area and volume; (4) decimals and percents; and (5) similarity and scaling. The diagnostic measures will include diagnostic interviews collecting data using a handheld computer, two types of group-administered assessments of student progress, one set along learning trajectories for each of the five sub-constructs and one composite measurement per grade. The diagnostic system will produce computer-based progress maps, summarizing individual student and class performance and linking to state assessments. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Confrey, Jere Mark Wilson Lawrence Berger North Carolina State University NC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1298853 7645 7625 SMET 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733276 September 15, 2007 Improving teacher preparation and student learning through physics education research. The Physics Education Research Group at the University of Washington continues to do research and develop resources and tools to facilitate the active involvement of college and university physics departments in the professional development of teachers of physics and physical science in K-12 school systems. Modules in two of the following topics - electrostatics, particulate nature of matter, energy, waves, and kinetics and dynamics - are added to the 10 modules already developed for Physics by Inquiry, the laboratory-based professional development curriculum for use by physics faculty. Tutorials in Physics, a new curriculum modeled after the Tutorials in Introductory Physics, is comprised of in-depth supplements to college courses or for use in awareness workshops that help teachers reflect on their own learning and become aware of the difficulties their student will have with the concepts. Instructor Guides are developed as a resource to help physics faculty implement the above curricula. Part I of a Learning Assessment Manual guides physics faculty in assessing progress in teacher learning; Part II helps teachers develop skills needed to monitor the progress of their students. Summer institutes in physics and physical science and associated academic year continuation courses provide the environment for carrying out the research, and developing and testing the modules. The research investigates how students and teachers learn specific content and reasoning skills for applying concepts to real world situations; how teachers can learn specific content in a way that helps them promote student learning; and how teachers can learn to assess student understanding in a way that guides them in promoting student learning. Strategies to overcome intellectual barriers to the adoption of inquiry-oriented instructional materials are developed. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR McDermott, Lillian Paula Heron Peter Shaffer University of Washington WA Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 1985827 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733280 September 15, 2007 Planting Science Research in Education. Plant Science Research in Education is a five-year, full-scale project to implement a program of professional development for teachers and web interface that links scientists with urban classrooms currently targeted for Chicago and St. Louis. Scientist mentors will work with students and teachers through the web to carry out an original "authentic" inquiry project in plant science. The project is collaboration between the Botanical Society of America and Texas A&M University. The classroom intervention involves high school biology students working in assigned teams to generate their own research questions in plant science centered on core biology concepts from the National Science Education Standards. Project will provide for intensive summer workshops for 76 teachers and instructional materials for these classrooms that are anticipated to impact at least 9120 students during the life of the project. The project targets several important demographic groups including rural communities and urban public schools in Chicago and St. Louis. This project includes the Botanical Society of America, The American Society of Plant Biologists in partnership with Texas A&M University and K-12 teachers. It intends to use plants as the paradigm for teaching biology to K-12 students. Furthermore, the plan is to establish a network of mentors and K-12 teachers who will be a part of a learning community. There will be online support for K-12 teachers for this project. Inquiry-based instruction where the students actually pose the research questions is proposed. Anticipated products include (a) web-based platform for collaborative workspace and online discourse; (b) access on line to a nationwide network of scientist mentors and peers; and (c) starter materials for thousands of students to conduct plant experiments. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Hemingway, Claire Carol Stuessy William Dahl Botanical Society of America MO Julia Clark Continuing grant 888944 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733284 August 15, 2007 Inquiry-based Laboratories for Engaging Students of Creative and Performing Arts in STEM. The proposed exploratory project addresses Grand Challenge 3: Cutting-Edge STEM Content in K-12 Classrooms. It falls under Component B: The Development of Resources and Tools, Category 2: Instruction of K-12 Students and Teachers. The grant develops, implements, and evaluates new multimedia laboratory activities designed to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This project involves initiating a collaboration with teachers, administrators, and students at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) and specifically targets artistically gifted students who are often steered towards more traditionally creative areas (e.g., arts and humanities), which they may have come to view as more exciting, and away from STEM. The goals to help students understand that scientific principles permeate the creative and performing arts and that creativity and expression are also embraced by STEM. The laboratory activities are designed to provide hands-on instruction and interaction with concepts through creative exercises, such as the manipulation of music and images. The activities appeal to musical, spatial, and kinesthetic intelligences, since students directly manipulate tactile interfaces and immediately hear and see the resultant changes. DR-K12 RESOURCES AND TOOLS DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Rosen, Gail Adam Fontecchio Youngmoo Kim Jason Silverman Drexel University PA Joseph Reed Standard Grant 349632 7647 7645 SMET 9251 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733286 September 1, 2007 ASSISTments Meets Inquiry. The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) five-year proposal addresses middle school students? need to learn science more deeply through the improvement of inquiry science assessment. An outgrowth of the WPI-developed ?ASSISTments Systems for Math?, and REC-funded ?Modeling Across the Curriculum?, the proposal?s main goal is to develop a rigorous, technology-based system for middle school standards-aligned assessment of inquiry skills (i.e., interpreting data, formulating hypotheses and predictions, conducting experiments, collecting data, mathematizing, and communicating and defending hypotheses) in six physical science content areas (i.e., Properties of Matter; Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures; Motion of Objects; Forms of Energy; and Heat Energy). Assessments will be aligned with the Massachusetts Curricular Framework and the National Science Education Standards. The innovative aspect of this proposed effort resides in its intent to both assess students? inquiry skills and to provide students with intelligent, systematic (as opposed to guessing), and explicit tutoring, providing feedback on their choices as they work with computer-based manipulative models (microworlds), thus increasing their science learning. Participants include students and teachers from the Worcester Public School System, characterized by its diverse ethnic and SES student population. Five research questions drive this research: (1) Does inquiry tutoring lead to improved inquiry skills?, (2) Does inquiry tutoring lead to increased content learning as measured by the State?s assessment system?, (3) What is the relationship of students? epistemologies of models and their inquiry with models?, (4) Do inquiry skills transfer across the six science topics as measured by better inquiry skills in each of the six skills?, and (5) What is the relationship between inquiry as measured by students? logs, and content learning as measured by pre- and post-tests on content? Anticipated products include (a) an intelligent tutoring system capable of assessing students? skills, and providing teachers with data by class and students by inquiry skill, and (b) a set of assessment items in six physical science areas. Evaluation will emphasize the overall development of the inquiry assessments and tutoring system in relation to content learning through multiple statistical methods. Dissemination includes conferences, publications in scholarly journals, and a website. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Gobert, Janice Carolina Ruiz Neil Heffernan Ryan Baker Worcester Polytechnic Institute MA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 987550 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733299 January 1, 2008 Logging Opportunities in Online Programs for Science (LOOPS): Student and Teacher Learning. The project makes use of technology to create timely, valid, and actionable reports to teachers by analyzing assessments and logs of student actions generated in the course of using computer-based curriculum materials. The reports allow teachers to make data-based decisions about alternative teaching strategies. The technology supports student collaborations and the assignment of different learning activities to groups, an essential function needed for universal design for learning (UDL). Initially, two curriculum units are under development to meet California 8th grade standards (60% of course). In the later years of the project this effort will be expanded to North Carolina Central University and districts in that state. The project is a collaborative partnership that involves physical scientists, learning scientists, educators, and TELS, an established NSF-funded Center for Learning and Teaching. The project is based on an extensive body of research and development in educational technology. The project represents a significant and innovative advance in the use of technology to support formative assessment of student learning and provide feedback to teachers. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Koile, Kimberle Marcia Linn Paul Horwitz Robert Tinker James Slotta Concord Consortium MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1963895 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733303 August 15, 2007 Enhanced Earth system teaching through ReaL Earth Inquiry. The ReaL (Regional and Local) Earth Inquiry project empowers teachers to employ real-world local and regional Earth system science (ESS) in the classroom. Earth systems science teachers need the pedagogic background, the content, and the support that enables them to engage students in asking real questions about their own communities. The project is developing online "Teacher-Friendly Guides" (resources) that make each of these ends more readily attainable and deepen student understandings of ESS. Tools include basic content that enlarges upon textbook principles by illustrating them in rocks, landforms, water systems, climate, and hazards specific to their region, empowering teachers to make sense of these features in light of their own knowledge of basic earth system processes and the geologic and climatic history of the region. Through Virtual Fieldwork Experiences (VFEs), the project expands classrooms beyond their four walls and engages students in inquiry. VFEs provide a framework for engagement in genuine inquiry, driven by the question "Why does this place look the way it does?" This question invites open-ended investigation of multiple Earth systems and their interactions. Teachers are able to access information in many ways, through printed materials, a website that encourages easy usage and downloads, and a database of VFEs from all over the country, which can be taken and adapted for any classroom. Early evaluation of content and pedagogic form occurs through interaction with teachers at small regional workshops. Contact is maintained over the life of the grant, from initial observations to actual classroom use of Guides and VFE's. Additionally, the project is working with the American Institutes for Research, creating a "usability evaluation" of the website navigation and identifying any issues for teachers trying to use the on-line materials as they develop lesson plans. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Ross, Robert Don Duggan-Haas Richard Kissel Paleontological Research Institute NY David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1291969 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733322 September 15, 2007 Collaborative Research: Improving Science Learning in Inquiry-based Programs. "Collaborative Research: Improving Science Learning in Inquiry-Based Programs" improves science learning by students who are not achieving their potential in high quality inquiry-based programs. While programs like FOSS, STC and Insights are effective in improving science achievement within and across school districts, many children enrolled in these programs, especially underrepresented minorities and English language learners, fail to demonstrate proficiency on standardized tests of science achievement. This project aims to achieve its goal by developing a computer program, My Science Tutor, which students will use immediately following classroom science investigations to reinforce and extend concepts embedded in the investigations. The program uses a lifelike animated character to engage students in guided learning activities and tutorial dialogs that stimulate scientific reasoning. Tutorial dialogs are based on a proven technique, Questioning the Author, which challenges students to learn to integrate new concepts with prior knowledge to construct enriched mental models that can be used to explain and predict scientific phenomena. To evaluate the intervention, learning gains are compared on standardized tests of science achievement by fourth and fifth grade students in four areas of science by students randomly assigned to three groups: the computer treatment, human tutoring or continued classroom instruction. Formative assessments analyze student and teacher experiences, and learning of concepts and scientific reasoning through analysis of entries in students' science notebooks. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Van Vuuren, Sarel H University of Colorado at Boulder CO Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 545524 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733323 September 15, 2007 Collaborative Research: Improving Science Learning in Inquiry-based Programs. "Collaborative Research: Improving Science Learning in Inquiry-Based Programs" improves science learning by students who are not achieving their potential in high quality inquiry-based programs. While programs like FOSS, STC and Insights are effective in improving science achievement within and across school districts, many children enrolled in these programs, especially underrepresented minorities and English language learners, fail to demonstrate proficiency on standardized tests of science achievement. This project aims to achieve its goal by developing a computer program, My Science Tutor, which students will use immediately following classroom science investigations to reinforce and extend concepts embedded in the investigations. The program uses a lifelike animated character to engage students in guided learning activities and tutorial dialogs that stimulate scientific reasoning. Tutorial dialogs are based on a proven technique, Questioning the Author, which challenges students to learn to integrate new concepts with prior knowledge to construct enriched mental models that can be used to explain and predict scientific phenomena. To evaluate the intervention, learning gains are compared on standardized tests of science achievement by fourth and fifth grade students in four areas of science by students randomly assigned to three groups: the computer treatment, human tutoring or continued classroom instruction. Formative assessments analyze student and teacher experiences, and learning of concepts and scientific reasoning through analysis of entries in students' science notebooks. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Ward, Wayne Ronald Cole Boulder Language Technologies CO Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1253587 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733329 October 1, 2007 Elicitory Test Design: A New Model for Understanding the Relationship Between Test Item Features and Student Performance on Large-Scale Assessments. The goal of this project is to conduct an empirical analysis of eighth grade NAEP student assessment items in science from national assessments to determine whether evidence supports the hypothesis that standardized tests capture only a limited amount of student knowledge because of their cultural background. The investigator plans to create a model of test design that would be more likely to extract student knowledge from students of varied cultures by expanding the content of items. The study will examine the experience of American Indian groups, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders. The researcher will conduct an analysis of available NAEP data to illuminate any assessment item features associated with patterns of responses among a culturally diverse sample of student responses. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Nelson-Barber, Sharon WestEd CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 298463 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0733334 August 15, 2007 Formative Assessment Delivery System (FADS). This project uses new psychometric techniques to create a technological tool that could evaluate how well students in the 4th-8th mathematics and science classrooms respond to complex performance tasks. It will extend a research direction begun many years ago on classroom assessment initiated by the investigator. The purpose of this tool is to improve the instruction of teachers in mathematics and science. It will produce real-time individualized diagnoses of instructional needs to help teachers plan instruction that specifically addresses the learning needs of each student in that class. Wilson has been working on related techniques for a number of years and in this project will work with two experimental curricula, the IQWST science curriculum from the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, and the CDMW data analysis project from Vanderbilt University. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Wilson, Mark University of California-Berkeley CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 882818 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0733345 October 1, 2007 CalipersII: Using Simulations to Assess Complex Science Learning. In response to the national need to improve the quality of science learning, instruction, and assessment, the five-year WestEd-submitted proposal aims at pioneering simulation-based, curriculum-embedded, inquiry formative assessments with immediate, individualized feedback and supporting reflection activities for middle school students in life, physical, and earth science. In a joint effort with AAAS Project 2061, WestEd plans to scale-up exemplars from Calipers I - an ESI-funded demonstration project focused on using simulations to assess complex science learning - and build on a REC-supported project - Validities of Standards-Based Science Inquiry Assessments: Implementation Study. The proposal's objectives are: (1) to develop formative and benchmark simulation-based assessments of science knowledge for key content in physical, life, and earth science, and for science inquiry strategies; (2) to enhance formative assessment simulation modules with immediate, individualized feedback, reflection activities, and supplementary instructional hints; (3) to develop and document technology-based assessment designs and exemplars that take advantage of simulation environments to provide assessment of science standards for formative and summative purposes; (4) to document the technical infrastructure and re-usable designs and processes employed; (5) to provide evidence of the technical quality, feasibility, and usability of the new assessments; (6) to study the influence of formative assessments on complex science inquiry learning; and (7) to link the enlarged collection of Calipers II benchmark and formative and embedded assessments to national science standards and the AAAS item clusters. Anticipated products include six sets of validated simulation-based formative assessments, and a scalable model for middle school science assessment. AAAS' reviews (standards alignment), an Advisory Panel, and an external evaluator characterize the proposed evaluation. Dissemination plans include presentations in major professional organizations, sharing of exemplars through WestEd's Center for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning site, and linkages to other websites (e.g., AAAS). DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Quellmalz, Edys Michael Timms Barbara Buckley WestEd CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 894907 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733350 August 15, 2007 Validation and Refinement of a Model for Teacher Professional Development that Leverages a Major Applied Research Laboratory. The University of California, Davis School of Education (UC Davis) has a three-year exploratory project focusing on the assessed impact of a teacher professional development (TPD) program around the applied sciences. Specifically through this grant the researchers seek to examine the measurable impact of an established teacher professional development program currently offered through the UC Davis Edward Teller Education Center. The Edward Teller Education Center is an established collaborative of the UC Davis School of Education and the Department of Energy National Laboratory at Livermore, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and exists as a vehicle for providing teacher professional development around the area of science and technology innovations. The mission of the Edward Teller Education Center is consistent with the overarching Grand Challenge of bringing cutting-edge STEM Content in K-12 classrooms. Through the leveraged relationships with the scientific community at LLNL and the education expertise in the School of Education, ETEC delivers teacher training and curricula to improve upon the subject matter content skills of teachers, provide modeling of best practices in teaching, and support the integration of current research practices within the context of the classroom. The Center draws upon an instructor cohort that pairs a regional master teacher and relevant LLNL scientists in curriculum development and delivery. This proposed validation study addresses Area B: Developing Resources and Tools under the area of Instruction for K-12 Students and Teachers, and examines the ETEC professional development model defined as the Teacher Research Academy. The UC Davis School of Education designs and implements outcomes-based assessment approaches that are used to quantitatively and qualitatively ascertain measurable and distinguishable differences in the teaching practices of the participants in the ETEC TPD program. The resulting outcomes of this project provide useful metrics for the further refinement of this TPD program. The proposed assessment considers (a) reported changes in teaching practice; (b) teacher's professional attitudes towards science; and (c) trends in student outcomes. If validated, the effort could result in a model program to be shared with industrial and federal laboratories nationwide. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Abedi, Jamal Carey Kopay Laura Gilliom University of California-Davis CA Joseph Reed Standard Grant 299853 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733379 January 1, 2008 Capacity Building in Computer Science. This exploratory proposal submitted by the Association for Computing Machinery aims at developing a community of individuals and organizations working together to address critical issues in K-12 computer science education by broadening the awareness of the need for curriculum computer science standards, providing multiple levels of professional development, conducting and disseminating research in computer science education, and promoting this subject as a unique field of study in schools. Specifically, the objectives are (1) to identify and select individuals with demonstrated commitment to computer science, (2) to provide professional development on effective tools and strategies for the improvement of K-12 computer science, (3) to develop a toolkit of materials aimed at increasing awareness in computer science, and (4) to facilitate mentoring between K-12 leaders and post-secondary faculty, with a focus on high school computer science teachers. Dissemination efforts include the Computer Science Teacher Association?s (CSTA) website to promote the use of successful projects, participation in the National Educational Computing Conference, and publication of articles in CSTA?s Voice and Advocate. Program assessment plans identify the use of an evaluator to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of proposed activities, and to provide frequent feedback to the project?s leadership for appropriate modifications. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Stephenson, Christine Association Computing Machinery NY Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 199800 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733550 September 1, 2007 Scale up of math and science K-12 education reform in a large urban district. The University of Illinois at Chicago exploratory proposal builds on major accomplishments of the Chicago Math and Science Initiative (CMSI), and on a previously NSF/Educational System Reform-funded project. Its overarching goal is to contribute to the capacity of urban school districts and educational researchers to work collaboratively in the effective planning, implementation, scale-up, adaptation, documentation, and evaluation of systemic reform in mathematics and science education. Specifically, the proposal aims at (1) producing new knowledge that (a) contributes to current understanding of the mechanisms involved in reforming mathematics and science education systematically in the context of a large urban district, (b) elaborates a model for effective communicating and collaboration among key stakeholders, and (c) bridges the practice/research divide in mathematics and science educational reform; (2) sharing and communication findings that have relevance and utility to those engaged with policy and practice, such as educational planners, administrators, educational researchers, and evaluators; and (3) leveraging future collaborations and communication among those engaged in practice, policy, and research on mathematics and science education. In order to accomplish these goals and objectives, the proposal will conduct a multidimensional study that draws on a body of high-quality, quantitative and qualitative longitudinal empirical data documenting systemic reform efforts over five years of the Chicago Public Schools' efforts to reform K-12 STEM education from the stages of design, planning, and initial implementation through scale-up and adaptation (e.g., from district policy level to implementation of curricular materials in classrooms). The proposed research is based on a four-dimensional model of issues critical to STEM systemic reform: (1) levels of reform and systems approach (district, school, teachers, and students), (2) scaling-up (depth, spread, and ownership), (3) maintenance across time (context, flexibility, and sustainability), and (4) cross-cutting issues related to challenges and supports for changing practices (accountability/controls, participation/motivation, learning/sense making, relations/trust, and allocation/equity). Longitudinal data inventories addressing these constructs are: (1) system and district level (staff and instructional leader interviews and focus groups), (2) school level (longitudinal in-depth case studies, studies of curricula implementation, principals' interviews), (3) teacher level (surveys and classroom observations), and (4) student level (classroom observations, logs of instructional practice, and district student achievement records). Data analysis will look at both impact of the reform and processes by which innovations are brought to scale. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Wenzel, Stacy David Slavsky Bret Feranchak University of Illinois at Chicago IL Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 314874 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733584 October 1, 2007 Exploring Content Standards for Engineering Education in K-12. The National Academy of Sciences exploratory proposal aims at assessing the potential value and feasibility of developing and implementing K-12 content standards for engineering education. The specific objectives of this exploratory project, to be carried out by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), are (1) to review existing efforts to define what K-12 students should know, (2) to identify elements of existing standards documents for K-12 science, mathematics, and technology that could link to engineering, (3) to consider how the various possible purposes for K-12 engineering education might affect the content and implementation of standards, and (4) to suggest what changes to educational policies, programs, and practices at the national and state levels might be needed to develop and implement K-12 engineering standards. To accomplish these objectives, the project will conduct literature reviews, two commissioned background papers, three meetings of the project committee, and a two-day workshop to solicit expert views on the subject. The principal product of the project will be a peer-reviewed workshop summary report, which will be distributed to key stakeholders and presented in various professional meetings. This report is expected to set the stage for discussions and future actions related to the establishment of engineering standards. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Pearson, Greg National Academy of Sciences DC Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 300000 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733590 September 1, 2007 Assessment for Learning Research Scholars: Capacity Building in Mathematics and Science Education. Through five assessment scholars for mathematics and science education Gullickson and his CoPIs seek to advance knowledge in K-12 STEM education and assessment practices by building capacity for Assessment for Learning (AfL), improving assessments in K-12 STEM and teacher preparation courses, and providing models for pre-service STEM teacher preparation through enhanced teaching modules. Three goals outlined in the proposal are: (1) faculty from three centers form a learning community, (2) recruit 5 STEM research scholars to conduct research on measurement and evaluation, and (3) expose pre-service teachers to assessment models in their STEM course work. Their work expands on the existing research in the Assessment for Learning (AfL) program. To accomplish this, the project will advance overlapping learning communities first among faculty, then among STEM Education Research Scholars, ultimately exposing pre-service teachers to assessment models in their STEM coursework and having the scholars study the process. The project is based on a collaboration between three programs at Western Michigan University: The Evaluation Center, Mathematics Education, and the Mallinson Institution for Science Education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gullickson, Arlen William Cobern Steven Ziebarth Herbert Fynewever Western Michigan University MI Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 782462 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733613 January 1, 2008 Disciplinary Experts in Science Education Research: A University of Maryland Program for Producing STEM Education Researchers. Research in science education takes place within several different communities, with studies at younger grades typically conducted by people with backgrounds in cognitive psychology and education, and studies at higher levels by people with backgrounds in science disciplines. Recent work suggests the need for close contact between these efforts, as the field moves toward understanding how children's intellectual resources, such as their knowledge of everyday phenomena and their abilities for abstraction, argumentation, and analogy, are nascent forms of what they will need for success at higher levels. This project is producing scholars with strong backgrounds in both the natural sciences and in the learning sciences, who conduct research on learning and development over the full range of ages, from the seeds of scientific reasoning in childhood through disciplinary expertise as adults. The program is a collaboration among science and education departments at the University of Maryland in College Park, including Physics, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics, along with Curriculum & Instruction. Five graduate students are supported for five years to achieve masters-level expertise in a science discipline and pursue coursework and complete dissertations in science education research. The program prepares them to 1) collaborate with educational and developmental psychologists and with discipline-based science education researchers on issues that cut across ages, and 2) to develop and teach courses that break down the traditional barriers between science teaching methods courses and science content courses for teachers. Strong backgrounds in both science and the learning sciences prepare program graduates to serve as leaders in research on learning and teaching from K-18, as well as in the development of curriculum, materials, and methods to help students build and refine their knowledge and abilities from one year to the next. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Hammer, David Andrew Elby Spencer Benson Janet Coffey Mike Stieff University of Maryland College Park MD Michael Haney Continuing grant 805083 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0733642 September 1, 2007 Chemistry Education Research Doctoral Scholars Program. The chemistry education research (CER) Doctoral Fellows Program at Miami University is providing a targeted response to the critical need for scholars with deep content knowledge in chemistry and the specialized training to conduct CER. The CER Doctoral Fellows Program at Miami University prepares Ph.D. scholars whose research studies examine the underlying processes of teaching and learning in both chemistry classrooms and laboratories. Research by the Fellows cohort marries expertise in the design of instruments with the extensive literature on chemistry misconceptions, resulting in the development of reliable and valid measures of student learning for use by both chemistry teachers and chemistry education researchers. The CER Doctoral Fellows Program at Miami University is not only preparing highly skilled scholars in chemistry education research, but is also providing significant community building experiences that are essential to Fellows' success as future chemistry faculty. Site visits to other chemistry education institutions introduce the diversity of higher education settings that characterize chemistry education, from undergraduate institutions and community colleges to teacher preparation and joint appointments between chemistry and schools of education. Fellows participate as teaching associates in undergraduate chemistry courses and cultivate K-12 partnerships in order to develop pedagogical content knowledge. Fellows receive intense professional mentoring into critical CER communities including professional societies, funding agencies, peer-reviewed journals, and national assessment initiatives. Conferences targeted at the professional development of CER graduate students nationwide inform and improve the culture of CER graduate education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Bretz, Stacey Lowery Miami University OH Michael Haney Continuing grant 787092 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0733690 September 1, 2007 Scaling Up Mathematics Achievement (SUMA). The New Mexico State University's (NMSU) proposal aims at replicating the "Gadsden Mathematics Initiative" (GMI), a five-year NSF/ESI/Local Systemic Change-funded project consisting of a partnership between the Gadsden Independent School District and NMSU. GMI resulted in closing the achievement gap for K-8 underrepresented students in a 94% Hispanic, 60% English Language Learners (ELLs), and high-poverty border school district. The GMI Capacity Building Systems Model for Mathematics Achievement includes three major components: (1) quality-aligned curriculum, (2) teacher quality and collaboration, and (3) administrative and STEM community support. Building on this model, the goals of the proposal are: (1) to investigate whether or not it is possible to successfully scale-up and adapt the Capacity Building Systems Model used in the GMI and improve mathematics achievement for all students in a larger school district, and (2) to replicate success in broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in entering STEM field by closing the achievement gap and raising the achievement level of underrepresented students in mathematics. The study will involve the analysis of the implementation of the model in the Las Cruces Public Schools with a student population including 70% Hispanics and 12% ELLs, in terms of how each of the three theoretical constructs of the model affect student achievement. With the school district as the unit of analysis, the proposal identifies three major research questions: (1) Can the implementation of a capacity building systems model that closed the achievement gap in a rural New Mexico school district also work in a larger district with mixed ethnicities?; (2) How does the model need to be modified by participating stakeholders in order to strengthen its potential replicability?; and (3) Which elements of the model have the most positive effect on student achievement in the new district? The project will use a mixed effect linear hierarchical model to analyze data related to how each element of the model affect student achievement in a larger school district. Anticipated products include: (1) a researched and proven professional development systems model for mathematics achievement, (2) published research results that describe the effects of the model, and (3) guidelines and tools that can be used by other school districts and partners interested in replicating the model. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Kinzer, Cathy Karin Wiburg Elizabeth Marrufo New Mexico State University NM Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1146492 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0734285 December 15, 2007 Moving Mountains: An education-outreach video for the Geosciences. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (NSF 03-509) project in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History will produce a 7-minute High Definition video documentary feature story, Moving Mountains, that follows researchers in the field during the third season of the five year St. Elias Erosion/Tectonics Project (STEEP). STEEP (NSF award #0409009/0735402) is a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional study using geophysical, geological, and climatological methods to investigate a fundamental Earth science research issue. This project affords a unique opportunity to illustrate the diversity of techniques that are brought to bear in modern research efforts in the Earth sciences. The video will be projected on a 12-foot screen in the American Museum of Natural History's Hall of Planet Earth and displayed in adjacent kiosks. It will also be distributed as HD Mpeg2 files to a network of 21 informal science institutions reaching a potential viewer ship of over 7 million people. Two master versions of the video will be produced: one with English language captions and one with Spanish language captions. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pavlis, Terry University of Texas at El Paso TX Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0734765 October 1, 2007 Beyond The Edge of the Sea: Diversity of Life in the Ocean Wilderness. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences proposal is based on Cindy Van Dover's NSF-funded research, OCE 0350554, Biogeography and community structure in mussel beds at Pacific hydrothermal vents. The primary deliverable is a traveling science and art exhibit that focuses on the PI's deep sea research of hydrothermal vents and the organisms living in those environments. On several of these expeditions, the PI was accompanied by nature watercolorist/scientific illustrator, Karen Jacobsen. Jacobsen's work, along with animated sculptures of tubeworms by sculptor, Chuck Pell, and displays of dive artifacts will form the body of the exhibition, which will travel to both marine and art museums. Major partners are the North Carolina Maritime Museum and the Muscarelle Museum of the College of William & Mary. Muscarelle will manage the tour. Additional learning products will include an exhibition catalog with essays by Van Dover and others, a naturalist's guide to the exhibition, educational materials for children, video podcasts, docent training materials, and website content INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Van Dover, Cindy Duke University NC Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0734772 April 26, 2007 "HSD Professional, Technical and Administrative Support Services" - Task Order 3. null HSD - GENERAL DRL EHR Mitchell, Susan GUARDIANS OF HONOR MD Deh-I Hsiung BOA/Task Order 86828 7326 OTHR 0000 0734830 July 1, 2006 CAREER: Visualization Processes in Learning Physics. The project revolves around the idea that learning physics is the most effective in an interactive learning environment involving two related components that are usually kept separate: a real-world experiment and a computer-based visualization. In this project, we will create a learning environment that combines microcomputer-based laboratories (MBLs) with immersive virtual-reality technology. While MBLs will provide students with the possibility of real-world experimenting and data collection, supported by real-time graphing tools, virtual reality technology will be used to support the visualization of both visible and invisible physical processes and abstract concepts (e.g., vectors of forces, field lines or energy levels) underlying the same experiment students observe in MBLs. The research objective of the current project is to investigate how different aspects of computer-based visualization, supported by immersive virtual reality and MBLs, affect and interact with student-generated visual/spatial representations and students' qualitative understanding of abstract physics phenomena. In terms of broader impacts, the project will bring new insights as to how to use visualization to facilitate student' conceptual understanding. In addition, the project will give a theoretical basis for design and evaluation of educational materials involving different visual/spatial representations. Tools and materials we develop in the project will make it easier for faculty around the country to develop students' visualization skills and qualitative reasoning in introductory physics classes. The educational objective of the proposal is to develop educational software and curriculum materials in the area of introductory mechanics with a focus on visualization processes, which allow students to participate actively in their own learning and to construct scientific models. REESE RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Kozhevnikov, Maria George Mason University VA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 149174 7625 1666 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0734835 December 1, 2007 Conference on Museums and New Family Audiences-- Building Relationships. The Franklin Institute Science Museum is planning, implementing, evaluating and disseminating the results of a 2.5 day conference entitled "Museums and New Family. Audiences - Building Relationships." The conference will be held in Philadelphia and involve a total of 75 professionals representing 25 museum/community programs, local community partners, advisers, and community partnership funders. Growing out of several initiatives over the past decade, the primary goal of the conference is to explore how museums and other informal science education organizations can develop and maintain long-term museum/community relationships to engage underserved families in informal STEM activities. Outcomes will include stronger relationships, a set of best practices and guidelines to be disseminated to the field, and the beginnings of a network. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Borun, Minda Angela Wenger Ronald Fricke Jacqueline Genovesi Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 137900 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0735264 September 15, 2008 Increasing Student Motivation Without Compromising Student Performance in Online Classes. Project Abstract: The main purpose of the project is to address the problem of keeping students in online courses motivated and on task in their learning activities. The study seeks to assess the potential tradeoffs in on line courses between designs that motivate or enhance interest (e.g. related links; multiple pathways) and designs that enhance on-task or in-depth learning. It is critical for successful learning in online courses that students self regulate their learning activities, since they are no longer in a supervised classroom setting. The project builds on a model the PIs developed called Self-Regulation of Motivation. The issue for research is how students construct their own learning tasks in light of their need to both reach learning goals and experience interest. The project will involve a series of experimental studies to assess the various featues of a on-line course that lead to higher interest and learning. The findings of the study have the potential to enhance on-line learning experience world wide regardless of academic discipline. Furthermore, on-line STEM instructors must develop courses that often involve multiple dimensions of knowledge (e.g., sensory experiences or experiments, a huge vocabulary to be learned/memorized, formalization of knowledge often involving abstract concepts). This embedded and complex learning of content knowledge requires that the orchestration of motivation and performance be known explicitly. The findings of the study have implications for design and delivery of online courses. REESE DRL EHR Sansone, Carol William Thompson Joseph Zachary University of Utah UT Kusum Singh Continuing grant 326473 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0116000 Human Subjects 0735569 January 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: Supporting whole-class science investigations with spatial simulations. Where learning technologies were once circumscribed by the form factor of the desktop computer, emerging ubiquitous computing and communications technologies are giving rise to new designs that expand the space of activity structures available to students and teachers. This project explores the capabilities of one such design framework, Embedded Phenomena, in which conventional classroom computers serve as location-dependent "portals" through which learners collaboratively conduct investigations of simulated spatial phenomena. Embedded phenomena are distinguished by their unique utilization of classroom space and time. The simulated phenomena are purported to occupy the physical space of the classroom, so that not only are phenomena embedded within the space, but also learners themselves are embedded within the phenomena. The simulations run continuously for days and weeks, concurrent but asynchronously with respect to the regular flow of instruction, giving learners the opportunity to explore the kind of "patient science" that requires the accumulation of evidence gathered over extended periods of time.The project includes both learning and technology research objectives. The learning research objective of the project is to explore the impact of the embedded phenomena framework on student learning, motivation, and participation. This question will be investigated through an empirical study of learner outcomes in upper elementary school units in seismology and insect ecology. Design teams including teachers, domain specialists, technologists, and learning researchers will design two "matched" versions of each instructional unit, one using existing embedded phenomenon applications (RoomQuake and RoomBugs, respectively), the other employing the same instructional design and set of activities but without the spatial and temporal embedding. Over the course of two school years, two teachers (one each from an urban and suburban school) will teach both variants of the two units. In each intervention, outcomes including development of skill in science practice, conceptual understanding, and affective stances toward investigation will be characterized using a battery of formative and summative assessment instruments. The technology research objectives of the project are to broaden access to embedded phenomena applications and to develop and evaluate new interaction techniques that could further expand the space of activity structures available to students and teachers. To increase access, the research team will build an Internet-based Phenomenon Server that will allow teachers to configure and schedule simulated phenomena for delivery to their classroom, along with an electronic Phenomenon CaseBook permitting teachers to store and retrieve records of classroom experiences with the units. New interaction techniques involving the use of handheld computers as simulated portable instruments, simulated phenomena that respond to sound and motion, and mechanisms for sharing simulated phenomena across multiple classrooms, will be designed, implemented, and pilot-tested in classrooms separate from those involved in the formal learning research study. REESE DRL EHR Moher, Thomas Joel Brown Jennifer Wiley University of Illinois at Chicago IL John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 683670 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0116000 Human Subjects 0735592 November 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Internet System for Networked Sensor Experimentation. The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and Machine Science Inc. propose to develop a web-based system for aggregating and sharing sensor data collected using a wireless communication system. The system would allow high school students and undergraduates to view, graph, analyze, and export data from individual sensors, and to combine data from multiple sensors to examine regional, national, and global phenomena (e.g., for STEM topics ranging from human health to environmental science and energy conservation). The proposed project?s intellectual merit derives from its use of emerging wireless and web technologies to enhance student engagement and understanding. Recent advances in wireless communication, power management, and networking protocols have made it significantly easier and less expensive to gather real-time data from remotely installed sensors. At the same time, new Internet technologies have emerged for sharing and aggregating data from multiple sources. Notably, the project will make use of RSS technology, which transforms web content, such as blogs, message board postings, and syndicated news, into data streams that can be readily parsed and manipulated. Likewise, the project will leverage ?mashup? technology, which combines user-supplied data with the imagery and user interface of web services like Google Maps to produce hybrid tools of astounding power and versatility. The scientific instruments and web system developed under the grant will be piloted in Massachusetts and then actively promoted nationally to ensure the project?s broader impacts. As the data set grows, it will be available for review and analysis by the entire web community. Open standards for data representation and transmission will be used, as appropriate. At the pilot stage, students will be recruited from racially diverse and economically disadvantaged urban communities, and encouraged to pursue research projects focusing on a variety of scientific problems. REESE DRL EHR Christy, Samuel Machine Science Inc. MA Ferdinand D. Rivera Standard Grant 203447 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0735597 November 1, 2007 Collaborative Research: Internet System for Networked Sensor Experimentation. The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and Machine Science Inc. propose to develop a web-based system for aggregating and sharing sensor data collected using a wireless communication system. The system would allow high school students and undergraduates to view, graph, analyze, and export data from individual sensors, and to combine data from multiple sensors to examine regional, national, and global phenomena (e.g., for STEM topics ranging from human health to environmental science and energy conservation). The proposed project?s intellectual merit derives from its use of emerging wireless and web technologies to enhance student engagement and understanding. Recent advances in wireless communication, power management, and networking protocols have made it significantly easier and less expensive to gather real-time data from remotely installed sensors. At the same time, new Internet technologies have emerged for sharing and aggregating data from multiple sources. Notably, the project will make use of RSS technology, which transforms web content, such as blogs, message board postings, and syndicated news, into data streams that can be readily parsed and manipulated. Likewise, the project will leverage ?mashup? technology, which combines user-supplied data with the imagery and user interface of web services like Google Maps to produce hybrid tools of astounding power and versatility. The scientific instruments and web system developed under the grant will be piloted in Massachusetts and then actively promoted nationally to ensure the project?s broader impacts. As the data set grows, it will be available for review and analysis by the entire web community. Open standards for data representation and transmission will be used, as appropriate. At the pilot stage, students will be recruited from racially diverse and economically disadvantaged urban communities, and encouraged to pursue research projects focusing on a variety of scientific problems. REESE DRL EHR Martin, Fred Sarah Kuhn Michelle Scribner-MacLean University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Foundation MA Ferdinand D. Rivera Standard Grant 392797 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0735621 January 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: Supporting whole-class science investigations with spatial simulations. Where learning technologies were once circumscribed by the form factor of the desktop computer, emerging ubiquitous computing and communications technologies are giving rise to new designs that expand the space of activity structures available to students and teachers. This project explores the capabilities of one such design framework, Embedded Phenomena, in which conventional classroom computers serve as location-dependent "portals" through which learners collaboratively conduct investigations of simulated spatial phenomena. Embedded phenomena are distinguished by their unique utilization of classroom space and time. The simulated phenomena are purported to occupy the physical space of the classroom, so that not only are phenomena embedded within the space, but also learners themselves are embedded within the phenomena. The simulations run continuously for days and weeks, concurrent but asynchronously with respect to the regular flow of instruction, giving learners the opportunity to explore the kind of "patient science" that requires the accumulation of evidence gathered over extended periods of time.The project includes both learning and technology research objectives. The learning research objective of the project is to explore the impact of the embedded phenomena framework on student learning, motivation, and participation. This question will be investigated through an empirical study of learner outcomes in upper elementary school units in seismology and insect ecology. Design teams including teachers, domain specialists, technologists, and learning researchers will design two "matched" versions of each instructional unit, one using existing embedded phenomenon applications (RoomQuake and RoomBugs, respectively), the other employing the same instructional design and set of activities but without the spatial and temporal embedding. Over the course of two school years, two teachers (one each from an urban and suburban school) will teach both variants of the two units. In each intervention, outcomes including development of skill in science practice, conceptual understanding, and affective stances toward investigation will be characterized using a battery of formative and summative assessment instruments. The technology research objectives of the project are to broaden access to embedded phenomena applications and to develop and evaluate new interaction techniques that could further expand the space of activity structures available to students and teachers. To increase access, the research team will build an Internet-based Phenomenon Server that will allow teachers to configure and schedule simulated phenomena for delivery to their classroom, along with an electronic Phenomenon CaseBook permitting teachers to store and retrieve records of classroom experiences with the units. New interaction techniques involving the use of handheld computers as simulated portable instruments, simulated phenomena that respond to sound and motion, and mechanisms for sharing simulated phenomena across multiple classrooms, will be designed, implemented, and pilot-tested in classrooms separate from those involved in the formal learning research study. REESE DRL EHR Kilb, Deborah University of California-San Diego Scripps Inst of Oceanography CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 38678 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0735655 January 1, 2008 OrganicPad: A Tablet PC-Based Interactivity Tool for Organic Chemistry. This project will develop and test a tablet PC based instructional and assessment system that uses the natural user interface to allow students to learn to draw chemical structures. Other structure drawing programs often use cumbersome tools or drag and drop based systems that do not mimic the normal way students learn to develop draw chemical structures. The software tool, called OrganicPad, enables an instructor to engage her students in class by sending them problems to solve. The students develop answers to the problems guided by tips and hints provided by the software. All communication is through the web, using the HTTP communication protocol. At any time, the instructor can evaluate student submissions and can quickly understand where students are having difficulty. Alternatively the system may be used in a tutorial mode. Each input by the student (atom, bond, electron, charge etc.) will be stored in a database for later data analysis. Using a similar analysis system to previous work, they will usel use neural nets to identify similar student approaches to the problem and cluster them into strategies. Student progress will be followed over time by using Hidden Markov Modeling to develop models for how students achieve competence in constructing chemical structures. Once we have these models we will be able to develop interventions specifically aimed at the particular problem a student may have with the process. The goals of this project are to a) develop OrganicPad into a fully functional software package that can be used as both an assessment and a tutorial to help students learn to draw chemical structures; b) model the data (ink strokes, sequence of inputs, timelines) and identify both successful and unsuccessful strategies that students use; and c) To use the results from the modeling data to develop interventions that will improve student structure drawing strategies. Intellectual Merit The work outlined in this proposal will give a new insight into how students develop competence in constructing representations of abstract concepts. Previously we have developed and used similar methods for probing student problem solving, that involved complex web based problems. However, these problems impose structure on students, since their actions only involve making choices, either by clicking on action items, or by dragging icons. We now propose to extend this process to the free form input allowed by using tablet PCs, which impose much less structure on the student. We anticipate that the insights gained by this work will allow us to develop more effective teaching and learning materials for a wide range of applications. Broader Impacts As the use of tablet PCs increases in classrooms, teaching methods and materials that are able to take advantage of their flexibility and power, will become increasingly important. This project will impact thousands of students over the course of the project and will allow them to become involved in the development of new teaching methods and materials. This proposal focuses on drawing and representing different chemical structures, but the methods we propose are ultimately applicable to many other domains, such as mathematical equations, geometric figures, and computer science data structures. REESE DRL EHR Cooper, Melanie Roy Pargas Calvin Williams Clemson University SC Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 311740 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0116000 Human Subjects 0735657 July 15, 2008 Tangible programming in early childhood: Revisiting developmental assumptions through new technologies. The focus of this project is on computer programming and robotics in early elementary school, with an emphasis on kindergarten. The goal is to understand what is developmentally appropriate for young children in light of novel human-computer interaction techniques that provide more age-appropriate access to technology. At the heart of this proposal is the claim that, for a variety of reasons, modern graphical user interfaces (GUI) are ill-suited for use in early elementary school, especially for computer programming activities. This project proposes to build on emerging tangible user interface (TUI) technology to create a tangible programming language for young children. That is, rather than using a mouse or a keyboard to write programs to control robots, children will instead construct programs by connecting smart wooden blocks shaped like jigsaw puzzle pieces. In a similar spirit, the project proposes to re-envision robotics as an activity having less to do with constructing robots out of expensive and intricate parts (such as LEGOs) and more to do with constructing artistic creations out of arts and crafts goods and recycled materials. Over the course of three years, the project will build on existing research to develop novel technology and a complementary kindergarten robotics-based curriculum. In addition, it will develop a research protocol and experimental tasks in order to study children?s learning in this domain. The project will then evaluate the effectiveness of both the technology and the curriculum in four kindergarten classrooms. REESE DRL EHR Bers, Marina Robert Jacob Tufts University MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 292053 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0116000 Human Subjects 0736018 September 15, 2007 Workshop for Education Leaders and Evaluators on Improved Methods of Evaluating Quality of Professional Development for Mathematics and Science Teachers. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) proposes to lead a project that will provide training, technical assistance, and dissemination of findings regarding research-based methods of rating the quality of teacher professional development, and training and assistance on use of effective models for evaluating programs that will improve the quality of findings regarding professional development across state-supported programs. A key contribution of this project will be to provide research-based evidence and criteria and tools for use by state leaders and program evaluators to determine the quality and effectiveness of math and science teacher professional development. Research studies have identified the characteristics of program initiatives that are most effective in improving the skills and knowledge of teachers and influencing teaching practice: 1) content-focused, 2) collaboration within schools, 3) coherence with other activities (e.g., curriculum and standards), 4) sufficient duration and follow-up, 5) active learning methods, and 6) organization of activity. CCSSO is unique in its ability, through its organizational structure to provide leadership to states on key education K-12 policy issues and technical assistance to state specialists on research and evaluation. The project is designed to accomplish several specific goals toward advancing the quality of evaluation of professional development with teachers of science and math: (1) disseminate study findings to education leaders in all states to assist them with their efforts to improve models for broad-scale evaluation of professional development, (2) identify key data items and measures of quality, and (3) apply value-added models for determining effects. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Blank, Rolf Council of Chief State School Officers DC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 98618 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0736067 February 2, 2007 COMmunities Educating Tomorrow's Scientists (COMETS). The three-year "COMmunities Educating Tomorrow's Scientists (COMETS)" project is implementing an earth and space science program with the focus of learning science as inquiry through Marshall University, with partners NASA IV&V Educator Resource Center, Kanawha County Schools, Bayer Crop Science Corporation, and the West Virginia Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences. COMETS targets 200 low-income, underrepresented and minority students at five community centers in Charleston, WV, for inclusion in a NASA-centered informal science education program. Through innovative hands-on investigations coordinated with students' formal curricula this program seeks to excite, inspire, promote academic achievement, and expand regular school time learning experiences for students in grades 3-5. The COMETS parent program, "The Family Tree," is an embracing center that makes an aggressive, deliberate effort to reach parents and custodians of elementary and middle school students to encourage them to help their children achieve their academic goals in math and science and realize the connection between their lives and science. In addition to enhancing achievement, the anticipated outcomes of COMETS include promoting positive attitudes toward science education by parents and students, inspiring students to choose science for their future education and employment paths, and improving the knowledge and appreciation of earth and space sciences in participating educators. Through the professional development of approximately 50 formal, informal, and pre-service educators, both "COMETS" students and other students of these trained educators learn science as inquiry and are exposed to high quality curricula and materials for approximately two hours per week during the academic year and four hours per week during the six-week summer program. Participating educators collaborate in vertical teams through a professional learning community to guide COMETS activities which will support and complement formal curricula. ITEST DRL EHR Cartwright, Tina Marshall University Research Corporation WV Sharon J. Lynch Standard Grant 799990 7227 SMET 9177 9150 7618 0116000 Human Subjects 0736221 September 1, 2007 I FEEL SCIENCE: Innovative Flexible Experimental Environment for Learning in SCIENCE. I FEEL SCIENCE: Innovative Flexible Experimental Environment for Learning in SCIENCE It has been postulated that haptic perception such as force and thermal feedback, combined with hearing, can improve blind students? ability to understand scientific concepts and change their misconceptions. However, how the additional haptic feedback influences blind students? construction of knowledge, meaning making, and conceptual change from their misconceptions still remain unclear. One technological challenge is the implementation of the sense of touch in a way that evokes the tacit, embodied knowledge which has proved useful for formal and informal science learning. This project proposes the Innovative Flexible Experimental Environment for Learning SCIENCE (I FEEL SCIENCE). The primary educational goal of the project is to develop an interactive learning environment that supports science education for blind students through a multidisciplinary, learner-centered approach. I FEEL SCIENCE empowers blind students to actively integrate fundamental science concepts by supporting their hands-on practices with multiple, realistic and compatible sensory feedback such as haptic force and thermal senses. The primary technological goal of the project is to integrate haptic feedback into the I FEEL SCIENCE in a way that evokes tacit, embodied knowledge to support visually impaired students? construction of knowledge, to reduce their misconceptions of scientific concepts, and to improve their attitudes toward science learning. More specifically, this project will investigate and model the cognitive and affective impact of haptic perception on K7-K9 blind students? understanding on heat/temperature and intermolecular forces by assessing the ways that additional haptic feedback during a hands-on experience influence students? construction of knowledge, conceptual change, and attitudes toward science learning. The intellectual merit of I FEEL SCIENCE lies in its innovative pedagogical approach that is embedded within an experience-based learning environment providing multiple, realistic sensory feedback. The project?s multidisciplinary integration of cognitive ergonomics, accessibility, usability, and instructional design principles is embedded within an environment that facilitates transfer of basic knowledge (e.g., science) for application to advanced technologies to increase STEM accessibility and participation of blind users. The unique learner-centered and participatory design practice that is the driving design principle behind I FEEL SCIENCE will demonstrate successful application of theories and evaluation metrics that are inclusive, pluralistic, and generalizable to many other learning environments. The broader impacts of this project lie in several areas. First, the goal is to disseminate the science learning environment for use nationwide, with additional opportunities for collaboration with blind schools through the establishment of I FEEL SCIENCE. Second, this study will impact science education for blind students by diffusing the knowledge base and practice of STEM curricula involving hands-on practices with realistic sensory feedback locally and nationally. Finally, this work should have an important impact on assistive technology by providing additional method for presenting information non-visually to special needs students. The project?s fundamental mission is consistent with NSF?s strategic objective to ?prepare a diverse, internationally competitive, and globally engaged workforce of scientists, engineers, and well-prepared citizens,? as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 requiring that students with disabilities receive full access to the general education curriculum. REESE DRL EHR Nam, Chang University of Arkansas AR Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 669778 7625 SMET 9251 9177 9150 1707 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0736305 December 15, 2007 Mathematicians Writing for Teachers Conference, Mt. Holyoke College in early summer 2008.. The goal of the Mathematicians Writing for Teachers Conference is to plan and implement a conference at which classroom teachers, mathematics educators, mathematicians, and community college faculty work collaboratively to consider critical questions about content and pedagogy in the mathematics education of K-8 teachers. These discussions will be grounded by co-teaching actual professional development sessions, through observing each other teaching, and through debriefing teaching sessions based on observations and videotape. The participants will produce an emerging set of principles and approaches to professional development for K-8 teachers that connect important mathematics content and ideas to classroom teaching and learning. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Russell, Susan Jo Deborah Schifter Virginia Bastable TERC Inc MA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 98223 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0736423 April 1, 2007 Undergraduate Science Course Innovations and Their Impact on Student Learning. This project examines published and non-published education research studies of instructional innovations and alternative approaches to teaching undergraduate science and will synthesize the results using statistical methods. The study would conduct a systematic examination of undergraduate science course innovations to determine: (1) The range of course innovations that are being implemented in undergraduate science courses; (2) How the features of innovations are aligned with cognitive science learning theory and principles of effective instruction; (3) How course innovation approaches are associated with differences in student learning gains within each specific discipline; and (4) what methods are found to be critical for the effective implementation of course innovations. The researchers will develop a theoretical framework on the basis of cognitive science research and effective learning environments of undergraduate science courses from projects that have an instructional strategy, refer to classrooms, and have reported results. They will conduct a document analysis of course innovations in science courses as discovered in published papers and unpublished documents such as the NSF website. A meta-analysis of the statistical data available in each paper would be conducted depending on the suitable number of studies identified. The broader impact of the study is in its contribution to researchers who would benefit from a systematic analysis of existing studies of undergraduate teaching practices and for educators who wish for advice on how to apply new methods of teaching. The study will produce two documents: (1) a framework for characterizing and evaluating innovations in undergraduate science courses, and (2) a statistical synthesis of the types of course transformations observed in the field, their effectiveness, and the design and implementation characteristics that are associated with their effectiveness. The project would produce published papers that will be submitted to journals in each disciplinary area and presented at professional society meetings. REESE DRL EHR Ruiz-Primo, Maria Araceli University of Colorado at Denver CO John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 276567 7625 SMET 9177 7625 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0736487 September 1, 2007 Media-Based Resources to Support the ITEST Program. Through this grant, WGBH Educational Foundation produces, disseminates, and evaluates an integrated set of media-based resources to support the national ITEST program, its Learning Resource Center, and local ITEST project participants across the country. The products include the following resources: Video profiles of a representative sample of youth-based and comprehensive projects, selected to reflect best practice in addressing six critical and commonly experienced topical challenges across the national network of ITEST initiatives in Cohorts 1-4; Additional video segments derived from footage submitted by the projects themselves, prepared for inclusion in a companion database organized by the same six topic areas; A video overview of the ITEST program, with new stakeholder interviews interspersed with footage drawn from the project profiles and locally-produced segments; and A series of discrete Web Pages presenting these media resources for inclusion on the program Web site and/or local project sites. The profiles and overview are streamed for presentation on the Teachers? Domain digital library platform, a free service that currently boasts over 130,000 users across the country, and all products are designed for dissemination through channels activated by the newly-awarded Resource Center. The PI envisions multiple uses and audiences: to introduce novices to ITEST, to catalyze interest and potential involvement in the program, to illustrate effective strategies for dealing with issues of particular significance in advancing STEM education, and to record for posterity the work of a representative range of local youth-based and comprehensive projects. ITEST DRL EHR Tonkonogy, Amy WGBH Educational Foundation MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 499991 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0736491 March 1, 2008 National Conference on Benchmarking Student Evaluation Practices. A National Conference on Benchmarking Student Evaluation Practices uses the Student Evaluation Standards, published by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation, to engage a broad array of educational organizations in improving student achievement in STEM education through better evaluation practices that assess for learning. Participants learn more about the Student Evaluation Standards and use them together with a benchmarking process - distributed to them in the form of a toolkit - to enhance student evaluation processes. The conference and the follow-up activities are oriented around four goals: 1) to increase awareness and knowledge of the Student Evaluation Standards and the role student evaluation plays in student interest and achievement; 2) to promote research on student evaluation that increases the effectiveness of the use of Evaluation Standards by practitioners; 3) to develop and disseminate a model and tools for benchmarking evaluation practices in relation to student interest, achievement and instructional equity; and 4) to provide a structure to serve long-term studies of the impact of the Standards. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gullickson, Arlen Western Michigan University MI Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 100000 7645 SMET 9177 1032 0116000 Human Subjects 0736558 December 1, 2007 Research Agenda Project Conference. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) proposes two linked conferences that will build more effective connections between research and practice. Specifically, the conferences will bring together researchers, practitioners and policymakers around improving students' mathematics proficiency by ensuring that researchers are investigating the most urgent problems of practice and that practitioners are connected to the research in ways that makes the knowledge useful to instruction. The project supports the following activities: *Pre-conference preparation that includes all 40 participants organizing focus groups with practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to identify priority research issues; *Implementation of a five-day working conference that outlines a list of preliminary research questions and conducts a preliminary survey of current knowledge; *Follow-up focus group meetings; *A two and a half day second working conference that incorporates the information gathered from the second focus group meetings; and *Publication and promotion of the research agenda by NCTM. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Rubillo, James National Council of Teachers of Mathematics VA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 99850 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0736964 September 1, 2007 Connecting Children's Mathematical Thinking to Community and Family Funds of Knowledge in Elementary Mathematics Methods Course. This project is presenting a conference on "Connecting Children's Mathematical Thinking to Community and Family Funds of Knowledge in Elementary Mathematics Methods Courses." It is planned for Tucson, AZ, in May, 2008. It is producing three products: a conceptual framework, a research agenda, and an instructional unit for elementary mathematics methods classes. A total of 35 participants are being invited to attend, and participating faculty members are asked to bring a graduate student. The conference is scheduled for 2.5 days supplemented with significant pre-conference and post-conference activities. There is significant support from the Center for the Mathematics Education of Latino/as at the University of Arizona and from the University of Texas-Austin. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Drake, Corey Iowa State University IA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 99673 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0736967 May 1, 2008 Conference 2008 - Integrating Science and Mathematics Education Research into Teaching IV: Resources and Tool for Improved Learning. The Center for Science and Mathematics Education at the University of Maine continues its series of national conferences on providing professional development and resources for integrating mathematics and science education research into teaching. The first part of the conference consists of three days of parallel presentations and discussions by nationally recognized experts along with short workshops. The workshops provide first hand experience with either research-based STEM curricula or cutting edge STEM research projects that can serve as a basis for classroom instruction. The purposes of the conference include bringing together 150 participants in all aspects of STEM education (researchers, teachers, administrators, and preservice students) to exchange ideas about research, curriculum and assessment, to help teachers integrate research based instructional strategies in their teaching, and to build sustainable collaborations between participants. The second part of the conference is a two day summer academy in which about 60 participants have the option of (1) working on implementing a module of technology-rich curriculum in their classroom; (2) developing plans, curricular materials and assessments for involving teachers and students in a STEM research project; or (3) adapting and implementing a research-supported curriculum in their teaching. The academy continues throughput the year. A focus on research-based strategies that advance the successful participation of underrepresented groups is embedded in all activities. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR McKay, Susan Stephen Norton John Thompson Owen Maurais Eric Pandiscio University of Maine ME Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 100000 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0737271 February 1, 2008 Information Techonology through Community Based Natural Resources Program for Students and Teachers. This ITEST Comprehensive Project for Students and Teachers provides middle and high school students and teachers opportunities to use remote sensing and three-dimensional (3-D) visualization to study real-life natural resource problems in their communities with researchers from the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture and information technology (IT) staff from the Interactive Digital Center (IDC) at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Ten multidisciplinary teams of five teachers from central and eastern Kentucky, at least one of their classes, and four student project leaders from each school are participating in the three-year project. The objectives include increasing student and teacher knowledge of remote sensing technology and 3-D computer visualization; developing and using five 3-D models, five GIS/remote sensing maps, and five units of study to be disseminated statewide; developing student Career Albums; and increasing all participants' understanding of community natural resource careers that demand IT skills. The program includes a two-week summer institute for teachers and selected student leaders, year-long teacher professional development, year-long community-based explorations for students, support by IT professionals, presentations by participants at conferences, and workshops for guidance counselors and parents. The intellectual merit of the project lies in the integration of geospatial, remote sensing and 3-D computer visualization technology; the collaboration of faculty and researchers within UK's College of Agriculture to bring timely and relevant research to the classroom; using the power of IT to do science, so as to excite central and eastern Kentucky students about STEM careers; and bringing together multidisciplinary teams of teachers to investigate community problems using technology. The broader impacts of the project include a lasting collaborative partnership among teachers, IT instructors at the IDC, and researchers within UK's College of Agriculture, and the integration of innovative technology and research into schools' curricula. ITEST DRL EHR Hanley, Carol Mary Arthur Carl Leukefeld James Justice University of Kentucky Research Foundation KY Kusum Singh Standard Grant 1155525 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737326 September 1, 2007 Fostering Interest in Information Technology. Fostering Interest in Information Technology or FI3T is designed to engage underrepresented high school students in a Community of Designers by creating project-based design teams. The project is supported by the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Engineering and Computer Science, the College of Arts and Sciences and Letters, and the School of Education. Partners include the Detroit Public Schools, the US Army's Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), Ford Motor Company, Dassault Systèmes'/DELMIA Corporation, FANUC Robotics Inc., Barbara Ann KARMANOS Cancer Institute, and the 21st Century Digital Learning Environments. Four design teams will be created to address topics in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics. Each team includes 10 high school students, 1 teacher, 1 undergraduate student, 1 graduate student, and 1 STEM content expert. Participants learn about environmental science, web-based applications (games, databases), robotics, and bioinformatics while gaining experience using GIS, GPS, Vpython, Visual Studio, IGRIP, and Minitab software systems. Students are introduced to STEM concepts in a series of workshops and seminar meetings during the school year and summer. Year 2 focuses on the design process, followed by summer externships at TARDEC and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Additional seminars and a Techno/Career Fair complete the two-year experience. A second cohort of participants will follow the same schedule beginning in Year 2. Alumni receive ongoing support with course selection and the college application process. Teachers also participate in an intensive summer course that addresses IT and STEM content prior to the student experience. This project will reach 80 students in southeastern Michigan. ITEST DRL EHR Duran, Mesut Margaret Hoft Paul Zitzewitz Elsayed Orady Brahim Medjahed University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Leslie K. Goodyear Standard Grant 900000 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737372 January 1, 2008 OssaBEST: Ossabaw E-exploration for Students and Teachers. OssaBEST is preparing 90 teachers and 120 students from 7th through 10th grades over a period of three years to use advanced information technologies for guided electronic exploration of Ossabaw Island (Georgia's third largest barrier island). The project provides support for inquiry-based instruction using state-of-the-art information technologies. Students and teachers observe physical phenomena on the island via real-time transmission of data streams from sensors placed on the island, electronically document and present data collected, and create a web-based multimedia guide of the island. The project is a collaboration between Armstrong Atlantic State University, the Savannah Chatham-County Public School System, the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, the Ossabaw Island Foundation, and the Coastal Business Education and Technology Alliance. Participants use information technologies in sophisticated ways and integrate them in the classroom setting. Teachers and students attend a summer institute each year that includes a three-day residential camp on Ossabaw. Lesson plans developed during the summer institute address the Georgia Performance Standards and are to be broadly disseminated. Both students and teachers are being familiarized with education pathways that lead to future IT-related careers. There is a minimum of 124 hours of professional development for each participating teacher, with substantial follow up for both teachers and students for implementation during the school year. The project benefits students and teachers from all middle and high schools in the Savannah-Chatham Public School System leading to continuing systemic capacity. Formative evaluation assesses the project impact on teachers and students and provides ongoing feedback to all stakeholders. ITEST DRL EHR Saad, Ashraf Joy Reed Lei He Edward Strauser Patrick Hannigan Armstrong Atlantic State University GA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1199975 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737379 September 15, 2007 Invention, Design, Engineering and Art (IDEA) Cooperative. 0737379 Murray The youth-based ITEST proposal, Invention, Design, Engineering and Art Cooperative (IDEA), will provide 100 students in grades 8-12 from the East Side of St. Paul, Minnesota with IT experiences in engineering and design. The content focus is mechanical and electrical engineering, such as product design, electronics, and robotics with an emphasis on 21st century job skills, including skills in advanced areas of microcontrollers, sensors, 3-D modeling software, and web software development for sharing iterative engineering product design ideas and maintaining progress on student product development. These technologies are practical and specific to careers in engineering and standards for technological literacy. During the three-year project period, a scaffolding process will be used to move students from exploratory activities in Design Teams in the 8th and 9th grades to paid employment experiences in grades 10-12 as part of Invention Crews. All design and product invention work will be directly connected to solving problems for local communities, including families and local businesses. For grades 8 and 9, students will receive 170 total contact hours per year and for grades 10-12, 280 contact hours per year. The participant target goal is 75% participation by girls, and African-American and Latino youth. Students participating in this project are situated within the country's most diverse urban districts with students speaking more than 103 languages and dialects. The schools targeted by this project average 84% of students receiving free or reduced price lunches, and have a population with 81% falling below proficiency in the Grade 8/11 Math MCA-II Test. To achieve the project goals of recruiting underrepresented students, and supporting academic transitions from middle and high school to college and university, the project team aggregated an impressive group of project partners that include schools, colleges, universities, and highly experienced youth and community groups, technology businesses that will provide mentoring of students and extensive involvement by parent and family services. Every partner committed to the project has a longstanding and abiding commitment to serving students from economically challenged areas. ITEST DRL EHR Gates, Rachel David Gundale Science Museum of Minnesota MN Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 893476 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737437 January 1, 2008 Nanotechnology and Bioengineering in Philadelphia Public Schools. The University of Pennsylvania is partnering with the School District of Philadelphia to (1) improve 9th and 10th grade student performance in science, (2) increase student knowledge of nanotechnology and bioengineering, (3) enhance student skills at using information and educational technologies, and (4) increase student awareness of post-secondary educational opportunities and careers in science, technology, and engineering. Teachers are producing grade-appropriate, problem-based, standards-aligned nanotechnology/bioengineering learning activities, using specific educational and information technologies to promote learning, and becoming more aware of post-secondary science, engineering, and IT educational opportunities and careers. The school district is creating a framework for providing students and teachers with opportunities to learn more about STEM and IT education and careers. Lastly, the project is measuring the impact of project activities on student learning and teacher classroom practices for the purpose of scaling the program to the district level. The project is working directly with four teachers (two from 9th grade and two from 10th grade), one guidance counselor, and 10 students from each of 18 schools in the Philadelphia school district during summer workshops. Follow-up activities with the 72 teachers during the school year include Saturday workshops, online communications and support, field trips, and a community expo. Indirectly, the project will impact approximately 8,000 students in the district. The evaluation plan is studying all stakeholders and measuring changes in student knowledge, skills, and attitudes, as well as teacher knowledge, attitudes, and practice. ITEST DRL EHR Yoon, Susan Jorge Santiago-Aviles Paula Don University of Pennsylvania PA David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1310192 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737528 August 15, 2007 Salmon Camp Research Team Renewal Full Proposal. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), in partnership with the Native American Youth Association (NAYA), Intel Oregon, the National Park Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will the expand the existing Salmon Camp Research Team (SCRT), a youth-based ITEST project targeting Native American and Alaskan Native youth in middle and high school. SCRT uses natural resource management as a theme to integrate science and technology and provide students with opportunities to explore local ecosystems, access traditional American Indian/Native Alaskan knowledge, and work closely with researchers and natural resource professionals. The project is designed to spark and sustain the interest of youth in STEM and IT careers, provide opportunities to use IT to solve real world problems, and promote an understanding of the complementary nature of western and native science. The original SCRT project included summer residential programs, spring field experiences, weekend enrichment sessions, parental involvement, college preparatory support, and internship placement. The renewal will increase the IT content for participants by adding an afterschool component, provide opportunities for greater parental involvement, enhance the project website, and develop a SCRT toolkit. Students are exposed to a variety of technologies and software including Trimble GeoExplorer XM GPS units, PDAs with Bluetooth GPS antennae, YSI Multi-Probe Water Quality Field Meters, GPS Pathfinder, ArcMap, ArcPad, Terrasync, and FishXing. It is anticipated that this project will serve 500 students in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, proving them with over 132 contact hours. ITEST DRL EHR Southworth-Neumeyer, Travis Steve Tritz Oregon Museum of Science and Industry OR Leslie K. Goodyear Standard Grant 705040 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737565 September 1, 2007 Reach for the Sky: Integrating technology into STEM outcomes for American Indian Youth. This proposal addresses the need to make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and information technology (IT) more culturally relevant for Anishinabe youths on the White Earth Reservation (WER). The objectives of the project are to improve youths? skills, knowledge, and interests in STEM and IT fields. Teachers and staffs from targeted schools, professors from tribal colleges and local universities, community elders, and out-of-school staffs will participate in the project?s activities. The project will engage 60 middle, high, and out-of-school youths, nine teachers, and six other staff persons in 140 contact hours of summer and academic year activities through the Reach for the Sky (RFTS) project. Intellectual merit. The PI has prior experience working with STEM and IT at the K-12 level. The project uses cultural relevant activities and games as the foundation for the proposed workplan. The workplan builds on a nine-year mathematics and science effort on the WER. The STEM content focuses on mechanical and electrical energy, weather and energy, and bio-energy. The STEM content focus is directly linked to a major need for alternative energy on the reservation and allows youths to help find solutions to the increasing demand for energy. Youths will work with the 21st Century Grant and the Land Recovery Project at WER to engage in STEM-related activities and explore alternative ways to produce energy through three energy-related initiatives: harnessing wind energy, collecting solar energy, and using bio-fuels. The IT component allows youths to use multimedia, web-based formats, and perform computer graphics to complete projects. Youths will create video and other multimedia presentations, participate in video streaming, share products and experimental data, develop interactive WIKI projects, and learn about web designing. They will also use webcasts and podcasts to communicate with their peers and other project participants. For example, VideoPoint Capture technology is a format that will allow youths to collect and analyze data and develop skills in multimedia through the transfer of video onto web-based environments, simple video editing, and computational graphical analysis. During the academic year, college and university professors, elders, and members from the advisory board will visit schools to follow-up on summer projects in real class settings and after school activities to help ensure a seamless school, after school, and summer school learning continuum. Broader impacts. The search for alternative sources of energy could significantly advance knowledge in this area for the targeted community, other reservations, and the nation. Key partners include WER, White Earth Tribal College, WER Tribal Elders, 21st Century Grant project staff, and three colleges from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (College of Education and Human Development, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources, and the Institute of Technology). Business partners (e.g. the Land Recovery Project at White Earth and Industrial Art and Design in Minneapolis) will also support RFTS activities. These partners will participate in most of the project?s activities including festivals, games, and annual powwows. Evaluation is based on a mixed-method design to allow for the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data about the impacts of using a community-based approach to solving energy-related problems on the WER. Results and findings from formative and summative data will be shared at various meetings and conferences, through online outlets, and peer-reviewed journals. An advisory board will help with project implementation and dissemination. Parents will participate through festivals, games, completion of project activities, and in other project-related activities endorsed by the elders. RFTS lends itself to high probability of sustainability based on the intent to immerse youths in discovery-oriented, research-based activities that are relevant to their lives. ITEST DRL EHR Roehrig, Gillian Stephan Carlson Tamara Moore University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN Celestine Pea Standard Grant 899183 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737574 September 1, 2007 HiGene: A Genome Sequencing Project for High Schools. Rutgers University will provide a comprehensive project in molecular biology and bioinformatics that engages high school teachers and students in DNA sequencing research. More than 75 teachers will participate in the project over a three-year period for a minimum of 140 contact hours (120 hours during the summer, and at least 20 hours during the academic year). Approximately 30 students per year will attend the summer program and 300 additional students will engage in the Project during each academic year. Teachers will learn DNA during a Bioinformatics Summer Institute and will engage their students in the process during the academic year. Upon completion, teacher and student project results will be submitted to the DNA sequence database. ITEST DRL EHR Vershon, Andrew Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Julia Clark Continuing grant 1284035 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737583 October 1, 2007 IDEAS: Inquiry-based Dynamic Earth Applications of Supercomputing, Seeing the Big Picture with Information Technology. This project will connect researchers at the University of Maine with students and middle school teachers, both at the University (during a summer workshop) and at participating schools (during the academic year) to utilize computer modeling and visualization of geological processes in the classroom. The proposed project will have 60 participating teachers each with 120 contact hours at the University of Maine, as well as 180 students, each with 20 contact hours at the University of Maine. The focus of this project is to integrate computational modeling with the existing science curriculum at the middle school level. This will be accomplished largely by collectively utilizing existing laptop computer computational power and networking capability to run computer models, both locally and at the University supercomputer, and to create high resolution interactive visualization displays (from the same laptops) to view the output. The specific goals are to: 1) develop numeric simulation and visualization tools for geodynamics with the involvement of middle school teachers and education experts; 2) train middle school teachers on the integration of such tools in the teaching of the existing curriculum topics; 3) stimulate middle school students' interest in science and technology and improve their knowledge and performance in these areas; and 4) disseminate such tools and effective pedagogies enabled by them to all middle schools in Maine, with the promise of the tools and methods serving as a model for other schools contemplating the use of laptop computers in the classroom. The project takes advantage of the fact that every seventh and eighth grade student and teacher in the state of Maine is issued an Apple laptop computer. These computers are all networked together and to the outside world via wireless networks within the classroom. Additionally, all schools and libraries within the state of Maine have high speed (wired) Internet connections. Another factor that is leveraged is the University of Maine's 512 CPU cluster supercomputer that is also based on the Apple platform, as well as a number of researchers who perform numerical modeling using this cluster. ITEST DRL EHR Segee, Bruce Peter Koons Yifeng Zhu University of Maine ME David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1185460 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737588 July 1, 2008 Communiities for Rural Education, Stewardship & Technology (CREST) Renewal. Community for Rural Education, Stewardship and Technology (CREST), a comprehensive project for students and teachers, currently networks the Island Institute, University of Maine-Machias, Bowdoin College, and 11 island and coastal schools in a learning community that directly impacts 55 students and 44 teachers, and indirectly impacts 1,700 additional students. CREST focuses on delivering database development, GIS mapping, web design and ethnographic research skills to students and teachers in Maine's most remote locations. This interdisciplinary, standards-based approach is reconnecting students to their communities and providing insight into applicable IT and STEM careers through local service-learning projects based in the surrounding Gulf of Maine ecosystem. The two-year renewal of CREST, with technology as a tool and place-based education as a vehicle, will expand to 16 schools with168 participants and a new regional collegiate partner, continuing to demonstrate more ways in which IT and STEM studies and careers can diversify and support natural resource-based communities and economies. ITEST DRL EHR Kermish-Allen, Ruth Anne Henshaw Shey Conover Island Institute ME David B. Campbell Standard Grant 799074 7227 SMET 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737589 January 1, 2008 Mayor's Youth Technology Corps - Creating Safe Communities Through Information Technology Training in Homeland Security Applications. Eastern Michigan University (EMU), the City of Detroit Homeland Security and Emergency Management (CDHSEM), and Detroit Public Schools (DPS) are proposing the three-year Mayor's Youth Technology Corps (MYTC) Project in Detroit, MI. The MYTC project offers a collaboration of resources, support, and opportunities for strengthening science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education efforts. The MYTC project will recruit 100 students from all high schools in Metropolitan Detroit. They will receive about 250 hours training and hands-on experience in IT and geographic information system and technology (GIS/T) during a two-year period. They will also participate in a summer internship in a Detroit city department or contractor to work on a real-world project, through which they practice their skills. They will be supervised by distinguished GIS/T and IT researchers, technologists, and educators. Moreover, 130 hours advanced training in Computer Forensics will be provided as an option for those students who want to gain in-depth knowledge and skill. This project will provide informal STEM learning opportunities, and linkages to college experiences. Moreover, the collaboration involves university technology researchers, informal education agencies, after-school programs and parental connections, security-concerned agencies and industries, and public schools. The project is designed to provide academic foundations and cutting-edge technical skills for professional GIS/T and IT careers in law enforcement, fire fighting, emergency management, and homeland security. Upon completion of the program, the students will receive a Completion Certificate jointly issued by the Environmental System Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI), the world's leading GIS/T software designer and developer, and Eastern Michigan University. This certificate, which is recognized and respected by the GIS/T industry, will help students in seeking employment. In addition to significantly strengthening STEM aptitudes, students will learn real-life skills in application development, communication, problem-solving and critical thinking, leadership and teamwork, ethics, and responsibility. EMU has begun discussions with the Detroit Public Schools about dual enrollment (EMU-DPS) for three IT-CSTM training modules. Upon completing these trainings, students will have an option to receive nine (9) hours of college credit toward advancing their higher education at the College of Technology, Eastern Michigan University. ITEST DRL EHR Xie, Yichun Eastern Michigan University MI Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 889753 7227 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0737593 September 15, 2007 DAPCEP ITEST Program - Renewal 2007. The Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) project is a continuation of the current Youth-based Program. It has been revised to include a rigorous STEM curriculum by incorporating advanced information technology concepts in the context of automotive, energy and science engineering, ensuring quality instruction using IT experts and faculty from several universities, a strong parent involvement component, and college/awareness training. The program consists of teaching pre-college engineering courses integrated with advanced information technology concepts to middle and high school students. It continues to target 7th and 9th grade students in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. One hundred and twenty (120) students will participate. Two cohort groups of 7th graders and two cohort groups of 9th graders will be formed. Each of the four groups will include a minimum of 30 students allowing for a total of 120 students to be served. The project design includes a technology-programming component with a curriculum to expose students to a diverse range of experiences with engineering problems and appropriate information technology applications to solve. The program has an infrastructure of educational, community, business and parental support that will foster student motivation and interest to pursue postsecondary options or careers in STEM fields. ITEST DRL EHR Tucker, Margaret Jason Lee Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program Inc MI Julia Clark Standard Grant 589813 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737616 September 1, 2007 Learning through Engineering Design and Practice: Using our Human Capital for an Equitable Future. Arizona State University (ASU) in collaboration with Arizona Science Center, Boeing, Intel, Microchip, Motorola, Salt River Project, AZ Foundation for Resource Education, AZ Game & Fish Department, US Partnership for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, Mesa Public Schools, and Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley, offer a three-year extracurricular project resulting in IT/STEM-related learning outcomes for 96 participants in grades 7, 8, and 9. The project targets and engages female and minority youth traditionally under-represented in IT/STEM fields in multi-year out-of-school technological design and problem solving experiences. These include summer internships/externships and university research in the science center and industrial settings where participants develop socially responsible solutions for challenging real world problems. The program includes cognitive apprenticeships with diverse mentors, opportunities to practice workplace skills such as leadership, teamwork, time management, creativity and reporting, and use of technological tools to gather and analyze complex data sets. Participants simulate desert tortoise behaviors, research and develop designs to mitigate the urban heat island, build small-scale renewable energy resources, design autonomous rovers capable of navigating Mars-like terrain, and develop a model habitat for humans to live on Mars. Together with their families participants gain first-hand knowledge of IT/STEM career and educational pathways. In addition to youth outcomes, the adults associated with this project are better prepared to positively influence IT/STEM learning experiences for under-represented youth. The evaluation measures participant content knowledge, attitudes and interest in IT/STEM subjects, workplace skills and intentions to pursue IT/STEM educational and career pathways to understand participant reactions, learning, transfer and results. Informal curricula developed through this project, field-tested with youth at Boys & Girls Clubs and youth at Arizona Science Center will be available on the project website. ITEST DRL EHR Ganesh, Tirupalavanam Stephen Krause Dale Baker Sharon Robinson-Kurpius Monica Elser Arizona State University AZ Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 1079985 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737623 September 15, 2007 Advanced Digital Pathways. The Bay Area Video Coalition's (BAVC) proposed Advanced Digital Pathways (ADP) project provides 150 underserved low-income 9-12 grade youths with 180 contact hours of activities in information technology (IT) to better prepare them to pursue careers in IT and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields. ADP offers two full years of activities for youths from the San Francisco Bay Area to participate in the digital media technology segment of the IT field. Specifically, advanced application activities in video, web, animation, 3-D modeling, gaming, and audio are offered to youth participants. The project also involves 175 parents and caregivers, 40 educators, 40 companies, and 200 teenage peers through family technology nights, media productions projects, community outreach activities, and externships. Intellectual Merit: The goal of ADP is to help prepare youths for education pathways in potential high growth, high-wage STEM and IT careers. These careers could be in fields where scientists use 3-D modeling animation to examine chemical structures in biotechnology or where educators create products that use video and interactive technologies to design web or DVD products. ADP takes youths far beyond developing PowerPoint presentations and sharing information via webcasts and video streaming to progressively richer and deeper experiences in digital IT. To help determine which activities to offer, ADP builds on lessons-learned from the current YouthLink project funded through the ITEST program. Results and findings from the YouthLink project show that youths want to participate in IT activities that might led to careers in IT and that an increasing number were interested in digital sound technologies. The PI used these findings to help develop a workplan that provides an advanced course of study through a variety of activities using local IT businesses and local universities. College credit will be offered for some of the IT activities. The PI has a leadership team with a strong track record for working with youth-based programs that will provide the requisite expertise needed to fully implement the project. ADP plans to provide youths with industry-level standards skill sets in a variety of digital IT related fields across multiple sectors such as biotechnology, media, entertainment, advertising, and education. Broader impact: The proposed project recruits youths from the BAVC YouthLink program, Youth Radio, the Pacific News Services? Youth Outlook program, the Youth Media Council, and the Exploratorium. Multiple tracks will engage youths in research that enhances their ability to develop platforms through interactive environments and higher education immersions. Materials and facilities are readily available. Partners such as state and local government officials and education agencies have shown interest in using ADP as a model to help guide descisionmaking about IT tools and resources for schools and community efforts. National foundations such as MacArthur, Koret, Kellogg, and Stone have also shown interests in supporting ADP efforts. Parental involvement is required for youths who participate in the project through collaborative family projects, family technology nights, and hands-on workshops where parents help create an actual audio or technology product. The evaluation plan builds on the YouthLink project and dissemination will be handled through online outlets, refereed journals, and national conferences. The PI?s work with the Mayor?s office on workforce issues, with state officials on broadband task force issues, and university chancellor-level positions on scaling and sustainability of ADP, adds greatly to the development of a stronger infrastructure for IT in the San Francisco Bay Area. ITEST DRL EHR Ikeda, Ken Moriah Ulinskas Carol Varney Naomi Kawamura Bay Area Video Coalition CA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 897066 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737631 October 1, 2007 Extreme Experience Lab. The Extreme Experience Lab program of the National Hispanic University and its Latino College Preparatory Academy, is a youth-based project designed to give 60 under-represented Hispanic high school students a two-year experience with three weekly meetings: FAB (building); LAB (data collection/measurement); and GAB (analysis and communicating) during the school year. A partnership with Overfelt High School will also enable the project to include students with disabilities. Activities include defining a problem, reducing it to a measurable experiment, fabricating apparatus, selecting probes, creating computer-controlled data collection systems, running and documenting experiments, analyzing data and communicating results. Through this format participants develop quarterly projects and then participate in a 30-hour summer intensive experience at the IBM Lab that introduces them to machine techniques, supercomputers and scientific visualization. The culminating activity is an extreme experience that connects STEM and IT content learning and skills with an intensive physical, emotional, or mental challenge. The extreme aspect of the program is designed to change the affective response of young people to science learning by combining learning, competence, and an extreme experience into a highly memorable accomplishment. In the interdisciplinary projects, science and IT concepts of scale, units, and calculations are combined with the development of critical observation skills. Participants gather and analyze data on projects with sensors, use spreadsheet software to analyze data, and create electronic presentations. All of the projects reinforce the manner in which industry scientists approach problems and use instruments to solve them. The program's parent component focuses on supporting young people in attaining four-year degrees. Extreme Experience Lab's industry partner, IBM Almeden Research Center offers the summer lab experience, program content, and student mentors through IBM's MentorPlace program. The program evaluation measures growth in content knowledge, skills, STEM course enrollments, and STEM learning motivation. This comprehensive experience will provide students with 120 contact hours per year. ITEST DRL EHR Johnson, David Thomas Zimmerman National Hispanic University CA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 898827 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737638 October 1, 2007 ITEST Learning Resource Center. This project is designed to implement Phase 2 of the ITEST Learning Resource Center at Education Development Center, Inc. Phase 2 emphasizes technical assistance for ITEST projects and building a national dissemination strategy. EDC provides ITEST projects with a comprehensive collection of Technical Assistance tools, resources, and services designed to support and strengthen the ITEST community by developing an understanding of projects' strengths and needs, addressing areas of highest impact, linking projects to existing resources, and building on the contributions of formal and informal learning environments. Technical Assistance deliverables include annual PI Summits, an ITEST web forum, publications, and a variety of informative online events (panel discussions, peer exchanges, webcasts, discussion lists). Individualized technical assistance for new and returning PIs, increased communication with resource centers for related NSF programs, and a more robust dissemination plan are also new features. Finally, ongoing project monitoring continues and contributes to the repository of data on ITEST projects including project models, evaluation plans, impacts, communities served, and participants. ITEST DRL EHR Malyn-Smith, Joyce Sarita Nair-Pillai Anthony Streit Caroline Parker Siobhan Bredin Education Development Center MA Sylvia M. James Cooperative Agreement 2766662 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737641 January 1, 2008 The Pulsar Search Collaboratory-A Comprehensive Project for Students and Teachers. The Pulsar Search Collaboratory project (PSC) will engage West Virginia teachers and students in world class research in radio astronomy through the analysis of data collected using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Using the power of grid computing and the interconnectivity of the internet, high school students will assist astronomers in analyzing large data sets collected specifically for the purpose of discovering new pulsars. Not only will students engage with information technology and its role in astronomical data reduction, they will also actively participate in cutting-edge scientific research and contribute to the advancement of science. Professional development and training for 60 high school teachers and 90 students will take place over the 3-year life of the grant. Teachers will be immersed in the research environment of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, WV, interacting with research scientists and the engineering and computer science staff of the NRAO as they learn about pulsar astronomy, and how data are collected, analyzed, and reported. They will participate in all facets of pulsar research from observing alongside astronomers using the GBT to conducting data reduction and analysis during a 17-day residential institute. NRAO and West Virginia University (WVU) faculty will assist participants in translating these activities into student-friendly modules. Students selected by participating teachers will join the teachers and PSC staff at NRAO for the final week of the institute to participate in detailed training. ITEST DRL EHR Heatherly, Sue Maura McLaughlin Duncan Lorimer Associated Universities Inc/National Radio Astronomy Observatory DC David A. Hanych Standard Grant 892838 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737642 October 1, 2007 Investigating Green Energy Technologies in the City: A Youth Based Project. Investigating Green Energy Technologies in the City (GET City) is a youth-based project designed to target underserved middle school students and introduce concepts in energy sustainability and environmental health. Partners include Michigan State University's College of Education and College of Engineering, Lansing Boys and Girls Club, Lansing Board of Water and Light, and Urban Options, a non-profit energy and environmental agency. Participants learn to use IT tools (GIS software, databases, and communication tools) and gain IT workforce skills, research experiences, science knowledge, and inquiry skills. Project components include bi-weekly afterschool sessions (18 weeks), a 3-week summer program with field-based design experiences, community energy events, parental involvement activities, career field trips, and a project website. Youth will also participate in an annual community fair and conduct energy audits. Topics covered include brownouts, environmental health, alternative energy sources, and green energy technologies. Youth will receive ongoing support from energy mentors and gain leadership experience. The project will result in the development of a curriculum that includes IT-based investigations with a focus on core energy concepts. GET City also includes a research component that examines youth identity development in science, engineering, and IT in an attempt to understand how the program supports participation in an IT community of practice. The research, in conjunction with the comprehensive evaluation, will contribute to the field by providing insight into how the program design fosters youth engagement and learning in science, engineering, and IT. Seventy youth will receive 280 contact hours over two years of participation. ITEST DRL EHR Calabrese Barton, Angela Scott Calabrese Barton Michigan State University MI Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 899995 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737649 November 1, 2007 Rhode Island Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (RI-ITEST). Rhode Island Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (RI-ITEST) is a comprehensive ITEST project for high school students and teachers. The goal of RI-ITEST is to prepare students from diverse backgrounds for careers in information technologies by engaging them in exciting, inquiry-based learning activities that use sophisticated computational models in support of a revolutionary science curriculum. It advances science education by enhancing the Physics First initiative in Rhode Island through the use of NSF funded student materials based on molecular modeling and promotes IT education by teaching modeling skills and providing students with career and vocational information on the use of computational models. The project provides over 120 hours of credit-bearing activities for 100 teachers and full support for classroom implementation. RI-ITEST is developing an optimal placement of the interactive materials from CC's Science of Atoms and Molecules project in the Physics First courses in Rhode Island; developing IT materials that are coordinated with the student materials that emphasize modeling skills and the career and vocational dimensions of computational modeling; preparing100 diverse Rhode Island science teachers in two cohorts to offer a course in the Physics-Chemistry-Biology sequence; developing materials and supports for using molecular dynamics and related IT materials for teachers in Rhode Island and elsewhere who are not ITEST participants; generating evidence for the effectiveness of the IT-enhanced project materials for increasing student learning and changing student attitudes about science, mathematics, and technology careers; reaching parents, guidance counselors, school administrators, and business partners with information about the project, student productions, and evidence for effectiveness; disseminating materials and findings to other teachers, programs, and districts nationwide. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Damelin, Daniel James Magyar Gerald Kowalczyk Concord Consortium MA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1259955 7259 7227 SMET 9178 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737667 September 1, 2007 Game Design Through Mentoring and Collaboration. A Youth-Based project is proposed by George Mason University in which the primary goal is to increase motivation, achievement, and exposure to STEM content of students from urban public schools by having them work with scientists and experts to design and build educational games that can be utilized by other students and teachers. The project is a partnership between George Mason University and McKinley Technology High School in Washington, DC. It will include 100 high school students from McKinley and other high schools and 100 middle school students from urban schools. During the academic year the project proposes a 3-week gaming camp which meets four hours each day while the academic year activities include 24weeks of activities for three hours each week. The project introduces fundamental concepts of IT as students develop human animation, multimedia authoring and rapid game prototyping using 3D tools. The project will include hands-on, inquiry-based activities with a strong emphasis on non-traditional approaches to learning and the intensive use of information technologies such as: web-based programming, GIS, architecture, database management, motion capture, LAN network management. The project targets urban traditionally underrepresented students from the Washington, DC area with the vision of being a model for other distance learning efforts. ITEST DRL EHR Clark, Kevin Kimberly Sheridan George Mason University VA Julia Clark Continuing grant 758425 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737668 July 1, 2008 The Harlem Children Society (HCS) Science and Engineering Mentoring Program. Abstract Proposal # 0737668 PI Name Bhattacharya, Sat Institution Harlem Children?s Society (HSC) Title HCS Science and Engineering Mentoring Program Project Summary The Harlem Children Society (HC) was established in 2000 with 3 students from 2 schools by a research scientist at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The project now serves 183 students from over 50 schools with 250 mentors at 50 institutions. HCS seeks NSF support to focus on the critical IT skills involved in bioinformatics, molecular biology, and protein chemistry, and on the innovative uses of technology for collaboration, communication, and community involvement. The goal is to have the students pursue IT and STEM education through high school and into college, and persist in the science track to careers or other applications using this training. The 3-year ITEST project will engage three cohorts of 50 students each, for a total of 150 students, drawn from New York. The target population is low-income and minority high school students, ages 14-18, in grades 9-12 with demonstrated interest and capacity in science from under resourced inner city and rural communities. All participants are from families with incomes below the US poverty guidelines?$35,000 or less for a family of four. Project components include (1) Coursework - the project will offer intensive, college-level course material in studies of bioinformatics, protein chemistry, and molecular biology to first year students in the weekly seminar. Students will obtain college credit for their research work from Bronx Community College, City College of New York, or the State University of New York at Albany. (2) Internships. ? At the outset of the program students will be assigned mentors, who will train them on research content and safe and proper handling of devices, instruments, and materials. Most students will join an existing research team with a defined research agenda. (3) Career orientation - Project staff/mentors will counsel students on course taking, college options, financial planning and career possibilities. (4) Communications Skills Training ? Participants will communicate with each other using IT to construct a map of their research projects, and form online communities to exchange information. They will learn to communicate scientific information to professional and lay audiences, and will present their work?at their schools, to their peers, and at professional conferences. (5) Family involvement - Families and communities will learn about student career options in IT and STEM; how to support them and the relevance of S&T to society and to their own communities. Families will be involved in the planning of the street fairs, and invited to special guest lectures. The project will work with local parent organizations, and community based groups to design strategies for reaching and involving families. Parents will be asked to keep journals and portfolios about their children?s experiences, and their own histories and reflections on science, technology, and society. (6) Science Street Fairs. These innovative events will bring high-level science, cutting edge technology, and compelling issues directly to the public. Products. The project will produce on-line resources for involving high school-age young people in IT-intensive research experiences, including protocols for training high school students in scientific research methods and technologies; syllabi for mini-courses in the content knowledge of protein chemistry, molecular biology, and bioinformatics; examples of student projects and parent reflections; tools for project implementation; a journal; and podcasts. Evaluation. Project Evaluation will be conducted by project staff, invited mentors, etc. and an external evaluator, who will utilize a mixed method research design to collect qualitative and quantitative data to assess the implementation and impact of the program. ITEST DRL EHR BHATTACHARYA, SAT Thomas Brennan HARLEM CHILDREN SOCIETY NY Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 584946 7227 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0737669 September 15, 2007 Plant IT Careers, Cases, and Collaborations. The Botanical Society of America, Texas A&M University, and BioQuest are collaborating to enhance student interest in information technology-related plant science careers and understanding of information technologies used in the study of plant science. The goals of the Plant IT Careers, Cases, and Collaborations project are to (1) increase high school and middle school student awareness of IT-intensive plant careers and practicing scientists, (2) create new and adapt existing instructional materials that enhance student interest in and understanding of plant biology and technologies scientists use in conducting plant research, (3) help secondary school teachers infuse technology and scientific inquiry into their teaching of plant biology, and (4) engage students and teachers in forming collaborative learning communities. The project is exposing students to diverse plant science career pathways and providing them with opportunities to conduct, design, and discuss plant science investigations. The STEM content focus is IT-rich topics in plant biology such as bioinformatics, biotechnology, GIS mapping, and image analysis. The IT emphasis is on video, modeling, spreadsheets, digital libraries, and online communication. The project is providing approximately 60 teachers recruited from across the nation with 120 hours of professional development during two-week long summer institutes and quarterly online reflection meetings during the school year. Approximately 70 students from rural and urban areas of Texas are attending one-week long summer camps. Indirectly, the project will impact at least 7,000 students nationwide. About 50 scientists are participating in project activities. The evaluation plan is assessing changes in participants' IT skills, science understanding, career awareness, attitudes, and practices. ITEST DRL EHR Hemingway, Claire Carol Stuessy Ethel Stanley Botanical Society of America MO David A. Hanych Standard Grant 932323 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737675 September 1, 2007 The Science of Small Things. The Science of Small Things is a youth based ITEST project that exposes 100+ low-income, urban, middle-school youth to nanotechnology and ensures that they develop the information technology skills and interests required to participate successfully in the emerging regional nanotechnology workforce. The Center for Family, Work and Community and the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for High-Rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell are collaborating with local Citizen Schools Programs at Wang and Robinson Middle Schools, Tsongas Industrial History Center, the American Textile Museum and industry partners Ratheon and Nypro, to introduce youth to the techniques that will enable commercialization of nanotechnology products. The project combines a set of year-round content-based, hands-on activities and computer simulations exploring the math and science of nanotechnology, career field trips and interactions with professional scientists from the CHN and industry partners, and exhibit and webpage development projects that result in presentations at local museums, robotics events and family events. The program evaluation measures change in science interest, skill level in using technology in the design process, and career awareness of the youth participants, and parental support of participants in STEM experiences. Changes in links between organizations and individuals are also measured as the university, business and community agencies work together to design and implement the program. ITEST DRL EHR Silka, Linda University of Massachusetts Lowell MA David A. Hanych Standard Grant 755691 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737679 January 1, 2008 Surprising Possibilities Imagined and Realized through Information Technology (SPIRIT) Comprehensive Project for Students and Teachers. Surprising Possibilities Imagined and Realized through Information Technology (SPIRIT) encourages women to pursue computer-related careers so as to provide a better gender balance in the Information Technology (IT) workplace. The SPIRIT project provides sixty-five high school teachers with professional development experiences using Alice, a programming tool that enhances STEM instruction while simultaneously demonstrating appealing aspects of IT. The teachers, along with counselors and students, also learn about a wide range of career options in IT. Before leaving the institute, the teachers develop a plan for using Alice-based lessons in their classrooms during the school year. The SPIRIT team serves as a resource to the teachers throughout the school year as they use Alice to support classroom instruction. It is expected that the Alice interventions will increase the interest level of the students, both for STEM subject areas as well as for IT. The summative evaluation plan is designed to determine if this expectation is met. ITEST DRL EHR Harriger, Alka Hubert Dunsmore Kyle Lutes Purdue University IN David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1258529 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737683 December 1, 2007 PROFIT: Pictures Represent Opportunities For Inspiration in Technology. Computing with pictures is an intuitive way to introduce secondary school students to information technology (IT), so this ITEST Comprehensive Project for Students and Teachers is centered on introducing Computer Vision and Imaging experiences into the core curriculum of mathematics and IT. Each year, twenty teachers and sixty incoming tenth grade students in the Greater Orlando area are involved in learning about and interacting with modules that explore the relationship between mathematics and pictorial computing. The areas of computer vision and imaging science are exciting because of their applications to such diverse areas as art, medicine, security, and entertainment. The modules focus on creating an understanding of the mathematical science that underlies pictorial algorithms. Inquiry-based learning, friendly team competition to develop a game, and a supportive, nurturing environment provide the educational framework so the experiences can be enjoyed by all. The teachers receive 120 hours of summer professional experience at the beginning of the PROFIT year, are supported by 40 hours of follow-up year-round contact in monthly weekend activities that include interactions with local IT companies, and attend a 40-hour reflective workshop at the end of the PROFIT year. The teachers also teach the students in the 80-hour Summer Institute. The students attend the Summer Institute, visit the university after school throughout the year, and attend quarterly weekend social events where they and their parents interact with local industry. Additionally, about 1500 students a year have immediate contact with PROFIT through modules introduced into the core classes regularly taught by the teachers. Industry is a significant partner in PROFIT via an Industrial Affiliation mechanism that exposes the teachers and students to industry speakers, industrial tours, high-school level internship opportunities, and job shadowing. ITEST DRL EHR da Vitoria Lobo, Niels Mubarak Shah Juli Dixon Regina Gresham University of Central Florida FL Joseph Reed Standard Grant 1200000 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0737703 January 1, 2008 UAB-Birmingham Consortium for Advanced Education in Computer Science. The proposed University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) ITEST Youth Based Project draws on the strengths of several units at UAB to facilitate high-end information technology (IT) training for about 200 high school students over three years. Nearly all of the participants will be from disadvantaged school districts that have over 95% minority students, with about 25% of students living below the national poverty threshold. The proposed program links together the Center for Community OutReach Development (CORD) and the UAB Schools of Engineering, Education and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Partnerships include Dell, Inc., Southern Research Institute, the McWane Science Center and the Black Data Processing Associates. The proposed program will engage students in math and IT through user-friendly hands-on imaging programs that resemble video games. Through the sequential introduction of math and computer science foundations for such programming, high school students will be prepared to be IT leaders from high through college and careers. Students will be recruited on the basis of their stated interest, teacher recommendations and their performance in the middle school CORD programs, which reach over 3,000 students in the school districts targeted by this proposal. The project proposes to develop and rigorously test new, discovery-based methods to enhance the integration of mathematics, science, and information technology. It will provide multi-year experiences for participating students which begins during the summer before their sophomore year and extends through their senior year in high school. Activities include: (1) a week-long Alice Film Festival discovery experience (2) an after-school, inquiry-based experience, Mathematizing Alice's World, to increase their understanding of the math behind visual imaging. (3) a weeklong experience using Robot C, to learn C programming using NXT Lego robots and (4) the design and completion of a project at the IDC facility by student teams weekly after school, under the mentorship of UAB facilitators, area teachers and parents. Parental involvement will be insured through the proposed Weekend Academy, Parent Leadership Team and other interactions. Monitoring of the students' progress in high school through college will assess the effectiveness of such programs to engage students and to propel them into IT-related careers. Like many other CORD programs, the proposed initiative will become self-sustaining. The project's impact will include 1) increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in IT-related education and careers, 2) providing role models and advocates for IT-related education, 3) creating a long-term sustainable IT-training program in Alabama and 4) making the programs in math and computer science broadly available to other schools and teachers in the US. ITEST DRL EHR Wyss, J. Michael John Mayer David Radford Alan Shih Jeffrey Gray University of Alabama at Birmingham AL Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 1080000 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0737706 January 1, 2008 CoastLines. CoastLines is a Comprehensive Project for Students and Teachers that will introduce fundamental concepts about information technologies (IT) to grade 7-12 schools. It will accomplish this goal by involving teachers and students in using geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) to conduct scientific studies of coastal ecosystems in the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. To facilitate rapid deployment of GIS in schools, reach diverse populations that are underrepresented in the IT industries, and lay the foundation for sustained implementation of project strategies, CoastLines will leverage educational outreach programs conducted at four sites in the LTER network: Florida Coastal Everglades, Moorea Coral Reef, Santa Barbara Coastal, and Virginia Coast Reserve. These sites will afford attractive coastal settings and exciting research scenarios to engage the hearts and minds of participants and provide concrete examples of how IT is used in professional practice. Active involvement of LTER site educational staff and research investigators as mentors and advisors will personalize LTER science, make IT relevant as a human enterprise, and support teachers as they adapt and create projects for their students. Skill development and teaching practice facilitated by CoastLines will build comfort and competence with using geospatial technologies as tools for research, decision making, communication, and teaching. The five core areas of research for the LTER network (primary production, population studies, movement of organic matter, movement of inorganic matter, and disturbance patterns) will provide foci for teacher and student work and afford connections to the curriculum taught at participating schools. Having teachers create activities in which participants apply the five steps of geographic thinking to investigate topics in these areas of research will teach basic science process and help students understand the importance of science and IT as tools for solving problems and improving conditions on Earth. ITEST DRL EHR Moore, Steven Allison Whitmer Science Approach, LLC AZ David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1039220 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737710 January 15, 2008 CommunITy Studios. Summary: Over a two-year period, this project will offer 70 middle and high school youths more than 135 contact hours of activities in information technology (IT) and science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Demographically, the project will select participants who are 70% minority, 70% low income, and 50% female. Three interlinked ?studios? will support the workplan. The studios include the Studio@Museum located in the heart of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History that will provide space for engaging in and displaying hands-on activities and the Studio@Timble Technical High School that will donate staff support and space for after school activities. The Studio@Neighborhood will create mobile sets of IT experiences based on work completed at the other two studios. The various audiences for this project will be youths, parents, and out-of-school-time providers. Summer and academic year activities are included in the workplan. Intellectual Merit: The project has a well-defined workplan that includes activities for IT and STEM. The curriculum is organized into sets of instructions and explorations called Cycles of IT Instruction. This approach encompasses overarching concepts with specific engagements, case studies, and other related activities that will allow youths to deeply explore existing and emerging IT and STEM phenomena. Youths will have access to digital cameras and sound automata sensors that they will use along with Cricket basics and PICOblocks programming to develop chain reactions and interactive displays for parents and other visitors to the museum, festivals, and workshops. Other activities will involve youths in distributed computing through communicating among Crickets, applying IT to biological interpretations, preparing informal demonstrations, logging and sharing data (microcontrollers and data collectors and loggers), and exploring how live animals may be used to form the basis of a technology study. The PI has the experience and assembled institutions with the capacity to launch, implement, and sustain this project. They will use lessons-learned from prior NSF funding to move youths beyond knowing specific language in IT and STEM to greater fluency about fundamental concepts underlying these fields, designing original work, imaging new possibilities, planning and executing ideas, and using technology to help the community. Broader Impacts: The project will greatly advance IT and STEM activities for underrepresented youths in the Forth Worth area. Family festivals, quarterly check-up calls, family memberships to the museum, and bi-annual meetings have all been included in the workplan to address parental involvement in the project. The roles and responsibilities of key partners (Boys Club, Chamber of Commerce, Fort Worth libraries, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Fort Worth Transit Authority, Tarrant County College, and IBM) have been identified for the proposed workplan. For example, Tarrant College will serve as a hotbed for IT based guests to work directly with youths, IBM will provide technology expertise and mentors, while the Transit Authority will provide youths with free passes to and from the museum. Sustainability efforts will include project staff as leaders of ?how to? workshops to help other organizations replicate various aspects of this projects and to develop strategies for creating additional revenue. Dissemination will occur through exhibits at the CommunITy Studio (or CITS), the museum websites, and presentations at tradeshows, festivals, and conferences. Partners have agreed to participate in dissemination efforts through their respective websites and media outlets. The evaluator has extensive experience in evaluating out-of-school activities and will collect relevant data to provide a wealth of information to guide sustainability, dissemination, and future efforts. ITEST DRL EHR Barthelemy, Cathy Cynthia Fisher Miller Carla Stanford Fort Worth Museum of Science and History TX Celestine Pea Standard Grant 886852 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0737714 September 15, 2007 CyberBridge. This is a project to engage students and teachers with the rapidly expanding science content available using information technology and through the cyberinfrastructure. Learners seldom have an opportunity to also be contributors, and underserved and disadvantaged students are most often bypassed for such opportunities. The project uses methods that the PI believes inspire student involvement and learning, engage teachers, and meet district/state/national standards. The partners include Sweetwater Unified High School District, the University of California at San Diego, San Diego State University, and a number of local IT firms and others. The workshops are interdisciplinary and include 25-30 teachers each summer (three-year total of 75 teachers) from science, math and English classrooms working with "scientists renowned for interdisciplinary science collaboration, and pedagogy experts." In addition, 200 students are involved each summer helping to develop activities and acquiring media, communication and leadership skills. The activities include student and teacher teams designing and developing "STEMtube clips (in Spanish and English), short videos that document/demonstrate science concepts, career options or explicate scientific journal articles." ITEST DRL EHR Bourne, Philip University of California-San Diego CA Michael Haney Continuing grant 1195636 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0738247 August 15, 2007 (SGER) Shifting Mindsets: A Study of a First-Year Implementation of "New Technology High School". PI: Gresalfi 0738247 This small grant for exploratory research (SGER) examines the kinds of changes teachers and students go through in their first year of implementing a New Technology High School (NTHS) project-based curriculum for ninth graders in two high schools. This first year of implementation is part of a phased-in implementation for subsequent grades. The NTHS approach calls for moving from more traditional approaches to mathematics and science education to project-based curriculula that posits mathematics and science in the context of real world issues and problesm. The study is time sensitive because there are two schools in Indiana that will begin implementation in the summer of 2007, and the study must begin the collection of baseline data in the fall of 07. Both schools are in urban districts with historically low levels of student performance. Examining how a whole community of students and teachers adapt to a new and more inquiry-oriented approach for science and mathematics isntruciton provides a unique opportunity for studying professional development, whole school implementation of technology supported project-based curricula, and assessing student results. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gresalfi, Melissa Catherine Brown Gayle Buck Meredith Park Rogers Dionne Cross Indiana University IN Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 198439 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0739874 March 1, 2008 Making Natural Connections: An Authentic FIeld Research Collaboration. Making Natural Connections: An Authentic Field Research Collaboration, led by Washington University, is a comprehensive five-year project designed to engage underserved students in grades 11 and 12 in field-based exploration of the environment. Primary project partners include the Tyson Research Center (TRC) at Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden's Shaw Nature Reserve. The four deliverables are as follows: a field program at the Shaw Nature Reserve (SNR), an environmental biology research program, a research communication strategy, and a one-week training experience for science educators to promote dissemination of the program model. The Summer Institute for Field Training (SIFT) at the SNR targets rising eleventh graders with a one-year training program beginning in the summer. Students are introduced to basic ecological concepts, including aquatic biodiversity assessments, species interactions, mark and recapture population studies, population viability exercises, and predator/prey relationships. Other activities include participation in restoration activities and introduction to research skills including plant and animal identification, census techniques, and use of GPS and GIS. Students next participate in the Tyson Environmental Research Fellowship (TERF) in which they work closely with environmental biology faculty, post doctoral fellows, and undergraduate research fellows. Teen cohorts are engaged in research projects on such topics as invasive species impacts and eradication, biodiversity and rare species conservation, and the ecology of infectious diseases. The Research Communication plan includes the development of displays and community presentations to showcase the results of youth research. Finally, the National Dissemination Workshop is a one-week training session for informal science and outreach educators which provides the necessary materials and background to replicate the project design in other locales. The summative evaluation will address impacts on teenage participants (engagement, cognitive and emotional support, competence, career viability, experiential learning), public audiences (awareness of environmental issues, science skills, and knowledge, value, and research impacts), and professional audiences (implementation of teen program, program components). The strategic impact of this project results from the integration of teenage immersion experiences or cultural apprenticeships into research activities at a university-based facility. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Chase, Jonathan Peter Raven Washington University MO Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 555124 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741029 May 27, 2007 Calipers: Using Simulations to Assess Complex Science Learning. This two-year demonstration project would develop on-line simulation-based tasks to assess middle school students' higher order learning, focusing on those skills associated with the ability to manipulate and analyze data. The development team includes assessment experts from SRI, researchers from the Concord Consortium and the staff of the Technology Enhanced Learning in Science (TELS) Center for Learning and Teaching. The project's goals are (1) to develop and field test several prototype assessments linked to national standards, (2) to examine the economic and logistic feasibility of these tasks for use in the classroom and (3) to explore scaling the simulation tasks to a level suitable for standardized testing. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELP DRL EHR Quellmalz, Edys WestEd CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 53370 7355 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0741583 September 1, 2008 Lupe's Story. The Children's Museum of San Jose, in collaboration with developmental psychology researchers at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) and science and education staff of the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology (UCMP), is conducting a 48-month long project that focuses on children's use of evidence to construct scientific explanations. Key deliverables are: a 2,300 square-foot paleontology exhibit with an Evidence Central area three "evidence hubs" at the Children's Museum of San Jose, an educational Web site developed by UCMP, research on children's use of evidence conducted by Maureen Callanan's research group at UCSC, a "state of the children's museum field" study on varieties of perspectives on "science" and "evidence," and professional development experiences for staff at children's museums. Additional partners include the children's museums in Austin, TX, Madison, WI, and Providence, RI and local Vietnamese and Latino organizations in the museum's neighborhood. Randi Korn & Associates will conduct the program summative evaluation process and the "state of the field" study. The project identifies and will work to address two specific needs in the field: (a) a clearer sense of the developmental progression of children's understanding of evidence, and (b) a rigorous and systematic investigation of children's open-ended reasoning about evidence in a rich content domain (paleontology). The strategic impact goal is to build capacity in children's museums, enabling them to offer more evidence-based science learning experiences for their visitors. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Martin, Jennifer Maureen Callanan Judith Scotchmoor Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1388589 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741601 May 1, 2008 Kids' Survey Network: Developing and Studying an Apprenticeship Network for Informal Math and Science Learning. This project will create and study Kids' Survey Network as an exemplar of a new, replicable model of informal learning called an apprenticeship network. The project will develop the data literacy of future learners, workers, and citizens by empowering participants aged 11-14 to develop survey projects to address their own questions about local community issues. Research on the project will illuminate core questions relating to the design and potential impact of the apprenticeship network, including social and motivational dynamics, community and technology-based scaffolding, educational game genres, and conditions of effective use. The project deliverables include four components: (1) a web-based community of practice; (2) a common set of tools; (3) a suite of learning games and tutorials; and (4) structures for tiered, team-based advancement. Tertl Studios LLC and MIT's Education Arcade will develop the learning games, SRI International will conduct the evaluation, leading regional and national informal education organizations will provide test bed sites, and professional survey research organizations will provide technical and volunteer assistance INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Rowe, Elizabeth Christopher Hancock Diana Nunnaley TERC Inc MA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2375266 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741610 August 1, 2008 Outreach and Educational Support for Ongoing Research at Columbia Glacier, Alaska. This project is processing still photographs and time-lapse photography of Alaska?s Columbia Glacier and making them available to science media and the public through a web site. Collaborators include research scientist W. Tad Pfeffer, National Geographic photographer James Balog, and Mark McCaffrey, a member of the Outreach Committee for the International Polar Year. The images and web site information are highlighting the contribution of glaciers with fast dynamic response to the rise of global sea level and to climate change. The project is conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness of the web site at informing the science media and the public. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Pfeffer, W. Tad University of Colorado at Boulder CO Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0741644 May 1, 2008 Peep and The Big Wide World `Anywhere Math` Initiative, Season 4. Proposal Number: DRL 07-41644 Institution: WGBH Educational Foundation PI: Kate Taylor Title of Project: Peep and the Big Wide World "Anywhere Math" Season 4 WGBH Educational Foundation will produce and distribute 10 new episodes of the award-winning TV series PEEP and the Big Wide World, launching a new initiative "Anywhere Math". In addition, funds will help launch an expanded PEEP Web site, and develop and evaluate an outreach plan targeted to Native American preschoolers. PEEP's three intended impacts are to (1) engage preschoolers in science explorations that promote positive attitudes and inquiry skills, (2) empower parents to encourage and support their children's science activities and promote the ideas of "science play", and (3) provide educational resources and professional development for preschool educators via a curriculum that contributes to the emerging field of preschool science and math education. Project partners include Head Start, Science Olympiad, Countdown to Kindergarten, and the Boston Children's Museum. The series is produced by WGBH and broadcast on TLC and Discovery Kids. This upcoming season the show will also be broadcast on public television via APT. Goodman Research Group will conduct formative and summative evaluations to assess project impact. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate Wolsky Marisa WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1955791 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0741659 September 15, 2008 ARIEL - Augmented Reality for Interpretive and Experiential Learning. Institution: Franklin Institute Science Museum PI: Snyder, Steve Project: ARIEL - Augmented Reality for Interpretive and Experiential Learning Proposal No.: DRL-0741659 PROJECT SUMMARY In partnership with the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center, the Franklin Institute Science Museum will develop, test, and pilot an exportable and replicable cyberlearning exhibit using two cutting edge technologies: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). The exhibit's conceptualization is anchored in the learning research vision of the NSF-funded workshop Cyberinfrastructure for Education and Learning for the Future (Computing Research Association, 2005). The incorporation of VR and AR technologies into the Franklin Institute's electricity and Earth science exhibits is an innovation of traditional approaches to hands-on learning and will improve the quality of the learning experience for the primary audience of families with children and elementary school groups. The project has implications for future exhibit development and more broadly, will provide new research on learning on how to incorporate cyberlearning efforts into traditional exhibits. Fifteen participating exhibit developers across the ISE field will assist in the evaluation of the new exhibit; receive training on the design and development of VR and AR exhibits for their institutions; and receive full access to the exhibit's new software for implementation at their informal learning sites. The technology applications will be developed by Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center--leaders in the field in Virtual Reality design and development. Front-end and formative evaluation will be overseen internally by the Franklin Institute. The Institute for Learning Innovation will conduct the summative evaluation. Research will be conducted by the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education on the effects of AR and VR technologies on exhibit learning. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Snyder, Steven Karen Elinich Susan Yoon Franklin Institute Science Museum PA Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1100751 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741683 April 15, 2008 CYBERCHASE SEASON 7: DO THE MATH!. Cyberchase is public television's daily, animated "math adventure series" targeted to children aged 8-11. Thirteen/WNET New York will develop and produce seven new episodes, a multi-media initiative on Math and Weather, plus an innovative series of ten video "math moments" called Do the Math! to be released on air, online, and on broadband. Cyberchase's content spans the 3rd-5th grade standards of the National Council of Mathematics. The series goals include: 1) reinforce mathematical knowledge; 2) model mathematics reasoning and help children improve their problem-solving skills; 3) demonstrate the usefulness of math in everyday life; and 4) inspire all children to approach math with enthusiasm and confidence. Ancillary materials, outreach, and a highly popular Web site extend the learning and help make Cyberchase the sole mathematics media project available for the target age group. Cyberchase is now in its sixth production season and fifth year of daily PBS broadcast. The new season will build on the successful format to model effective problem-solving processes, expand the math-rich Web site and bring Cyberchase to today's new-media platforms to prompt children to do math. Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the 3D Builder's Math game using an operational prototype working with a sample of students and do a naturalistic summative evaluation to assess impact of the video shorts. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Sandra Michael Templeton Frances Nankin Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1720000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741685 March 1, 2008 The City as Learning Lab: Spreading Technological Fluency Through Creative Robotics. The City as Learning Lab (CaLL) is a comprehensive research and development initiative designed to create new measures of audience impact in technology experiences; identify features of university-community collaboration that facilitate sustainable community programs; and produce a set of tools and resources that allow other cities to tailor creative robotics programs to unique audiences. Project partners include the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out-of-School Environments (UPCLOSE), the Community Robotics Education and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) lab at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, and the Georgia Institute of Technology as well as local museums, community organizations, and afterschool clubs. CaLL builds on the work of three existing youth technology programs in Pittsburgh targeting audiences ages 9-15: the Robot Diaries, Neighborhood Nets, and Robot 250. Research questions relate to creative processes in informal learning settings, use of robotics to engage diverse audiences, and changes in technological fluency after students leave the informal learning setting and apply their new knowledge and skills at home or in other learning contexts. The research incorporates data from up to 1000 program participants. Findings will establish evidence for how technological fluency can be measured, supported, and developed through informal technology learning experiences. Project deliverables include a CaLL curriculum, toolkit, new measures of audience impact, and identification of factors that support university/community collaborations. Broader impacts in informal technology education will be achieved by developing flexible toolkits that allow other communities to adapt and adopt CaLL technologies, curricula, and activities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Crowley, Kevin Catherine Eberbach Marti Louw University of Pittsburgh PA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1067614 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741709 May 15, 2008 Family Engineering for Parents & Elementary-Aged Children. Michigan Technological University will collaborate with David Heil and Associates to implement the Family Engineering Program, working in conjunction with student chapters of engineering societies such as the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the Society of Hispanic Professionals (SHP) and a host of youth and community organizations. The Family Engineering Program is designed to increase technological literacy by introducing children ages 5-12 and their parents/caregivers to the field of engineering using the principles of design. The project will reach socio-economically diverse audiences in the upper peninsula of Michigan including Native American, Hispanic, Asian, and African American families. The secondary audience includes university STEM majors, informal science educators, and STEM professionals that are trained to deliver the program to families. A well-researched five step engineering design process utilized in the school-based Engineering is Elementary curriculum will be incorporated into mini design challenges and activities based in a variety of fields such as agricultural, chemical, environmental, and biomedical engineering. Deliverables include the Family Engineering event model, Family Engineering Activity Guide, Family Engineering Nights, project website, and facilitator training workshops. The activity guide will be pilot tested, field tested, and disseminated for use in urban, suburban, and rural settings. Strategic impact will result from the development of content-rich engineering activities for families and the dissemination of a project model that incorporates the expertise of engineering and educational professionals at multiple levels of implementation. It is anticipated that 300 facilitators and 7,000-10,000 parents and children will be directly impacted by this effort, while facilitator training may result in more than 27,000 program participants. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hutzler, Neil David Heil Christine Cunningham Joan Chadde Eric Iversen Michigan Technological University MI Leslie K. Goodyear Continuing grant 1157486 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741737 August 1, 2008 Out of This World. Absract Soundprint Media in association with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and RLPaul Productions, will produce a website, radio programs, and museum-based family events related to the 50th anniversary of the Space Program. Participants will experience uner-reported stories from the history of space science, beginning just before the 1957 launch of Sputnik and running until 1978 when the first six women joined the astronaut corp. The historical perspectives are primarily the contributions made by African Americans and women to the space program, and the space program's connection to the civil rights movment. The project would coincide with the opening in 2008 of a major NASM exhibition also called Out of This World. The project's audiences include adults, children and families underserved youth, including girls and African-Americans. This project's evaluator is Learning Experience Design. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Paul, Richard Moira Rankin Soundprint Media Center, Inc. MD Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 932149 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741738 May 1, 2008 Have you spotted me: Learning lessons by looking for ladybugs. "Have You Spotted Me? Learning Lessons by Looking for Ladybugs" is an innovative citizen science project that targets children from Native American, rural, farming, and disadvantaged communities. While most citizen science efforts target teens and adults, this project enables youth ages 5-11 to contribute to the development of a major ladybug database. Adult mentors in youth programs introduce children to topics such as ladybugs, invasive species, biodiversity, and conservation. Youth not affiliated with a program may participate independently. Project deliverables include a self-contained education program, an Internet portal and project website, a dedicated corps of volunteers, and the largest, accessible biological database ever developed. The database is made more reliable by utilizing records accompanied by an identifiable data image as a certified data point. Partners include the NY State 4-H, South Dakota State 4-H, Migrant Worker Children's Education Program, Cayuga Nature Center, Seneca Nation Department of Education Summer Programs, Seneca Nation Early Childhood Learner Centers After School Program, and the Onondaga Nation After School Program. Strategic impact will be realized through the creation of a citizen science project that provides hands-on interactions, field experiences, and accessible data that creates unique learning opportunities for youth. It is estimated that nearly 10,000 youth will be impacted by this work. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Losey, John Leslie Allee LOUIS HESLER Michael Catangui John Pickering Cornell University - State NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1366248 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741746 February 15, 2008 3rd Rock Reality. The centerpiece of this project is a daily audio podcast-young, snappy, and fresh with the African-American experience prominent in its multicultural orientation. These will be linked to bi-weekly video podcasts in the format of teleconferences. These will explore in depth key scientific developments with panelists made up of researchers, emerging scientists and the general public. The target audience is 18-30 year old minorities. 3rd Rock Reality will be produced in cooperation with Howard and Clark Atlanta Universities that will provide leadership for a broad consortium of institutions linked to the project which will identify emerging topics and scientists, and provide additional dissemination and outreach. Additional collaborating institutions include Woods Hole Research Center, Boston College, Hunter College, Harvard University and Yale University. RMC Research Corporation will conduct the evaluation INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Curwood, Stephen Shorna Broussard Cynthia Winston World Media Foundation MA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2050670 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741749 May 1, 2008 DragonflyTV GPS: Investigating the Nanoworld. Twin Cities Public Television will produce six new episodes for the Dragonfly TV GPS (Going Places in Science) series in order to inform a mass audience of children, adults and educators about the revolutionary advances taking place in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The new programs will shine the DragonflyTV GPS spotlight on the network of science museums in the NISE Network, showcasing the new nanoscience programs and exhibits that are currently being developed. DragonflyTV, a weekly science television series targeted at children ages 8-12, presents children engaged in inquiry-based investigations, on-location in science centers across America. Each investigation will demonstrate the direct connection between learning experiences in science centers and the application of those lessons in everyday life. Each Nanoworld episode will apply the Dragonfly "Real Kids . . . Real Science" model, communicating both the scientific process and basic concepts in nanoscience. The DragonflyTV GPS will involve collaboration with the NISE Network, led by the Museum of Science in Boston, the Exploratorium, and the Science Museum of Minnesota. The episodes will be distributed by PBS Plus. Ancillary products will include an Educator's Guide, a Nanoworld poster, and a website featured on pbskids.org/go. Multimedia Research and will conduct formative and summative evaluations of the television production. Inverness Research will evaluate the collaborative process between TPT and the museum partners, and identify specific lessons learned by each group. ENG NNI SPECIAL STUDIES INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION NANO NON-SOLIC SCI & ENG AWD RET SUPPLEMENTS DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Twin Cities Public Television MN Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1982391 7681 7259 7237 7218 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0741751 July 15, 2008 The World's Science and Technology Initiative. This project builds the capacity of public radio's The World, a daily one hour global news broadcast to cover a broad spectrum of science and technology topics. The project would produce 6-8 broadcast features each month and two weekly science and technology podcasts. PRI in partnership with its primary partner, Sigma Xi will develop and implement The World's Virtual Science Cafe, an innovative content-rich Web 2.0 resource for the public to engage in week-long synchronous moderated online discussions, facilitated by independent science and technology experts. This convergence of audio content and online discussions will help the target audience of 25-44 year olds broaden their understanding of key global scientific and technological issues. The World is a collaboration between PRI, WGBH, and the BBC. Edumetrics, led by Dr. Arthur Johnson, will conduct the evaluation focusing on the audience impacts of an integrated broadcast and online participatory media platform. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ward, Melinda Public Radio International MN Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 696176 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0741760 September 1, 2008 Future Earth Initiative. DRL 0741760 Future Earth Initiative PI: Patrick Hamilton Science Museum of Minnesota ABSTRACT The Science Museum of Minnesota, in collaboration with six NSF-funded Science and Technology Centers (STCs) around the country, are developing several deliverables around the theme of the Anthropocene epoch, i.e., the idea that the Earth is currently in a period of its history where humans are the dominant planetary agents of change. Deliverables include: (1) a 3,500 square-foot exhibit at the museum; (2) a changing set of small exhibits on sustainability science and design that will be both at the museum and the University of Minnesota; (3) an Earth Buzz Web site equivalent in intent to the museum?s very popular Science Buzz site on current science; (4) kiosks with Earth Buzz experiences in selected public venues where the STCs are; (5) Talking Circle discussion groups with decision makers on the implications of the exhibit topic for policy; and (6) youth programs and activities that engage them with the exhibit, Web site, and careers in STEM. The exhibits and Web site will feature scientific visualizations and computational models adapted to public learning environments from the STCs? research. Twin Cities Public Television will produce several first-person narrative videos of scientists and their research that will be incorporated into the deliverables as well as be packaged as a program for public television. The intended strategic impact on the field of informal STEM education is twofold: (1) to learn how to accelerate the dissemination of scientific research to public audiences; (2) to continue to explore ways science centers/museums can use exhibitions as educational frameworks for public policy dialogues. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hamilton, Patrick Robert Garfinkle Paul Morin Karen Campbell Science Museum of Minnesota MN Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2634383 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0742033 September 15, 2007 Revised Program Evaluation Standards, 3rd Edition: Field Trials of the Applicability and Quality for STEM Program and Project Evaluations. Hopson Abstract PROPOSAL SUMMARY: BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE) is an independent, non-profit, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) member organization whose mission is the development and dissemination of standards related to personnel, student and program evaluation (JCSEE, 1994; 2003; in press). The standards development process as approved by the JCSEE and endorsed by ANSI relies heavily on user and stakeholder input and feedback in the development of standard content and format. A most important group of stakeholders to provide information on the quality of the Program Evaluation Standards is comprised of practicing STEM educators and curriculum and program developers. The PgES Development Task Force is proposing three national meetings of STEM educators with a stake in STEM program evaluation to meet with the PgES Task Force members. Stakeholder-participants at these meetings will review selected 3rd Edition draft standards and apply them to evaluation tasks, such as STEM curriculum, program or project improvement or accountability studies. Using well-developed field trial and review materials, the Task Force members will facilitate trials of the developed standards that result in identifying ways to improve the standards for the typical applications and uses by STEM educators. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Hopson, Rodney Donald Yarbrough Duquesne University PA Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 26140 7261 SMET 9177 0742113 August 15, 2007 (SGER) The Educational Neuroscience of Integer Understanding. A fundamental question for learning theory is how people build upon a mature system of knowledge so they can go beyond that system. In an effort to develop a collaborative-from-the-start educational neuroscience, the PIs are addressing this question in the context of mathematics learning. By the age of twelve, children have nearly adult levels of fluency at comparing natural numbers. Child behavioral data and adult fMRI and behavioral data indicate that these comparisons depend on neurological processes that also compare perceptual magnitudes. Around this same age, children are introduced to the integers, which build upon, but go beyond, the natural numbers. The PIs' initial behavioral data indicate that children initially understand negative numbers by applying rules. For example, to determine the larger of a negative and a positive digit, they simply note which one has the negative sign. In contrast, the adult behavioral data exhibit the signature of a perceptual phenomenon known as categorical perception, such that zero has become an important boundary for making comparisons. Using a combination of fMRI, developmental, and instructional data, the PIs are testing whether the long-term combination of rules and the well-known natural numbers evolves into a representation of integers that partakes of perceptual processes. If so, this will provide a model instance of how educational neuroscience can contribute novel theories to education and neuroscience. For example, common wisdom has it that abstract rules arise from perceptual representations, but if the PIs' hypothesis is true, then the development of integer understanding is an instance where perception-like representations arise from the application of abstract rules. REESE DRL EHR Schwartz, Daniel Vinod Menon Stanford University CA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 109634 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0742157 July 15, 2008 Conference Grant: Informal Science for Latinos. The Self-Reliance Foundation will develop a conference that has the overarching goal of laying the groundwork for the development of strategic partnerships for involving Latino audiences in informal science learning, led by informal science institutions nationwide. Numbering over 42 million, Latinos are now the largest ethnic/racial minority group in America; in recent years, 1 of every 2 new Americans has been Latino. Educational opportunities, formal and informal, are not keeping pace. Latino students score lower on math and science achievement tests than national averages, enroll at disproportionately lower levels, and are underrepresented in undergraduate and graduate science and engineering programs. Latino families are under-represented among those who visit science centers and other like institutions. Latino students are under-enrolled in after-school programs. There is no Spanish-language NPR or PBS; there is little science available on Spanish-language media, including radio, television, and newspapers. The conference will bring together informal science institutions and science research organizations together with Hispanic organizations, media, and educational projects to review current ISE resources, identify needs and gaps, learn about best practices in designing culturally effective programs and resources, and develop new strategies and resources to enrich the informal science learning environment for Latinos. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Russell, Robert Self Reliance Foundation DC Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 245069 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0742614 August 1, 2008 CAREER: Teacher Learning Communities: Centering the Teaching of Mathematics on Urban Youth. CAREER: Centering the Teaching of Mathematics on Urban Youth integrates educational and research activities with the ultimate goal of improving the mathematics education of students in high poverty, urban high schools. The project is situated in an urban schools context with a specific focus on developing secondary mathematics teachers? capacity for implementing culturally relevant mathematics pedagogy (CuReMaP). CuReMaP consists of three elements: 1) teaching mathematics for understanding, 2) including aspects of the lived experiences of students and their communities as contexts for mathematization, and 3) utilizing mathematics to analyze or describe societal themes or inequities to develop students? awareness, mathematical literacy and sense of agency so that they can fully participate in our nation?s democracy. The project is organized around two main objectives: 1) to better prepare and support high school teachers to teach mathematics effectively, using a framework of culturally relevant mathematics pedagogy and 2) to gain a research based understanding of the outcomes of culturally relevant mathematics pedagogy for students in high poverty, urban high schools. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Rubel, Laurie CUNY Brooklyn College NY Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 183749 7645 SMET 9177 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0742969 September 15, 2007 NSF Forum - Guam. Project Summary NSF Forum - Guam The proposed Forum will provide skill-building workshops and information about the resources and services of the National Science Foundation [NSF] to researchers and educators from a range of U.S. Pacific Island jurisdictions to encourage and broaden their participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and the workforce. Recommendations from previous NSF outreach targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI, 2003) stressed two urgencies: 1) the need to develop capacity and support projects specific to the needs of Pacific Islanders, and 2) the need to bring information and conduct trainings on-site in the Pacific region. As a result, in 2006, a Pacific-based Outreach Workshop convened in Hawaii (NSF, 2006). Most of the attendees represented the islands of Oahu and Hawaii; however, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands also participated. Such exposure was beneficial to all, though, for participants beyond Hawaii it underscored how little regular access they have to quality information and advice in these arenas. Also the activities and discussions further illuminated the fact that the Pacific Island jurisdictions have neither the resources nor the same needs as the state of Hawaii. It is clear that broader outreach is needed so that NSF can more specifically address the education, evaluation, and research needs of all Pacific entities that maintain relationships with the U.S. and ultimately increase their participation in STEM education and careers. We propose to convene a diverse international group (approximately 30) from across the Pacific all of whom are underrepresented in higher education and STEM fields. Participants will come from U.S. Pacific Island jurisdictions: Guam, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae), the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (Rota, Saipan, Tinian), and American Samoa. Guam was selected as a strategic location for the meeting because 1) as a U.S. Territory it qualifies for a range of NSF funding opportunities, 2) it is in reasonable proximity to the other Micronesian entities, as well as American Samoa, and 3) it has the capacity and infrastructure to support the meeting. Intellectual Merit This coordinated international effort to bring NSF resources and services to more isolated entities across the Pacific will inform the professional growth of educators and others and impact exemplary community-driven STEM education for indigenous students of Pacific Island descent. Broad Impacts A growing group of knowledgeable educators and other professionals will work collaboratively to pursue NSF funding for programs and research, and bring new knowledge to their communities, national and international meetings, and future events, increasing the participation of Pacific Islanders in STEM education and careers. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Nelson-Barber, Sharon WestEd CA Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 98632 7261 SMET 9177 0743835 August 15, 2007 IPAM/Statistics Graduate Workshop. The proposed workshop, 'Probabilistic Models of Cognition: The Mathematics of Mind,' will bring together leaders from cognitive science, computer science, mathematics, and statistics who are interested in developing a common mathematical framework for all aspects of cognition, and review how it explains empirical phenomena such as vision, memory, reasoning, learning, planning, and language. This program is motivated by recent advances which offer the promise of modeling human cognition mathematically. The workshop will entail presentations by leading faculty-level lecturers and an audience of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and more senior researchers interested in focusing their efforts on probabilistic models of cognition and their applications. Attendees will represent a number of disciplines, including cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, engineering, and education. Researchers interested in education should be equipped with a wide range of new computational, mathematical and statistical tools that can be used to improve educational technology, curriculum design and assessment, through the development of qualitatively more powerful models of human learning. Researchers in all of these fields, as well as basic cognitive-science researchers, should benefit immensely from interacting with each other and learning about this new generation of cognitive modeling approaches in an unprecedented interdisciplinary environment, with both basic and applied research themes represented among the lectures and discussions. REESE ROBUST INTELLIGENCE PERCEPTION, ACTION & COGNITION DRL EHR Yuille, Alan Mark Green University of California-Los Angeles CA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 99198 7625 7495 7252 SMET 9237 9177 0744213 June 1, 2008 CAREER: Curiosity, exploratory play, and the foundations of scientific inquiry. The proposed project investigates the broad claim that it is through exploratory play that young children learn causal relationships that provide a foundation for early science education. The work has important implications for education research and materials develop because it engages central assumptions underlying inquiry-based instruction and the design of museum exhibits. The investigator suggests that exploratory play is consistent with formal principles of causal learning. She predicts that children (ages 4-9 years) selectively engage in such play a) when observed evidence provides equal support for more than one plausible hypothesis, and b) when observed evidence provides strong support for a hypothesis that is implausible given the child?s naïve theories. The PI suggests that these two conditions of exploration are united by a common learning mechanism (captured by Bayesian inference models). She will conduct 10 studies, including modeling and randomized controlled experiments, looking at children?s interest in exploring ambiguity and at their abilities to design informative interventions. The specific causes investigated fall roughly within the domains of mechanical engineering and intuitive physics, as the children explore the working of gears and switches and the relation of mass to balance, but the work has implications for the understanding of causation in STEM fields more broadly. The proposed research will be conducted in collaboration with the Boston Children?s Museum and the Museum of Science. REESE DRL EHR Schulz, Laura Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Sue Allen Continuing grant 288385 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0744486 August 1, 2008 CAREER: A Comprehensive Modeling Approach to Cognitively Diagnostic Assessment: Methodological Developments and Practical Implementations. This project will develop an 8th grade assessment for proportional reasoning from a cognitive diagnosis model (CDM) framework. CDMs are psychometric models developed specifically for diagnosing the presence or absence of fine-grained skills or processes required in solving problems on a test. Assessments based on CDMs can provide information deemed more diagnostic and descriptive, therefore, more relevant in applied instructional settings. This project will also introduce a comprehensive framework that will make the construction, administration and analysis of such assessments more practicable. New models, methodologies, and a computer program will be developed in this project to facilitate wider applications of CDMs. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR de la Torre, Jimmy Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 306279 7645 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0745474 June 1, 2008 CAREER: Teaching Mathematics Well in Community Colleges: Understanding the Impact of Reform-Based Instructional Resources. This research program seeks to study how standards recommendations regarding a student-centered approach to mathematics instruction can be actualized so that systematic investigations of its impact on students? learning can be carried out. I propose (1) sensitizing studies: to understand the contexts in which mathematics faculty in community colleges teach; and (2) probing studies: to test conditions under which teaching strategies designed to influence planning, classroom interaction, and verification practices affect instruction. I use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection, analysis, and interpretation. This work will develop our understanding of artifacts in teaching, how planning is affected and how classroom interaction can be changed in undergraduate classrooms. The results will highlight the critical conditions under which mathematics is delivered in community colleges and contribute to raise awareness of the need to support them as they strive to improve their practices. REESE DRL EHR Mesa, Vilma University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 273058 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0746137 October 1, 2007 SGER: Exploratory Study of the Relationship between Students ' Mental Models of Climate Change and Their Environmentally Sustainable Decisions and Behavior. The purpose of this SGER is to develop measures of students' conception of climate change and examine the conjecture that environmentally sustainable decisions and behavior are related to these conceptions of the natural world. Specifically, the study asks: (1) Can mental models of climate change be measured reliably, validly and efficiently to provide a gauge on students' understanding: (2) if so, what mental models of Climate Change do middle, high school and college students hold? (3) What is the correlation between students' mental models and their demographic characteristics, reported behavioral and policy preferences regarding Climate Change? The project is timely because environmental issues are receiving wide media coverage and much public discussion. Improving our understanding of what kinds of education interventions alter students' behaviors around climate change is of national importance. The study would initiate an innovative approach to building the empirical knowledge base about how and why secondary school and college students' alter their behaviors around the critical issue of climate change. REESE DRL EHR Shavelson, Richard Stanford University CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 188312 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0746348 August 15, 2008 CAREER: Scientific Role-Playing Games for 21st-Century Citizenship. Video games have been heralded as models of technology-enhanced learning environments as they exemplify many of the ideas emerging from contemporary learning sciences research. In particular, such games promote learning through goal-directed action in simulated environments, through producing as well as consuming information, embedded assessments, and through participation in self-organizing learning systems. Research suggests that participation in such environments involves many forms of scientific thinking and may lead to increased civic engagement, although to date, there are few examples of game-based learning environments that capitalize on these affordances. This project will investigate the potential of online role playing games for scientific literacy through the iterative design and research of Saving Lake Wingra, an online role playing game around a controversial development project in an urban area. Saving Lake Wingra positions players as ecologists, department of natural resources officials, or journalists investigating a rash of health problems at a local lake, and then creating and debating solutions. Players will solve challenges within an interactive, simulated lake ecosystem as they attempt to save the lake, working for one of several constituencies. This design-based research project will span the full life cycle of a project, from case studies of learning in small, constrained settings to controlled experimental studies of games implemented across classrooms. In addition to asking if participation in scientific role-playing games can produce robust conceptual understandings, it will also examine if role playing games might serve as assessment tools for comprehending scientific texts, assessing conceptual understandings within scientific domains, and designing innovative solutions to environmental problems that draw upon scientific understandings. The education plan includes the production of game-based media that can be used to support a variety of research studies, an online professional development community of educators using games for learning, support for graduate students trained in game theory, the learning sciences, and new forms of assessment, and new courses in game-based learning and assessment. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR squire, kurt University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 373535 7645 7625 7259 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0746565 July 1, 2008 CAREER: Developing Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge: The Roles of Self-and Instructional Explanations. The project focuses on the development of conceptual and procedural knowledge for two core algebra topics in elementary school: mathematical equivalence and patterns. First, I will examine and improve the reliability and validity of measures of conceptual and procedural knowledge for each topic. Then, I will evaluate how self- and instructional explanations support growth of each type of knowledge. The overall goals are to develop an information-processing framework for the iterative development of conceptual and procedural knowledge and to provide guidance on how to use explanations as instructional tools. I will also teach an undergraduate course on mathematical cognition. REESE DRL EHR Rittle-Johnson, Bethany Vanderbilt University TN Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 259075 7625 SMET 9177 9150 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0746573 June 1, 2008 CAREER: Adapting Curriculum for Learning in Mathematics Education (ACCLIME): Processes and factors in teachers' evolving adaptations of curriculum materials. The ACCLIME project investigates teachers' uses and adaptations of CMP, an NSF-funded middle school curriculum. The project comprises three nested series of case studies involving school districts that are long-term CMP implementers and that have provided substantial and ongoing support, and 16 middle school mathematics teachers within these districts. The study seeks to better articulate: (1) the ways that teachers adapt CMP over time and how they develop professionally as a result of using the curriculum materials; (2) the connection between district policy, resource development, and teachers' curriculum processes; and (3) the dynamic nature of districts' long-term curriculum implementations. REESE DRL EHR Choppin, Jeffrey University of Rochester NY Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 225285 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0746936 July 1, 2008 CAREER: Work Contexts, Teacher Learning Opportunities, and. This CAREER proposal has four objectives: 1) examine the nature of mathematics teachers? learning opportunities for instructional improvement, 2) examine how work contexts influence the quality of teacher learning opportunities, 3) examine the impact of teacher learning opportunities on changes in student mathematics achievement over four years, and 4) work with district and school administrators to promote instructional improvement and student achievement by effectively providing learning opportunities to mathematics teachers. The PI will conduct a statewide survey of 1,047 mathematics teachers in 201 middle schools and their 35,304 students in grades 6-8 throughout the state of Missouri. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Akiba, Motoko University of Missouri-Columbia MO James T. Fey Continuing grant 281852 7645 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0746970 July 1, 2008 CAREER: Women in the Math and Sciences: Counteracting the Impact of Negative Group Stereotypes on Performance. Stereotype threat occurs when awareness of a negative group stereotype in a particular domain reduces the quality of performance exhibited by group members. The current work (a) examines how stereotype threat undermines women?s math performance and expression of math proficiency in education situations and (b) employs laboratory and education-based interventions to alleviate the deleterious impact of negative group stereotypes. Only by understanding how stereotype threat hurts performance can training regimens and performance strategies be designed to ameliorate its impact. The current studies build on earlier work suggesting that stereotype threat affects performance on difficult academic tasks (e.g., math) by inducing situation-related worries that consume working memory (WM). The first set of studies in the present project investigate why math performance changes when WM is impaired, specifically examining how problem solving strategies are altered when WM is limited. The second set of studies attempt to prevent WM limitations to begin with by reducing ST-related worries and altering views of the ST situation. The work draws on literatures exploring how individuals regulate unwanted emotions (e.g., fear/disgust) and tests how these same emotion regulation strategies can be successfully applied to ST. REESE DRL EHR Beilock, Sian University of Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 326640 7625 SMET 9177 7218 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0747075 May 1, 2008 Inuit Perspectives on Arctic Environmental Change. Abstract: This Communication to Public Audiences proposal from the University of Colorado, Boulder, is based on current NSF-funded research =, HSD 0624344, "The Dynamics of Human-Sea Ice Relationships: Comparing Changing Environments in Alaska, Nunavut and Greenland." A collaboration of the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the University of Colorado Museum, the principal investigato and team will develop a small traveling exhibit that hightlights aspects of environmental change in the Arctic as observed by Inuit Elders in Clyde River, Nunatvut, Canada. The exhibit will also include a section that informs the visitor on starting an oral history research project similar to the work of the principal investigator. An oral history take-home guide and material on the Web are being produced INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Gearheard, Shari James Hakala Elizabeth Sheffield University of Colorado at Boulder CO Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 74679 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0747304 August 15, 2008 CAREER: Investigating the Critical Junctures: Strategies that Broaden Minority Participation in STEM Fields. This project will conduct a systematic and empirical (both quantitative and qualitative) longitudinal study of the factors that influence students' decisions at critical junctures in the educational pipeline. The goals are too (a) broaden participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and (b) improve the recruitment, retention, and success of minority undergraduate men in STEM and STEM-related fields across colleges and universities in the United States. Specifically, the goals of this study are to (a) estimate the impacts of Black and Latino males' backgrounds, K-12 educational and college experiences on their movement or transition through the STEM pipeline (b) model such decisions by developing a latent model using nationally representative data (c) test and refine the latent model using locally collected data and (d) employ qualitative interviews to examine closely cases of those who successfully navigate through critical junctures. The educational plan is designed to train a cadre of Black and Latino doctoral students, each year (e.g., 12 in year one including 5 minority men, 4 women, 2 employed at community colleges), to conduct empirical research, including large-scale secondary analyses, on issues related to STEM education by integrating this research in graduate-level research design/analysis courses. The goal is to produce doctoral graduates who possess the skills to conduct rigorous research/evaluation and who understand their social responsibility to use such capabilities in service to society. Students are involved as student researchers and co-presenters. A mini-conference will be held for 20-40 Black and Latino males as a form of outreach in broadening participation in Year Five of the project. Knowledge resulting from this study will enhance understanding about how to design programs, formulate policies, and enact practices that improve the educational pipeline for African American and Latino men in STEM fields. The study will inform policy and practice through the following project outcomes: (1) Workshops that leverage the knowledge produced by the project and make such information accessible to teachers, administrators, parents, and more general audiences; (2) A dedicated website that provides access to information and publications that result from this research investigation including, but not limited to, progress reports, preliminary findings, annual reports, empirical research summaries and journal articles; (3) Publications that summarize and share findings from the project including peer-reviewed journal articles, a book-length manuscript, and student publications including theses and dissertations; (4) Meeting with PTA and local school officials about the findings of the study; and (5) Toolkits for parents, faculty members, and students that provide facts and "how to" advice for broadening participation in STEM fields. EXP PROG TO STIM COMP RES DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Strayhorn, Terrell University of Tennessee Knoxville TN Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 345729 9150 7645 7625 SMET 9177 9150 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0747536 July 1, 2008 CAREER: Collaborative Learning with Classroom Networks: Integrating Technological and Pedagogical Innovations. This CAREER grant funds the study of teaching practices in a year long high school algebra course that integrates hand-held and other electronic devices throughout the year. Of particular interest is how these technologies can support learners' capacity to efficiently and effectively draw on the distributed intelligences that technical and social networks make available. The investigation focuses on collaborative learning tasks that are centered on collective mathematical objects, such as functions, expressions, coordinates, shapes or sets that participants in a group must jointly manipulate through networked computers. The study addresses two research questions: 1) What novel forms of student learning do collaborative designs for classroom networks support? 2) What kinds of teaching practices are made possible by classroom networks and made necessary by collaborative designs? One line of investigation is to use a series of design experiments in which new technology designs provide a context for exploring student learning through collaborative problem-solving activities and investigations. A second line involves alternating between two different settings for conducting four successive year-long cycles of those design experiments: a set of high school algebra classrooms taught by teachers who serve as collaborative partners in the development and implementation of new activity designs, and another high school algebra classroom in which the principal investigator will serve as the teacher. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR White, Tobin University of California-Davis CA James T. Fey Continuing grant 300341 7645 SMET 9177 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0748041 November 1, 2007 (SGER) Youth-based Program Impact on Education and Career Choices: An Exploration of Issues in Planning and Implementing Longitudinal Research. This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) explores the timely issue of how to conduct a feasibility study on the question of whether youths who participate in after-school information technology-oriented science-engagement programs are more likely to eventually choose a STEM related career. This project examines programs such as Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) along with other similar programs to determine innovative approaches to conducting such a long-term study so that it is methodologically sound and as economical as possible. The PI proposes to conduct the following activities: 1.Produce an expansive literature review, drawn from multiple interdisciplinary sources; 2.Produce a report comparing and contrasting the programmatic approaches and organizational structures implemented by existing youth-based programs; 3.Produce a report summarizing the insights of experts on longitudinal study design and implementation; and 4.Design and develop a longitudinal study of youth-based STEM programs. ITEST and similar programs represent a significant NSF investment and recent calls for more rigorous studies of such programs from both the Academic Competitiveness Council and the Office of Management and Budget make it imperative that new methods and approaches for determining the impact of such programs on students and teachers are developed and implemented as soon as possible. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Tai, Robert Xitao Fan University of Virginia Main Campus VA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 200000 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0748934 September 15, 2007 HBCU Evaluators Consortium Planning Proposal. The purpose of the proposed project is to develop a mechanism to build the capacity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to engage in the teaching and practice of culturally competent evaluation, with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education programs. The goal is to diversify and build leadership in the field of program evaluation; as well as to strengthen evaluator skills in assessing STEM programmatic initiatives directed towards multiethnic and underrepresented populations. This will be accomplished through three major activities: (1) collaboration between selected HBCUs to assess current program evaluation efforts and related research and teaching activities on each of the planning group campuses and to identify effective models of evaluation capacity building and networking, (2) the creation of a communications network and mechanism for information sharing regarding evaluation instruction and practice among HBCUs and between HBCUs and other higher education institutions, (3) meeting with representatives from public and private funding agencies, foundations and organizations (e.g., NSF, NAFEO, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, etc,) to promote diversity in evaluation and to share the work of the HBCU - Evaluators Planning Group, faculty evaluators/researchers from six HBCUs, who will coordinate planning activities on their respective campuses. This project will bring together interdisciplinary teams of evaluators and evaluative researchers who are skilled in various disciplines and methodologies, sensitized to cultural issues related to evaluation methods, and knowledgeable of strategies to make connections between research and practice. This collaborative and multidisciplinary approach provides an opportunity identify and establish common measures across these institutions; discern best practices for engaging underrepresented students in STEM careers related to evaluation; and increase participants' knowledge and understanding of diversity issues in program evaluation. This project will broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in program evaluation, while advancing program evaluation teaching, training, and scholarship. The project also will enhance academic networks as well as partnerships within and across STEM disciplines, non-STEM disciplines, and professional evaluation organizations. PROGRAM EVALUATION HIST BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIV DRL EHR Favor, Kevin Lincoln University PA Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 199081 7261 1594 SMET 9178 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0749576 October 1, 2007 Indigenous Ways of Knowing & STEM: A Conference focused on the Successes, Tensions, & Possibilities for Learning. The overarching goal of this conference is to bring together scholars and students to focus on current issues and understandings in STEM education for Native students and to consider potential directions for future research on STEM education. The investigators propose to gather a group of approximately 30 scholars from various disciplines and areas of expertise together to discuss issues related to STEM education for a one-day conference in February directly following or directly before the AAAS annual meeting. In addition to these invited researchers, they will invite Indigenous students and local scholars with related interests. The conference will consist of three symposia, a student poster session, clustered round tables intended to cross-fertilize potential collaborations in research on teaching and learning, and a featured keynote address. REESE DRL EHR Bang, Megan Douglas Medin Roberto Gonzalez-Plaza Mimi Lam American Indian Center of Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 72395 7625 SMET 9177 0749659 October 1, 2007 Review and Assessment of Capacity Building in Evaluation through Broadening Participation. This proposal is to conduct a mixed-methods evaluation research study that will assess the reach, depth, and products generated through a collection of National Science Foundation awards supporting broadening participation through capacity building in evaluation with a focus on cultural competence. The proposed research will examine the activities and associated accomplishments of a collection of up to 25 awards at the frontier of evaluative theory and practice. It will produce a timely synthesis of the portfolio's potential contributions to capacity building and broadening participation in the context of current shifts in evaluation theory and practice. The aim is to reach professional organizations, public service agencies, and communities concerned with improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education with findings they may use in the promotion of fair evaluative practices and to further build capacity in the field of evaluation. In 2004, the American Evaluation Association's (AEA's) guiding principles articulated the salience of cultural competence (i.e., the appropriate education, abilities, skills, and experiences) for conducting evaluations of different groups and stakeholders. The portfolio of projects provides an ideal opportunity to examine efforts to more clearly define the requirements and responsibilities of evaluators, while critically assessing evaluation standards and strategies for achieving culturally appropriate evaluations. Synthesizing the contributions of this NSF-supported line of inquiry will serve to inform policy planners, help practitioners take stock of the current state of evaluation practice, and stimulate dialogues about the direction in which evaluation is evolving. This study provides an opportunity to inform the field of practitioners, academicians, and the public and private sectors of the progress being made in: 1) more clearly defining what constitutes competent evaluation and 2) recruiting and training culturally competent evaluators. The findings of this study will be shared with those institutions and individuals in a position to attract, support, or produce culturally competent evaluators, including professional organizations and minority serving institutions such as historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), and Hispanic serving institutions (HSIs). PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Davis, Darnella Cosmos Corporation MD Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 94920 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0750198 September 15, 2007 Conference Training Grant: Broadening Participation of MSI Faculty in Evaluation Training and the Profession. This proposal is submitted with the acknowledgement that there is an urgent need to build the capacity of the national education evaluation enterprise and, more specifically, to increase the presence and participation of culturally attuned and minority represented evaluators. Over the past several years, the Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication, within the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Education and Human Resources Directorate has supported broadening participation activities focused on capacity building in the field. One specific initiative has been an Evaluation Workshop for minority faculty members who teach evaluation, but are not part of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) or the profession. The goal has been to bring them into the fold and through them alert their students to evaluation methodology and to evaluation as a possible career choice. This proposal requests funds to continue efforts to broaden the understanding of faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) regarding evaluation as a profession and to strengthen their knowledge of evaluation theory and methods through varied avenues including participation in an NSF/AEA-sponsored Broadening Participation Initiative that will include: (a) sessions and meetings (including a targeted workshop) held at the American Evaluation Association (AEA) 2007 Annual Conference, (b) exposure to the AEA governance and its membership, (c) networking with senior-level evaluation faculty and practitioners as well as previous MSI faculty participants, and (c) attendance at a spring follow up meeting on the main campus of Howard University. Under this Initiative particular emphasis will be placed on exposing faculty to issues related to culturally and contextually responsive evaluation training and practice. A major focus of this project would be to identify and recruit ten MSI faculty who teach program evaluation courses within the Washington, DC/Baltimore metropolitan area. In addition, ten participants from previous NSF/AEA Broadening Participation Initiatives will be recruited to participate in this 12-month effort. Upon completion of this project, it is expected that the selected faculty will be able to (a) utilize the resources and information provided and to effectively integrate theoretical and procedural knowledge gained within their evaluation/research research courses, (b) plan an expansion of evaluation activities at their individual institutions, and (c) participate in collaborative evaluation efforts. A formative and summative evaluation of the project will be undertaken to assess progress and outcomes. PROGRAM EVALUATION DRL EHR Thomas, Veronica Howard University DC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 59879 7261 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0750340 September 1, 2008 Cognitive Neuroscience of Mathematical Skill Development. The maturation of mathematical reasoning skills is a hallmark of human cognitive and academic development. Cognitive, developmental and educational psychologists have provided valuable insights into the complex and dynamic developmental changes in mathematical reasoning skills during childhood. The specific goal of our project is to investigate the development of mental arithmetic skills using a cognitive and systems neuroscience approach. This work has the potential to have broad impact on theories in cognitive neuroscience, brain and cognitive development and cognitive psychology. Findings from our proposed studies will inform the development of academic and educational programs for teaching mathematical and symbolic reasoning to children. REESE COGNEURO DRL EHR Menon, Vinod Stanford University CA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 1196634 7625 1699 SMET OTHR 9177 1699 0000 0116000 Human Subjects 0754587 October 1, 2008 Shared Signing Science Planning Project. PI: Vesel, Judy Institution: TERC Inc Title: Shared Signing Science Planning Project Proposal No.: DRL - 0754587 Abstract The Shared Signing Science Planning Project will develop a prototype of a web-based Signing Science Pictionary. The prototype will be piloted to families and caretakers of deaf and hard of hearing children to study the feasibility and effectiveness of the learning technology and identify the activities that are most effective in helping deaf children learn life science at informal science centers. The project team will also compile a dictionary of science terms with the intention of including the terms in a full version of the Pictionary. The final Pictionary will be comprehensive; including scientific terms from life, physical, Earth, and space science and will be presented in animated sign language accompanied by written explanations and pictorial illustrations. The project will also produce a video guide with a description of activities that parents can implement with their children. The planning project will result in a prototype with 100 life science terms of species found at the three informal science centers the children and parents will visit to test the prototype. These informal sites are hands-on and exploratory featuring marine organisms and a range of terrestrial flora and fauna to touch and interact with. To prepare for the site visits, parents and caretakers of deaf or hard of hearing children will be taught how to use the Pictionary with children through a Flash-based movie that introduces the interactive features and assists the parents in engaging with their children in three activities using the signing scientific vocabulary. The preparatory vocabulary work with the parents and children will lay the educational foundation for the visits to the informal science education sites. Families will test the initial project prototypes with deaf children using a control group for comparison. Pre-tests will be used to assess childrens' vocabulary before use of the Pictionary. Follow up tests will test knowledge of the new words and will include field observations of children in museums, zoos, and farms, where the new terms will come to life in corresponding exhibits. The results of the ongoing evaluation will be compiled into a guide for other developers of similar materials for the deaf community, and will impact the development of the final project. The project will broaden participation of an underserved audience in STEM learning and generate new knowledge about how to effectively integrate emerging learning technologies into exhibits and programs for deaf learners.The project team includes TERC and Vcom3D and collaborators from Gallaudet University Regional Center at Northern Essex Community College, the College of the Holy Cross, and the Learning Center for Deaf Children. Participating informal science education institutions are represented by the EcoTarium, Davis' Farmland, and the Stone Zoo. These partnerships provide the necessary expertise and support for the proposed project to have significant impact on advancing STEM learning in informal settings for children with hearing disabilities through the use of assistive learning technologies. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Vesel, Judy Jason Hurdich TERC Inc MA Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 74893 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0754623 May 1, 2008 TV411 COOK SMART - Math and Science Recipes for Informal Learning. The Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA), producer of TV411 and the NSF-funded Think Math, will undertake a planning process for the development of a ten part series, TV411 Cook Smart, which will incorporate lessons in math, biochemical and physical processes into a cooking show format. The television series is geared towards low-literate adults and builds on ALMA's prior experience in producing science/math-based programming. The deliverables include a standards-based curriculum outline for the series; outreach and training plans with the project's broadcast partner, Kentucky Educational Television; development of strategic partnerships with community organizations, including Head Start programs and Neighborhood Networks National Consortium; and evaluation strategies to study the impact of the TV411 Cook Smart on adult learners. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Myers, Lora Education Development Center MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 74999 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0754905 October 1, 2008 Ambassadors for America's Energy Future: Educating the Public About Energy. Abstract: This planning project by the National Academy of Sciences is the first step toward their establishment of a new initiative on helping the public become more knowledgeable about and engaged with the science of energy and energy choices. The Energy Ambassador program would eventually work around the country with several local civic/business/community leaders to provide them with a solid foundation for understanding the science of energy-related issues and provide them with a solid foundation for understanding the science of energy-related issues and developing possible strategies in their communities for public engagement and decision-making. The planning work is prelude to a pilot study and then to a major roll-out if all indicators suggest that would be successful. The planning work will convene scienctists, policy makers, educators, and media to develop the details for the pilot study, including indentifying three cities where the pilot study could take place and the science ambassadors for these. The activity will be in collaboration with the NAS's Committee on Learning Science in Informal Environments and the staff of the Board of Science Education. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kline Pope, Barbara National Academy of Sciences DC Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 74997 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0754948 April 15, 2008 Easing the "Quiet Crisis". This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (NSF 03-509) project will produce a half hour documentary television program and use it to conduct outreach to encourage students and teachers to pursue science and engineering careers through hands-on activities in polymers and plastics, cutting edge scientific experiments, enrichment activities, and effective mentoring. The project is based on her NSF-funded research NSF #0300717 aimed at understanding the structure-property relationships of newly developed biopolymers and their composites. The PI previously developed the Why Plastics? curriculum to provide a high-quality science educational experience to pre-college students. This project will create a half-hour documentary to bring the local success she has had with the program to a broader audience. The documentary will be screened on public television and in other venues such as children's museums in an effort to magnify the effects of the Why Plastics? course. Film footage will also be used for a multimedia Web site for documentary viewers who want to learn more about the subject. Why Plastics? primarily serves youth from elementary and middle schools in which a large number of the students are members of underrepresented groups. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Akpalu, Yvonne Bradford Lister Audrey Bennett Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0755001 September 1, 2008 Nature's Lessons: Expanding Informal Science Learning Through Neighborhood Investigation. IslandWood, a national model for outdoor learning in the Pacific Northwest, proposes to partner with Boys and Girls Clubs of America to plan and pilot a multi-platform informal science initiative. The project will capture the attention of a broad audience, bring viewers into ecosystems they wouldn't otherwise experience, and illuminate the connections to everyday lives through 5-minute video shorts. Support materials for staff at informal learning institutions, and parents of children ages 5-11 who want to learn through neighborhood explorations will be the centerpiece of an online community of support. The scope of this planning project will be to create and evaluate support materials and a pilot video, and design an online environment. Over the year-long planning period the project will continue to develop the relationship with Boys and Girls Clubs of America with the intent to produce and distribute the project nationally beginning in 2010 INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Jennings, Katie Pat O'Rourke IslandWood WA Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 73510 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0755280 April 1, 2008 Urban Bird Gardens: Assessing the Interest of Latino Communities in Citizen Science. Cornell University will utilize planning grant funds to conduct front-end research to inform a major citizen science effort targeting Latino families in six major US cities. Partnering organizations include the New York Restoration Project (New York), Aspira of Illinois, Inc. (Chicago), Youth Policy Institute (Los Angeles), Chicanos Por la Causa, Inc. (Phoenix), the Children's Museum of Houston (Houston), and Aspira of Florida, Inc. (Miami) Project deliverables for the planning effort include culturally responsive research and subsequent dissemination of findings. The Garibay Group will create profiles of partner communities and conduct focus groups with potential project participants to examine attitudes towards science, interest in participatory science activities, tools (online bird identification, data entry, and data visualization tools), and technologies. The research will also include an analysis of existing data from interviews previously conducted by project partners. The research results will provide insights into effective strategies for engaging Latino audiences in citizen science efforts. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dickinson, Janis Richard Bonney Cornell University - State NY Leslie K. Goodyear Standard Grant 74613 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0755381 April 15, 2008 SGER: Storytelling Alice and Game Design in Middle School. The goal of this SGER proposal is to collect preliminary data on whether the Storytelling Alice programming environment can be used by middle school students to create games in pairs, and whether it shows some potential for building fluency with information technology (IT). Storytelling Alice is an object-oriented programming system that appears to have great potential for engaging middle school children in programming, and for building IT fluency. In contrast to other game design software, it has features that lower the barriers for children to learn it, introduces programming concepts and capabilities, and has graphics and characters that are designed to appeal to children who are underrepresented in IT (e.g., girls) . Despite the intuitive appeal of this system, and its popularity among educators, there has been little research on how it can be used to program games, or the social factors involved. For this exploratory study, 40 middle school students in a predominantly Latino/a school district will create games in pairs, using Storytelling Alice. The teaching approach will build on the game development curriculum that has been developed and tested among middle school girls, using two other software systems. The study will include boys. Student data will include interviews, case study observations, performance assessments, and analysis of students' games. REESE DRL EHR Denner, Jill Linda Werner ETR Associates CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 189764 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0755578 July 15, 2008 Planning Grant to Support the Development of the Project "Visualization as a Tool in Informal Science Education at Lake Tahoe". Planning Grant to Support the Development of the Project ?Visualization as a Tool in Informal Science Education at Lake Tahoe? Summary: Researchers at the U.C. Davis will carry out observations of museum visitors to plan for a study of how visualizations affect visitors of an Earth Sciences exhibit using 3D technology. The researchers will be able to conduct an experimental study about how much participants in an education center learn from the model of earthquakes and of a model of the Lake Tahoe basin. The researchers will conduct a quasi-experiment of a sample of 100 visitors to the center at Lake Tahoe to study their experience with visualization and learning of science. The funding for this phase of the project will include the development of audience surveys, conducting focus groups to develop types of feedback, train staff to conduct data collection, and to conduct a literature review of technology visualization. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schladow, S. Geoffrey Bernd Hamann Oliver Kreylos University of California-Davis CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 73697 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0756277 September 26, 2007 HRD/ADVANCE Professional, Technical and Administrative Services. N/A PROGRAM EVALUATION ADVANCE - INSTITUTIONAL TRANSF DRL EHR Mitchell, Susan GUARDIANS OF HONOR MD Deh-I Hsiung BOA/Task Order 275642 7261 1738 OTHR 0000 0758151 August 31, 2007 Synthesizing Rational Number Reasoning for Urban Schools. Successful preparation for and passage of algebra remains a major gateway to pursuit of science, mathematics and technology related careers. Students in urban settings in rational number reasoning (RNR), including multiplication and division, fractions, ratio reasoning, scaling, similarity, and the related ideas of decimal and percents. This configuration of topics is also known as the Multiplicative Conceptual Field (Vergnaud, 1983). This project will synthesize the research literature in this area to strengthen urban practitioners' knowledge of how to prepare students for this critical filter (Sells, 1973). It will implement an innovative approach to construct a new resource base composed of three interrelated elements: a) a bibliographic database of studies with coded and searchable characteristics and abstracts, organized into a visual web of authors, works, and topics, b) a data cube of RNR topics, types of reasoning skills, and grade bands that maps the rich array of assessment items used in these studies to national standards, and c) a synthesis of the work into a conceptual corridor in both visual and narrative formats. The project will interlink these databases to permit teachers to follow an effective conceptual sequence as much as can be identified, while generating relevant assessment items for their students, and identifying related readings for their own professional development. REESE DRL EHR Confrey, Jere North Carolina State University NC Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 132357 7625 SMET 9177 0802359 March 15, 2008 SGER: Improving Supply and Demand Data for the Preparation of Secondary Science and Math Teachers. The project proposed here seeks (1) to undertake a rigorous and thorough analysis of the issues invlved in delevolping an adequate supply and demand profile for middle and high school mathematics and science teaching; (2) identify the estent to which the currewnt research base is adequate or inadequate to inform that profile; and (3) develop a protocol, grounded in the research to the extentpossible, to help states and post-secondary institutions gauge the true curretn and projet need for mathematics and scienceteachers and the ability to the state's institutions and teacher supply practis to meet those needs. This work needs to be delveloped as soon as possiblein order to help states and institutions derive maximum benefit from their stepped up efforts to address the shrotage of science and mathematics teachers, as well as from new federal funding that will flow from the america COMPETES act that has nowbeen signed into law. In addition, the proposed project is seen as a core element of a more comprehensive National Association of State Universities and Land Grant colleges (NASULGC) initiative on science and mathematics teacher education, and the timely commencement and omptletion of the work envisioned in the project is critical to the progress and ultimate success of that initiative. The larger initiative also provied important leverage, asnotedbelow, for the dissemination and application of the tools and analysis the project aims to develop. REESE DRL EHR Gobstein, Howard Michael Allen National Association State University & Land Grant Colleges DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 199700 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0803150 August 15, 2008 Aiming High: Probing the Mystery of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (NSF 03-509) project in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History seeks to increase public understanding of research being conducted at the Pierre Auger Observatory that will be shown in 22 science centers and available on the web, as well as live interactive presentations by the lead researchers. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Olinto, Angela James Cronin Randall Landsberg Mark SubbaRao Vivian Trakinski University of Chicago IL Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 74947 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0803987 June 1, 2008 Connecting Society with Science: The Greater Potential of Giant Screen Experiences. Abstract: The Liberty Science Center will organize a one-day symposium linked to the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) International Conference and Trade show in September 2008. The symposium will focus on the greater potential of gian screen experiences to connect society with science, building on the GSTA's symposium "Giant Screen Films and Lifelong Learning held in 1999. The program will bring together science and education experts with filmakers to stimulate and enhance more effective approaches to science learning in future giant screen films. Symposium results will be disseminated through publication and the internet, as well prepared for submission to peer-reviewed journals. An industry-specific listserv focused on lifelong learning will be created to serve as a new community-building tool for exchange among producers, distributors and exhibitors. Emlyn Koster (Liberty Science Center) and Mary Nucci (Rutgers University) will serve as aymposium chair/PI and symposium manager/Co-PI, respectively; in partnership with GSCA staff, they will be responsible for symposium management, evaluation, and dissemination of results. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Koster, Emlyn Mary Nucci Liberty Science Center, Inc. NJ Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 131049 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0808639 February 15, 2008 NSF Impact Methodology Conference. The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications is convening a workshop with expert participants to develop a consensus on the best methods for selecting the most important outcomes of NSF?s funding of mathematics and science education projects over the last few decades and for assessing the impacts of these outcomes. Specifically, the workshop addresses the following issues. How to select the specific NSF programs to be assessed. How to select the persons to be interviewed. Which methodologies will be used to assess program impact. How data will be gathered, organized, reported, and disseminated. How such data can be acquired by NSF going forward. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Garfunkel, Solomon Consortium For Mathematics & Its Applications Inc MA John S. Bradley Standard Grant 16235 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0808817 July 1, 2008 C: The Future of High School Mathematics. The University of Maryland, College Park, in collaboration with several professional organizations and the Math is More group, is organizing a national conference focusing on the future of high school mathematics. The conference showcases and analyzes progressive ideas about curriculum, teaching, assessment, and technology in high school and early college mathematics. The plenary and workshop sessions of the 2.5-day conference address four central questions: What are the most important mathematical concepts, skills, and reasoning methods that students of different interests and aptitudes should master in the high school years so that they are well prepared for college, the world of work, and effective citizenship in the 21st century? What instructional practices hold greatest promise for effective teaching of mathematics to the diverse student population in U. S. high schools? What practices in assessment of student understanding and skills most effectively advance teaching and learning and provide an evidence base for important educational policy decisions? What practices in teacher professional development and school change hold greatest promise for meeting the challenge of implementing best practices in mathematics education curriculum, teaching, and assessment? The conference brings together leaders of state and local school system mathematics programs, mathematicians, curriculum developers, educational researchers, and education policy-makers for in-depth discussion of the challenges and opportunities for innovation in high school mathematics. Participation in this conference provides school system leaders with information and perspectives about future directions of high school mathematics that they can carry back to their state and local work on curriculum, teaching, and assessment. Participation by curriculum developers, teacher educators, and education policy-makers provides them with insights into their own work developing future mathematics programs, teachers, and policies. Participation by mathematics education researchers helps in framing an agenda of important evaluation and research projects required to inform and evaluate the various ideas for innovation. Expected media coverage of conference sessions provides visibility to the most prominent recent work aimed at improving the yield of high school mathematics education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Chazan, Daniel Linda Rosen University of Maryland College Park MD John S. Bradley Standard Grant 174325 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0810261 October 1, 2008 Regenerative Technologies in the Future: Tissue Engineering and Organ Printing. DRL- 0810261 PI: Gabor Forgacs ABSTRACT In this Communicating Research to Public Audiences (CRPA) project, the University of Missouri is collaborating with the St. Louis Science Center on the development and implementation of exhibits and programs related to the principal investigator?s NSF-funded research on tissue engineering and organ printing, Understanding Molecular Self-Assembly. The research is exploring basic research and technologies that could provide alternatives to organ donor transplants, especially given the mismatch between the demand and supply of organs. The exhibits will become an offering in the science center?s new life sciences gallery whose goal is to help visitors better understand the applications of life science research that affect people?s everyday lives. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Forgacs, Gabor Cristina Encarnacion University of Missouri-Columbia MO Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0812954 September 15, 2008 Statistics for Action. TERC is partnering with the Toxics Action Center to enhance the capacity of environmental organizations to teach mathematical literacy skills to low-income citizens, mostly women of color. Secondary collaborators include four environmental organizations around the country. The project is (1) developing math- and statistics-rich educational materials that help non-scientists interpret environmental test results, (2) developing training materials that help environmental organization personnel provide quantitative literacy training to citizens, (3) helping environmental organizations institutionalize project resources, and (4) evaluating the impact of project activities on environmental organizers, community members, and the general public. Project deliverables include bilingual, print- and web-based instructional materials (including videos) for environmental organizations to use with staff and community members; training sessions to create a cadre of environmental organization leaders who can conduct environment-focused, math training workshops; a communications toolkit for dissemination to journalists who cover environmental issues; and a resource-rich project web site. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schmitt, Mary Jane Martha Merson TERC Inc MA David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1965674 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813135 September 15, 2008 Communicating Climate Change (C3). DRL- 0813135 Communicating Climate Change PI: Walter Staveloz ABSTRACT The Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), in collaboration with the Yale Project on Climate Change and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, is conducting a three-year project whose goal is to build the capacity of twelve science centers as well as of twelve NSF-funded Long-term Ecological Research Centers (LTER) for the purpose of engaging the public in climate change science. The twelve sites span the USA from the east coast to Hawaii. The goal of these simultaneous projects is to illustrate local indicators of global change. Additional partners include ScienCentral, Inc. (TV media producers), the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the American Geophysical Union, NOAA, Natural History magazine, and a national board of advisors. Deliverables include: (1) twelve local demonstration projects with launch programs, exhibits/programs, TV spots, citizen science activities, and an interactive map illustrating the work of the twelve sites, (2) professional development for informal STEM education professionals and LTER research faculty, (3) a national survey to assess the USA population?s climate literacy, and (4) a culminating workshop for the ISE field, a permanent resource database, and a final publication. Evaluation processes are being conducted by David Heil & Associates. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Staveloz, Walter Richard Bonney Anthony Leiserowitz Association of Science-Technology Centers DC Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 2163024 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0813214 September 1, 2008 GO FIGURE, Season One. Go Figure is a new multimedia project targeting 3- to 6-year olds, with a secondary audience of parents and caregivers. The intended impact of the project is to support the development of mathematics literacy for the pre-school audience and to help the secondary audience to support young children's informal mathematics education. This award supports pre-production development and evaluation of project elements including the continuing design of characters and locations, creation and test of interstitials, animatic and script, development and testing of scaffolded math game prototypes and piloting real-world extensions. The project will be produced by WGBH, with the support of advisors and a third-party evaluator. The project is being designed for broadcast on public television, with an extensive educational outreach component focused on improving parental attitudes toward math. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sullivan, Brigid WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 196441 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813252 October 1, 2008 Towards the Next Generation of Research on STEM Learning. The project proposes a conference to stimulate a national conversation on new STEM learning research paradigms that cut across boundaries and investigate multiple contexts and media, rather than historical approaches that have viewed learning within limited temporal, spatial and socio-cultural contexts. The project will create a special peer-reviewed, international themed issue in the journal Science Education that reflects the meeting, convene the national conference of prominent learning sciences researchers, host a post-conference national web conference, follow-up on participants after one year, and host a series of national discussions around new paradigms in STEM at multiple national meetings. REESE DRL EHR Falk, John Larry Enochs Lynn Dierking Oregon State University OR Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 99999 7625 SMET 9177 0813414 July 15, 2008 400 Years of the Telescope: Technology Shapes Society. Abstract: 400 Years of the Telescope is an interactive, multimedia projects that will provide an integrated set of informal science learning experiences that will enable the public to participate in real and virtual telescope experiences, understand the far reaching advances that the telescope has made possible, and discover how technology, science, and society are interconnected. Partners include PBS (Southern Oregon Public Television - SOPTV), Interstellar Studios, Leading astronomers and science writers, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP)and two of the United States' premier planetariums: Carnegie Science Center (Buhl Planetarium) and 'Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai'i. Deliverables include a two-hour, high-definition documentary, airing twice on PBS in 2009, as a kick-off to the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009), a full-dome and traditional 30 minute planetarium program available in 12 foreign languages, with free national and international distribution to 750 planetariums; a Website, and Community Events providing personalized telescopic experiences via events on site at science centers nationwide. The evaluator is the Institute for Learning Innovation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Koenig, Kris Rose Tseng James Manning Mark Stanislawski Shawn Laatsch Southern Oregon Public Television OR Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2941938 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813434 September 1, 2008 Girls Energy Conservation Corps. TERC and the Girl Scouts of America are partnering to create an energy monitoring and conservation after school program for approximately 5,500 girls ages 8-11 in eastern Massachusetts. The goals of the Girls Energy Conservation Corps (GECCo) after school project are to involve girls in learning and applying science, using technology, developing leadership and communication skills, educating peers, saving energy, and addressing the global issue of climate change. The project is (1) developing activity-based Energy Detective Kits to help girls understand, monitor, and reduce energy use, (2) adapting devices for measuring home electricity consumption, and (3) developing guidelines for using new media (such as YouTube) to engage girls in science and helping them use new media to inform and communicate their experiences and findings to Girl Scouts nationally. Project participants are cumulatively reducing their energy consumption and adopting more sustainable lifestyles. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Puttick, Gillian Brian Drayton Katherine LeLacheur TERC Inc MA David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1834947 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813455 September 1, 2008 Inquiry in the Community: Building Science Capacity in Volunteer Leaders. Inquiry in the Community: Building Science Capacity in Volunteer Leaders Institutions: Girls Scouts of Western Washington and Seattle University Girl Scouts of Western Washington (GSWW) is collaborating with Seattle University to develop an innovative new model for science learning in youth programs. The project is designed to increase the use of science inquiry among Girl Scout Leaders, facilitate learner-centered inquiry, change the culture of program delivery, and enhance science literacy. New parent volunteers, who are Girl Scout troop leaders, will be trained to deliver inquiry-based science to girls ages K-3 in environmental science, wildlife biology, and botany in a manner which makes scientific questioning and exploration integral to the girls' experiences. Deliverables include a training curriculum adapted from the NSF-funded Fundamentals of inquiry, quarterly training workshops for adult volunteers in inquiry-based science methodologies and content, an enhanced volunteer support system (including online and peer networks, science activities, and resources), and a replicable model for incorporating science in community youth programs. The inquiry activities will be modified for use in an informal learning setting and may be easily integrated into the existing science activities for Brownie Girl Scouts such as community service, camping, cookies, and "Try it" events. Potential strategic impact includes the advancement of a new model for volunteer training which scondarily changes the organization culture and expands the current understanding of how science learning occurs in community contexts. The proposal includes a comprehensive mixed methods evaluation to be conducted in the Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. It is anticipated that this project will reach 360 women and over 1,600 girls in disadvantaged urban and rural communities in western Washington. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sorensen, Jennifer Seattle University WA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 90779 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813460 September 1, 2008 Voyage of Exploration. Voyage of Discovery is a comprehensive and innovative project designed to provide K-12 youth in Baltimore City with an introduction to mathematics, engineering, technology, environmental science, and computer and information science, as it relates to the maritime and aerospace industries. The Sankofa Institute, in partnership with the Living Classrooms Foundation and a host of marine, informal science, community, and educational organizations, collaborate to make science relevant for inner-city youth by infusing science across the curriculum and by addressing aspects of history and culture. Youth are introduced to historical, current, and future innovations in shipbuilding as a means to learn the science, mathematics, and history associated with navigation, transportation, environmental science, and shipping. Activities will take place at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Museum where students participate in intensive afterschool, Saturday, and summer sessions. Families are invited for pre-session orientation meetings and again at the end of each session to observe student progress. This project will provide over 3,900 K-12 youth with the opportunity to learn mathematics (algebra, geometry, and trigonometry), physics (gravity, density, mechanics), design, and estuarine biology while participating in hands-on sessions. Project deliverables include a 26-foot wooden boat, a working model of a dirigible, a submarine model, and pilot control panel models, all constructed by students and subsequently incorporated into exhibits at the USS Constellation Museum. The project also results in the production of two curricula ? one each on celestial navigation and propulsion. Voyage of Discovery informs the literature on inquiry-based informal science education programs and strategies to engage minority and low-income youth in learning science and technology. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Parker, Sandra Living Classrooms Foundation MD Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1899602 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0813464 September 1, 2008 Inquiry in the Community: Building Science Capacity in Volunteer Leaders. Girl Scouts of Western Washington (GSWW) is collaborating with Seattle University to develop an innovative new model for science learning in youth programs. The project is designed to increase the use of science inquiry among adult Girl Scout Leaders, facilitate learner-centered inquiry, change the culture of program delivery, and enhance science literacy. New parent volunteers, who are Girl Scout troop leaders, will be trained to deliver inquiry-based science to girls ages K-3 in environmental science, wildlife biology, ecology, and botany in a manner which makes scientific questioning and exploration integral to the girls' experiences. Deliverables include a training curriculum adapted from the NSF-funded Fundamentals of Inquiry, quarterly training workshops for adult volunteers in inquiry-based science methodologies and content, an enhanced volunteer support system (including online and peer networks, science activities, and resources), and a replicable model for incorporating science into community youth programs. The inquiry activities will be modified for use in an informal learning setting and may be easily integrated into the existing science activities for Brownie Girl Scouts such as community service, camping, cookies, and "Try It" events. Potential strategic impact includes the advancement of a new model for volunteer training which secondarily changes the organizational culture and expands the current understanding of how science learning occurs in community contexts. The proposal includes a comprehensive, mixed methods evaluation to be conducted by the Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. It is anticipated that this project will reach 360 women and over 1,600 girls in disadvantaged urban and rural communities in western Washington. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lingwood, Stephanie Girl Scouts of Western Washington WA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 327638 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813474 June 1, 2008 ICLS 2008: International Perspectives on the Learning Sciences: Cre8ing a Learning World. This conference proposal requests support that will assist 25 US doctoral students and 15 early-career post-doctoral researchers with travel expenses so that they may attend the International Conference on the Learning Sciences to be held June 25-28, 2008 in Eindhoven, Netherlands and so that they may participate in two pre-conference programs on June 23 and June 24, 2008. The Doctoral Consortium and The Early Career Workshop are designed specifically to provide special training and support for junior researchers in the Learning Sciences and to create international community among them. This grant will also provide support for senior US faculty who are serving as US coordinators and facilitators for these programs, and for mentors who will participate in the program as faculty. REESE DRL EHR Derry, Sharon Philip Bell Jody Underwood University of Wisconsin-Madison WI John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 99992 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0813513 September 15, 2008 FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman Season Four. FETCH with Ruff Ruffman is a daily half-hour PBS television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to 6- to 10-year olds. The program brings science learning to young children by uniquely blending live-action with animation, game show convention with reality programming, and humor with academics. The intended impacts are to 1) help the target audience develop interest, knowledge and skills necessary to do science; 2) train afterschool leaders to better facilitate science activities with kids; and 3) demonstrate how media can be used to teach substantive science and share the results of project evaluation with others in the field. The requested funds will allow the project to expand the science curriculum with 20 new half-hour episodes and expand the Web site, focusing on three new science themes that highlight topics of interest to this age group. The Web site will include four new science-based Web games that will allow kids to create and post content of their own design and contribute to nationwide data collection. A new FETCH Online Training resource will be created to help afterschool leaders to effectively engage in FETCH's hands-on science activities. American Institutes for Research (AIR) will conduct summative evaluation of the Online Training program. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 2799998 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813519 September 15, 2008 SciGirls - A New National TV Series. SciGirls, produced by Twin Cities Public Television, is a new PBS 13-part half-hour television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to girls ages 8 - 13-year olds. The intended impacts are to 1) to foster a greater interest in STEM among girls ages 8 to 13 and their parents, with girls from diverse communities the highest priority; 2) connect girls to existing, quality STEM education opportunities in their communities; and 3) contribute to the growing body of research to deepen understanding of the most effective ways to engage girls in STEM activities and encourage them to pursue STEM careers. The project?s two strategic partners are the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) in Seattle, and The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The NGCP will link SciGirls TV with its network of 500 community-based science programs for girls, and The Franklin Institute will help form an affiliate network of science museums to implement SciGirls TV outreach activities. In addition to the broadcasts on PBS Plus, the videos will be distributed via online streaming and DVD?s, as well as via versions that can be downloaded to portable video players. The most significant web component will be a social networking feature that will allow girls interested in science to connect with others across the nation. Barbara Flagg of Multimedia Research will conduct formative evaluation of the first rough cuts, and a subsequent summative evaluation of the completed programs and of the social networking web site. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hudson, Richard Karen Peterson Twin Cities Public Television MN Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 2598634 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813522 September 15, 2008 Brighter Futures: Public Deliberation About the Science Of Early Childhood Development.. Through programs (including small group conversations, citizen conferences, and public forums) an interactive exhibition, and two research studies that address issues that are fundamental to establishing museums as places of public dialogue and deliberation, this project will engage the general public, policymakers, and caregivers in deliberations around the latest early childhood development (ECD) research. It will also build on an increased understanding of the importance of ECD to expand civic engagement around this urgent social issue. The overall goal of the project is to help its audiences understand child development, how environment and experiences impact development, and what we as a society can do to support our youngest citizens. Specifically, audiences will explore: How the brain develops from birth until kindergarten (or age five); how a childs environment and experiences sculpt the brain, with some experiences enhancing the child's self-control and learning, and other experiences that actually impede development; and what the project audiences can do to ensure that all children have a strong foundation to learn and thrive. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kleinbaum Fink, Laurie Kirsten Ellenbogen Karen Cadigan Science Museum of Minnesota MN Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 723969 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0813528 September 1, 2008 Asteroids! An integrated astronomy education program for small science centers and libraries. The Space Science Institute, in collaboration with the Catawba Science Center (North Carolina), the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, the American Library Association, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific propose to develop a multi-pronged project on the topic of asteroids. Content areas will include: Asteroids ? Up-close and Personal; Deep Impact; and Planetary Protection. Deliverables will include a 2,500 square-foot traveling exhibit for small to mid-sized museums; four, 300 square-foot ?small exhibit components? (SECs) for libraries, community centers, etc.; Web 2.0 sites for the project developers and for the public; public education programs; professional development programs for informal STEM professionals; and a study of how Web 2.0 can be used to improve the evaluation of Web sites. The project team will be experimenting with virtual prototyping of exhibit modules as a way to improve exhibit development, especially with team members who are around the country. Teens from around the country will be enlisted to help inform the project on its deliverables. The Association of Science-Technology Centers will manage the exhibit tour. The Institute for Learning Innovation will conduct the evaluation activities, including the study of Web 2.0 and virtual prototyping tasks. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dusenbery, Paul Suzanne Gurton James Harold Brad McLain Lisa Curtis SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE CO Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1030799 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0813541 September 1, 2008 Responsive Virtual Human Museum Guides. Proposal No.: DRL - 0813541 PI: Swartout, William Institution: University of Southern California Title: Responsive Virtual Human Museum Guides Abstract The University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies and the Museum of Science, Boston will create life-sized, 3-D Virtual Humans that will interact with visitors as interpretive guides and learning facilitators at science exhibits. Through the use of advanced artificial intelligence and intelligent tutoring techniques, Virtual Humans will provide a highly responsive functionality in their dialogue interpretation that will generate sophisticated interaction with visitors about the STEM content related to the exhibit. The project exemplifies how the confluence of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and education can creatively and collaboratively advance new tools and learning processes. The Virtual Human project will begin to present to the visitor a compelling, real life, interactive example of the future and of the related convergence of various interdisciplinary trends in technology, such as natural language voice recognition, mixed reality environments, para-holographic display, visitor recognition and prior activity recall, artificial intelligence, and other interdisciplinary trends. The 3-D, life-sized Virtual Humans will serve as museum educators in four capacities: 1) as a natural language dialogue-based interactive guide that can suggest exhibits to explore in specific galleries and answer questions about particular STEM content areas, such as computer science; 2) as a coach to help visitors understand and use particular interactive exhibits; 3) be the core focus of the Science behind the Virtual Humans exhibit; and 4) serve as an ongoing research effort to improve human and virtual human interactions at increasingly sophisticated levels of complexity. The deliverables will be designed to build upon visitor experiences and stimulate inquiry. A living lab enables visitors to become part of the research and development process. The project website will introduce visitors to the technologies used to build virtual humans and the research behind their implementation. The site will be augmented with videos and simulations and will generate user created content on virtual human characters. Project evaluation and research will collect language and behavioral data from visitors to inform the improvement of the virtual guide throughout the duration of the grant and to develop a database that directly supports other intelligent systems, and new interface design and development that will have broad impact across multiple fields. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Swartout, William David Traum Jacquelyn Morie Diane Piepol H. Chad Lane University of Southern California CA Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 1564111 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0813557 August 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: Hurricane Katrina--What Have We Learned?. Abstract The Louisiana State Museum and Tulane University/Xavier University Center for Bioenvironmental Research and the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, along with several other research collaborators, designers, evaluators, and the Times-Picayune newspaper are partnering to develop a multi-pronged approach on educating the general public, school children, teachers and public officials on the STEM-related aspects of Hurricane Katrina and its implications for the future of New Orleans and other parts of the country. The major products will be an 8,500 square-foot semi-permanent exhibit, smaller exhibits for Louisiana regional libraries, a comprehensive Web site on hurricanes, a set of studies on informal learning, a case study for public officials about the relevance of science research to policy and planning, teacher workshops, and a workshop for interested exhibit designers from around the country. This project advances the field of informal science education by exploring how museums, universities, and their communities can work together to provide meaningful learning experiences on STEM topics that are critical to solving important community and national issues. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Scowcroft, Gail Isaac Ginis University of Rhode Island RI Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 691571 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0813558 August 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: Hurricane Katrina - What Have We Learned?. The Louisiana State Museum and Tulane University/Xavier University Center for Bioenvironmental Research and the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, along with several other research collaborators, designers, evaluators, and the Times-Picayune newspaper are partnering to develop a multi-pronged approach on educating the general public, school children, teachers and public officials on the STEM-related aspects of Hurricane Katrina and its implications for the future of New Orleans and other parts of the country. The major products will be an 8,500 square-foot semi-permanent exhibit, smaller exhibits for Louisiana regional libraries, a comprehensive Web site on hurricanes, a set of studies on informal learning, a case study for public officials about the relevance of science research to policy and planning, teacher workshops, and a workshop for interested exhibit designers from around the country. This project advances the field of informal science education by exploring how museums, universities, and their communities can work together to provide meaningful learning experiences on STEM topics that are critical to solving important community and national issues. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Leathem, Karen Douglas Meffert Louisiana Museum Foundation LA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 1378953 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0813627 August 30, 2007 Learning and Generalization of Scientific Information from Picture Books. The focus of the proposed research is the process by which young children acquire and extend new knowledge from picture book experiences, with the goal of identifying factors that facilitate or impede that process. Parents and preschool teachers assume that young children learn useful information from the books to which they are exposed and assume also that they generalize that information beyond the pages of the book. Surprisingly, little research has examined these basic assumptions. One goal of the project is to examine the effect of certain physical characteristics that are common in books designed and marketed for young children (e.g., how realistic the pictures in the books are and whether it matters if information is presented in an everyday context or a fantasy context). A second goal concerns the extent to which features that are known to facilitate or interfere with learning generally in young children (e.g., analogies and complex elements that can be physically manipulated) affect learning and generalization from books. A third goal is to examine book-centered interactions between parents and their preschool children to see how parents use books to communicate information to their children, with a particular focus on assessing the extent to which parents encourage generalization to the real world. Because joint book reading has the potential to serve as an excellent source of early knowledge about scientific concepts, these questions will be addressed in the context of children learning about various biological domains, beginning with animal-environment relations. The results of the proposed research should have clear and important implications for the selection and design of picture books to serve educational goals. Because young children in America are so frequently involved in picture book interactions, improvement in the educational potential of the books available in homes and preschools could have a broader impact across the social spectrum. REESE DRL EHR Ganea, Patricia Trustees of Boston University MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 100019 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0813702 October 1, 2008 FICSMath (Factors Influencing College Success in Mathematics). This empirical study examines the variety of materials used and the myriad of teaching strategies employed by U.S. high school mathematics teachers in their effort to prepare students for later success in college calculus, a requirement for most STEM majors. Designed as a retrospective cohort study, we use 12,000 college calculus students' histories to predict performance while controlling for demographic differences. This study has the capability to both reveal the most promising educational practices in mathematics, including technological innovations, and to assess the degree of match between high school math and college calculus courses, both traditional and reform based. REESE DRL EHR Sadler, Philip Harvard University MA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 744875 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0813874 September 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: Building Capacity and Collaboration at the Intersection of the Learning Sciences and Informal Science Education. DRL- 0814031 and 0813874 PI: Sandra Martell (U. Wisconsin) and Leslie Herrenkohl (U. Washington) Collaborative Research: Building capacity and collaboration at the intersection of the Learning Sciences and Informal Science Education ABSTRACT The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Washington propose a conference, conference proceedings, and book that will build capacity and new collaborations at the intersection of the learning sciences and informal science education. These activities continue to expand on the outcomes of several recent conferences, publications, and projects related to research on the learning sciences and their application to varieties of educational settings. Fifty participants in this initiative will include both emerging and established researchers and practitioners, as well as international professionals. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Herrenkohl, Leslie University of Washington WA Sue Allen Standard Grant 117119 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0814009 September 15, 2007 Women in Science and Engineering: Network Access, Participation, and Career Outcomes. The project proposes a study that examines how social and professional networks mediate the conversion of women's qualifications to career outcomes and specifically addresses how and why do networks matter for women's career outcomes in science and engineering. The study proposes a two-phase approach: (1) conduct a baseline national survey of scientists and engineers in six STEP fields; (2) conduct a network analysis of "critical mentors" aimed at uncovering the networks that emerge around key faculty. The two-stage design will provide detailed multi-level quantitative data for statistically modeling and rich qualitative evidence that enhance the quantitative analysis. REESE DRL EHR Melkers, Julia GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 619048 7625 SMET 9177 0814031 September 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: Building capacity and collaboration at the intersection of the Learning Sciences and Informal Science Education. ABSTRACT The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Washington propose a conference, conference proceedings, and book that will build capacity and new collaborations at the intersection of the learning sciences and informal science education. These activities continue to expand on the outcomes of several recent conferences, publications, and projects related to research on the learning sciences and their application to varieties of educational settings. Fifty participants in this initiative will include both emerging and established researchers and practitioners, as well as international professionals. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Martell, Sandra University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee WI Sue Allen Standard Grant 132327 7259 SMET 9177 0814295 September 1, 2008 The Effects of Accountability and Teacher Preparation on Mathematics and Science Teacher Retention. DRL-REESE PI: Richard Ingersoll PROJECT ABSTRACT The broad question addressed by this project is: How are some of the most significant contemporary educational reforms impacting the ability of schools, especially those serving disadvantaged students, to retain qualified mathematics and science teachers? The project?s broad goal is to identify promising tools and strategies that policymakers, school officials, administrators, and educators could use to improve the retention of mathematics and science teachers to enhance the quality, quantity and diversity of the teacher workforce. The project addresses two specifically related research questions: (1) what impact have accountability policies and practices had on the retention of mathematics and science teachers? (2) What impact have teacher preparation, education and training trends, and levels had on the retention of mathematics and science teachers? To address these questions the project analyzes data on mathematics and science teachers from multiple cycles of the National Center for Education Statistics? (NCES) nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SSS) and its supplement the Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS). REESE DRL EHR Ingersoll, Richard University of Pennsylvania PA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 965399 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814332 September 15, 2008 Cognitive and Metacognitive Foundations of STEM Learning by Deaf Students. The proposed research is designed to enhance science-related education for at-risk students and others with diverse learning needs. Recent research has demonstrated that deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students come into the STEM classroom with less information than hearing peers and also learn less. Results consistently have shown that neither students' reading levels nor communication skills are sufficient to explain this situation. The proposed project will focus on the effects on learning of DHH students' comprehension monitoring skills and their relatively lesser content knowledge and infrequent use of integrative learning strategies. Experiments involve participants' reading or seeing presentations and then answering questions, summarizing content, and/or identifying other features of the presented information prior to learning assessments. With one exception, content is presented in signed, spoken, or written form. Students will make judgments about the expected accuracy of their responses; these and other methods will be used to assess their awareness of ongoing comprehension in addition to learning per se. It is expected that metacognitive accuracy will vary as a function of factors such as method of presentation, mode of communication, the nature of the material, and possibly several demographic variables. Of particular interest are measures of learning, ongoing comprehension monitoring, and the ways in which these influence each other. The research is expected to refute claims that deaf students' learning challenges are specific to printed materials or poor communication skills. REESE DRL EHR Marschark, Marc Vince Daniele Rochester Institute of Tech NY Sue Allen Continuing grant 642133 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814364 August 15, 2008 A Phase II trial of the Systems Evaluation Protocol for Assessing and Improving STEM Education Evaluation. DRL- 0814364 PI: William Trochim PROJECT Abstract The investigator has created a protocol for developing evaluations of programs using a web-based system. The project will assess the degree to which the Systems Evaluation Protocol (SEP) is associated with changes in organizational evaluation capacity and performance outcomes. The investigator will conduct a trial of how well this protocol would work in two NSF funded research settings: a Materials Science and Engineering Centers and a 4-H Engineering and Technology program. The project includes a development phase where the investigator will be testing and enhancing the on-line system using a team of evaluators, educators, and software engineers. It also includes a phase to empirically measure the results of the evaluation protocol on evaluation quality. The intent of the project is to significantly enhance knowledge of STEM education evaluation and how to implement it with rigor. The results are intended to inform educators and education researchers about the strengths and weaknesses of these evaluation methods. The researcher has established an intern program to advance the role of underrepresented populations in evaluation. REESE DRL EHR Trochim, William Cornell University - State NY Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 2300753 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0814452 September 15, 2008 Forces and Forms III Workshop. Now is a moment of openness to innovation in STEM PhD education around the world which holds enormous potential for inventing a better, future-oriented PhD. To realize this potential, we need to understand the relationship of national and local policy actors to globalizing and internationalizing forces and the outcomes of current reforms in doctoral education. To help meet this need, the Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE) at the University of Washington, Seattle, with support from NSF, created a unique international network of doctoral education researchers and policy makers, the Forces and Forms of Change in Doctoral Education Worldwide (F&F) network. Based on two previous NSF-supported research collaborations, F&F network members have identified three critical topics in the globalization of science doctoral education which they are committed to investigating: (1) internationalization and inequality in intellectual capital, (2) diversity in doctoral education, and (3) preserving the role in doctoral education of intellectual risk-taking (i.e., the capacity to conduct research outside the mainstream or with uncertain outcomes). This proposal requests support for a synthesis research project which will build on the expertise and prior research collaborations of the F&F network to generate policies for addressing these three critical issues. The goal is to move beyond the national context for understanding these issues and to generate policy tools for shaping science PhD programs to address these issues within the context of the emerging, global system of STEM doctoral education. Support is requested for research, centralization of information on PhD education internationally through a web-based information hub, planning and coordinating a meeting of participating researchers (including travel support for U.S. scholars), involvement of younger scholars (i.e., a small training component) and dissemination of research findings and research-based policy recommendations through print and online media, targeting doctoral education policy audiences, including researchers, graduate deans, funding agencies, and the general higher education public (e.g., insidehighered.com and Chronicle of Higher Education). The Intellectual Merits The F&F network's research agenda will advance knowledge in the area of globalization in doctoral education. This project focuses particularly on the international policy context for expansion and innovation in STEM PhD programs. Resulting research papers will contribute to understanding of individuals and organizations who influence, advocate, and implement policy reform in PhD programs around the world and the relationship of national and local actors to globalizing and internationalizing forces in doctoral education. Building on this knowledge, the project will generate policy recommendations addressing the role of doctoral education in the unequal distribution of intellectual capital, diversity in PhD education, and the role of intellectual risk-taking in doctoral education. The Broader Impacts of Proposed Activity This project is designed to promote broader impacts by creating vehicles for centralization and dissemination of research on doctoral education worldwide, fostering international connections among doctoral education researchers and policy makers, and stimulating further research on critical issues in PhD education. CIRGE will make the policy-relevant knowledge that exists in the F&F network available to U.S. audiences through publications, presentations and the CIRGE-managed web-based information hub. The project links diversity and excellence in STEM PhD education in a novel way by developing global (or at least international) perspectives on both issues as two sides of the same coin. The project includes graduate students and early-career scholars. It will generate policy tools for improving doctoral education. REESE DRL EHR Nerad, Maresi University of Washington WA Carol F. Stoel Standard Grant 300000 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0814512 September 15, 2008 RUI: CyGaMEs: Cyber-Enabled Teaching and Learning through Game-based, Metaphor Enhanced Learning Objects. This is a project to explore Game-based, Metaphor Enhanced (GaME) design. GaME is a method for applying cognitive science metaphor theory toward the design of computer-mediated learning environments. The process uses structure mapping theory to design videogame worlds aligned with science concepts. This is a rigorous specification procedure for mapping relational structure from targeted concept to game world. GaME design translates a targeted concept into a game system, game play, and game goal. Because the relational structure of the game world is designed as an analog of the targeted conceptual domain, players begin to construct mental models of the targeted concept during interactive gameplay. This makes learning concrete and embodied. Gameplay experiences are designed to guide the learner to discover the relational structure of the targeted concept. This gameplay is a readiness activity for preparing the learner for subsequent instruction. The primary objective of the Cyber-Enabled Teaching and Learning through Game-based, Metaphor Enhanced Learning Objects (CyGaMEs) project is to empirically test this application of cognitive science theory. Aptly designed videogame worlds will provide common experience that prepares educators and their learners to achieve success. CyGaMEs employs cognitive science, informatic sciences, and analysis methodologies to enhance control over what games do: Engage learning through doing, discovery, and inquiry. While each player takes an idiosyncratic route, applied structure mapping theory ensures that gameplay exploration proceeds toward the learning goal. Selene: A Lunar Creation GaME is the core of CyGaMEs research. This project will: (a) complete, refine and test existing Selene prototype, (b) collect GaME data representing perceptions and learning, (c) develop and refine new methods and metrics for assessing motivation, engagement, and achievement within instructional videogames, and (d) integrate GaME data collection and assessment within a cyber-enabled informatics infrastructure. REESE DRL EHR Reese, Debbie Charles Wood Ben Hitt Beverly Carter Wheeling Jesuit University WV John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 1165145 7625 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0814559 September 1, 2008 Frontier Research Empirical Study Proposal: Understanding Academic Performance in Organic Chemistry: An Investigation Examining Underrepresented Groups. Thousands of students enroll in "Introduction to Organic Chemistry" (O-CHEM) each year. Successful completion of O-CHEM is a prerequisite for many graduate and professional STEM programs, yet the failure rate is notoriously high. O-CHEM has unique knowledge representation protocols that often challenge even students who initially master general chemistry. There are very few large-scale studies examining why some students succeed while others have difficulty in O-CHEM. Such issues are of particular importance when considering the impact on under-represented minority students and women. A large body of evidence indicates that these groups perform significantly worse in O-CHEM, contributing to the under-representation of these groups in STEM careers. Previous studies by the PI focusing on how students succeed in STEM courses used techniques such as concept-mapping to examine "knowledge organization." Recent studies show that both experts and high-achieving students demonstrate enhanced knowledge bases. No study has examined how knowledge organization mediates academic performance in O-CHEM. Furthermore, no study has examined the activities employed by students to organize their knowledge appropriately, although more generally, investigations into both expert performance and academic success have demonstrated that concentrated, goal-directed activities are correlated with superior performance. Previous studies by the PI have successfully identified the importance of such activities using techniques such as think aloud protocol analysis, structured interviews, and diaries. The goal of this study is to combine the insights provided by multiple measurement techniques such as concept-mapping, think-aloud protocol analysis, and diaries in order to examine factors contributing to both academic success and difficulties in O-CHEM, particularly among under-represented minority students and women. This is a "frontier research empirical study." It is being undertaken collaboratively between departments of education, psychology (cognitive science), and chemistry. It is examining equal numbers of minority and non-minority students, and equal numbers of males and females within each group. Groups are also comprised of equal numbers of high-, average-, and low-achieving students. This study has four specific objectives; to 1) Examine O-CHEM knowledge structures to identify major conceptual difficulties; 2) Compare student-instructor O-CHEM knowledge structure correspondence and identify specific discrepancies; 3) Compare O-CHEM problem solving success and knowledge structures, and; 4) Compare specific study activities and knowledge structures. It may lead to the design of randomized trial studies involving individualized and group tutoring in O-CHEM and, ultimately, the restructuring of O-CHEM syllabi and teaching methods in order to close potential gaps between student knowledge and instructor ideals. REESE DRL EHR Shavelson, Richard Stanford University CA Myles G. Boylan Standard Grant 804594 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814571 September 15, 2008 Helping Teachers to Use and Students To Learn From Contrasting Examples: A Scale-up Study in Algebra I. Several small-scale experimental studies in classrooms by Star and Rittle-Johnson demonstrate the value of comparison in mathematics learning: Students who learned by comparing and contrasting alternative solution methods made greater gains in conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and flexibility than those who studied the same solution methods one at a time. This study will extend that prior work by developing, piloting, and then evaluating the impact of comparison on students' learning of mathematics in a full-year algebra course. Sixty Algebra I teachers will participate in a randomized controlled trial of the contrasting-examples instructional approach, using a delayed treatment design. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Star, Jon Bethany Rittle-Johnson Kristie Newton Harvard University MA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 655129 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814695 January 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Justification in Algebra: Growing Understanding of Algebraic Reasoning (JAGUAR). The main goal of the project is to understand how teachers 1) develop specific mathematical knowledge (algebraic justification), 2) transform this knowledge to classroom practice, and 3) advance in their pedagogy to promote students' learning. The project will clarify the meaning of justification for school algebra through collaborations among mathematicians, teachers, and mathematics educators. The project focuses on the important and under-explored connection between teachers' mathematical learning in a professional development environment and the subsequent a) changes in their teaching practice and b) continued deepening of their content knowledge in practice. Additionally, by working with a select group of exemplary teachers, the project explores the development of advanced inquiry teaching, namely teaching that supports students' mathematics learning via justification activities. The project design features a coordinated two-pronged approach in which teacher learning is examined in the context of a mathematics content course and the teachers' own classrooms. Data collection activities are designed to facilitate coordinated analyses to investigate connections across these two contexts. The summer course for teachers is modeled on a course that has been implemented successfully as part of an NSF-funded professional development project. Similarly, activities conducted with teachers during the academic year will provide opportunities for the teachers to develop advanced teaching practices and opportunities for the project team to investigate the development process. The project will utilize and extend existing instruments for assessing students' and teachers' understanding of justification. Algebra and algebraic reasoning are core to the discipline of mathematics and have national importance for the development of qualified STEM workforce. REESE DRL EHR Newton, Jill Purdue University IN Kusum Singh Continuing grant 125674 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814710 September 1, 2008 Understanding and Cultivating the Connections Between Students' Natural Ways of Reasoning and Mathematical Ways of Reasoning. Many consider mathematical reasoning to be a basic mathematical skill and inseparable from knowing and using mathematics. Yet despite its importance, mathematics education research continues to paint a bleak picture of students' abilities to reason mathematically. In contrast, cognitive science research has revealed surprising strengths in children's abilities to reason in non-mathematical domains, suggesting that children are capable of developing complex and abstract causal theories, and of using powerful strategies of inductive inference. Thus, this raises something of a paradox: Why are children so good at reasoning in non-mathematical domains, yet so poor at reasoning in mathematical domains? The purpose of this study is to explore this seeming paradox. In particular, our goal is to extend the cognitive science research into the domain of mathematics education and, more specifically, into the domain of middle school mathematics. We seek to understand the strengths and weaknesses of students' reasoning in and out of mathematics, to understand the connections between students' reasoning in different domains, and, ultimately, to improve students' abilities to reason mathematically. REESE DRL EHR Knuth, Eric Charles Kalish Amy Ellis University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 741938 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814724 October 1, 2008 Culture, Cognition, and Evaluation of STEM Higher Education Reform: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Study. This study is intended to develop better understanding of why changes in reform-based practices in higher education are slow to develop. The project aims to increase understanding of the relationship between mental models of faculty about effective pedagogy in STEM fields and the extent of consensus about such pedagogy. The research will also examine individual and institutional factors that may influence mental models and consensus and the individual and group level factors that are related to teaching practices and changes in cognitive structure and consensus over time. The study will use cognitive frameworks to explain institutional inertia and will develop methodological approaches to examine several different units of analysis using both cognitive and cultural frameworks. The investigators will create an evaluation design that will be tested in higher education institutions. It will describe the mental models held by individual faculty about effective pedagogy, describe the groups that have consensus on these structures, and describe how individuals and institutions vary in teaching approaches. The study will measure changes in faculty views of pedagogical practices over time by following faculty over time. Data will be gathered from faculty in math, life science and physical sciences over a three year period. The primary source of data will be a survey instrument given in the first and third year. There will also be in-dept interviews with subsets of faculty. REESE DRL EHR Millar, Susan Charles Kalish Matthew Hora University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 797747 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814750 August 1, 2008 Parents, Utility Value, and Motivating Adolescents in Mathematics and Science. This project would use a sample of Wisconsin families to study the role parents play in increasing students' perception of the utility of science as a means for increasing student participation in high school science courses. The researchers are collecting survey data on high school students and their parents in a sample of students ages 11, 13, and 15. These survey data will be used with prior information from the families in a longitudinal survey to examine some hypotheses about the use of parents? knowledge of the value of high school math and science courses on student choices. Previous research by the investigators has demonstrated that programs that focus on the value of a course leads to increased interest and enhanced performance for students in high school and college. The research would to study parent?s knowledge of the utility value of high school M&S courses and their ability to convey it. It is a three-year longitudinal study and an experimental study on parent?s information. The study would be made of 166 families with a child who completed data collection at 9th grade. A random assignment will be made so that some parents receive professional training on how to discuss course taking with their students. Parents and students will be followed up in 9 months and in 2 years to assess the impact on course taking. REESE DRL EHR Hyde, Janet Judith Harackiewicz University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 572618 7625 SMET 9177 7625 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0814768 September 1, 2008 Cognitive and cortical restructuring in the acquisition of negative number concepts.. How do people develop well-structured representations for non-perceptual, quantitative concepts? For example, when mathematicians reason about five-dimensions, do they depend on internal spatial representations, do they apply a series of symbolic rules, or do they use a combination of both? The current research addresses this question in the context of children learning about zero and the negative numbers. By the time most children begin learning the integers, they have an internal spatial representation that supports their abilities to reason about natural number magnitude, even when presented symbolically as digits. Recent evidence, however, indicates that children?s reasoning with zero and negative numbers relies on the application of syntactic rules. This contrasts with most adults who have developed a spatial representation of negative numbers in their own right. A combination of instructional, behavioral, and fMRI methods are examining the relative influences of spatial and symbolic experiences on brain reorganization and children?s development of integer concepts. REESE DRL EHR Schwartz, Daniel Vinod Menon Stanford University CA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 324770 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814776 September 15, 2008 Foundations of 21st Century Science Assessments. Proposal: 0814776 PI: Quallmalz, Edys Institution: WestEd PROJECT SUMMARY This project addresses the suitability of available assessments for measuring what students should know and be able to do in science using a technology-based science tests. The investigators will design new assessments to gather evidence of complex science learning that incorporate recent changes in the practice of science and mathematics. They will conduct research on how to apply a new generation of dynamic science assessments, their construct validity and compare student performance on tasks and items in static, active, and interactive modes. The project will provide new information on the construct validity of technology-enhanced assessment tasks and items designed to measure complex science learning. The investigators compare the construct validity of dynamic (both active and interactive) assessment tasks to those of static formats intended to measure the same complex learning. They hope to be able to identify principles for types of science assessment task design structures that incorporate technology to elicit knowledge of science systems and inquiry abilities. The investigation is in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). REESE DRL EHR Quellmalz, Edys George DeBoer Michael Timms WestEd CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 655985 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0814821 September 1, 2008 Developing the Conceptual Underpinnings of Evolution in Second and Third Grade. DRL-0814821 PI: Kathleen Metz PROJECT ABSTRACT This empirical study applies the learning progression perspective to the teaching of evolution, posting an initial progression for the conceptual underpinnings of evolution for second and third graders. The centrality of evolution makes it a prime target for strategic long-term coherent knowledge-building. Two curriculum models?one in animal behavior and one in botany?support the learning progressions. These modules build on the PIs? prior work, scaffolding primary grade children?s scientific inquiry in these domains. The research team studies the curricular enactment and student learning in two kinds of sites, (1) a project-run summer enrichment program, and (2) inner-city public school classrooms. REESE DRL EHR Metz, Kathleen University of California-Berkeley CA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 701933 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814829 January 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Justification and Argumentation: Growing Understanding of Algebraic Reasoning (JAGUAR). Project Abstract: The main goal of the project is to understand how teachers 1) develop specific mathematical knowledge (algebraic justification), 2) transform this knowledge to classroom practice, and 3) advance in their pedagogy to promote students? learning. The project will clarify the meaning of justification for school algebra through collaborations among mathematicians, teachers, and mathematics educators. The project focuses on the important and under-explored connection between teachers? mathematical learning in a professional development environment and the subsequent a) changes in their teaching practice and b) continued deepening of their content knowledge in practice. Additionally, by working with a select group of exemplary teachers, the project explores the development of advanced inquiry teaching, namely teaching that supports students? mathematics learning via justification activities. The project design features a coordinated two-pronged approach in which teacher learning is examined in the context of a mathematics content course and the teachers? own classrooms. Data collection activities are designed to facilitate coordinated analyses to investigate connections across these two contexts. The summer course for teachers is modeled on a course that has been implemented successfully as part of an NSF-funded professional development project. Similarly, activities conducted with teachers during the academic year will provide opportunities for the teachers to develop advanced teaching practices and opportunities for the project team to investigate the development process. The project will utilize and extend existing instruments for assessing students? and teachers? understanding of justification. Algebra and algebraic reasoning are core to the discipline of mathematics and have national importance for the development of qualified STEM workforce. REESE DRL EHR Larsen, Sean Eva Thanheiser Portland State University OR Kusum Singh Continuing grant 410451 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814850 September 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: The Role of Culture and Experience in Children's Understandings of the Biological World. The current project is designed to discover how fundamental biological concepts are understood in different learning contexts and across different cultural groups. Mainstream European-American and Native-American populations are compared to discover how concepts of the natural world are shaped by different belief systems and practices; urban and rural populations are compared to discover how both direct contact with the natural world and exposure to popular media influence learning and reasoning. The investigators attempt to tease apart: a) various sources of environmental input (e.g., habitual contact with the natural world, native language, and belief systems); b) various formal and informal contexts (e.g., school and home settings); and c) various media of transmission (e.g., books, videos, and conversation). The research protocol includes an array of categorization and reasoning tasks that have been adapted to suit the cultural profiles of each community. In addition, the project involves an analysis of the cultural practices and the input that parents and teachers provide to children. Focal content points of this proposal are children's intuitions about the place of humans in the natural world (e.g., anthrocentrism) and their tendency to engage in ecological or taxonomic reasoning. An integral component of this research program is its integration of members of under-represented communities and building of infrastructures to support their lasting involvement in research. REESE DRL EHR Bang, Megan American Indian Center of Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 242303 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814872 September 1, 2008 Classroom Processes, Students' Engagement in Mathematics Instruction, and Mathematics Achievement. The proposed research has three aims: 1) to describe the relations among children?s behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement in mathematics instruction; 2) to use observationally-based approaches to examine what occurs inside the classroom to describe the contribution of classroom processes to student engagement; 3) to examine the relation between students? engagement in learning and mathematics proficiency, considering the extent to which students? engagement serves explains the relation between classroom social processes and student mathematics achievement. Work is situated in the context of the presence or absence of two instructional approaches: inquiry-based mathematics instruction and the Responsive Classroom Approach. REESE DRL EHR Rimm-Kaufman, Sara University of Virginia Main Campus VA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 607054 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814881 January 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Justification and Argumentation: Growing Understanding of Algebraic Reasoning (JAGUAR). The main goal of the project is to understand how teachers 1) develop specific mathematical knowledge (algebraic justification), 2) transform this knowledge to classroom practice, and 3) advance in their pedagogy to promote students' learning. The project will clarify the meaning of justification for school algebra through collaborations among mathematicians, teachers, and mathematics educators. The project focuses on the important and under-explored connection between teachers' mathematical learning in a professional development environment and the subsequent a) changes in their teaching practice and b) continued deepening of their content knowledge in practice. Additionally, by working with a select group of exemplary teachers, the project explores the development of advanced inquiry teaching, namely teaching that supports students' mathematics learning via justification activities. The project design features a coordinated two-pronged approach in which teacher learning is examined in the context of a mathematics content course and the teachers' own classrooms. Data collection activities are designed to facilitate coordinated analyses to investigate connections across these two contexts. The summer course for teachers is modeled on a course that has been implemented successfully as part of an NSF-funded professional development project. Similarly, activities conducted with teachers during the academic year will provide opportunities for the teachers to develop advanced teaching practices and opportunities for the project team to investigate the development process. The project will utilize and extend existing instruments for assessing students' and teachers' understanding of justification. Algebra and algebraic reasoning are core to the discipline of mathematics and have national importance for the development of qualified STEM workforce. REESE DRL EHR Staples, Megan University of Connecticut CT Kusum Singh Continuing grant 122717 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814901 December 1, 2008 A multimethod approach to understanding dropout from STEM gateway courses. The main purpose of the project is to explore why undergraduate students drop out of STEM majors. The PIs propose to study a set of cognitive and motivational variables to understand the reasons for dropout from STEM gateway courses. They plan to employ a multimethod approach to study the process of undergraduate students? dropout from these courses at Temple University, where such gateway courses enroll 60% or more non-White students. Drawing on Dweck?s work, they hypothesize that students tend to believe their own STEM ability is either a fixed entity or malleable, and this affects whether they remain in STEM majors. In addition to the quantitative part of the study a purposive sample of students will be interviewed early and late in the semester in order to better understand students? own reasons for dropout/retention decisions and their relationship to entity/incremental beliefs. The students will be followed to document their dropout status over the course of four years, allowing for a longitudinal examination (using the statistical technique of survival analysis) of the effect of cognitive and motivational variables on students? persistence. The primary focus is on building knowledge in order to increase STEM retention and build scientific capacity. The results of the study are likely to provide important information about predictors of dropout and potential targets for intervention that can assist universities and policymakers who are trying to increase retention of STEM students. Undergraduate science majors from a high-minority institution (Temple University) will be participants, and pre-service science teachers will be targeted for undergraduate research assistants. The interdisciplinary project aims at policy relevant and evidence based findings to improve undergraduate and graduate STEM programs. REESE DRL EHR Cromley, Jennifer Jacqueline Tanaka Erin Horvat John Michel Temple University PA Kusum Singh Continuing grant 298382 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0814985 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: The Cultural Context of Learning: Native-American Science Education. This project is a collaborative effort between Northwestern University, TERC, the Menominee Tribal School (MTS) and the American Indian Center of Chicago (AIC). The long-term goal of the proposed project is to improve science learning and school achievement for Native-American children. They begin school with an advanced understanding of biology and superior performance on standardized tests compared to their non-Native peers, but in later years this benefit does not result in high levels of school achievement and biology becomes their worst subject. Understanding why and how this happens is a central purpose of this research. Previous work examined the hypothesis that there is discord between Native-American cultural ways of knowing biology and the cultural ways of knowing in school science and that this discord is at the heart of student disengagement and underachievement. A central feature of the discord was found to be the lack of explicit connections across contexts in which students learn science. The lack of connections is manifest across a range of levels, including content knowledge, practices, values, and relevance to family, community, and society at large. The project is composed of two complementary strands of work aimed at supporting students? navigation between and through the various cultural contexts in which they learn science. One strand consists of design experiments in both in-school and out-of-school settings that will allow the researchers to continue to develop, extend, and refine design principles and related curricular innovations. The second strand consists of a series of small-scale cognitive studies that are intended to support components of the design work. Further, this project will contribute to the growing body of work exploring the deep intellectual resources students from non-dominant backgrounds bring to teaching and learning environments and the ways in which these resources can enhance school science learning. Previous work demonstrates that culturally- and community-based science programs can affect identification with science, motivation to learn science and conceptions of the very nature of science. The proposers of this project are anxious to develop and test the framework further and to implement their design principles in classrooms and after-school programs. REESE DRL EHR Washinawatok, Karen Shannon Chapman Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin WI Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 154240 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815014 September 1, 2008 Brain correlates of early math and number skills: tracing changes related to age and instruction in a natural experiment. How do individual differences in children's brain mechanism for number abilities relate to gains during first grade mathematics, and how might first grade instruction drive changes in such brain mechanisms? These questions are addressed using a battery of brain imaging measures including brain structure (MRI,DTI), bloodflow changes (fMRI), and electrical responses (ERP). Pre-post brain measures track changes over the course of a school year within two groups segregated by a "school's cutoff date" into young first graders and old kindergarteners. This group contrast allows the impact of first grade instruction to be differentiated from maturation and school attendance. REESE DRL EHR Morrison, Frederick University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 72121 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815020 September 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: The Role of Culture and Experience in Children's Understandings of the Biological World. The current project is designed to discover how fundamental biological concepts are understood in different learning contexts and across different cultural groups. Mainstream European-American and Native-American populations are compared to discover how concepts of the natural world are shaped by different belief systems and practices; urban and rural populations are compared to discover how both direct contact with the natural world and exposure to popular media influence learning and reasoning. The investigators attempt to tease apart: a) various sources of environmental input (e.g., habitual contact with the natural world, native language, and belief systems); b) various formal and informal contexts (e.g., school and home settings); and c) various media of transmission (e.g., books, videos, and conversation). The research protocol includes an array of categorization and reasoning tasks that have been adapted to suit the cultural profiles of each community. In addition, the project involves an analysis of the cultural practices and the input that parents and teachers provide to children. Focal content points of this proposal are children's intuitions about the place of humans in the natural world (e.g., anthrocentrism) and their tendency to engage in ecological or taxonomic reasoning. An integral component of this research program is its integration of members of under-represented communities and building of infrastructures to support their lasting involvement in research. REESE DRL EHR Medin, Douglas Sandra Waxman Karen Washinawatok Northwestern University IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 379706 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815065 October 1, 2008 Practical and Theoretical Foundations for Informative Classroom Assessment: A Synthesis of Cognitive Science, Curriculum, Instruction, and Measurement. Project Abstract: The goal of this project is to strengthen the theoretical and practical foundations for understanding, developing and implementing assessments embedded in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula. The project aims to interweave threads from four research areas: 1) cognitive science, 2) curriculum development, 3) instructional practice and teacher preparation, and 4) educational measurement and psychometric modeling to advance knowledge of assessment in STEM. The main product will be a monograph that will unify and extend disciplinary understandings; identify important questions, issues and problems relevant to informative assessment for future research; and articulate a broad-based multidisciplinary research agenda for informative assessment. A key assumption underlying this proposal is that successful implementation of effective mathematics and science curricula depends on the presence in the classroom of high quality embedded assessments that inform the teaching and learning processes, and is sensitive to the needs of diverse learner groups. The synthesis research in this project will be structured by an organizing framework of aspects of assessment validity, based on reviews of multiple research literatures, and guided by advice from a outstanding panel of experts from across the four supporting research areas whose work and expertise are centrally relevant to STEM teaching and learning and whose interests include assessment, and the needs of diverse populations. The project will enhance knowledge and understanding of assessment in STEM areas and to improve the broader theoretical perspectives and practical foundations underlying informative assessment. The project?s main goal to bring informative assessments significantly into K-12 STEM classrooms nationwide, and other education and training settings. REESE DRL EHR DiBello, Louis William Stout University of Illinois at Chicago IL Kusum Singh Continuing grant 249455 7625 SMET 9177 0815112 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: The Cultural Context of Learning: Native-American Science Education. This project is a collaborative effort between Northwestern University, TERC, the Menominee Tribal School (MTS) and the American Indian Center of Chicago (AIC). The long-term goal of the proposed project is to improve science learning and school achievement for Native-American children. They begin school with an advanced understanding of biology and superior performance on standardized tests compared to their non-Native peers, but in later years this benefit does not result in high levels of school achievement and biology becomes their worst subject. Understanding why and how this happens is a central purpose of this research. Previous work examined the hypothesis that there is discord between Native-American cultural ways of knowing biology and the cultural ways of knowing in school science and that this discord is at the heart of student disengagement and underachievement. A central feature of the discord was found to be the lack of explicit connections across contexts in which students learn science. The lack of connections is manifest across a range of levels, including content knowledge, practices, values, and relevance to family, community, and society at large. The project is composed of two complementary strands of work aimed at supporting students? navigation between and through the various cultural contexts in which they learn science. One strand consists of design experiments in both in-school and out-of-school settings that will allow the researchers to continue to develop, extend, and refine design principles and related curricular innovations. The second strand consists of a series of small-scale cognitive studies that are intended to support components of the design work. Further, this project will contribute to the growing body of work exploring the deep intellectual resources students from non-dominant backgrounds bring to teaching and learning environments and the ways in which these resources can enhance school science learning. Previous work demonstrates that culturally- and community-based science programs can affect identification with science, motivation to learn science and conceptions of the very nature of science. The proposers of this project are anxious to develop and test the framework further and to implement their design principles in classrooms and after-school programs. REESE DRL EHR Bang, Megan TERC Inc MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 334783 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815190 August 15, 2008 Under the Microscope: Examining the research base on biological lab experiences, grades 1-13. This project involves research synthesis of the literature on laboratory experiences in the life sciences from first grade through the first year of college from 1987-2006. During this time period many advances in educational standards, cognitive sciences, and learning research have changed the conception of lab experiences in biological sciences. The project will produce both a literature review and a publication that: 1) identifies areas that are already well studied; 2) indicates areas requiring further study; 3) establishes a theoretical framework for research and development of progressions in laboratory experiences in the life sciences across grades. The NRC study, America?s Lab Report, limited its research to high school, expressly leaving aside the question of earlier grade levels, and the progression from elementary school to college. Furthermore, the NRC study did not explore any particular disciplinary content. Thus, some of the unique characteristics of the biological sciences have not been used in a consideration of the goals, value, and growth of understanding in biology during students' biology education. This study will fill that gap. The study?s main goal is to examine key literature on labs and activities in life sciences, examining English-language publications in North America, Australia, and Europe. The study will address six major research questions that relate to progressions in student learning, content and design, activity structure, support of diverse learners, ?innovation bias? and international comparisons. The research will contribute to the development of empirically based research and development in life science curriculum and teacher education by taking a critical look at the lab experiences. The research synthesis will aim to serve current needs in life-science education across the grades. The deliverables are intended to inform researchers and practitioners concerned with life science education, and to facilitate dialogue between these constituencies. It will also serve the field of science education research, by identifying gaps in the research of the past two decades ? gaps in age-level studied, in subject matter covered, and in kinds of lab experiences under-investigated. The findings of the study are likely to have an impact of curriculum design and teacher professional development. REESE DRL EHR Drayton, Brian Gillian Puttick Joni Falk TERC Inc MA Kusum Singh Continuing grant 247557 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815222 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: The Cultural Context of Learning: Native-American Science Education. This project is a collaborative effort between Northwestern University, TERC, the Menominee Tribal School (MTS) and the American Indian Center of Chicago (AIC). The long-term goal of the proposed project is to improve science learning and school achievement for Native-American children. They begin school with an advanced understanding of biology and superior performance on standardized tests compared to their non-Native peers, but in later years this benefit does not result in high levels of school achievement and biology becomes their worst subject. Understanding why and how this happens is a central purpose of this research. Previous work examined the hypothesis that there is discord between Native-American cultural ways of knowing biology and the cultural ways of knowing in school science and that this discord is at the heart of student disengagement and underachievement. A central feature of the discord was found to be the lack of explicit connections across contexts in which students learn science. The lack of connections is manifest across a range of levels, including content knowledge, practices, values, and relevance to family, community, and society at large. The project is composed of two complementary strands of work aimed at supporting students? navigation between and through the various cultural contexts in which they learn science. One strand consists of design experiments in both in-school and out-of-school settings that will allow the researchers to continue to develop, extend, and refine design principles and related curricular innovations. The second strand consists of a series of small-scale cognitive studies that are intended to support components of the design work. Further, this project will contribute to the growing body of work exploring the deep intellectual resources students from non-dominant backgrounds bring to teaching and learning environments and the ways in which these resources can enhance school science learning. Previous work demonstrates that culturally- and community-based science programs can affect identification with science, motivation to learn science and conceptions of the very nature of science. The proposers of this project are anxious to develop and test the framework further and to implement their design principles in classrooms and after-school programs. REESE DRL EHR Medin, Douglas Northwestern University IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 343709 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815245 September 15, 2008 Teaching Effective Use of Diagrammatic Reasoning in Biology. The investigators propose to develop and test new instructional techniques aimed at teaching high-school science students how to use the diagrams that appear in their biology textbooks. Research from a range of disciplines has shown that people have difficulty making sense of diagrams. The investigators had previously found that inference and other high-level processes that are important for learning from text are even more important for learning from diagrams. They further showed that students show little gains in content understanding from textbook diagrams. The investigators will capitalize on commonalities among several theories of diagrammatic reasoning to develop four interventions, following an additive design, aimed at improving classroom instruction in how to use diagrams. In each iteration, one additional intervention feature is added to the initial intervention. In the first intervention, they will teach the components of diagrams (i.e., how to read captions, color keys, and other conventions of diagrams). In the second, they will also teach the coordinating of text and diagrams. In the third, they will also have the students engage in self-explanation. In the fourth, they will also have students construct their own drawings. In conjunction with these experimental studies, the investigators will collect eye tracking data on a subset of participants pre- and post-intervention in order to look for possible changes in gaze patterns. REESE DRL EHR Cromley, Jennifer Nora Newcombe Jacqueline Tanaka Thomas Shipley Temple University PA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 675703 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815250 October 15, 2008 On-Track for STEM Careers: Access to Rigorous and Relevant STEM Courses in Florida's High Schools. Intelligent Merit: This study will examine and clarify for policymakers and researchers the impact of statewide policy changes that increased the availability of advanced STEM courses for a greater number of schools and students. The proposer will analyze the extent to which the policy changes affect outcomes for all students, particularly students who are underrepresented in STEM areas. This study, then, will provide critical information about the effectiveness of policy changes for stakeholders who have a vested interest in understanding the effects of advanced curricular programs on student enrollment in STEM courses during high school and early college. The project will address two key research questions: 1. Who enrolls in accelerated academic programs? What are the factors (the student and school) that influence enrollment in different accelerated and non-accelerated curricular programs? 2. Do accelerated academic programs increase students? STEM coursetaking in high school and during their first year of postsecondary school (Grade 13)? Do some programs increase STEM coursetaking more than others? Do these programs reduce gaps in STEM coursetaking among historically underrepresented students and their peers? The proposer will use a mixed method approach to address the research questions that includes a quantitative analysis of extant longitudinal data in the state of Florida and a qualitative assessment of non-statistical factors through site visits to schools. Ten years of quantitative data from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) will serve as the main source of information the proposer will use to study the characteristics of both students and schools. The FLDOE dataset includes a rich array of high school and postsecondary data (e.g. transcripts; dual enrollment and achievement data in these courses; regular 1-12 grades school test scores; demographic data; poverty index information). Two sets of school site visits will be conducted in the state?s major urban centers as well as small suburban high schools to provide insights not captured through quantitative analysis. During the initial visits, data will be collected via course catalogs and interviews with school personnel. For follow-up visits, data will be collected through student focus groups about all aspects of course offerings and course taking. Broader Impacts: Contribution to the field of knowledge about student enrollment in advanced STEM coursework will likely advance discovery in this area. The extensiveness of the work (examination of student and school factors from high school to college in mathematics and science) increases the importance of results to local and national policymakers and researchers. The wide range of expertise (individuals and institutions) adds significantly to the strength of the proposal and increases the credibility of expected outcomes. Lessons-learned from prior work will serve as the foundation for the development of some of the study?s data collection instruments. The dissemination plan is strong and the Urban Institute appears well positioned to carry out this component of the scope of work. REESE DRL EHR Borman, Kathryn William Tyson Becky Smerdon University of South Florida FL Celestine Pea Continuing grant 688589 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815295 October 15, 2008 Center for Advancing Research and Communication in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (ARC). This proposal creates a Diffusion and Evaluation Center for the Research in Education and Evaluation in Science and Engineering (REESE) program. Specifically, this Center: 1. Provides support and capacity building opportunities for the REESE PIs through technical assistance that strengthens methodological and analytic approaches; 2. Creates opportunities for dialogue and interaction through PI and other themed meetings, online resources, and provides mechanisms for PIs to share instrumentation, data and findings; 3. Produces studies and reports based on various aspects of the REESE portfolio through (in consultation with NSF) identifying criteria to assess the rigor of studies and provide information on the effectiveness of the program and the studies it supports; 4. Summarizes key findings of REESE projects to various audiences such as researchers, policymakers, and practitioners; 5. Contributes to the creation of an evaluation framework for the REESE program, and 6. Conducts original research on salient issues related to the portfolio. REESE DRL EHR Schneider, Barbara Larry Hedges Colm O'Muircheartaigh Sarah-Kathryn McDonald National Opinion Research Center IL Janice M. Earle Cooperative Agreement 1894560 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0815364 September 15, 2008 Refining, Operationalizing, and Describing Scientific Inquiry Instructional Practice Using the Inquiry Science Instruction Observation Protocol (ISIOP): A National Field Test. Project Abstract Education Development Center, Inc. has proposed a three-year REESE Frontier Research empirical project (Measurement, Modeling, and Methods) to develop a training manual and facilitate a national field test of the Inquiry Science Instruction Observation Protocol (ISIOP). The ISIOP was developed with NSF funding. The proposed project will develop observation protocol and scoring rubrics that will be tested for use by science education evaluators. The main objective of the project is to improve the measurement technology and tools for capturing variation in scientific inquiry instruction via classroom observation. The field test will involve 40 evaluation professionals (20 teams) at different schools across the country. They will generate an observation data set of 80 paired observations. The field test will use a stratified sampling strategy to maximize the representation of schools, classrooms and students across the nation in the study. This data set will be used to demonstrate a scientifically sound validity argument supporting the intended interpretation of the scoring rubrics for measuring the nature and extent of scientific inquiry instructional practices exhibited in middle-grades science classroom teaching. The products generated from the project include (1) an observation protocol and scoring rubrics that have been tested for usability and utility across a range of science education program evaluators in various settings; (2) a user?s manual that clearly describes the development process, the derivation of the evidence of reliability and validity, procedural information for using and scoring the protocol, guidelines for establishing inter-rater reliability using the included videotaped examples of teaching, and suggestions about how to coordinate the use of the ISIOP with other instruments to produce a comprehensive research or evaluation plan. REESE DRL EHR Minner, Daphne Education Development Center MA Kusum Singh Continuing grant 418311 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815421 September 15, 2008 Study of the Impact of Specialized Public High Schools of Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Intelligent Merit: The intent of this proposal is to conduct a national, retrospective study of specialized science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) schools that provide a more rigorous course of study for academically talented, science-focused students. The main goal of the proposed work is to determine what contributions can be made to public policy decisions about SMT education relative to specialized schools. The study will examine the educational and career consequences of these schools to gain better insights about their contributions to the SMT workforce. Through a three-phased approach, this study will focus on graduates from specialized high schools and their counterparts from regular high schools as a comparison group. During the first phase of the study, graduates from one specialized high school and from a comparison group will be studied, while during phase two, three specialized schools and comparison groups will be studied. In phase three, the study will be expanded using the same study respondents from the first two phases. Throughout the first two phases, methods and instruments will be crafted, piloted, and revised. Overall, the study will involve 5000 graduates from specialized SMT schools and 1000 graduates with similar backgrounds from regular high schools. The research questions for this study include: 1. Are graduates from specialized SMT high schools more likely to enroll in SMT-related studies and career fields when compared with graduates from regular non-magnet non-examination high schools with comparable academic and demographic backgrounds? 2. What school models employed by specialized SMT high schools are most associated with entrance into SMT-related studies and career fields? (School models include: residential schools, schools-within-schools, regional centers with half-day courses.) 3. To what degree do graduates from specialized SMT high schools who pursue non-SMT degree concentrations and careers attribute value to the SMT skills and content they experienced at their high school? 4. Do graduates from specialized SMT high schools differ in their professed understanding and personal interest regarding science-related public issues from graduates of regular non-magnet non-examination high schools with comparable academic and demographic backgrounds? Broader Impacts: The study will likely advance discovery and understanding about how schools should be structured to ensure academically talented students, including those historically underserved, reach their fullest potential. The results could inform policy about the value of SMT schools to the STEM workforce, hence, in that regard, it could e transformative. Key partners (e.g. schools, universities, and corporations) have been assembled to provide broad-based support to specific aspects of this project. The qualitative phase of the study will target the perspectives of graduates on factors (e.g. education, success, ethics), other than enrollment and achievement. The advisory board represents a variety of expertise and stakeholder communities and will likely yield a wider dissemination of results and findings. REESE DRL EHR Subotnik, Rena American Psychological Assoc DC Celestine Pea Continuing grant 647444 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815569 August 15, 2008 Diffusion of Innovation in Digital Libraries: Mobilizing Networks to Increase the Scope and Depth of Use of a New Cyber Infrastructure. The American Sociological Association will conduct a detailed study of how well digital versions of course materials are used and distributed throughout colleges and universities compared with traditional paper forms of classroom materials. The study is designed based on theory of diffusion of innovations and includes a 5 part empirical analysis of predicted behaviors. The researcher would conduct statistical analysis of how diffusion of course materials occurs for different types of colleges and for professors of different ages and forms of training. The results of this study will be useful for understanding the current value of digital libraries as a form of access to teaching materials and it is also likely to contribute to the method and theory of understanding the diffusion process for educational materials throughout the US higher education system. The methods of study use the latest developments in sociological practice such as analysis of social networks among publishing and references of sociologists. REESE DRL EHR Spalter-Roth, Roberta Jean Shin Margaret Vitullo American Sociological Assoc DC Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 264990 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0815577 October 15, 2008 Enhancing the effectiveness of large scale virtual environments for educational and training purposes. The goal of the proposed work is to enhance the feasibility of using virtual environments (VE) for the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at all grade levels in order to maximize the effectiveness of curricula. In principle, the applications of VEs for training in physics, chemistry, astronomy, engineering, biology and mathematics are unlimited. However, in practice, their usefulness has been limited by undesirable side effects of motion sickness, dizziness, and postural instability. Consequently, users spontaneously limit their head and body movements in frequency and amplitude and move more tentatively. Many have to terminate participation. In order for VEs to be a viable tool for educators it is necessary first to identify the primary factors that contribute to motion sickness, postural instability and impaired eye-head coordination in VEs. A coordinated series of experiments is proposed using as a model an educational VE designed to teach molecular and chemical structure. The relationship of field-of-view, tracking delays in scene updating, and visual resolution to these side effects will be determined. Techniques involving various types of haptic cuing of body and environment orientation will be used to suppress side effects and increase the user?s mobility and ability to learn the VE. Head movement contingent blanking of the visual field will be tested as a way of attenuating motion sickness, postural instability, and preventing derangements of gaze control. The goal of the proposed research is to enable students to move naturally and freely while exploring the VE without restricting their activities and without their becoming nauseous, dizzy, or unstable. Achieving this would be transformative by increasing the usefulness of immersive VEs for training in STEM disciplines. REESE DRL EHR Lackner, James Paul DiZio Brandeis University MA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 998585 H403 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815588 August 1, 2008 Can Visual Arts Learning Improve Geometric Reasoning? A Transfer Study. This project will investigate whether learning in the visual arts, a discipline in which students continually practice visualization, leads to improvements in geometric reasoning. This longitudinal, quasi-experimental study will compare high school students with and without extensive exposure to the visual arts. Geometric reasoning will be assessed at baseline and after one and two years of study, as will visualization skills in art, general spatial visualization, and control tasks not related to visualization. If the study supports the hypothesis that students in the arts group will show greater improvement in their geometric reasoning, future research will examine transfer between visual arts training and other STEM areas that depend on visualization such as physics, chemistry, biology, and additional areas in mathematics. This study promises to extend the boundaries of our understanding of the relation between visual-spatial thinking in mathematics and the visual arts and add to our understanding of the conditions under which near and far transfer may occur. It also has implications for increasing access to higher-level mathematics for students, particularly those students who have traditionally been underserved educationally, by increasing the number of students who succeed in geometry, and thereby increasing the numbers who stay in the mathematical pipeline. REESE DRL EHR Goldsmith, Lynn Ellen Winner Lois Hetland Education Development Center MA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 991898 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815692 January 1, 2009 A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Small-Group Instruction Compared to Lecture-Based Instruction in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) College Classes. This project is a meta-analysis of active learning versus lecture-based instruction in higher education using multi-level methods to estimate both the weighted average effect size and its associated variance from experimental and comparative undergraduate STEM education research studies. It also models the heterogeneity in these effect sizes by including coded predictor variables such as: effectiveness, gender differences, ethnic differences, outcome measures, and explanatory moderator variables (achievement, persistence, and attitudes). Selected studies and their analyses include a focus on each discipline and the grouping of all STEM disciplines. Publication-bias is performed via forest plots and funnel plots and a sensitivity analysis is done by comparing two or more meta-analyses calculated using different assumptions regarding the primary studies. REESE DRL EHR Kalaian, Sema Rafa Kasim Eastern Michigan University MI Sue Allen Continuing grant 249295 7625 SMET 9177 0815764 September 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: Learning across the Expert-Novice Continuum: Cognition in the Geosciences. Two related research projects will investigate cognition across undergraduate geology majors, geology graduate students, and professional geologists. The field-based studies involve authentic tasks commonly used by students and professional geoscientists. Navigation (GPS) as well as cognitive (maps, audio logs, and debriefing interviews) data will allow the investigators to study complex natural problem solving. The laboratory studies involve a series of cognitive tasks that allow the investigation of working memory function, perceptual abilities, and the structuring of domain-specific content knowledge. The investigators expect to produce: (1) Valid and reliable methods for investigating field-based geologic cognition and navigation, which could allow for field-based cognitive data to be readily collected from large numbers of students enrolled in field courses; (2) New laboratory-based cognitive experiments that push the boundaries of existing knowledge about the cognitive processes underlying the learning and teaching of complex geoscience content, which will bridge the geoscience education and cognitive science literatures on STEM learning; and (3) A theoretical model for geocognition derived from empirical data that describes how cognitive processes manifest and change as students progress toward expertise, which will provide a foundation for research-based instructional design and teaching in the geosciences. REESE DRL EHR Petcovic, Heather Kathleen Baker Western Michigan University MI Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 186953 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815787 September 15, 2008 Math and Science Achievement Gaps for Minority and Disadvantaged Students: Developmental and Environmental Influences from Nine Months to 8th Grade. This proposed project is an empirical study that falls within the contextual research strand of the REESE program. The aim is to conduct research about STEM education relative to achievement gaps that exist between minority and disadvantaged students and their non-minority counterparts. The outcomes of this study will help in addressing the convergence of several trends that may exact increasing costs to individuals on the lower end of the gap, the economy, and to social and political ideas. The achievement gap is a deceptively complex scientific problem that will increasingly require studying the origin and evolution of gaps from earliest childhood. In that regard, this study will integrate research trends in the developmental sciences, the cognitive and neurosciences and economics, and education research and other strands of social science to develop interventions to address gaps in more efficient ways. The first large nationally representative longitudinal data collection will be used for this study. This large database includes information from nine months to grade eight that will be used to test and compare the leading hypotheses about the origin and evolution of gaps. To meet the challenge of turning such data into credible evidence that might inform intervention plans and further research, two statistical estimation strategies (growth and econometric models), information from supporting meta-analysis, and an extensive advisory network of experts will be used to conduct the study. The research will focus on: (1) Building better theoretical and empirical research models directed toward understanding how these gaps develop from conception to school entry; (2) Identifying effective strategies and inventions that might efficiently narrow gaps prior to school entry; (3) Building better explanations about why gaps are so difficult to close during schooling; (4) formulating stronger suggestions about why gaps for some minority groups expand during schooling, while gaps for other minority students narrow; and (5) Identifying the conditions associated with significant positive changes in learning trajectories during schooling for the small proportion of minority and disadvantaged students who narrow their score differences with white advantaged students. Broader Impacts: The study is likely to advance knowledge and discovery in the field in that it brings together researchers from many fields to examine ways to better understand the achievement gap in STEM areas. The results could benefit education stakeholders interested in improving STEM education for all students. Potentially, this study could inform and influence current policy considerations regarding mandatory pre-school enrollment, and in that regard could be transformative. State and local policymakers will assist with dissemination as well as national outlets established through earlier studies. REESE DRL EHR Grissmer, David University of Virginia Main Campus VA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 952710 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815930 September 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: Learning across the Expert-Novice Continuum: Cognition in the Geosciences. Two related research projects will investigate cognition across undergraduate geology majors, geology graduate students, and professional geologists. The field-based studies involve authentic tasks commonly used by students and professional geoscientists. Navigation (GPS) as well as cognitive (maps, audio logs, and debriefing interviews) data will allow the investigators to study complex natural problem solving. The laboratory studies involve a series of cognitive tasks that allow the investigation of working memory function, perceptual abilities, and the structuring of domain-specific content knowledge. The investigators expect to produce: (1) Valid and reliable methods for investigating field-based geologic cognition and navigation, which could allow for field-based cognitive data to be readily collected from large numbers of students enrolled in field courses; (2) New laboratory-based cognitive experiments that push the boundaries of existing knowledge about the cognitive processes underlying the learning and teaching of complex geoscience content, which will bridge the geoscience education and cognitive science literatures on STEM learning; and (3) A theoretical model for geocognition derived from empirical data that describes how cognitive processes manifest and change as students progress toward expertise, which will provide a foundation for research-based instructional design and teaching in the geosciences. REESE DRL EHR Libarkin, Julie Michigan State University MI Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 143961 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815945 August 15, 2008 Training in Arithmetical Fluency. This work involves a new training approach to help adults learn to quickly and accurately solve multi-digit addition and subtraction problems (e.g., 34 + 29). We will use behavioral measures of skill to demonstrate that the training program improves the ability to solve addition and subtraction problems, and to determine whether the benefits extend to other types of mathematical tasks (e.g., solving an algebra problem, or comparing the magnitude of two numbers). Measures of brain function will be used to test the idea that our training approach leads to adaptive changes in a core brain region involved in "basic number sense." REESE DRL EHR Fiez, Julie University of Pittsburgh PA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 1241567 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0815993 August 15, 2008 Learning Progression on Carbon-Transforming Processes in Socio-Ecological Systems. DRL-0815993 PI: Andy Anderson PROJECT ABSTRACT This empirical study develops a science learning progression that extends from 4th grade through the first year of college and focuses on key bio-geo-chemical processes in socio-ecological systems at multiples scales, including cellular and organisms, metabolism, ecosystems, energetics and carbon cycling, carbon sequestration, and combustion of fossil fuels. The project investigates the learning progression hypothesis that there are patterns in the development of students' knowledge and practice that are both conceptually coherent and empirically verifiable. Using an iterative, design-based research process, the project develops: (1) a validated framework; (2) assessment resources; and (3) studies of sequences and mechanisms of conceptual change based on teaching experiments at the elementary, middle, high school and college levels. REESE DRL EHR Anderson, Charles Michigan State University MI Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 611629 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0816063 September 1, 2008 Brain correlates of early math and number skills: tracing changes related to age and instruction in a natural experiment. How do individual differences in children's brain mechanism for number abilities relate to gains during first grade mathematics, and how might first grade instruction drive changes in such brain mechanisms? These questions are addressed using a battery of brain imaging measures including brain structure (MRI,DTI), bloodflow changes (fMRI), and electrical responses (ERP). Pre-post brain measures track changes over the course of a school year within two groups segregated by a "school's cutoff date" into young first graders and old kindergarteners. This group contrast allows the impact of first grade instruction to be differentiated from maturation and school attendance. REESE DRL EHR McCandliss, Bruce Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University NY Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 322107 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0816123 September 1, 2008 Building a Methodology for Developing and Evaluating Instructionally Sensitive Assessments. Project Abstract: The purpose of this project is to build and empirically test a comprehensive approach for developing instructionally sensitive assessments that can provide a better picture of the extent that science instruction impacts student achievement. The project will develop and test an assessment approach that can improve the way that assessments are conceptualized and used for evaluation studies and/or accountability purposes. The large-scale, standardized, assessments students take may not be directly tied to the curriculum they are studying. This situation sets up a tension between the knowledge and competencies students are able to demonstrate on a particular assessment and those they may have which the assessment does not in fact probe. The goal of the project is to address this tension. The project will advance knowledge about validity that is critical to the evaluation of the effectiveness of instruction or instructional programs; it will expand the strategies available for developing and evaluating instructionally sensitive assessments; and it will provide evidence about the importance of implementing assessments varying in instructional sensitivity for accountability or program effectiveness purposes. The proposed research activities will guide future evaluation research and assessment development. The project aims to improve the science assessment practices in the participating school districts, mostly serving disadvantaged student populations. The project will provide training to participating teachers on how to develop and evaluate instructionally sensitive assessments, introduce strategies that can be used in their daily practice to judge the quality of the assessments and link assessments to instruction, and disseminate the approach and relevant materials to teachers in non-participating schools or school districts. REESE DRL EHR Ruiz-Primo, Maria Araceli Min Li University of Colorado at Denver CO Kusum Singh Standard Grant 1015927 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0816207 September 1, 2008 Investigating Trajectories of Learning & Transfer of Problem Solving Expertise from Mathematics to Physics to Engineering. The investigators of the project Measurement, Modeling, and Methods Category are studying how science and engineering students build towards problem solving expertise throughout a major part of their academic careers and how they transfer their knowledge and skills across undergraduate STEM courses. They are observing students' problem across 3 years of courses starting with mathematics and continuing through introduction to physics to engineering courses. The three year research plan consists of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies that take place both in-class and out-of-class and involve 3000 students through seven classes at Kansas State University. The research team is studying the following variables associated with problem solving: the problem features of structuredness, complexity, domain specificity, and dynamicity; problem representation of form, organization, and sequencing; and individual differences of domain knowledge, problem solving experience, reasoning skills, and epistemological maturity. Quantitative data and qualitative evidence are being used to study the variables. An on-line homework system created with previous NSF funding (DUE 0206923) will enable quantitative analysis of the variables with large numbers of students. The data of subjects from underrepresented groups will be analyzed and compared to the larger groups of students. Results of this project are expected to advance the knowledge and understanding of STEM teaching and learning in undergraduate education. REESE DRL EHR Zollman, Dean Andrew Bennett N. Sanjay Rebello Steven Warren Kansas State University KS Sue Allen Continuing grant 652544 7625 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0816216 September 15, 2008 Modeling Cyber-Enabled Learning and Teaching: Addressing Methodological and Measurement Issues. This proposal responds to the need for realizing the potential of cyber-infrastructure for education and argues that in order for cyber-enabled learning to be realized and used, three important issues must be addressed: (a) It is critical to be able to characterize what is meant by cyber-enabled learning; (b) multiple approaches to gathering evidence of sophisticated cyber-enabled learning must be developed; and (c) learning must be attributable to participation in the identified cyber-enabled learning. The project, therefore, has three goals: (1) to characterize cyber-enabled learning using a case study; (2) to identify the assessment and psychometric issues related to assessing cyber-enabled learning; and (3) to propose methodological solutions to modeling learning in such complex learning environments. The focus of the stduy is on a substantial case study in geoscience, which employs science content that is accessible to a wide range of the education community, and which draws on known areas of research, particularly scientific visualization: the study of earthquakes, tsunamis, and related phenomena. This project asks: What is the character of analytical reasoning for geoscience within a networked, cyber-infrastructure framework, and what counts as evidence for such reasoning? What assessment and psychometric issues must be addressed? What are the methodological challenges in modeling and assessing learning within this cyber-infrastructure project? For example, how are claims of causality handled in a complex networked and nested learning environment, and what evidence would make such claims credible? This project addresses potentially new concepts by examining the transformative and dynamic nature of cyber-infrastructure. REESE DRL EHR Kelly, Anthony Brenda Bannan-Ritland George Mason University VA Kusum Singh Standard Grant 199976 7625 SMET 9177 0816325 September 1, 2008 Knowledge Synthesis on the Implementation and Effects of Revising High School Graduation Credit Requirements in Mathematics and Science. Intellectual Merit: This proposal addresses a topic of national interest about the effects of revising high school graduation credit requirements in mathematics and science. The aim is to provide policymakers with information about how mathematics and science courses are adjusted at the district and school level following policy mandates. The proposal will also address policy as it applies to graduation requirements for students historically underserved in STEM fields. It will also provide insights about conflicting research relative to the effect of these policy revisions on school funding, shortages of mathematics and science teachers, special students populations, dropouts, and career-technical education. Research questions will include: (1) While all states are seeking generally more study of mathematics and science and better student achievement, what more specific purposes do states have in legislating revised graduation requirements for mathematics and science (if any)? (2) In district responses to policy changes, what is the range of implementation plans with respect to funding, mathematics and science courses offerings, staffing, addressing impacts on various student populations, etc? (3) How do implementation plans and their effects vary with the types of policy, i.e. unit-based versus content-based requirements, and the range of different content-based requirements? (4) How well does actual implementation at the school level conform to the intended policy outcomes with respect to key aspects like course offering and content, and student? course taking and achievement? This proposer will analyze and synthesize data about these questions along four constructs: (1) empirical and descriptive studies published in peer-reviewed journals; (2) research published via other venues including online; (3) published expert knowledge and advice located in periodicals or on websites; and (4) current practice-based knowledge acquired through online experts. The synthesis methods will allow the proposer to systematically and intensively evaluate the methodological integrity and evidentiary utility of each research construct. Broader Impacts: This proposal will advance knowledge in the field by becoming the first synthesis study of the impact of increased policy changes on the number of mathematics and science credits required for graduation in high schools across the nation. Therefore, this study could be transformative relative to how policy changes impact STEM education and will add significantly to the limited studies about this topic. An advisory board with strong representation in STEM education, the arts and sciences, and research and evaluation will assist with implementation. In addition to traditional pathways, dissemination will be augmented by other outlets such as R& D Alerts newsletters to policymakers, coverage in Education week, and through collaboration with the National Commission on Teaching and America?s Future that has agreed to include the results of the study in the Weekly News Digest, an e-bulletin to thousand of policymakers and education leaders. REESE DRL EHR Ringstaff, Cathy Edward Britton WestEd CA Celestine Pea Continuing grant 249826 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0816359 October 1, 2008 Optimizing student performance in educational games through adapative challenges. This study will investigate and rigorously evaluate a promising game design approach that involves a sequence of mini-games that are tightly linked to a progression of related scientific concepts. The study will conduct an examination of player behavior in multi-leveled games and two randomized experiments using the PBSKids online user base as the subject pool. The large sample size of the PBSKids online user base provides an exciting opportunity to study design methods and approaches that may have a small but still important effect The research will investigate the intersection of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow, and consumer game design approaches that produce sustained engagement in computer and video games. The intersection involves the balancing act of creating challenges that are not too difficult so the player-student is frustrated, or too easy so that the student-player is bored while adaptively adjusting the challenge as the player-students ability increases to sustain engagement in the educational challenges. This project promises to be transformative in that good serious game design principles could have an enormous impact on informal science education. REESE DRL EHR Hone, Robert Red Hill Studios CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 516799 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0816406 September 1, 2008 Tangibility for the Teaching, Learning, and Communicating of Mathematics. The goal of the project is to advance understanding of basic questions about learning and teaching through the development of a theory of embodied mathematical cognition that can apply to a broad range of people, settings and activities. The investigative team brings together expertise from a range of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. A theory of embodied mathematical cognition empirically rooted in classroom learning and workplace practices will broaden the range of activities and emerging technologies that count as mathematical, and help educators to envision alternative forms of bodily engagement with mathematical problems. REESE DRL EHR Nemirovsky, Ricardo Rogers Hall Martha Alibali Mitchell Nathan Kevin Leander San Diego State University Foundation CA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 332462 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0817250 September 15, 2008 A Machine Learning Approach to Human Visual Learning. The proposed research program consists of experimental and computational studies of human visual learning. The project focuses on the information processing mechanisms mediating the perceptual learning that underlies expertise in a variety of STEM fields, such as biology, astronomy, and geoscience. In particular, the investigators attempt to take advantage of insights from the field of Machine Learning (e.g., its formalisms for conceptualizing the properties of different learning environments, its powerful sets of statistical learning algorithms for each environment, and its numerous mathematical and empirical findings about the advantages and disadvantages of these algorithms). The studies look at learning performance on lower-level and higher-level discrimination tasks in four types of learning environments: supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, and reinforcement learning environments. The project also explores visual learning based on correlated perceptual signals in multisensory or multi-cue environments, such as when a person both sees and touches surfaces. The computational studies compare people's learning performances with the statistically optimal performances of "ideal learners", and also with the performances of on-line learning algorithms from the Machine Learning literature. A key hypothesis is that people can visually learn with "unlabeled" data items (i.e., items that are not labeled by an instructor as examples of a particular category of interest) by transferring knowledge gained with "labeled" data items or by transferring knowledge gained from other sensory modalities. The work has important implications for the design of STEM training environments. REESE DRL EHR Jacobs, Robert University of Rochester NY Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 244577 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0818180 February 15, 2009 HAWAII'S VOLCANOES: A MEDIA PROJECT. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (CRPA) proposal is based upon Dr. Donald DePaolo's research utilizing deep drilling technology to create a continuous rock record of the lavas ejected from Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano (#9528544 "Collaborative Research: Scientific Drilling in Hawaii: Physics and Chemistry of Mantle Plumes" and # 0408521 "Structure of the Hawaiian Mantle Plume: Geochemical-isotopic mapping using post-shield lavas"). The CRPA request will support the production of a half-hour documentary film and podcast-based tour of the geology of Hawaii's famous volcano for both actual and virtual visitors to Hawaii, as well as a supporting web site. The film will be produced by Earth Images Foundation, distributed by Bullfrog Films, and evaluated by Diana Curiel. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION CONTINENTAL DYNAMICS PROGRAM DRL EHR DePaolo, Donald University of California-Berkeley CA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 74690 7259 1581 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0818406 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: Gender, Race, and Identity Development in Black Youth. This collaborative project aims to study the effects of personal and group identity variables on STEM educational outcomes. Longitudinal data will be collected and analyzed on a number of self and other motivational variables to understand how these personal and social factors are likely to determine the educational trajectories and decisions of African-American youth. Little research, though, has addressed developmental changes in stereotype awareness and endorsement, or ramifications of stereotypes and discrimination for identity development and achievement striving in Black adolescents. The proposed study will model the relationship of two salient group memberships, race and gender, with achievement outcomes for Black youth. Prior research has underscored the need to attend to race and gender simultaneously, as well as the importance of evaluating motivational and achievement outcomes within academic domains (e.g., English and science). The proposed study is an extension and expansion of a previous NSF-funded longitudinal study of African American youth. The goal of this follow-up study is to concentrate more explicitly on the simultaneous effects of race-related and gender-related experiences and beliefs and on investigating how these experiences play out across different course content domains (e.g., English, science, and mathematics). Using survey and qualitative methods, the study will describe normative development in self-concept, stereotypes, motivation, and parenting from fifth through twelfth grade. Another important goal of the project is to determine whether the advantages gained by girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics(STEM) areas are maintained as they prepare to move through more advanced coursework and college applications, and what personal, family, and school context factors predict STEM interest and success for both genders. The proposed outcomes will aid in the understanding of how self-concept and other self variables impacts motivation as a predictor for success in STEM disciplines which may in turn broaden participation of under represented groups. REESE DEVELOP& LEARNING SCIENCES/CRI DRL EHR Rowley, Stephanie University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Kusum Singh Continuing grant 192889 7625 1698 SMET 9177 1698 0116000 Human Subjects 0819063 April 15, 2008 SGER: Assessing the Educational, Career, and Social Impacts of the XO Laptop Program in Birmingham, AL City Schools. +h mayor of Birmingham is making a two year loan of XO laptops to middle school students in the Birmingham City Schools in Alabama. The educational and social changes that will occur in classrooms and the effects on several student outcomes are studied in this Small Grant for Exploratory Research. It is expected that access to technology will change the educational and social environment in classrooms and affect student outcomes. The problem of digital divide is acute among the disadvantaged minority community and this study examines the changes that will occur due to the use and access to technology. Given the local government's plan to distribute the XO laptops to the middle school students, the project takes advantage of this educational intervention to study its effects on several student outcomes. The XO laptops are unique in that they emphasize collaborative learning by providing user interface and mesh networking for cooperative work with others. The sample consists of all 6th and 7th grade students in 6 randomly selected middle schools. The project undertakes the collection of pre and post data on students' technology usage levels and types, education and career interests and aspirations. The data collection takes place at two time points: 6 and 12 months after receiving the laptops. The repeated measures design allows the study of the trend in levels and types of technology use. An important goal of the study is to explore the relationship of the increased technology access to students' learning content and skills and their career intentions. The study also examines how the technology use affects students' perceptions of social connections, belonging and personal expression. Data analyses include descriptive statistics, and multilevel models of change, using HLM program. In addition to paper and pencil survey data from the full sample of approximately 2500 students, twenty students are interviewed in-depth at two time points to probe in detail how the access and increased computer skills influence educational and psycho-social outcomes. The changes in classroom culture, pedagogical changes due to the use of technology are studied, using teacher data and classroom data. This should provide a more accurate picture of the students' learning environment. In order to control for possible effects of teacher ability (at 2nd or 3rd level models), the teacher data is linked with student data for estimating the models controlling for the teacher effects. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Cotten, Shelia Scott Snyder Casey Borch Catherine Nelson University of Alabama at Birmingham AL Kusum Singh Standard Grant 200000 7645 SMET 9237 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0819079 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: Gender, Race, and Identity Development in Black Youth. Abstract This collaborative project aims to study the effects of personal and group identity variables on STEM educational outcomes. Longitudinal data will be collected and analyzed on a number of self and other motivational variables to understand how these personal and social factors are likely to determine the educational trajectories and decisions of African-American youth. Little research, though, has addressed developmental changes in stereotype awareness and endorsement, or ramifications of stereotypes and discrimination for identity development and achievement striving in Black adolescents. The proposed study will model the relationship of two salient group memberships, race and gender, with achievement outcomes for Black youth. Prior research has underscored the need to attend to race and gender simultaneously, as well as the importance of evaluating motivational and achievement outcomes within academic domains (e.g., English and science). The proposed study is an extension and expansion of a previous NSF-funded longitudinal study of African American youth. The goal of this follow-up study is to concentrate more explicitly on the simultaneous effects of race-related and gender-related experiences and beliefs and on investigating how these experiences play out across different course content domains (e.g., English, science, and mathematics). Using survey and qualitative methods, the study will describe normative development in self-concept, stereotypes, motivation, and parenting from fifth through twelfth grade. Another important goal of the project is to determine whether the advantages gained by girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas are maintained as they prepare to move through more advanced coursework and college applications, and what personal, family, and school context factors predict STEM interest and success for both genders. The proposed outcomes will aid in the understanding of how self-concept and other self variables impacts motivation as a predictor for success in STEM disciplines which may in turn broaden participation of under represented groups. REESE DEVELOP& LEARNING SCIENCES/CRI DRL EHR Kurtz-Costes, Beth University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC Kusum Singh Continuing grant 418980 7625 1698 SMET 9177 1698 0116000 Human Subjects 0819508 August 1, 2008 The Early Acquisition of Biological Knowledge. Two primary goals underlie the research proposed in this application. One is to learn more about the origins and early development of children's interest in and learning about the biological domain, a topic that has received remarkably little attention. The second, which will be pursued concurrently, is to directly examine whether young children's general STEM learning and memory is facilitated by situating it in the realm of biology. In pursuit of these goals, one set of studies will examine very young children's spontaneous reactions to animals, including live animals, as well as films and pictures of animals, compared to various inanimate stimuli. A second set will directly compare preschool children's performance on tasks employing animal and non-animal stimuli. Questions include: Do infants and very young children pay more attention to and show stronger emotional reactions to live animals than to inanimate comparison objects? Do infants find films of animate movement more interesting than the movement of inanimate objects? Can young children learn new information better when the to-be-learned material is situated in the biological domain; that is, can children's attraction to animals be leveraged to support the learning of other, non-biological information? If so, what formats are most effective for presenting the information? This research has the potential to make two types of contributions. First, it will advance our understanding of early conceptual development about the natural world. Second, gaining a better understanding of young children's attunement to the natural world will inform the design and assessment of educational materials for young children. REESE DRL EHR DeLoache, Judy University of Virginia Main Campus VA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 857254 7625 SMET 9177 1698 0116000 Human Subjects 0821950 August 15, 2008 R&D: Fostering Mathematics Success in English Language Learners. Fostering Mathematics Success of English Language Learners (ELLs), a 4-year DR-K12 project, is an efficacy study of the Fostering Geometrical Thinking Toolkit (FGTT) previously developed with NSF support. FGTT is a 40-hour professional development intervention focusing on properties of geometric figures, geometric transformations, and measurement of length, area, and volume. The study addresses four research questions, three examining participating teachers and one examining the impact of teachers' professional development on ELL students. It tests the hypothesis that geometric problem solving invites diagramming, drawing, use of colloquial language, and gesturing to complement mathematical communication and affords teachers opportunities to support ELL learning. The research design uses a randomized block design, with 25 pairs of professional development facilitators matched according to their district?s demographic information. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Driscoll, Mark Daniel Heck Education Development Center MA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1232777 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0821965 August 1, 2008 Simulation and Modeling in Technology Education (SMTE). Simulation and Modeling in Technology Education (SMTE) is a five-year project that develops and researches the academic potential of a hybrid instructional model that infuses computer simulations, modeling, and educational gaming into middle school technology education programs. These prototypical materials use 3-D simulations and educational gaming to support students learning STEM content and skills through developing solutions to design challenges. The virtual environment allows students to analyze and improve their designs by changing variables and observing how their changes affect design performance. Once the designs are optimized on-screen, students will construct physical models and compare their functionality and effectiveness to the simulated virtual models. A uniqueness of the Project is the development of an innovative Web-based instructor design interface and a library of objects to enable instructors to modify the context of the design problems to fit different instructional and geographic settings. The research investigates the transferability of the model and its potential to improve STEM teaching and learning. The project incorporates a cyber-enabled engineering design approach that integrates science and mathematics and uses contemporary technological tools and pedagogical strategies. The content is driven by the concepts and skills identified in the K-12 Standards for Technological Literacy (STL). The partners are Hofstra University?s Center for Technological Literacy, the State University of New York at Buffalo, the NSF National Center for Telecommunications Technologies, Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, and the City University of New York. The research design includes a test of three conditions: the experimental (hybrid) condition; the gaming and simulation only condition that involves students in the virtual tasks only; and students doing physical modeling task. Testing will involve 12 teachers and 240 students with data collected in six assessment domains. Data will be analyzed using a variety of multivariate statistical analyses. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Hacker, Michael David Burghardt Karl Kapp Deborah Hecht Gordon Snyder, Jr. Hofstra University NY Michael Haney Continuing grant 1840607 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0821967 October 1, 2008 DR - K12 R&D Geometry Assessments for Secondary Teachers (GAST). Geometry Assessments for Secondary Teachers (GAST) represents a collaborative partnership among faculty and staff at the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky, Florida State University, Alpine Testing Solutions, and Horizon Research, Inc. to develop a knowledge framework and assessments for secondary mathematics teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching. The framework for the assessments will be designed to collect validity evidence for predicting effective geometry teaching and improving student achievement. Geometry has become an important secondary school subject to prepare students for both postsecondary and work experiences. With the advent of new curricula and technology, the purpose and nature of geometry has changed dramatically in secondary schools across the country. Geometry teachers, to be effective, must have a deep and relevant knowledge of geometry and its applications. The framework of teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching developed by GAST teams of mathematics educators, mathematicians, and classroom teachers will describe the geometry knowledge needed by secondary teachers to teach effectively and improve student achievement. This project will apply models of teacher knowledge developed by researchers at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the University of Georgia to build the framework and subsequent assessments. The assessments will undergo field testing and psychometric analysis to in order to provide predictive evidence of effective geometry teaching and student achievement in geometry. Past research on secondary teachers' mathematics knowledge have relied on indicators of teacher knowledge like course grades,lists of courses, and teaching experience. GAST will provide measures of teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching that provide predictive evidence of classroom performance and student achievement.The framework and assessments developed in the project could be used by: (1) researchers to explore teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching and its impact on instructional practices and student achievement and to measure relationships among teachers' geometry knowledge, their attitudes and beliefs, their classroom performance, and student achievement; (2) project directors and evaluators of projects, institutes, and other professional development programs and postsecondary course instructors to assess the degree to which secondary teachers possess geometry knowledge for teaching and to determine program impact on this knowledge; and (3) mathematicians, teacher educators, school administrators, and practicing and prospective teachers to provide diagnostic information about teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Bush, William Carl Lee Elizabeth Jakubowski University of Louisville Research Foundation Inc KY James T. Fey Continuing grant 2110416 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0821988 September 1, 2008 R&D: Building BLOCKS for Science--What young children should know and be able to do when they enter kindergarten. The Texas Regional Collaboratives, headquartered in the Center for Science and Mathematics Education at the University of Texas in Austin seeks to integrate research and applied education to take important tools inside pre-kindergarten classrooms to assess young students' knowledge and skills and test strategies for teaching core science concepts to young learners. The project will involve teachers from multiple backgrounds and will be conducted in a variety of settings with an emphasis on including classrooms where students are culturally and economically diverse. The mixed methods research will include data collection via case studies and technology-based assessment techniques. Utilizing a robust research community of science and early childhood educators, science content specialists, researchers, and classroom teachers, the project will conduct four years of intense classroom observation and data collection in 25 pre-kindergarten classrooms with the intent of probing for answers to the following questions: (a) What should children know and be able to do when they enter kindergarten? (b)What core STEM ideas should be stressed in pre-kindergarten/kindergarten science learning activities? (c)What professional development practices best support the teaching of complex STEM concepts and processes to young learners? DR-K12 APPLIED RESEARCH DRL EHR Barufaldi, James Mary Hobbs University of Texas at Austin TX Julia Clark Continuing grant 886061 7646 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0821996 September 1, 2008 R&D: Untangling Mathematical KnoTSS (Knowledge for Teaching Secondary School): An Investigation of Collaborations Between Mathematicians and Mathematics Educators. The Knowledge for Teaching Secondary School Mathematics (KnoTSS) project examines the nature and process of collaborations between mathematicians and mathematics teacher educators engaged in the preparation of secondary mathematics teachers. KnoTSS participants are teams of mathematicians and educators who co-teach two courses (one mathematics course and one methods of teaching mathematics course) aimed at building integrated knowledge of content and pedagogy. KnoTSS research will answer the following questions: How do collaborations develop and evolve? How can they be fostered within institutions? What is the intellectual terrain co-created and traversed by collaborators? How do they negotiate its boundaries? How do they position themselves with respect to it and to each other? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR McGraw, Rebecca William McCallum Saad El-Zanati Gladis Kersaint Denise Mewborn University of Arizona AZ Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 564801 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822013 September 1, 2008 Knowledge Synthesis on STEM Teachers in Professional Learning Communities. This proposal seeks to evaluate existing knowledge about STEM teachers in professional learning communities (PLCs), both prospective teachers and classroom teachers across grades K-12. It will comprehensively synthesize peer-reviewed research but will also examine additional types of knowledge that influence the field. The project methods adapt those of Knowledge Management and Dissemination project, funded by NSF MSP and seeks to further advance the scope and rigor of knowledge synthesis. The reasons identified for this interest are: (a) PLCs ameliorate undesirable working conditions leading to dissatisfaction that drive teachers from the classroom; (b) PLCs are grounded in theory developed in the literature on how people learn; and (c) PLCs are supported by initial research on the effectiveness of modes of professional development that involves sustained collaborative effort over time, with an emphasis on tasks that are authentic to the participants? work. Researchers systematically find relevant knowledge and evaluate the methodological integrity and evidentiary utility of each research study or knowledge claim. Four kinds of knowledge on this topic are being analyzed and synthesized: (1) empirical and descriptive studies published in peer-reviewed journals; (2) research published in venues other than peer-reviewed journals (including online); (3) published expert knowledge and advice located in periodicals or on websites, and (4) current practice-based knowledge acquired through an online Expert Practitioner Panel. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Fulton, Kathleen Edward Britton National Commission on Teaching and America's Future DC Julia Clark Standard Grant 250067 7645 SMET 9177 0822016 September 15, 2008 Tool Systems to Support Progress toward Expert-Like Teaching by Early Career Science Educators. The goal of this five-year qualitative R&D project is to accelerate the progress of early career and pre-service science teachers from novice to expert-like pedagogical reasoning and practice by developing and studying a three-tool, web-based system. The tool system consists of (a) learning progressions for teachers specifying how they can support students' content-rich, inquiry learning activities; (b) classroom discourse to scaffold complex classroom inquiry conversations; and (c) systematic analysis of students' work. The tools are aimed at developing teachers' capabilities in (a) shaping instruction around the most fundamental science ideas; (b) scaffolding student thinking in deep understanding of content and evidence-based causal explanations, testing, and revision and application of scientific models; and (c) adapting instruction to diverse student populations by collecting and analyzing student data on their thinking levels. Research questions include the following: (1) Does the use of this tool system influence the development of pedagogical expertise in early career teachers? If so, under what conditions?; (2) How do novice teachers use pedagogical tools in coordination with one another to maximize the effectiveness of their instruction?; (3) How can this tool system support early career teachers' ability to recognize the learning needs of underachieving students, and adapt instruction to accommodate for the support of their learning?; and (4) Does the use of the tool system influence the ability of students to engage in evidence-based explanations over time? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Windschitl, Mark Jessica Thompson University of Washington WA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 595991 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822034 August 15, 2008 R&D: Project Delta: Digital Environments for the Learning and Teaching of Algebra. The purpose of Project Delta is two-fold. One, the PI proposes to extend an existing library of seventeen interacting CDROM digital learning environments on numbers and operations by adding an algebra strand. Two, the PI proposes to evaluate the impact of the new algebra materials on teacher development. Each of the digital environments features classroom sessions that allow for exploration of a mathematics topic, children learning over time, and teachers? instructional techniques. The project's research effort addresses the following questions: What is the impact of Project Delta experiences on elementary teachers? content knowledge, general pedagogy, and pedagogical content knowledge? What is the impact of Project Delta experiences on elementary teachers? practices, including the use of their knowledge in planning for and enacting algebra lessons? Three groups of 60 teachers participate in the study. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Fosnot, Catherine CUNY City College NY James T. Fey Continuing grant 753559 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822038 September 15, 2008 R&D: Developing an Empirically-Tested Learning Progression for the Transformation of Matter to Inform Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Design. A principled framework is created for the development of learning progressions in science that can demonstrate how their use can transform the way researchers, educators and curriculum developers conceptualize important scientific constructs. Using the construct of transformation of matter, which requires understanding of both discrete learning goals and also the connections between them, a hypothetical learning progression is constructed for grades 5-12. Assessments are developed that link to the learning progression and require students to use cognitively challenging activities such as construction of models and scientific explanation to demonstrate their understanding of topics related to transformation of matter. The resultant set of assessment items can be used to place students along the transformation of matter learning progression, regardless of curriculum. The learning progression is empirically tested in grades 6-8 using mainly, but not exclusively, the chemistry units of the IQWST curriculum in a three year longitudinal study that measures the longitudinal progression of students and the cross-sectional development of teachers as they gain experience with the curriculum. The framework developed for creating the tools can inform the learning of other core ideas in science in emergent sciences that are inherently interdisciplinary. Also investigated is the relationship between student and teacher factors and different levels of students' developmental learning. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Shin, Namsoo Joseph Krajcik University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 2569539 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822039 August 15, 2008 Accessing Science Ideas: Enhancing curriculum to support scientific reasoning of students with learning disabilities. This three-year R&D project aims at increasing access of learning disability (LD) students to high-quality science learning and instruction by developing and implementing curriculum materials for students and teachers; and researching their effectiveness with 6th -8th grade students (N=380) with executive function limitations (EFL). This condition is associated with verbal learning disabilities, which can negatively influence higher order thinking and the productivity of students able to reason conceptually. These students attend inclusive classrooms with 76 teachers in 27 middle schools in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The material development component of the project consists of student unit enhancements, and teacher guides focused on higher order scientific reasoning for two units of the Full Option Science System (FOSS) program (i.e., Diversity of Life and Earth History). The research component of the project comprises a quasi-experimental design that allows comparison of EFL students? achievement in 76 intervention classrooms (with enhancements) and 76 classrooms (without enhancements) for each of the two selected FOSS units. Participating students will not be randomly assigned. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Mutch-Jones, Karen Gillian Puttick TERC Inc MA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1179004 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822055 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: INK-12: Interactive Ink Inscriptions in K-12. Through this two-year exploratory project, the PIs seek to understand the role that a network of tablet computers may play in elementary and middle school math and science classrooms. The PIs use classroom observations, student interviews, teacher interviews and student artifacts to identify the advantages and disadvantages of these resources, to understand what challenges and benefits they offer to teachers, and to offer recommendations for future hardware, software, and curriculum development. The PIs investigate several aspects of the networked tablet computer technology that may have the potential to improve student learning. These include teachers wirelessly providing ?just in time? resources and feedback for students; students creating, duplicating and altering scientific and mathematical representations to share, possibly anonymously, with the teacher and other students; and teachers to providing feedback on student work in a form that students can easily incorporate into their final products. The research hypotheses are based on preliminary research in university classrooms so this project investigates novel research questions and provides new knowledge about the potential uses of this technology in classrooms. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Rubin, Andee TERC Inc MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 152567 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822064 October 1, 2008 R&D: Diagnosing Teachers' Multiplicative Reasoning. Diagnosing Teachers' Multiplicative Reasoning (DTMR) addresses the assessment component of the DR-K12 Contextual Challenges strand. Investigating knowledge that teachers need to enable students' learning and developing assessments of that knowledge are central challenges for mathematics education. One approach emphasizes correlations between amounts of teachers' knowledge and students' achievement for accountability purposes. Another, grounded in research on mathematical thinking, often uses case studies to investigate teachers' capacities for identifying and building upon opportunities in students' problem-solving strategies. Tensions exist between these approaches because instruments convenient for assessing large numbers of teachers are insensitive to capacities for reasoning, while case study methods used to investigate teachers' reasoning are not practical with large samples. The DTMR project is building a demonstration instrument both suitable for use with large samples of teachers and informative about their capacities to reason about content in ways that support students' thinking. In particular, the DTMR project is developing and evaluating a test form that diagnoses teachers' capacities in two closely connected cases of reasoning about multiplicative relations among quantities. The first is on on measurement that often relies on multiplicatively nested levels of units when partitioning a given quantity. The second is on covariation that often relies on multiplicative relations between distinct quantities. The project is focusing on aspects of such reasoning that are interconnected and fundamental to addition and subtraction of quantities, multiplication of quantities, quotative and partitive division of quantities, and ratios of quantities. The project will consider fractions, decimals, and ratios. A main goal of the project is to address content and construct validity of the demonstration form in sufficient depth so that larger scale work and predictive validity studies may follow. The project is developing instruments using a new class of psychometric models called cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs). Using CDMs involves specifying components of reasoning in a particular domain and then constructing test questions (typically multiple-choice) systematically so that each choice corresponds to reasoning with a different combination of those components. Drawing on the research on students' and teachers' multiplicative reasoning, the project is developing one test form of 30 to 40 items. CDM simulation studies of estimation and equating methods are also an important component of the project. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Izsak, Andrew Allan Cohen Joanne Lobato Chandra Orrill Jonathan Templin University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 460562 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822104 August 15, 2008 E: Examining Different Curricular Approaches and Their Impact on High-School Students' Understanding of Algebra: Phase 1 - Studying the Intended Curriculum. Researchers are in the first phase of a study to analyze the impact of three different curricular approaches to the learning of algebra. The three approaches are represented by: 1) instructional materials developed with NSF support (The Interactive Mathematics Program and Contemporary Mathematics in Context, also known as Core Plus Mathematics); 2) "hybrid" curricula (University of Chicago School Mathematics Project and the Discovering Mathematics Series by Key Curriculum Press); and 3) traditional texts (those published by Glencoe, McDougal Littell, and Pearson Prentice Hall). The primary criterion for selecting these curricula is the level of market penetration. This first phase of the study analyzes the three approaches in order to develop comparative maps that highlight the algebra content and cognitive demands across the curricula being studied. This project is developing reliable and valid instruments to assess student learning, which, will be used to examine and compare student understanding of algebra in the later phases of the study. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Huntley, Mary Ann Cos Fi University of Delaware DE John S. Bradley Standard Grant 209200 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822119 September 1, 2008 R&D: The Role of Educative Curriculum Materials in Supporting Science Teaching Practices with English Language Learners. The Role of Educative Curriculum Materials in Supporting Science Teaching Practices with English Language Learners Submitted to NSF?s Discovery Research K-12 Principal Investigator: Jacqueline Barber, Lawrence Hall of Science Co-Principal Investigator: Marco Antonio Bravo, San Francisco State University Co-Principal Investigator: Jonna Kulikowich, Penn State University Curriculum developers and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley?s Lawrence Hall of Science, in collaboration with English language development researchers from San Francisco State University and quantitative researchers from Penn State University, propose a 4-year, full research and development project, focused on Frontier Challenge A: How can all students be assured the opportunity to learn significant STEM content? The proposed DRK12 project aims to: (1) determine whether curriculum materials that are designed to support teacher learning, as well as student learning (known as educative curriculum materials) have positive impacts on teacher knowledge, attitudes, and instructional practices, and if so, which educative elements teachers value and use most; (2) determine to what degree educative curriculum materials help teachers who have more and less experience teaching English language learners and how level of teaching experience relates to teacher knowledge, attitudes, and instructional practices; (3) determine the effects of the educative curriculum elements in high implementation settings on ELL students? knowledge and attitudes in science, and developing English proficiency; and (4) create and disseminate a technical report that characterizes the profile of educative features that were demonstrated to be most powerful in assisting teachers in meeting the needs of English language learners. The instantiation of educative curriculum materials used will be a fifth grade curriculum unit from the NSF-funded Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading program for Grades 2-5, jointly developed by the University of California, Berkeley?s Lawrence Hall of Science and Graduate School of Education. Built into the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading teacher?s guides are just-in-time educative features, designed to support teacher learning. The proposed study will proceed in two phases. The goal of Phase One is to provide an opportunity to strengthen student measures, to give 60 teachers an opportunity to gain experience in implementing the unit and using the educative curriculum elements, and to allow program researchers to identify the highest implementation settings for a more focused study. In Phase Two, we will focus the study on 20 teachers who were high implementers of the educative curriculum elements in order to answer our questions about whether and how educative curriculum materials can support teachers in meeting the instructional needs of English language learners. Data will be analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches, including growth curve analysis and grounded theory. The intellectual merit of the proposed study will be to advance knowledge and understanding of: (1) the potential of well-designed educative curriculum materials to serve as an important part of the teacher professional learning picture; and (2) ways to enhance teachers? capabilities for working with a diverse student population. The broader impact of the proposed study will be to: (1) make deeper STEM content accessible to English language learners; (2) gather evidence to help set a new standard for curriculum materials so they routinely provide the assistance teachers require to meet the needs of an increasingly linguistically-diverse populace; and (3) contribute a teacher knowledge measure to the field. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Barber, Jacqueline Jonna Kulikowich Marco Bravo Gina Cervetti University of California-Berkeley CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 3190230 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822128 September 15, 2008 NanoTeach: Professional Development in Nanoscale Science. ABSTRACT DRL-0822128 PI: John Ristvey Institution: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Title: NanoTeach: Professional Development in Nanoscale Science This project is exploring the introduction of nanoscience curriculum into high schools. It is creating and studying a professional development model based on two products, the NanoTeach Teacher's Guide and the NanoTeach Facilitator's Guide. The NanoTeach Teacher's guide is being designed for self study by teachers (low treatment group) and for use in a facilitated development model (high treatment group). The NanoTeach Facilitator's Guide outlines the professional development experiences and provides guidance for facilitators. The professional development model combines (1) a design framework (Designing Effective Science Lessons based on the C-U-E model: content, understanding, and environment); (2) nanoscale science content from NSF-funded curriculum projects; and (3) multiple delivery methods. Twenty teachers are being recruited to carry out the pilot testing of the professional development materials. 75 teachers in the high treatment group are experiencing a 2-week summer workshop, asynchronous sessions while they implement their first lesson, Versatile Classroom (a synchronous, online video technology), implementation of a second lesson, and a final 2-week summer workshop. 75 teachers in the low treatment group experience a brief orientation to nanoscience resources, have access to the NT Teacher's Guide, implement two lessons, and debrief. The NanoTeach partnership includes Aspen Associates, the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility, and the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network. The research study is being carried out by Aspen Associates, and project evaluation is conducted by Dr. Doug Huffman of the University of Kansas. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Ristvey, John Anne Tweed Elisabeth Palmer Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning CO Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 1131672 7645 SMET 9177 7452 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0822153 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: A Longitudinal Randomized Trial Study of Middle School Science for English Language Learners (Project MSSELL). The goal of this three-year collaborative research project between Texas A&M and Sam Houston State University is to improve the science achievement and the academic English language proficiency of middle school Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs). To accomplish this goal, Project MSSELL will conduct a two-year randomized trial longitudinal evaluation of an enhanced standards-based science curriculum model previously developed through a five-year longitudinal randomized trial study funded by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The model consists of five major components: (a) English language acquisition strategies integrated into the science curriculum, (b) technology-assisted instruction, (c) bi-weekly teacher professional development, (d) family involvement, and (e) paraprofessionals in working with individual ELLs. In Year 1, the project will refine and pilot the model based on learnings from its previous developmental phase and implementation with K-3 grade students. In Years 2 and 3, the enhanced model will be implemented and studied with fifth and sixth grade students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Irby, Beverly Sam Houston State University TX Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 305412 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822175 September 1, 2008 R&D: The Development of Student Cohorts for the Enhancement of Mathematical Literacy in Under Served Populations. The Algebra Project in Cambridge, MA is developing and conducting research on what it describes as the Cohort Model for addressing the mathematics education of students that perform in the bottom quartile on state and district tests. The model has the following characteristics: 1) each cohort school commits to four years of reduced class size of 20 students and a common planning period for the teachers; 2) cohort students commit to take mathematics classes every day for 90 minutes for four years and to participate in summer institutes; 3) students use Algebra Project instructional materials for all four years; and 4) teachers agree to 2-3 weeks of professional development per year and classroom visits by Algebra Project team members. The predicted outcome is that most students will remain in the cohort for all four years and that almost all of those who do will perform well enough on college entrance exams to be admitted and will test out of remedial mathematics courses. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Moses, Robert David Henderson Ed Dubinsky Mary West Algebra Project Inc MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1656880 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822178 September 1, 2008 Educating about Statistical Issues in Large Scientific Data Sets. ABSTRACT This exploratory project is identifying and describing the concepts and techniques in data analysis that are needed for secondary students to more effectively learn from and about large scientific data sets. This is to be done primarily with a search of the relevant literature. Also, it is developing a set of software and curricular design recommendations to address these needs. It is working with consultants knowledgeable in a number of large scientific data sets. The results are being disseminated in formats available to curriculum and software developers. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Hammerman, James TERC Inc MA Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 224992 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822181 August 15, 2008 Making Sense of Global Warming and Climate Change: Model of Student Learning via Collaborative Research. This proposal focuses on teaching and learning concerning an important issue: global warming and climate change. The project seeks to develop a model of how middle school students learn about these complex issues, and a model of ?teaching learning of student learning.? The project has four facets: (a) Collection of baseline data on student understanding of global warming and related concepts in Grades 7 and 8; use of this data to construct an initial model of student learning and an initial model of teacher understanding of student learning. (b) Collection of data on classroom instruction and assessment of student learning relative to collaborative action research plans. Emphasis will be placed on what and how the science teachers are learning with regard to establishing coherence among the topics that ground student understanding of global warming. Formative assessment by both internal and external evaluators twice during each instructional cycle will be used to inform the subsequent data collection process. (c) Analysis of student and teacher data collected during the school year during Years 1-4 and development of a model of student learning will be conducted. Analysis of collaborative action research projects and development of the goals for the subsequent cycles will also be conducted at this time. (d) Explore resources, particularly the ones developed by NSF-funded curriculum projects to support and enhance teacher knowledge and classroom instruction will be conducted. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Roychoudhury, Anita Andrew Hirsch Daniel Shepardson Dev Niyogi Brenda Capobianco Purdue University IN Julia Clark Continuing grant 862099 7645 SMET 9177 0822189 September 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: R&D: Cyber-Enabled Design Research to Enhance Teachers' Critical Thinking Using a Major Video Collection on Children's Mathematical Reasoning. The four-year research and development project, among Rutgers Robert B. Davis Institute for Learning (RBDIL), Rutgers University Libraries, and the University of Wisconsin (Madison), is addressing the frontier challenge of supporting STEM teachers' practice and development using cutting-edge cyber-enabled technology. It is leveraging the Video Mosaic Collaboratory (VMC), an interactive digital environment supporting video-based teacher professional development and related research, being offered through the Rutgers University Libraries cyber infrastructure, currently under development with NSF support. The VMC contains indexed video cases from the video collection from RBDIL with accompanying data on students' mathematical reasoning, an extensive collection based on NSF-supported research spanning two decades. A systematic design research study is being conducted utilizing RBDIL's video collection to support designing and sharing adaptable mathematics teacher professional development interventions and to generate testable hypotheses about factors influencing intervention success. Diverse school and university sites in New Jersey and Wisconsin are developing video-based instruction appropriate to local contexts. A multi-site experimental design containing within-site comparison groups is testing the hypothesis that well-designed interventions based on teachers studying videos of children's thinking can increase their performance on measures of expertise that include knowledge of mathematics, children's mathematical reasoning, and related beliefs. The project is demonstrating the use of cyber-enabled technologies to build and share adaptable interventions for pre and in-service teacher growth that effectively make use of major video collections and have high promise of success at multiple sites. The cyber infrastructure being provided by the VMC and significantly extended through this project is supporting development and documentation of additional interventions for teacher professional development using this video collection, as well as other videos that might be added in the future by teacher educators or researchers, including those working in other STEM domains. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Derry, Sharon University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 866946 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822200 August 1, 2008 R&D: Developing Science Problem-Solving Skills and Engagement Through Intelligent Game-Based Learning Environments. The project builds on the earlier developed Crystal Island and draws upon intelligent tutoring and narrative-centered learning technologies to produce a suite of intelligent game-based learning environments for upper elementary school science students. The games explicitly model student knowledge and problem solving and dynamically customize feedback, advice, and explanation as appropriate. Unlike its predecessor, the platform is multi-user so it can support collaboration; offer dynamically generated feedback, advice, and explanation; and provide a pedagogical dashboard that generates student progress reports. Students navigate rich storyworlds setup by engaging narratives, interact with a large cast of characters in the game, and manipulate artifacts in the environment in the course of solving problems. They are entering an intelligent, game-based learning environment that is a laboratory where researchers can investigating various approaches through which complex problem-solving skills can be most effectively acquired. Because such environments include multiplayer interaction and voice communication, research can study complex communication in the context of collaborative problem solving. With multiple students coordinating their efforts to solve problems, intelligent game-based learning environments create situations that require effective collaboration skills. Through these, engagement is also studied, which includes motivation, situational interest, presence, flow, goal-orientation, and self-efficacy. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Lester, James Hiller Spires John Nietfeld James Minogue North Carolina State University NC Michael Haney Continuing grant 1868615 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0822204 September 15, 2008 Collaborative Research: R&D: Cyber-Enabled Design Research to Enhance Teachers' Critical Thinking Using a Major Video Collection on Children's Mathematical Reasoning. The four-year research and development project, among Rutgers Robert B. Davis Institute for Learning (RBDIL), Rutgers University Libraries, and the University of Wisconsin (Madison), is addressing the frontier challenge of supporting STEM teachers' practice and development using cutting-edge cyber-enabled technology. It is leveraging the Video Mosaic Collaboratory (VMC), an interactive digital environment supporting video-based teacher professional development and related research, being offered through the Rutgers University Libraries cyber infrastructure, currently under development with NSF support. The VMC contains indexed video cases from the video collection from RBDIL with accompanying data on students' mathematical reasoning, an extensive collection based on NSF-supported research spanning two decades. A systematic design research study is being conducted utilizing RBDIL's video collection to support designing and sharing adaptable mathematics teacher professional development interventions and to generate testable hypotheses about factors influencing intervention success. Diverse school and university sites in New Jersey and Wisconsin are developing video-based instruction appropriate to local contexts. A multi-site experimental design containing within-site comparison groups is testing the hypothesis that well-designed interventions based on teachers studying videos of children's thinking can increase their performance on measures of expertise that include knowledge of mathematics, children's mathematical reasoning, and related beliefs. The project is demonstrating the use of cyber-enabled technologies to build and share adaptable interventions for pre and in-service teacher growth that effectively make use of major video collections and have high promise of success at multiple sites. The cyber infrastructure being provided by the VMC and significantly extended through this project is supporting development and documentation of additional interventions for teacher professional development using this video collection, as well as other videos that might be added in the future by teacher educators or researchers, including those working in other STEM domains. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Maher, Carolyn Cindy Hmelo-Silver Grace Agnew Marjory Palius Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 2132621 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822213 September 1, 2008 R&D: Evolution Readiness: A Modeling Approach. This project will use computer-based models of interacting organisms and their environments to support a learning progression leading to an appreciation of the theory of evolution and evidence that supports it. The proposal team will build hypermodels: curricular activities and formative assessments that link manipulable models to text and multimedia materials. The target population is public school students in grades 3 through 5. Students are not expected to come to a full understanding of every facet of this most encompassing of theories. However, it is anticipated that they will come to appreciate evolution as an emergent behavior; the remarkable outcome of a series of elementary processes that they have learned about through observation of natural phenomena as well as the direct manipulation of computational models. Evolution is perhaps the most challenging subject in the K-12 life science curriculum. This project will create a research-based curriculum, starting at very early grades and centered on progressively complex models that exhibit emergent behavior. Taking advantage of technology created in prior NSF-funded research, students' actions will be tracked as they interact with computer-based models, collecting extremely fine-grained performance data. Previous research indicates such data is a robust predictor of subsequent learning gains as measured by conventional question-and-answer assessments, even on items that do not relate directly to the experiments performed. By continuing this line of research, the project will help to improve the teaching of complex scientific topic areas and provide a reliable means of directly assessing students' conceptual understanding and inquiry skills, as opposed to their recall of science facts. Evolution is a particularly daunting subject to understand, as the evidence for it is often indirect and the theory rests largely on phenomena that cannot be directly observed. By combining advances in educational technology with improved understanding of young children's cognitive development, this project will produce an empirically validated learning progression for teaching evolution. It is anticipated that students who follow this progression in elementary and middle school will better understand both the implications of the model and the evidentiary and theoretical basis for it. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Horwitz, Paul Carolyn Staudt Laura O'Dwyer Concord Consortium MA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1990459 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822223 September 1, 2008 E: Examining Teacher Discourse and Whole-Class Interaction: A Social Semiotics Model for Mathematics Lesson Study Groups. The project is a three-year, exploratory, qualitative case study of a mathematics Lesson Study group for 12 beginning mathematics teachers working in high-poverty middle schools in Brooklyn, New York City. The project's Lesson Study model employs social semiotics to examine the intersection between language and learning in mathematics classrooms. The project is addressing two research questions: (1) How does social semiotics illuminate the complexities of mathematics instruction in high-poverty schools? (2) How does the Lesson Study group strengthen teachers' content knowledge, increase their pedagogical-content knowledge, and enhance their ability to orchestrate whole-class conversations? Additionally, on-site Lesson Study groups will also be launched in some participating schools. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Zolkower, Betina Elizabeth DeFreitas CUNY Brooklyn College NY Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 439747 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822241 October 1, 2008 DR-K12 Resource Network. This is a five-year project aimed at organizing a DRK-12 Resource Network to provide assistance for projects in areas such as research and development methods, implementation, and analysis procedures; synthesis of findings across the portfolio of projects; and national dissemination of the R&D contributions of the DRK-12 program. To accomplish these goals, Education Development Center (EDC) will join efforts with Abt Associates Inc., and Policy Studies Associates to implement three major strands: (1) Technical Assistance, which consists of (a) a portfolio assessment to define it in terms of composition and major characteristics and identify project needs, (b) individual technical work services to project leadership, (c) focus groups, (d) thematic meetings, (e) Principal Investigators (PI) meetings, and (f) a web portal; (2) Portfolio Analysis, including (a) synthesis activities to capture a comprehensive view of the portfolio in order to understand the role that the program has played in advancing K-12 student and teacher learning, and (b) evaluative studies of selected projects describing specific contributions to the field; and (3) Dissemination, comprising (a) the development of a white paper to summarize research findings on dissemination and implementation of research in practice and policy settings and highlight examples from the portfolio, and (b) a series of dissemination-related workshops. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Berns, Barbara Jacqueline Miller E. Paul Goldenberg Alina Martinez Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Cooperative Agreement 2159754 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822261 September 15, 2008 R&D: Quality Cyber-Enabled, Engineering Education Professional Development to Support Teacher Change and Student Achievement (E2PD). The study of engineering can advance the problem solving and critical thinking ability of all students and prepare them for the technological workplace. Early exposure to engineering principles may increase all students' interest in STEM fields, while embedding problems in social issues may aid in the recruiting of underrepresented groups to the STEM enterprise. The INSPIRES program implements these ideas and tests their impact on learning and teaching. The face-to-face workshops used in the INSPIRES program at Purdue are extended through cyber-infrastructure with the use of video-based mentoring in real time and an asynchronous learning experience. A video and audio network links elementary school teachers with researchers and educators at Purdue to form a community of practice dedicated to implementing engineering education at the elementary grades. A learning progression, based on the Engineering is Elementary and model-eliciting mathematics materials, is developed for elementary school teachers to increase their ability to adapt and refine engineering learning materials in their classrooms. Existing assessment instruments will be revised and new ones developed, as necessary, to measure the impact of the professional development that includes engineering on teacher, student, administrator and parent knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about engineering and engineering education. The research plan identifies the changes in teacher and student knowledge, the abilities and behaviors resulting from the introduction of engineering, and the attributes of face-to-face and cyber-enabled teacher professional development and community building that can transform teachers into master users and designers of engineering education for elementary learners. The study involves about 120 teachers in three cohort groups. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Diefes-Dux, Heidi Sean Brophy Johannes Strobel Monica Cardella Purdue University IN Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1269008 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822278 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: INK-12: Interactive Ink Inscriptions in K-12. Through this two-year exploratory project, the PIs seek to understand the role that a network of tablet computers may play in elementary and middle school math and science classrooms. The PIs use classroom observations, student interviews, teacher interviews and student artifacts to identify the advantages and disadvantages of these resources, to understand what challenges and benefits they offer to teachers, and to offer recommendations for future hardware, software, and curriculum development. The PIs investigate several aspects of the networked tablet computer technology that may have the potential to improve student learning. These include teachers wirelessly providing "just in time" resources and feedback for students; students creating, duplicating and altering scientific and mathematical representations to share, possibly anonymously, with the teacher and other students; and teachers to providing feedback on student work in a form that students can easily incorporate into their final products. The research hypotheses are based on preliminary research in university classrooms so this project investigates novel research questions and provides new knowledge about the potential uses of this technology in classrooms. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Koile, Kimberle Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Michael Haney Standard Grant 152567 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0822286 September 15, 2008 R&D: The INSPIRES Curriculum for Engineering and Technology Education. Building on their experience of developing and testing four hands-on, inquiry-based modules for the study of engineering/technology education at the high school level, an established, multidisciplinary team extends their work with a professional development model that implements those modules. A module on medical technology is added that addresses the Standards for Technological Literacy. The module uses real-world examples and practicing engineers and technicians to introduce students to engineering design, analysis and decision-making processes. This project advances knowledge about effective instruction and curriculum design in engineering/technology education in order to achieve public literacy and better preparation for the next generation of engineering and technology professionals, including teachers. A model is designed, developed and tested that delivers effective teacher professional development to both inservice and preservice teachers to enable the successful implementation of engineering curricula. Hypothesis-driven research is performed to evaluate the individual and combined impacts of the curricular materials and the teacher professional development framework on classroom instructional practices and student learning, interests and attitudes and to evaluate which curriculum components are most effective in promoting student learning and interest as a function of gender and ethnicity. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Ross, Julia Taryn Bayles Jonathan Singer Bruce Jarrell Diane Lee University of Maryland Baltimore County MD Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 1680046 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822296 August 1, 2008 R & D: Nurturing Multiplicative Reasoning in Students with Learning Disabilities in a Computerized Conceptual-Modeling Environmenty (NMRSD-CCME). Nurturing Multiplicative Reasoning in Students with Learning Disabilities in a Computerized Conceptual-Modeling Environment (NMRSD-CCME) is a five-year research and development project that will augment teaching practice by providing the tools to analyze student conceptions and enact best-practice on an individual, student-needs basis. The purpose of this project is to: (a) create a research-based model of how students with learning disabilities (SLDs) develop multiplicative reasoning via reform-oriented pedagogy, (b) convert the model into a computer system that dynamically models every student's evolving conceptions and recommends tasks to promote her/his advancement to higher level, standard-based multiplicative structures and operations, and (c) study how this computerized teaching tool impacts student outcomes, including diminishing the gap between SLDs and their normal achieving peers (NAPs). The PIs draw upon universal design and three research-based frameworks: machine (or statistical) learning from computer sciences, generalization of word-problem underlying structures (story-grammar) from special education, and a constructivist view of learning from mathematics education. The latter consists of recognizing teaching can promote transformation of students' available mathematical conceptions into intended ones via tasks that orient student reflection on activity-effect relationship and content-specific constructs informed by established research. The development is done in three stages. The first is a teaching experiment to determine learning trajectories for multiplicative reasoning with SLDs. The second is the development of a computerized modeling system to support students' construction of multiplicative reasoning (includes alpha, beta and pilot testing). The final stage is the evaluation of the system by comparing the learning process and outcomes of 15 SLD students with 15 non-SLD to judge the effect of the system on closing the achievement gap. In addition, the effect of the system on SLDs' performance will be compared to the effect of traditional teacher-delivered instruction on SLD. The products include software that is flexible and adaptive to the learner and protocols for teachers. The project also tests the viability of dynamic recommendation algorithms, which is likely to be important in other domains beyond multiplicative reasoning and with other students who have difficulties learning mathematics concepts. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Xin, Yan Ping Ron Tzur Luo Si Purdue University IN James T. Fey Continuing grant 1205886 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822302 September 15, 2008 Radford Outdoor Augmented Reality (ROAR) Project: Immersive Participatory Augmented Reality Simulations for Teaching and Learning Science. This project anticipates the needs of learners in ten years by developing and testing two learning simulations that are immersive, interactive and participatory and use augmented reality in the outdoors. The students (each with a separate role to play) work in teams to investigate phenomena and solve problems in a gaming environment using wireless handheld GPS units. This model leverages devices that students already own and use in their extracurricular activities and gets students out of the classroom to play the game in their local environments, allowing for the construction of knowledge that is situated and tacit. Using a design-based, mixed methods approach, the researchers examine the relationships among augmented reality, learning in science, socio-emotional outcomes (engagement and self-efficacy) and the demographic characteristics of rural, underserved students in a few middle schools in southwest Virginia. Quantitative instrumentation is developed to clarify the conceptual foundations and identify contextual factors that could lead to general conditions for successful educational use of augmented reality. In addition, the researchers document teachers' and students' descriptions of how participating in a technology-mediated narrative in the outdoor Augmented reality simulation enhances or impedes teaching and learning science and mathematics concepts. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Dunleavy, Matt Walter Heinecke Radford University VA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 353856 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822308 September 1, 2008 R&D: SAVE Science: Situated Assessment using Virtual Environments for Science Content and Inquiry. SAVE Science proposes to create an innovative system for evaluating learning in science, consistent with research and policy-based recommendations for science learning that are focused around the big ideas of science content and inquiry for middle school years. The motivation for this comes not only from best practices as outlined in the National Science Education Standards and AAAS' Project 2061, but also from the declining interest and confidence of today's student in science. One source of data for students on whether they can succeed in science comes from tests, but do these tests accurately measure students' knowledge of both content and processes in science? According to the National Research Council, science processes are more often assessed by asking students to define words such as "hypothesis" and "scientific method." However, knowing the definitions of these words is not synonymous with understanding how to do the processes that underlie scientific inquiry. What are needed are classroom assessments that not only assess inquiry as well as content but do so authentically. SAVE Science will design and implement a series of virtual environment situated assessment modules for assessing both science content and inquiry in grades 7 and 8 in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). These will generate knowledge to inform teachers and students about student understanding, while increasing interest and confidence. The modules will make use of a novel assessment rubric based on student interactions within an authentic context-based science curriculum, embedded in a virtual environment. This project will also investigate how best to help students make sense of the complex virtual environments, and how to help teachers integrate technology into their pedagogy. Broader impacts from this study will be in helping students better understand their own knowledge and learning process thus promoting increased efficacy in science and interest in science careers, and in directing teacher practices by providing them with more detailed data to inform meaningful differentiated instruction which could contribute to closing the achievement gap. In terms of intellectual merit, the project will contribute to the burgeoning field of collaborative, game-based STEM education. The project will develop innovative assessments of student understanding of science content and inquiry and relate these assessments to standardized test achievement. The project will lead to recommendations for how researchers can design virtual environments with rich immersion in authentic inquiry practices without overwhelming students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Ketelhut, Diane Catherine Schifter Brian Nelson Temple University PA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 2772482 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822313 September 1, 2008 Supporting Staff Developers in the Implementation of Professional Development Programs to Improve Mathematics Education for Students with Disabilities. The Education Development Center is carrying out a research and development project related to a set of professional development materials previously developed with support from the National Science Foundation. The materials, Math for All (MFA), are for the professional development of teachers who teach elementary school students with disabilities. The current project has three distinct components. 1) Conduct a qualitative study on the way the facilitators use the professional development materials. 2) Based on that study develop resources for teacher leaders and other facilitators of professional development. These resources include a Facilitator Case Book, a model for facilitator institutes, and a model for continued on-line support for facilitators. 3) Conduct an experimental study, using a randomized controlled trial model, to determine the effectiveness of these resources. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Moeller, Babette Education Development Center MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 1414455 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822314 September 1, 2008 R&D: Developing Contingent Pedagogies: Integrating Technology-Enhanced Feedback into a Middle School Science Curriculum to Improve Conceptual Teaching and Learning. SRI is developing a formative assessment intervention that integrates existing classroom network technologies (GroupScribbles and Classroom Performance Systems), interactive formative assessments, and contingent curriculum activities to help teachers adjust instruction to improve middle school student learning of selected Earth science concepts (the rock cycle, forces that shape Earth's surface, and plate tectonics). To test the hypothesis that integrating response system technology, assessment, and curriculum can improve K-12 science teaching and learning, the project is developing and testing (1) pedagogical routines for teachers to follow when using classroom network technologies, (2) diagnostic questions for teachers to elicit student preconceptions, (3) decision rules for teachers to use alternative learning activities that supplement an existing geoscience curriculum, (4) training materials that prepare teachers to enact the intervention, and (5) research- and classroom-based instruments that measure changes in teacher instructional practice, student thinking, and student achievement. The intervention is being tested in two urban school districts located in two western states (Colorado and California) that have ethnically and economically diverse student populations. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Penuel, William Angela DeBarger SRI International CA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 1649230 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822342 September 1, 2008 R&D: Honing Diagnostic Practice: Toward a New Model of Teacher Professional Preparation and Development. The goals of this five-year project are (1) to improve the learning of physics and physical science teachers and students in grades 5-12 by developing a science teacher education model focused on the establishment of a diagnostic learning environment through formative assessment as a powerful instructional practice for promoting learning of all students on the topic of energy; and (2) to increase the understanding of the processes through which teachers develop the requisite knowledge, skills, and dispositions for effective deployment of a formative assessment instructional cycle. Its three specific objectives are: (1) to produce research-based diagnostic tools on energy in the context of physics and physical science; (2) to develop research instruments to probe teachers' understanding of content, students' ideas, and instructional responses to formative student data; and (3) to document case studies of teachers' formative assessment practices in the classroom in order to identify the components of, and obstacles to effective practice. Major activities of the proposed model-development process will center on: (a) Identifying pre-college students' and teachers' modes of reasoning on energy; (b) developing and implementing research-based internet diagnostic tools that provide real-time information to teachers to advance instruction; (c) developing tasks to probe (i) teachers' knowledge of common student thinking in energy, (ii) teachers' skills in selecting appropriate strategies for diagnosing the students' ideas, (iii) teachers' skills in selecting effective instructional practices based on diagnosed students' thinking; and (d) characterizing teachers' development toward the use of formative assessment through the study of teachers' real practices. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Vokos, Stamatis Jim Minstrell Pamela Kraus Lane Seeley Eleanor Close Seattle Pacific University WA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1191042 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822343 September 1, 2008 Collaborative Research: R&D: A Longitudinal Trial Study of Middle School Science for English Language Learners (Project MSSELL). The goal of this three-year collaborative research project between Texas A&M and Sam Houston State University is to improve the science achievement and the academic English language proficiency of middle school Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs). To accomplish this goal, Project MSSELL will conduct a two-year randomized trial longitudinal evaluation of an enhanced standards-based science curriculum model previously developed through a five-year longitudinal randomized trial study funded by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The model consists of five major components: (a) English language acquisition strategies integrated into the science curriculum, (b) technology-assisted instruction, (c) bi-weekly teacher professional development, (d) family involvement, and (e) paraprofessionals in working with individual ELLs. In Year 1, the project will refine and pilot the model based on learnings from its previous developmental phase and implementation with K-3 grade students. In Years 2 and 3, the enhanced model will be implemented and studied with fifth and sixth grade students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Lara-Alecio, Rafael Fuhui Tong Texas A&M Research Foundation TX Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1140580 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822354 September 1, 2008 Science Literacy through Science Journalism. This proposed four-year effort envisions a new approach to promoting science literacy through science journalism as a subject of study. It is premised on a critical set of assumptions: (a) Most citizens have the need to interpret scientific information found in popular media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, online resources, science-related television programs); (b) science journalism provides reliable, well-researched science information; (c) authentic science writing provides motivation to learn; and (d) standards and rubrics specifically developed for evaluating students' science-related expository text do not exist. Thus, the project approaches science journalism as a means to assist students to investigate and coherently write about contemporary science and to learn to base assertions and descriptions on reliable, publicly available sources. To this end, the project aims to develop, pilot, and evaluate a model of instruction that focuses on the following aspects: (a) Identifying questions of both personal and public interest; (b) evaluating contemporary science-related issues; (c) making available highly regarded sources of information as exemplars (in-print, online, interviews); (d) synthesizing information; (e) assessing information based on fact-checking using the five Ws (who, what, where, when, and why); and (f) coherently explaining claims and evidence. A hypothesis and a set of research questions guide this effort. The hypothesis is the following: If participating students successfully attain the fundamental elements of the proposed model, then they will become more literate and better critical consumers and producers of scientific information. The main guiding research question of the proposed activity is the following: Does the teaching of science journalism using an apprenticeship model, reliable data sources, and science-specific writing standards improve high school students' understanding of science-related public literacy? Secondary questions include (a) Is the teaching of science journalism an efficacious, replicable and sustainable model for improving science literacy?; (b) How useful are science-related standards and rubrics for scaffolding and evaluating students' science writing and science literacy?; and (c) What is the nature of the engagement in science that this apprenticeship invites? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Polman, Joseph E.Wendy Saul Alan Newman Cathy Farrar University of Missouri-Saint Louis MO Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 1651166 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822362 September 1, 2008 Design and Use of Illustrations in Test Items as a Form of Accommodation for English Language Learners in Science and Mathemcatics Assessment. This project addresses the need for effective approaches for assessing science knowledge among English language learners (ELLs) who are tested in English. The project will investigate the effectiveness of vignette illustrations in test items as a form of testing accommodation for ELLs. In a vignette-illustrated item, the illustration is not necessary to understand the text of the item and the text of the item makes no explicit reference to the illustration. Since they can be added to the text of existing items, vignette illustrations are less likely than other forms of testing accommodation to alter the construct that items are intended to measure. The project will investigate how vignette illustrations minimize the impact of limited English proficiency on student performance in science tests. Also, it will attempt to identify basic principles for designing illustrated test items. ELL and non-ELL middle-school students will be given items of three types (vignette-illustrated items whose illustrations are designed systematically, vignette-illustrated items whose illustrations are created arbitrarily, and items without illustrations) at two levels of distance to the enacted curriculum (close and distal). Diverse forms of analysis (including statistical analyses and verbal protocols) will determine: (1) whether and how ELL and non-ELL students differ significantly on the ways in which they use vignettes to make sense of items, (2) whether the use of vignettes reduces test score differences due to language factors between ELL and non-ELL students, and (3) whether the level of distance of the items moderates the effectiveness of vignette-illustrated items. While illustrations are frequently used in test items, there is limited guidance in the assessment development literature on how to approach illustrations. Furthermore, the value of illustrations as a resource for ensuring that ELL students understand what a given item is about and what the item asks them to do has not been systematically investigated. Semiotics, cognitive psychology, linguistics, and social cultural theory are brought together to develop systematic procedures for developing illustrations as visual supports in tests. The project will contribute to enhanced practice in both classroom and large-scale assessment primarily of ELL students. Vignette illustrations have the potential to become a low-cost, easy-to-implement form of testing accommodation for ELLs. The set of principles for the proper design and use of vignette illustrations as a form of testing accommodation for ELLs could be used by states, teachers and the testing industry. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Solano-Flores, Guillermo University of Colorado at Boulder CO Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 434906 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822370 September 1, 2008 E: Scaffolding Understanding by Redesigning Games for Education (SURGE). Scaffolding Understanding by Redesigning Games for Education (SURGE) is a three year exploratory project focusing on the redesign of popular commercial video games to support students? understanding of Newtonian mechanics. In support of this goal, SURGE develops and implements design principles for game-based learning environments integrating research on conceptual change, cognitive processing-based design, and socio-cognitive scripting. The initial development enhances ?marble? virtual obstacle course games with visual signaling techniques to help make explicit underlying physics properties and processes present in the games. SURGE augments this popular type of game to help learners extend and connect the rich tacit understandings that video games typically support with broader explicit formalized knowledge structures to facilitate transfer across contexts. These enhanced games thus bridge the gap between student learning in non-formal game environments and the formalized knowledge structures learned in school by leveraging and integrating the strengths of each. As a consequence, school learning is more attainable and more broadly applicable. The project strategies and assessment focus on closing achievement, motivation, and self-efficacy gaps among female students, English language learners, and students with low prior success in science. Various methods are used to assess learning such as the Force Concept Inventory, the Patterns for Adaptive Learning Survey, and the Test of Science Related Attitudes. An iterative design and test process is used with full experimental design and random assignments in late phases. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Clark, Douglas Brian Nelson Arizona State University AZ Michael Haney Standard Grant 450000 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822373 January 1, 2009 S: Identifying Critical Characteristics of Effective Feedback Practices in Science and Mathematics Education. Although there is substantial evidence about the positive effects of feedback, a major lack is systematic knowledge about what kinds of feedback are needed by different students, in what forms, and for which types of learning tasks. This project will define and synthesize effective feedback strategies that can be linked to specific features of daily classroom assessment practices. Instead of providing general evidence about effectiveness, the project will summarize, integrate, and interpret a range of feedback studies that are conceptually comparable based on particular mediators and moderators involved in feedback practices. These mediators and moderators would include, for example, difficulty of instructional tasks, cognitive demands tapped by tasks (e.g., declarative, procedural, schematic, or strategic knowledge), or student characteristics (e.g., low or high achievers, low or high motivation. The project will be guided by three research questions: (1) What constitutes the range of feedback strategies that have been studied in science and mathematics education?; (2) what constitutes the critical mediators and moderators of feedback practices (e.g., learning goals and student characteristics)in which such feedback strategies have been implemented?; and (3) what are the critical characteristics of feedback strategies that empirically have proved to have a positive impact on student learning? The project will develop a framework, including a conceptual strand that will conceptualize feedback practice considering intrinsic and contextual dimensions and a methodological strand that will be used to describe and evaluate the feedback studies and findings to be synthesized. The proposed framework will provide a language that can be shared within and across multiple forms of research in various disciplines to portray feedback practices. The framework and research questions will also lead to criteria for inclusion and exclusion to be used to identify eligible articles and reports for the synthesis. Based on the framework, we will develop and apply a two-level coding system to specify and evaluate the findings from each eligible study. Finally, the coded information will be summarized to identify patterns and trends across the studies, which in turn will be used for a narrative review and a quantitative summary in the form of a meta-analysis. Intellectual Merit: The project will result in a substantially more complete and detailed theoretical framework than what currently exists for characterizing effective feedback strategies in science education. This understanding will allow for (1) refinement of a theoretical framework that explains the feedback process and its quality, and (2) concrete, easy-to-apply recommendations for science teachers to effectively and formatively use assessments in their daily work. Broader Impacts: The study will help professional developers and teachers understand what is required to effectively implement feedback practices that have a positive impact on student learning. The research will also produce clearer criteria for improving, evaluating, and monitoring teachers' feedback practices in daily teaching as well as for designing professional development for pre- and in-service teachers of science and mathematics. Results from the project will also fill in the research gap, contribute to the literature on formative assessment, and help define research and development agendas. The project will create a toolkit for practitioners as well as articles for publication. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Li, Min Yue Yin Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo University of Washington WA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 271327 7645 SMET 9251 9177 0822388 September 15, 2008 R&D: Cumulative Learning using Embedded Assessment Results (CLEAR). Cumulative Learning using Embedded Assessment Results (CLEAR) focuses on the challenge of using assessment of relevant STEM content to improve K-12 teaching and learning. CLEAR takes advantage of new technologies and research findings to investigate ways that science assessments can both capture and contribute to cumulative, integrated learning of standards-based concepts in middle school courses. The project will research new forms of assessment that document students' accumulation of knowledge and also serve as learning events. CLEAR will use cohort and randomized classroom comparisons to determine what combinations of instruction and assessment enable middle school students to gain cumulative understanding of energy concepts in science. CLEAR will study whether the project's approach when used in one course impacts progress in the next. The project will put design principles from across the field to the test by determining which instruction and assessment strategies encourage cumulative understanding and help learners develop integrated ideas about science. Intellectual Merit. There is an urgent need to develop accurate student assessments that measure cumulative knowledge while eliminating the disruptions caused by tests. By measuring students' developing understanding and ongoing efforts to make sense of new materials, the project will be able to foster coherent understanding. The project will do this by making assessment an integral part of computer-based curricula. Broader Impacts. By aligning assessment and instruction around the goal of promoting understanding, the project will demonstrate how to improve learning outcomes for any STEM course. The project will also make courses more effective and efficient by converting assessment from a time-wasting, curriculum-limiting chore into an integral part of learning that fosters the accumulation of concepts across topics and grades. The results of the proposed research will have an important bearing on the design of effective electronic media on promoting student learnig. The project is designed to have a major impact by undertaking the kind of careful, statistically valid research design that leads to reproducible results that can support policy. The project will be able to tailor instruction to specific learners, increasing the impact on students at risk for failure. The partners will continue their practice of widely dissemi-nating findings, materials, and open source software through reviewed papers, popular articles, talks, workshops, a website, and newsletters. The project is led by Marcia C. Linn, Robert Tinker, Kathy Benemann, Hee Sun Lee, Ou Lydia Liu, & James Slotta DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Linn, Marcia University of California-Berkeley CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 2977965 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0822391 August 15, 2008 R&D: Closing the math achievement gap for English Language Learners: Technology resources for pre-algebra. The project addresses the relatively poor mathematics achievement of students who are not proficient in English. It includes research on how English Language Learners in beginning algebra classes solve math word problems with different text characteristics. The results of this research inform the development of technology-based resources to support English Language Learners? ability to learn mathematics through instruction in English, including tutorials in math vocabulary and interactive assistance with forming equations from word problem text. RAND-Education serves as the evaluator for formative and summative activities, guided by an advisory board of experts in mathematics education and English Learner education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Beal, Carole University of Southern California CA Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 495535 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0822402 September 1, 2008 Effective Science Teaching for English Language Learners (ESTELL): A Pre-Service Teacher Professional Development Research Project Across Three Universities in California. The Discovery Research K-12 (DR-K12) proposal Effective Science Teaching for English Language Learners (ESTELL): A Pre-Service Teacher Professional Development Research Project Across Three Universities in California is submitted for consideration for a full research and development project in the Frontier Challenge Strand a ? assuring all students the opportunity to learn STEM content. Project investigators will conduct an experimental design study on the impact of an ESTELL elementary teacher education designed to prepare novice teachers to teach science to English Language Learner (ELL) and a qualitative study on program implementation. The ESTELL project builds on prior research in two areas: the integration of inquiry science, language and literacy practices; and the CREDE Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy which have identified a common set of teaching practices associated with increased achievement of ELL. This project will adapt this approach to pre-service teacher preparation. The ESTELL model of pre-service teacher education will be integrated into every stage of teacher preparation and induction from the science teaching methods courses in the post-baccalaureate credential programs, to the clinical setting of student teaching and the first two years of teaching. Researchers will focus on three research questions: (1) What is the impact of the ESTELL teacher education program on novice teachers beliefs and practice? (2) What is the relationship between the use of ESTELL by program graduates and the science achievement of 4th-5th grade students? and (3) What is the impact of the ESTELL program on the beliefs and practice of the participating science methods faculty, teacher supervisors and cooperating teachers? DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Stoddart, Patricia Alberto Rodriguez Jerome Shaw Marco Bravo University of California-Santa Cruz CA Joseph Reed Continuing grant 1510935 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0823670 September 1, 2008 Community of Soundscapes - Expanding Environmental Awareness through Capture and Sharing of Sonic Experiences. DRL- 0823670 PI: Elisa Giaccardi ABSTRACT In this Communicating Research to Public Audiences project, the University of Colorado at Boulder, in partnership with the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, the CU- Boulder Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, is building on the work they have done via their NSF research award, A Meta-Design Framework for Participative Software Systems, in which they have been developing participative software systems (PPS) and applications of the software. Community of Soundscapes will employ newly developed mobile computing and collaborative mapping technology in programs that help users gain greater insights and stake into the shared environment in which they live and visit. Sound Camera, a digital recording device outfitted with GPS mapping software, allows users to collect audio clips of their sonic experiences as they explore their cities, parks and other environments and upload them online onto a digital map through a Web 2.0 application. They can then compose, annotate, and share soundscapes of the places where the sounds were recorded. A Web site will be developed to expand the project?s reach to audiences not in the Boulder programs. Professional development training will be provided for collaborators and through the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. The educational goals are to promote literacy of PSS and engage the public in personally meaningful activities that benefit environmental education (cognitive goal) and expand environmental awareness (affective goal). The project work and its evaluation processes (by Wells Resources, Inc.) are intended to advance the field of informal science education with respect to PSS and to study how these new technologies might affect shifts in the kinds of experiences various audiences prefer to have. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Giaccardi, Elisa Gerhard Fischer University of Colorado at Boulder CO Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0824302 February 15, 2009 Evolution in a Vortex: Public Outreach on Freshwater Science in the Congo River. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (CRPA) proposal is based upon Dr. Melanie Stiassny's and her associates' taxonomic and biodiversity research of the fauna in the lower Congo River. The PI has used innovative hydrologic modeling, remote sensing, habitat mapping and spatial analysis to explore and explain the biological richness of this unique river system. The CRPA request will support the production of a short documentary film that will be produced and distributed by the American Museum of Natural History's high definition video current science program Science Bulletins. The video will be captioned in both French and Spanish to make it accessible to colleagues in Africa and Spanish-speaking students throughout the United States. In addition, the AMNH will host the PI presenting a public program about her research discoveries. This live program will be rebroadcast by the New York Academy of Science via their podcast series "Science and the City." INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Stiassny, Melanie Edward Gardiner Vivian Trakinski American Museum Natural History NY Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 68883 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0824432 September 15, 2008 Learning Progressions in Science (LeaPS) Conference. This conference proposal brings together researchers from the cognitive sciences and science education who are actively engaged in conducting research around learning progressions. The PIs argue that learning progressions represent a promising framework for developing organized curricula and meaningful assessments in science. For this reason, they are gaining popularity in the science education community. However, the PIs identify a number of issues that must be addressed around learning progressions and these issues form the strands for the conference. They include (1) the need for clearer definitions; (2) developing and validating assessments; (3) using statistical modeling to summarize students' level on a learning progression; and (4) implications of learning progressions for curriculum, teacher education and assessment. The PIs propose a workshop format to discuss the above challenges, to identify concrete examples of how researchers are addressing these challenges and to develop where there is consensus to guide productive next steps. REESE DRL EHR Gotwals, Amelia Alicia Alonzo Michigan State University MI Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 99998 7625 SMET 9177 0829306 May 1, 2008 CAREER: Discourse Analysis: A Catalyst for Reflective Inquiry in Mathematics Classrooms. The objectives of the proposed project are to examine: the nature of mathematical discourse in middle school mathematics classrooms; the ways in which middle school mathematics teachers' beliefs impact the discourse when working to enact reform-oriented instruction and how this information can be used to incorporate practitioner research using concepts and tools of discourse analysis to improve mathematics instruction. The significance of this work comes in understanding how classroom discourse can affect the learning environment and engage students in learning mathematics in the ways proposed by the Standards. The focus of those documents has been to promote conceptual understanding and sense making instead of the procedural emphasis that often takes precedence in more traditional mathematics teaching. The Standards vision can only be achieved if some of the discourse patterns in current mathematics instruction are changed from a transmission model of communication to one that supports inquiry. The research plan is to conduct six to nine case studies of the discourse in middle school mathematics classrooms. These case studies will highlight classroom discourse patterns -- the form, function and meaning. In addition, we will capture the process of teachers engaging in practitioner research projects in which they choose an aspect of their discourse to change and study the affects of that change on the classroom learning environment. The project will also examine how the combination of tools and concepts from discourse analysis and practitioner research projects affect teacher beliefs. The educational goal of this project is to design a long-term professional development program that will continue beyond this funding with other cohorts of teachers. The research case studies and other data will be used to write case studies for both undergraduate methods courses and to be used as part of a long-term professional development program. In addition, these cases will be made available to other teacher educators. University researchers and teacher researchers will collaboratively develop the courses and workshops that comprise the professional development program. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth Michigan State University MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 176866 7645 7625 7271 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0829374 July 1, 2008 A Cross-national Study of 15 Year-Olds' Environmental Scientific Literacy and Attitudes towards the Environment SGER. Abstract Proposed here is a three-part-cross analysis and thematic report on 15 year-olds focusing on knowledge and attitudes about the science of Earth and its environment done in collaboration between an American team, consisting of educational analysts and an early-career environmental scientist, and the PISA Unit of the Directorate for Education of the OEDC. This project will conduct statistical analysis of a large international survey, PISA, to describe student understanding of environmental topics. The goal is to advice the development of curriculum policy, teacher education and science education. The analysis will include a description in variations in students' knowledge of, and attitudes towards the environment. The OEDC's PISA 2006, a testing and survey of 15 year-olds in over 50 nations, is a yet to be analyzed rich source of information on the outcomes of secondary school education in environmental sciences. REESE DRL EHR Baker, David Pennsylvania State Univ University Park PA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 100000 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0830029 July 15, 2008 SGER: Equity and Access to High-Quality Instruction in Middle School Mathematics. The goal of this SGER project is to develop tools to better examine the instructional support structures districts provide to promote high-quality instruction to low performing students, particularly African American (AA) and English Language Learners (ELL). The outcomes of the project are two tools: (1) a "good instruction plus" rubric to code and asses the quality of instruction provided to low performing students and (2) a coding scheme to analyze equity-related issues in data that document the institutional settings of the mathematics instruction provided. The PIs contend that while instruments such as the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA) embody ambitious mathematics instructional visions, they support the perception that "good" mathematics instructional can be equally defined for all. The PIs in this project hypothesize that good mathematics instruction for low-performing AA and ELL students needs to include all aspects of good instruction measured through IQA plus other instructional related issues such as de-tracking, use all high-quality curriculum with all students, and targeted professional development for teachers. This project allows the PIs to develop and test new tools to appropriately measure these important equity-related aspects of mathematics instruction and institutional setting. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Jackson, Kara Paul Cobb Rich Milner Robert Jimenez Vanderbilt University TN Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 199054 7645 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0830931 September 15, 2008 Moving Beyond Conceptual Models: Developing Assessments to Validate and Study Learning Progressions. Learning progressions provide a theoretical framework for developing curricula and assessments that support student learning of big ideas in science over multiple grades and grade bands. This project proposes a week-long workshop on designing, developing and using assessments to study and validate learning progressions. The workshop is aimed at early career researchers engaged in the development and study of learning progressions in science. REESE DRL EHR Duncan, Ravit Joseph Krajcik Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 147093 7625 SMET 9177 0833364 August 15, 2008 I3: Towards a Center for STEM Education. The University of Colorado is establishing a Distributed Center for STEM Education Research and Transformation that integrates education projects across the campus. The Center addresses the three themes outlined in the National Academy of Science report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm". These are: (1) Teachers in K-12 education (10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds), (2) Research (Sowing Seeds), and (3) Higher Education (Best and Brightest). This Distributed Center involves eight traditional departments in three colleges and schools, including: Education, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering. Existing education projects being integrated into the center include: ADVANCE (Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers); Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement projects; Robert Noyce Teaching Scholarship project; Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship projects; and Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering projects. STEM TALENT EXPANSN PGM (STEP) DRL EHR DiStefano, Philip Todd Gleeson Brian Argrow Noah Finkelstein Lorrie Shepard University of Colorado at Boulder CO Paul W. Jennings Continuing grant 599192 1796 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833378 October 1, 2008 ITEST Strategies. ITEST Strategies is a 3 year project for grades five through eight students and teachers. Pooling resources from a host of collaborators and previously funded projects such as ?From the Ground Up? curriculum created for use with the MicroObservatory network of robotic telescopes, teachers engage students in exploring themes that researchers have found to be difficult for middle school youth. These themes include light and color, size and scale, laws of motion, and more. Activities include programming and controlling robotic telescopes from home and school. This involves imaging of galactic and extra-galactic objects and manipulating images. Students also create animations and simulations of common topographic and space-related features. Collaborators include Harvard?s Earth and Planetary Science Department, the Initiative for Innovative computing, the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, five public and charter schools, and the Retirees School Volunteers. The project plan provides for a teacher component that includes at least 60 hours of professional enhancement each year. Additionally, the project plan includes a student component with a two-year sequential curriculum having weekly sessions, summer activities, online courses, and student-parent/guardian evenings. With this structure, the project advances knowledge and understand across the fields of information and communication technology and astronomy. The project leaders target 100 girls and disadvantaged youth. Each year there are 120 hours of exposure for the students and 60 hours of professional development for teachers. Students are involved for a minimum of two years. The PI utilizes a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent research design. The following questions drive the research: 1) How effective is the project in enhancing student STEM understanding, and in creating and sustaining a link between the STEM experiences and ICT careers for the participants? 2) What factors or settings most effectively enhance the ICT experiences for middle-school youth, and how well does the SED project support that enhancement? 3) To what degree do students perceive that the skills and conceptual knowledge developed in the project are potentially valuable for entering an ICT career or another STEM vocation? To study these questions, the PI uses distracter-driven multiple choice concept inventories developed by the Harvard Science Education Department to assess the conceptual knowledge of teachers and students both as diagnostic pretests to develop workshop content and as posttests of knowledge acquisition. ITEST DRL EHR Sadler, Philip Harvard University MA Julia Clark Standard Grant 1499005 7227 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0833393 January 1, 2009 M2T2 - Maximizing Motivation, Targeting Technology. This Strategies project seeks to provide year round programming following an intensive summer camp for teachers and students from middle schools in a rural area. It proposes to build on the Games that Teach research at MIT, and the games research of the Digital Collaboratory at UT-Austin, to give teachers the skills they need to design educational game components in team situations with students. The approach is to use 3-D visualizations, physics engines and other gaming strategies to relate abstract math and science concepts to real world phenomenon. ITEST DRL EHR Naizer, Gilbert Tracy Henley Bao-An Li Shelley Saffer Texas A&M University-Commerce TX Julia Clark Continuing grant 658612 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833403 October 1, 2008 Scale-Up: National Robotics in 4-H: Workforce Skills for the 21st Century. Robotics and GPS/GIS in 4-H: Workforce Skills for the 21st Century is a-five year scale-up project to use 4-H clubs to prepare middle school youth for the STEM workplace. The project builds on and extends an existing research-based ITEST project by developing and testing new national curricula to introduce basic technology skills, foster problem solving and inquiry skills, and encourage teamwork. A professional development model to support youth learning of concepts focused on information and communications technology is designed and delivered to adult volunteers, after-school educators, and parents. The participation of girls and underrepresented populations is broadened through opportunities for collaboration and social networking and infusing cultural awareness within the project deliverables. The impact of these activities on youth STEM literacy, attitudes and workplace skills is documented. Research is performed to better understand how hands-on, inquiry-based robotics and GPS/GIS activities presented in an informal learning environment can effectively interest and prepare youth for the STEM workforce. Research questions include measures of how educational robotics interventions impact youth STEM literacy, workforce skills, and attitudes about STEM content. The research also investigates the use of the 4-H robotics curriculum to positively impact instructional practice of informal educators, their STEM content knowledge and their confidence. ITEST DRL EHR Barker, Bradley Viacheslav Adamchuk University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 999573 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833411 January 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: MarIneTech: STEM Preparation through Marine Science and Engineering Projects. MarineTech will serve 60 students in grades eight through twelve, over a period of three years, providing 144 hours of instruction and hands-on learning experiences in the fields of marine engineering and physical sciences with a shipbuilding focus. The program will run for eight Saturdays during academic years, with an additional two-week academy during the summers. MarineTech's progressive curriculum covers foundational skills and knowledge of basic physical science as it relates to ship building, through the application of these principles in a culminating ship design competition. The curriculum is enriched with program activities such as field trips to shipbuilding and repair companies, marine science museums and career day events. MarineTech concurrently targets 60 math, science, and technology education teachers for grades eight through twelve, each of whom will receive 40 hours of summer professional development and 40 hours of follow-up training and support. Teachers will work an additional 40 hours in working with their students to build underwater robots and design and build a human powered container ship for competition. Participating teachers will be fully trained in curriculum implementation and will be given materials and resources necessary to replicate MarineTech activities in their classrooms. MarineTech addresses the urgent need to enhance under-represented students' interest and performance in STEM courses, while fostering skills that are important prerequisites for STEM careers, particularly in marine engineering, physical science and information technology. In the near term, the project will incorporate activities designed to boost student scores on academic achievement measures. However, the project also addresses the critical shortage of qualified workers needed to sustain the ship building and repair industry in the USA. ITEST DRL EHR Chen, Deborah Norfolk State University VA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 60000 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0833440 September 1, 2008 Strategies: The Student Enabled Network of Sensors for the Environment using Innovative Technology (SENSE IT). The Student Enabled Network of Sensors for the Environment using Innovative Technology (SENSE IT) project will integrate STEM skills into a robust interdisciplinary curriculum and teacher development effort by teaching 3,000 high school students to design, build, test, deploy and interpret their own environmental sensors. SENSE IT will span three distinct residential regions in New York's Hudson and St. Lawrence River valleys, as well as a diverse socioeconomic and racial spectrum. SENSE IT will reach at least 60 teachers in the region, providing 120 hours of professional development, in-class support and necessary equipment, while directly increasing awareness of STEM career opportunities for students and teachers. SENSE IT will generate four project-based educational modules: 1) Sensor development, 2) Sensor deployment and data gathering, 3) Water quality investigation and 4) Sharing data across observatories. Each module will require three to five typical 45-minute class periods and include comprehensive lesson plans to accommodate insertion into any standard high school STEM curriculum (mathematics, chemistry, general science, physics, environmental science and computer science), while meeting state and national education standards. The objectives of the SENSE IT project are to 1) develop a sensor technologies curriculum for the high school classroom; 2) use environmental sensors as an engaging context to teach technology, engineering, mathematics, science, and critical workforce skills; 3) encourage learners to look at a local problem and data within a global perspective; 4) promote awareness of sensor network related careers and opportunities among high school teachers, students, parents and guidance counselors; and 5) emphasize that mathematics is key to all STEM disciplines and careers. ITEST DRL EHR Bonner, James Susan Powers Temitope Ojo Liesl Hotaling Clarkson University NY David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1399091 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0833452 November 1, 2008 Strategies: Games Requiring Advanced Developmental Understanding and Achievement in Technological Endeavors [GRADUATE]. A team of educational researchers, scientists, and engineers from NC State University, UNC Chapel Hill, and Duke University are partnering with teachers and administrators from Durham County Schools, Lee County Schools, the NC Business Committee for Education, and an international gaming company to pilot GRADUATE (Games Requiring Advanced Developmental Understanding and Achievement in Technological Endeavors). The project builds a model based on the evaluation results of a current ITEST grant (HI FIVES) and targets 40 teachers and 100 disadvantaged rural and urban students from two redesigned "New Tech" high schools. The focus is on creating STEM-related games and investigates the effects of student-created games on their attitudes towards STEM subjects, achievement in learning content, and motivation to enter STEM careers. GRADUATE is unique in how it involves a very coherent systematic approach combined with a thorough and well-organized evaluation plan. The student created games stem from scientific research and serve as the product and presentation components to the newly implemented North Carolina graduation requirements. Because of this integration into the curriculum, the project helps retain students through HI FIVES and into high school, thereby addressing a serious concern with the North Carolina high school drop out rate. ITEST DRL EHR Annetta, Leonard William DeLuca Valerie Brown-Schild Edwin Gerler Bonnie Fusarelli North Carolina State University NC Michael Haney Standard Grant 1497220 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833496 October 1, 2008 Strategies: ACTIVATE: Advancing Computing and Technology Interest and innoVation through Teacher Education. The Computer Science (CS) community believes that it has an important role to play in educating the public about the excitement of Computer Science (CS) and the lucrative and interesting career opportunities this field offers. In western Pennsylvania, most high school students are not being provided an opportunity to learn about the science of computing nor about the breadth of the field. The aim is to approach this challenge in two ways: (a) provide workshops for teacher development in computational thinking as well as innovative strategies and techniques for engaging students at the high school and middle school level, and (b) provide training and materials for participating teachers to allow them to present information to other teachers and administrators about computer science during in-service days and similar professional meetings. The project will target STEM teachers in the Appalachian Region, including western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and eastern Ohio, where many schools lack essential resources for teacher development and have little support for special programs to interest students in STEM careers. It is believe that the end result of the strategy will be an increase in the number of students enrolling in computing and other STEM disciplines in college and subsequent high-tech employment in the Appalachian region in the coming decade. ITEST DRL EHR Cortina, Thomas Wanda Dann Carol Frieze Carnegie-Mellon University PA Joseph Reed Continuing grant 984463 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833503 October 1, 2008 Studies: Expanding Opportunities for Innovative and Technology-Rich STEM Experiences through Florida's High School Career Academies (ITEST/Workforce Development STUDIES Project). DRL - 0833503 Studies: Expanding Opportunities for Innovative and Technology-Rich STEM Experiences through Florida?s High School Career Academies Borman, Kathryn M. University of South Florida Becky Smerdon, Academy for Educational Development PROJECT SUMMARY This research project would investigate the determinants and consequences of student enrollment in a new Florida program of high school "career academies" intended to integrate rigorous academic curriculum with industry-driven careers. The researchers have created some specific hypotheses about curriculum and school organization and their relationship to choosing STEM careers that can be tested with the study they have designed. The study will use statistical analysis models of existing administrative statistics from the State of Florida to test the influence of attending special "academies" at the high school level to encourage students into STEM fields. They will test the idea that students attending a special academy had already chosen a particular career before attending the school. Students attending special schools are likely to have selected the school because of their background. This study will measure the extent to which Florida students chose their career fields based on the school they would attend or the extent that the school changed their career choice. Through qualitative analysis they will identify new factors of the schools that affect choices of students to attend them. The trends study will indicate whether attending these special schools increase STEM course taking among underrepresented students. The researchers will analyze existing data using a multilevel model to account for both teacher and student variances, will conduct surveys of students in some schools, and will conduct qualitative analysis of course taking. ITEST DRL EHR Borman, Kathryn Becky Smerdon University of South Florida FL Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 1003144 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833517 September 15, 2008 GET SET Global Education for Tomorrow in Science, Engineering, and Technology. DRL-0833517 PI: Joan Abdallah Institution: American Association for the Advancement of Science Title: GET SET Global Education for Tomorrow in Science, Engineering, and Technology This project focuses research on understanding what it takes to get underrepresented students to succeed in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as its central goal. It is implementing and testing an instructional model for 2,000 6-8th grade students in ten Washington, DC public, charter schools to increase student interest in and pursuit of careers in engineering and other STEM areas, with a focus on energy and renewable resources. Students may also apply for out-of-school learning activities, including engineering clubs, summer institutes, and career exploration. Thirty teachers and ten counselors are receiving professional development to implement the project in their schools. Research is focusing on the "dosage" and "duration" of the interventions by controlling these two variables. Students in the 6th grade at the start of the project are experiencing 3 years of participation, while the 8th graders have only one year. The activities completed by different cohorts of students also are being varied. ITEST DRL EHR Abdallah, Joan Robert Hirshon Ramona Edelin American Association For Advancement Science DC Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 1499977 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833521 September 1, 2008 OUTBREAK: Opportunities to Use immersive Technologies to explore Biotechnology Resources, career Education And Knowledge. The University of Florida proposes to provide 51 teachers and over 3600 students with an interesting experience and opportunities for biotechnology learning. This project will create a computer-based game and supporting curriculum for promoting workforce development in the area of biotechnology; prepare teachers to implement the game and supporting curriculum through a summer professional development program; and determine how the game and supporting curriculum affects student disposition towards careers in biotechnology and understanding of biotechnology content. The project team (consisting of science educators, educational technologists, scientists, curriculum writers, and professional development providers) will collaborate with a professional game design company to design the computer game. The project will use a mixed-methods research design that makes use of case studies, pre/post test data, and comparison group to determine the efficacy of the game and supporting curriculum as a platform for improving student dispositions towards careers in biotechnology. ITEST DRL EHR Sadler, Troy Mary Jo Koroly Richard Ferdig Richard Snyder Leonard Annetta University of Florida FL Julia Clark Continuing grant 1059793 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833524 October 1, 2008 ITEST Study: Promoting STEM Career Interest in the Classroom: An Exploratory Study Linking Teacher Professional Development with Changes in Teaching Practices. Classroom students need to engage with innovative technologies (IT) in ways that better match computer literacy skills and applications in today?s workplace. The NSF-funded ITEST teacher professional development projects address this need by helping teachers effectively integrate real-world IT-based investigations into K-12 curriculum. This ITEST Study will examine the ways that ITEST teacher education projects lead to changes in classroom practice by using two teacher-role models to examine technology-based professional development and related changes in teaching practices: Teacher as Pedagogical Expert (teachers using existing technology-based curriculum with or without adaptations) and Teacher as Curriculum Developer (teachers creating new curriculum). The study will explore these two models within the context of IT teaching and learning. Specifically, we want to understand what kinds of professional development activities promote and/or influence changes in teaching practices and the integration of innovative technologies in the classroom. We will address the following research questions: 1) What are the characteristics of the two teacher-role models (curriculum developer or pedagogical expert) in teacher professional development projects that immerse participants in professional IT experiences? and 2) Does IT classroom implementation differ for teachers who have and have not completed an IT-immersion professional development experience and does the difference (if any) vary by model? The research design includes a review of current and past ITEST professional development activities (surveys/interviews with project leaders and project artifacts), a broad survey of teacher participants from ITEST teacher education projects, and an in-depth study of a subset of ITEST teacher participants and comparison teachers to trace classroom implementation over an academic year. This project is a collaboration between Education Development Center (EDC, Inc.), TERC and University of Maryland Center of Environmental Science, all of which have extensive experience with the NSF ITEST program. ITEST DRL EHR Parker, Caroline Cathlyn Stylinski Carla McAuliffe Education Development Center MA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 1129730 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833537 November 1, 2008 Strategies: Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP). This project focuses on new areas and technologies within the rapidly changing Biological Sciences. The mentoring program targets underrepresented youth and will serve 120 10th to 12th grade students over three years (three cohorts of 40 each), providing one year of preparatory courses, a summer institute for career exploration and lab orientation, and a second year of authentic research with an AMNH scientist mentor. It takes advantage of significant new resources at AMNH, including its new graduate school in Comparative Biology, and brings scientific discovery to young people with an immediacy and informality that is rare for students. The pedagogy will be active, hands-on, and developmentally appropriate. The project implements and evaluates three major features that make it unique among the small number of programs nationwide providing long-term high school science mentoring experiences: (1) The program will involve AMNH scientist mentors in designing and teaching preparatory courses that are infused with digital learning tools, as well as the technological and computational methodologies that the mentors use in their own research, including DNA sequencing, geometric morphometric analysis, bioinformatics including remote sensing technology, software for phylogenetic analysis, microscopy techniques and CAT scan and cryo-lab technology; (2) The project will develop a mentor training program through which Museum educators coach mentors on research-based informal science education techniques, including inquiry and hands-on experiences; and (3) The project will integrate biological anthropology, a Museum strength, into its preparatory courses and mentoring experience. ITEST DRL EHR Jacobs, Margaret Christopher Raxworthy Monique Scott American Museum Natural History NY David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1193458 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833542 December 1, 2008 High School Enterprise. The High School Enterprise (HSE) project builds on earlier successes with college students and extends that strategy to eight high schools through an after-school program. The project establishes and assesses a model which uses students from grades 9-12 organized into active, applied STEM learning communities focused on client needs. HSE teams participate in "virtual" companies that provide technical services to actual clients and develop products intended for ultimate distribution through the marketplace. HSE team projects are STEM-based with an emphasis on ICT. The program includes eight high schools in Michigan and Puerto Rico that are located in rural, suburban, and inner city communities that have diverse characteristics (all income ranges, high populations of students from underrepresented groups). Deliverables include an HSE model and training manual adaptable by high schools nationally and knowledge about why HSE as an after-school intervention activity has the impact that it does with the targeted student groups in the participating high schools. The proposal team is partnering with ASME, which provides built-in connections with local university student chapters and design teams, to examine one possible model for HSE scale-up. In addition, the team is developing a model for establishing the local sustainable funding that is required to prevent participating high schools from incurring any substantial costs. ITEST DRL EHR Kampe, Jean-Celeste Robert Warrington John Jaszczak Susan Amato-Henderson Douglas Oppliger Michigan Technological University MI Michael Haney Continuing grant 997022 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833552 October 1, 2008 STEM and ICT Instructional Worlds: The 3D Experience (STEM-ICT 3D). A coalition of Carolina universities, school districts, state agencies, and businesses called the Carolinas Virtual World Consortium are promoting the use of 3 dimensional technologies in STEM education in middle schools through this ITEST strategies project. Middle school students attend summer workshops to learn about 3D modeling and design of virtual worlds, teachers join the students during the second week of workshops to learn about 3D technologies and how they can be implemented in the curriculum. Regional experts share real world problems with teachers and students to generate possibilities for development of a 3D immersive world. Students serving as technical experts and teachers as curriculum and instruction experts then team to develop applications of virtual technologies for STEM instruction over the course of the project. The goals of the above activities are to engage teachers in continuous STEM learning, interest students in pursuing STEM careers, and preparing students with the skills necessary to succeed in STEM. This project is based in educational literature and in a pilot study with students in sixth grade using 3D immersive technology to communicate information on explorers and exploration. The literature and the findings point to students improving engagement, communication, collaboration, use of information tools, STEM knowledge gain, and creating diverse communities of learners working on solutions to real-life problems. STEM content is expanded in this project by adding experts in science, technology, and engineering to the leadership team. Formative and summative evaluation of the objectives of the project is guided by a series of questions and data and evidence is collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods. ITEST DRL EHR Matzen, Nita D. Switzer Sean Williams Kenneth Weaver Dick Riedl Appalachian State University NC Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 988400 7227 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0833570 January 1, 2009 Strategies : Collaborative Research: MarIneTech: STEM Preparation through Marine Engineering, Science and Technology Experiences. MarineTech will serve 60 students in grades eight through twelve, over a period of three years, providing 144 hours of instruction and hands-on learning experiences in the fields of marine engineering and physical sciences with a shipbuilding focus. The program will run for eight Saturdays during academic years, with an additional two-week academy during the summers. MarineTech's progressive curriculum covers foundational skills and knowledge of basic physical science as it relates to ship building, through the application of these principles in a culminating ship design competition. The curriculum is enriched with program activities such as field trips to shipbuilding and repair companies, marine science museums and career day events. MarineTech concurrently targets 60 math, science, and technology education teachers for grades eight through twelve, each of whom will receive 40 hours of summer professional development and 40 hours of follow-up training and support. Teachers will work an additional 40 hours in working with their students to build underwater robots and design and build a human powered container ship for competition. Participating teachers will be fully trained in curriculum implementation and will be given materials and resources necessary to replicate MarineTech activities in their classrooms. MarineTech addresses the urgent need to enhance under-represented students' interest and performance in STEM courses, while fostering skills that are important prerequisites for STEM careers, particularly in marine engineering, physical science and information technology. In the near term, the project will incorporate activities designed to boost student scores on academic achievement measures. However, the project also addresses the critical shortage of qualified workers needed to sustain the ship building and repair industry in the USA. ITEST DRL EHR Verma, Alok Nina Brown Sueanne McKinney Daniel Dickerson Old Dominion University Research Foundation VA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1273308 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833595 October 1, 2008 Science Journalism Pathways to STEM Careers. The Inland Northwest Community Access Network (TINCAN), the Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (PSCTLT), and Reel Grrls (a community media center) are partnering to involve 6th and 7th grade middle school girls in science-focused after-school club activities in 10 schools in Seattle and Spokane, Washington. The Science Journalism Pathways to STEM Careers project is engaging girls in science journalism through information and communication technologies (ICT) to investigate and publish information about local science issues of interest to their communities. The ICT focus is video, multimedia, and the Internet. Girls are also conducting hands-on activities and interviewing STEM professionals to learn issue-related science content. The goals of the project are to (1) increase girls' ICT fluency, (2) increase girls' science literacy, (3) increase girls' interest in STEM careers, and (4) increase STEM content in non-science courses taught by social studies teachers who manage the after-school clubs. ITEST DRL EHR Michaelson, Karen The Inland Northwest Community Access Network WA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 933950 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833612 January 1, 2009 Strategies: Reforming IT Education through Game Design: Integrating Technology-Hub, Inner City, Rural and Remote Regions. The iDREAMS (Integrative Design-based Reform-oriented Educational Approach for Motivating Students) project engages middle school students in computer science curriculum through game design with the ultimate goal of helping them understand and build interest in pursuing IT careers. The project builds on earlier work with AgentSheets and successes with students at various ages. The teachers and students are drawn from four Colorado diverse communities: Boulder Valley School District (technology hub), Aurora Public Schools (inner city), South Central Board of Cooperative Educational Services (rural), and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe (remote/tribal). The project delivers one week of classroom instruction to 1120 students as part of a required course within the curriculum, a 4-week follow up elective module, and a 1-week transition module to high school computer education. Training for 28 teachers and 28 community and tribal college students include annual intensive one and two week-long summer workshops, and ongoing remote support throughout the school year. The project results in an IT curriculum that is tested in middle schools, compliant with the National Educational Technology Standards, and scalable. ITEST DRL EHR Repenning, Alexander Jeffrey Kidder David Webb University of Colorado at Boulder CO Michael Haney Standard Grant 1499425 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833614 August 1, 2009 It's About Discovery. The institution is The Ohio State University at Lima, the university partners are the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Fayetteville State University. It's About Discovery is a unique partnership to engage students and teachers in critical thinking skills in STEM content areas. The Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (PAS) new science curriculum is the foundation for the project which will include over 700 students and 20-25 teachers. While the primary focus is on students, throughout the life of the project all teachers will participate in professional development focusing on the PAS units to ensure the quality teaching and understanding of the content. Technology will be integrated throughout the program to enable students to create inquiry based projects across state lines and for teachers to continue their professional development opportunities. Community partners will serve as mentors, host field trips, and engage in on-line conversations with students. An interactive website will be created for both teachers and students. The focus is on 8th grade science as it relates to STEM careers, 9th grade physical science and 10th science and mathematics. We are implementing a new Ford PAS curriculum module, Working Towards Sustainability, which comprises of four modules: We All Run on Energy, Energy from the Sun, Is Hydrogen a Solution? and The Nuclear Revolution. Teachers across states will engage in a new professional development model. Students will create projects through on-line conversations. A website will be created for project participants and the ITEST community. These hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences engage students and prepare and encourage them to pursue science, engineering, and technology in high school and beyond. All PAS curricula use real world experiences, open-ended problems and result in real world applications. Assessments are on-going and inquiry driven. Teamwork and on-line resources and research are built into the curriculum design. The evaluation consists of a multi-method pre-post design. Teachers complete a Pre Survey at the beginning of the program and then again at the end of the school year. Students complete a Pre Survey at the beginning of the school year and a post survey at the end of the school year. In addition, teachers share students' scores on curriculum assessments completed throughout the year, including student scores on the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System's (CASAS) Assessment of Critical Thinking in Science writing tasks. ITEST DRL EHR Cristol, Dean Christopher Andersen Ohio State University Research Foundation OH Joseph Reed Continuing grant 280722 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833615 October 1, 2008 ITEST STRATEGIES: PHOTONICS LEADERS II. This North Carolina State University (NCSU) project entitled Photonics Leaders II (PL2) is a Strategies project for 80 underrepresented minority and rural 10th grade students, their parents or caregivers, and 60 teachers. The project nurtures interest in optics, electronics, computer hardware and software, while building the intellectual, communication and personal skills needed for success in the STEM workforce. NCSU researchers from Physics, Engineering, Distance Learning and Education will partner with The Science House (at NCSU) and industry leaders to develop, implement, and evaluate the activities. Students and teachers will participate in hands-on and virtual learning, career and personal counseling, and field experiences at universities and Research Triangle Park, a Center for technological innovation. The project will engage parents to be effective champions for students by offering information about college-funding resources, college entrance requirements, and connections between coursework and career opportunities. ITEST DRL EHR Hilliard-Clark, Joyce Pamela Gilchrist Tuere Bowles North Carolina State University NC Julia Clark Continuing grant 820695 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833624 July 1, 2009 IT and College Pathways through application of Technology to explore Urban Ecological Challenges. A pathway to STEM careers and college for inner-city high school students is built around the use of cutting-edge geospatial and computer modeling to investigate pressing urban ecological problems in their neighborhood. The work in a previous ITEST grant that demonstrated an increase in student self-efficacy and interest in science is expanded to integrate career discernment, college preparation, and engagement with innovative technologies. With a project team that includes a counseling psychologist, an educational researcher, a science educator, an urban ecologist, an environmental lawyer and a cross-cultural educator, the project designs an innovative program and conducts research on both the design of the program and on student career discernment. The students meet on selected Saturdays and after school during the school year. They receive a stipend to attend a three week summer program. Students remain in the program for three years working on projects of increasing sophistication in urban ecology. Parents and care givers are integrated into the program by having them engage in similar activities to understand the nature of STEM related careers. Partnerships with the College Bound program and with two industries ensure sustainability and that students understand the workplace and have access to innovative technologies. ITEST DRL EHR Barnett, George Eric Strauss Charles Lord David Blustein Laura O'Dwyer Boston College MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 433234 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833628 October 1, 2008 Tri-Regional Information Technology (Tri-IT) Program. An ITEST strategies project, entitled Tri-Regional Information Technology (Tri-IT), is a collaborative project building on the IT strengths at three diverse colleges located in the state of Florida. Tri-IT includes Florida Community College at Jacksonville (FCCJ) in Northeast Florida, Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Northwest Florida and Seminole Community College (SCC) in Central Florida. These three project sites will be supported by the Florida Distance Learning Consortium as well as the Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Tri-IT will address Florida's IT gender inequality in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) by serving a total of 180 high school girls. These girls will be provided access to year-round IT learning opportunities designed to enhance their STEM education. During the academic year each college will serve 60 girls, using a set of research based curricular activities that align with national IT skill standards. Each site will also offer IT-related summer academies that will engage the participants in hands-on learning and offer students an opportunity to experience and submerge themselves in technology to stimulate their interest in STEM careers. FCCJ's summer academy will focus on Global Positioning Systems and Geographic Information Systems; FAMU's theme will involve Video Mobile Devices, and SCC will build activities around IT web applications. By using various distance learning methods, including peer-to-peer videoconferencing, pod casting and web blogging, to connect the three sites, the girls will gain quality educational foundation in a variety of IT areas: GPS & GIS, Video mobile devices and IT web applications. Examples of summer activities include: students using GPS to study safety hazards on the walking paths in surrounding urban high schools; making games for cell phones and programming videogame consoles; and creating podcasts about sciences/IT careers. All curricular activities are aligned with the Information Technology Education Association (ITEA) Standards. IT professional volunteers and service learning college students will help teachers and facilitators lead after-school and summer activities. Each summer, a one-day event will be held to bring girls from all of the sites together. In addition, participants will be able to interact and learn from one another through the project podcasts, website, and listserv. ITEST DRL EHR Morris, LaDonna Jason Black Ernest Friend Leon Portelli Florida Community College at Jacksonville FL Kusum Singh Continuing grant 1007941 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0833636 August 1, 2009 Strategies: CAPSULE: CAPStone Unique Learning Experience. CAPSULE, a capstone project-based learning model, brings the STEM/IT workforce experience to high school students and teachers through industry-driven projects and multimedia production. Materials developed at the Museum of Science and real-world problems solicited from local industry are formulated as projects to be used in a hands-on capstone elective course or in after school activities so that students can relate STEM concepts covered in the classroom to real world applications and learn the engineering design process (EDP). As part of the course, students visit companies to learn first hand about the day-to-day activities of the STEM/IT workforce. They also produce their own media content of their projects. Each year, thirty high school teachers engage in a two week summer professional development workshop with follow-up during the year for a total of 120 hours. Activities are developed for school administrators, guidance counselors and parents to make them aware of the value and importance of STEM/IT careers and opportunities. The project outcomes are (1) pedagogically proven EDP-based curricula that can be replicated at the local, regional and national levels; (2) teachers who connect STEM content to real-world applications; (3) students who discover the real value of STEM subjects; and (4) a means to address Massachusetts' capacity problem to teach engineering and technology in schools. The evaluation plan focuses on the quality of professional development, student learning, and perceptions of STEM careers. Partners include high schools, local industry, Northeastern University engineering research centers and the STEM Education Center, and Boston Museum of Science. ITEST DRL EHR Zeid, Ibrahim Ahmed Busnaina Sagar Kamarthi Jacqueline Isaacs Northeastern University MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 466683 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833643 March 15, 2009 STRATEGY: From Art to STEM- A Creative Journey of Discovery: A Transformational Project for Nashville Middle School Students. Tenth grade students in high schools in Nashville, Tennessee choose among four to seven career academies. Despite a needs analysis that demonstrates the several occupations in Nashville require a STEM background, the results of a survey show that most students are choosing arts and communications career academies rather than STEM-related ones. A comprehensive set of partners led by Alignment Nashville, an organization that works out of the mayor's office to connect community organizations to schools, provides an ITEST strategies project to increase interest in STEM-related careers especially for 200 eighth grade girls from underrepresented and disadvantaged populations and their teachers. Using their existing knowledge and interest, students increase their understanding of how their skills can be used in STEM-related careers by creating 3D computer models, using tools such as AutoCAD and Alice. Students can watch the construction of the model using the rapid prototyping facilities of Tennessee Technical University via Internet. A four week summer camp at Nashville State Community College, using the Ford PAS curriculum maintains the students' interest and prepares them for the career academy. The mathematics and science teachers of the targeted audience participate in professional development activities to increase their ability to 3D modeling and connect rapid prototyping to their content areas. Additionally, local college students serving as Girl Scout Leaders in underserved areas of Nashville work with students in the after school activities and summer camps and receive professional development. The evaluation identifies strategies and tactics that are effective in increasing the interest and understanding of the students and teachers in STEM-related careers. ITEST DRL EHR Rogers, Sydney Ismail Fidan David McNeel Connie Williams Kathryn Dillard Alignment Nashville TN Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 487005 7227 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0833663 January 1, 2009 Strategies: Community Science Investigators. Community Science Investigators (CSI) is an ITEST Strategies project that brings together the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in offering year-long, career-focused technology experiences for 360 middle school youth and 36 teachers in an out-of-school setting. Through CSI, participants from St. Louis and Boston will learn to apply geospatial, simulation, and communication technologies as they address environmental and conservation-related issues. CSI is built on a year-long program which has three phases: students? engagement in the simulation games, students? investigation of environmental issues using geographic information system (GIS) software and finally students? involvement in technology based service learning projects. The first phase centers on ?augmented reality? (AR) simulation games. In these games, students will navigate an area in their community with the help of a geospatially-enabled handheld computer, with their real-time location shown on an aerial photograph. Each AR game challenges students to investigate a real-life scientific challenge. Throughout the game, students integrate information, and develop an argument based on evidence. This entire process is undertaken in the assumed role of a STEM professional. After the experience in simulation, students will investigate authentic community environmental issues with the help of geographic information system (GIS) software and related resources, such as remote sensing imagery. Two core project domains, water quality studies and management of invasive species, will guide students? work using the augmented reality games and the geospatial tools. From there, CSI teams will be guided to either extend these studies or branch out into new areas of inquiry. Building on their growing interest and competence, students (and their teachers as mentors) will apply their technology skills and improved content understanding in environmental sciences through service-learning projects. These projects are supposed to provide opportunities for students to acquire technological skills, and motivation for further study in STEM fields. In the final phase of the project students will create original augmented reality games to integrate their developing scientific and technological competence. The student work in CSI will be supported by teachers from their schools, each of whom will participate in a 124-hour professional development experience focusing on youth mentoring for STEM careers, sustaining student inquiry, and using advanced technological tools. ITEST DRL EHR Coulter, Robert Missouri Botanical Garden MO Kusum Singh Continuing grant 988788 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0833675 August 15, 2008 Crossing Boundaries and Exploring Biodiversity Conservation Using Information Technologies. Crossing Boundaries will provide middle and high school students with the knowledge, skills, motivation, and inspiration to use information and communication technologies (ICT) in addressing biodiversity conservation issues in regional and international contexts. The project will entail curriculum development, sustained teacher professional development, and opportunities for students to see scientific and environmental careers in action. Using geospatial technology, secondary students will analyze biodiversity conservation issues in their local or regional environment as well as in the Brazilian Amazon and in Chiapas, Mexico. A range of ICT options will enable students to interact with scientists, conservation professionals, undergraduate interns, and graduate students who are working on biodiversity-related research in international settings. Through production of web-mediated communications, students will use highly engaging technologies to collaborate with peers. Students will learn the analytic and technical skills necessary for analysis of environmental issues in local and international contexts. Project evaluation will determine the effectiveness of international computer-mediated communication and exploration in providing transformative experiences intended to bolster student interest in science, provide new perspectives on ICT-related career options, and deepen students' awareness of their role as global citizens. This project will benefit secondary students in central New York, especially those living in economically depressed rural or urban settings traditionally underrepresented in ICT fields. The relevant, project-based learning experiences will motivate students in environmental science courses for underperforming students, helping them succeed in school. Teachers will develop technological and pedagogical competence in ICT, enabling them to engage students in technology-intensive projects that will build global awareness and perspectives of career options. INTERNATIONAL PLAN & WORKSHOPS ITEST DRL EHR MaKinster, James Nancy Trautmann Eugenio Arima Karen Edelstein Hobart and William Smith Colleges NY David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1418504 7299 7227 SMET 9177 5991 5976 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833692 November 1, 2008 Strategies: Girls InnovaTE3: Girls Innovating with Technology as Entrepreneurial Environmental Engineers. SRI International (SRI), Girls Incorporated of Alameda County (GIAC), and TERC are collaborating to create and implement Girls InnovaTE3: Girls Innovating with Technology as Entrepreneurial Environmental Engineers. InnovaTE3, a Strategies project in NSF's ITEST program, is an out-of-school youth-centered curriculum for 8th through 11th grade girls. Within this context, InnovaTE3 will investigate the strategy of integrating innovation practices with interest-driven science learning for girls, evaluating the potential of the strategy to accomplish five goals: (1) developing and applying girls understanding of core concepts in Earth systems science content to an engineering design challenge, (2) developing girls interest and confidence in pursuing additional STEM content knowledge, (3) increasing girls? fluency in the innovation process and preparedness for the engineering workforce, (4) enhancing girls knowledge of a variety of STEM careers and interest in pursuing a specific STEM career, and (5) building staff capacity in after-school sites to engage girls in integrating innovation with science content. ITEST DRL EHR Koch, Melissa Harold McWilliams Ripudaman Malhotra William Penuel Shelly Masur SRI International CA Joseph Reed Continuing grant 977830 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833706 October 1, 2008 M-SOS-W: Middle Schoolers Out to Save the World. ABSTRACT DRL 0833706 PI: Gerald Knezek Institution: University of Northern Texas Title: M-SOS-W: Middle Schoolers out to Save the World In this project, approximately 600 sixth graders from seven middle schools in Louisiana, Maine, Texas and Vermont are monitoring home energy use under supervision of their (11) teachers. The data are being used to develop optimum scenarios for conserving energy and reducing production of greenhouses gases in local communities. The teachers are receiving professional development to carry out the project. Students and teachers are using online software tools to record and analyze their data and create projections of future energy use based on assumptions of policy changes. They are communicating their results within the project via information communication technology. Research is being conducted on the effects of the project on students' and teachers' changes of attitudes and interests in science, and in students' gains in science content knowledge through comparisons with matched, untreated schools. ITEST DRL EHR Knezek, Gerald Tandra Tyler-Wood Rhonda Christensen University of North Texas TX Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 1485395 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833726 August 15, 2009 Beyond Blackboards: Integrated Methods for STEM Education and Workforce Development. The University of Texas (UT) Cockrell School of Engineering is joining with Skillpoint Alliance, a Central Texas education and workforce development agency, and Round Rock ISD, a rapidly growing district serving a diverse population of more than 40,000 students, to deploy an integrated approach to engaging middle school students, teachers, counselors, administrators, parents and caregivers in activities that improve awareness and understanding of a range of STEM career and college pathways. The project builds on the successful DTEACh program that provides teachers professional development in engineering education using design and empowers educators and caregivers to engage students in STEM activities that guide them toward considering careers in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The program comprises five essential steps: training teachers; providing after-school programs for students; training counselors, administrators and other educators; offering intensive summer camps for students; and reaching out to caregivers. The project supports teachers with multiple professional development opportunities and field experiences, coaching sessions with master teachers, support from UT engineering students and industry mentors, and numerous other resources. Evaluation of the program's impact on students depends not only on student-reported interest in STEM subjects and careers, but on assessment of student performance in STEM subjects and analysis of their high school course selections. Evaluation of the program's impact on teachers focuses on an assessment of participants' curricula and pedagogy and impact on teacher networks. The project produces research tools and research findings that build the knowledge base about approaches, models, and interventions with middle school students from underrepresented and economically-disadvantaged populations and their teachers - the population most likely to increase United States capacity in the STEM workforce, including ICT fields. ITEST DRL EHR Crawford, Richard Anthony Petrosino University of Texas at Austin TX Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 360000 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833751 September 1, 2008 GreenFab: Sustainable Design Through Engineering and Technology. GreenFab is a three-year ITEST project designed to introduce low-income, minority high school youth in New York and New Jersey to engineering and technology skill sets that are used in the sustainable technologies industry. This project builds on the success of the SoBRO TEC ITEST (05-25162) and targets youth in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx. Collaborators include New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) and Sustainable South Bronx, which will co-facilitate classes in the NSF-funded Fab Lab. Students participate in afterschool sessions and summer fellowships designed to introduce sustainable practices, industrial design, and prototyping. Activities enable participants to explore solutions to community environmental problems using small scale manufacturing. Modules to be developed and piloted for use in the afterschool sessions include: Green Machines, Sustainable Living, Adaptive and Assistive Design, and Urban Sustainability. All modules incorporate NETS Technology Standards, NSTA Science Standards, and 21st Century Learning Skills. Engineers are invited each Friday from a variety of organizations including the MIT Media Lab as well as recycling, metal fabrication, HVAC, and similar industries to help students learn how the skills obtained in GreenFab can be applied to a variety of green collar jobs and STEM positions. Finally, summer fellowships extend student skills through the application of digital technology, material repurposing, and critical analysis. ITEST DRL EHR Allen, Laura Marianne Petit Majora Carter Vision Education and Media NY Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1250124 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0833753 January 1, 2009 iQUEST: investigations for Quality Understanding and Engagement for Students and Teachers. California State University at San Marcos, Rochester Institute of Technology, San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego Science Alliance, K-12 High Speed Network, California State Parks, and eight southern California middle schools are collaborating to develop, implement, and evaluate teacher professional development and student learning experiences to enhance science and information and communication technologies (ICT) learning among underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students (primarily Hispanic and Native American) in grades 7 and 8. The major goal of the project is to promote workforce diversity by working with focal students to ensure their readiness for, and interest and participation in, ICT-intensive careers. Major project activities include (1) developing ICT-enhanced STEM learning modules and resources for use in middle school physics, chemistry, and life science coruses, (2) preparing 32 ICT-savvy teachers from target schools in five school districts, and (3) providing students with ICT-intensive summer camps. The curriculum component addresses grade-appropriate science and technology standards by developing classroom-based science investigation modules that employ ICT technologies such as videoconferencing, interactive games, probeware, visualizations, web resources, and social networking tools (Moodle). Thirty-two teachers are receiving professional development for two or three years by attending Summer Academies and engaging in year-long activities that include Lesson Study and action research. Project staff, scientists, and computer science graduate students are providing ongoing classroom support. Project teachers will impact an estimated 10,000 students. An additional 100 teachers in the region will be exposed to project resources through workshops conducted by project teachers, reaching another 15,000 students. The evaluation/research plan is using a quasi-experimental study to investigate how participation in the project impacts students' course selection in high school and career interests, and how teachers implement project materials and change classroom practices. ITEST DRL EHR Hayden, Katherine Youwen Ouyang California State University San Marcos Foundation CA David A. Hanych Standard Grant 1493541 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833760 September 1, 2008 Strategies: Prime the Pipeline Project (P3): Putting Knowledge to Work. Prime the Pipeline Project (P3): Putting Knowledge to Work is designed to engage high school students as active members of a scientific village comprised of students, math and science teachers, university faculty, undergraduate student mentors, industry professionals, and scientists. Participants include a cohort of up to 60 grade 10 high school students and 50 high school teachers (half science and half math), from the Phoenix, Arizona east valley. Village members work collaboratively on problems that are of high interest, mirror the workplace, and have social significance with solutions that require the application of skills and concepts from STEM and workplace technologies while drawing upon a repertoire of problem solving heuristics. Students stay in the science village for 3 years beginning in grade 10 and participate in combined after school and campus-based academic-year programs and summer institutes. Math and science teachers participate as both learners and co-leaders. Teachers are engaged in professional development Connections Courses that focus on the key concepts and technologies needed to solve problems, strategies for assessing student understanding, and STEM career opportunities. Business and industry partners such as Intel and Microchip provide support by co-developing integrated projects, mentoring youth and teachers, and offering summer apprenticeships. The project website includes participant updates while encouraging communication and providing career advice. The P3 project's innovative design provides an opportunity to determine the effectiveness and transformative nature of a sustained 3-year scientific village approach as a means to increase STEM majors. ITEST DRL EHR Greenes, Carole Timothy Lindquist Lakshmi Munukutla Sethuraman Panchanathan Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz Arizona State University AZ Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1344438 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833773 September 15, 2008 COMPUGIRLS: A Culturally Relevant Technology Program for Girls. Arizona State University (ASU) in collaboration with Phoenix Union High School District, Scottsdale Union High School District, Roosevelt District, Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley-Sacaton, Intel, Applied Learning Technologies Institute, Dynamic Educational Leadership for Teachers and Administrators (D.E.L.T.A.), ASU's School of Computing & Informatics, ASU's Video Game Design Camp, and Arizona Council of Black Engineers and Scientists Computer Camp (ACBES), are conducting a culturally relevant multimedia program strategy, COMPUGIRLS. Drawing on three well-documented frameworks, Culturally Relevant Pedagogical practices (CRP), Social Justice Youth Development Framework, and Future Time Perspective, this after-school and summer program fosters in IT/STEM related outcomes for 100 adolescent (grades 8-12) girls from several Phoenix high needs districts and schools. COMPUGIRLS takes place at two sites, ASU and the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley-Sacaton. Already, 40 girls have completed one-year of the program. This project expands the program to include another 60 students, their parents, ASU graduate students and in-service teachers, and peer mentors. COMPUGIRLS provides hands-on technology experiences that include internships, Advanced Placement credit, conference and community presentations, and parent workshops that will ultimately develop participants' techno-social analytic skills for real world problems. As part of their experience, students visit ASU. For many, this is the first time they have been on a college campus. Students participate in 6 multimedia courses: 1) social justice and the media, 2) SCRATCH, user-friendly computer programming, 3) modding SIMS, designing, modifying, and troubleshooting simplified simulations, 4) choice of 3-D, programming, and character design, 5) advanced choice of 3-D, programming, and character design, and 6) teamwork to create neighborhoods in Sim City using all skills learned. Participants' projects will be disseminated semi-annually through community ceremonies, web pages, and presentations. The project builds upon a pilot program (Summer 2007 to present) that accommodated 40 girls from under-resourced districts in the Phoenix metro area. The COMPUGIRLS program is a two-year curriculum using multimedia activities as a means of encouraging computational thinking. The project advances understanding of how to encourage girls (including girls from underrepresented groups) to pursue ICT fields. It builds upon established research and includes evaluation of the impact on participants' computational thinking, techno-social analytical skills, attitudes about and interest in pursuing further education and careers in ICT/STEM fields. The goals are: 1) To use multimedia activities as a means of encouraging computational thinking; 2) To enhance girls' techno-social analytical skills; and 3) To provide the building blocks for Arizona girls from underrepresented groups to successfully traverse an ICT and/or any work force roadmap. The evaluation of the project consists of a mixed-methods approach (qualitative and quantitative), incorporating the use of survey instruments, student journals, focus groups, interviews, document review, observation and an intensive case study. A comparison/control group is incorporated into the pre- and post-test design to determine the extent the participants' skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors changed relative to where they would have been without participation in the project. ITEST DRL EHR Scott, Kimberly Sethuraman Panchanathan Gregory Aist Jenefer Husman Elisabeth Hayes Arizona State University AZ Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 853051 7227 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0833777 October 1, 2008 Strategies: Building IT and Career Self-Efficacy in Young Women by Entering and Measuring the Universe: The Universe Quest. The University of California's Space Sciences Laboratory, in collaboration with ASA Academy and Community Science Center, Girl Scouts of Northern California, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, will implement the Universe Quest (UQ) project. Additional project partners include Sightspeed Video Conferencing and Quest G, a leading video game developer. Universe Quest will provide a total of 180 girls ages 13-16 from underrepresented populations in Oakland and Richmond with a unique opportunity to learn IT skills in the context of studying the universe with modern technology. The three year project includes hands-on astronomy activities; image processing and SQL query development; bi-monthly family sessions; technology talks (live and via videoconferencing); community service; internships at technology companies; and leadership development. Young women will also have a chance to author journeys and challenges in a multi-user Universe Quest Internet game. To reach a broader group of participants, in years 2 and 3 girls will be introduced to Universe Quest through weekend and follow-up sessions at the Lawrence Hall of Science (140 students at the Lawrence Hall and 40 students in the intensive ASA track). Universe Quest Teaching Assistants will be drawn from UC-Berkeley and include young women pursuing science and technology degrees. This project exposes participants to multiple paths in IT careers. A comprehensive evaluation plan measures IT skills, self-efficacy, and STEM career interests, while a longitudinal study will track students for 12 months to ascertain how science career efficacy and STEM career interest change over time and how the change is related to extended participation in UQ. Although this project will directly reach 180 girls with intensive and introductory experiences, the completed Universe Quest game will be disseminated broadly not only to Girl Scouts of Northern California, but to more than 3 million girls nationally as part of the Girls Go Tech initiative. ITEST DRL EHR Pennypacker, Carlton University of California-Berkeley CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1475277 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833779 April 1, 2009 Bio-ITEST: New Frontiers in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. The Bio-ITEST program is a model designed to provide secondary science teachers with the knowledge, skills, and resource materials to engage their students in the newly developing fields of bioinformatics and computational biology, ensuring that students will be able to participate in these important new workforce areas. The goals of the Bio-ITEST program are to increase teacher and student understanding of the application of information technologies in the biological sciences, the ethical implications of the acquisition and use of biological information, and the career possibilities in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology. The Bio-ITEST program will address these goals by developing: (1) an annual two-week professional development and career awareness summer workshop for 25 secondary science teachers; (2) additional shorter workshops for 50 teachers annually; (3) a year-round online program for participating science teachers; (4) original, research-oriented high school curricular materials on bioinformatics and careers in bioinformatics; (5) mentorship opportunities for high school students annually in bioinformatics; (6) student research projects that will be showcased at a juried Student Biotech Expo; and (7) broader dissemination of curricular materials to teachers across the country through STEM networks, websites, and professional development conferences. Leading education outreach, technology, community college, and bioinformatics organizations in the Pacific Northwest will collaborate to develop and implement the Bio-ITEST program. The primary partners include the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR), the Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology, Geospiza, and Bellevue Community College. ITEST DRL EHR Chowning, Jeanne Sandra Porter Karen Peterson Northwest Association for Biomedical Research WA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1308492 7227 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0833984 September 1, 2008 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program. Intellectual Merit: This proposal seeks funding to support the continuation of the National Science Foundation?s participation in the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows Program. The 1994 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Act gave official responsibility for overall administration of the program to the Department of Energy (DOE). The Triangle Coalition manages the program on behalf of DOE. The fellowship program is designed to provide opportunities for teachers to work on educational issues and/or programs in a federal agency or congressional office. It is guided by the following objectives: ? To provide outstanding elementary and secondary mathematics, science and technology education teachers the opportunity to bring to Congress and appropriate branches of the Federal government the insights, extensive knowledge, and practical experience of classroom teachers; ? To increase the understanding, communication, and cooperation between Congress and Federal agencies; ? To increase the understanding, communication and cooperation between the Federal government and the science, technology and mathematics education community; and ? To gain insights and understanding of national educational issues, which can then be transferred back to the classroom. The program promotes professional growth in STEM areas; fosters the exchange of ideas that are relevant to STEM education at the national and state levels through conferences, meetings, workshops, and presentations; provides opportunities for teachers to have input at levels were STEM policymaking decisions are made; and awards outstanding teachers for their contributions to STEM education. Funding for this proposal is sought for a three-year period to support the participation of up to eight Fellows for each year of the project duration. These Fellows will be guests of the Foundation for eleven months beginning September 2008 through July 2009. The following directorates/offices at NSF in which Fellows will serve are determined by the individual Program Officers and may vary from year to year. Beginning September 2008, the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings; Division of Graduate Education; Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship; Polar Programs; Directorate of Geosciences; Office of International Science and Engineering; and the Office of Cyberinfrastructure will host Fellows in FY09. Broader Impacts: The proposer outlined a wide range of activities for the Fellows that involve other federal agencies, governmental officials, and business partners. It is likely that the Foundation will benefit from classroom experiences shared by these teachers during their tenure at NSF. The program offers opportunities for teacher to make connections between the larger policymaking body and educational research, thereby, resulting in a win-win situation for both teachers and the Foundation. Additionally, the program provides opportunities for teachers to learn from and build networks with other teachers nationally and internationally. UNDISTRIBUTED PANEL/IPA FUNDS DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 ADVANCED TECH EDUCATION PROG GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ablott, Vance Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education VA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 998675 9199 7645 7412 7179 5130 1733 SMET 9177 1079 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0835381 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Enabling Robust Learning with Conceptual Personalization Technologies. Personalized instruction instruction that targets individual students' unique learning needs and builds upon their prior knowledge is critical for supporting effective science learning. The primary goal in this project is to support robust learning with personalization strategies using natural language technologies. The project is a three-institution collaboration between the University of Colorado, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and the University of Utah. It has two objectives: the technology objective is to create domain-independent techniques to create personalization algorithms. The learning science objective is to measure the effect of these algorithms on learning. The project focuses on robust learning, i.e., learning the supports transfer and the promotion of meta-cognitive skills. The subject matter is earth science and biology. The proposed techonology would operate as follows. Firstly, the system uses state-of-the-art statistical natural language processing methods (mainly latent semantic analysis) to automatically process learning resources (primarily texts) in order to create a domain knowledge map. This includes automatically identifying core concepts. Secondly, during learning sessions, the system would analyze students' essays to dynamically construct a domain knowledge map of the students' responses (and an assessment of student understanding). Using graph matching techniques, the system evaluates the student's response, including determining what concepts were missing or misunderstood. Finally, the system uses recommendation engine methods to suggest web resources that could help the student understand the material. For learning assessment, the project uses a 2 (technology or none) by 2 (domain of study) mixed research design using a sample of 40 students. The intent of this project is to make science learning and teaching more effective. The project draws upon a rich set of new tools for analyzing textual materials. The tools serve several functions. They initially allow the analysis of text course materials to automatically develop a description of the core concepts embedded in the texts. The tools then assess essays that the students write about the core materials to determine their individual level of understanding. The tools then provide feedback to the individual students regarding missing or misunderstood concepts. This feedback includes references to the text materials that comprise the course of study and references to additional internet resources that the individual students can use to better understand scientific concepts in biology and earch sciences. This research builds upon 15 years of work on semantic analysis of texts. The research is significant because it works for any subject area and, since it is automated, it can scale nationwide. REESE DRL EHR Devaul, Holly University Corporation For Atmospheric Res CO John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 26329 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0835383 August 1, 2009 Dynamic Support for Virtual Math Teams. Free on-line learning promises to transform the educational landscape of the United States through a significant broadening of supplemental educational opportunities for low income and minority students who do not have access to high quality private tutoring to supplement their in school education. The proposed solution is to develop a technological augmentation to available human support in a lightly staffed Virtual Math Teams (VMT) environment as well as deploying conversational agents that are triggered by automatically detected conversational events and that have the ability to elicit valuable collaborative behavior such as reflection, help seeking, and help provision. This project brings together expertise in technological development and careful experimentation both in the lab and in the classroom, a track record for large scale deployment of educational materials, and a solid foundation in significant student learning results in collaborative environments. The project builds on results from a pilot project in which the team has built VMT-Basilica, which is a technical infrastructure for supporting collaborative problem solving, as well as having conducted pilot studies with it in an on-line setting with promising results. The VMTs use the infrastructure provided by the Math Forum. This project also contributes to the general development of intelligent agents to aid collaboration in a wide variety of settings where collaboration support is needed. By bringing together research in education environments and in computer based intelligent agents, this project is potentially transformative in both computer science and mathematics education. The project has the potential to bring mathematics to a national community since the development of these agents will substantially reduce the amount of time a human must monitor VMT collaborations. VMTs operate primarily out of the classroom and act as supplemental work for students learning mathematics. In addition, since the collaboration support provided by these agents is not specific to mathematics problem solving, agent supported collaboration could be expanded to any field where collaboration needs to be supported - from education to business to the military. REESE DRL EHR Stahl, Gerry Stephen Weimar Drexel University PA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 97173 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0116000 Human Subjects 0835393 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Enabling Robust Learning with Conceptual Personalization Technologies. Personalized instruction instruction that targets individual students' unique learning needs and builds upon their prior knowledge is critical for supporting effective science learning. The primary goal in this project is to support robust learning with personalization strategies using natural language technologies. The project is a three-institution collaboration between the University of Colorado, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and the University of Utah. It has two objectives: the technology objective is to create domain-independent techniques to create personalization algorithms. The learning science objective is to measure the effect of these algorithms on learning. The project focuses on robust learning, i.e., learning the supports transfer and the promotion of meta-cognitive skills. The subject matter is earth science and biology. The proposed techonology would operate as follows. Firstly, the system uses state-of-the-art statistical natural language processing methods (mainly latent semantic analysis) to automatically process learning resources (primarily texts) in order to create a domain knowledge map. This includes automatically identifying core concepts. Secondly, during learning sessions, the system would analyze students' essays to dynamically construct a domain knowledge map of the students' responses (and an assessment of student understanding). Using graph matching techniques, the system evaluates the student's response, including determining what concepts were missing or misunderstood. Finally, the system uses recommendation engine methods to suggest web resources that could help the student understand the material. For learning assessment, the project uses a 2 (technology or none) by 2 (domain of study) mixed research design using a sample of 40 students. The intent of this project is to make science learning and teaching more effective. The project draws upon a rich set of new tools for analyzing textual materials. The tools serve several functions. They initially allow the analysis of text course materials to automatically develop a description of the core concepts embedded in the texts. The tools then assess essays that the students write about the core materials to determine their individual level of understanding. The tools then provide feedback to the individual students regarding missing or misunderstood concepts. This feedback includes references to the text materials that comprise the course of study and references to additional internet resources that the individual students can use to better understand scientific concepts in biology and earch sciences. This research builds upon 15 years of work on semantic analysis of texts. The research is significant because it works for any subject area and, since it is automated, it can scale nationwide. REESE DRL EHR Sumner, Tamara James Martin University of Colorado at Boulder CO John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 144022 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0835395 July 1, 2009 Dynamic Haptic Geometry in Elementary and Undergraduate Classrooms. This project combines the dynamic geometry environment of The Geometer's Sketchpad® with haptic technology, particularly force feedback devices. The project is creating a series of geometric activities specifically focused on 2D figures and shapes as well as some simple 3D surfaces and solids, to enable users of various ages to explore the properties of these objects with various senses. The project combines these technology goals with learning goals that aim to provide better access to a wider variety of students, including underrepresented groups, in science, engineering, and mathematics. The Principal Investigator (PI) will conduct a series of informal after-school experiments at the James J. Kaput Center for Research and Innovation in Mathematics Education and then develop formal classroom interventions with primary school students in local schools. The PI will also extend these activities to engineering and mathematics undergraduate classrooms at the University of Massachusetts. The project will document, using data collected from the technological environment and other instruments, how students discover properties of mathematical objects within this new environment and develop formal argumentation, how this varies across age group, and how it can be integrated into formal classroom settings. The data will also be used to refine the design of the system. The aim of the project is to discover what impact fusing a second modal input of feel to sight achieves in terms of engaging students of a variety of ages into exploring geometric concepts, and observe what kinds of mathematical activities can be designed that are significantly different to those using traditional forms of instruction. It will evaluate the practicality and educational benefits of integrating such technology. The project builds a new functionality on top of The Geometer's Sketchpad® software, and because of Sketchpad's huge impact and adoption by classrooms across the world holds the promise a potentially transformation of how mathematics, in particular geometric concepts, are understood by students. REESE DRL EHR Hegedus, Stephen Nicholas Jackiw University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth MA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 196530 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0116000 Human Subjects 0835426 August 1, 2009 Dynamic Support for Virtual Math Teams. Free on-line learning promises to transform the educational landscape of the United States through a significant broadening of supplemental educational opportunities for low income and minority students who do not have access to high quality private tutoring to supplement their in school education. The proposed solution is to develop a technological augmentation to available human support in a lightly staffed Virtual Math Teams (VMT) environment as well as deploying conversational agents that are triggered by automatically detected conversational events and that have the ability to elicit valuable collaborative behavior such as reflection, help seeking, and help provision. This project brings together expertise in technological development and careful experimentation both in the lab and in the classroom, a track record for large scale deployment of educational materials, and a solid foundation in significant student learning results in collaborative environments. The project builds on results from a pilot project in which the team has built VMT-Basilica, which is a technical infrastructure for supporting collaborative problem solving, as well as having conducted pilot studies with it in an on-line setting with promising results. The VMTs use the infrastructure provided by the Math Forum. This project also contributes to the general development of intelligent agents to aid collaboration in a wide variety of settings where collaboration support is needed. By bringing together research in education environments and in computer based intelligent agents, this project is potentially transformative in both computer science and mathematics education. The project has the potential to bring mathematics to a national community since the development of these agents will substantially reduce the amount of time a human must monitor VMT collaborations. VMTs operate primarily out of the classroom and act as supplemental work for students learning mathematics. In addition, since the collaboration support provided by these agents is not specific to mathematics problem solving, agent supported collaboration could be expanded to any field where collaboration needs to be supported - from education to business to the military. REESE DRL EHR Rose, Carolyn Carnegie-Mellon University PA John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 100142 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0116000 Human Subjects 0835454 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Enabling Robust Learning with Conceptual Personalization Technologies. Personalized instruction ? instruction that targets individual students? unique learning needs and builds upon their prior knowledge ? is critical for supporting effective science learning. The primary goal in this project is to support robust learning with personalization strategies using natural language technologies. The project is a three-institution collaboration between the University of Colorado, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and the University of Utah. It has two objectives: the technology objective is to create domain-independent techniques to create personalization algorithms, and the learning science objective is to measure the effect of these algorithms on learning. The project focuses on robust learning, i.e., learning the supports transfer and the promotion of meta-cognitive skills. The subject matter is earth science and biology. The proposed techonology would operate as follows. Firstly, the system uses state-of-the-art statistical natural language processing methods to automatically process learning resources (primarily texts) in order to create a domain knowledge map. This includes automatically identifying core concepts in a treatment of the subject matter. Secondly, during learning sessions, the system would analyze students' essays to dynamically construct a domain knowledge map of the students' responses (and an assessment of student understanding). Using graph matching techniques, the system evaluates the student's response, including determining what concepts were missing or misunderstood. Finally, the system uses recommendation engine methods to suggest web resources that could help the student understand the material. This project, by automating many of the processes to identify knowledge and key concepts, has the potential to transform learning. The system is independent of the domain of learning so it can be used for any area of science. The system also does not depend upon skilled teachers ? so it can be effectively used in under-served schools. REESE DRL EHR Butcher, Kirsten University of Utah UT John Cherniavsky Continuing grant 37049 7625 SMET 9177 1707 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0835614 September 15, 2008 CDI-Type II: What drives the dynamic creation of science?. This multidisciplinary project draws upon sociology, computer science, and linguistics to study how ideas are created and propagate through scientific communities, how these communities are formed and change over time, and how multidisciplinary networks spanning these communities shape scientific innovation. It creates sophisticated new computational models for extracting and representing ideas and measuring their impact and novelty, and for extracting and representing social relations and identifying forms of multidisciplinary collaboration. Its methods integrate the network analytic tools of social science with the language processing tools of computer science. It uses network analysis to improve the ability of computational tools to identify ideas in scientific texts, as well as the tools of computational linguistics to help explain the co-evolution of scientific collaborations and innovations. The models of ideas and their diffusion can be used to investigate hypotheses such as whether multidisciplinary research accelerates or decelerates scientific innovation, and how multidisciplinarity influences student and faculty careers. A relatively shallow but large-scale study of the MEDLINE corpus is combined with a richer organization-level study of Stanford University faculty (their publications, grants, affiliations, advising, and teaching) in order to explore and analyze the complex interrelationships of innovation and multidisciplinary collaboration. The research agenda of this project is to produce new and unique data, create new computational tools, and extend theory so that scholars change their conceptions of scientific innovation, multidisciplinarity, and research communities more generally. The integration of social network and natural language processing techniques is helping to develop a new vein of research in computational social science, simultaneously offering empirical rigor and scale to the sociology of science and extending natural language processing from its previous engineering focus toward true explanatory social science models. CDI TYPE II DRL EHR McFarland, Daniel Walter Powell Daniel Jurafsky Christopher Manning Stanford University CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 1186174 7751 OTHR 7725 7721 7751 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0836099 August 15, 2008 SGER: Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Writing Scientific Explanations. Although the focus on evidence-based explanations is prevalent in the science education research literature, few concrete examples exist of what this inquiry practice looks like when successfully implemented in the classroom. The co-PIs have developed the middle school comprehensive science curriculum, Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST), which emphasizes scientific explanation and argument through out. Based on the workshops with the teachers testing IQWST and the research accompanying that development, a book linking current science education research to classroom practice is to be written and tested. The book provides concrete written and video examples of student explanations and arguments, along with accompanying professional development facilitator materials. The examples include a variety of different contexts in terms of content and diversity of students. Teachers are supported in incorporating various instructional strategies in their own teaching. The framework of claim, evidence, reasoning and rebuttal is made explicit for both teachers and students. These materials take the theoretical ideas and illustrate what they look like in actual classroom practice to educate inservice and preservice teachers, teacher educators and professional development providers. In addition, research is done with twenty-five teachers to determine the impact of the materials on teachers' beliefs and classroom practice around scientific explanation. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR McNeill, Katherine Boston College MA Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 198578 7645 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0836206 September 15, 2008 SGER: Learning Science: Computer Games, Simulations, and Education. Computer gaming and simulations enjoy great popularity and are used by the military and corporate world to enhance training. Their potential to support science learning, however, is relatively untapped. The Board on Science Education (BOSE) at the National Research Council (NRC) proposes to hold a two-day workshop to explore the connections between what is known about science learning and computer gaming and simulations, the role computer gaming and simulations could play in assessing learning, and the pathways by which they could be used on a large scale. The workshop will be the basis for the development of a research agenda to gain a better of understanding of how gaming and simulations can support learning and assessment in science. REESE DRL EHR Schweingruber, Heidi National Academy of Sciences DC John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 200000 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0836351 September 15, 2008 Developing Core Mathematics Skills in an Adult Education Context: Applying CRESST POWERSOURCE to Naval Recruit Training. This is a SGER proposal for the field testing of a promising formative assessment-based mathematics intervention in the civilian sector. The original intervention, from which the civilian intervention will be co-developed, focuses on building mathematics knowledge and reasoning skills in Navy recruits - these are basic skills necessary to meet Navy technical and job demand requirements. This SGER supports the co-development of the civilian sector intervention. The skills the Navy needs in basic mathematics are the same skills necessary to meet basic technical job requirements in the civilian sector - essentially pre-algebra and algebra skills. The project will use CRESST's POWERSOURCE middle school mathematics intervention for this study. The majority of Navy recruits deficient in mathematics are from under represented communities - these are the same communities that are a disadvantage in the civilian workforce because of their lack of basic mathematics skills. The project will produce materials appropriate for use in vocational schools, 2 year colleges, and for remedial mathematics in 4 year institutions. REESE DRL EHR Baker, Eva University of California-Los Angeles CA John Cherniavsky Standard Grant 200000 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0836362 April 1, 2009 Genes to Ecosystems. "Genes to Ecosystems" is a Communicating Research to Public Audiences (CRPA) proposal based upon the Dr. Thomas Whitham's NSF funded research (#0425908 "Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research (FBIR): Ecological Genomics and Heritability: Consequences of Extended Phenotypes"). "Genes to Ecosystems" has two main educational objectives: to introduce a wide sector of the public to new ways of looking at ecosystems, and to show how science happens, with practical outcomes that are meaningful to the public. The CRPA request will support the production of a one-hour documentary film, podcasts, a stand-alone DVD, and radio segments for "Earth Notes." These deliverables are targeted to informal learners and public television viewers in the western United States. The documentary will follow a research project begun in 1982 which demonstrates how genetic variation within a foundation species--in this case cottonwood trees--impacts community members ranging from microbes to mega-fauna. The concept of genes-to-ecosystems has introduced new ways of understanding ecosystems which have practical implications for conserving biodiversity, ecological restoration, coping with climate change, and other public policy issues. The project will be managed by the PI, Dr. Thomas Whitham, and co-PI, Daniel Boone, both at Northern Arizona University. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Whitham, Thomas Daniel Boone Northern Arizona University AZ Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0836856 September 15, 2008 An Assessment of Education Research Doctorate Programs. The American Education Research Association (AERA) in conjunction with the National Academy of Education (NAEd) will conduct a multidimensional study of research doctorate programs in education to parallel the large-scale assessment undertaken by the National Research Council (NRC) of 62 other fields. The NRC declined to examine research doctorates in education. Education research is among the largest doctorate-producing fields and the sole one dedicated to understanding science and mathematics education, learning, literacy, and performance. Yet there has been no comprehensive study of research doctorate programs in this field nor has there been an assessment of the state of education and training. Like the NRC assessment, the AERA-NAEd study assesses the characteristics and quality of education research doctorate programs through (1) quantitative data based on questionnaires from institutions, programs, faculty and students; and (2) faculty publication and citation data and dissertation key words. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. will undertake the fieldwork, data cleaning and database preparation. This is the same organization that does the NRC survey, so results from this study can be integrated. REESE GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 DRL EHR Levine, Felice Lorrie Shepard American Educational Research Association DC Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 1943992 7625 7179 SMET 9177 0837898 October 1, 2008 SGER: Learning through Observing and Pitching In to Community Activities. This project aims to advance understanding of how people learn in communities where schooling has not been prevalent Most research on learning has been done with people who have extensive experience in Western schooling, which is often organized with a recognizable structure. Many scholars had practitioners have turned to informal learning as a model for how to develop a broader understanding of learning and to improve instruction. The ultimate goal of this work is to advance understanding of how indigenous-heritage communities' ways of learning about scientific ideas with the expectation that findings and outcomes from this type of research may eventually inform STEM formal and informal learning. REESE DRL EHR Rogoff, Barbara University of California-Santa Cruz CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 197508 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0838137 June 1, 2008 An Investigation of Elementary Teachers' Learning, Understanding and Use of Research-based Knowledge about Students' Mathematical Thinking. This is a Full Scale Research TPC Project that is using classroom and individual teaching experiments, along with numerous and extensive interviews, to investigate how pre- and in-service elementary school teachers construct meaning and pedagogical relevance for research on students' mathematical thinking before, during and after instruction that presents teacher-friendly syntheses of that research. The project is investigating: (a) the nature of teachers' understandings of students' mathematical thinking before and after instruction on that thinking, (b) the processes by which teachers learn about students' mathematical thinking while participating in instruction, (c) factors affecting teachers' learning of this material and (d) effects of learning this material on teachers' conceptualizations of mathematics learning, teaching and assessment (including annual state mathematics assessments). Such research is crucial for designing, implementing and assessing mathematics education programs throughout the teacher professional continuum. It is helping educate teachers to deal with two major forces: teaching mathematics in ways that produce deep conceptual understanding and achieving success in annual state mathematics assessments. Project results are being disseminated through two other grant projects, a "Teachers for a New Era" project and a "PROM/SE NSF MSP" project. TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM DRL EHR Battista, Michael Ohio State University Research Foundation OH David B. Campbell Continuing grant 826226 7271 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0838595 October 1, 2008 Probabilistic models of learning and cognitive development, May 2009 workshop, Banff, Canada. The proposed workshop, to be held at the Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery, aims to capitalize on a major new direction in research on formal models of human cognition, exploring probabilistic models of learning and cognitive development. The technical advances that have been made in the use of probabilistic models over the last twenty years in statistics, computer science, and machine learning have made this research enterprise possible, resulting in a set of mathematical and computational tools that can be used to build explicit models of psychological phenomena. By indicating the conclusions that a rational learner might draw from the data provided by experience, Bayesian models can be used to investigate how nature and nurture contribute to human knowledge. Although computational models have been used to aid empirical research on learning in the past, the lack of communication and collaboration between formal theorists and experimental laboratories has always been a stumbling block. This workshop will bring together two groups of researchers: experts in computational modeling and scientists studying cognitive development. The goal is both to report and to discuss the progress we have made so far with existing collaborative research and to foster future collaborations between computational scientists and learning researchers, leading to new insights and new models of how people learn and develop. A special emphasis will be placed on developing strategies of the application of these insights to educational research and practice. REESE DRL EHR Griffiths, Thomas University of California-Berkeley CA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 56982 7625 SMET 9177 0839209 August 15, 2008 Building State Representative Samples by Merging State Administrative Data with National Longitudinal Data to Study Transitions from High School to College. Abstract DRL - 0839209 Building State Representative Samples by Merging State Administrative Data with National Longitudinal Data to Study Transitions from High School to College LoGerfo, Laura National Center for Education Statistics U.S. Department of Education This project augments an NCES data collection effort for the High School Longitudinal Study by including 150 additional schools in up to 10 selected states to create state representative samples of at least 40 schools in each state. NCES will create a contract with a survey organization to collect survey data from students in about 800 schools starting at the 9th grade and following them to age 26. The student, teacher, and parent survey data will be merged with state administrative data. Thus the final data set for these states will include detailed longitudinal data on student education histories, test scores, courses, demographics, and other survey information about parents and teachers. In some of the states the student data will be linked with detailed teacher data. The purpose of this augmentation is to provide support for additional schools to create state samples. NSF will also be involved in planning for future surveys of these students as they reach college age. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST STEM TALENT EXPANSN PGM (STEP) MSP-OTHER AWARDS DRL EHR LoGerfo, Laura Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics DC Larry E. Suter Interagency Agreement 2000000 7645 7625 7259 7227 1796 1793 SMET 9178 9177 7625 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0840016 August 15, 2009 Planning Grant: Natural History of the Horses of the American West. This planning activity will produce a prototype film on Spanish horses and conduct 10 focus group discussions to determine: audience interest, background knowledge, what viewers would like to see in this documentary, language barriers, cultural barriers, and how the film could be structured to help the public and teachers interact with children. The focus groups will target the follow groups: (1) middle school teachers, (2) elementary school teachers, (3) families with young children, (4) Hispanic families, (5) American Indian families, (6) youth ages 13-19, (7) horse lovers and those involved in horse activities, (8) senior citizens and individuals with disabilities, (9) documentary, museum exhibit and website production professionals, and (10) media and museum marketing professionals. The effort is intended to guide development of a PBS documentary, an interactive website, a companion book, and a museum exhibit on the origins, evolution, migration and impact of Spanish horses. STEM content in mathematics, genetics, paleontology, chemistry, evolution, and animal behavior, integrated with history, will be incorporated into the scripts for this diverse array of media platforms. The project also presents an opportunity to present in a very interesting and real sense the scientific process used for discovery. In addition to producing the prototype film and conducting focus group discussions, this planning grant will help to: clarify the responsibilities of all of the participants, especially the international participants; clarify the contributions from each discipline and scientist; plan in detail ways to achieve the greatest understanding with the anticipated diverse audiences; select the best geographic region, graphics, media, and animation; and establish realistic budgets and elements for production and post-production. Collaborators include: New Mexican Horse Project, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Habitat Media, University of New Mexico and Institute for Social Research, Cambridge University, Texas A &M University, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Selinda Research Associates, and PBS. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Polechla, Paul University of New Mexico NM Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 74940 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840039 September 15, 2008 Conference: The African Diaspora: Developing Black Scholars in Science Education for the 21st Century in the United States. This proposal seeks support for a conference/symposium grant to provide an opportunity for African American faculty members in science education to interact with their academic colleagues and enhance their knowledge of research being pursued in science education. It proposes to convene a conference/symposium to develop a cadre of African American science education faculty to research issues surrounding the teaching and learning of science. This cadre of African American faculty will develop a research agenda, submit grant proposals for funding, and submit manuscripts for publication. The overall goal of this project is to improve K-12 teaching and learning by faculty development of the research scholarship of African American science educators in the United States. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Atwater, Mary Malcolm Butler Eileen Parsons University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Julia Clark Standard Grant 100000 7645 SMET 9177 0840065 June 15, 2009 Archaeological Science for All. This project will establish a research foundation for archaeological education in informal learning environments. It will investigate the use of archaeological content and concepts to help museums and other informal learning organizations increase and diversity their audiences. In addition to generating information and a data base, the effort will develop a research framework for presenting this subject to various public audiences with emphasis on underrepresented groups. The plan is to develop and implement a Delphi survey for a variety of stakeholders, including 60 museums, to determine what they do to attract diverse audiences, what is needed to create effective archaeology learning opportunities, and how successful they have been in communicating archaeological content and concepts. The result will be a synthesis that informs a broad spectrum of the informal science education community. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Brody, Michael John Fisher Montana State University MT Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840160 September 1, 2009 Wild Minds: What Animals Really Think. The New York Hall of Science, the Institute for Learning Innovation, Hunter College of the City University of New York, and a consortium of five regional science center/zoo partnerships will collaborate to develop, implement, and evaluate a project with the working title "Wild Minds: What Animals Really Think." It will develop a research-based traveling exhibition for science centers that explores animal cognition and cross-institutional programming strategies for zoos as a case study for the ISE field. The project's primary goal for public audiences is to foster a deeper understanding of similarities between people and animals in terms of cognition, i.e., how we think. Wild Minds will explore two interrelated hypotheses: (1) a deeper insight into how animals think will create or strengthen the awareness of an evolutionary link between animals and humans; and (2) that this sense of a strong connection can stimulate interest in the welfare of animals in the wild and in our homes. The project will create a 1,500 s.f. traveling exhibition with 15-20 exhibit components exploring aspects of animal cognition for general audiences at five major science centers with zoo partners. The Institute for Learning Innovation project will conduct applied research that will expand on the results of the summative evaluation of the exhibition by investigating whether changes in awareness, understanding, and knowledge about action are sustained over time and/or lead to attitudinal change, behavioral intention, and observable behavior. In addition, process research with the science center and zoo collaborators will provide an analysis that will identify factors contributing to or inhibiting an integrated local informal science education infrastructure in a community. The project will also conduct exploratory research to identify the challenges and benefits encountered during collaboration between science centers and zoos. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Weiss, Martin John Fraser Diana Reiss New York Hall of Science NY Orrin Shane Standard Grant 2131193 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840185 September 1, 2009 The Golden Gate Bridge As An Informal Science Education Resource. The Golden Gate Bridge Highway Transportation District (GGBHTD), in collaboration with the Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE), and in partnership with Princeton University, Stanford University, San Jose State University, the Sciencenter (Ithaca, NY), the Exploratorium (San Francisco), Eyethink, West Wind Laboratory, EHDD Architects, the American Public Works Association, and the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, is conducting a multi-faceted project about the science and engineering of the Golden Gate Bridge and about how public works facilities around the country can potentially become sites for public understanding of and engagement with science and engineering. GGBHTD, which operates and maintains the bridge, ferries and buses, hosts over 10-million visitors annually to their current visitor center at the south end of the bridge (San Francisco), serves an additional 2-million users of their ferries, and hosts a popular Web site (http://goldengatebridge.org/). The project deliverables are scheduled to coincide in 2012 with the 75th anniversary of the 1937 opening of the bridge. Educational products include: outdoor exhibits at the Golden Gate Bridge; exhibits about the bridge on the District's ferries; indoor exhibits at the Exploratorium; an expanded Web site with educational material about the bridge; an international conference in San Francisco around the time of the anniversary about public works as sites for informal science education; educational documents and a professional development program for public works staff from around the country; and a suite of publications for the public and professionals on public works research. The project involves a coordinated evaluation effort. Front-end and formative evaluation activities are being conducted by Inverness Research Associates. Summative evaluation will be conducted by David Heil & Associates. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mulligan, Denis Robert Reitherman Maria Garlock Golden Gate Bridge Highway Transportation District CA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 972415 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0840186 August 1, 2009 "Go-Botany: Integrated Tools to Advance Botanical Learning. The New England Wild Flower Society, in collaboration with the Yale Peabody Museum, Montshire Museum of Science, and the Chewonki Foundation, is implementing the Go-Botany project, a multi-faceted, web-based botany user interface. "Go-Botany: Integrated Tools to Advance Botanical Learning," improves botanical education by opening plant study to a larger and more diverse segment of the population including novices, citizen scientists, and informal science educators. The project is designed to integrate a variety of web tools and mobile communication devices to facilitate learning about botany and plant conservation with a focus on native and naturalized plants in New England. Project deliverables include an online database of New England plants; online keys to over 4,000 species of New England flora; a customizable user interface; My Plants personal webpages; an outdoor exhibit that incorporates mobile resources; training programs for informal science educators and educational programs for the public. Projected impacts include increased attraction to and engagement in botanical learning for public audiences and improved teaching abilities by informal science education professionals through the application of user friendly, digital resources on mobile communication devices. Go-Botany significantly impacts the field of informal science education by changing the way that informal learners learn about plants by removing barriers through the use of free online materials, mentoring, and user created resources. This project is projected to reach over 46,000 youth, adults, and informal educators in workshops and via the Go-Botany website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lowenberg, Gregory William Brumback Arthur Haines New England Wild Flower Society MA Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 754399 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840188 September 1, 2009 STARS: Science Through Astronomical Research of Stars. The 2009 International Year of Astronomy coincides with the dimming and brightening of a variable star that can be seen with the naked eye. The American Association of Variable Star Observers and the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum are organizing a new citizen program called STARS (Science Through Astronomical Research) that engages 8,000 amateur astronomers and non-astronomers in measuring brightness changes in the star Epsilon Aurigae, analyzing their observational data, and developing and testing their own explanatory hypotheses. The goals of the project are to increase public understanding of science by involving citizens in active research on an accessible, yet enigmatic astronomical phenomenon, and disseminate lessons learned to other citizen science programs. A mixed methods evaluation study is monitoring the implementation and impact of the program. The project should (1) increase the number of non-astronomers who take up astronomy as a hobby, (2) increase the number of amateur astronomers who participate in other citizen science-related astronomical activities (for example, sky surveys), and (3) increase the number of non-science oriented citizens who become more interested in science. A research study is investigating how a large-scale informal citizen science project changes public understanding of scientific inquiry. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Henden, Arne Robert Stencel Michael Raddick Charles Price Lucy Fortson American Association of Variable Star Observrs MA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 424624 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840230 September 15, 2009 Communities of Learning For Urban Environments and Science. The Philadelphia-Camden Informal Science Education Collaborative (PISEC), which is composed of four museums and eight community-based organizations (CBOs), is creating a new model of learning and professional development for underserved communities in the Philadelphia area. The goals of the Communities of Learning for Urban Environments and Science (CLUES) project are to (1) increase underserved families' interest in, understanding of, and engagement with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through involvement in hands-on experiences that address their interests and are relevant to their lives, (2) build and support informal STEM leaders in community-based organizations, and (3) disseminate information about a new model for community outreach and capacity building for museum and CBOs. The project is producing a two-tiered professional development program for CBO members, STEM learning programs developed by project-trained Apprentices and Presenters, and evaluation findings about the project's impact on focal audiences. The numerical impact of the project is an estimated 16,000 individuals in family groups participating in project-related STEM activities. The project will also train 32 CBO-based Apprentices and 64 Presenters from eight CBOs. The project's strategic impacts are three-fold: (1) building STEM education capacity within eight selected Philadelphia area CBOs, (2) increasing STEM awareness and interest of CBO-affiliated family groups, and (3) increasing awareness and understanding by the field of another community-based model for developing and delivering science education in informal settings. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Wenger, Angela Minda Borun Jacqueline Genovesi Barbara Kelly Linda Cairnes New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences NJ David A. Hanych Continuing grant 431595 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0840233 May 1, 2009 Engaging Latino Audiences in Informal Science Education. Engaging Latinos in Informal Science Education is designed to address the low participation rate of Latino youth and adults in activities conducted by parks, refuges, nature centers, and other informal science education venues. The project objectives are to expand upon existing studies that attempt to identify barriers to Latino participation, work with communities to identify the tools needed to overcome barriers, and utilize the tools in established programs. Surveys and interviews conducted with Latino communities are designed to identify key measures that will improve participation in informal learning programs which are then implemented in the International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) program. Park Flight international interns from Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and the US will work in Latino communities near seven sites that host annual IMBD. Deliverables include a comprehensive technical report resulting from the analysis of surveys and a toolkit to promote the involvement of Latino communities in informal science education. The multi-stage evaluation includes the annual evaluation of participation levels at seven treatment and five control sites, pilot testing of the key strategies for family involvement identified in the survey results, and formative evaluation of the project toolkit. Project partners are the National Park (NPS) Service, NPS Park Flight Migratory Bird Program, Colorado State University, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, PRBO Conservation Services, and six national parks. Strategic impact will be realized through the development and national dissemination of the project toolkit to almost 1000 partner offices across the US. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Bonfield, Susan Carol Beidleman Environment for the Americas CO Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 136686 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840250 September 15, 2009 Hidden Universe: A 3D Giant Screen Film and Outreach Project. Hidden Universe is a multi-faceted project built around production of a 2D/3D giant screen film. The goal is to inspire, engage, and excite viewers about the mysterious worlds hidden around us and the science and technology that reveal them. The film will illuminate natural wonders that are invisible to the naked eye, such as objects and processes that are too slow, too fast, and too small to be seen without advanced technologies. It will include nanoscience and microbiology research and developing wavelength technologies such as ultrafast lasers. The project will employ cutting-edge technology to bring arresting footage of micro- and nanobiology to the giant screen to offer audiences (1) deeper understanding of natural phenomena that comes through observation and (2) greater appreciation of modern technology that makes such observation possible. The film story will focus on demonstrating science as inquiry and underscore the crucial link between scientific inquiry and technological advances. The film project will be enhanced with educational outreach materials, professional development opportunities for educators, and an interactive website. Hidden Universe will be produced by the large format team at National Geographic's Cinema Ventures group and its production partner Blacklight Films. The project brings to the table the extensive resources of the National Geographic Society. In addition, the project will partner with a select group of scientific research centers (Chester Carlson Center for Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Nanobiotechnology Center at Cornell) and leaders in informal education (Boston Museum of Science and Girl Scouts) to extend the reach and impact of the project. The project will add to its list of partners by working with the D.C. Public Schools and Teach for America to find new ways to intersect with teachers and students in underserved areas. The project will employ Multimedia Research and Knight-Williams Research Communications to conduct the project's formative and summative evaluations, respectively. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Truitt, Lisa National Geographic Television DC Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 247000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840266 February 15, 2009 The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements (Planning Grant). The periodic table of chemical elements is an array that is confusing to the uninformed and profoundly simplifying and full of crucial information to the informed. It represents some of the most basic information for the construction of what people see, feel and breathe. Due to the table's complex appearance and the way it is described; many individuals shun its informative base. This proposal is a planning grant application that intends to develop a multi-media presentation, which includes TV, web site, a teachers DVD, and an outreach plan, to bridge this knowledge gap in a user freindly manner. It will make educating minority children one of its priorities. The basic premise for their bridge is that people will better grasp the aspects of the chemical elements if they humanize the elements by discussing them as products of scientists and that scientists are people. The success of this effort is critical. While chemistry affects every aspect of human life, it is one of the least understood sciences. If successful, this project may well pave the way for additional programming. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lyons, Stephen Filmmakers Collaborative, Inc. MA Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0840271 August 1, 2009 Cosmic Vision Planning Grant. This planning grant award addresses the subject of cosmology using contemporary film technology. A screen play and film prototype will take viewers from the historical Big Bang phenomena to contemporary thinking on dark energy and matter. STEM disciplines incorporated within this project are mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry and geology, in addition to astronomy. An additional significant issue in this award will be the effort to form a network of dome and planetarium theaters. Such an organization could facilitate promotion and evaluation of this project and future projects. In the future, the network will be positioned to assess the differences in educational impact from large format flat screen, large format dome screen and planetarium dome presentations. Collaborations on this project include The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, the Mathematics Science Research Institute, and advisors George Smoot and Saul Perlmutter of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Barbara Flagg is the project evaluator. Specific needs for the planning grant are to: 1. gather formative evaluation on audience parameters; 2. develop a short prototype film and a first draft of the screen play; 3. complete the advisory team; 4. translate the deliverables into Spanish language; 5. evaluate and bid the computer animation facilities; and 5. identify a network of dome and planetarium theaters for their evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kirsch, Jeffrey San Diego Space & Science Foundation CA Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 74630 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840274 May 15, 2009 CYBERCHASE SEASON 8: Take the Summer Math Challenge!. Thirteen/WNET New York requests funds to develop and produce five new Cyberchase episodes, a multi-media Summer Challenge math initiative, plus serialized Web games and an online Cartoon Maker to involve kids in active, creative mathematical thinking. Now in its seventh production season and sixth year of daily PBS broadcast, Cyberchase has helped millions of children acquire a stronger foundation in mathematics. Cyberchase's content spans the 3rd-5th grade standards of the National Council of Mathematics, and targets children aged 8-11. The series goals include: 1) reinforce mathematical knowledge especially during the summer months; 2) expand opportunities for kids' involvement with Cyberchase math activities; 3) and inspire all children to approach math with enthusiasm and confidence. Ancillary materials, outreach, and a highly popular Web site extend the learning and help make Cyberchase the sole mathematics media project available for the target age group. The new season will build on the successful format to model effective problem-solving processes, expand the math-rich Web site and bring Cyberchase to today's new-media platforms to prompt children to do math. Season 8 will especially target the summer, when children's TV viewing goes up, informal educators provide special offerings, and children, especially the under-served, are at risk of losing math growth made during the school year. The Summer Challenge will create a first-ever math summer campaign for PBS Kids. Cyberchase is watched by four million viewers each week. The audience is 40% minority and includes equal numbers of girls and boys. Cyberchase Online receives 1.9 visits a month. The project summative evaluation will study the outcomes and impact on (a) the target-age children (conducted by Multimedia Research) as well as (b) 8 PBS stations and local partners, culminating in a white paper on best practices for presenting informal STEM education in the summer (conducted by RMC Research). Season 8 initiatives will strengthen existing partnerships and forge new collaborations. Existing partnerships include museums, 50 chapters of Girls Inc., National Engineers Week Foundation, PBS stations, Sally Ride Science, Ernst & Young, and new partners MANA (a national Latina organization) and the Girl Scouts. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sheppard, Sandra Michael Templeton Frances Nankin Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 848136 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840297 September 1, 2009 Interconnections: Revisting the Future. The University of Central Florida Media Convergence Laboratory, New York Hall of Science, and the Queens Museum of Art are developing a 3-D, multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) of the 1964/65 New York World's Fair. Virtual fairgoers of all ages will be immersed in an accurately modeled historical world with more than 140 pavilions on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and an array arts and humanities exhibits. The virtual world can be freely explored through self-designed avatars, and avatar-led guided tours. Discovery Points throughout the virtual environment will afford opportunities for in-depth engagement in STEM topics that will empower participants to explore the broader consequences of technological innovations. The centerpiece of user-generated content is FutureFair, an area where online users can create and share their personal visions of the future. Interconnections reaches beyond its virtual component through its partnership with the New York Hall of Science and the Queens Museum of Art, which are both situated in the heart of Queens in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a 1255 acre urban park that hosted the 1939/1940 and 1964/65 Fairs. The New York Hall of Science will provide face-to-face youth workshops that employ problem-based learning. Single and multi-session programs will connect adolescents to STEM content presented at the Fair through the virtual world environment. Participants will create multimedia content for inclusion in the project's website. Multi-touch interactive stations at the Queens Museum of Art will enhance their NY World's Fair Exhibit Hall by empowering visitors to individually or collectively explore various STEM topics and the symbiotic relationships between STEM and the humanities, and by serving as an attractor for visitors to the online Fair exploration. The project will be completed in time for the 50th Anniversary celebration of the 1964 World's Fair. Building upon prior research on learning in virtual worlds, the project team will investigate how STEM concepts are advanced in a simulated multi-user virtual environment and studying the effectiveness of using Virtual Docents as enhancements to the informal learning process. The research and development deliverables have strong potential to advance the state of informal science education, research on modeling and simulation in virtual world development, and education research. Michigan Technological University will conduct the project formative and summative evaluations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Walters, Lori Charles Hughes Michael Moshell Eileen Smith University of Central Florida FL Arlene M. de Strulle Continuing grant 557043 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840302 February 1, 2009 The Children's Sustainability Project Planning. WGBH's newest mission is to develop the Children's Sustainability Project - a daily animated series for kids ages 8-11 that will teach the STEM concepts underlying systems and sustainability. Our promise is that 7-8 kids from around the world become trapped, one by one, in an inventive, multi-leveled video game. The kids, unlikely heros all, are initially happy to be stuck but eventually want desperately to get out of the home. To do this they must become inventive and creative and play the game to the end. Stakes are high and only systems thinking and sustainable actions can save the day. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 74997 7259 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0840307 March 1, 2009 FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, Season Five. FETCH with Ruff Ruffman, produced by WGBH, is a daily half-hour PBS television series with accompanying Web and outreach activities targeted to 6- to 10-year olds. The program brings science learning to young children by uniquely blending live-action with animation, game show convention with reality programming, and humor with academics. The intended impacts of this new season are to 1) help the target audience, especially girls and minorities, develop an interest, knowledge and skills necessary to do science; 2) help kids develop the math skills and knowledge necessary to solve science and engineering problems; and 3) bring FETCH's unique brand of informal science learning to camps across the country. The requested funds will allow the project to expand the science curriculum with 20 new half-hour episodes and expand the Web site, focusing on three new science themes that highlight topics of interest to this age group: "Animal Universe," "Science of Art," and "Adventure Science." The Web site will include four new science-based Web games that will allow kids to create and post content of their own design and interact with other FETCH fans online. In addition, funds will support new educational resources for camps, including a Camp FETCH Guide. The project will continue to work with the project's established collaborators like the Boys and Girls Clubs, Girl Scouts of America, and YMCA, as well expand the outreach via new partnerships with the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University and the American Camp Association. Christine Andrews Paulsen & Associates (CAPA) will conduct summative evaluation of both the television show and the Camp FETCH Guide. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Taylor, Kate WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 985999 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840313 May 15, 2009 The Cryptoclub: Cryptography and Mathematics Afterschool and Online. The Cryptoclub: Cryptography and Mathematics Afterschool and Online is a five -year project designed to introduce middle school students across the country to cryptography and mathematics. Project partners include the Young Peoples Project (YPP), the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and Eduweb, an award-winning educational software design and development firm. The intended impacts on youth are to improve knowledge and interest in cryptography, increase skills in mathematics, and improve attitudes towards mathematics. The secondary audience is leaders in afterschool programs who will gain an increased awareness of cryptography as a tool for teaching mathematics and adopt the program for use in their afterschool programs. Project deliverables include online activities, online cryptography adventure games, interactive offline games, a leader's manual, and training workshops for afterschool leaders. The project materials will be developed in collaboration with YPP staff and pilot tested in Year 3 at local afterschool programs and YPP sites in Chicago in addition to four national sites. Field testing and dissemination occurs in Year 4 at both local sites in Chicago and national locations such as afterschool programs, science centers, and community programs. Six 3-day training workshops will be provided (2 per year in Years 3-5) to train afterschool leaders. It is anticipated that this project will reach up to 11,000 youth, including underserved youth in urban settings, and 275 professional staff. Strategic impact resulting from this project includes increased awareness of cryptography as a STEM topic with connections to mathematics as well a greater understanding of effective strategies for integrating and supporting web-based and offline activities within informal learning settings. The Cryptoclub project has the potential to have a transformative impact on youth and their understanding of cryptography and may serve as a national model for partnerships between afterschool and mentoring programs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Beissinger, Janet Susan Goldman Bonnie Saunders Daria Tsoupikova University of Illinois at Chicago IL Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 1330862 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840320 September 1, 2009 Math Core for Museums. The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) is collaborating with the Museum of Science in Boston (MoS), the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham (NCMLS), Explora in Albuquerque, the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education at San Diego State University (CRMSE), and TERC in Cambridge, MA to develop, create and evaluate "MathCore for Museums," long-term math environments that children can interact with over multiple visits and over several years. The project is prototyping and producing 12 open-source, validated interactive exhibits about proportion: fractions, ratios, similarity, scaling, and percentages, basic concepts for understanding Algebra. The eight best exhibits will be replicated for each MathCore museum and the exhibits will be supported by a limited-access website designed to support and extend repeated use of exhibits and further exploration of ratio and proportion. Selinda Research Associates will conduct a longitudinal evaluation of the project. CRSME will conduct a research study of selected exhibit prototypes to investigate when children start to work on proving relations between similarity and proportion in informal settings, the relationship between children's artwork and mathematical insight, and the roles of bodily activity in learning to see relations in similarity and proportion. Results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications, at professional meetings, at the Association of Science and Technology Center's RAP Sessions at the NCMLS, and through the project's website. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Newlin, J Ricardo Nemirovsky Science Museum of Minnesota MN Orrin Shane Continuing grant 1710976 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840333 May 15, 2009 National Science Festival Network. ABSTRACT The National Science Festivals Project is designed to create a sustainable national network of science festivals that engages all facets of the general public in science learning. Science Festivals, clearly distinct from "science fairs", are community-wide activities engaging professional scientists and informal and K-12 educators targeting underrepresented segments of local communities historically underserved by formal or informal STEM educational activities. The initiative builds on previous work in other parts of the world (e.g. Europe, Australasia) and on recent efforts in the U.S. to create science festivals. The target audiences are families, children and youth ages 5-18, adults, professional scientists and educators in K-12 and informal science institutions, and underserved and underrepresented communities. Project partners include the MIT Museum in Cambridge, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The deliverables include annual science festivals in these four cities supported by year-round related activities for K-12 and informal audiences, a partnership network, a web portal, and two national conferences. Ten science festivals will be convened in total over the 3 years of the project, each reaching 15,000 to 60,000 participants per year. STEM content includes earth and space science, oceanography, biological/biomedical science, bioinformatics, and computer, behavioral, aeronautical, nanotechnology, environmental, and nuclear science. An independent evaluator will systematically assess audience participation and perceptions, level/types of science interest stimulated in target groups, growth of partnering support at individual sites, and increasing interactions between ISE and formal K-12 education. A variety of qualitative and quantitative assessments will be designed and utilized. The project has the potential to transform public communication and understanding of science and increase the numbers of youth interested in pursuing science. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Thompson, Loren Jeremy Babendure University of California-San Diego CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 1023669 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840338 September 1, 2009 Planning Activity: Using contemporary evolution to teach about the nature of science to underserved audiences. Washington State University, the University of Puget Sound, the University of Washington, a consortium of three museums, and a state-wide charter school system that assists home-school teachers in the Northwest are collaborating to develop new strategies to educate and inform the public about evolution through interactive museum exhibits. Background information and baseline knowledge will be garnered through focus group discussions and surveys. Information will be sought from parents and students in home-school environments and teachers of faith-based groups. The planning work is the prelude to development of the actual exhibition and is needed to inform the PIs how most effectively to help the public best learn key concepts of evolution. The same groups that supply the baseline information and knowledge of concepts will be used to judge museum development in an iterative manner. A second objective in this endeavor is to catalyze collaboration among regional museums. Participants in the project will be staff from the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Conner Museum in Pullman, Washington, Slater Museum of Natural History in Tacoma, Washington, Nebraska State Museum, and Idaho Distance Education Academy. An advisory committee includes evolutionary scientists, philosophers of science, and members of the clergy. This project will derive baseline perspectives on evolution from the unique home-school and faith-based communities, piloted interactive exhibits describing contemporary evolution stories, comparative knowledge on whether these participating groups provide useful strategies in the exhibit development, and whether contemporary content exhibits are better at explanations of evolution than the more traditional examples. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Webster, Michael Peter Wimberger Richard Olmstead Carol Anelli Amy Ryken Washington State University WA Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840339 September 15, 2009 California Environmental Legacy Project. ABSTRACT This project seeks to increase science literacy with regard to environmental change. Deliverables include 1) a two-hour public television program (Reinventing California) intended for public television broadcast; 2) five Place-Based Programs located at state and national parks in California; 3) an online educational portal with open source podcast videos and other resources for downloading and use in multiple settings. Intended audiences include California public television viewers, visitors to California state and national parks, and users on line educational resources. The secondary professional audience includes park interpretive staff, scientists, teachers, and media professionals. STEM content includes geology, evolution of species, biodiversity, and climate change. Through strategic partnerships with universities, government agencies, and public television this three year project is creating a new model that builds capacity, and impacts audiences in new ways. The project evaluation and research conducted by the Institute for Learning Innovation will look at how using media which provides an overarching sense of place within the environment can be integrated with place-based programs that add a personal scale to understanding environmental change. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Baxter, James Jeffrey White Kit Tyler David Scheerer University Enterprises, Incorporated CA Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 999098 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0840726 September 15, 2008 Revealing Nature, Generating Insight: Gordon Conference, Workshops & Visionary Grants to Guide Research in Science and Education. The four phase project builds on the successful outcomes of previous Gordon Conferences on Visualization in Science and Education. It brings together roughly 130 leading international researchers and science educators for: two workshops on assessment and design; a Gordon Conference on Visualization in Science and Education; five collaborative Visionary Mini-Grants for exploratory research across interdisciplinary communities; and a post-conference interim workshop for evaluation and planning. The conference has been re-organized in the current proposal to bridge science practice with science education. The sessions are organized around conceptual themes rather than scientific disciplines in order to explore the connections between visualization and understanding. Many of the invited speakers and all of the proposed activities surrounding the conference will be heavily focused on the learning and cognitive aspects of revealing nature and of generating insight. REESE INFO INTEGRATION & INFORMATICS DRL EHR Olson, Arthur The Scripps Research Institute CA Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 238072 7625 7364 SMET 9177 0840883 June 1, 2009 CRPA Biographical Videos of Black, Hispanic, and Native American Female Faculty: Voices of the Few. This Communicating Research to Public Audiences (NSF 03-509) project is based on the PI's current NSF award: SBE-0545361- ADVANCE: Determining national science faculty demographics in order to empower women and guide solutions. This project will help address the need for underrepresented female faculty as role models and mentors in science and engineering. Although the number of female under-represented minority students (URM) in college has been increasing, there are astonishingly low numbers of female URM faculty in each science discipline. This project would produce a series of female URM faculty biographical videos to substitute for the lack of personal contact young women have with these role models. The videos would be widely disseminated through schools, colleges, and minority serving organizations to reach young women. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Nelson, Donna University of Oklahoma Norman Campus OK Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 75000 7259 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0841399 September 15, 2008 Defining Criteria and Good Practice to Facilitate Graduate International Collaborations. Graduate deans and STEM faculty seek clear best practice guidelines on both internal (intra-institutional) and external (inter-institutional) processes to ensure quality and sustainability in international collaborations. To that end, this project is designed to generate a clearer understanding of what is currently known and what is valued, what the current gaps in our understanding are, and what areas call for enhanced clarification in international collaborations between institutions of higher education ranging from joint and dual degree programs to certificates and student and faculty exchange programs. Project activities include: targeted survey and focus group research to understand the perspective and experience of graduate deans and of principal investigators of NSF-projects with international components; the development of a white paper synthesizing what is known about the common challenges institutions face and their particular needs; a hands-on technical workshop for graduate deans and PI?s on the inhibitors and facilitators of international collaboration; and a broader international dissemination meeting that addresses many of these process issues from a global and international perspective. Intellectual Merit National and international organizations and graduate educators and researchers have called for guidance on ?good practice? so they do not each have to ?reinvent the wheel? when seeking to build international collaborations to benefit graduate students in STEM fields. Before such practices can be identified, however, and promoted on a national scale, in a way that meets the context-specific needs of the wide range of institutions representing U.S. graduate education, we need a more comprehensive picture of the variety of issues facing U.S. institutions and graduate programs that takes into account process issues, especially those within the purview of senior institutional leaders and STEM faculty. The proposed synthesis research project addresses a major gap in the current literature on degree and non-degree collaborations, which has focused on European institutions and intra-European partnerships or minimal requirements of a profession. Broader Impact For American students graduating from STEM programs in the U.S. to be competitive in the global economy, it is critical that they have exposure not only to international students but also to international contexts for research and scholarship. This project is designed to engage and benefit institutional leaders and researchers, as well as NSF principal investigators and international policymakers, by producing a set of published materials. CGS will also leverage its various core activities. REESE DRL EHR Denecke, Daniel Diana Carlin Council of Graduate Schools DC Carol F. Stoel Standard Grant 199991 7625 SMET 9177 0841757 October 15, 2008 Expanding and Sustaining Understanding Evolution. The University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) will bring together an experienced group of evolution educators in order to inform the development and maintenance of an effective resource for improving evolution education at the college level. This effort falls under the umbrella of UCMP's highly successful Understanding Evolution (UE) project (http://evolution.berkeley.edu), which currently receives over one million page requests per month during the school year. UE was originally designed around the needs of the K-12 education community; however, increasingly, the site is being used by the undergraduate education community. UCMP intends to embark on an effort to enhance the utility of the UE site for that population, increase awareness of the site at the college level, and secure the project's future so that it can continue to serve K-16 teachers and students. To inform and guide these efforts, UCMP proposes to establish and convene a UE Advisory Board, which will be charged with helping to: (1) identify the characteristics and needs of college-level target learners and their instructors with respect to evolution, (2) articulate the recommended components for expanding the UE site to include an Undergraduate Lounge in which students and their instructors will be able to access a variety of resources for increasing understanding of evolution, (3) develop a strategic plan for increasing awareness of UE within the undergraduate education community, and (4) develop a strategic plan for maintenance and continued growth of the UE site. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 CCLI-Phase 2 (Expansion) DRL EHR Caldwell, Roy University of California-Berkeley CA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 13267 7645 7492 SMET 9177 7645 0843846 March 15, 2009 Leadership Support for Activities of the Board on Science Education. The Board on Science Education (BOSE) of the NRC is a standing committee of the National Academies. This proposal requests core support for BOSE so that it can continue to provide national leadership in science education. Specifically, BOSE (1) improves the knowledge base for science education; (2) identifies critical issues in science education policy and practice; (3) translates research and disseminates evidence-based information; and (4) builds an interdisciplinary community of scholars to bring knowledge to bear on important issues in science education. To carry out its mandate, BOSE conducts studies, sponsors workshop and works with government representatives to surface emerging policy issues. The Board has identified the following priorities for the next few years: ? Intersection on research on learning and science education ? Cyber-enabled learning and teaching ? Analysis of the Education System to enable implementation and scale-up ? Reaching diverse populations ? Intersection of science and science education The core support enables two two-day Board meetings each year, coordination with DBASSE and other units of the Academy, and regular meetings between NSF and the Academies. ALLIANCES-MINORITY PARTICIPAT. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE CCLI-Phase 3 (Comprehensive) INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 DRL EHR Schweingruber, Heidi National Academy of Sciences DC Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 150000 9133 7645 7625 7493 7259 7179 SMET 9179 9178 9177 0843961 July 15, 2009 Understanding the Development of Memory: The Role of the Classroom Context. The proposed work will provide information about the development of memory and academic skills in the context of the elementary school math and language arts classrooms. The project is focusing on the possibility that the kind of mnemonic language used by teachers will affect the kinds of memory strategies used by students which, in term, will influence their STEM learning. By using a combination of longitudinal and experimental methods, the PI will be able to chart the development of memory within individual children across the key first two years of elementary school and to make statements about aspects of the classroom context that serve as mediators of developmental change. The resulting dataset will be unique in the literature. This ongoing experiment represents an important first step in taking basic research outcomes into the schools, but it is essential to expand the extant knowledge base in five critical ways before large-scale interventions can be undertaken profitably. First, given that children's deliberate memory skills most likely build on their earlier competence in autobiographical memory, the project assesses their abilities at school entry to talk with their parents about past events. Second, because of the importance of the initial year of schooling, the project must gauge the impact of instruction in kindergarten on children developing skills. Third, in order to understand more precisely key aspects of teacher's conversations that are associated with children's skill acquisition, the project must expand observations to include small-group as well as whole-group instruction. Fourth, they must replicate the findings obtained to date because they had been derived from a relatively small number of classes. Fifth, they will launch a small-scale intervention study, based on longitudinal and experimental findings, in which a sample of teachers is trained in instructional techniques that are associated with skilled remembering. The students will be assessed on an array of measures of memory skill as well as STEM content learning. REESE DRL EHR Ornstein, Peter University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 273499 7625 SMET 9177 1698 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0844445 June 15, 2009 CAREER: Examining the role of context in the mathematical learning of young children. This project involves a longitudinal, ethnographic study of children's mathematical performances from preschool to first grade in both formal classroom settings and informal settings at school and home. The proposed site for the study is a small, predominately African-American pk-12 school. The study seeks to identify opportunities for mathematical learning by young children across multiple contexts, to map varied performances of mathematical competence by young children, to chart changes in young children's mathematical performance over time, and to design and assess the impact of case studies for teacher education that explore young children's mathematical competencies. Research questions focus on mathematical opportunities for learning in various contexts, children's development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions over time, the characteristics of competent mathematical performances, and the role of case studies in helping beginning teachers to understand young minority children's mathematical thinking. Data collected will include video tapes of classroom activities, written fieldnotes of formal and informal settings, student work, parent focus group transcripts, and children's interview performances. Analysis will involve both thematic coding and construction of case studies. The overarching goal of this project is to transform the ways that researchers think about and study the mathematical learning of young minority children as well as the quality of schooling these children experience. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Parks, Amy University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc GA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 80583 7645 SMET 9177 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0844556 July 15, 2009 CAREER: A Study of Strategies and Social Processes that Facilitate the Participation of Latino English Language Learners in Elementary Mathematics Classroom Communities. The proposed project aims to: (1) study resources and strategies for teachers that will facilitate participation of 3rd grade Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) in the mathematics classrooms; (2) develop related teacher professional development (PD) materials; and (3) integrate research and teaching activities. The basic research question is: How can 3rd grade teachers facilitate better mathematics instruction for ELLs? The PI will conduct a longitudinal study with teachers over three years in nine third-grade classrooms involving 20 Latino ELLs in each classroom. Data (district-administered assessments, one-on-one formal interviews, classroom artifacts, brief conversations with children following the videotaped lessons) will be collected from multiple sources including the use of head-mounted cameras to videotape classroom social processes. Also, existing research base and data from the nine classrooms will be used to develop, test, and publish PD materials for pre-service and practicing elementary teachers. The integrated education activities will have a direct impact on the design of University of Missouri Teacher Development Program, Masters Programs, TESOL Certification Program, and Mathematics Education Doctoral Program as well as local schools. The proposed project is qualitative. Teachers will also participate in a three-year professional development on ELL strategies and use classroom activities in the fall semester that are designed to assist 3rd grade Latinos acquire mathematical competence on various aspects of the number sense strand of the mathematics curriculum. All the relevant instruments will be collected and analyzed. Findings from the proposed research and integrated research/education activities will expand the knowledge base in the fields of elementary mathematics education and multilingual education. The proposed research and education activities will inform our understanding of effective strategies in mathematics classrooms that will influence learning processes and ultimately student outcomes relevant to Latino ELLs and potentially other groups of underrepresented students. Findings from the project will promote effective teaching and learning of mathematics at the elementary level and will be broadly disseminated to students, teachers, teacher educators, and education researchers throughout the U.S. The PI will create a vehicle (i.e., PD materials) for U.S. elementary teachers to discuss critical issues related to engaging a group of students that have typically been non-participants in mathematics classrooms and potentially facilitate more effective participation for this growing population. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Chval, Kathryn University of Missouri-Columbia MO James T. Fey Continuing grant 173185 7645 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0844910 June 15, 2009 CAREER: Framing Learning Contexts to Promote Transfer-of-Learning. The purpose of this proposal is to systematically investigate how instruction can be designed to encourage students to transfer what they have learned from one context to other contexts. The research is based on the premise that it is not just the content of what students learn that matters for transfer, but also how learning contexts are framed, which may be in a more expansive or bounded manner. The hypothesis is that contexts framed expansively are more likely to support transfer-of-learning because they encourage students to orient to current learning activities as opportunities to join larger intellectual conversations that extend across time, places, topics, and people. High school biology students will participate in a series of experiments to systematically test the extent to which different aspects of expansively framed instruction support the transfer of knowledge and practices from one-on-one tutoring about the cardiovascular system to learning about the respiratory system and other science topics. A parallel series of comparative studies will then be conducted in high school biology classes to investigate how to best incorporate expansive framing into the classroom to have the most powerful effects on transfer. This research is important because if instruction can be modified to better promote transfer, then science education will have a much greater impact on students? lives. Too often students learn science ideas in relative isolation, failing to connect the ideas or grasp the key concepts that could serve them in their future schooling, careers, and as scientifically literate citizens. Further, if this work is successful, it can support the development of curriculum units and teacher training materials that will allow these methods to make a difference for an increasingly wide range of students. REESE DRL EHR Engle, Randi University of California-Berkeley CA Sharon J. Lynch Continuing grant 163448 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0845110 April 15, 2009 CAREER: Transforming the Image of Computing to Increase Female Participation. This project explores the reasons for under representation of women in the field of computer science (CS). The investigation will include a series of experimental studies. There are numerous theories that explain the gender inequality in CS. The main hypothesis of the study is that it is not the genetic predisposition or an unwillingness to put in late hours but the stereotypical image of CS that impinges upon women's ability to see themselves in the field. The research will examine the gender difference in CS as a function of social factors. A series of controlled behavioral studies will be conducted in which two orthogonal dimensions related to the image of computer scientists are independently manipulated: gender and stereotypicality (i.e., the set of stereotypes widely associated with the group, such as affinity for video games and social awkwardness). These will be conducted across three domains through which stereotypes of CS are communicated: the media, classroom environments, and peer interactions. The study's findings will have impacts on STEM fields which are looking to increase their diversity. The impact of stereotypes across three age groups (college, high school, and middle schools students) will be tested. The study will lead to the development of a virtual psychology laboratory that can be used well beyond the project duration to study stereotypes. One primary goal of this study is to disseminate findings broadly to schools, universities and the general public so more positive educational environments can be developed to nuture the interest and aspirations of women to enter the STEM fields. REESE DRL EHR Cheryan, Sapna University of Washington WA Kusum Singh Continuing grant 105632 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0845632 July 1, 2009 CAREER: Learning About Complex Causality in the Classroom. Dealing with the world's most pressing problems requires an ability to understand and reason about causal complexity. For instance, understanding topics such as ecosystems and global warming involves reasoning about non-obvious causes, spatial gaps, temporal delays, cyclic causality, and distributed causality where the agency/intentionality of one's actions is on a different level than those of the emergent outcomes. The focus of this proposal is on how children learn to reason about complex causality and how that reasoning can be stimulated and taught in classrooms. The literature on child development suggests that children are capable of understanding complex causal concepts to a greater extent than earlier research suggested. Yet, paradoxically, students' misconceptions in science have been linked to students' difficulties reasoning about complex causality. This study will explore how children learn to reason when provided with activities and materials that support three types of reasoning: distributed causality, probabilistic causality, and action at a distance. By conducting and videotaping close interviews at multiple points in the school year with small numbers of students in grades K-6 (the microgenetic phase), the study will characterize children's reasoning at different ages and how it shifts over time and with different learning supports. It will consider the contexts of biology, mechanical reasoning, social reasoning, and games. Classroom-level interventions will then be introduced and studied. In the last year of the project, using what was learned about children's reasoning and how to support it, ecosystems and global warming curriculum units will be designed and tested in a larger number of classrooms. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Grotzer, Tina Harvard University MA Sharon J. Lynch Continuing grant 128042 7645 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0845966 July 1, 2009 CAREER: The role of language in children's acquisition of number concepts. The proposed five-year project seeks to investigate the connections between symbolic and nonsymbolic representations of number and the role of language in facilitating the transformation from approximate number sense to exact numerical systems in 3- to 5-year old children. The basic research question is as follows: Do developments in symbolic and non-symbolic number systems occur in tandem during the preschool years? Both systems of numerical representation are dynamically changing during this period of early childhood, but the extent to which these developments are correlated and the underlying mechanisms that bind them are currently not known. The following three lines of studies will be investigated: (1) Correlational analysis of symbolic and non-symbolic number representations in preschoolers; (2) Developmental account of numbers in oral-deaf children, and; (3) Developmental account of attentional shifts from objects to sets in young children. Various empirical tests with hypotheses will be conducted annually, including a longitudinal study in the case of study (1). The proposed educational activities include: (1) annual workshops for teachers on number development for both early childhood educators and educators of the deaf; (2) summer fellowship program for undergraduate students; (3) development and teaching of a capstone course at a preschool for the deaf, and; identification of mechanisms to further evaluate and disseminate preschool mathematics programs for deaf to hard-of-hearing children. It is important to know whether deaf children are delayed on preschool-level math skills, because such a delay could entrench otherwise bright children on a path away from optimal mathematical learning in school and other contexts. This knowledge can directly translate into interventions that reduce the well-documented achievement gap between deaf and hearing students in STEM disciplines. The proposed project will impact STEM education by advancing our knowledge of the foundations of mathematical learning before children enter formal educational settings. The studies will advance our understanding of: (1) how preschool children acquire number concepts; (2) what role language plays in the development of number concepts, and; (3) how language delays impact the development of number concepts. More broadly, the project investigates how symbolic systems (like language) interact with non-symbolic systems (like quantity representations) over the course of development. In addition, this work will provide a much needed analysis of number development in young deaf or hard-of-hearing children because studies of numeracy in the deaf rarely extend to the preschool ages. The proposed work will provide us with a better understanding of conceptual development of number in young children, which hopefully will contribute to the development of appropriate and effective preschool curricula to support future mathematical learning. The proposed project also includes participation by undergraduate researchers and collaborations with early childhood teachers and practitioners. REESE DRL EHR Shusterman, Anna Wesleyan University CT Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 155331 7625 SMET 9177 1187 1045 0116000 Human Subjects 0848189 October 15, 2008 Conference Grant: Linking Communities to Advance Evaluation Capacity Building in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This conference intends to bring a small group of Minority Serving Institution (MSI) faculty and experts in program evaluation to share lessons learned; to present new and evolving theories embedded within indigenous cultural experiences; and, to actively engage in strategizing avenues for improving capacity building and sustaining the application of responsive culturally appropriate evaluations. It is also a needs assessment focused on participant identification of needed capacity building activities in evaluation from three perspectives: their own, their institution and across Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This grant would be a follow-up to expand previous activities initiated by NSF through the Broadening Participation Initiative in Evaluation Capacity Building. The proposed conference also would set the stage for designing and revising strategies/models and the review of their use for broadening participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM evaluation. REESE DRL EHR Greene, Ruth Johnson C. Smith University NC Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 160357 7625 SMET 9177 0848627 September 1, 2009 Frozen Planet. Frozen Planet is a landmark multi-media seven-part television series, with complementary website, whose goal is to inform and inspire audiences about the environment and ecology of the Polar Regions and the science being carried out there. The series will highlight multiple disciplines including climatology, volcanology, geology, glaciology, as well as natural history. Frozen Planet will be produced in High Definition by the BBC Natural History Unit and Discovery Communications for broadcast worldwide on Discovery Channel in 2011. The proposal to NSF is for 1) field support for filming various NSF-supported research efforts in Antarctica and 2) funding to cover evaluation of the project?s intended learning impacts in the United States. Goodman Research Group will conduct the summative evaluation to measure learning impacts centered on the audience?s understanding of the polar environment, the science being undertaken there, and the implication of the new scientific findings to their everyday lives. For scientific and field support, the production team is collaborating with many organizations in addition to NSF?s Office of Polar Programs including the British Antarctic Survey, the Canadian Polar Continental Shelf Project, and NASA. Through repeated broadcast, video-on-demand, the website, and DVDs, the project will provide a comprehensive, enduring resource. The project is anticipated to reach more than 65 million people across the U.S. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Gutierrez, Carlos Discovery Communications, Inc. MD Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 84450 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0848681 September 15, 2008 National Forum for Action on the Report of the National Math Panel. The Conference Board for the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Education to host a forum in Washington, DC designed to launch action for change in mathematics education based on the recommendations of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. This forum will focus specifically on the following four areas: - Teachers and Teacher Education; - Learning Processes; - Instructional Material; and - Standards of Evidence - Research Policies and Mechanisms. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Rosier, Ronald Conference Board Math Sciences DC John S. Bradley Standard Grant 60000 7645 SMET 9177 0852400 April 1, 2009 StarTalk Radio Show. This Proposal is a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) to fund a new science radio show targeted specifically for commercial talk radio. The proposed 10 one hour programs will be co-hosted by Neil de Grasse Tyson, astrophysicist, popular best selling book aurthor, writer, host of PBS scienceNow, and the frequent contributor on cable television networks including The Daily Show. The programs would be broadcast on CBS Talk Radio Statiion, KLSX. The program will feature a variety of celebrity guests as well as scientists who share an interest in space and science. Listeners will be encouraged to interact with the guests calling in to pose questions and voice opinions. The programs will present traditionally dry or technical topics in a humorous format. The recent pilot program on KLSX generated the most call-ins ever during a weekend talk show on that station. The goal is to reach an audience that is not otherwise served by current programming on public radio and to eventually become self-supporting on commercial radio. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Tyson, Neil Helen Matsos Curved Light Productions, LLC NY Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 200000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0852616 August 1, 2009 "Ocean On The Edge": Framework for Public Ocean Literacy. Ocean on the Edge Workshop The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA is organizing a workshop, The National Ocean on the Edge Workshop, which is convening more than fifty leading scientists, exhibit designers, film makers, informal science educators, and communicators for two and one-half days, May 12-14, 2009, along with follow-up activities. The participants are taking four of the booklets in the National Academy of Sciences Ocean Science Series as the point of departure for developing concrete exhibit and program ideas to exchange, entertain, educate, and empower the public. The four themes are: Coastal Hazards, Ocean Pollution, Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries, and Oceans and Human Health. Workshop participants are exploring and evaluating several modes of communicating with the public and preparing a tool kit for each theme. Each tool kit will include: a revised booklet based upon the NAS document;a set of references suitable for the general public; a set of recommended films and exhibits on the topic that have worked for general audiences; and concrete ideas for connecting with the public. In addition to traditional modes of communicating with the public, a variety of social networking techniques are being explored. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Schubel, Jerry Kathryn Schubel Aquarium of the Pacific CA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 10000 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0853031 August 1, 2009 ARS Synthetica - A Multimedia Forum Exploring the Artful Design of Living Things. The Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC) at the University of California-Berkeley is designing an interactive web portal and public forum, Ars Synthetica, to communicate SynBERC's research on synthetic biology, an emerging field that builds on advances in molecular, cell, and systems biology. Synthetic biologists will soon design and fabricate biological entities to accomplish particular tasks. Biological materials properties (gene sequences, protein properties, natural genetic circuit design) must be formulated into a set of design rules that can be used to engineer new biological entities. These design issues raise ethical concerns among the public and will form the core focus of Ars Synthetica. The forum will use Omeka, an open source software platform that will afford research scientists and the public with the ability to engage in community-wide discussions and debates, and will be customized to utilize a variety of media, such as articles, photo essays, and video vignettes addressing key questions surrounding synthetic biology. The forum will provide numerous links to research articles, data, and relevant websites, including SynBERC's synthetic biology website and the Anthropology of the Contemporary websites. Video webcasts will include guest lecturers with diverse perspectives on synthetic biology aimed at both scientists and the public, which will be disseminated on social networks, such as YouTube, Flickr, and WordPress blogs. The forum has the potential to make a significant impact on public discourse on science, as well as provide an important new exemplar for public engagement in research that can be replicated in other fields of science and informal science education. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Keasling, Jay Paul Rabinow University of California-Berkeley CA Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 74902 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0901311 September 3, 2008 E: Examining Different Curricular Approaches and Their Impact on High-School Students' Understanding of Algebra: Phase 1 - Studying the Intended Curriculum. Researchers are in the first phase of a study to analyze the impact of three different curricular approaches to the learning of algebra. The three approaches are represented by: 1) instructional materials developed with NSF support (The Interactive Mathematics Program and Contemporary Mathematics in Context, also known as Core Plus Mathematics); 2) "hybrid" curricula (University of Chicago School Mathematics Project and the Discovering Mathematics Series by Key Curriculum Press); and 3) traditional texts (those published by Glencoe, McDougal Littell, and Pearson Prentice Hall). The primary criterion for selecting these curricula is the level of market penetration. This first phase of the study analyzes the three approaches in order to develop comparative maps that highlight the algebra content and cognitive demands across the curricula being studied. This project is developing reliable and valid instruments to assess student learning, which, will be used to examine and compare student understanding of algebra in the later phases of the study. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Huntley, Mary Ann Cos Fi Cornell University NY John S. Bradley Standard Grant 209200 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0903411 September 17, 2008 R&D: Diagnosing Teachers' Multiplicative Reasoning. Diagnosing Teachers' Multiplicative Reasoning (DTMR) addresses the assessment component of the DR-K12 Contextual Challenges strand. Investigating knowledge that teachers need to enable students' learning and developing assessments of that knowledge are central challenges for mathematics education. One approach emphasizes correlations between amounts of teachers' knowledge and students' achievement for accountability purposes. Another, grounded in research on mathematical thinking, often uses case studies to investigate teachers' capacities for identifying and building upon opportunities in students' problem-solving strategies. Tensions exist between these approaches because instruments convenient for assessing large numbers of teachers are insensitive to capacities for reasoning, while case study methods used to investigate teachers' reasoning are not practical with large samples. The DTMR project is building a demonstration instrument both suitable for use with large samples of teachers and informative about their capacities to reason about content in ways that support students' thinking. In particular, the DTMR project is developing and evaluating a test form that diagnoses teachers' capacities in two closely connected cases of reasoning about multiplicative relations among quantities. The first is on on measurement that often relies on multiplicatively nested levels of units when partitioning a given quantity. The second is on covariation that often relies on multiplicative relations between distinct quantities. The project is focusing on aspects of such reasoning that are interconnected and fundamental to addition and subtraction of quantities, multiplication of quantities, quotative and partitive division of quantities, and ratios of quantities. The project will consider fractions, decimals, and ratios. A main goal of the project is to address content and construct validity of the demonstration form in sufficient depth so that larger scale work and predictive validity studies may follow. The project is developing instruments using a new class of psychometric models called cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs). Using CDMs involves specifying components of reasoning in a particular domain and then constructing test questions (typically multiple-choice) systematically so that each choice corresponds to reasoning with a different combination of those components. Drawing on the research on students' and teachers' multiplicative reasoning, the project is developing one test form of 30 to 40 items. CDM simulation studies of estimation and equating methods are also an important component of the project. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Izsak, Andrew San Diego State University Foundation CA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 889210 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0903441 January 15, 2009 R&D: Closing the math achievement gap for English Language Learners: Technology resources for pre-algebra. The project addresses the relatively poor mathematics achievement of students who are not proficient in English. It includes research on how English Language Learners in beginning algebra classes solve math word problems with different text characteristics. The results of this research inform the development of technology-based resources to support English Language Learners? ability to learn mathematics through instruction in English, including tutorials in math vocabulary and interactive assistance with forming equations from word problem text. RAND-Education serves as the evaluator for formative and summative activities, guided by an advisory board of experts in mathematics education and English Learner education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Beal, Carole University of Arizona AZ Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 996019 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0903679 August 31, 2008 International Workshop on the Status and Participation of Women in STEM Disciplines and Careers. The Association for Institutional Research will organize and conduct two three-day workshops, scheduled approximately one year apart, to review the existing international knowledge base and exemplary policies and programs designed to enhance the status and participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and careers. In brief, the primary goals of the workshops are to: (1) systematically review relevant international research literatures to enhance understanding of the barriers and challenges to the full participation of all women in STEM disciplines and careers; and (2) identify reliable and credible data sources and data gaps in order to create a research agenda. Using international comparative data, the effects of the intersections of gender and race/ethnicity, commonalities and differences among women in STEM, and strategies, policies, and programs that are effective in enhancing women?s participation in STEM will be identified. Intellectual Merit: The project?s intellectual merit lies in its inclusive systematic approach using intensive and extensive reviews and analyses of the relevant international comparative research and evaluation literatures to catalyze interdisciplinary discussion, and serve as a basis for defining a strategic research agenda. A major component of the workshop will be a guided discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of extant research on policies, practices, and programs at the national, regional, and international levels that enhance women?s full participation in STEM careers. The workshop will identify critical gaps in the data and research literatures on women in STEM fields, and identify comparative data on international cultural and structural differences and commonalities to pinpoint issues and topics for further research on women in STEM fields that transcend national, political, and cultural boundaries. The ultimate goal is to design, implement, and evaluate effective programs and practices to broaden the participation of all women in STEM fields in the U.S. and abroad. Additional contributions include identifying collaborators and creating networks for future international collaborations. Broader Impacts: The project?s broader impact will be realized through the establishment of a repository for multi-national research and an agenda that will eventually result in a rich and competitive technical workforce that is strengthened by the broader participation of all women. The workshop will propose strategies to attract and retain more women across ability, race, and ethnic groups not only into the STEM workforce, but also into STEM leadership positions, thus contributing to achieving the broader goal of strengthening scientific, technical and economic capabilities. Workshop outcomes are expected to include a report that: summarizes reviews of relevant literatures; identifies gaps in research, data collection, and evaluation; and outlines recommendations for establishing strategic research agendas. Findings from the report will be disseminated through a workshop website as well as through presentations at international scientific conferences and meetings and national workforce policy summits. REESE DRL EHR Frehill, Lisa Commission on Professionals in Science & Technology DC Carol F. Stoel Standard Grant 327800 7625 SMET 9177 0905069 September 1, 2009 Art As a Way of Knowing Conference: Artists at Work in Research and Science Education. The Exploratorium is conducting a two-day conference in the fall of 2010 that will bring together professionals from science education, science research, arts practice, educational research, and museum exhibition and education. Organized around three key themes of history of art-science collaborations, program design, and research, the conference will bring together pioneers of art-science programming and innovators in exhibits, museum education, and educational research to consider the impact of arts on the theory and practices of engaged, interactive learning in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering. The attendees will also consider future directions for art-science-education interactions. Complementary deliverables are a conference Web site and publications, as well as extensive dissemination of results to the arts, science and education communities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Richards, Peter Susan Schwartzenberg Exploratorium CA Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 249271 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0907780 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Proposal: Students' Attempts at Understanding the Unobservable: A Multi-Method Approach to Visualization Analysis and Design (Empirical Contextual Research Strand). Student comprehension of scientific concepts and principles presents a particular challenge when the phenomena are not directly observable. This issue has emerged as core to effective teaching and successful student learning in chemistry. The goal is to identify whether students' individual differences influence the effectiveness of visualizations for learning scientific concepts as measured with process and product-based metrics of evaluation. The investigators will also develop design principles for the use of visualizations as instructional tools in chemistry and STEM fields more broadly. The central issues are: When and how students rely on visualizations while trying to comprehend unobservable chemistry content; whether reliance on visualizations varies as a function of student characteristics; and whether usage patterns inform instructional interventions. In a series of randomized, controlled experiments involving undergraduates at four institutions, investigators will: (a) determine baseline chemical knowledge, spatial ability, reasoning ability, and interest in learning; (b) use eye tracking to characterize the moment-by-moment scan and fixation processes that students rely on while viewing visualizations; (c) utilize concurrent interview protocols to assess learning strategies and knowledge acquisition; and (d) implement post-visualization tests to examine student memory for the visualization content and application of knowledge. REESE DRL EHR Shultz, Mary Jane Tufts University MA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 128271 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0907896 October 1, 2009 Collaborative Proposal: Mathematics Attainment and African American Students: Discourse from Multiple Perspectives. In collaboration with the Benjamin Banneker Association, Temple University, Arcadia University, and Georgia State University convene a series of two professional mini-conferences and one professional summit to address issues related to the mathematical education of African American students, Pre-K-16. Previous research (Kitchen, 2007; Stiff & Harvey, 1988) suggests that there is a negative relationship between African American students and mathematics. This relationship is exacerbated by the underrepresentation of African American students in advanced mathematics classes, even when they are the majority of school populations (Martin, 2007), and the overrepresentation of African American students in lower-track mathematics courses and special education (Blanchett, 2006). The series of conferences addresses the following pressing questions: (1) In what ways do school structures and institutional policies impact African American students' success in school mathematics? (2) In what ways can technological tools and other forms of multimedia be used to motivate and encourage African American students to learn rigorous mathematics? (2) In what ways do highly qualified mathematics teachers understand issues of race and equity, and how might teacher education programs develop highly qualified mathematics teachers for urban schools? (3) What is the nexus of race and identity for African American students in the South and other spaces where African American students are the majority, and how does racial-identity and individual agency impact their mathematics attainment? (4) What are the best practices that facilitate learning and mathematical empowerment among African American students, and how might culturally relevant and critical pedagogy assist in developing academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness among African American students? Numerous stakeholders, including classroom teachers, school administrators, experts in STEM education research, and scholars in psychology come together to speak to the pressing issues facing the mathematical education of African American students. The conferences bridge research and practice and challenge policymakers and school system leaders to establish frameworks and infrastructures that encourage African American students to develop positive mathematics identities and high levels of mathematics attainment. Outcomes include articles in research and practitioner journals and professional development materials. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Leonard, Jacqueline Erica Davila Temple University PA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 134033 7645 SMET 9177 0908130 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Proposal: Students' Attempts at Understanding the Unobservable: A Multi-Method Approach to Visualization Analysis and Design (Empirical Contextual Research Strand). Student comprehension of scientific concepts and principles presents a particular challenge when the phenomena are not directly observable. This issue has emerged as core to effective teaching and successful student learning in chemistry. The goal is to identify whether students' individual differences influence the effectiveness of visualizations for learning scientific concepts as measured with process and product-based metrics of evaluation. The investigators will also develop design principles for the use of visualizations as instructional tools in chemistry and STEM fields more broadly. The central issues are: When and how students rely on visualizations while trying to comprehend unobservable chemistry content; whether reliance on visualizations varies as a function of student characteristics; and whether usage patterns inform instructional interventions. In a series of randomized, controlled experiments involving undergraduates at four institutions, investigators will: (a) determine baseline chemical knowledge, spatial ability, reasoning ability, and interest in learning; (b) use eye tracking to characterize the moment-by-moment scan and fixation processes that students rely on while viewing visualizations; (c) utilize concurrent interview protocols to assess learning strategies and knowledge acquisition; and (d) implement post-visualization tests to examine student memory for the visualization content and application of knowledge. REESE DRL EHR Rapp, David Northwestern University IL Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 216038 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909588 September 1, 2009 An Active Vision Approach to Understanding and Improving Visual Training in the Geosciences. Field experience is a fundamental part of the training of student geologists, but practical considerations limit the numbers of students who can take part in extensive field programs. Moreover, little is known about how novice geologists acquire the visual skills of experts, raising questions about how best to develop teaching interventions. The 5-year project investigates differences between expert and novice geoscientists in the field and in a virtual semi-immersive display environment. The research team is composed of scientists and educators with expertise in perceptual learning, geology and geophysics, the recording and analyzing of eye movements, and large-field-of-view image capture of natural environments. They hypothesize that there are large differences between the eye-movement sequences of experts and novices, and that novices will show improvement during a field trip. The researchers will study similar groups in a virtual environment, hoping to gain additional insight into learning through comparisons of the data collected in the two environments. Their ultimate goal is to design a virtual semi-immersive environment that replicates the salient aspects of the field learning experience. REESE DRL EHR Jacobs, Robert John Tarduno Jeff Pelz Mitchell Rosen University of Rochester NY Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 1999907 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909630 September 1, 2009 REESE Empirical Research on Emerging Topics in STEM Education: Statistical Methods for Assessing Teaching and Program Effectiveness. This basic research project will develop new statistical techniques that will provide more robust estimates of the Value-Added Models (VAM). Multivariate response value-added models will be developed to include continuous and categorical responses and nested data structures, and address missing data problems. These models will employ latent-class mixture models, and will use classification trees and random forest methods for data analyses. The new techniques will allow the models to be used not only with continuous response data, such as test scores, but also categorical response data such as completion of a STEM degree. The techniques will also allow researchers to investigate the effects of missing data on value added models, as can occur when students drop out of STEM degree programs during college. The models will improve upon the current VAM models in three aspects: 1) incorporating the various missing data structures, 2) considering both continuous and categorical outcomes, and 3) taking into account complex relationships among subgroups of students and program characteristics. The potential benefits of developing such value added statistical models will be for informing educational policy and practice. These benefits will include better decisions based on more precise estimates of teacher effects and the effects of other inputs on student outcomes in STEM. The researchers propose to address limitations of current value-added models to provide stronger models for assessing STEM program effectiveness and measure teacher or school effects on student achievement. REESE DRL EHR Lohr, Sharon Yan Yang Arizona State University AZ Kusum Singh Continuing grant 100791 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0909659 September 15, 2009 Connection, Community, and Engagement in STEM Education (Large Empirical, Contextual Research Topics in STEM Education). The goal of this research project is to advance knowledge about student and faculty perceptions of connection to community as factors in academic engagement. The three phases of this research will mold basic research results into applied strategies for improvements in engagement in higher education STEM environments. The first phase is a tool development phase which will provide a valid tool box for evaluating target constructs (engagement, participation, affect, cognition, etc.). Three data collection tools will be developed: student surveys, student focus group protocols, and faculty interview protocols. The second phase focuses on addressing the following research question: What connections to community are contributing to significant differences in academic engagement? and How do institutional characteristics mold the classroom experience toward increased community? Surveys will be administered to students and focus group and interviews conducted with students at five different post-secondary institutions. Data will be analyzed within and across institutions to gauge the effects of higher education institutional characteristics on student affect, perception, cognition, sense of belonging, engagement, and participation. Finally, the third phase emphasizes applying results to develop strategies by which successful community-building characteristics of the various participating institutions can be transferred elsewhere. In all phases, the research team brings a broad range of diversity of expertise and institutional fabric to the proposed study. Five different types of institutions are represented in this effort: Research 1 (University of Washington), Comprehensive (Minnesota State), Master's L (Simmons College), Private, Faith-Based (Seattle Pacific), and HBCU (Tuskegee). Each of these institutions has unique historical strengths for undergraduate education; this research will improve understanding of how these strengths impact connections to community via mediating engagement and subsequently predicting student learning. REESE DRL EHR Plett, Melani Elaine Scott Don Peter Seattle Pacific University WA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 40000 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909661 August 1, 2009 A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of K-8 Mathematics Teacher Preparation on Teacher Knowledge, Teaching Practices, and Student Learning. The five-year project seeks to: (1) refine a developing theory of teacher preparation; (2) examine empirically the relationships among teacher preparation, teacher learning, teaching practice, and student learning; and (3) understand the conditions under which teachers use the knowledge and skills acquired during preparation and during their first few years of teaching to improve their practice. Utilizing a longitudinal design and following two cohorts of teachers as they transition from mathematics teacher preparation programs into classroom teaching, the project will study how preparation programs, field conditions, and selected contextual variables affect the implementation of effective classroom mathematics teaching. Research methods will include a planned mix of controlled experiments, small-sample replications, and case studies. Data collection will include both large-sample written assessments and small-sample recurring observations and interviews. By focusing on selected rational number topics and the middle grades 7-8, researchers will compare the effects of two different preparation programs, one designed for elementary/middle school (grades K-8) and the other for secondary school (grades 7-12). The project addresses the fundamental issue of how teachers can be taught to teach effectively from the preservice to the inservice stage. Its longitudinal aspect involves documenting growth in effective mathematics teaching from the time participants are in schools as preservice undergraduate education majors to many years after when they are in schools as professional, inservice mathematics teachers. The project takes the view that effective mathematics teaching in the schools does not only require strengthening teachers' mathematics content but also addressing ways in which they can be supported in dealing with contextual variables (institutional constraints) that either hinder or support effective implementation of effective teaching practices. The project also addresses the following controversial issue facing mathematics teacher education research today: Does having more mathematics content (in the case of secondary mathematics majors) than mathematical content knowledge for teaching mathematics (in the case of elementary and middle school majors) a sufficient condition for effectively teaching mathematics (and vice-versa), in particular, fractions? REESE DRL EHR Berk, Dawn James Hiebert Alfinio Flores University of Delaware DE Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 129969 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909699 August 15, 2009 How Does Teachers' Visual Scaffolding Support Students' Mathematics Learning. Mathematical reasoning requires understanding connections between different representations of mathematical information. The way mathematical representations are linked in the classroom may determine whether students come to understand important mathematical principles and procedures. Our past research showed that teachers use various forms of visual scaffolding to link different mathematical representations. The purpose of this project is to understand how variations in teachers' visual scaffolding affect students' learning. Our specific focus is on the nonverbal supports that teachers produce in instructional episodes that link related representations of mathematical information. In particular, we examine those nonverbal supports that serve to ground ideas in the physical environment or in familiar actions, experiences or representations. The research has three aims: (1) to investigate whether students' learning is facilitated if teachers ground the to-be-linked ideas with hand gestures (as opposed to using speech alone); (2) to examine whether certain types of nonverbal supports are especially beneficial for learning (specifically, redundant vs. complementary gestures, and pointing vs. representational gestures); and (3) to examine whether gestures offer a "special" way to visually scaffold ideas, in the sense that they are more effective at doing so than other, non-gestural methods of visual scaffolding. We will address these aims in experiments with middle school students learning about linear equations. The experiments will involve video lessons that vary the teachers' gestures or the medium used to highlight aspects of the linked representations (hand gestures or digital icons). We will assess students' conceptual and procedural knowledge of linear equations before and after the lessons, so that we can evaluate how variations in teachers' visual scaffolding affect students' learning. We will also conduct a pilot study to prepare us to extend this line of inquiry to college students learning about statistics. This pilot study will investigate how teachers link representations using speech and gesture in instruction about confidence intervals. This work will contribute to our scientific understanding of learning and instruction from an embodied cognition perspective. By experimentally manipulating the ways in which relations between mathematical ideas are conveyed, and exploring the consequences for learning, we will gain a deeper understanding of the cognitive processes involved in acquiring mathematical understanding. This work will provide an empirical basis for recommendations about how teachers can use visual scaffolding effectively. REESE DRL EHR Alibali, Martha Mitchell Nathan Eric Knuth Ruth Church University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 348721 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0909720 April 1, 2009 SGER: Staging the Design and Work of Evaluation: Piloting A Stage-One Evaluation of a Complex Educational Initiative. This SGER project examines and tests the premise of staged evaluations of large, complex initiatives. The project will study and describe such a staged approach and then conduct a prototype stage-one evaluation using a current NSF Chemistry program as a way to test out the concept. The project is highly innovative as the way evaluations are structured or funded are seldom the subject of research or innovation. While pilot studies are often used in the development of instructional materials, for example, this approach is not used in conducting evaluation studies. The SGER links strongly to evaluation theory, and has the potential to articulate a new approach for conducting evaluative studies of large, complicated projects. REESE DRL EHR St. John, Mark Inverness Research, Inc. CA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 199999 7625 SMET 9237 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0909733 July 1, 2009 The Development of Computational Thinking among Middle School Students Creating Computer Games. This is a research project that would contribute to further understanding of STEM teaching and learning in informal settings by conceptualizing and measuring computational thinking for middle school students. Three research questions will be addressed: 1) What is an appropriate definition of computational thinking in middle school? 2) Does creating a computer game promote computational thinking? 3) Under what conditions does pair programming produce greater gains in computational thinking than solo programming? The study will be conducted over three years. Approximately 240 students will use Storytelling Alice to create 3-D animation games over 16 weeks. Participants will be drawn from extended learning programs in two school districts that include primarily Latino and white students. Classes will be randomly assigned to either pair or solo programming conditions. Paired students will choose their partners and statistical analyses designed for longitudinal dyadic interdependent data will be conducted. Data will include pre and post-test surveys, interviews, computer logging data, observations, students games, videotape, and performance assessments. They will also employ a group-randomized controlled trial; randomization will be by class to either a pair programming or solo programming condition. The qualitative and quantitative data will measure computational thinking, students experience programming, closeness with partner, affect, and behavior on the computer. The project will produce evidence about the strength of working in pairs compared with working on technology games alone and it is intended to inform discussions of the meaning of computational thinking. REESE DRL EHR Denner, Jill Linda Werner ETR Associates CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 361111 7625 SMET 9177 7625 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909745 August 15, 2009 Empirical Research, STEM Teaching and Learning in Formal and Informal Settings: Strengthening Measurement Curriculum, Teaching, & Research. The project builds on the resources and results of a prior REESE project, Strengthening Tomorrow's Education in Measurement (STEM), that has produced a fine-grained analysis of the character and limitations of the spatial measurement content (length, area, and volume) in three elementary mathematics curricula. It will expand, deepen, and report STEM results for length, area, and volume but will also centrally address the task of putting that knowledge to work by improving educational practice. The project will complete the primary grades analysis of length, area, and volume and explore with the authors of the three elementary curricula ways to strengthen their existing materials. It will analyze the highly-regarded Singapore mathematics curriculum and compare and contrast findings with the U.S. results. It will also address issues relevant to the topic of measurement in the elementary science curriculum. It will develop and test effective ways of enriching preservice elementary teachers' knowledge of core measurement principles and work with practicing teachers to improve their measurement lessons using both innovative activities and existing curricular content. Finally, it will implement a three-year measurement mini-Center that will bring together major U.S. research and development scholars and projects for sustained interaction, innovation, and collaboration. The three-year project is concerned with finding ways to strengthen instruction and learning of measurement in the elementary school mathematics curriculum. State and international assessments show U.S. children to be consistently underperforming in this content area. Difficulties are traced to significant weaknesses in conceptual and procedural understanding, including word problem solving. The project will compare the measurement approach used in the Singapore elementary curriculum with current U.S. elementary textbooks. Also, researchers and practitioners who work in the area of measurement in both science and mathematics contexts will participate in a yearly mini-Center with the goal of sharing findings and best practices relevant to the teaching and learning of measurement. Another interesting aspect of the study is the incorporation of findings in measurement courses for preservice elementary teachers, including relevant measurement experiences for practicing teachers. In the long term, the project is expected to provide a curriculum model that can potentially be replicated across the country. REESE DRL EHR Smith, John Michigan State University MI Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 303150 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909762 August 15, 2009 Beyond the Double Bind: Women of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This research extends the investigator's prior NSF supported work to develop theoretical and empirical understanding of the double bind faced by women of color in STEM fields. That is, their race and gender present dual dilemmas as they move through STEM educational and career paths. The proposed study will identify gaps in our understanding, and identify some of the methodological problems associated with answering outstanding questions about the double bind. The major research question is: What strategies work to enable women of color to achieve higher levels of advancement in STEM academia and professions? The goal is to bring a clearer understanding of the issues which confront women of color as they pursue study of science and engineering, and what factors influence whether they leave or remain in STEM. The work will employ a highly structured narrative analysis process to identify and quantify factors that have been successful in broadening the participation of minority women in STEM. The research design involves two separate tracks of work: 1) to conduct narrative analysis of primary documents associated with women of color in science; and 2) to conduct site visits and interviews to understand features of programs associated with successful support of women of color in undergraduate and graduate education. The first part is designed to inform the second, with the narrative analysis helping to identify features to look for in site visits and to use in development of interview protocols. This research will focus on individual and programmatic factors that sustain women of color as they confront barriers to their career goals. It examines institutional strategies and support structures that help women of color ultimately to succeed, and social and pedagogic elements that influence their educational experiences. Although women of color have made some progress over the last three decades towards more equitable participation in STEM fields, the major efforts made to address this issue have not produced the desired outcomes; minority women continue to be underrepresented relative to white women and non-minority men. The factors that account for continued lower participation rates are not yet fully understood. Beyond the Double Bind is designed to transform the intellectual basis for building future programs that will better enable women of color to be successful in STEM. While focused on women of color, the results will ultimately inform strategies and programs to expand the presence of all women and minorities in STEM. REESE DRL EHR Ong, Maria Apriel Hodari TERC Inc MA Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 260596 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0909815 August 15, 2009 Collaborative Research: Cognitive Processes - Classroom Practices that Lead to Student Proficiency with Word Problems in Algebra. This three-year study provides a detailed description and analysis of mathematics classroom practices that result in Algebra 1 students' development of proficiency in word problem solving in algebra. The research study is expected to: (a) provide an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms of teaching for mathematical proficiency in a centrally important area of the mathematics curriculum, (b) develop research tools that support deeper investigation into the mechanisms of teaching for robust mathematics learning, and (c) develop practical tools that can be used on a large scale for benchmarking and improving teaching practice. The following two research questions are addressed: (1) What instructional practices are frequently used by teachers judged to be doing an exceptional job of helping students to develop proficiency in solving word problems? (2) What analytic procedures can be developed and used to characterize these promising teaching practices, with low enough cost so that connections between teaching and learning can be examined for a large number of classrooms? The instructional practices of carefully selected master teachers will be examined in an attempt to identify practices that result in powerful student learning. In year 1 videotapes of a range of teachers selected for demonstrated success in helping a wide range of students perform well in mathematics will be solicited and examined. Multiple analyses at varied levels of grain size from the establishment of classroom sociomathematical norms and student interviews to identify mathematically productive classroom practices and related student understandings will be performed. In year 1, the research will develop and refine coding and analytic schemes relevant to sociomathematical norms and effective classroom instruction in word problem solving. These will be further refined in year 2 on the basis of a small scale project that targets the analyses of teaching and student learning in a range of classrooms, seeking to link instructional practices with student outcomes. Year 3 will extend the study to a larger sample, codifying the results and producing analytic tools that can be used by the research community and by practitioners. The study focuses on developing and testing ways to teach typical and nonroutine word problem solving to Algebra 1 students in an effective manner. Classroom videotapes of effective mathematics instruction in this content area will be analyzed and coded in year 1. The codes will provide characteristics of productive student behavior as a result of effective internalization of classroom sociomathematical norms. These norms focus on issues such as what constitutes different, effective, and sophisticated mathematical explanations, justifications, and more generally, reasoning. In year 2, the codes will be tested and refined with a small sample of classrooms. In year 3, results from the prior two years will be tested over a larger sample of Algebra 1 classrooms. The study has practical significance for teachers who want to learn to teach word problem solving in a more effective manner. At the research level, the study seeks to expand the use of sociomathematical norms to Algebra 1 word problem solving. Researchers (and teachers) will also be provided with tools for analyzing effective classroom practices in this content area. The research is especially needed at this time because Algebra 1 classrooms around the country consist of students who bring with them a diversity of perspectives and background knowledge. REESE DRL EHR Schoenfeld, Alan University of California-Berkeley CA Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 161932 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0909817 September 15, 2009 Connection, Community, and Engagement in STEM Education (Large Empirical, Contextual Research Topics in STEM Education). The goal of this research project is to advance knowledge about student and faculty perceptions of connection to community as factors in academic engagement. The three phases of this research will mold basic research results into applied strategies for improvements in engagement in higher education STEM environments. The first phase is a tool development phase which will provide a valid tool box for evaluating target constructs (engagement, participation, affect, cognition, etc.). Three data collection tools will be developed: student surveys, student focus group protocols, and faculty interview protocols. The second phase focuses on addressing the following research question: What connections to community are contributing to significant differences in academic engagement? and How do institutional characteristics mold the classroom experience toward increased community? Surveys will be administered to students and focus group and interviews conducted with students at five different post-secondary institutions. Data will be analyzed within and across institutions to gauge the effects of higher education institutional characteristics on student affect, perception, cognition, sense of belonging, engagement, and participation. Finally, the third phase emphasizes applying results to develop strategies by which successful community-building characteristics of the various participating institutions can be transferred elsewhere. In all phases, the research team brings a broad range of diversity of expertise and institutional fabric to the proposed study. Five different types of institutions are represented in this effort: Research 1 (University of Washington), Comprehensive (Minnesota State), Master's L (Simmons College), Private, Faith-Based (Seattle Pacific), and HBCU (Tuskegee). Each of these institutions has unique historical strengths for undergraduate education; this research will improve understanding of how these strengths impact connections to community via mediating engagement and subsequently predicting student learning. REESE DRL EHR Wilson, Denise Diane Jones University of Washington WA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 197135 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909850 September 15, 2009 Connection, Community, and Engagement in STEM Education (Large Empirical, Contextual Research Topics in STEM Education). The goal of this research project is to advance knowledge about student and faculty perceptions of connection to community as factors in academic engagement. The three phases of this research will mold basic research results into applied strategies for improvements in engagement in higher education STEM environments. The first phase is a tool development phase which will provide a valid tool box for evaluating target constructs (engagement, participation, affect, cognition, etc.). Three data collection tools will be developed: student surveys, student focus group protocols, and faculty interview protocols. The second phase focuses on addressing the following research question: What connections to community are contributing to significant differences in academic engagement? and How do institutional characteristics mold the classroom experience toward increased community? Surveys will be administered to students and focus group and interviews conducted with students at five different post-secondary institutions. Data will be analyzed within and across institutions to gauge the effects of higher education institutional characteristics on student affect, perception, cognition, sense of belonging, engagement, and participation. Finally, the third phase emphasizes applying results to develop strategies by which successful community-building characteristics of the various participating institutions can be transferred elsewhere. In all phases, the research team brings a broad range of diversity of expertise and institutional fabric to the proposed study. Five different types of institutions are represented in this effort: Research 1 (University of Washington), Comprehensive (Minnesota State), Master's L (Simmons College), Private, Faith-Based (Seattle Pacific), and HBCU (Tuskegee). Each of these institutions has unique historical strengths for undergraduate education; this research will improve understanding of how these strengths impact connections to community via mediating engagement and subsequently predicting student learning. REESE DRL EHR Floyd-Smith, Tamara Tuskegee University AL Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 39999 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909851 August 15, 2009 Collaborative Research: Cognitive Processes - Classroom Practices that Lead to Student Proficiency with Word Problems in Algebra. This three-year study provides a detailed description and analysis of mathematics classroom practices that result in Algebra 1 students' development of proficiency in word problem solving in algebra. The research study is expected to: (a) provide an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms of teaching for mathematical proficiency in a centrally important area of the mathematics curriculum, (b) develop research tools that support deeper investigation into the mechanisms of teaching for robust mathematics learning, and (c) develop practical tools that can be used on a large scale for benchmarking and improving teaching practice. The following two research questions are addressed: (1) What instructional practices are frequently used by teachers judged to be doing an exceptional job of helping students to develop proficiency in solving word problems? (2) What analytic procedures can be developed and used to characterize these promising teaching practices, with low enough cost so that connections between teaching and learning can be examined for a large number of classrooms? The instructional practices of carefully selected master teachers will be examined in an attempt to identify practices that result in powerful student learning. In year 1 videotapes of a range of teachers selected for demonstrated success in helping a wide range of students perform well in mathematics will be solicited and examined. Multiple analyses at varied levels of grain size from the establishment of classroom sociomathematical norms and student interviews to identify mathematically productive classroom practices and related student understandings will be performed. In year 1, the research will develop and refine coding and analytic schemes relevant to sociomathematical norms and effective classroom instruction in word problem solving. These will be further refined in year 2 on the basis of a small scale project that targets the analyses of teaching and student learning in a range of classrooms, seeking to link instructional practices with student outcomes. Year 3 will extend the study to a larger sample, codifying the results and producing analytic tools that can be used by the research community and by practitioners. The study focuses on developing and testing ways to teach typical and nonroutine word problem solving to Algebra 1 students in an effective manner. Classroom videotapes of effective mathematics instruction in this content area will be analyzed and coded in year 1. The codes will provide characteristics of productive student behavior as a result of effective internalization of classroom sociomathematical norms. These norms focus on issues such as what constitutes different, effective, and sophisticated mathematical explanations, justifications, and more generally, reasoning. In year 2, the codes will be tested and refined with a small sample of classrooms. In year 3, results from the prior two years will be tested over a larger sample of Algebra 1 classrooms. The study has practical significance for teachers who want to learn to teach word problem solving in a more effective manner. At the research level, the study seeks to expand the use of sociomathematical norms to Algebra 1 word problem solving. Researchers (and teachers) will also be provided with tools for analyzing effective classroom practices in this content area. The research is especially needed at this time because Algebra 1 classrooms around the country consist of students who bring with them a diversity of perspectives and background knowledge. REESE DRL EHR Floden, Robert Michigan State University MI Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 160213 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0909863 September 15, 2009 Collaborative Research: Bridging between Tabletop Models and the Earth System. The three-year project tackles the important problem of the difficulty of conducting hands-on activities for 8th and 9th grade Earth Science classrooms. The PIs take the approach of using tabletop models as analogs for the phenomena the curriculum is trying to elucidate. The project investigates how students apply insights gained from working with dynamic tabletop modules to understanding and reasoning about processes of the full scale Earth system. Working with 300 students and four teachers in New York City schools, the researchers test three instructional strategies in terms of the usefulness and pitfalls of each. The PIs develop written assessments using evidence-centered design principles that examine students' understanding of model attributes, model/Earth attribute correspondences, model relationships, model/Earth relationship correspondences, and geoscience data/evidence. The PIs collect student demographic data using t-tests and multiple regression analysis. They also collect student demographic data and qualitative measures to describe how the instructional strategies were enacted across classrooms and to understnd the ways in which teachers should be supported to utilize these strategies effectively. REESE DRL EHR Rivet, Ann Teachers College, Columbia University NY Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 215777 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909900 September 15, 2009 Connection, Community, and Engagement in STEM Education (Large Empirical, Contextual Research Topics in STEM Education). The goal of this research project is to advance knowledge about student and faculty perceptions of connection to community as factors in academic engagement. The three phases of this research will mold basic research results into applied strategies for improvements in engagement in higher education STEM environments. The first phase is a tool development phase which will provide a valid tool box for evaluating target constructs (engagement, participation, affect, cognition, etc.). Three data collection tools will be developed: student surveys, student focus group protocols, and faculty interview protocols. The second phase focuses on addressing the following research question: What connections to community are contributing to significant differences in academic engagement? and How do institutional characteristics mold the classroom experience toward increased community? Surveys will be administered to students and focus group and interviews conducted with students at five different post-secondary institutions. Data will be analyzed within and across institutions to gauge the effects of higher education institutional characteristics on student affect, perception, cognition, sense of belonging, engagement, and participation. Finally, the third phase emphasizes applying results to develop strategies by which successful community-building characteristics of the various participating institutions can be transferred elsewhere. In all phases, the research team brings a broad range of diversity of expertise and institutional fabric to the proposed study. Five different types of institutions are represented in this effort: Research 1 (University of Washington), Comprehensive (Minnesota State), Master's L (Simmons College), Private, Faith-Based (Seattle Pacific), and HBCU (Tuskegee). Each of these institutions has unique historical strengths for undergraduate education; this research will improve understanding of how these strengths impact connections to community via mediating engagement and subsequently predicting student learning. REESE DRL EHR Veilleux, Nanette Simmons College MA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 40000 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909971 August 1, 2009 Becoming a 21st Century Scientist: Cognitive Practices, Identity Formation, and Learning in Integrative Systems Biology. The project examines the requirements for becoming a researcher in 21st century bioscience research--what the PIs call a "transdisciplinary" researcher. Transdisciplinary is defined as a situation "where researchers have deep disciplinary knowledge and methods from one discipline but inhabit a research space in which there is interpenetration of one or more other disciplines." The investigation specifically looks at the cognitive and learning practices for both undergraduates and graduate students, in the emerging transdisciplinary field of Integrative Systems Biology (ISB) where the research lies at the intersection of the computational, biological, and engineering sciences. The PIs will conduct historical and ethnographic research on learners in two laboratories--one inhabited by computational scientists and in another that conducts biological experiments, computational modeling, and engineering. Using observations and interviews, the ethnographies will investigate how learning unfolds in the labs, how newcomers are apprenticed, how they make choices regarding the cognitive tools and practices they appropriate, which ones they discard, and the research paths they take based on these experiences. The historical dimension examines historical records through the lens of cognitive science research. Data collection includes publications, grant proposals, dissertation proposals, presentations, laboratory notebooks, emails, technological artifacts and interviews on lab history. The project explores how interdisiciplinary research in general moves forward, a topic that is critical to the conduct of 21st century science and to the education of 21st century scientists. The PIs define interdisciplinary research as research that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspective and concepts/theories from two or more disciplines. Thus, the PIs consider interdisciplinary to be a broad, overarching description, while transdisicplinary research concerns a kind of interdisciplinary work that leads to "interpenetation" of one more other disciplines. The field of ISB is such a transdisciplinary field and can make significant contributions to several pressing problems related to health and the environment. REESE DRL EHR Nersessian, Nancy Wendy Newstetter GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 989240 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909976 August 15, 2009 Empirical Study on Emerging Research: The Role of Epistomological Beliefs and Cognitive Processing on Engineering Students' Ability to Solve Ambiguous Problems. Open-ended and ill-structured problems are inherent in engineering practice, and a significant aspect of engineering education is to teach students how to solve these problems. While there has been effort to understand and improve teaching of design, less work has been done on "pre-design" problems, i.e. open-ended problems that share some elements of design, but do not encompass all the complexities of design problems. We argue that it is necessary to understand the nature of problem-solving for these pre-design problems in order to ultimately develop effective interventions for improving students' abilities to solve open-ended and ill-structured problems. As a means of characterizing problems, we propose a framework that classifies problems in terms of the number of decisions that need to be made and whether the problem has a single correct answer (close-ended) or has multiple answers which require some judgment as to which is the most appropriate (open-ended). The overall research question for this project is: What factors contribute to undergraduate engineering students' ability to solve open-ended engineering problems? We will address this question through a study involving junior and senior materials engineering students at a large public university. Our project consists of both a quantitative and a qualitative component. The goal of the quantitative component is to identify the relative importance of various factors on students' abilities to solve engineering problems. Specifically, we hypothesize that students who view all knowledge as certain and absolute will have more difficulty solving ambiguous (open-ended) problems than students who recognize the need to justify conclusions. Similarly, we hypothesize that students with limited ability to work with multiple items in memory simultaneously will have more difficulty solving open-ended problems. The goal of the qualitative component is to identify the processes students use to solve open-ended problems. This will be accomplished by observing students solving problems, followed by interviews of those students. Through this project, we will be able to identify the attributes, characteristics, and processes of successful problem solvers, and explore specific strategies they use. This, in turn, can lead to improved strategies for developing problem-solving skills in STEM fields where open-ended, ill-structured problems (e.g. design, product development, research, etc.) characterize professional practice in the field. We expect that the results of this study will inform the development of improved classroom materials and textbooks, classroom strategies for teaching problem-solving, and professional development activities to equip faculty with the tools they need to teach problem-solving. REESE DRL EHR Douglas, Elliot David Therriault Mirka Koro-Ljungberg University of Florida FL Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 250865 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0909982 September 15, 2009 Collaborative Research: Bridging between Tabletop Models and the Earth System. The three-year project tackles the important problem of the difficulty of conducting hands-on activities for 8th and 9th grade Earth Science classrooms. The PIs take the approach of using tabletop models as analogs for the phenomena the curriculum is trying to elucidate. The project investigates how students apply insights gained from working with dynamic tabletop modules to understanding and reasoning about processes of the full scale Earth system. Working with 300 students and four teachers in New York City schools, the researchers test three instructional strategies in terms of the usefulness and pitfalls of each. The PIs develop written assessments using evidence-centered design principles that examine students' understanding of model attributes, model/Earth attribute correspondences, model relationships, model/Earth relationship correspondences, and geoscience data/evidence. The PIs collect student demographic data using t-tests and multiple regression analysis. They also collect student demographic data and qualitative measures to describe how the instructional strategies were enacted across classrooms and to understnd the ways in which teachers should be supported to utilize these strategies effectively. REESE DRL EHR Kastens, Kim Columbia University NY Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 112010 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0909999 August 15, 2009 Transforming STEM assessment methodologies: Research on cyber-enabled measurement of cognitive models of natural selection. The investigators propose to develop a form of assessment in natural selection -- and a computer based system to implement such -- that would use Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) and hot term extraction as a means of transforming rich, open ended student responses into scores that are usable by faculty yet retain the complexities of the learning assessed. The LSA approach will be compared to interview and multiple choice methods of assessment. Some comparative cost analysis will be performed. The project will be performed at OSU with undergraduates (both white students and students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups). Should this research be successful, it will create a new and more informative way to assess students? knowledge -- one that takes into account all the knowledge he/she brings to bear on the study of STEM education. This could provide instructors, and the students themselves, with more helpful and powerful information to improve teaching methods and learning approaches, respectively. REESE DRL EHR Nehm, Ross Dennis Pearl Judith Ridgway John Opfer Ohio State University Research Foundation OH James S. Dietz Continuing grant 251172 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910010 August 15, 2009 Empirical Research: Emerging Research: Learning with Multiple Graphical Representations in a Complex, Real-world domain: Intelligent Software Tutors for Fractions. The cognitive science and educational psychology literatures provide ample evidence that instructional materials and activities that judiciously combine multiple representations of learning content (MRs) can have significant learning benefits. Much of this literature has focused on learning with a combination of text and figures; only some of it has focused on learning with multiple graphical representations. In order to benefit from multiple representations, students must connect key information across the different representations. Students typically must be supported in doing so (Ainsworth, 2006). This project studies the use of MRs in the domain of fractions, a very challenging area of mathematics for middle-school students in which graphical representations are used extensively (e.g., pie charts, number lines, fraction strips, set models, etc.) The research focuses on three general (and open) questions that instructional designers face when creating a curriculum that involves the use of MRs: First, when multiple representations of learning materials are used, how frequently should learners switch between representations? Second, what kinds of activities are most effective in helping students make connections between different representations? Third, what fraction of the students? time should be devoted to making connections between representations, relative to activities centered on a single representation? Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Freiburg (Germany) investigate these questions in the context of an established educational technology: intelligent tutoring systems. These types of software tutors have been shown to improve students' mathematics learning in a number of scientific studies. A set of authoring tools created in a lab at Carnegie Mellon make the development of these tutors more cost effective and more accessible to education researchers than it used to be. During a three-year grant period, the project will (1) create web-based intelligent tutors as supplemental activities for fractions learning; these tutors support activities in which students work with interactive graphical representations of fractions, and make connections between the representations, and (2) conduct controlled experiments in Pittsburgh middle schools to investigate the three research questions outlined above. The proposed research will result in principles for learning with MRs. It will produce new knowledge about how fraction representations can best be used to support robust learning. The proposed research has the potential to produce more effective fractions instruction in the lower and middle grades, and thereby facilitate later mathematics learning. The proposed software tutors will be made freely available on the Mathtutor website (http://webmathtutor.org). REESE DRL EHR Aleven, Vincent Nikol Rummel Carnegie-Mellon University PA Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 366827 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910041 August 15, 2009 Empirical Research (Contextual Strand 2): Researching and Improving Geography Graduate Education for STEM Careers in Business, Government, and Non-profit Organizations. This project is building on prior NSF-funded research on graduate education in geography, as well as research performed since the mid-1990s by major foundations. This prior work clearly indicates that STEM graduate programs are not fully preparing students for potential careers beyond academe. As in other social and environmental sciences, research on professional development in geography has focused on academic career issues. The outcome is a broad-based academic infrastructure in geography for supporting the professional development of early career faculty. This project is premised on the belief that similar infrastructure is needed to support the professional development of new and transitional scholars entering Business, Government, and Nonprofit (BGN) work settings. A key first step is to clarify the types of learning experiences, both theoretical and applied, which will equip graduates with the competencies for geographic work in BGN organizations. To take this first step, this project is developing further a methodology designed in prior research to assess workforce needs, expectations, and core competencies in professional geography work. It is conducting research focused on BGN professionals and employer organizations in order to determine the value of coursework, internships, and other forms of educational experiences that graduates acquire in graduate geography programs. The project scope includes assessing the expectations of different workplace cultures, and developing measures of how BGN professionals experience their working environments, resulting in a better understanding of the knowledge and skills geography graduates need to prepare themselves for entry into BGN positions. REESE DRL EHR Solem, Michael Kenneth Foote Patricia Solis Matthew Koeppe Mary Schlemper Association of American Geographers DC Myles G. Boylan Continuing grant 284127 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910070 September 15, 2009 Collaborative Research: Mental Abacus Education and Spatial Representations of Number. How does learning mathematics in a spatial format affect children's understanding of number, and the basic cognitive processes that support it? The proposed project will explore this question by investigating users of 'mental abacus' a system of mental arithmetic practiced by children throughout the world. Children who use mental abacus first learn to do arithmetic on a physical device, and then internalize these computations by creating a mental image of an abacus. By moving beads in their mental representation, children perform computations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, all with astonishing speed and accuracy. In three sets of experiments, we will explore how visualizing beads on an abacus to do arithmetic affects abilities such as estimation and comparison of amount, visual attention and working memory, and children's understanding of early numerical concepts, such as addition, place value, and commutativity. Participants will include children in Gujarat Province, India, who are highly trained in abacus, as well as children and adults in the US. Our hypothesis is that learning to do math in a spatial format facilitates not only early understanding of number, but also lays the groundwork for learning advanced mathematics, by training the underlying cognitive processes that support numerical reasoning. REESE DRL EHR Alvarez, George Harvard University MA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 70387 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910108 September 1, 2009 Gender-Ethnic Identification and the Development of STEM Achievement Behaviors. This is a longitudinal, quantitative study to examine the roles of gender and ethnic identification in the development of high school students STEM values, expectancies, and achievement behaviors within the framework of the Eccles Expectancy Value Model of achievement behaviors, which proposes that engaging in certain educational behaviors, such as course taking are the product of an individual's expectations for success and its perceived value or importance. The PI seeks to expand this model to specifically address the unique contributions of social identity factors in STEM engagement. This study will follow the students via self-reports across 3 years to gather insight into continuity and change over time. Participants will be adolescent 10th, 11th and 12th graders, who are a mixture of white, black, Latino and Asian Americans. Parents or primary guardians of the adolescents will be included in the study. The initial sample of 256 students (32 per gender x ethnic group) was extended to include 100 additional students and parents. The participants will be a representative sample of public high school students and their families in the school district of Philadelphia PA. The research will examine possible conflicts between gender and ethnic stereotypes. One example is a perceived conflict between the math competency associated with Asians and the negative gender stereotype associated with an Asian female. The primary research questions are: 1) How do gender and ethnicity interact in academic identification and STEM achievement behaviors; 2) Which factors put female and ethnic minority students at risk for not pursuing STEM; and 3) Are these constructs and processes stable from 10th to 12th grade. The quantitative analyses will focus on regression analysis; however, structured equation modeling (SEM) may also be utilized. The proposed study will provide new knowledge and understanding to the fields of educational, social, and developmental psychology, STEM education, and education policy through the development of a stronger conceptualization of the social/cognitive factors responsible for the participation of girls and ethnic minorities in STEM. The project will provide data absent in earlier studies on attitudes of students of color as well as a point of departure for education researchers and policymakers, whose goal is to develop effective motivational strategies to increase the participation of female students of color in STEM education and careers. Further the knowledge to be gained from this research is central to the development of curricular programs designed to target such groups, i.e., programs that respond to the specific educational disseminated among parents and the community as well as scientists and educators. The PI will mentor graduate psychology students in research methods; undergraduate students and females will be given preference in recruitment. REESE DRL EHR Else-Quest, Nicole Villanova University PA Elmima C. Johnson Continuing grant 141105 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910115 August 15, 2009 Empirical Research, Emerging Research Strand: A Unified, Cross-domain Approach to Studying Learner Understanding of Emergence. Brem and team propose to investigate general properties that students must understand in learning about a specific cross-disciplinary phenomenon --- emergent systems (vis a vis complex adaptive systems). The proposers argue that these common properties can be learned, primarily through addressing misconceptions and areas of learning difficulty, and such knowledge can then be applied to investigating specific systems that bear these characteristics. Several of these properties are counterintuitive given that emergent systems are complex in hierarchy, are irreducible as systems, and novel and unpredictable (among other things). Specifically, the investigator will use visualizations and face-to-face interviews in iteratively developing, refining, and validating something of a concept inventory (assessment instrument) that will define and measure student learning in this area. The focus will primarily be on undergraduate learning. The team has chosen examples from geology (erosion), chemistry (the relationship of temperature and pressure in gases), natural selection (the evolution of mimetic abilities), and psychology (detecting and avoiding outsiders) as contexts to conduct their research. The broader impacts of this work lie in its ability to ultimately assist students in overcoming some common and consistent learning obstacles in their study of disciplinary and interdisciplinary science. REESE DRL EHR Brem, Sarah Michelene Chi Arizona State University AZ James S. Dietz Continuing grant 234189 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910143 September 15, 2009 Connection, Community, and Engagement in STEM Education (Large Empirical, Contextual Research Topics in STEM Education). The goal of this research project is to advance knowledge about student and faculty perceptions of connection to community as factors in academic engagement. The three phases of this research will mold basic research results into applied strategies for improvements in engagement in higher education STEM environments. The first phase is a tool development phase which will provide a valid tool box for evaluating target constructs (engagement, participation, affect, cognition, etc.). Three data collection tools will be developed: student surveys, student focus group protocols, and faculty interview protocols. The second phase focuses on addressing the following research question: What connections to community are contributing to significant differences in academic engagement? and How do institutional characteristics mold the classroom experience toward increased community? Surveys will be administered to students and focus group and interviews conducted with students at five different post-secondary institutions. Data will be analyzed within and across institutions to gauge the effects of higher education institutional characteristics on student affect, perception, cognition, sense of belonging, engagement, and participation. Finally, the third phase emphasizes applying results to develop strategies by which successful community-building characteristics of the various participating institutions can be transferred elsewhere. In all phases, the research team brings a broad range of diversity of expertise and institutional fabric to the proposed study. Five different types of institutions are represented in this effort: Research 1 (University of Washington), Comprehensive (Minnesota State), Master's L (Simmons College), Private, Faith-Based (Seattle Pacific), and HBCU (Tuskegee). Each of these institutions has unique historical strengths for undergraduate education; this research will improve understanding of how these strengths impact connections to community via mediating engagement and subsequently predicting student learning. REESE DRL EHR Bates, Rebecca Minnesota State University, Mankato MN Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 55000 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0910167 August 15, 2009 Development and Application of a Multilevel Evaluation Procedure for Examining State and School Educational Contexts with NAEP. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics exam renders aggregate scores based on the assumption that each test item measures a single underlying proficiency (e.g., an area of mathematics). Prior work of the investigators suggests that there may be more information that can be mined from the NAEP exam that may be used for policymaking at the instructional level, such as policymaking for schools). Using the NAEP item response data, the investigators propose a two-fold goal: (1) to understand school and state influences on student mathematics achievement, and (2) to improve measurement and statistical analysis techniques for the evaluation of mathematics education. A considerable portion of the research will focus on the creation of measurement and statistical techniques (goal two) that will be demonstrated in the advancement of goal one analyses. The investigators will use Item Response Theory (IRT) and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analyses to produce their own statistically-based classification of NAEP items that, when contrasted with the existing (official) NAEP conceptually-based classification system, should reveal information that can be attributed at the school and state levels simultaneously. This will allow the researchers to use the data and their (error) variance--both in IRT and HLM--to examine how schools differ on any number of preselected, relevant policy characteristics. To do this, however, requires that the investigators build new statistical tools and will require that this very premise be tested in the form of a hypothesis. Thus, the results of this feasibility study will determine if a test designed for assessing national (only) progress can be used to explain the relative mathematical strengths of schools. This approach could be used to evaluate policy initiatives focused at the school level using NAEP and potentially other large-scale assessment data. REESE DRL EHR Camilli, Gregory Jimmy de la Torre Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ James S. Dietz Continuing grant 307949 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910176 August 1, 2009 Empirical Research: Emerging Research: Learning by Teaching a Synthetic Student: Using SimStudent to Study the Effect of Tutor Learning. The purpose of the Self-Explanation study is to investigate whether prompting students to explain problem-solving steps made by themselves would facilitate tutor learning. In the proposed learning environment, 8th grade students will be prompted to explain the reasoning behind their tutoring activities when teaching SimStudent. The proposed learning-by-teaching environment is designed for Algebra students to learn two major types of knowledge, namely: procedural skills to manipulate algebraic expressions and solve equations; and conceptual knowledge to justify skill applications when solving problems. The research question is: Does asking students to provide explanations for their reasoning behind the tutoring activities facilitate tutor learning? The hypothesis to be tested is: If students provide explanations on their reasoning behind the tutoring, then the effect of tutor learning will be facilitated. Students will be randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: the treatment condition where the students will be prompted to provide explanations on their tutoring activities; and the control condition where the students will use the base-line Learning-by-Teaching environment. Pre- and post-tests will be used to measure students' learning achievement in conceptual and procedural knowledge. Student comparisons using the learning gain as the dependent variable will be the focus of analysis. The study focuses on Algebra I linear equation solving, which is a critical area in the middle school algebra curriculum as indicated in both the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM) publication of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the more recently released document Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics. It is well known that prompting students to self-explain facilitates learning both when they are asked to explain correct worked-out examples and when they are asked to explain errors made by others. The study tests the hypothesis that self-explanation is also effective in tutor learning. Students will be asked to explain: correct steps when they demonstrate steps to their SimStudent; incorrect steps when they catch SimStudent making an error and want to indicate why the step is wrong; and 3) their choice of problems to teach to SimStudent, for instance, based on the observation on what mistakes SimStudent make when given a quiz. REESE DRL EHR Matsuda, Noboru Ken Koedinger William Cohen Gabriel Stylianides Carnegie-Mellon University PA Ferdinand D. Rivera Standard Grant 492439 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0910188 July 1, 2009 Empirical Research: Emerging Research: Robust and Efficient Learning: Modeling and Remediating Students' Domain Knowledge. This project employs an intelligent learning environment called the Genetics Cognitive Tutor to explore student learning via abductive problem solving in undergraduate genetics courses. Problem solving is an essential learning activity across STEM domains, but there is a well-documented risk that students can develop superficial knowledge based on surface features of the problem situation, instead of a deeper conceptual understanding. The key hypotheses of this project are that shallow reasoning emerges because students lack the conceptual grounding to engage in deep reasoning, and that this shallow reasoning can be detected during problem solving and remediated as soon as it occurs. This empirical research project has two chief goals to promote deeper reasoning in genetics problem solving. First, the project is developing new on-line Conceptually Grounded Learning Activities to better prepare students for deeper learning in subsequent problem solving. Second, the project employs cognitive modeling and machine learning techniques to develop a model for tracing student knowledge that distinguishes between superficial and deep reasoning in real time during problem solving. This permits the Cognitive Tutor to intervene appropriately as superficial reasoning occurs, by engaging students in reasoning directly about underlying domain concepts. The new learning activities and knowledge tracing technique are being evaluated and refined in laboratory studies in universities where genetics is taught, and expanded to authentic classroom-based settings at four diverse universities that vary by institutional types across four dimensions: public vs. private; national vs. regional; student academic proficiency; and ethnic diversity. The dependent measures of deep vs. superficial reasoning include response time, accuracy and response history in the tutor, and post-test measures of retention, transfer, and preparation for future learning. This research targets a critical need in undergraduate biology education. Genetics is a linchpin of biology instruction, both because it is a fundamental, unifying theme of biology, and because it is viewed by students and instructors as one of the most challenging topics in biology. The research will directly inform improvements in intelligent learning environments, such as the Genetics Cognitive Tutor, to promote deeper reasoning in genetics problem solving. But shallow reasoning is a challenge across STEM domains and across other types of learning activities. The knowledge developed in this project should lead directly to design guidelines for intelligent problem-solving environments that support conceptually-grounded reasoning in other STEM domains. The lessons learned can also guide researchers in creating shallow-reasoning detectors in a broad range of on-line learning environments, and can provide guidelines for sequencing different types of learning activities in non-computerized learning environments. REESE DRL EHR Corbett, Albert Ryan Baker Aaron Mitchell Carnegie-Mellon University PA Sharon J. Lynch Standard Grant 1066102 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0910191 September 1, 2009 Empirical Research: Breaking through the Reputational Ceiling: Professional Networks as a Determinant of Advancement, Mobility, and Career Outcomes for Women and Minorities in STEM. The proposal addresses the characteristics and role of networks in career advancement, outcomes, and mentoring for women and underrepresented minority academic scientists in non-Research I institutions. The questions driving the research concern the structural and resource determinants of underrepresentation, career success and satisfaction of women and underrepresented minorities PhDs who have faculty appointments in Research II and Comprehensive institutions. The PIs propose to use OLS regression and structural equation modeling to answer research questions related to gender differences, relationships between network structure and outcomes, and the association of background characteristics on networks. The PIs will survey women and minority scientists in civil engineering, chemistry, physics and computer science. They will use event history analysis to study career trajectories from the curriculum vitae. To ensure limited bias, the PIs will compare characteristics of the respondents with the general population in terms of rank, gender, and field. Finally, another survey and interviews will target named mentees. The interviews will add an important qualitative dimension to the study. The study addresses significant questions about how women and minorities at Research II and Comprehensive institutions access and use professional networks and to what effect. The PIs state that the project can inform education policy as it continues to seek new mechanisms to encourage and foster greater representation of women and minorities in STEM fields. The findings would provide a more nuanced assessment of the complex interactive environment that creates structures and provides resources that are critical to the career trajectory of minority STEM faculty. REESE DRL EHR Melkers, Julia Monica Gaughan Eric Welch GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Janice M. Earle Continuing grant 410145 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0910206 September 15, 2009 Collaborative Research: Mental Abacus Education and Spatial Representations of Number. How does learning mathematics in a spatial format affect children's understanding of number, and the basic cognitive processes that support it? The proposed project will explore this question by investigating users of 'mental abacus' a system of mental arithmetic practiced by children throughout the world. Children who use mental abacus first learn to do arithmetic on a physical device, and then internalize these computations by creating a mental image of an abacus. By moving beads in their mental representation, children perform computations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, all with astonishing speed and accuracy. In three sets of experiments, we will explore how visualizing beads on an abacus to do arithmetic affects abilities such as estimation and comparison of amount, visual attention and working memory, and children's understanding of early numerical concepts, such as addition, place value, and commutativity. Participants will include children in Gujarat Province, India, who are highly trained in abacus, as well as children and adults in the US. Our hypothesis is that learning to do math in a spatial format facilitates not only early understanding of number, but also lays the groundwork for learning advanced mathematics, by training the underlying cognitive processes that support numerical reasoning. REESE DRL EHR Barner, David University of California-San Diego CA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 520449 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910218 September 1, 2009 Transfer of perceptually grounded principles. This project concerns the role of perceptually concrete materials in teaching generalizable scientific concepts, with a particular emphasis on computer simulations. While concrete content appears to facilitate the learning of specific pieces of information, previous research has shown that it may impair students' ability to apply that information to new situations. The proposed studies explore the relation between the superficial, concrete details through which a phenomenon is presented, and the abstraction of deeper scientific principles underlying the phenomenon. The specific content to be learned concerns the principles of complex systems in a range of STEM domains such as civil engineering, biology, economics, and mechanics. The research methods involve classroom-based and laboratory experiments incorporating computer simulations of scientific principles. By observing how interaction with one simulation affects students' understanding of subsequently presented information, the investigators can assess the degree to which the underlying scientific principle has been successfully abstracted. The proposed research is divided into two broad lines. First, the investigators explore the role of comparison of multiple cases in students' ability to acquire generalizable principles from concrete examples. Second, they examine the degree to which physically and spatially plausible mechanical systems may serve as models for understanding complex or unintuitive causal systems. In both lines, the investigators explore the ways in which learning is affected by factors such as the degree and type of concrete detail depicted, the relative overlap of concrete and structural information between cases, and the concrete and structural variability with the test cases. Studies will include students in 8th grade science classes. REESE DRL EHR Goldstone, Robert Samuel Day Indiana University IN Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 1072757 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0910221 September 1, 2009 Deeper modeling via affective meta-tutoring. The studies address through investigation of students in Arizona High School summer programs how students learn, understand and manipulate scientific models of the carbon cycle and the water cycle. The investigators of this project have identified problems that on-line tutors have with creating conditions for students to regulate their own behavior. Instead of taking advantage of the available learning opportunities, some students ask for hints until the tutor gives them the correct answer. The investigators hypothesize that lasting benefits require changing students beliefs about shallow compared with deep modeling practices and breaking their modeling habits and instilling new ones. They intend to add affective learning companions to the on-line tutors. The modules use the teachable agent metaphor called Betty's Brain. The study analysis will be conducted in high school summer schools in Arizona for students that are mostly Native Americans. The students are self-selected for attending the summer school. Data collection will include student logs, verbal protocols and affect sensor data from the summer school participants (approximately 30 students). Three studies will be conducted: 1. to develop a meta tutoring tool, 2. to develop an affective learning agent with verbal and physical gestures, and 3. a measure of whether the new tool results in increases in learning. The analysis will involve causal inference and data mining of student records of their activities. The third phase of the learning will compare students who use one agent with the teachable agent; a second group will compare two agents, the teachable agent and the meta-tutor; and a third group will compare three agents. The outcome of the study is a developed and tested tool to increase student learning and statistical analysis of records maintained by the investigators of student activities with the teachable agent. The study should help indicate whether computer tutors are more effective if they have integrated features that mimic human performance. REESE DRL EHR VanLehn, Kurt Winslow Burleson Arizona State University AZ Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 308480 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910240 August 1, 2009 Characteristics of Successful Programs in College Calculus. This study to be conducted under the auspices of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) undertakes a national investigation of Calculus I to identify the factors that contribute to student success, to understand how these factors are leveraged within successful programs and to use the publications, committees, and public fora of the MAA to disseminate the information and help mathematics departments build on its insights. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative methods. During the study's first phase, a large-scale national survey of Calculus I instruction will be conducted through mathematics departments. The study builds on the Conference Board on the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) studies to link the survey data with student success. Using the epidemiological model developed by Sadler and Tai, the PIs will examine factors such as instructor attributes, departmental focus, classroom variables, and out of class expectations as likely explanatory factors. A web-based student survey will also be conducted. Data will be studied through HLM analyses and institutions, course-level characteristics, and student characteristics will all be examined. Phase II of the project will develop a preliminary theoretical framework for institutional models that produce successful calculus students. This informs the selection of eight cases to be conducted in different kinds of institutions. The cases will be analyzed using the approaches of pattern matching, explanation building, and cross-case syntheses. The study is significant because the number of calculus students has been steadily decreasing in spite of the fact that more high school students are taking higher level mathematics courses. The PIs state that many students leave STEM fields as undergraduates because of poor calculus instruction. Identifying what works in college calculus instruction and why it works and widely disseminating the information will improve student success in calculus courses. REESE DRL EHR Bressoud, David Marilyn Carlson J Michael Pearson Chris Rasmussen Mathematical Association of America DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 1999701 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0910247 August 15, 2009 Individual Differences in Cognitive Styles. Assumptions about learning styles and cognitive abilities inform the nation's STEM educational curricula and standards. The proposal is aimed at addressing fundamental unanswered questions about the construct, including the neural correlates of individual differences in visual, verbal, and spatial cognitive styles. The PI will examine whether cognitive styles reflect learning and reasoning strategies rather than abilities, which has important implications for the way in which individuals? needs are met in classrooms and other learning environments. Through a series of experiments, the PI will study the behavioral and neural correlates of cognitive styles as well as its effects on memory and attention. These experiments will address such specific questions as: Do cognitive styles represent orthogonal dimensions rather than opposing ends of a spectrum? What neural mechanisms underlie these styles? Does general fluid intelligence relate to an ability to switch flexibly between styles as dictated by task context? Will those who have a propensity towards a particular cognitive style show better memory retention for information presented in their preferred modality? Is successful encoding correlated with activity in predicted brain regions? At the time of encoding, does one tend to convert information presented in a non-preferred modality into a preferred modality? The project will culminate in series of experimental interventions design to study the effectiveness of training participants to adopt a new cognitive style and apply it to an untrained task. The promise of this project is that it will help synthesize and make more coherent current theories and findings on cognitive and learning styles and, supported by solid scientific methodology, lay the foundation for improved pedagogical techniques. REESE DRL EHR Thompson-Schill, Sharon University of Pennsylvania PA Gregg E. Solomon Continuing grant 291521 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910278 September 15, 2009 Simplifying complexity: Analyzing students' models of biological systems. This research project responds to the changing nature of biological science, which has become less fragmented and more focused on models of complex interacting systems. The investigators will study a framework that they hypothesize is well-suited to facilitating students thinking about complex systems across the biological span from sub-cellular genetic processes to evolution and ecology. The selected framework is Structure-Behavior-Function Theory (SBF), in which a system is represented by the component elements of its structure, the processes that these components perform, and the overall function or purpose of the system. The framework originated in the Artificial Intelligence literature, as an effective strategy for reasoning about designed systems such as electrical circuits. In this research, it will be applied to reasoning about topics such as genes, evolution, and ecology. The investigators will use SBF theory as a pedagogy as a well as an assessment system, in the context of several courses in introductory biology at Michigan State University for both life science majors and non-majors. Students will create, refine, and reason with diagrammatic representations of their own models of the topics they study, and investigators will build software to automate the coding of such representations and the ways they change over the course. The work of approximately 800 students will be analyzed to look for shifts in student reasoning at key points in the instruction, tracking learning trajectories over time. The assessment method will be validated by correlating the scores with those on other forms of parallel assessment, such as multiple-choice, short-answer, and diagrammatic questions. Overall, the investigators will develop and evaluate a framework for analyzing student understanding, propose strategies for promoting systems thinking and metacognition, and advance research on learning about complex systems. The project is innovative in its application of SBF theory to the pedagogy, assessment, and analysis of introductory biology college courses, and also in its adaptation of software tools to automate the analysis of students models and associated reasoning. REESE DRL EHR Long, Tammy Mark Urban-Lurain Jennifer Momsen Elena Bray Speth Michigan State University MI Sue Allen Continuing grant 178587 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0910290 August 15, 2009 Empirical; Contextual Research Strand; Title: Elementary Science Specialists and Classroom Generalists: Are There Differences in Science Instruction, Student Achievement, and Cost?. Abstract Intellectual Merit This proposal focuses on science instruction at the elementary level where few research studies exist about effective models for teaching science. The goal of this study is to determine the degree to which there are meaningful differences in the quantity and quality of science instruction provided by a generalist, specialist, or blended model for classroom instruction; whether differences in instruction are associated with student outcomes; and which model is the most cost-effective based on financial and human resources. The study will target 80 teachers of fourth and fifth grade students in 42 schools in the Boston Public School District. The guiding principles detailed in the Massachusetts Science and Technology Engineering Curriculum Framework will serve as the operating definition of high-quality science instruction and the theoretical framework to guide classroom observations. The four research questions that will guide this study include: 1. What are the characteristics of schools that do and do not employ science specialists? What are the characteristics of science specialists and classroom generalists? 2. How does the quality of science instruction provided by a science specialist, a classroom generalist, and a combination of specialist/generalist differ? How does the quantity of science instruction provided by a science specialist, a classroom generalist, and a combination of specialist/generalist differ? 3. If differences in instruction exist between the models, to what extent and in what ways are they associated with student learning? 4. What are the financial and human-resource costs associated with each model? A mixed methods approach will be used to collect data through surveys, three face-to face interviews and three classroom observations. Data will be collected from both principals and teachers over a 2.5 year period. The survey instruments and protocols were developed by Horizon Research, Inc., and will be modified to meet the specific needs of this study. Fourth and fifth grade student test scores from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, the state's assessment instrument, and kit-based tests will be used to determine the impact of the different models on student achievement. The study includes a well thought-out approach for analyzing data using an array of quantitative and qualitative methods (e.g. general descriptive statistics, hierarchical linear modeling, logistic regression models, one-way MANOVA estimations, coding and coding schemes, and atlas.it). Broader Impacts The boarder impacts of this study reside in the significance and importance of results to district policymakers. While less that 30% of elementary students in the United States receive science instruction from specialists or a science specialist in addition to their regular classroom teachers, few studies exist that describe the effect of this approach on science teaching and student achievement. The fundamental issue that might be resolved through this study include which of three models (generalist, specialist, or blended) is the better one for teaching and learning science and at what cost. This information will help policymakers make better decisions about science instruction at the elementary level. Ways to disseminate lessons-learned to key education stakeholders will be distributed through multiple channels and pathways relevant to policymakers. Thus, this project adds to the limited research in this area, advances knowledge about science instruction, highlights the impact on student achievement, sheds light on cost effectiveness, and provides a tool for measuring science instruction at the elementary level. REESE DRL EHR Levy, Abigail Jurist Julie Gess-Newsome Marian Pasquale Education Development Center MA Celestine Pea Continuing grant 320640 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0910373 September 1, 2009 Understanding and Reducing the Gender Gap in Math and Science: Cognitive, Social, and Neural Mechanisms in Identity Threat. The proposed project is focused on the gender gap in the STEM disciplines through research on the impact of stereotype threat, which is viewed as an important factor in female underrepresentation in mathematics and science. Stereotype threat for women in math and science takes the form of a fear that they could be judged in light of negative stereotypes. The research rigorously tests the emerging view that identity threat impairs learning and performance by reducing mental capacity, specifically working memory capacity, cluttering individuals? minds with negative task-irrelevant thoughts (e.g., worry) and inducing them to excessively monitor task performance. Affirmation is hypothesized to reduce task-irrelevant thoughts and/or excessive performance monitoring, thereby protecting working memory capacity from the effects of identity threat. Using multiple levels of analysis, the research is designed to: a) test whether stereotype threat diminishes the math and science performance of undergraduate women by reducing working memory capacity; b) determine the efficacy of a self-affirmation intervention for lessening the negative impact of stereotype threat on women's math performance and clarify the underlying cognitive mechanism (i.e., depleted working memory capacity ) that allegedly mediates its impact; and c) examine whether a self-affirmation intervention can improve the learning of new scientific concepts in addition to enhancing the solving of math and science problems. A significant strength of this proposal is the proposed testing of working memory capacity in a more rigorous and comprehensive manner than previously done, by examining multiple mediating mechanisms with a diverse array of converging measures (e.g., reaction times, event-related potentials, heart rates. The proposed research will yield rich data on underlying mechanisms that should provide a foundation for conducting larger-scale longitudinal interventions in actual STEM classrooms. The research also has the potential to advance knowledge and understanding across several fields and create transformative concepts This project has the potential to significantly reduce the gender gap in STEM fields at the undergraduate and graduate levels through significantly reducing underrepresentation in these disciplines and increasing performance on standardized tests of math and science. At the same time, the proposed activities offer a unique blend of training opportunities to undergraduate trainees, graduate and post-grad students. The interdisciplinary team includes leading researchers with expertise in cognitive psychology, social neuroscience, and science education. Thus the project also can serve as a proof of concept that an interdisciplinary approach can reveal the mechanisms underlying one of the most significant psychological barriers to women's success in the STEM, and that a psychological intervention targeting identity threat can improve women's STEM learning and performance. REESE DRL EHR Miyake, Akira Noah Finkelstein Tiffany Ito Geoffrey Cohen University of Colorado at Boulder CO Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 999865 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910384 September 15, 2009 Large Empirical Emerging Topics: CareerWise II: Enhanced Resilience Training for STEM Women in an Interactive, Multimodal Web-Based Environment. CareerWise-II is a continuation of CareerWise-I [supported by DRL 0634519]. This is a research project testing the efficacy of resiliency training over the Internet for the benefit of female doctoral students in engineering and the physical sciences, in order to reduce their attrition from their doctoral programs. The central research question is whether deliberate resilience training delivered via the Internet can strengthen women students' persistence and success in STEM doctoral programs. CareerWise-II identifies five research questions: 1. What is the relationship between interpersonal communication skills and student perception of supports / barriers to degree completion / STEM careers? 2. What is the most effective approach for delivering online instruction in interpersonal skills for STEM doctoral students? 3. Do instructional design principles that guide the development of non-interactive multimodal learning environments generalize to interactive, web-based environments? 4. Do principles of instructional design derived from more structured domains (math, science) generalize to training soft skills (interpersonal communication)? 5. Does systematic resilience training over the Internet strengthen women students' persistence? The focus of CW-II will be on usability testing, large scale testing (including recruiting students), and improved Internet interfaces, including simulations. The research design is comprised of three phases, each testing the effectiveness of different materials or combinations of materials. Each phase has randomized trials. REESE DRL EHR Bernstein, Bianca Robert Atkinson Jennifer Bekki Arizona State University AZ Myles G. Boylan Standard Grant 1999164 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0910558 July 15, 2009 Cognitive Science July 29, 2009 through August 1, 2009: Strengthening International Connections and Perspectives on Cognitive Science. This conference proposal requests support that will assist 80 US doctoral students with travel expenses so that they may attend and present at the Cognitive Science Society 2009 Meeting to be held at the Free University, from Wednesday, July 29th to Saturday, August 1st, and so that they may participate in pre-conference tutorials and workshops held on Wednesday, July 29th. The location of the conference was selected specifically to provide opportunities to create a more connected international community of cognitive scientists. Workshops and tutorials will give both junior and more senior scientists an opportunity to develop connections around meaningful points of intersecting interest. This proposals intellectual merit is the dissemination and exchange of knowledge in cognitive science and learning science within the international community. Its broader impact is in support of the training of young investigators and the development of interdisciplinary and international collaborations in cognitive research. REESE PERCEPTION, ACTION & COGNITION DRL EHR Wiley, Jennifer University of Illinois at Chicago IL Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 40000 7625 7252 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0910672 October 1, 2009 C: Mathematics Attainment and African American Students: Discourse from Multiple Perspectives. In collaboration with the Benjamin Banneker Association, Temple University, Arcadia University, and Georgia State University convene a series of two professional mini-conferences and one professional summit to address issues related to the mathematical education of African American students, Pre-K-16. Previous research (Kitchen, 2007; Stiff & Harvey, 1988) suggests that there is a negative relationship between African American students and mathematics. This relationship is exacerbated by the underrepresentation of African American students in advanced mathematics classes, even when they are the majority of school populations (Martin, 2007), and the overrepresentation of African American students in lower-track mathematics courses and special education (Blanchett, 2006). The series of conferences addresses the following pressing questions: (1) In what ways do school structures and institutional policies impact African American students' success in school mathematics? (2) In what ways can technological tools and other forms of multimedia be used to motivate and encourage African American students to learn rigorous mathematics? (2) In what ways do highly qualified mathematics teachers understand issues of race and equity, and how might teacher education programs develop highly qualified mathematics teachers for urban schools? (3) What is the nexus of race and identity for African American students in the South and other spaces where African American students are the majority, and how does racial-identity and individual agency impact their mathematics attainment? (4) What are the best practices that facilitate learning and mathematical empowerment among African American students, and how might culturally relevant and critical pedagogy assist in developing academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness among African American students? Numerous stakeholders, including classroom teachers, school administrators, experts in STEM education research, and scholars in psychology come together to speak to the pressing issues facing the mathematical education of African American students. The conferences bridge research and practice and challenge policymakers and school system leaders to establish frameworks and infrastructures that encourage African American students to develop positive mathematics identities and high levels of mathematics attainment. Outcomes include articles in research and practitioner journals and professional development materials. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Stinson, David Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc. GA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 68434 7645 SMET 9177 0915778 October 1, 2009 Hotspot California: Bringing Dioramas to Life Through Community Voices. The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) will develop, implement, and evaluate Hotspot California, a research-based natural science gallery transformation that will explore the educational potential of wildlife dioramas to engage the public in urgent environmental issues. The exhibition will showcase five real places in California that exemplify high biological diversity and complex environmental issues. Innovative approaches to interpretation will emphasize personal connections to these places and infuse static dioramas with visualization technologies that illustrate environmental change over time. The project will explore how such enhancements to dioramas might help visitors develop place-based connections to the natural world. The project has four major deliverables: 1) an innovative 25,000 sq ft gallery exhibition installation featuring five specific California places where California's unique biodiversity is threatened; 2) an application and evaluation of a new participatory exhibit design model involving community contribution, collaboration, and co-design; 3) a two-day "synthesis symposium" for informal science education professionals to consider broad applications of project findings for the field; and 4) "Diorama Dilemmas: A Source book for Museums," synthesizing relevant literature, case studies, and findings from the project's research and evaluation generalizable to the field. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fogarty, Lori Kathleen McLean Douglas Long Mary Jo Sutton Oakland Museum of California CA Orrin Shane Continuing grant 520889 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917439 August 1, 2009 Planning Public Forums on Flooding. This planning grant deals with helping people in a flood prone area, Lehigh Valley, understand climate change and the impacts it can have on their livelihood. Through a series of town hall type meetings and distributed materials, the Nurture Nature Foundation and scientists will provide perspective on climate change and options now available to them. The target audience will range from teenagers to adults. During these discussions STEM concepts shall be integrated into the materials. An important aspect of this planning project is devising strategies for interactions with the local groups in meetings and for effective displays and exhibits that not only address the flooding/climate change issues but also reflect the STEM principles and concepts that are involved. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Brandes, Catherine Nurture Nature Foundation PA Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 74999 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917442 August 15, 2009 Mass Extinction: A Curated Game. MIT Education Arcade, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, will design and develop Mass Extinction, an eight-week environmental science game proposed as a new genre called the curated game, a hybrid of museum-going, social networking, and online gaming. Participants will engage in Earth systems science to study a range of environmental issues associated with mass extinction. Although the game is structured around a fictional scenario--communication with visitors from the future--the game will posit a future scenario affected by current environmental issues and conditions, and will encourage participants to apply systems thinking as a means to understand how these current conditions will lead to potential environmental disruptions. Thus, it will be necessary for participants to study, apply, and integrate knowledge and skills from multiple sources, including Earth science, ecology, chemistry, and paleontology. An Advisory Board and contributing scientists will be involved. The project team will test the hypothesis that the game play will allow youth, ages 11-14, to increase their understanding of the scientific process and increase their motivation to learn more science. The summative evaluation will be conducted by TERC Inc. A Curated Game Handbook will be produced to disseminate project results as a model for new applications of game-based learning. Open source software created as part of the game will enable future developers in informal science education to build directly upon these foundational efforts. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Klopfer, Eric Conrad Labandeira Stephanie Norby Scot Osterweil Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Alphonse T. DeSena Continuing grant 626733 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917450 September 1, 2009 Driven to Discover: Enabling Authentic Inquiry through Citizen Science. The University of Minnesota is partnering with several nature centers in the Midwest to transform citizen "technicians" into citizen "scientists." The Driven to Discover project will use existing citizen science programs with strong educational components to engage 12-14 year old youth and their adult mentors in authentic research. The goal of the project is to develop a training model for adults who work with youth in a variety of informal education settings to involve them in authentic scientific inquiry via citizen science rather than just data collection activities. In the proof-of-concept phase, teams consisting of 4-H youth, adult leaders, and several scientists are conducting participatory action research to understand what factors lead youth to full engagement in ecological research. In phase two, project personnel are training 4-H educators, naturalists, and teachers how to engage youth and their adult leaders in other 4-H programs and other informal education programs to conduct ecological research with scientists in advisory roles. Phase one involves approximately 10 adults and 70 youth, whereas phase two involves approximately 40 adults and 300 youth. A front-end study defined the project's target audiences and partners. Formative evaluation study will monitor interactions among members of the research teams and summative evaluation will measure impacts on participants' knowledge, skills development, attitudes, and behavior. Project deliverables include youth-generated ecological research findings, web-based program implementation materials, an annual conference, and a model for engaging youth groups in informal settings in authentic scientific inquiry. The model is expected to impact more than six million youth nationwide. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Oberhauser, Karen Nathan Meyer Andrea Lorek Strauss Pamela Nippolt Katie Clark University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN David A. Hanych Continuing grant 242430 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0917470 September 1, 2009 ISE:Planning: Collaborative Research: Informal Discovery of Programming Concepts Via Reflective Programming. This planning effort, a collaboration of teams at the University of Maryland, Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University and the Sciencenter of Ithaca, deals with the development and testing of a unique methodology for educating youth in computer programming. Through a mobile robot that is cleverly disguised as a small animal, participants will learn to manipulate the system by physically moving it as well as setting variables via electronic buttons thereby learning programming and design. The eventual use of this system and methodology is in museum exhibits so preliminary survey data will be gathered from various venues that presently use less capable devices. Iterative testing will be done at the Sciencenter in its exhibits. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Guimbretiere, Francois Cornell University NY Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 10000 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0917475 August 15, 2009 Science Friday Radio Program & Social Community. Award #: 0917475 Title: Science Friday Radio Program and Social Community Start/end dates: August 2009-July 2011 Program Officer: Sandra Welch PI: Ira Flatow Program: Informal Science Education The goal of this project is to extend the impact of the nationally broadcast weekly radio program, Science Friday to a new, young audience through the various new cyber-space platforms and interactive tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and Second Life as well as new emerging social networking tools. The STEM content over the course of the two year project will include a wide variety of topics in all disciplines. The relationship between art and science will also be a focus. The NPR radio broadcasts currently reach 1.3 million listeners every week, and that audience is expected to increase. In addition to that audience, this project will target a new audience of adults under the age of 35 using various cyber platforms and new social networking tools such as Second Life, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Audiences will also be reached through remote broadcasts from science centers and art centers around the country. Over 30 science centers will use this project's web content on their own web sites, reaching their audiences as well. The web content will be translated into Spanish and widely disseminated to Hispanic audiences. Each Friday afternoon, Ira Flatow, the PI will produce and host the nationally broadcast Science Friday radio program interviewing scientists and engineers in a lively engaging format. In addition, the Science Friday digital media team will be producing and inviting others to create and post digital content and commentary on the Science Friday web site for further dissemination through Second Life, Facebook, as well as other emerging networking platforms. The evaluation will use a quasi-experimental design to study the appeal of both the radio broadcasts and the cyber-platforms with both older and younger audiences. Proposed audience impacts include increased STEM knowledge, interest, and behaviors. Partner organizations include the Self Reliance Foundation, the New York Hall of Science, LA Theatreworks, and Tribeca Film Festival. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Flatow, Ira ScienceFriday, Inc. CT Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 499277 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917487 September 1, 2009 The YardMap Network: Social Networking for Community Science. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Institute for Learning Innovation, and several environmental organizations are merging existing bird-focused citizen science programs with gardening and online social networking activities to provide older adult learners (age 35 and up) with opportunities to investigate the environmental impacts of implementing landscaping and carbon-reducing practices in their backyards, community gardens, and parks. The YardMap Network project is developing learning resources that will help gardeners, birders, and novices learn bird-habitat improving and carbon-reducing living practices by joining a nationwide ecological social network composed of more than 100,000 people. The goal of the project is to create online learning communities that move people from basic and intermediate levels ecological understanding to advanced levels of understanding by providing experiences whereby YardMappers learn about, design, evaluate, share, and invent conservation practices in their backyards and other green spaces. While developing the network, the project will gather data to test the hypothesis that coupling citizen science activities with social networking technologies to create online learning communities improves participants' understanding of project-relevant science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The project will track learning outcomes using standard evaluation techniques and by following individuals' routes of entry, network interactions, mapped garden practices, carbon-neutral behaviors, and their bird monitoring activities. YardMappers will divide naturally into treatment groups, creating a quasi-experimental design to test the importance of social networking for basic, intermediate, and advanced learning outcomes. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Dickinson, Janis Marianne Krasny Nancy Trautmann Y. Connie Yuan Nancy Wells Cornell University - State NY David A. Hanych Continuing grant 372582 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917495 September 1, 2009 Design Squad: Nate's Roadtrip. WGBH is producing a PBS television series, with accompanying web and outreach activities for 9- to 12-year-olds, to inspire a generation of budding engineers. Design Squad: Nate's Roadtrip (working title) will be a 10-part television series that is building on WGBH's prior award-winning work. The series goal is to engender enthusiasm and promote understanding of, and interest in, engineering and technology. Behind the fun that this lively show envisions is a serious educational purpose--to get kids to think like engineers and understand how to use science and technology to solve real-life problems. The television programs will be complemented with an extensive companion web site, as well as materials and training for engineers to mount Design Squad events in public venues and run workshops in schools, afterschool programs and libraries. The web site will create a platform for an online community where young participants will share their own projects, see what others have made, and send in questions to the host. Outreach activities will be supported by WGBH's ongoing relationships in the educational and engineering community, including the Girl Scouts, International Technology Education Association, NASA, and the Intel Computer Clubhouses. Viridian inSight will conduct summative evaluation of the project to measure project impacts including knowledge of science and engineering concepts and the design process; attitudes towards engineering; awareness of and interest in engineering career opportunities; and the extent to which kids perceive engineering as creative, rewarding, and socially relevant. Design Squad: Nate's Roadtrip Video Blog is slated to premiere February 2010 and the television show is slated to premiere in October 2010. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION SPECIAL STUDIES AND ANALYSES ENGINEERING EDUCATION DRL EHR Wolsky, Marisa Kate Taylor WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1007240 7259 1385 1340 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917496 September 15, 2009 A Science Education Center for the Third Age. The National Resource Center of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), in collaboration with the Exploratorium and three regional OLLI sites at California State University-East Bay, University of South Florida, and University of Missouri-Columbia, will explore, via this planning grant, a variety of scenarios for educating target audiences of "third age" (50+) individuals about science. The goal of this project is to enhance the infrastructure for informal science education for this large, growing, and often underserved population. The planning grant will support strategic development of a nationwide Science Education Center for the Third Age through research to assess interest in STEM topics, programming, and challenges among lifelong learning institutes and science centers, and identification of a core group of six OLLI/science center collaborations to create, test, and evaluate STEM programs and activities. It will explore several variables associated with third-age science learning, including research on knowledge-building techniques and strategies, assessment of motivations and inhibitions, subject matter interests of this audience, background education levels versus geographic regions and economic status, and potential national impact of these strategies. The 122 OLLIs comprise the primary national network for the research, planning activity and pilot trials. Additional networks will be explored for their perspectives and potential for future collaboration, as well for their impact in broadening informal science education, including the Elderhostel Institute Network (450 institutes), science centers, museums, and community organizations. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Lightfoot, Kali Lucille Salerno Bette Felton Aracelis Rogers University of Southern Maine ME Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 71434 7259 SMET 9177 9150 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0917517 September 1, 2009 NOVA scienceNOW Seasons 5 and 6. WGBH is producing the fifth and sixth seasons of NOVA scienceNOW, a multimedia project that addresses a wide array of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects via multiple platforms. They include national PBS broadcast, the PBS web site, and innovative outreach activities such as an expanded Science Café initiative. Hosted by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Season Five will air in 2010; Season Six in 2011. The focus is "stories of transformative research," e.g., nanotechnology, stem cells, quantum computing, as well as clean energy, and climate change. Project goals are to "produce a lasting impact on Americans' appreciation for and understanding of current scientific research," and to encourage an interest in STEM careers among younger viewers. Building upon solid prior work, the proposed project is finding new ways to interweave the television show, web materials, and Science Cafés to provide multiple entry points and pathways for the audience. For example, they will produce 32 web-only scientist profiles supported by a blog and social media tools, and then train these scientists as presenters for the Science Cafés. NOVA is planning a new strategy to maximize carriage and increase audience for the six new programs per year; the programs will run consecutively in the NOVA Wednesday evening primetime slot during the summer. During Season Three, over 2.7 million television viewers per week tuned in NOVA scienceNow, with 62,000 unique visitors to the web site per month and 75 active Science Cafés across the country. The expanded Science Café initiative is designed to become self-sustaining beyond the grant period through new partnerships with groups such as the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the American Chemical Society, and the Coalition for the Public Understanding of Science. The project will also collaborate with the Association of Science-Technology Centers and science centers around the country to host Science Cafés featuring scientists profiled on the web. Goodman Research Group will assess the reach and effectiveness of Seasons Five and Six. The focal/primary evaluation activity is a viewing and engagement study on the influence of viewing the series along with accessing and participating actively with the increased web and outreach offerings. This study will comprise web-based surveys with adaptive branching patterns, which will include data collection from a variety of participants and will focus on participants? use of the series, website, and outreach. The summative evaluation will measure how the project is reaching these audience segments, while also meeting the overall goals of increasing public understanding of science and engagement in science-related activities. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Apsell, Paula WGBH Educational Foundation MA Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 910105 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917520 August 15, 2009 The Blue Mars Science Center: Designing a virtual science learning environment. TERC Inc. will conduct a one-year proof of concept study that includes the design, development, and research of two prototype science activities for the virtual Blue Mars Science Center located on the Blue Mars 2150 platform developed by Virtual Space Entertainment. Blue Mars is a science fiction-themed virtual world set on Mars far in the future and will be rendered in High Definition, an important incremental step in the development of highly realistic virtual worlds. It is in this virtual world context that the proposed learning activities and research are to be conducted. TERC's research will examine the challenges of learning in virtual environments and which types of tools and interactions can encourage and support collaboration, the results of which will advance both informal and formal learning in virtual worlds. Avatar tracking data, participant observations, interviews, and surveys will be used to study participants. The project has the potential to advance areas of computational visualization systems and cognitive science and will afford an array of learning opportunities using real time data. Millions of visitors to the Blue Mars world will be able to share in an unprecedented range of virtual activities and experiences. It is anticipated that the research will inform the future development of even more advanced immersive interactivity, such as avatar-based models and computationally-oriented interactivity. The study will serve as a basis for both further development of the Blue Mars Science Center and the advancement of research on science learning in virtual worlds. The investigators are interested in continuing to expand as the scientific community evolves in the virtual world. The online world has the potential to become a powerful attractor for the general public to engage in science learning. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Asbell-Clarke, Jodi Teon Edwards Richard Childers TERC Inc MA Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 687831 7645 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917523 September 1, 2009 ISE:Planning:Collaborative Research: Informal Discovery of Programming Concepts Via Reflective Programming. This planning effort, a collaboration of teams at the University of Maryland, Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University and the Sciencenter of Ithaca, deals with the development and testing of a unique methodology for educating youth in computer programming. Through a mobile robot that is cleverly disguised as a small animal, participants will learn to manipulate the system by physically moving it as well as setting variables via electronic buttons thereby learning programming and design. The eventual use of this system and methodology is in museum exhibits so preliminary survey data will be gathered from various venues that presently use less capable devices. Iterative testing will be done at the Sciencenter in its exhibits. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Sazawal, Vibha University of Maryland College Park MD Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 64883 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0917535 September 15, 2009 Study of Informal Science Resource Use among Young Adults and Their Families. The investigators will collect data on a broad range of informal science education activities of an existing sample of approximately 3,500 adults across the U.S. It will relate these activities to prior forms of science involvement and to various indicators of lifelong STEM learning. The proposed work is an extension of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), a study funded by NSF since 1986 and still ongoing. Prior work has tracked two national cohorts of students who were originally representative of public middle and high schools, focusing on their science and mathematics course enrollment, content, achievement, and career choices, and informed by data from their parents and teachers. The project team has maintained very high levels of continued participation by the approximately 5,000 students, now aged 34-38, many of whom have families of their own. The project will extend the planned surveys for 2009 and 2010 to examine how these adults use informal science education resources such as museums, libraries, books, magazines, newspapers, television, and the Internet. The project will provide baseline data on informal science education resource use in the Internet era for a large and diverse sample. It will allow investigation of the relationships of current informal science learning behaviors, both individual and intergenerational, to prior learning variables such as school science achievement, parental involvement, college experience, career choice, and prior use of informal learning resources while respondents were school-aged. REESE DRL EHR Miller, Jon Linda Kimmel John Dennis Michigan State University MI Sue Allen Continuing grant 210428 7625 SMET 9178 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917536 September 1, 2009 Studying and Improving Networks for Disseminating STEM Educational Materials in After-School Programs. DRL - 0917536 Studying and Improving Networks for Disseminating STEM Education Means, Barbara M. SRI International PROJECT SUMMARY The intent of this project is to use social network methods to study networks of afterschool and informal science stakeholders. It would attempt to create knowledge that improves afterschool programs access to informal science learning materials. This is an applied research study that applies research methods to improving access to and enactment of informal science education programs across a range of settings. The investigators plan to collect data from 600 community- and afterschool programs in California, conduct case studies of 10 of these programs, and conduct surveys of supporting intermediary organizations. The analysis of the data will provide descriptions of the duration, intensity, and nature of the networks among afterschool programs and intermediary agencies, and the diffusion patterns of science learning materials in afterschool programs. The project will yield actionable knowledge that will be disseminated among afterschool programs, intermediary organizations, funding agencies, and policymakers to improve the dissemination and support of afterschool science learning opportunities. The project is focused on free-choice settings where every day the largest numbers of children attend afterschool programs at schools and in other community settings. It seeks information about what conditions are necessary for informal science programs to significantly impact the largest possible number of children in these settings. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Means, Barbara Raymond McGhee Ann House Carlin Llorente SRI International CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 2476861 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917540 September 1, 2009 An Investigation of the Impact of Strengthening the "T" and "E" Components of STEM in High School Biology and Chemistry Courses. Stevens Institute of Technology and the New Jersey Department of Education are addressing the DR-K12 challenge of assuring that all students have appropriate opportunities to learn significant STEM content. The project is developing high school biology and chemistry instructional materials that incorporate engineering design and inquiry activities closely linked to the content, while simultaneously introducing students to cutting-edge research in STEM fields. The goal of this project is to strengthen the technology and engineering components in high school STEM courses taken by a majority of students. The hypothesis is that increasing the presence of engineering and technological design at the high school level, specifically by integrating activities in bioengineering and chemical engineering into high school biology and chemistry classes, improves student understanding of science concepts and strengthens students? 21st Century skills more than traditional instructional methods. The study employs an experimental design with matched pairs of classrooms randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Instruction in the treatment group includes an engineering design activity in addition to the existing curriculum, while instruction in the control group consists of the existing curriculum and an additional activity presented via traditional methods. Changes in performance on achievement and skills tests for the matched pairs are then compared. Intellectual Merit: The study is intended to contribute to the body of research on the effectiveness of engineering design activities in improving student understanding of science concepts as compared to other teaching methods. An experienced, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research team and project advisors utilize rigorous methodologies to investigate the impact of engineering design activities on the learning of science content and 21st Century skills. Broader Impacts: This study contributes new knowledge to both state and national efforts to improve the effectiveness of STEM education at all levels for all students. By incorporating engineering design in high school science, students are exposed to engineering concepts and the interdisciplinary connections among science, technology, and engineering. Introducing engineering design concepts in courses with larger and more diverse enrollments helps to align public perceptions with reality, increases student enrollments in STEM courses, and enhances the diversity of students considering post-secondary engineering programs. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Brockway, Debra Cary Sneider Sandra Alberti Stevens Institute of Technology NJ Daniel Householder Continuing grant 392740 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0917564 September 15, 2009 EARTH - The Operators' Manual. The purpose of this project is to develop a "user's guide" to the present and projected energy resources of our planet and the relationship to climate change. It will prototype and evaluate new ways of providing the public with the information and tools to make wiser choices about powering homes, schools, businesses, and communities. The project uses a hybrid model of science communication that includes video, in-person presentations, and Web 2.0 social networking. National PBS broadcasts of three hour long programs will reach large audiences influencing the understanding of climate change in measurable ways. Events at four science centers and natural history museums located across the country will explore how increased knowledge of Earth Science informs behavior. The project's social networking tools and resources will motivate and support accessible real-world activities. The multiple PBS broadcasts of the hour long programs over three years could potentially reach an audience of 10 million. Internet users accessing the short videos, authoritative information, and blogs could reach 200,000 to 500,000 per month; the museum visitors attending the live presentations of researchers could reach approximately 80,000-100,000 over the duration of the project. The core project team includes Richard Alley, chair of the National Academy of Sciences panel on Abrupt Climate Change, who will host the television programs. Andy Revkin, author and science journalist for The New York Times, will be a key project advisor and co-host for some of the television programs. Outreach partners include science centers across the nation and the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. The project will leverage existing NSF-supported projects such as the Future Earth Initiative led by the Science Museum of Minnesota and ASTC's Communicating Climate Change. Rockman Et Al will evaluate the project impacts working from front-end to summative stages to understand the reactions of media, online, and on-site users. Proposed project impacts include increasing participants' understanding of how the Earth's system is affected by human uses of energy and the impact of those energy uses on climate. Other impacts include changes in attitude and behavior affecting individual uses of energy. Evaluations will be conducted with TV show viewers as well as science center and website visitors using quasi-experimental, quantitative, and qualitative study designs. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION DRL EHR Haines-Stiles, Geoffrey Richard Alley Erna Akuginow Geoff Haines-Stiles Productions NJ Sandra H. Welch Continuing grant 2697402 6891 SMET 9178 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917566 September 1, 2009 Enabling TV Meteorologists to Provide Viewers with Climate Change-related Science Education Based on ISE 'Best Practices'. This project identifies TV meteorologists as a potentially important source of informal science education on the topic of climate change. These professionals are a well-respected source of scientific information in their local communities, yet rarely address climate change in their weather broadcasts. Proposers will conduct a series of studies that explore both mechanisms and obstacles to using TV broadcasts as effective informal communication vehicles for scientific information about climate change. In Study 1, they will identify methods already in use by "early adopters," compare them to best explanatory practices in informal science education, and make recommendations to improve practice. In Study 2, they will survey meteorologists and their news directors to determine their motivations and needs for information and materials regarding climate change. Based on their findings, and informed by prior work, they will develop a set of educational materials, principally a set of 30-second segments that can serve as a resource for TV meteorologists nation-wide. In Study 3, they will conduct a quasi-experimental evaluation of the materials with a TV station in Columbia, South Carolina to determine their impact on viewers. The core project team includes experts in science communication and education, physical oceanography, broadcast meteorology, and media effects evaluation, and the advisory board includes the Vice President of Programs at the National Environmental Education Foundation and the Chief Meteorologist at The Weather Channel. Dissemination mechanisms will include a range of publications and presentations for the research findings, and a website for the sharing of materials used by the early adopters. Overall, the project will advance the informal science education field's understanding of both effective explanatory practices in broadcast media and the motivations and practices of an understudied group of professionals. It will investigate an innovative means of increasing public awareness and understanding of important topics in climate change, and as well as creating a set of video-clips and related materials based on careful study and best practices. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION DRL EHR Maibach, Edward George Mason University VA Sue Allen Standard Grant 1060432 6891 SMET 9178 7259 0116000 Human Subjects 0917576 September 1, 2009 Taking NPASS to Scale (NPASS2): Creating State-based Professional Development Networks for Out-of-School Time Science. Taking NPASS (National Partnerships for Afterschool Science) to Scale builds on a previously funded effort (DRL 0515549) designed to provide professional development for out-of-school time (OST) science trainers, administrators, and frontline staff. Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), in partnership with the Boston Children's Museum, utilizes a tiered-training approach to increase understanding of the nature and value of informal science programming and improve program development and presentation skills. The professional development content is aligned with state standards in earth, life, and physical sciences for grades K-8 and emphasizes science inquiry and process skills. In addition to disseminating the NPASS model to eight states (CA, GA, MD, MN, MO, NH, NJ, OH), this project examines the factors that contribute to success at the local and statewide levels. Collaborating NPASS Leadership Teams are located at the California School-Age Consortium, the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council, The After-School Institute, Minnesota School Age Child Care Alliance, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of New Hampshire, and the Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association. Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the National Institute on Out of School Time (NIOST) assist with recruitment and training. The primary target audience for this effort is OST science trainers, administrators of statewide OST networks and local programs, and frontline staff. The secondary audience is youth participating in afterschool programs, most of whom are from traditionally underserved and economically challenged groups. Deliverables include three-day, semi-annual train-the-trainer institutes; annual seminars for NPASS leaders; professional development tools; science kits; and the NPASS website. The project design consists of four levels of management and delivery. At Level 1, the NPASS2 primary partners, EDC and the Boston Children's Museum, provide three-day state-based OST Science Trainer Institutes on a semi-annual basis. The Science Trainer Institutes combine hands-on experience with pedagogical training in informal science learning, youth development, and the logistics of working with OST sites. During Level 2, the eight State Leadership Teams recruit two cohorts of OST practitioners to attend Science Trainer Institutes. The new Science Trainers then identify OST sites to attend a series of half-day science trainings in Level 3. Each session introduces and models new science projects for use in afterschool settings, including the NSF-funded Design It! or Explore It! materials. Finally, at Level 4, OST sites serving children from predominantly underserved and underrepresented populations are invited to join the NPASS2 initiative. OST sites receive a materials kit and guide for the activities at each training session, while support and scaffolding such as mentoring, a helpline, FAQ archive, bi-monthly newsletter, and social networking site are available throughout the program. It is estimated that as many as 30 OST state leaders, 300 managers, and 100 science trainers will be reached at 750 community sites serving 22,000 youth. The combined intervention has the potential to change the OST landscape. The project evaluation to be conducted by the Goodman Research Group (GRG) employs a longitudinal design to determine participants' growth over time and the magnitude of change among the variables. The formative evaluation is designed to assess the development of the project's deliverables while the summative evaluation focuses on professional audience impacts. The NPASS2 summative evaluation examines the OST science trainers, OST state network administrators, youth workers, and site administrators through a baseline survey, in addition to annual questionnaires and interviews of network administrators and OST site administrators. The pre-post design measures changes in trainers' understanding, attitudes, behavior, and skills related to informal STEM education research or practice. To maximize the efficiency and authenticity of the evaluation, GRG will use the SET/STEM Leader Competencies Rubric currently being developed jointly by EDC in collaboration with the National 4-H Council's SET PD Committee. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Hutchison, Charles Timothy Porter Ellen Gannett Education Development Center MA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 1996468 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917581 September 1, 2009 My Climate, My Community: Sustainable Climate Change Exhibits for Rural Audiences. This planning grant project addresses the problem that individuals and communities in rural areas do not have access to typical informal science education venues that help the public better understand significant issues that impact their lives. A team of Cornell University investigators will develop strategies to educate rural communities in New York State on science-based issues such climate change and energy. The project seeks to determine how to effectively meet audience needs through a set of sustainable traveling exhibits tailored to very small rural venues. If successful, the practices could be expanded into a nationwide initiative for rural communities. The specific objectives of the planning work are to determine the most effective strategies for communicating science-based topics, the baseline knowledge of the communities on the topics; how to engage communities that are under-served by traditional informal science education venues; which human behaviors after the interventions are responsive to the proposed efforts; and how they can broaden their efforts to create a robust model for the nation. Steps to achieve these objectives will include: regional and local climate change opinion surveys, the establishment of rural partnerships and networks, content materials development targeted at specific audiences and regions, development of prototypes of small traveling exhibits, experiments to foster learning in rural communities through Web 2.0, groups and individual discussions, and internet dialogs. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Chicone, Sarah Robert Ross Samantha Sands Trisha Smrecak Paleontological Research Institute NY Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 74346 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917588 August 1, 2009 The New Milky Way: Exploring Our Home In The Universe. This project is designed to develop a 3D planetarium show and a TV documentary to describe our Universe, Galaxy and Solar system. This is a significant project for public and youth as they do not comprehend this aspect of their world with clarity. New technology using a 3D film is anticipated to be attractive and capture the audience's attention better than previous exhibits methodology. The Detroit region has been selected for testing various aspects of the planning project. The partners include the Detroit Science Center, the Detroit Public School system, Dr. Mark Morris (Astronomer) at UCLA, the Cranbrook Institute of Science, Detroit Public Television, and the Carnegie Science Center. Subsequent dissemination of the results and techniques increases the potential for Nation-wide impact. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Slisher, Todd Detroit Science Center MI Paul W. Jennings Standard Grant 73271 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0917595 September 1, 2009 Sustainability: Promoting Sustainable Decision Making in Informal Education. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will partner with the City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development, Metro Regional Government, Portland Community College, Verde, and the Coalition for a Livable Future, to create a series of informal science education experiences on the theme of Sustainability. For this project, sustainability is defined in terms of a triple bottom line of economic, social, and environmental needs. The project responds to calls for broad environmental education of the public in response to environmental crises (such as climate change), and specific research suggesting that even museums that do provide information about such issues rarely help their visitors learn to make the comparisons necessary to make more sustainable choices. For the public audience, the project team will create a 1,500 sq. ft. bilingual (Spanish/English) exhibition to encourage the public to develop skills in making personal choices that affect the sustainability of their community. They will also create 25-40 bilingual cell phone tags that will provide listeners who dial the phone numbers with information, personal perspectives, current STEM research, invitations to contribute ideas or vote on issues, interactive phone-based activities, and links to websites, all in service of helping them make intentional and informed personal decisions on sustainability. The cell phone tags will be located at approximately 100 locations in the Portland area, including predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods, public transit locations, public works, and community projects. The team will also create a bilingual website and will offer quarterly bilingual events at the museum on the topic of sustainable living. For the professional audience, the team will create a set of tools and indicators for assessing the sustainability of exhibit-development processes, using the triple bottom line of financial, environmental, and social impacts. For example, a Green Exhibit Guide will provide resources and a checklist for exhibit development projects, and will propose field-wide standards analogous to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system for green buildings. Regional workshops will engage exhibit developers, designers, fabricators, and administrators in using the tools in their own institutions. The project will create a coordinated set of resources to inform the public about the science of sustainability and to engage them in making informed choices in their daily lives, both in the museum and beyond. The topic of sustainability is timely and important, and the use of cell phones as a mobile technology linked to web resources and an exhibition constitute an innovative synergy of media to create impacts on a city-wide scale. The project serves underrepresented Hispanic audiences through its creation of bilingual materials, placement of cell phone tags, and community involvement in the development process. Finally, the project advances the ISE field in proposing and broadly disseminating a set of standards for green exhibit design, along with developing resources and tools for assessing sustainability. Created in collaboration with other organizations, this work has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of museums while providing highly visible examples of sustainable practices for visitors. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION DRL EHR Vandiver, Raymond Jessica Willcox Shanna Eller Oregon Museum of Science and Industry OR Sue Allen Continuing grant 1754478 6891 SMET 9178 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917608 September 1, 2009 Investigating Audience Engagement with Citizen Science. The Adler Planetarium, Johns Hopkins University, and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville are investigating the potential of online citizen science projects to broaden the pool of volunteers who participate in analysis and investigation of digital data and to deepen volunteers' engagement in scientific inquiry. The Investigating Audience Engagement with Citizen Science project is administering surveys and conducting case studies to identify factors that lead volunteers to engage in the astronomy-focused Galaxy Zoo project and its Zooniverse extensions. The project is (1) identifying volunteers' motivations for joining and staying involved, (2) determining factors that influence volunteers' movement from lower to higher levels of involvement, and (3) designing features that influence volunteer involvement. The project's research findings will help informal science educators and scientists refine existing citizen science programs and develop new ones that maximize volunteer engagement, improve the user experience, and build a more scientifically literate public. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Carney, Karen Michael Raddick Pamela Gay Lucy Fortson Adler Planetarium IL David A. Hanych Continuing grant 296643 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917612 August 15, 2009 ScienceMakers: African Americans and Scientific Innovation. The ScienceMakers: African Americans and Scientific Innovation is a three-year project designed to increase awareness of the contributions of African American scientists, raise awareness of STEM careers, and increase understanding of STEM concepts through the creation of education, media, and career resources. The project team is supplemented with an extensive advisory board of STEM education, museum, and community professionals, as well as representatives from partnering science centers. Project partners include the St. Louis Science Center, Liberty Science Center, New York Hall of Science, Pacific Science Center, Franklin Institute, COSI Columbus, Lawrence Hall of Science, SciWorks, Detroit Science Center, and MOSI Chicago. Additional collaborators include middle and high schools with high minority populations. Project deliverables include a fully accessible multi-media archive of video oral histories of 180 African American scientists and web resources and contests utilizing Web 2.0 and 3.0 applications such as social networking tools that foster engagement and build community around the ScienceMakers. Public programs for youth and adults at science museums, after-school programs, and community organizations highlight African American contributors, and encourage interest in science and science careers and the ScienceMakers DVD Toolkit expand the reach of this innovative project. Intended impacts for youth and adults consist of increased awareness of STEM concepts and career options, exposure to African American scientists, awareness of the contributions of minority scientists, and 21st century skills. Intended impacts on professional audiences include increased awareness and understanding of STEM careers and workforce diversity, 21st century skills, and STEM career options. The project evaluation, conducted by Knight-Williams Research Communications, utilizes a mixed-methods approach. The evaluation assesses the impact of the oral history archive, public programs, and other deliverables on public and professional audiences' knowledge, interest, and awareness of the contributions of African American scientists, STEM concepts, and STEM careers. The evaluation also includes an ethnography which examines factors that contribute to success in STEM careers by African-American scientists. The ScienceMakers significantly expands the world's largest searchable oral history archive and may have an enduring impact on research and practice in the field of informal science education. The project has the potential to enrich programs and exhibits, while raising awareness of the contributions of African-American scientists among informal science education professionals and the general public. SCIENCE, TECH & SOCIETY INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Richardson, Julieanna The HistoryMakers IL Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 839584 7603 7259 SMET OTHR 9177 7259 0000 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917614 September 1, 2009 Communicating Ocean Sciences Informal Education Network: Scientists and Educators Working Together to Promote Ocean Literacy. This proposal is from a coalition of cross disciplinary investigators at the Lawrence Hall of Science/Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence at the University of California, Berkeley. The investigators intend to create a communications network for ocean sciences in an informal setting to improve the communication of ocean science concepts. The network would foster relationships between ocean and climate scientists in institutions of higher education and build the capacity for educators to communicate with the public about science. The network is intended to impact visitors to informal science centers, docents, educators, and scientists. It would provide experiences with new scientific knowledge about the oceans and promote climate literacy for the landlocked states of the country where ocean sciences are not usual topics for educational programs. The network includes: 1. Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and University of Southern California; 2. Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University; 3. Virginia Aquarium and Science Center and the Minorities in Marine Science Program, Hampton University; 4. Liberty Science Center and the Institute for Marine Coastal Sciences and Rutgers University; 5. Lawrence Hall of Science and Earth & Planetary Science and Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley; 6. Birch Aquarium at Scripps and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego; and 7. Purdue University. The goal of the project is to help a new generation of scientists and informal educators to better understand and more effectively communicate with the public the essential principles and fundamental concepts of Ocean Literacy, Climate Literacy, and Earth Science Literacy. The content is integral to understanding climate science and the science of climate change such as ocean circulation, causes of sea level rise, the influence of the ocean on weather and climate, the role of the ocean in Earth's energy, water and carbon systems, and the need for continued exploration of the ocean system. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Halversen, Catherine Craig Strang University of California-Berkeley CA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 805767 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0917615 August 15, 2009 Beyond Earth : Weaving Science and Indigenous Culture. This planning grant is designed to engage urban and rural families in science learning while piloting curriculum development and implementation that incorporates both Native and Western epistemologies. Physical, earth, and space science content is juxtaposed with indigenous culture, stories, language and epistemology in after-school programs and teacher training. Project partners include the Dakota Science Center, Fort Berthold Community College, and Sitting Bull College. The Native American tribes represented in this initiative involve partnerships between the Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara. The primary project deliverables include a culturally responsive Beyond Earth Moon Module, teacher training workshops, and a project website. The curriculum module introduces students to the moon's appearance, phases, and positions in the sky using the Night Sky Planetarium Experience Station during programs at the Boys and Girls Club (Ft. Berthold Community College), Night Lights Afterschool program (Sitting Bull Community College), and Valley Middle School (UND and Dakota Science Center). Students also explore core concepts underlying the moon's phases and eclipses using the interactive Nature Experience Station before engaging in the culminating Mission Challenge activity in which they apply their knowledge to problem solving situations and projects. Fifteen pre-service and in-service teachers participate in professional development workshops, while approximately 300 urban and rural Native youth and family members participate in community programs. A mixed-methods evaluation examines the impact of Western and Native science on the learning of youth and families and their understanding of core concepts of science in a culturally responsive environment. The formative evaluation addresses collaboration, development, and implementation of the project using surveys and interviews to document participant progress and obtain input. The summative evaluation examines learning outcomes and partnerships through interviews and observations. Presentations at national conferences, journal publications, and outreach to teachers in the North Dakota Public School System are elements of the project's comprehensive dissemination plan. The project findings may reveal impacts on participants' interest and understanding of connections between Native and Western science, while also assessing the potential for model replication in similar locales around the country. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Young, Timothy Clarice Baker-Big Back Mark Guy Katherine Froelich University of North Dakota Main Campus ND Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 100000 7259 SMET 9177 9150 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917625 September 1, 2009 Quest: Exploring Our Natural World. Quest, produced by KQED, is a multimedia initiative designed to raise the profile of STEM issues throughout the Northern California region and activate citizens to discuss and investigate them. Led by KQED, Quest is created and maintained by an active consortium of 16 participating informal science education organizations. Based on the successful Quest model, KQED will build on its prior collaborative work to develop regional partnerships with other public broadcasting stations and community-based organizations around the country, making possible a new and innovative partnership in science media production and informal science education. This grant will support a) a growing collaborative of science centers, museums, research institutes, and community-based organizations for editorial development, education outreach, and content creation; b) the production of at least 10 hours of television, weekly radio science news reports, and a dynamic online website that supports and extends the broadcast material; and c) educational resources and professional development workshops. STEM content will encompass research drawn from the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth sciences. Most of the stories will also incorporate content about the technology and engineering used to support scientific endeavors. The KQED Educational Network (EdNet) will administer the community and educational outreach initiatives, including creating viewer/listener guides, developing and delivering workshops, and providing information built around Quest media. Project collaborators include the Bay Institute, California Academy of Sciences, Chabot Space and Science Center, East Bay Regional Park District, Exploratorium, Girl Scouts, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Hall of Science, Museum of Paleontology, Oakland Zoo, and The Tech Museum of Innovation. In expanding the model to regional hubs, Quest will also involve the Coalition for Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), the Encyclopedia of Life, and an array of peer public broadcasting organizations. This project offers a useful and exciting model for public television and radio stations nationally in building community collaborations that advance informal science education. The detailed and informed ways in which the team works with its community partners via multiple platforms are innovative. This proposal builds on prior work in Northern California to explore additional regional partnerships with other public broadcasting stations and community-based organizations, making possible a unique partnership in science media production and informal science education. This project extends reach by developing up to ten regional "hubs" across the country. Evaluation will be conducted by Rockman et al. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR McCann, Sue Ellen Saul Rockman KQED Inc CA Valentine H. Kass Standard Grant 2250000 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917640 September 1, 2009 The Energy Project. The purpose of this integrated cross media project is to build public knowledge and curiosity about energy science and policy, to encourage audience confidence in its abilities to understand energy related science, and to stimulate exchange between community-based experts. The deliverables include five hour-long radio programs focusing on the interconnected nature of waterways, climate systems, and energy sources; a digital journalism and social network site focusing on energy topics; partner-driven outreach with universities and local public radio stations; and a training workshop for ethnic media partners. The project targets public radio listeners, ethnic media readers, local urban and rural communities, and Internet users. Partner organizations include New American Media, a consortium of ethnic media producers, the University of Texas at Austin (which will provide content expertise as well as outreach assistance), local public radio stations, and scientific organizations. Intended impacts on the general audience include building their knowledge and interest in energy science and policy, and influencing their confidence in understanding energy science, technology and engineering, as well as empowering them to voice their opinions in energy policy discussions and to make changes in their lives that will support a sustainable energy future. It is estimated that five million people will access the radio programs and web content over the sustained life of the project. Professional audience impacts include building science journalism capacity and reciprocal relationships between general and ethnic news media, as well as stimulating exchange between subject experts (e.g., water engineers and geoscientists) and community experts (e.g., community organizers and backyard gardeners) who can inform energy reporting and open new areas of discussion in the energy debate. The evaluation plan uses both quantitative and qualitative data collection and quasi-experimental designs to examine the impact of this project on both public and professional audiences. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Scott, Barinetta SoundVision Productions CA Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 2000001 7259 SMET 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0917652 October 1, 2008 The Music Instinct: Science and Song. Independent Production Fund is producing a three-part public television series focusing on the latest research in the science of music. The programs will explore how cutting-edge science is revealing new connections between music and the human mind and body, the natural world and the cosmos. The series will follow researchers from a variety of fields including physiology, neuroscience, psychology, biology, physics and education, as they use groundbreaking techniques and technologies to unravel age-old mysteries about music's persistence, universality and emotional power. It will show how these researchers are shedding valuable new light on the way brains work. The impact of the programs will be extended through a content-rich companion web site and innovative formal and informal educational-outreach materials to both middle and high school age students, as well as a complementary radio component. Mannes Productions will produce the series; Goodman Research Group will conduct formative evaluation and Rockman et al will conduct summative evaluation. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Mannes, Elena Educational Broadcasting Corporation NY Valentine H. Kass Continuing grant 1072560 7259 SMET 9177 0917793 November 1, 2008 Examining Teacher Preparation: Does the Pathway Make a Difference?. This project will examine factors that influence teacher career choices including whether to enter teaching, where to teach and how long to stay as well as teachers' contribution to student learning in mathematics. It seeks to provide answers to two major questions: 1) How can elementary and secondary schools attract and retain highly effective mathematics and science teachers? and 2) How can traditional and alternative teacher preparation programs best prepare people to teach math and science? The research design will extend and connect existing research on teacher preparation and teacher labor markets. The career choices of aspiring and practicing math and science teachers will be analyzed using models drawn from the labor market literature including multinomial logit models of teacher choices and two-sided matching models that incorporate both school preferences and teacher preferences, supplemented with statistical and descriptive analyses of interview data. Teachers' contributions to student math learning will be analyzed using value-added econometric models that incorporate attributes of teacher preparation pathways as independent variables, with appropriate attention to issues of selection bias and data issues. The project will focus on NYC and use existing data plus new data. The existing databases include: 1) data describing career paths, qualifications and characteristics of aspiring and practicing math and science teachers from State and NYC Education departments; 2) data on school environments; 3) surveys of participants in major math and science teacher preparation programs; 4) surveys of newly entering school teachers; 5) detailed data describing teacher preparation programs; 6) student level data from grade 3 -5 citywide standardized math scores. This project is jointly funded by the Research on Learning and Education Program and the Division of Undergraduate Education's Teacher Professional Development Program Teaching & Mstr Tchng Fellows TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI DRL EHR Wyckoff, James University of Virginia Main Campus VA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 388821 7908 7271 1666 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0917930 September 15, 2009 Integrating The Carbon And Water Cycles Within An Ecosystem Esthetic Approach To Landscapes. Stroud Water Research Center (SWRC) will partner with Longwood Gardens (LG) to develop educational materials that help visitors understand the links between the hydrologic and carbon cycles. The goal is to demonstrate how landscape aesthetics can influence land-use decisions, and to offer carbon-neutral methods the public and others can employ to reduce the impact of storm runoff. The intended audience is primarily adults among the 800,000 annual visitors to the Gardens who are landowners as well as professionals such as engineers, regional planners, landscape architects, developers and municipal officials. This project will also communicate research to public audiences through SWRC and LG websites. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION DRL EHR Kaplan, Louis J. Denis Newbold Anthony Aufdenkampe Susan Gill Stroud Water Research Center PA Orrin Shane Standard Grant 75000 6891 SMET 9178 6891 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0917958 September 1, 2009 Transition to Algebra: A Habits of Mind Approach. DRL: DR K-12 PI: Goldenberg Abstract This project, Transition to Algebra: A Habits of Mind Approach, led by professionals in the mathematics group at the Education Development Center, is developing a collection of modules introducing key ideas of algebra in ways that complement the core curriculum when a school is offering double period algebra. The key habit of mind being developed is abstracting from calculation. Modules deal with the transition from arithmetic to algebra, rational numbers, expressions/equations/word problems, graphs and equations, geometry of algebra, and proportional reasoning. The target population is students in urban high poverty schools with a significant ELL sector. The proposers' hypothesis is that instructional materials focused on developing conceptual understanding and mathematical habits of mind can complement traditional skill-focused algebra instruction in ways that are engaging to students. Furthermore, they argue that using materials with such meta-cognitive aims will actually strengthen the learning of core algebraic concepts and skills. The supplementary algebra modules are being developed by a form of design research. Concurrent with development and field test of the student and teacher materials, the investigators are addressing four research questions. The first two questions are focused on the effects of the intervention in developing student habits of mind and in improving their competence and confidence in algebra. The other two address the feasibility of implementing the new approach to double-period algebra in a variety of school settings. A small-scale quasi-experimental field test is being used to give preliminary estimates of the effectiveness of the instructional materials and the implementation guidelines. The core purpose of these research activities is to inform development and refinement of the student and teacher instructional materials. Products of this development effort will be a valuable resource to schools as they devise strategies for helping all students master the essentials of elementary algebra. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Goldenberg, E. Paul June Mark Education Development Center MA James T. Fey Continuing grant 1680699 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918060 September 1, 2009 A Study of the Struggling Learner's Knowledge and Development for Number and Operation. John Lannin and Delinda van Garderen, University of Missouri, are conducting a three-year exploratory study that targets 1st and 2nd grade students who struggle in the area of number and operations. The research questions are as follows: (1) What cognitive obstacles exist for 1st and 2nd grade children who struggle with number and operations? (2) What similarities and differences exist in the cogntive obstacles for these groups of children? (3) What impact do the identified cognitive obstacles have on the learning trajectory for these groups of children? Utilizing design research methodology with a longitudinal component, classrooms are set up so that six pairs of students will work in joint activity on tasks that address both routine and transfer. Deliverables include publications in journals and the development of a design-driven model that will help struggling students at the primary grades deal with number and operations. The model includes a conceptual framework and a refined learning trajectory with implications for instruction. The emerging learning trajectory could potentially inform and guide educational researchers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, and teachers as they address the needs of children with learning difficulties in mathematics at the primary school level. Multiple case studies are developed; data from classroom observations during mathematics instruction and interviews with teachers are included in the analysis. Interviews with teachers about student work and their students' thinking are also used to learn more about the interventions used in the teaching experiments. Data analysis involves constructing case studies of struggling students in order to establish learning trajectories in the area of number and operations. The product will be a set of cases that will lend insight into how struggling students might be supported as they learn about number and operations at the primary grades, thus helping link assessment and instructional practice in a grounded way, and contributing to the knowledge base regarding interventions for a range of struggling young students in the area of number and operations. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Lannin, John Delinda Van Garderen University of Missouri-Columbia MO Ferdinand D. Rivera Standard Grant 449997 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0918075 April 15, 2009 Testing the effects of the inauguration of the first African American president on the affirmation process. This RAPID proposal describes a series of field and laboratory studies to determine whether the election of Barack Obama, the first African American president, will serve as an affirmation to members of ethnic minority groups and lead to improved academic motivation and performance. Whether this particular event has significant effects on the achievement of students of varying age groups, especially in STEM subjects, constitutes an urgent and important question for rigorous scientific research. We agree with the PI that this research will advance our understanding of how major societal events, beyond the immediate classroom environment, affect students' psychology and achievement motivation. The proposed research will shed light on the social-psychological processes that play a role in the racial achievement gap in STEM-related fields, a critical educational problem. Further the results of this study will facilitate the development of pedagogical strategies, and cost-effective teaching and curriculum strategies that benefit minority achievement and participation in STEM-related fields and beyond. REESE DRL EHR Purdie-Vaughns, Valerie Columbia University NY Elmima C. Johnson Standard Grant 198061 7625 SMET 9177 7914 0116000 Human Subjects 0918109 October 1, 2009 Coherent Implementation of Mathematics Instructional Materials: A Study of the Variations and Effects of District Supports for Implementation. This project seeks to understand the district- and school-level supports needed to implement comprehensive elementary mathematics instructional materials. It explores through a four-year, longitudinal, mixed methods study the implementation of Everyday Mathematics or Investigations in Number, Data, and Space in all of Grades 1-5 in ten to 12 school districts in two to four states. The project investigates and operationalizes the coherence of implementation strategies from the district perspective; considers the mediating role of school-based supports and level of use of the materials; and examines the connection between coherent implementation and student outcomes as measured on state assessments in elementary mathematics. Data are gathered through interviews and surveys of district-level administrators principals, and elementary teachers, and from annual state tests of student achievement in mathematics. Some of the research questions guiding this work are: What are the dimensions of district-level coherence of implementation of instructional materials? What are the dimensions of school-level support for implementation of instructional materials? How does district-level coherence relate to changes in school-level student scores at a single point in time and over time? What factors moderate the relationship between district-level coherence and student outcomes (i.e., percentage of free or reduced-price lunch, size of district)? Does school-level support for implementation and/or school-level use mediate the relationship between district-level coherence and student outcomes? How does school-level support of implementation relate to changes in school-level student scores, at a single point in time and over time? What factors moderate the relationship between school-level support of implementation and student outcomes (i.e., percentage of free or reduced-price lunch, size of school)? Does school-level use mediate the relationship between school-level support of implementation and student outcomes? Many districts across the country have centered their recent mathematics improvement efforts on the use of instructional materials aligned to state standards, often in response to increased accountability for student outcomes. Supporting this movement is the emergence of well-designed instructional materials, including programs such as Everyday Mathematics and Investigations. The promise of such materials is great, but their impact is mediated by how well they are used by teachers in their classrooms. Instructional materials do not stand alone: they must be carefully aligned with elements of practice and policy at the district and school level to provide teachers with the guidance needed to enact the materials' vision for classroom practice. School districts vary in the degree to which they provide these supports. This study should make a major contribution to understanding what organizations must do realize the promise of such materials, uncovering conditions crucial to success. Results can be of major interest to educators, school administrators and policymakers across the U.S. as they plan, fund and expend efforts to use new instructional materials. It should shed light on factors affecting the scale-up of such materials at large scale. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Mark, June Deborah Spencer Education Development Center MA Sharon J. Lynch Continuing grant 647145 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918117 August 1, 2009 (M-DISC) Mathematics Discourse in Secondary Classrooms: A Case-Based Professional Development Curriculum. DRL: DR K-12 PI: Herbel-Eisenmann Abstract The project Mathematical Discourse in Secondary Classrooms, led by faculty at Michigan State University and the University of Delaware, is developing and testing materials for professional development leaders to use in work with secondary mathematics teachers. The aim is to help those teachers analyze the discourse patterns of their own classrooms and improve their skills in creating discourse patterns that emphasizes high-level mathematical explanation, justification, and argumentation. The basic hypothesis of the project is that engaging in carefully planned analyses of narrative and video cases and in action research focused on discourse can effectively support teachers in improving the discourse quality of their classroom instruction. The project builds on findings from prior work that has shown how meaningful educational experiences can empower secondary mathematics teachers to identify and change problematic classroom discourse patterns and create more productive experiences for students. The project is preparing an introductory module, five constellations of activities built around narrative and video cases, and a module to help professional developers support secondary mathematics teachers in conduct of action research. Development is informed by "soft pilot" testing that leads to improvement of the professional development program. The core research questions of the project concern the effects of the professional development program on teacher knowledge, beliefs, and classroom practice. Preliminary evidence about answers for those questions is provided by an external pilot test of the professional development program. The effects of the professional development are evaluated by analysis of data from pre- and post-assessments of teacher knowledge, beliefs, and classroom practice. This project addresses the challenge of enhancing teacher abilities to deliver high quality mathematics instruction. By focusing on practices that raise the level of classroom discourse about mathematics, the results have the potential to enhance the learning experiences of all students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth Michael Steele Michelle Cirillo Michigan State University MI James T. Fey Continuing grant 897595 7645 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0918126 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Assessing Teachers' Pedagogical Design Capacity and Mathematics Curriculum Use. The project focuses on revealing and assessing the capacities (knowledge, abilities, ways of understanding and acting) needed by elementary teachers for productive use of mathematics curriculum materials. The project is guided by the assumption that well designed curriculum programs have the potential to contribute to improvement in mathematics learning opportunities in K-12 classrooms. Minimal research has examined the kind of knowledge and capacities necessary for teachers to use these resources productively. The project team will undertake research to examine and identify these capacities (referred to as pedagogical design capacity or PDC) and develop tools to assess them. A key resource to be developed is a tool to assess elementary teachers' knowledge of mathematics embedded in the representations and tasks in curriculum materials (Curriculum Embedded Mathematics Assessment [CEMA]). The project includes interrelated development and research activities. The development activities include developing the CEMA and developing and refining tools for gathering data on teachers' use of curriculum materials. The research activities involve employing these tools to gather and analyze data on teachers' curriculum use and the capacities critical to it for the purposes of both refining the tools and developing a conceptual model of PDC. These activities are organized into three stages of work. The Instrument Design stage involves designing and testing the CEMA and developing and adapting other tools to collect data on teachers' curriculum use. The Instrument Pilot stage consists of a pilot study of 10 teachers' use of 5 different curriculum programs using all project instruments in order to refine them and develop an initial model of PDC. The Instrument Implementation stage involves employing the refined instruments to study 15 teachers' curriculum use in order to develop a conceptual model of PDC, which will guide future research and professional development. In order to consider the role that particular curriculum features and resources play in influencing teachers' use of the materials, each of the five programs will be analyzed during first stage. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Kim, Ok-Kyeong Western Michigan University MI Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 369799 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918141 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Assessing Teachers' Pedagogical Design Capacity and Mathematics Curriculum Use. The project focuses on revealing and assessing the capacities (knowledge, abilities, ways of understanding and acting) needed by elementary teachers for productive use of mathematics curriculum materials. The project is guided by the assumption that well designed curriculum programs have the potential to contribute to improvement in mathematics learning opportunities in K-12 classrooms. Minimal research has examined the kind of knowledge and capacities necessary for teachers to use these resources productively. The project team will undertake research to examine and identify these capacities (referred to as pedagogical design capacity or PDC) and develop tools to assess them. A key resource to be developed is a tool to assess elementary teachers' knowledge of mathematics embedded in the representations and tasks in curriculum materials (Curriculum Embedded Mathematics Assessment [CEMA]. The project includes interrelated development and research activities. The development activities include developing the CEMA and developing and refining tools for gathering data on teachers' use of curriculum materials. The research activities involve employing these tools to gather and analyze data on teachers' curriculum use and the capacities critical to it for the purposes of both refining the tools and developing a conceptual model of PDC. These activities are organized into 3 stages of work. The Instrument Design stage involves designing and testing the CEMA and developing and adapting other tools to collect data on teachers' curriculum use. The Instrument Pilot stage consists of a pilot study of 10 teachers' use of 5 different curriculum programs using all project instruments in order to refine them and develop an initial model of PDC. The Instrument Implementation stage involves employing the refined instruments to study 15 teachers' curriculum use in order to develop a conceptual model of PDC, which will guide future research and professional development. In order to consider the role that particular curriculum features and resources play in influencing teachers' use of the materials, each of the 5 programs will be analyzed during first stage. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Remillard, Janine University of Pennsylvania PA Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 531018 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918216 August 1, 2009 Integrating Computing Across the Curriculum (ICAC): Incorporating Technology into STEM Education Using XO Laptops. The ICAC builds and tests applications tied to the school curriculum that integrate the sciences with mathematics, computational thinking, reading and writing in elementary schools. The investigative core of the project is to determine how one-computer-per-child can be implemented in such a way as to support STEM learning and lead more urban children to STEM career paths. Data are collected both on the process of adoption and on the outcomes of learning and entering career paths, as measured by course selection and interests. Building on a state effort that has provided XO laptop computers to every child in grades 1-5, ICAC provides approximately 160 teachers and 8000 students with computer resources and skills and supports the adoption so as to increase the number of students in the STEM pipeline. The community served by the project is an urban, predominantly African American, high poverty school system where students are underrepresented in the STEM pipeline. The project advances computing, science, and mathematics skills of 4th and 5th grade Birmingham City Schools (BCS) teachers and students, works with teachers to develop curriculum, and provides professional development for teachers, and facilitates participation and support by administrators. In addition, ICAC provides more extensive training to 320 students, drawn from each school, who become resources for the teachers and their fellow students. ICAC engages parents so that they understand the opportunities available for their children in STEM-centered careers and so that the parents can be supportive of their child's interest in STEM education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Cotten, Shelia David Radford Jeffrey Gray J. Michael Wyss Michael Howell-Moroney University of Alabama at Birmingham AL Michael Haney Continuing grant 947163 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0918223 September 1, 2009 Researching the Expansion of K-5 Mathematics Specialist Program into Rural School Systems. This project builds upon a successful NSF-funded Math and Science Partnership that developed a collaborative master's degree program for K-5 Mathematics Specialists (math coaches) in the State of Virginia. The prior work demonstrated that the model enhanced the ability of K-5 teachers who are supported by Mathematics Specialists to provide high quality mathematics instruction, and resulted in improved student achievement on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests. The State of Virginia has adopted new licensure standards for Mathematics Specialists. In this project, the original team of collaborating colleges and universities expands the Mathematics Specialist model to rural school systems in Virginia, using a combination of distance and face-to-face learning. In addition, mechanisms are being provided to support Specialists as they work in remote environments. The research is designed to learn how a new group of rural Mathematics Specialists work in rural school districts, focusing on the impact of mathematics coaches and elementary school teachers as they work together to improve mathematics instruction. The project examines changes in beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning for mathematics coaches and for elementary math teachers. It will also measure the impact of the Mathematics Specialist model on K-5 student mathematics achievement. In addition, an extensive case study documents the State of Virginia's policy, legislative and regulatory decisions as the new Mathematics Specialists program is implemented. The case illuminates how this model for improving elementary mathematics education scales-up and is institutionalized. This study stands to make a substantial contribution to STEM education for several reasons. First, there is national interest in the use of mathematics coaches as a vehicle to improve elementary mathematics instruction and student outcomes. This project is providing research on the effectiveness of this well-defined mathematics coach model. Second, research on the effectiveness of distance education for STEM teacher professional development is sorely needed, and this study can provide insights. Third, this is a promising model for studying the scale-up of the use of mathematics coaches in Virginia, and includes how the State's policy environment was affected (or not) by the research results. Substantial background research has shown that policy decisions often are made without consideration of research results, but this project builds the research results (and researchers) into the policy environment. Fourth, the master's program for Mathematics Specialists is delivered collaboratively by four different public institutions of higher education in Virginia, and involves public school superintendents and state-level policy makers. This collaboration can illuminate how scale-up occurs, and may influence national policy and practice in elementary mathematics education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Farley, Reuben Patricia Campbell Aimee Ellington Vickie Inge Joy Whitenack Virginia Commonwealth University VA Sharon J. Lynch Continuing grant 1381494 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918239 September 1, 2009 RUI: Discovery Research K-12: Developing Algebra-Ready Students for Middle School: Exploring the Impact of Early Algebra. The project Developing Algebra-Ready Students for Middle School: Exploring the Impact of Early Algebra, led by faculty at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and the University of Wisconsin is developing and testing a curricular learning progression of early algebra objectives and activities for students in grades 3 - 5. The goal of the work is to provide teachers with curricular guidance and instructional resources that are useful in preparing students for success in study of algebra at the middle grade level. The project is also developing and validating assessment tools for evaluating student progress toward essential pre-algebra mathematical understandings. The basic hypothesis of the project is that findings from prior research on early algebra learning need to be consolidated into a coherent longitudinal curriculum strand in elementary school mathematics and that effective use of such curricular resources also requires teacher access to high quality assessments of student learning progress. The project is using content analysis, synthesis of the research literature on early algebra, and classroom teaching experiments to produce and test the curricular learning progression and teaching resources. The assessment instruments are being developed and validated using standard psychometric techniques. Since the ultimate utility of any early algebra materials depends on designing them in such a way that typical elementary teachers can use them effectively, the project is also conducting exploratory work on professional development of teachers. This work lays the groundwork for what the proposers envision to be a subsequent large scale comparative study to test the hypothesis that appropriate early algebra experiences in elementary grades will enhance learning of formal algebra in later grades. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Blanton, Maria Eric Knuth University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth MA James T. Fey Continuing grant 448028 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918277 September 1, 2009 Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis (STeLLA) Professional Development Program: Scaling for Effectiveness. The Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis (STeLLA) professional development program is a one-year sequence of professional development activities that engages teachers in content-specific analysis of science teaching and learning using video cases of science lessons. In small, facilitated learning teams, teachers examine specially created video cases and video from their own classrooms. The video cases provide rich contexts for deepening teachers' content and pedagogical content knowledge by providing a shared context for evidence-based analysis. The STeLLA program is built on two key research-based ideas for teacher learning that are examined in depth. The first premise is that teachers can improve their science teaching effectiveness by developing two lenses for analyzing teaching: the student thinking lens and the science content storyline lens. These two lenses provide a conceptual framework for the program. The second key idea is that teachers will deepen their science content knowledge through the use of these two lenses. The current project scale-ups STeLLA in two large, diverse Colorado school districts. This project is designed to rigorously test the effectiveness of the STeLLA professional development program when it is scaled to(a) reach large numbers of teachers and students in a wider array of school settings, (b) be delivered by facilitators who are not the program developers, and (c) include random assignment to two treatment groups. The scaled-up version of STeLLA (n~100 teachers) is compared with a science content deepening professional development program of the same duration (n~100 teachers). Measures of teachers' science content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and teaching practice documents STeLLA's impact on teachers. Students in 4th and 5th grades (n~6,000) are given two sets of pre-post unit tests to provide evidence of student learning, and 5th grade student data are also assessed through the Colorado Science Assessment Program (CSAP), the state science assessment. The project tests whether teacher variables (content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and teaching practice) mediate student learning, and explores other factors that may explain variance in student achievement. This project focuses on a teacher professional development model originally suggested by TIMSS video data on science classroom instruction. The TIMSS international comparison of science lesson enactments showed that U.S. teachers, in contrast with teachers from higher-achieving countries, emphasized student participation in activities with little or no attention to using those activities to develop science ideas or to engage students in thinking deeply about the target learning goals The STeLLA project is designed to improve elementary science instruction through the development of video cases of science teaching that support teachers in focusing on science ideas, student understanding of those ideas, and instructional responses that make clear links between the lesson activities and the development of science ideas and understanding. Guided by research results of previous studies, STeLLA focuses on improving teachers' content knowledge and their practice through the use of video. This concentrated, focused approach to professional development in science education is substantially different from other approaches. It holds a great deal of promise through its creative use of video technology, its clearly articulated theory of action, and a thoughtful scale-up research design that helps to illuminate the factors that can improve science teaching and learning. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Roth, Kathleen Joseph Taylor Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO John S. Bradley Continuing grant 909971 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918295 September 1, 2009 Connected Chemistry as Formative Assessment. This is an exploratory project focused on the use of computer modeling as formative assessment in order to improve high school students' chemistry learning by integrating two research-informed strategies. The first is Connected Chemistry, a Flash simulation enhanced Net Logo-based computer modeling learning environment in which students experience simultaneously three levels of representation of chemical phenomena: (a) macroscopic (visible phenomena), submacroscopic (movement of electrons, molecules, and atoms), and (c) symbolic (chemical symbols, equations). The second is formative assessment guided by research on learning progressions of big ideas in science. The project's development design phase consists of four building blocks: (1) construct map-coherent students' development of two big ideas (matter and energy) defined through student learning progressions; (2) item-design task, consisting of simultaneous multiple representations of the phenomena and how these are related; (3) outcome space, a categorization system that defines variation of students' responses and the use of a scoring rubric that correlates the status of students' learning progression scores with expected performance indicators; and (4) measurement model to guide data analysis to facilitate teachers monitoring of students' learning progressions. The project research design consists of a hypothesis that guides this exploratory work: If computer modeling as formative assessment maximizes the potential for improving students' learning, then formative assessment may increase students' opportunities to assess their understandings and provide feedback for modifying both learning and teaching. Thus, the research questions are: (1) Are the developed formative assessments valid, reliable, and absent of bias? and (2) Can integration of the formative assessments improve student learning in high school chemistry? The project will be conducted with teachers and students of the Buffalo City School District, characterized by its diverse student population. It will employ a quasi-experimental design with 16 chemistry teachers and 400 students taking the NY Regents' chemistry course (8 experimental groups of 25 students each with formative assessments, and 8 control groups with 25 students each without formative assessments). Main research activities consist of data gathering of the assessments' validity, reliability, and absence of bias through (a) interviewing and think-aloud strategies; (b) reviewing of assessments by a panel of a chemistry teacher, a science education researcher, a psychometrician, and a chemist; (c) pilot testing of assessments; (d) field testing of assessments; (e) determining statistical properties of assessments based on classical test theory and item-response theory (item difficulty, discrimination, and response pattern, reliability index); and (f) conducting validity, reliability, and absence of bias studies. Qualitative and quantitative data gathering and interpretation strategies will be used. The most important products and dissemination activities comprise a set of 10 formative assessment systems with integrated computer modeling and established validity, reliability, and absence of bias for one-year chemistry course; a monograph on findings; a CD-ROM; and a website. The proposed evaluation includes both formative and summative components focused on assessing the impact of formative assessments on improving students' learning using existing standardized instruments. Emphasis will be placed on (a) understanding of chemistry concepts, (b) understanding of models and modeling, (c) chemistry achievement (comparing scores on the NY Regents standardized exam), and (d) attitude toward chemistry (using a modified version of the Chemistry Attitude and Experiences Questionnaire). DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Liu, Xiufeng Roberto Gregorius Noemi Waight SUNY at Buffalo NY Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 493260 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918309 September 1, 2009 Mathematics and Culture in Micronesia: Integrating Societal Experiences (Macimise). Founded on ethnomathematics research findings, this project--a collaborative research and development effort between Pacific Resources for Education and Learning and the University of Hawaii-Manoa--aims to increase the mathematics learning of first-, fourth-, and seventh-grade elementary school Micronesian students. Plans are to develop and field-test culturally and linguistically sensitive grade-level curriculum units in specific mathematics topics, such as number and counting, division of whole numbers and fractions, and elements of geometry, focused on the indigenous mathematics learning experiences of eight distinct islands in the Pacific region. A team of mathematicians, mathematics educators, mathematics teachers, graduate students, curriculum and assessment experts, and quantitative and qualitative methodologists will develop and implement approximately 24 curriculum units (8 for each grade level). The hypothesis that inclusion of indigenous ways of knowing into the mathematics curriculum may enhance students' NCTM standards-based mathematics learning and meaning making drives the proposed scope of work. Thus, the main research question is: Does knowledge of recovered culturally based mathematics significantly improve indigenous student scores on standardized mathematics tests at grades 1, 4, and 7? The specific setting of the study comprises eight islands included in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and American Samoa. Participants include 2,304 first- , fourth- , and seventh-grade students: 24 experimental and 24 control groups, two of each grade level on each of the eight U.S.-affiliated islands of the Pacific region. Qualitative data gathering strategies, such as interviews with local informants, teachers, and students; and classroom observations are used to document indigenous ways of knowing, mathematical content, assessment practices, and cultural practices. Quantitative data gathering and interpretation strategies using pre-and post-test scores, as well as scores from standardized assessments, will include statistical analyses to determine the effect of the curricular units on participating students' grade-level mathematics achievement. The evaluation plan comprises both formative and summative components, including implementation evaluation and progress evaluation. Grade-level curriculum units, three publications on findings, a professional development model for teachers through graduate courses, and a cadre of masters' and doctoral degrees in mathematics education are among the main products of this effort. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Dawson, Alexander Pacific Resources for Education and Learning HI Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 692566 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0918326 July 15, 2009 Examining Coaching in Elementary (K-8) Mathematics Classrooms. DRL: DR K-12 PI: Yopp Abstract The project Examining Coaching in Elementary Mathematics Classrooms, led by faculty of Montana State University and professional staff of RMC Research Corporation, is conducting correlational and experimental studies of elementary mathematics coaching to see how knowledge about coaching strategy and about mathematics content influences the ability of coaches to improve teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and classroom practices. The project explores the hypothesis that the effectiveness of a mathematics classroom coach in changing teacher practice, attitudes, and beliefs is positively correlated with his/her knowledge about coaching strategies and about mathematics content. To test this hypothesis, this project is addressing two core research questions: 1. To what extent does a coach's depth of knowledge in two primary domains (coaching knowledge and mathematics content knowledge) influence coaching effectiveness? 2. To what extent does professional development targeting those two knowledge domains improve coaching effectiveness? The first research question is being addressed by a non-experimental correlational study of knowledge for coaching and change in teacher practice as a result of coaching. The second question is being studied by an experimental causal cross-over design measuring the effects of professional development provided to increase the knowledge of coaches. The designs address effects of coaching on teachers' classroom instruction, an critical link in the connection between coaching and improved student learning. The correlational data is analyzed by structural equation modeling. The experimental data is analyzed by hierarchical linear modeling, nesting teachers within coaches. Approximately 60 coaches are randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, and each coach works with 3 teachers. The various facets of coach and teacher knowledge and practice are measured by a variety of existing and previously validated instruments. Results of the study will provide valuable evidence to schools considering use of mathematics coaches as a strategy for improving results of elementary mathematics instruction. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Yopp, David John Sutton Elizabeth Burroughs Marc Brodersen Montana State University MT James T. Fey Continuing grant 687633 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0918339 September 1, 2009 A Digital Resource for Developing Mathematics Teachers' TPCK.". Abstract The project A Digital Resource for Developing Mathematics Teachers' TPCK is developing and conducting initial tests of a highly innovative interactive digital textbook to enhance middle grades mathematics teachers' understanding of core concepts in proportionality and their understanding of ways that technology can be used to enhance instruction. The project is led by professionals from SRI International with substantial contributions by mathematics educators at San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, the Singapore National Institute of Education, and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). The digital textbook combines elements from SimCalc, Geometer's Sketchpad, and data analysis software to teach core ideas of proportionality from algebraic, geometric, and statistical perspectives. It also includes elements designed to help teachers see the connections among those uses of proportional reasoning and the ways that such tools can be used in classroom instruction with middle school students. The basic hypothesis of the project is that the proposed DynaBook will be a highly effective tool for mathematics teacher preparation and professional development and, ultimately, for classroom instruction of middle school students. Pilot tests in laboratory, teacher preparation, and professional development settings are providing initial empirical evidence about two core research questions: * In what ways does the DynaBook effectively support teacher learning of pedagogical and technological content knowledge? * Does the DynaBook foster teachers' understanding of the coherence and connectedness of middle school mathematics? This project explores very promising new forms of instructional materials with potential to transform the ways that we think about educational texts and teaching strategies. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Roschelle, Jeremy Charles Patton Janet Bowers Jose Blackorby Susan Courey SRI International CA James T. Fey Continuing grant 932718 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918340 July 1, 2009 ICE: Investigations in Cyber-enabled Education. The project is a three year exploratory effort to promote a virtual scientist-teacher collaboration with middle and high schools that is sustainable, affordable, replicable, and broadly accessible. The project clarifies the Investigations in Cyber-enabled Education (ICE) framework constructs and gathers empirical evidence to form the basis of anticipated further research. The focus of the project is on climate change, particularly snow, and will be tested in both middle and high schools. The research question that frames the project is: under what circumstances can cyber-enabled collaboratioin between STM scientists and educators enhance teacher ability to provide STM education? The project is designed to support and study scientists sharing in the creation of cyber training, collaborating with teachers online as they work through training, and providing a network of support for teachers as they implement what they have learned in class instruction. The PI, working with a development team of 13 scientists, a master teacher and technology experts, creates a course that works closely with the University resources and expertise. The course consists of research-aligned cyber-learning activities and a sustainable learning community that provides multiple venues for cyber-enabled scientist-teacher collaboration for practicing middle and high school teachers. Virtual collaboration persists after the courses end as teachers transfer training into class instruction. The course is hosted by University class management software that offers automatic tracking and assessment tools. The summative research uses an experimental design. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Berry Bertram, Kathy University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus AK Michael Haney Standard Grant 449745 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0918383 September 1, 2009 Investigating the Effect of Professional Development, Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, and Instruction on Student Outcomes. Researchers at Harvard University, the University of Michigan, and Brigham Young University are conducting research on the relationship between mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT), teaching practice, and student outcomes. The study of MKT is embedded in a study of the effectiveness of the Math Solutions professional development model. Math Solutions is a widely used professional development provider started by Marilyn Burns. The study builds on work of the research team and differs from earlier work in that 80 fourth and fifth grade teachers in twelve Albuquerque, NM schools are randomly assigned to either the treatment group or the control group. Randomization occurs within grades within schools. Math Solutions provides teachers in the treatment group professional development that has a strong focus on MKT. Teachers in the control group receive the typical professional development offered by the district. This consists of a combination of summer mathematics institutes and three-to-six hour introductions to Everyday Mathematics, the instructional materials used by the schools in the study. The research questions are as follows. How effective is Math Solutions as compared to typical ad-hoc mathematics professional development? Does Math Solutions improve teachers? MKT, the quality of their instruction, and/or their students? outcomes? How are different aspects of teachers? mathematical knowledge and instruction related to student achievement? Teacher MKT is measured by Learning Mathematics for Teaching (instruments developed by the PI and colleagues) and student achievement is measured by assessments developed recently by the PI with NSF support. Classroom observations and video provide data on classroom instruction. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 MSP-OTHER AWARDS DRL EHR Hill, Heather Geoffrey Phelps Robin Jacob Douglas Corey Harvard University MA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2753481 7645 1793 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918409 September 1, 2009 AutoMentor: Virtual Mentoring and Assessment in Computer Games for STEM Learning. The project builds on existing research and extends it to include a computational model of participation in a community of practice. The products include an automated mentoring system that uses natural language conversations to help students learn about science and technology and an assessment/analysis protocol to quantify students' STEM behavior. It extends automated tutoring with an automated mentoring technology, AutoMentor, and combines it with Epistemic Network Analysis. AutoMentor is implemented in Land Science, a multi-player urban planning game, and tested by the Massachusetts Audubon Society with approximately 700 middle school aged students either in after-school or in-school programs. Pioneering work drawn from three partner institutions inform the design of the system. These include intelligent tutoring (Graesser, University of Memphis), assessment (Mislevy, University of Maryland), and game-based learning (Shaffer, University of Wisconsin-Madison). The core technologies are supported by expertise in computer science, science content, measurement, and STEM educational programming. The project has the potential to transform all three core areas by providing a fully implementable system that supports student learning substantive content through immersion in a STEM processes. The PIs anticipate that this will be integral to learning systems of the future. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Shaffer, David Arthur Graesser Michael Gleicher Robert Mislevy Kristen Scopinich University of Wisconsin-Madison WI Michael Haney Continuing grant 2080693 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918425 September 1, 2009 Supports for learning to manage classroom discussions: Exploring the role of practical rationality and mathematical knowledge for teaching. Researchers at the Universities of Michigan and Maryland are developing materials to survey the rationality behind secondary mathematics teaching practice and to support the development by secondary mathematics preservice teachers of specialized knowledge and skills for teaching. The project focuses on the leading of classroom discussions for the learning of algebra and geometry. Using animations of instructional scenarios, the project is developing online, multimedia questionnaires and using them to assess practicing teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching and their evaluations of teacher decision making. Reports and forum entries from the questionnaires are integrated into a learning environment for prospective teachers and their instructors built around these animated scenarios. This environment allows pre-service teachers to navigate, annotate, and communicate about the scenarios; and it allows their instructors to plan using those scenarios and share experiences with their counterparts. The research on teachers' rationality uses an experimental design with embedded one-way ANOVA, while the development of the learning environment uses a process of iterative design, implementation, and evaluation. The project evaluation by researchers at Northwestern University uses qualitative methods to examine the content provided in the environment as well as the usefulness perceived by teacher educators of a state network and their students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Herbst, Patricio Daniel Chazan University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 2094411 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918434 September 1, 2009 R&D: An Architecture of Intensification: Building a Comprehensive Program for Struggling Students in Double-Period Algebra Classes. This project combines the expertise and resources of the University of Illinois at Chicago Learning Sciences Research Institute, the University of Texas Dana Center, the Urban Mathematics Leadership Network, and the Agile Mind educational software company to design, develop, and test student and teacher instructional materials and software for Algebra I. The innovative course is explicitly designed to address the needs of students whose interest and prior achievement in mathematics make that subject especially challenging for them. The project starts from the assumption that those struggling students need to and can master the concepts and skills of a rigorous Algebra I course. However, the developers argue that chances of success will be greatly enhanced if algebra classes for those students provide more instructional time and special complementary activities focused on social, affective, linguistic, and strategic cognitive and meta-cognitive dimensions of learning. The project has identified a set of design principles for instructional materials that draw from research on students with special learning needs, and it uses those principles in a design-based research process to construct and study effects of the Intensified Algebra materials. The core of the curriculum materials is the Agile Mind computer-based Algebra I software, a program that is enhanced by inclusion of coordinated youth development experiences. The project addresses a series of research questions about usability and effects of the new Algebra I course. Those questions are studied with a two-tier research effort over three years. Teaching and learning are examined intensively in a small set of experimental classes to gain insights necessary for iterative development of the curriculum materials and teacher resources. A larger sample of experimental classes are studied less intensively, with survey methods, in order to gain understanding of the challenges confronting dissemination of the emerging program to a larger, less directly supported family of users. Dissemination of the final products will gain substantial momentum through the Urban Mathematics Leadership Network whose members are 22 of the largest U. S. urban school districts and have expressed strong support for the importance of the planned algebra initiative. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gartzman, Martin James Pellegrino Susan Goldman Alison Castro Superfine University of Illinois at Chicago IL James T. Fey Continuing grant 1225167 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918435 September 1, 2009 Talk Science: Scalable, Web-based Professional Learning to Improve Science Achievement. TERC, in close collaboration with the Mason School in Roxbury, MA, the Benjamin A. Banneker School in Cambridge, MA, Newton Massachusetts Schools, and scientists and linguists from Tufts University in Medford, MA, Clark University in Worcester, MA, and Boston University, in Boston, is conducting a four-year project to enhance and study the development of elementary science teachers' skills in managing productive classroom talk in inquiry-based physical science studies of matter. The project hypothesizes that aligning professional learning with conceptually-driven curriculum and emphasizing the development of scientific discourse changes classroom culture and increases student learning. The project deliverables are new web-based resources, Talk Science! PD, to help elementary teachers better facilitate scientific discourse. These resources are comprised of two nine-week professional development courses for 4th and 5th grade teachers. The resources are being designed in collaboration with scientists, linguists, and cognitive psychologists to develop media-rich video case-based learning experiences that enhance teachers' understanding of the science and classroom discourse. The resources are closely aligned with the newly-developed, NSF-funded Inquiry Curriculum, a curriculum for elementary grades about the nature of matter and the conceptual development of material, mass, volume, and density. The project is studying three research questions: 1. How do teachers' awareness, understanding and skills for supporting science talk change as they use Talk Science!? 2. How does student talk change as a result of changes in teachers' language-related actions? 3. How do classroom discourse patterns change as a result of changes in the teacher's action? The resources are being evaluated through a comprehensive pre/post evaluation plan. The project is documenting teachers' learning and closely studying the changes in discussion patterns in 18 science classrooms from urban, suburban and rural schools in Massachusetts and Vermont. The products and research results of the project are being disseminated widely through conference presentations and publication of articles in appropriate professional journals. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Doubler, Susan Harold McWilliams Sarah Michaels TERC Inc MA Joseph Reed Continuing grant 572447 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918436 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Integrating Models of Cognition and Measurement with Conceptual Knowledge: Establishing the Validity and Diagnostic Capability of Concept Inventories. This collaborative research project implements a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the design and validation of concept inventories (CIs). The purpose is to braoden and enhance the effective use of concept inventories in STEM education for formative and summative assessment. To accomplish this goal the project will focus on a specific concept inventory, the Thermal Transport Concept Inventory (TTCI). The data will be collected from the varied undergarduate student samples. The research would develop an explicit set of facets of understanding for diagnostic measurement and reporting, would gather multi-level empirical data of student performance on the TTCI (including student protocol and interview studies, and large scale data for psychometric modeling), would revise both the items and facets based upon these empirical data analyses, and would gather further data on the revised instrument. The data on TTCI will be analyzed in terms of the underlying conceptual knowledge and skills that it taps in critical areas of science and engineering. Additional empirical data on student reasoning and performance will be analyzed applying modern psychometric analysis techniques focused on diagnostic modeling. Research outcomes expected are: (1) an improved TTCI available through the web and accompanied by interpretive tools for use by faculty; (2) an in-depth, multi-level analysis of the assessment validity and diagnostic capacity of the TTCI; (3) a comprehensive inventory of possible formative and summative uses of CIs, including what is needed by STEM practitioners to make good use of CIs; and (4) a research and development framework for designing, developing, evaluating, improving, and/or implementing CIs in other STEM areas. In general, the study will contribute to the better understanding of student learning and more authentic diagnostic and formative assessment, leading to better learning and teaching of important concepts in STEM. The use of the TTCI will elicit student misconceptions in the thermal and transport engineering sciences such as fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. The TTCI particularly focuses on concepts deemed important but difficult for undergraduate engineering students. Thus, the proposed research is likely to lead to expanded uses of the TTCI and other CIs for formative classroom purposes as well as for a variety of summative purposes. This project are both an expansion of the psychometric modeling and methods for applying diagnostic models to CIs, and an expanded assessment validity in the area of measurement and assessment of key concepts in science and engineering. REESE DRL EHR Miller, Ronald Colorado School of Mines CO Kusum Singh Continuing grant 64194 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918438 September 15, 2009 Formative Assessment in the Mathematics' Classroom: Engaging Teachers and Students. With the FACETS project, Education Development Center, Inc. is developing and testing a 2-year, intensive professional development model for building middle grades mathematics teachers' facility with formative assessment. Using a combination of institutes, ongoing professional learning communities, and web-based resources, this model attends both to teachers' knowledge of critical aspects of formative assessment and their implementation of formative assessment in the classroom. Implementation consists of teachers integrating practices associated with critical aspects of formative assessment into mathematics instruction on a daily basis; full implementation, which the project is working towards, requires internalizing a comprehensive understanding of these aspects. The project has two rounds of professional development: a pilot version with a first cohort of 40 teachers and a revised, field test version with a second cohort of 60 teachers. The audience for the FACETS project is middle school math teachers including special education teachers who are responsible for some math instruction, professional development providers, and the research community. The main research questions are: 1) How do mathematics teachers' knowledge and practice of formative assessment change as a result of participation in the proposed professional development? 2) What learning trajectory describes teachers' developing knowledge and practice of formative assessment, and what common barriers are associated with different parts of that trajectory? The project is collecting evidence of teachers' learning at a number of different points during the 2-year professional development experience. Teachers' understanding and use of six critical aspects of formative assessment will be assessed before, during, and after the professional development sessions though a series of surveys and questionnaires. In addition, the project will use classroom observations for a sub-sample of participants to chart changes in classroom practices over the course of the professional development. Data related to barriers and challenges to teachers' understanding and implementation of formative assessment come from teachers' survey responses as well as from classroom observations and observations of professional development activities. These data inform modifications to the pilot version of the professional development and drive the larger set of revisions for the field test version. The data also inform the articulation of the participants' learning trajectories and provide value to the mathematics education and formative assessment research communities. Deliverables include a model of professional development for the learning of formative assessment in mathematics, a facilitator's guide describing the components of the professional development model and suggestions for using the model to provide a professional development program, cyberlearning products such as interactive forums, video and other materials for the professional development activities and resource library, and journal articles describing teachers' learning trajectory for implementing formative assessment in middle grades mathematics classrooms. External evaluation of this project is carried out by Char Associates. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gross, Fred Education Development Center MA Elizabeth VanderPutten Continuing grant 549784 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918449 October 1, 2009 Enhancing Engineering Education with Computational Thinking. This project investigates the educational value of scientific simulations for learning engineering through engaging high school students in designing and building an energy-efficient scale model house with the aid of computer simulations and probeware measurement in order to test the assertion that simulations and hands-on projects are mutually beneficial. The project is developing an education-oriented, student-friendly simulation tool, SimEng, which is capable of accurately modeling the engineering problems students encounter in this project. Four instructional units are being developed: an introduction presenting science concepts and engineering principles; fundamentals of designing and building energy-efficient houses; exploring natural heating; and inventing natural cooling devices. Simulations and hands-on projects are being developed for each unit. Student learning and performance are being studied under two conditions: the experimental treatment utilizing hands-on experiences supplemented by the SimEng simulation software; and the control treatment consisting of the identical hands-on experiences and traditional curriculum materials. The research explores potential learning enhancements using simulations, which are critically important in design-based learning, engineering education, and cyberlearning. Although this project focuses on engineering design of thermal systems, the research methodology is broadly applicable and the outcomes have important implications for engineering education in general. This study also explores critical cyberlearning questions such as the relationship of learning through virtual labs and learning through physical labs. The instructional materials and the simulation tool are open source and freely available online. The materials are being tested with socio-economically diverse groups of students to ensure that the outcomes of the research apply to all students. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Xie, Qian Chris Rogers Stephen Bannasch Concord Consortium MA Daniel Householder Standard Grant 2191552 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918505 September 15, 2009 Science & Mathematics Integration for Literacy Enhancement (Project SMILE). The goals of STEM instruction are to educate a populace that is scientifically and mathematically literate and who can solve real-world problems by applying science and mathematics. Project SMILE (Science and Mathematics Integration for Literacy Enhancement) is an exploratory project to study the effectiveness of professional development focused on the integration of mathematics and science instruction, mediated by technology tools, to improve middle school teachers' ability to teach scientific inquiry and mathematical problem solving. The study also investigates the extent to which modern technology tools such as InspireData, a data visualization and analysis software, improves the integration. Twenty middle school science and mathematics teachers are recruited from schools near Appalachian State University to engage in activities designed to develop and implement modules that integrate science inquiry and mathematical problem solving using InspireData as a tool for gathering, organizing, analyzing, and visualizing data and processing conclusions about questions, issues, and concerns derived from real life situations relevant to student's lives. The Iowa Chautauqua Model of professional development is used to organize the three week summer institute and academic year on-line courses through MOODLE. Teacher surveys and SCOOP notebooks are used as pre-post data sources and a modified RTOP is used for classroom observation to test hypotheses and DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Dass, Pradeep Tracy Goodson-Espy Appalachian State University NC Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 449827 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918522 August 15, 2009 Developing, Researching, and Scaling Up SmartGraphs. The project goal is to develop Smart Graphs, document their effectiveness through rigorous research, and scale the implementation so this technology becomes widely available. The project studies the educational value of "Smart Graphs", digital objects that "know" about themselves and that provide scaffolding to students to help them learn about graphs and the concepts conveyed in graphs. As planned, digital Smart Graphs can be authored or customized by teachers and accept inputs from students? responses, sketches, functions, models, and probes. The software analyzes the graphs for the kinds of features that experts recognize and then engages students in conversations that instruct and assess. The development of Smart Graphs is based on extensive prior research about students' use and understanding of graphs (TEEMSS II Project). The project is guided by a collaboration between the Concord Consortium and the Pennsylvania State Department of Education. Pennsylvania's Classrooms for the Future program, through which 40,000 laptop computers are deployed to serve 500,000 students. An outstanding panel of researchers and educators serve as project advisors. After early development and optimization working with one high school, the technology is fully tested in 24 schools in conjunction with units on force and motion. Comparison studies (random assignment with implementation delays) provide the sources of data. The final years are devoted to scaling, reaching 200 teachers in addition to publishers who will be offered support and open source materials. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Staudt, Carolyn Andrew Zucker Concord Consortium MA Michael Haney Continuing grant 2238707 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918531 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Integrating Cognition and Measurement with Conceptual Knowledge: Establishing the Validity and Diagnostic Capacity of Concept Inventories. This collaborative research project implements a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the design and validation of concept inventories (CIs). The purpose is to braoden and enhance the effective use of concept inventories in STEM education for formative and summative assessment. To accomplish this goal the project will focus on a specific concept inventory, the Thermal Transport Concept Inventory (TTCI). The data will be collected from the varied undergarduate student samples. The research would develop an explicit set of facets of understanding for diagnostic measurement and reporting, would gather multi-level empirical data of student performance on the TTCI (including student protocol and interview studies, and large scale data for psychometric modeling), would revise both the items and facets based upon these empirical data analyses, and would gather further data on the revised instrument. The data on TTCI will be analyzed in terms of the underlying conceptual knowledge and skills that it taps in critical areas of science and engineering. Additional empirical data on student reasoning and performance will be analyzed applying modern psychometric analysis techniques focused on diagnostic modeling. Research outcomes expected are: (1) an improved TTCI available through the web and accompanied by interpretive tools for use by faculty; (2) an in-depth, multi-level analysis of the assessment validity and diagnostic capacity of the TTCI; (3) a comprehensive inventory of possible formative and summative uses of CIs, including what is needed by STEM practitioners to make good use of CIs; and (4) a research and development framework for designing, developing, evaluating, improving, and/or implementing CIs in other STEM areas. In general, the study will contribute to the better understanding of student learning and more authentic diagnostic and formative assessment, leading to better learning and teaching of important concepts in STEM. The use of the TTCI will elicit student misconceptions in the thermal and transport engineering sciences such as fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. The TTCI particularly focuses on concepts deemed important but difficult for undergraduate engineering students. Thus, the proposed research is likely to lead to expanded uses of the TTCI and other CIs for formative classroom purposes as well as for a variety of summative purposes. This project are both an expansion of the psychometric modeling and methods for applying diagnostic models to CIs, and an expanded assessment validity in the area of measurement and assessment of key concepts in science and engineering. REESE DRL EHR Streveler, Ruth Purdue University IN Kusum Singh Continuing grant 88910 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918533 August 1, 2009 The Scientific Thinker Project: A study of teaching and learning concepts of evidence and nature of scientific evidence in elementary school. New York University (NYU) will study children's developing epistemological understandings of evidence (e.g., what is scientific evidence, how does it differ from other kinds of evidence, why is it durable and tentative and what is its role in scientific thinking). NYU seeks to understand the experiences and conditions that facilitate elementary science students understandings of the nature of scientific evidence. This will be accomplished through a design-based research program.The project will take place over a 2-year period to study the possibility of emphasizing more challenging forms of science and epistemological forms of understanding than is typical for U.S. elementary school children. The overarching research goal is: To determine whether elementary school children can learn the nature of scientific evidence when provided a coherent, contiguous course of study in one topic area (development and interactions) sustained over time (a 2-year period; grades 3-4). Along with documenting how and to what extent students can understand the nature of scientific evidence, identification of what teaching-and-learning supports are necessary to achieve this and if not, what are the barriers to learning. The work will be conducted in elementary classroom and laboratory settings at an elementary school in New York City with a diverse student population (grades 3-4). The design-based research model proposed for this study is one of iterative cycles of intentional intervention and analysis. Through this approach NYU will develop and test instructional tools (materials, interactions, experiences) that shape and are shaped by an activity theory model for development. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Kirch, Susan Catherine Milne Anna Stetsenko New York University NY Joseph Reed Continuing grant 268096 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918552 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Integrating Cognition and Measurement with Conceptual Knowledge: Establishing the Validity and Diagnostic Capacity of Concept Inventories. This collaborative research project implements a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the design and validation of concept inventories (CIs). The purpose is to braoden and enhance the effective use of concept inventories in STEM education for formative and summative assessment. To accomplish this goal the project will focus on a specific concept inventory, the Thermal Transport Concept Inventory (TTCI). The data will be collected from the varied undergarduate student samples. The research would develop an explicit set of facets of understanding for diagnostic measurement and reporting, would gather multi-level empirical data of student performance on the TTCI (including student protocol and interview studies, and large scale data for psychometric modeling), would revise both the items and facets based upon these empirical data analyses, and would gather further data on the revised instrument. The data on TTCI will be analyzed in terms of the underlying conceptual knowledge and skills that it taps in critical areas of science and engineering. Additional empirical data on student reasoning and performance will be analyzed applying modern psychometric analysis techniques focused on diagnostic modeling. Research outcomes expected are: (1) an improved TTCI available through the web and accompanied by interpretive tools for use by faculty; (2) an in-depth, multi-level analysis of the assessment validity and diagnostic capacity of the TTCI; (3) a comprehensive inventory of possible formative and summative uses of CIs, including what is needed by STEM practitioners to make good use of CIs; and (4) a research and development framework for designing, developing, evaluating, improving, and/or implementing CIs in other STEM areas. In general, the study will contribute to the better understanding of student learning and more authentic diagnostic and formative assessment, leading to better learning and teaching of important concepts in STEM. The use of the TTCI will elicit student misconceptions in the thermal and transport engineering sciences such as fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. The TTCI particularly focuses on concepts deemed important but difficult for undergraduate engineering students. Thus, the proposed research is likely to lead to expanded uses of the TTCI and other CIs for formative classroom purposes as well as for a variety of summative purposes. This project are both an expansion of the psychometric modeling and methods for applying diagnostic models to CIs, and an expanded assessment validity in the area of measurement and assessment of key concepts in science and engineering. REESE DRL EHR DiBello, Louis James Pellegrino University of Illinois at Chicago IL Kusum Singh Continuing grant 167315 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918560 September 1, 2009 Learning Science as Inquiry with the Urban Advantage: Formal-Informal Collaborations to Increase Science Literacy and Student Learning. The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and Michigan State University are conducting a research and development project based on the hypothesis that learners must have access to the real work of scientists if they are to learn both about the nature of science and to do inquiry themselves. It explores the question "How can informal science education institutions best design resources to support teachers, school administrators, and families in the teaching and learning of students to conduct scientific investigations and better understand the nature of science?" The project is a middle school science initiative involving informal science education institutions that provide professional development for teachers and hands-on learning for students. The major science topic is the invasion of the Hudson River system by zebra mussels using data sets provided by the Cary Institute The project goals are to: (1) Refine a model that uses an informal education institution to generate a productive overlap of leaning opportunities for students, parents, teachers, and administrators; (2) Develop and field test complementary resources that use teaching cases for exploring secondary research and data analysis as vehicles for providing different audiences opportunities to do inquiry and to lean about scientific inquiry, the impact of invasive species on fresh water ecosystems, and the work of scientists; (3) Study the model to extract more general knowledge and design principles that allow others to pursue similar approaches; (4) Disseminate the model, resources, and research to others. The project will investigate the following research questions: (1) How do professional development opportunities shape teacher and administrator understanding of scientific work and inquiry and freshwater ecosystems?; (2) How do teachers, parents, and administrators use resources to further their own learning and that of students?; and (3) How do informal institutions' resources and methods support teachers' practices and student learning? Researchers from Michigan State University will carry out the research using both qualitative and quantitative methods to gather data in a parallel/simultaneous mixed methods design. There is also a comparison group of 30 middle school teachers. Project partners are the American Museum of Natural History, Michigan State University, the Cary Institute, and The Academy for Educational Development. Participants are middle school teachers, middle school students and their families, and school administrators. Professional development workshops for teachers and administrators will be held at AMNH. Students and their families will take field trips to the Hudson River with AMNH and Cary Institute scientists. The deliverables will be four case studies for teachers, students, parents, and administrators; curriculum on the zebra mussel invasion of the Hudson River; and research results on the educational model. Outputs will be: 150 teachers participate in 58 hours of professional development; 100 middle school administrators experience leadership workshops to learn about the project; and 300 families participate in day-long family outreach events to the Hudson River ecosystem. Through this research and the education resources developed, this project has the potential to improve science education in many other large urban areas. It also explores the effect of participants in secondary research as they analyze large data sets developed by the Cary Institute. Formative evaluation is carried out during the first three years by AMNH staff. Summative evaluation is executed by an external evaluator, The Academy for Educational Development. The summative evaluation explores the extent to which the collaboration meets the project goals, the quality of the teachers' use of the project resources, the impact of the project on student learning, and the response of parents and administrators to the project resources. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Short, James Suzanne Wilson American Museum Natural History NY Robert E. Gibbs Continuing grant 708173 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918583 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Ecology Disrupted: Using real scientific data about daily life to link environmental issues to ecological processes in secondary school science classrooms. 0918629 Wyner The City College of New York and the American Museum of Natural History propose a three-year research and development project to refine and test case study units based on existing museum-developed scientific content on contemporary issues in ecology for students underserved in their connection to nature. The resources are designed to be used by teachers of middle and high school biology, ecology, and environmental science classes. The project will produce three complete curriculum modules. They will include new scientist at work profile videos that will be disseminated online through a web interface that enables teachers to select and customize scaffolding and to address their particular students' needs in the classroom. The program will also develop in-person and online courses at CCNY and AMNH for local New York City public school teachers and teachers nationally to explore their own connection to environmental issues and ecology and to reflect upon the role of scientific inquiry in building understanding of the natural world. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Gano, Steve Robert DeSalle American Museum Natural History NY Julia Clark Continuing grant 153049 7645 SMET 9177 0918589 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Ecosystems and Evidence Project. This proposal is an exploratory research and development project that addresses the question, "Can students develop an understanding of the ecological nature of science (ENOS) in high school biology and environmental science classes that is useful and productive in environmental citizenship?" To address this question, the project will identify the essential elements of ENOS, investigate how these can be taught and learned, and explore how ENOS skills and understandings are used to enhance environmental citizenship. Four core hypotheses form the research focus and rationale for the proposed project: 1) ENOS is distinctive in important ways from generic NOS; 2) ENOS mastery enhances students' abilities to critique claims, address issues and support scientific approaches to problems; 3) personal facility with ENOS and related teaching, recognition of ENOS as a worthy target of instruction, and self confidence enable teachers to integrate ENOS into their instruction; and 4) students can develop ENOS mastery when they have direct experience creating arguments from ecological evidence of diverse types in diverse contexts, reflect on ENOS, and have scaffolded experiences transferring ENOS within ecology and to other arenas. To explore these hypotheses, the project will define ENOS, develop assessment tools for describing students' and teachers' skills and understandings of ENOS, and test ways for teachers and students to become more adept at acquiring and applying ENOS skills and knowledge. ENOS Learning Communities (high school biology and environmental science teachers, ecologists and educators) at the Cary Institute and Rutgers University will work with a Concept Development Team (8 ecologists, educators and teachers) to develop an ENOS framework, plan and carry out student and teacher research, develop ENOS teaching experiments, test approaches to teacher professional development, and craft a plan for broader application of the ENOS framework and teaching models. Over the course of two years, approximately 720 students will be reached, with the expectation that their environmental citizenship will be enhanced through mastery of ENOS skills and concepts, as will their self confidence in approaching problems. Six ENOS Teaching/Research Fellows (high school biology and environmental science teachers) will be partners in the project, and will receive professional development and support including more than 210 direct contact hours with project staff. Finally, local communities will benefit from projects carried out by students in their culminating activities where they address a local issue using multiple forms of ecological evidence. Products of the project will be disseminated broadly, including: 1) a framework to guide incorporation of ENOS into high school instruction and assessments; 2) a collection of assessment items and protocols for describing students and teachers ENOS skills and knowledge; 3) research publications and presentations about student thinking and learning, and about teachers ENOS practices; and 4) instructional models with modified lesson plans for infusing ENOS into high school biology and environmental science courses. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Jordan, Rebecca Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ David B. Campbell Standard Grant 147888 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918590 August 1, 2009 Change Thinking for Global Science: Fostering and Evaluating Inquiry Thinking About the Ecological Impacts of Climate Change. This project is developing learning progression-driven visualization technologies, curricular units, and assessments towards realizing empirical evidence about middle and high school students' complex thinking about ecological impacts of global climate change. During the lifetimes of current middle and high school students, it is likely that our planet will undergo more anthropogenic change than it has during all of human history to date. With a national interest in complex thinking for globally competitiveness, a sense of urgency exists to build a solid, research-based foundation about a new, interdisciplinary focus area within precollege science education - students' complex reasoning about the impact of global changes on ecosystem dynamics. Recognizing the need for systematic development of resources, this project builds from existing resources and utilizes a learning progression approach for the systematic design of coordinated curricular, tool and assessment products. Quasiexperimental research studies on matched and consecutive cohorts are conducted to document learning outcomes and trajectories. Cross-sectional investigations are used to determine information on the effectiveness of curricular programs on student achievement. Growth curve analysis is used to descriptively examine students' complex reasoning growth trajectories throughout curricular programs. This work provides dynamic, age-appropriate visualization and modeling tools, and associated curricular units and assessment instruments to serve as foundational, empirically based information on teaching and learning about the impacts of global climate change. This work also provides an empirical and theoretical basis for content and inquiry reasoning progressions that articulate critical concept development in science and that explain how learning development is consistent with theories of learning. Data from middle and high school students coordinated with longitudinal data from 4-6th grade students provides information on student growth trajectories and achievement outcomes that will contribute to an understanding of possible learning progressions-driven outcomes over multiple units and years. Research results will also provide insights into the character and dynamics of learning trajectories and the challenges that occur as content and reasoning knowledge develops. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Songer, Nancy Philip Myers James Beach University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI David B. Campbell Continuing grant 1690071 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918610 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Ecosystems and Evidence Project. This proposal is an exploratory research and development project that addresses the question, "Can students develop an understanding of the ecological nature of science (ENOS) in high school biology and environmental science classes that is useful and productive in environmental citizenship?" To address this question, the project will identify the essential elements of ENOS, investigate how these can be taught and learned, and explore how ENOS skills and understandings are used to enhance environmental citizenship. Four core hypotheses form the research focus and rationale for the proposed project: 1) ENOS is distinctive in important ways from generic nature of science; 2) ENOS mastery enhances students' abilities to critique claims, address issues and support scientific approaches to problems; 3) personal facility with ENOS and related teaching, recognition of ENOS as a worthy target of instruction, and self confidence enable teachers to integrate ENOS into their instruction; and 4) students can develop ENOS mastery when they have direct experience creating arguments from ecological evidence of diverse types in diverse contexts, reflect on ENOS, and have scaffolded experiences transferring ENOS within ecology and to other arenas. To explore these hypotheses, the project will define ENOS, develop assessment tools for describing students' and teachers' skills and understandings of ENOS, and test ways for teachers and students to become more adept at acquiring and applying ENOS skills and knowledge. ENOS Learning Communities (high school biology and environmental science teachers, ecologists and educators) at the Cary Institute and Rutgers University will work with a Concept Development Team (8 ecologists, educators and teachers) to develop an ENOS framework, plan and carry out student and teacher research, develop ENOS teaching experiments, test approaches to teacher professional development, and craft a plan for broader application of the ENOS framework and teaching models. Over the course of two years, approximately 720 students will be reached, with the expectation that their environmental citizenship will be enhanced through mastery of ENOS skills and concepts, as will their self confidence in approaching problems. Six ENOS Teaching/Research Fellows (high school biology and environmental science teachers) will be partners in the project, and will receive professional development and support including more than 210 direct contact hours with project staff. Finally, local communities will benefit from projects carried out by students in their culminating activities where they address a local issue using multiple forms of ecological evidence. Products of the project will be disseminated broadly, including: 1) a framework to guide incorporation of ENOS into high school instruction and assessments; 2) a collection of assessment items and protocols for describing students and teachers ENOS skills and knowledge; 3) research publications and presentations about student thinking and learning, and about teachers ENOS practices; and 4) instructional models with modified lesson plans for infusing ENOS into high school biology and environmental science courses. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Berkowitz, Alan Institute of Ecosystem Studies NY David B. Campbell Standard Grant 178540 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918618 October 1, 2009 Science Learning: Integrating Design, Engineering and Robotics (SLIDER). The Science Learning: Integrating Design, Engineering and Robotics (SLIDER) project is a collaborative effort involving the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC), the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL), the School of Psychology, the School of Biomedical Engineering, and the College of Computing at Georgia Tech; the State of Georgia Department of Education; and three Georgia school systems: one urban, one rural, and one suburban. The project is developing and implementing a rigorous eighth grade physical science program that utilizes engineering design, LEGO robotics and mechanics, and a problem-based learning approach to teach mechanics, waves, and energy. The project seeks answers to these research questions: Can research-based physical science instructional materials that use problem-based inquiry learning in the context of engineering design scenarios empower a broad range of middle school learners to learn physical science content and reasoning skills? Can these educational materials lead to increased engagement, motivation, aptitudes, creativity, and interest in STEM fields; if so, does this effect persist as students move into high school? Do students engage with the materials differently depending upon their gender, race, socioeconomic status, prior academic achievement level, or location (urban, suburban, or rural)? In the process of answering these primary questions, additional questions being addressed include: How should the learning be assessed in the classroom and how does this assessment impact student performance? What instructional materials and professional development are necessary to prepare teachers to deliver this type of instruction effectively in their classrooms? Three geographically disparate schools with strong school leadership and an existing track record of robotics use are participating in the project. In each school, two teachers utilize LEGO kits and storage units to fully support instruction in their physical science classes. The SLIDER instructional materials consist of contextualized, problem-based challenges that require students to design, program, investigate, reflect, and revise their products or solutions. Intellectual Merit: SLIDER contributes to the knowledge base on the effectiveness of using engineering design and robotics in K-12 education. Broader Impacts: SLIDER impacts K-12 physical science education by providing a research-based and thoroughly tested set of instructional materials for use by teachers. These materials are designed to attract more students, particularly those previously underrepresented in STEM, into technical fields and careers. The project also impacts the educational research workforce by training graduate students, undergraduate students, and postdoctoral researchers in the theory and methods of educational research and evaluation. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Millman, Richard Donna Llewellyn Marion Usselman Juan-Carlos Aguilar GA Tech Research Corporation - GA Institute of Technology GA Daniel Householder Continuing grant 1398805 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918621 September 1, 2009 Exploring Engineering Design Knowing and Thinking as an Innovation in STEM Learning. A better understanding of engineering and its relation to society is critical for all Americans, even those who do not plan to go into engineering. The method of doing engineering is design and analysis. This project investigates how high school students' understanding about design thinking compares to that of experienced practitioners and whether participation in a multiyear sequence of courses focused on engineering correlates with changes in design thinking. The project builds upon the Standards for Technological Literacy and courses developed at the University of Colorado and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The research is done with forty students in neighboring high schools each working on the problem of designing a playground under realistic constraints. Design thinking is operationalized into a series of variables including time allocation across the elements in a design process, transitions between elements of the design process, generation of alternative solutions, prioritization of design activities and congruence between prioritization and practical application. This study replicates a similar study with college engineering students. Graduate students pilot the data collection and analysis procedures and then observe and interview the high school students. The training of the graduate students during piloting and their ability to gather and analyze data is evaluated. The results are published in research and practitioner journals. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Becker, Kurt Nathan Mentzer Utah State University UT Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 446913 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918629 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Ecology Disrupted: Using real scientific data about daily life to link environmental issues to ecological processes in secondary school science classrooms. 0918629 Wyner The City College of New York and the American Museum of Natural History propose a three-year research and development project to refine and test case study units based on existing museum-developed scientific content on contemporary issues in ecology for students underserved in their connection to nature. The resources are designed to be used by teachers of middle and high school biology, ecology, and environmental science classes. The project will produce three complete curriculum modules. They will include new scientist at work profile videos that will be disseminated online through a web interface that enables teachers to select and customize scaffolding and to address their particular students' needs in the classroom. The program will also develop in-person and online courses at CCNY and AMNH for local New York City public school teachers and teachers nationally to explore their own connection to environmental issues and ecology and to reflect upon the role of scientific inquiry in building understanding of the natural world. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Wyner, Yael Jonathan Becker CUNY City College NY Julia Clark Continuing grant 198631 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918648 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Ecosystems and Evidence Project. This proposal is an exploratory research and development project that addresses the question, "Can students develop an understanding of the ecological nature of science (ENOS) in high school biology and environmental science classes that is useful and productive in environmental citizenship?" To address this question, the project will identify the essential elements of ENOS, investigate how these can be taught and learned, and explore how ENOS skills and understandings are used to enhance environmental citizenship. Four core hypotheses form the research focus and rationale for the proposed project: 1) ENOS is distinctive in important ways from generic NOS; 2) ENOS mastery enhances students' abilities to critique claims, address issues and support scientific approaches to problems; 3) personal facility with ENOS and related teaching, recognition of ENOS as a worthy target of instruction, and self confidence enable teachers to integrate ENOS into their instruction; and 4) students can develop ENOS mastery when they have direct experience creating arguments from ecological evidence of diverse types in diverse contexts, reflect on ENOS, and have scaffolded experiences transferring ENOS within ecology and to other arenas. To explore these hypotheses, the project will define ENOS, develop assessment tools for describing students' and teachers' skills and understandings of ENOS, and test ways for teachers and students to become more adept at acquiring and applying ENOS skills and knowledge. ENOS Learning Communities (high school biology and environmental science teachers, ecologists and educators) at the Cary Institute and Rutgers University will work with a Concept Development Team (8 ecologists, educators and teachers) to develop an ENOS framework, plan and carry out student and teacher research, develop ENOS teaching experiments, test approaches to teacher professional development, and craft a plan for broader application of the ENOS framework and teaching models. Over the course of two years, approximately 720 students will be reached, with the expectation that their environmental citizenship will be enhanced through mastery of ENOS skills and concepts, as will their self confidence in approaching problems. Six ENOS Teaching/Research Fellows (high school biology and environmental science teachers) will be partners in the project, and will receive professional development and support including more than 210 direct contact hours with project staff. Finally, local communities will benefit from projects carried out by students in their culminating activities where they address a local issue using multiple forms of ecological evidence. Products of the project will be disseminated broadly, including: 1) a framework to guide incorporation of ENOS into high school instruction and assessments; 2) a collection of assessment items and protocols for describing students and teachers ENOS skills and knowledge; 3) research publications and presentations about student thinking and learning, and about teachers ENOS practices; and 4) instructional models with modified lesson plans for infusing ENOS into high school biology and environmental science courses. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR DeLisi, Jacqueline Education Development Center MA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 20524 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918653 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Data Games--Tools and Materials for Learning Data Modeling. Students playing computer games generate large quantities of rich, interesting, highly variable data that mostly evaporates into the ether when the game ends. What if in a classroom setting, data from games students played remained accessible to them for analysis? In software and curriculum materials being developed by the Data Games project at UMass Amherst and KCP Technologies, data generated by students playing computer games form the raw material for mathematics classroom activities. Students play a short video game, analyze the game data, conjecture improved strategies, and test their strategies in another round of the game. The twenty video games are embedded in TinkerPlots and Fathom, two data analysis learning environments widely used in grades 5-8 and 8-14 respectively. The game data appear in graphs in real time, allowing several cycles of strategy improvement in a short time. The games are designed so that these cycles improve understanding of specific data modeling and/or mathematics concepts. Lessons will be embedded in LessonLink from Key Curriculum Press to facilitate their integration into standard curricula. The three-year project expands research in students' understanding of data modeling and their ability to learn mathematical content embedded in data-rich contexts. A teaching experiment methodology is used to investigate four research questions: (1) To what extent do students view the data as the result of a production process and does this conception have the same sort of affordances as repeated-measures contexts for interpreting data in terms of signals and noise? (2) How do students view data, especially when they encounter data that do not fit into rows and columns? What data structures are appropriate to introduce in middle school? High school? (3) How do students' understandings, interpretations, and interactions with data change as a function of size of the data set? (4) To what extent do the mechanisms the project builds for web-enabled collaboration and data sharing enhance classroom activities? Data, including video, student work, and student interviews, are collected from after-school Data Game clubs and middle and high school mathematics classrooms. Data are analyzed using a grounded theory approach. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Konold, Clifford University of Massachusetts Amherst MA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 1796528 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918683 August 1, 2009 Cyber-Enabled Earth Exploration: Development of Materials for Middle School Earth Science Instruction. This project will develop new instructional materials for middle school science teachers that help create a compelling classroom culture of scientific discovery, engage students in the creative opportunities that abound in science, and inspire them to pursue the high school science coursework needed for future careers in science. The materials will incorporate emerging and widely available technologies such as Google Earth to engage middle school students in exploring an essential science question, "Does the Earth's structure affect you?" The use of computer technologies has been shown to successfully motivate middle school students, and the use of an integrated Earth System Science approach provides the knowledge base, methodologies, and global context to make science accessible, relevant and meaningful for middle school students. A complete learning unit and teacher's guide will be developed by a team of experts in K-12 curriculum design, geology, and geography, using a Learning-for-Use curriculum design framework. The materials will be tested for ease-of-use and effectiveness in approximately ten classrooms across Montana, which include both large and small class sizes, urban and rural communities, and white and Native American students. Participating teachers will provide feedback to help guide revision of the materials, which will subsequently be disseminated to the national K-12 community. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Almquist, Heather Lisa Blank University of Montana MT David B. Campbell Standard Grant 449461 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0918697 August 1, 2009 Persistent, Enthusiastic, Relentless: Study of Induction Science Teachers (PERSIST). This project examines the effect of four different types of induction programs on 100 5th year teachers of secondary science. The teachers involved in the study have participated in a previous study during their first three years of teaching. The four types of induction programs are described as follows. 1. General induction programs offered by school districts/regional centers, 2. Science-specific e-mentoring programs offered by higher education or science organizations, 3. Science-specific programs offered by higher education institutions, and 4. Intern programs that allow teachers to earn their teaching credential while they complete their first year of teaching. Dr. Luft's research concentrates on providing the details that give insights into why newly qualified science teachers are leaving or persisting in the profession and how induction programs affect their beliefs and practices. The research questions for this study are: 1. Do induction programs make a difference in the retention of secondary science teachers during their fourth and fifth year? 2. What characterizations can be made about teachers who persist, their performance, and the assistance they receive? 3. How do beginning science teachers develop over their first five years? How do induction programs contribute to this development? Data collection includes 8 interviews and 2 classroom observations of each teacher. The CETP-COP and Oregon Teacher Observation Protocol are used for classroom observations. Quantitative data analysis utilizes ANOVAs and HLM, to be followed by a qualitative analysis exploring the findings. The research team is based at Arizona State University and includes Dr. Luft, Dr. Marilyn Thompson, five graduate students and one undergraduate student. The products will include papers submitted to professional journals, postings to the Arizona Science Coordinators Association listserv, and direct dissemination to school administrators and local meetings. The impacts will be increased understanding of induction programs, what they achieve and what characteristics are effective. This will help policy makers and administrators modify the programs for increased effectiveness. Given the high rate of teachers leaving the profession during the first five years and the popularity of induction programs, the primary impact would be increased retention of quality teachers. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Luft, Julie Marilyn Thompson Arizona State University AZ Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 895883 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918702 September 15, 2009 Electronic Teacher Guide: Its Development and Use in Supporting Educative Curricula. The Center for Science Education and the Center for Children and Technology at the Education Development Center are developing and testing a prototype electronic teacher's guide for a 12-week genetics unit in the NSF-funded curriculum titled Foundation Science: Biology (0439443) to determine how it impacts high school teachers' learning and practice. The electronic guide, which is based on an existing print guide, has a flexible design so that it anticipates and meets the curriculum planning and support needs of teachers with different knowledge/skills profiles. The electronic guide provides teachers with just-in-time, point-of-use access to resources that help teachers plan, implement, and reflect on innovative reform-oriented instructional materials. Case-study research will investigate how use of the guide changes teachers' subject-matter knowledge, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge for science content and science inquiry, teachers' classroom practices, and student engagement. The results of this project will help to determine to what extent a flexible and modular electronic teacher guide can afffect teacher practice and to what extent it can enhance the ability of teachers to implement curricula effectively. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Miller, Jacqueline William Tally Education Development Center MA David A. Hanych Continuing grant 622168 7645 SMET 9177 7645 0116000 Human Subjects 0918733 September 1, 2009 Introducing Dynamic Number as a Transformative Technology for Number and Early Algebra. Introducing Dynamic Number is a research and development project undertaken by KCP Technologies to extend and operationalize research in number, operation, and early algebra. The project builds on the paradigm of Dynamic Geometry (the interactive and continuous manipulation of geometric shapes and constructions) with a new technological paradigm, Dynamic Number, centered on the direct manipulation of number representations and numerical constructions. Using The Geometer's Sketchpad as a starting point, KCP Technologies is developing new software tools to deepen students' conceptions of integers, fractions, decimals, real numbers, and early algebra in grades 2-8 mathematics. These tools are accompanied by 40 supporting classroom activities, as well as a six-week online professional development course for teachers. Both the software and learning materials are being designed from the perspective of a "bottom up/top down" analysis of the content domains. The University of Georgia, working under a subcontract, serves as the project's evaluator. Using a combination of videotaped teaching experiments and classroom observations from eight field-test schools, they are examining how Dynamic Number technology effects students' conceptions of discrete numerical quantities, continuous numerical quantities, and early algebraic principles, such as the concept of variable. They are also examining whether the software allows students to design and construct dynamic mathematical models of their own invention. REESE DRL EHR Scher, Daniel Steven Rasmussen KCP Technologies CA Ferdinand D. Rivera Continuing grant 798555 7625 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918735 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Data Games--Tools and Materials for Learning Data Modeling. Students playing computer games generate large quantities of rich, interesting, highly variable data that mostly evaporates into the ether when the game ends. What if in a classroom setting, data from games students played remained accessible to them for analysis? In software and curriculum materials being developed by the Data Games project at UMass Amherst and KCP Technologies, data generated by students playing computer games form the raw material for mathematics classroom activities. Students play a short video game, analyze the game data, conjecture improved strategies, and test their strategies in another round of the game. The twenty video games are embedded in TinkerPlots and Fathom, two data analysis learning environments widely used in grades 5-8 and 8-14 respectively. The game data appear in graphs in real time, allowing several cycles of strategy improvement in a short time. The games are designed so that these cycles improve understanding of specific data modeling and/or mathematics concepts. Lessons will be embedded in LessonLink from Key Curriculum Press to facilitate their integration into standard curricula. The three-year project expands research in students' understanding of data modeling and their ability to learn mathematical content embedded in data-rich contexts. A teaching experiment methodology is used to investigate four research questions: (1) To what extent do students view the data as the result of a production process and does this conception have the same sort of affordances as repeated-measures contexts for interpreting data in terms of signals and noise? (2) How do students view data, especially when they encounter data that do not fit into rows and columns? What data structures are appropriate to introduce in middle school? High school? (3) How do students' understandings, interpretations, and interactions with data change as a function of size of the data set? (4) To what extent do the mechanisms the project builds for web-enabled collaboration and data sharing enhance classroom activities? Data, including video, student work, and student interviews, are collected from after-school Data Game clubs and middle and high school mathematics classrooms. Data are analyzed using a grounded theory approach. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Finzer, William KCP Technologies CA Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 1359115 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918743 September 1, 2009 Visualizing to Integrate Science Understanding for All Learners (VISUAL). Dynamic visualizations - interactive, computer based models, simulations, and virtual experiments of scientific phenomena - provide alternative pathways for students to understand science concepts. Of special interest are those visualizations that make unseen processes visible and those that support inquiry around complex phenomena. Research concerning the educational values of dynamic visualizations has been contradictory and inconclusive. This study provides modules and assessments to obtain evidence for how students process dynamic visual data and integrate what they see with what they know. The project proceeds in three phases. The first 18 month phase is to study how visualizations can improve science learning for students with a wide range of disciplinary knowledge, background, beliefs, and spatial experience. The second phase lasting 24 months investigates successful strategies to embed visualizations, combined with hands-on activities, in curriculum materials to enable all students to learn complex science topics. The last phase of 18 months works to show how practices and cyberlearning tools can be generalized to be more easily used in different environments by developing visualizations for new topics and curricula. Forty middle and high school science teachers and their students in five diverse districts participate in the study of visualizations applied to the learning of physical science. The studies build on existing work and tools, but new tools and materials are to be developed as needed. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Linn, Marcia University of California-Berkeley CA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 2150541 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918744 September 1, 2009 Dynamic Geometry in Classrooms. The Dynamic Geometry in Classrooms project, led by faculty at Texas State University San Marcos, is conducting repeated randomized control trials of an approach to high school geometry that utilizes dynamic geometry software and supporting instructional materials to supplement ordinary instructional practices. It compares effects of that intervention with standard instruction that does not make use of computer drawing tools. The basic hypothesis of the study is that use of dynamic geometry software to engage students in constructing mathematical ideas through experimentation, observation, data recording, conjecturing, conjecture testing, and proof results in better geometry learning for most students. The study tests that hypothesis by assessing student learning in 76 classrooms randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Student learning is assessed by a geometry standardized test, a conjecturing-proving test, and a measure of student beliefs about the nature of geometry and mathematics in general. Teachers in both treatment and control groups receive relevant professional development, and they are provided with supplementary resource materials for teaching geometry. Fidelity of implementation for the experimental treatment is monitored carefully. Data for answering the several research questions of the study are analyzed by appropriate HLM methods. Results will provide strong evidence about the effectiveness of dynamic geometry methods in high school teaching, evidence that can inform school decisions about innovation in that core high school mathematics course. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Jiang, Zhonghong Gilbert Cuevas Texas State University - San Marcos TX James T. Fey Continuing grant 549641 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918769 September 15, 2009 Engaging Youth in Engineering Module Study. The Engaging Youth in Engineering (EYE) Module Study is developing, pilot testing, and field testing two engineering modules for middle school science and mathematics classes: Bioengineering the Future with a focus on seventh grade life science; and Engineering Clean Energy targeting eighth grade physical science. Each module addresses an engineering design challenge of relevance to industries in the region and fosters the development of engineering habits of mind. The approach integrates technology and other resources to engage and meet the diverse needs of children in a large, urban school district, and deepens student understanding of selected middle grades mathematics and science content. The theoretical foundations for the module development are grounded in contemporary learning research. Instructional design of the materials emphasizes contextual learning, collaboration, content integration, and embedded assessments within the framework of the backward design process. Teacher professional development materials are being developed and participating mathematics and science teachers from the collaborating middle schools engage in at least one week of professional development each summer. An EYE Coach assists with professional development and supports the teachers on site during the implementation of the modules. The field testing sites offer opportunities to assess the impact of the instructional materials in across diverse groups of students. This project explores the workability of incorporating engineering design experiences into standards-based courses to move toward an integrated STEM middle school curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This approach has potential to strengthen middle school STEM programs through the integration of engineering experiences. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Pruet, Susan James Van Haneghan Robert Foley Martha Peek Mobile Area Education Foundation AL Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 663053 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0116000 Human Subjects 0918780 August 15, 2009 Mapping Developmental Trajectories of Students' Conceptions of Integers.. The project Mapping Developmental Trajectories of Students' Conceptions of Integers, led by faculty from San Diego State University, is using data from interviews with K-12 students and adults to describe common understandings and progressions of development for negative number concepts and operations. The project is motivated by the widely acknowledged finding that students have difficulty mastering key concepts and skills involved in work with integers. Two questions frame and guide the proposed research: * What are students' conceptions of integers and operations on integers? * What are possible developmental trajectories of students' understandings? The investigators are seeking answers to those questions through structured interviews with students in elementary grades prior to instruction about negative numbers, students in middle grades whose curriculum includes explicit instruction about integers, high school students who are expected to use prior knowledge about integers in more advanced mathematics, and adults who use integers in their work. In addition to providing an empirically-based picture of ways that students acquire increasingly sophisticated understandings about negative numbers, the project is producing useful interview protocols and a reliable and valid assessment instrument for describing the understanding and skill of students at various stages on such a progression. Both the characterization of common learning progressions and the assessment instruments will be broadly useful to curriculum and test developers and teachers in K-12 mathematics classrooms. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Lamb, Lisa Randolph Philipp Jessica Pierson San Diego State University Foundation CA James T. Fey Continuing grant 1094984 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918794 September 1, 2009 Math Snacks: Addressing Gaps in Conceptual Mathematics Understanding with Innovative Media. DRL: DR K-12 PI: Wiburg Abstract This project Math Snacks: Addressing Gaps in Conceptual Mathematics Understanding with Innovative Media, led by mathematics and education faculty at New Mexico State University, is developing and evaluating effectiveness of 15 - 20 short computer mediated animations and games that are designed to: (1) increase students? conceptual understanding in especially problematic topics of middle grades mathematics; and (2) increase students' mathematics process skills with a focus on capabilities to think and talk mathematically. The basic research question of the project is whether the planned collection of computer-mediated animations and games can provide an effective strategy for helping students who experience difficulty with core middle grades mathematics concepts and whether the same material can be a useful tool for ordinary classroom instruction. The project is developing and testing the effectiveness of an extensive set of such learning tools, companion print materials as needed to assist learners in developing conceptual understanding, and short video clips documenting best practices by exemplary teachers using the developed materials with students. A pilot study in year 3 and a substantial randomized control trial in year 4 are testing the effects of using the Math Snacks software on student learning and retention of middle school mathematics, as measured by performance on disaggregated strands of New Mexico state mathematics assessments. Thus the project will produce software applets, teacher materials, and useful empirical evidence about the efficacy of their use. One of the key features of the Math Snacks project is development of the mediated games and simulations in a form that can be used by students outside of normal classroom settings on media and game players that are ubiquitous and popular among today's young people. Thus the project holds the promise of exploiting learning in informal settings to enhance traditional school experiences. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Wiburg, Karin Theodore Stanford Jeanne Gleason Barbara Chamberlin New Mexico State University NM James T. Fey Continuing grant 2127084 7645 SMET 9177 9150 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0918832 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Online Projects for ELL Students (COPELLS). The purpose of this R&D project is to study the feasibility of culturally and linguistically sensitive science instructional materials with middle-school level Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in Oregon. The project is a collaborative effort between the University of Oregon's National Center for Supported Electronic Text and the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE), in partnership with the Latin-American Institute for Educational Communication (ILCE, Spanish acronym) in Mexico; it aims at selecting, translating into English, enhancing, and evaluating the use of ILCE-produced instructional materials. ILCE's materials consist of a series of Collaborative Online Projects (COPs) in Spanish, available through "Red Escolar" with headquarters in Mexico as well. COPs are 5-6-week duration technology-enhanced instructional modules. Generally, they consist of one study unit containing four to five lessons on specific science topics designed to enhance understanding of key science concepts and skills. Modification and development of COPs will be based on a cognitive-affective theory of multimedia learning that founds itself on dual-coding theory, cognitive-load theory, and constructivist learning theory. Enhanced bilingual versions of COPs will be aligned with the Oregon Science Standards and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). These COPs will include support resources, such as interactive online reading through e-text, audio and video explanations of fundamental scientific vocabulary, illustrations (e.g., images, videos, games), access to an online bilingual dictionary, text-to-speech software that enables all words to be read out loud, and links between the two language versions. In addition, the project aims at developing accompanying teacher guides to ensure their understanding of the science content and instructional strategies. The project will adopt a designed-based research approach to the redesign, testing, refinement, and evaluation of COPs focused on the interaction between teachers, students, and materials with a functional, evidence-based intervention as one of the outcomes of the process. The main assumption of the proposed scope of work is that adapting quality science materials already in use by Mexican science teachers and students may be an efficient way to develop and deliver culturally relevant materials to the linguistically diverse population of ELLs in Oregon. The project will investigate the following research questions: (1)Do COPs facilitate science content learning, scientific attitudes, and second-language development? (2) What factors influence students' effective use of COPs? (3) Are teachers and students motivated to use the COPs in the future? The research design consists of two stages. The first stage--already completed--is informed exploration through which the research team identified and described the problem and assessed needs, conducted a comprehensive literature review, developed appropriate theoretical constructs, and characterized the audience. The second stage is a three-step enactment process: (a) selection and redesign by which a team of scientists, science educators, Oregon Department of Education content specialists, science multimedia experts, and science teachers will identify three COPs, translate them into English, and post them for in-house testing and refinement; (b) conduct case studies to gather and interpret data from classroom observations, logs of students' questions and comments, assessment of students' scientific knowledge gains, and students' and teachers' satisfaction and engagement; and (c) implement a feasibility study in three Oregon school districts, including eight science teachers, and 160 secondary school Spanish-speaking ELLs (20 students/teacher). Qualitative and statistical data gathering and interpretation strategies will be employed. Project feasibility measures include (a) students' learned science concepts using a single-condition pre-test-posttest design, (b) English and Spanish academic language proficiency growth; and (c) teachers' and students' use of technology in science classrooms, satisfaction, engagement, and attitudes. Major project outcomes consist of three COPs aligned with state and national science standards designed to enhance understanding of the science content and support bilingual literacy acquisition; and research-informed data on the usability of the instructional units. Project evaluation includes both formative and summative components, an external evaluator, an advisory board, and a science review committee. Posting COPs on the CATE's website, journal articles, and presentations at major regional and national conferences are the main dissemination activities. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Knox, Carolyn Kenneth Doxsee University of Oregon Eugene OR Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Continuing grant 343349 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918834 September 15, 2009 Math Pathways & Pitfalls: Capturing What Works for Anytime Anyplace Professional Development. Researchers and developers at WestEd are developing, field-testing, and evaluating ten online professional development modules anchored in research-based teaching principles and achievement-boosting mathematics materials. The modules provide interactive learning opportunities featuring real classroom video demonstrations, simulations, and scaffolded implementation. The professional development module development builds on the Math Pathways and Pitfalls (MPP) instructional modules for middle school students developed with NSF support. The professional development provided through the use of these modules is web-based (rather than face-to-face), is provided in chunks during the school year and immediately applied in the classroom (rather than summer professional development and school year application), and explicitly models ways to apply key teaching principles to regular mathematics lessons (rather than expecting teachers to extract and apply principles spontaneously). The project studies the impact of the modules on teaching practice with an experimental design that involves 20 treatment teachers and 20 control teachers. Data are gathered from teacher questionnaires, classroom observations, and post-observation interviews. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Barnett-Clarke, Carne Joan Heller Alma Ramirez WestEd CA John S. Bradley Continuing grant 2399002 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0918836 September 1, 2009 Community Oriented Science Education. Community Oriented Science Education (COSE) is a three year exploratory project to develop learning activities, thematically linked by the standards-based concept of energy transfer, covering about 16 class periods of middle school science. The activities highlight the fundamental processes and the integrative nature of 21st Century scientific investigations and are coupled to design-oriented, project-based experiences that enable students to apply emerging conceptual understandings while conducting community-oriented investigations in culturally relevant contexts. The materials provide experience with the concept of energy as it relates to students' lives, say in operating electronic devices, while providing understanding of and experience with rigorous scientific investigation. Students participate in teacher-guided research projects before executing a student designed and directed research project related to energy and its uses. Ample opportunity is provided for small group interactions to promote social construction of knowledge. The project evaluates the prototype materials designed to promote the development of robust STEM identities of middle school urban youth in field tests at inner city schools with student populations representative of the ethnic and socio-economic diversity that typifies many urban American schools. Materials are assessed on their capacity to affect student attitudes, interests and achievements in STEM courses, to impact student abilities to think critically and quantitatively, and to contribute to a framework on which to base more materials and intervention strategies. In the field tests, information from students is gathered through the use of SMART phones and other of digital formats. Learning is assessed through embedded assessments and performance tasks. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Thier, Herbert Kevin Cuff University of California-Berkeley CA Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 443353 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0921710 January 1, 2010 Academic Lessons from Video Game Learning. The proposed conference will bring together leading national and international researchers and practitioners from developmental and cognitive psychology, game design, and media to examine how learning transfers from video game play to formal and informal learning. The conference will convene in New York City and serve to lay the foundation for an interdisciplinary New York-based community of researchers and practitioners interested in examining the implications of video game play on learning. Invited participants will address cognitive skills and content knowledge that children and adolescents acquire and refine during video game play; game features that captivate and promote skills development among game players; and evidence of skill and content knowledge transfer from video game play to informal and formal learning. Discussion of these issues will culminate in specification of the most appropriate research agenda to investigate the academic potential of video game play, particularly using those games that children and adolescent players find most compelling. An edited book will be published of the conference proceedings. The audience for this book will be academics, educators, game designers, media professionals, and policymakers interested in understanding the potential of video game learning for formal and informal instruction based on the most current research and practice. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DEVELOP& LEARNING SCIENCES/CRI DRL EHR Blumberg, Francine Fordham University NY Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 28825 7259 1698 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0922410 September 1, 2009 Conference Series for Recent Graduates and Advanced Doctoral Students in Mathematics Education. The Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum at the University of Missouri is organizing and hosting a series of three week-long conferences for advanced doctoral students and recent doctoral graduates in mathematics education. The conference activities draw upon the summer research workshops organized by most of the Centers for Learning and Teaching, which were funded by the National Science Foundation, and the Project NeXT seminar organized by the Mathematical Association of America for assistant professors in mathematics. The conferences are held in conjunction with the Park City Mathematics Institutes (PCMI) in Park City, UT. The PCMI is organized and managed by the Institute for Advanced Study and each summer hosts research mathematicians, mathematics doctoral students, mathematics undergraduates, and mathematics teachers. The conferences are supported by and would involve students and graduates from all the mathematics CLTs; recent doctoral graduates from other universities are also recurited to participate. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Reys, Barbara Robert Reys University of Missouri-Columbia MO John S. Bradley Standard Grant 643947 7645 SMET 9177 0929181 September 1, 2009 Strategies: Exploring Databases: STEM learning and authentic research in the high school classroom. 0929181 Akey, Joshua University of Washington Strategies: Exploring Databases: STEM learning and authentic research in the high school classroom The investigators will develop a new curriculum and teacher professional learning community to support a research experience for students using an existing data base of the genetics of a sample of humans along with indicators of behavior such as smoking. This project will emphasize the STEM areas of genetics and neuroscience, as well as development of skills in conducting scientific research, scientific reasoning, and using information and communication technology. The project builds on a previous project, which involved high school students conducting a research study on smoking behavior. That study collected genetic and environmental data from 300 adult smokers and nonsmokers and entered them into a smoking behavior database. In this study students will use the database to answer their own research questions about factors that affect smoking behavior. The project is expected to test a model of how to design a curriculum so that students can effectively conduct research using databases. Their study examines the effects of this research experience on how students think about scientific research, student learning of STEM knowledge, and student interest in STEM learning and careers. ITEST DRL EHR Akey, Joshua University of Washington WA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 1199677 7227 SMET 9177 7774 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929206 September 1, 2009 Virtual Hall of Science (VHOS). The New York Hall of Science (NYHS), in partnership with the developers of Greater Southern Tier BOCES SciCentr program, will engage an ethnically and economically diverse group of young people in creating the Virtual Hall of Science (VHOS). This youth cohort will collaborate and work with science and education professionals to design, build, and staff a virtual science center while acquiring STEM knowledge and a range of ICT competencies. Participants will be trained as exhibit designers, builders, active exhibit guides, and mentors. Acting as a mentoring/governing group, participants will staff the virtual space and encourage and support new visitors to explore STEM activities. Two cohorts of 20 high school Explainers and 20 middle school students are directly impacted by this project, while hundreds of middle and high school youth are engaged through the online Virtual Worlds platform. Students receive 70 hours of training and are responsible for developing and launching the VHOS, training middle school youth, and creating a management plan. Students form teams, create interactive science exhibits, study interactive design, and use a variety of Web 2.0 tools for collaboration purposes. Finally, students beta test the prototype with families, other Explainers, and project staff before making it available to the public. Students build skills in six areas identified by International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) including creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, critical thinking, problem solving and decision making, digital citizenship, and technology operations concepts. VHOS will be designed for long-term sustainability through collaboration with state and regional cooperative service professional development programs. The evaluation will be conducted by the Center for Children and Technology at the Education Development Center Inc. (EDC) and will focus on the impact of the VHOS on Explainers and visitors, understanding of science concepts, and the development and articulation of ICT workforce skills by youth. A mixed-methods approach will be employed and include observations, interviews, participant blogs, science concept rubrics, visitor surveys, and pre-post questionnaires for both the formative and summative evaluation. It is anticipated that this project will advance the understanding of the effectiveness of virtual environments in building ICT skills and student understanding of workforce preparation. ITEST DRL EHR Gupta, Preeti New York Hall of Science NY Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 799966 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929457 July 15, 2009 Local manifestations of institutional agency: the case of evolution education in Tennessee. This RAPID project explores the impacts of 2009-2010 Tennessee science standards requiring schools throughout the state to teach elementary school students about how natural selection drives adaptation and biological evolution. The project will address the following questions: (1) how and why these standards were developed and adopted; (2) how the mandate will be implemented (from state to classroom levels); (3) how these implementations are negotiated on the local level (parental demand vis-à-vis state government and teachers); and (4) how the resulting curricula inform students' learning of evolution. This project offers the opportunity to study, in real time, what happens when controversial new standards are imposed upon local schools from afar. The project mixes a variety of anthropological and cognitive methodologies, from randomized control experiments of biological knowledge to the collection of ethnographic, survey, and interview data of stakeholders. The results promise to shed light on issues in curricular development, teacher training, and the interplay of social, organizational, and governmental factors that affect teaching and learning. REESE CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY DRL EHR Ross, Norbert Vanderbilt University TN Gregg E. Solomon Standard Grant 199475 7625 1390 SMET 9177 7914 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929505 September 1, 2009 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program. The Triangle Coalition (TC) will support fifteen outstanding K-12 science and mathematics teachers in FY10 for 11-month fellowships at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The fellowships are being provided via the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program through a Congressional mandate to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The Triangle Coalition manages the Einstein program on behalf of DOE. NSF is one of the participating federal agencies cited in the mandate and has supported fellowships since 1994. The objectives of the program are to: (1) provide outstanding STEM teachers the opportunity to bring to Congress, and appropriate branches of the Federal government the insights, extensive knowledge, and practical experience of classroom teachers; (2) increase the understanding, communication, and cooperation between Congress and Federal agencies; (3) increase the understanding, communication and cooperation between the Federal government and the science, technology and mathematics education community; and (4) gain insights and an understanding of national educational issues which can then be transferred back to the classroom. Each year the Fellows engage in a wealth of STEM and discipline-based activities within their respective directorates/offices. Internally, these activities will include regular meetings and discussions about research, discoveries, and practices; NSB and directorate-wide advisory meetings (as appropriate); seminars; briefings; "brown bags"; and distinguished lectures of national and international prominence. Externally, the Fellows will engage in a broad spectrum of activities, which may include interactions with their respective members of Congress and their staffs; visits to the Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Institutes of Health, the Library of Congress, and the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to the vast number of activities offered through internal and external sources, teachers will serve out their tenure in twelve different directorates/offices at NSF, which include the Directorates of Biological Sciences, Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Education and Human Resources, Engineering, Geosciences, and the Offices of Cyberinfrastructure, Polar Programs, and International Science and Engineering. These teachers represent twelve states that include California, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Washington, DC. Other agencies participating in the program include NASA, NOAA, and DOE with Fellows on Capitol Hill; in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists. Through structured and non-structured opportunities for networking, these combined activities will significantly broaden the teachers' understanding of STEM education and policy regarding national educational issues in STEM that can be transferred to their local districts, schools, and classrooms. UNDISTRIBUTED PANEL/IPA FUNDS DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 CPATH BROADENING PARTIC IN COMPUTING INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION GRAD TEACHING FELLOWS IN K-12 SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION PROG ARCTIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ANTARCTIC COORDINATION & INFOR ROBERT NOYCE SCHOLARSHIP PGM MSP-OTHER AWARDS GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Ablott, Vance Elizabeth Burck Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education VA Celestine Pea Standard Grant 1680891 9199 7645 7640 7482 7259 7179 5370 5208 5130 1795 1793 1733 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929540 September 1, 2009 ITEST Scale-Up: Innovative Technology for Science Inquiry Scale-Up Project (ITSI-SU). The goal of this ITEST scale-up project (ITSI-SU) is to address the need for research-based science materials and teaching techniques that generate demonstrable improvements in student science achievement in grades 3-12. The project will reach 264 teachers directly and 10,000 students in four states and has the capacity to reach another 1,500 teachers and 50,000 students nationwide in a dissemination phase, and still more if teachers and trainers adopt project-generated resources. ITSI-SU is designed to improve standards-based science instruction through a focus on guided student inquiry using probeware, computational models, and other interactive materials. ITSI-SU represents a national scale-up of the Information Technology in Science Instruction (ITSI) project at the Concord Consortium that serves 90 teachers in Massachusetts, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and California. ITSI-SU will offer 77 hours of research-based professional development over two summers and the intervening year. Participants will have access to a large online collection of sophisticated free materials based on open source software that includes hundreds of activities that use models and tools. Teachers will learn the content, technology use, and pedagogy by customizing the activities, developing standards-based units from the activities, and testing in their classrooms. Participants then report on their customizations, observations, and their students' learning gains. The customized materials and reports are contributed in turn to a growing online materials library. Workforce issues are addressed throughout by exploiting the many connections between careers in STEM fields and the technologies that students use in the ITSI-SU units. The ITSI project that is being scaled up has already created one of the largest collections of high-quality, online, technology-enabled science learning materials in existence. Its approach to collaborative materials development represents a new way of developing, sharing, and supporting STEM educational materials. ITSI-SU could spearhead a redefinition of STEM curriculum, how teaching is done, and what educational research can measure. The materials are fluid and easy to adapt to new developments, resources, and needs. Exploiting this fluidity to customize the materials is a key strategy ITSI uses for professional development. ITSI-SU will expand this approach by engaging the expertise of a virtual community to evaluate continually and improve the materials based on inputs from scientists, teachers, and researchers. The materials include automatic logging that records and analyzes student interactions with the software, providing detailed data that has the potential to increase teacher efficacy and to answer important research questions. The project research addresses how the ITSI-SU program impacts student learning, inquiry skills, and attitudes toward STEM content and careers. ITEST DRL EHR Staudt, Carolyn Concord Consortium MA David B. Campbell Continuing grant 499880 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929542 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Conference on Cyberlearning Tools for STEM Education. The Conference on Cyberlearning Tools for STEM (CyTSE) brings together scientists, cyberlearning developers, educational researchers, STEM educators (formal and informal), curriculum developers and other stakeholders that contribute to the agenda on K-12 STEM cyberlearning and workforce preparation. Collaborators include Northwestern University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and the WGBH Educational Foundation. This informative meeting will be held as a NSTA pre-conference workshop. The conference plan includes keynote presentations by prominent cyberinfrastructure and cyberlearning professionals, an expert panel on cyberlearning and the future of STEM education, hands-on demonstrations of cyberlearning tools for participants, and interactive poster sessions. Potential tracks for the poster sessions include emerging technologies, design and development, technical challenges and solutions, implementation and integration, and research and evaluation. The second day of the conference will include teacher professional development workshops, as well as in-depth design focus groups, developer integration and interoperability workshops, and a session emphasizing the development of a cyberlearning research agenda. Additional deliverables include a video overview of the conference (for those unable to attend), a white paper proposing a cyberlearning research agenda, and an evaluation study to measure the impact of the conference on participants. A series of post-conference webinars will be hosted by WGBH's Teachers' Domain and publicized on their Facebook, Classroom 2.0, and Science Ning sites to encourage ongoing collaboration. It is anticipated that this two-day conference will bridge gaps between the stakeholder communities and expose important trends and issues that will contribute to a comprehensive research agenda. ITEST DRL EHR Wieman, Carl Katherine Perkins Wendy Adams University of Colorado at Boulder CO Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 24410 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929543 September 15, 2009 Scale-Up: Scaling up STEM Learning with the VCL. The purpose of this project is to increase students' achievement and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or information and communication technology (ICT) careers. The project is working with four rural school districts to provide teacher professional development and implement research-based curriculum modules for two mathematics educational software packages in geometry (Geometer's Sketchpad) and statistics and probability (Fathom). The project uses a computing laboratory so that the software packages are hosted centrally by the university and accessible on-demand for teachers and students--reducing schools' expenses for technology staff and software licenses. The project takes advantage of a North Carolina initiative to provide 1:1 computers. Approximately 50 teachers and up to 5,000 students in rural North Carolina will be impacted by this project. Additionally, the project has identified and will continue to recruit STEM/ICT professionals from local businesses to visit and mentor participating students and teachers. The study's research and evaluation uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in a delayed-treatment design. Qualitative data sources include teacher interviews and classroom observations. Quantitative data sources include measures of teachers' content knowledge and students' content knowledge, classroom engagement, and career interest. External evaluation is provided by the SERVE Center at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. ITEST DRL EHR Stein, Sarah Henry Schaffer Eric Wiebe Karen Hollebrands North Carolina State University NC Gavin W. Fulmer Continuing grant 480695 7227 SMET 9177 7774 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929557 September 1, 2009 CincySTEM Urban Initiatuve. Project CincySTEM will enhance cutting-edge science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for minority students enrolled in the new Hughes STEM High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Over a three-year period, the project will directly impact more than 900 minority students through CincySTEM activities (around big ideas such as energy) that focus on increasing the knowledge and skills of students in STEM and about STEM careers, particularly in science. These activities will follow an interdisciplinary approach, use the 5E learning cycle instructional model, and adhere to the Ohio Academic Content Standards Benchmarks and Grade Level Indicators. CincySTEM will enhance teaching and learning through inquiry-based labs using high-tech tools such as digital video cameras, hand-held iPod touches, TI Inspire Graphing calculators, Water Quality LabPro Starter Kits, Davis Wireless Weather Stations, and ProScope HR digital microscopes. These devices will enable students to shoot and edit video, calculate and analyze live data, and design and present information via a website from any location, including real-world STEM work environments in partner institutions and agencies. To prepare teachers for this STEM-based technology-rich curriculum, ongoing professional development will be provided through the FUSION Professional Practice and Demonstration Laboratory, housed at the STEM high school, which bridges pre- and in-service teacher education activities in a real school setting. The leadership team has a wealth of experiences in science and mathematics, STEM education and education research, urban education, teachers and teaching, classroom dynamics, partnerships, and curriculum and instruction. Four experienced lead teachers will work with the 18 science teachers to implement the CincySTEM activities. Two of lead teachers have been released full-time by the district to work on this project. The research will explore what ways, if any, does the CincySTEM initiative in the context of a new STEM high school have a positive impact on the development of STEM knowledge, skills, and interest in STEM careers for students participating in the project. Assessment and evaluation will involve qualitative and quantitative methods, measures, and modes of analysis, including classroom observations; interviews (teachers, students, and partners); student work; lesson plans and e-portfolios; and descriptive statistics (Chi-square, pre-post t-tests, ANOVA). Since all teachers and students will be impacted by this project, standardized test scores from other district high schools will be used for comparison. CincySTEM will advance discovery and understanding in the field while promoting, teaching, training, and learning through its rich curriculum. It targets underserved students, provides access to a rigorous course of study, and links STEM activities to workforce development through multiple STEM expert partners (e.g., Environmental Engineering Technology and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy departments at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College; science and mathematics education, chemistry, biology, engineering, and mathematics schools and departments at the University of Cincinnati; the Vice President for Educational Solutions at the The Primax Group; and the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative). Dissemination will be addressed through school and state affiliations (e.g., Ohio STEM Learning Network), print and electronic media, and professional outlets. ITEST DRL EHR Rhodes, Virginia Rebecca Ruckel Annette Hemmings Kelly Obarski Cincinnati Public Schools OH Celestine Pea Standard Grant 731641 7227 SMET 9178 9177 7774 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929575 January 1, 2010 Studying Technology-based Strategies for Enhancing Student Interest in STEM Careers through Algebra Curricula in Grades 5-9. DRL - 0929575 Studying Technology-based Strategies for Enhancing Student Interest in STEM Careers through Algebra Curricula in Grades 5-9 Dede, Christopher J. Harvard University The investigators seek are examining the relationship between specific technology-based motivational activities and grade 5 to 9 student interest in STEM careers through a variety of classroom-based experiences. Students will be exposed to the work of STEM professionals, take a scripted two-day mathematics lesson, solve problems in algebra, and respond to questionnaires immediately after and six months after the experience. The study will vary the technological context of the induction experiences and hold constant the instructional component. They will test a series of specific hypotheses relating motivation, self-efficacy, STEM career interest, and mathematics learning to activity assignment. Student induction activities will involve watching career-related videos that provide the context of the to-be-solved problems; assuming the identity of a STEM professional in a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE); or receiving a narrative description of the problem-solving context from the teacher using PowerPoint-like presentation media. Students will be provided opportunities to explore, represent, and analyze real-life situations which involve varying quantities based on a model of how professionals use algebra. They expect students to find such activities more motivating and have longer lasting effects than found in typical instruction. ITEST DRL EHR Dede, Christopher Jon Star Geordie Dukas Harvard University MA Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 531889 7227 SMET 9177 7774 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929601 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Conference on Cyberlearning Tools for STEM Education. The Conference on Cyberlearning Tools for STEM (CyTSE) brings together scientists, cyberlearning developers, educational researchers, STEM educators (formal and informal), curriculum developers and other stakeholders that contribute to the agenda on K-12 STEM cyberlearning and workforce preparation. Collaborators include Northwestern University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and the WGBH Educational Foundation. This informative meeting will be held as a NSTA pre-conference workshop. The conference plan includes keynote presentations by prominent cyberinfrastructure and cyberlearning professionals, an expert panel on cyberlearning and the future of STEM education, hands-on demonstrations of cyberlearning tools for participants, and interactive poster sessions. Potential tracks for the poster sessions include emerging technologies, design and development, technical challenges and solutions, implementation and integration, and research and evaluation. The second day of the conference will include teacher professional development workshops, as well as in-depth design focus groups, developer integration and interoperability workshops, and a session emphasizing the development of a cyberlearning research agenda. Additional deliverables include a video overview of the conference (for those unable to attend), a white paper proposing a cyberlearning research agenda, and an evaluation study to measure the impact of the conference on participants. A series of post-conference webinars will be hosted by WGBH's Teachers' Domain and publicized on their Facebook, Classroom 2.0, and Science Ning sites to encourage ongoing collaboration. It is anticipated that this two-day conference will bridge gaps between the stakeholder communities and expose important trends and issues that will contribute to a comprehensive research agenda. ITEST DRL EHR Sicker, Theodore WGBH Educational Foundation MA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 59004 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929609 September 1, 2009 Innovative Flight Simulation Experiences for Students and Teachers. 0929609 Khan Tuskegee University proposes to use a low-cost flight simulation environment to enhance learning physics and mathematics for students in grades 8-12 in a rural community in Macon County schools in Alabama. It outlines a development strategy for module development that engages undergraduates and teachers in the development process followed by teacher implementation including teacher training and student workshops. The proposal design calls for adapting an innovative and successful strategy for engaging and teaching undergraduates to grades 8-12. Hands-on learning modules will be developed and teachers trained in their use. An interdisciplinary team from the Aerospace Science Engineering, Mathematics, and Psychology & Sociology Departments will develop the hands-on learning modules and provide training to teachers on using these modules as well as on developing their own modules. Exposure of 8-12 grade students to this environment at Tuskegee University which has the rich heritage of the Tuskegee Airman will excite students interest in STEM and motivate the target audience. The learning modules will be pilot tested and then offered as intensive on-campus workshops during weekends and summer to middle and high school students and teachers. The learning modules utilizing the flight simulation environment as a virtual laboratory will provide a dynamic, engaging and realistic environment of hands-on activities to learn the various concepts of physics and mathematics and their inter-relationship and application in real life. ITEST DRL EHR Khan, Mohammad Chadia Affane Aji Marcia Rossi Tuskegee University AL Julia Clark Standard Grant 445848 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929628 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Conference on Cyberlearning Tools for STEM Education (CyTSE). The Conference on Cyberlearning Tools for STEM (CyTSE) brings together scientists, cyberlearning developers, educational researchers, STEM educators (formal and informal), curriculum developers and other stakeholders that contribute to the agenda on K-12 STEM cyberlearning and workforce preparation. Collaborators include Northwestern University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and the WGBH Educational Foundation. This informative meeting will be held as a NSTA pre-conference workshop. The conference plan includes keynote presentations by prominent cyberinfrastructure and cyberlearning professionals, an expert panel on cyberlearning and the future of STEM education, hands-on demonstrations of cyberlearning tools for participants, and interactive poster sessions. Potential tracks for the poster sessions include emerging technologies, design and development, technical challenges and solutions, implementation and integration, and research and evaluation. The second day of the conference will include teacher professional development workshops, as well as in-depth design focus groups, developer integration and interoperability workshops, and a session emphasizing the development of a cyberlearning research agenda. Additional deliverables include a video overview of the conference (for those unable to attend), a white paper proposing a cyberlearning research agenda, and an evaluation study to measure the impact of the conference on participants. A series of post-conference webinars will be hosted by WGBH's Teachers' Domain and publicized on their Facebook, Classroom 2.0, and Science Ning sites to encourage ongoing collaboration. It is anticipated that this two-day conference will bridge gaps between the stakeholder communities and expose important trends and issues that will contribute to a comprehensive research agenda. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR Jona, Kemi Northwestern University IL Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 164959 7259 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929635 September 1, 2009 Research: Transforming Interests in STEM Careers (TISC). The proposed study, Transforming Interests into STEM Careers (TISC), will test a model for promoting a STEM college-going culture in two high schools. The main goal of the intervention model is to encourage adolescents to pursue STEM majors in college and occupations in these fields. The study's focus is upon understanding the various factors that determine young students' interests in STEM disciplines and their entry into actual STEM careers. The study design includes four schools (two rural and two urban), all of which have lower than expected college going rates. One rural and one urban school will be the treatment group, the other two, the control group. The main purpose of the TISC intervention is to promote a school-wide college-going culture in which all students in a school are encouraged to perceive themselves as college applicants in the STEM fields, with their teachers, administrators, and parents sharing these expectations. The research study will undertake: (1) to implement the TISC intervention in two schools; and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of the overall intervention, as well as each specific component (e.g., multi-tiered mentoring, course planning and sequencing, creating a school-wide college-going culture, financial aid planning, exposure to STEM careers, and teacher professional development in mathematics and science classes). The key research questions are: (1) to what extent is TISC effective at increasing engagement with STEM fields at the high school level? Which components of TISC are most effective at increasing engagement? (2) How effective is TISC at increasing entry into STEM postsecondary fields? (3) How effective is TISC in increasing persistence in STEM fields? Data will be collected using five instruments: (1) Teenage Life Questionnaire; (2) Career Orientation Survey; (3) "College Culture" interviews; 4) Experience Sampling Method on the subjective perceptions; and (5) Young Adult Follow-Up Survey. These data will be analyzed using a variety of quantitative data analysis methods, including regression models and Hierarchical Linear Models to answer the research questions. ITEST DRL EHR Schneider, Barbara Michigan State University MI Kusum Singh Standard Grant 998415 7227 SMET 9177 7774 0116000 Human Subjects 0929639 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Proposal- Model My Watershed: Developing a Cyberlearning Application and Curricula to Enhance Interest in STEM Careers. Model My Watershed is a three year project to develop, test and disseminate a watershed-modeling tool set for secondary students. It is designed to build on GoogleEarth and provide a dynamic interface where students can import as well as add data, modify both environmental conditions and underlying algorithms, work in a collaborative online learning environment, and be exposed to STEM careers. The design is based on the belief that students should have an authentic, exciting, intuitive and interactive tool set that allows them to investigate their own neighborhoods. The investigations challenge students to make real world decisions based on scientific knowledge and models. The project uses the complexity of environmental science to engage and excite students about the diverse STEM careers that are necessary to study and address environmental issues. Using existing scientific data in an authentic, hydrologic modeling toolset, students learn to predict how environmental changes to the ecosystem affect the hydrologic cycle in their local watersheds. In addition to being able to modify the underlying environmental conditions and model algorithms, the students can modify their watershed by drawing new surfaces or structures on the landscape using tools such as Google SketchUp. A collaborative web-based communication platform is used to network teams of students and schools to pose questions or challenges and communicate their findings. The project will directly impact 25 teachers and 1000 students in the Philadelphia area with plans for national dissemination. ITEST DRL EHR Marcum-Dietrich, Nanette Millersville University PA Michael Haney Standard Grant 24959 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929674 September 1, 2009 Build IT Underwater Robotics Scale Up for STEM Learning and Workforce Development (BISU). This "scale-up" project uses engineering as well as science to bring engineering experiences to underrepresented communities. The investigators will build under water robots, create social networks, and produce a webcast. This project is based on evidence gained from a previous ITEST Strategies grant (ESI-0624709) that showed that an underwater robotics curriculum can increase student learning of science and engineering concepts, their practice of 21st century skills such as problem-solving and collaboration, their enjoyment of science, and their engineering career interest. The goal of the project is to create and assess an adaptable scale-up model that enables the participation of underserved audiences (female, minority and low status youth) in intensive, experiential STEM learning, acquisition of 21st century skills, and increased engineering career awareness and interest. The project will expand the existing design and implementation of the previous project. Also, it will provide a rigorous test of the research and theory based model in new environments and will also expand the innovation to cover additional scope within STEM workforce. The project will be initiated in four new regions (hub sites) by working with well-established partners whose K-12 programming engages girls and underserved youth in informal education environments, while expanding an in-school implementation model. Some of the project enhancements include increased use of IT and cyberinfrastructure, and an advanced systems engineering challenge to expand the scope of the curricular innovation itself. Students and educators use of cyberlearning tools will be developed well beyond the scope of the current Strategies project, through: (a) an annual national virtual underwater robotics competition; (b) incorporation of social networking tools and webcasting technologies into curricula and professional development to create a cyber learning community among youth, educators, and STEM researchers; and, (c) the virtualization of current face-to-face student meetings with STEM researchers and professionals through the creation of a digital video library designed to expose students to exciting STEM and IT applications in the real world and to serve as career exemplars, featuring women and minority researchers. ITEST DRL EHR McGrath, Elisabeth Karen Peterson Edward Leach Victor Lawrence Jason Sayres Stevens Institute of Technology NJ Larry E. Suter Continuing grant 500000 7227 SMET 9177 7774 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929676 September 1, 2009 Animando a Estudiantes con Technologia - Encouraging students in the field of information technology. Animando a Estudiantes con Technología (Encouraging Students in the Field of Information Technology or AET) is an ITEST Strategies project targeting elementary, middle, and high school Latino students in Watsonville, CA. Project partners include the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and the Math Engineering Science Achievement Program (MESA) at the University of California, Santa Cruz. AET builds on the work of several successful NSF-funded initiatives including Girls Creating Games (HRD 02-17221) and Math and Parent Partners in the Southwest (ESI 99-01275) by testing a model of parent engagement and leadership (PEAL) in combination with an out-of-school youth IT education program. The PEAL model creates a strong network of community support for IT learning while enhancing parent capacity to understand and utilize cyberinfrastructure and cyberlearning. A Parent Leadership Committee will be formed to assess community IT resources and needs, while parent workshops and family activities provide an understanding of IT tools and career paths. The project uses structured, hands-on, seven-week, out-of-school IT education modules (Intensives) in conjunction with bridging activities to maintain youth engagement in IT and in the AET community of learners. The IT Intensive Program offered to 5th graders increases IT literacy through a project-based urvey course of various computer applications taught by high school near-peer educators. Topics include computer basics, electronic communication, web navigation, multi-media presentations, and virtual reality. Intensives at the middle school level increase IT fluency through digital game design and 3D animation (both of which teach basic programming concepts and project management), support the development of academic fundamentals, and teach youth to apply math and engineering concepts. Both middle and high school students participate in MESA activities designed to build teamwork, leadership, and academic success. Successful navigation of these transitions, along with support for IT interests, development of IT fluency and awareness of careers will contribute significantly to realizing career options in IT for Latino youth. Additionally, a Summer Teacher Colloquium provides educators with embedded teacher training in IT skills, content, and pedagogy. AET is projected to reach 175 youth participants each year. The project evaluation will be conducted by SRI International. A mixed-methods approach will be used to assess the feasibility of combining the PEAL model and Bridged Intensives to increase the IT interest and readiness of Latino students, families and the local community. ITEST DRL EHR Bean, Steven Jill Denner ETR Associates CA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 924882 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929717 October 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Strategies: STEMware - Designing Immersive Biology Learning Simulations for Formal and Informal Settings. The STEMware project is employing teams of educators, students, and scientists to develop serious, immersive 3D gaming software for use by secondary students and teachers in biology. The gaming simulations, user manual, supplemental curriculum, and companion web site will address modern topics in biology, such as bioinformatics, genomics, and biotechnology. The products will be distributed to schools, homes, and afterschool programs across the nation. The goal of the project is to increase student interest in and understanding of modern issues in biology and careers in bioscience. The project is distributing at least 7,000 copies of STEMware nationwide, providing 36 formal and informal science educators and 36 students in California with 60 hours of professional or youth development via summer workshops and Saturday follow-up sessions during the school year, and offering half-day STEMware training conferences for an additional 800 educators across the nation who will impact thousands of students. Collaborating partners include science departments at the University of California(UC)-Davis and UC-Berkeley, the UC-Davis School of Education, the 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology program, the Biotechnology Teacher Support Network, the California Afterschool Network, and several regional STEM-focused companies. ITEST DRL EHR Lemaux, Peggy University of California-Berkeley CA Larry E. Suter Standard Grant 159372 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929728 September 15, 2009 PURSE: Promoting Underrepresented Girls Involvement in Research, Science, and Energy. 0929728 Lee The Promoting Underrepresented Girls Involvement in Research, Science, and Energy (PURSE) program is a Strategies Project where Metropolitan Detroit high school girls in grades 9-11, participate in project based out-of-school time in space and engineering activities that teach concepts related to the production and storage of energy. The project is designed to advance knowledge and understanding about key mathematical and scientific concepts in areas of energy such as batteries and fuel cells, nuclear energy and alternative energy sources like wind and solar. Students will participate in team oriented programming that exposes them to fundamental chemistry, physics and engineering concepts that enable energy generation and storage. The project offers a well-conceptualized, multi-layered set of experiences designed to ignite and sustain girls? interest in science, engineering, and leadership in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RE&EE) industries. ITEST DRL EHR Lee, Jason Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program Inc MI Julia Clark Standard Grant 1168763 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929731 September 1, 2009 Digital WAVE: Warming Winds and Water. The Miami Science Museum (MSM) is collaborating with the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) and Miami Dade College (MDC), to implement Digital WAVE, an ITEST Strategies project that will design, implement and investigate use of the emerging 3D Web to stimulate interest in information and communication technologies. Through the fabrication of 3D virtual simulations related to global warming phenomena, the project will create and test a new model and medium for engaging and preparing youth to pursue IT-intensive science careers. Participating high school students will develop a deeper understanding of the intensive use of technology in the field of climatology and tropical weather dynamics, a topic relevant to their lives. Project activities include the development of students' computer graphic skills in 3D visualization and computer animation and opportunities to interact with climate scientists and other STEM professionals. The virtual world exhibits created by Digital WAVE participants will reside on Teen Second Life, opening access to all TSL visitors. The project will directly serve a total of one hundred and twenty 10-12th grade students from the Miami Science Museum target area, most of whom are of Haitian or Hispanic ethnicity, qualify for free or reduced lunch and would be the first in their family to attend college. Ninth grade students from the Museum's overall youth development programs will also be involved in the STEM career pathway component of the project. Each year, 40 students will participate in a 14-session Saturday Design Studio at Miami Dade College to acquire advanced digital design skills, including 3D graphic design and computer animation. They will then take part in a four-week summer Academy during which they will work with an experienced virtual world exhibit fabricators to create a series of science-rich virtual world exhibits. The STEM content for the Academy will focus on the impacts of climate change on South Florida's tropical environment, providing a science-rich context in which participants can apply their new skills. As they explore such topics as coral reef bleaching, hurricane intensification and sea level rise, students will interact with real scientists, gaining first-hand insights into ongoing research projects, the tools, digital technologies and datasets used, and the associated careers. Students' final products will be launched in the online virtual world environment know as Teen Second Life, resulting in educational resources that can potentially reach thousands of teens worldwide. The project expects to increase students' knowledge of career pathways related to climatology, marine science, 3D graphic design and computer animation; increase their understanding of basic climatology and marine science concepts; and help them develop the skills necessary to participate in and contribute to virtual worlds and simulated environments. The overarching evaluation questions for the project, as stated in the proposal, are anchored in three domains: a) STEM learning as it is related to environmental science, and technology; b) learning about STEM career paths related to these subjects; and c) learning related to advanced technology and IT design skills used to create virtual world and simulated environments for STEM learning. ITEST DRL EHR Brown, Judy Ted Myers Miami Museum of Science Inc FL Leslie K. Goodyear Standard Grant 1189962 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929736 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research - Model My Watershed: Developing a Cyberlearning Application and Curricula to Enhance Interest in STEM Careers. Model My Watershed is a three year project to develop, test and disseminate a watershed-modeling tool set for secondary students. It is designed to build on GoogleEarth and provide a dynamic interface where students can import as well as add data, modify both environmental conditions and underlying algorithms, work in a collaborative online learning environment, and be exposed to STEM careers. The design is based on the belief that students should have an authentic, exciting, intuitive and interactive tool set that allows them to investigate their own neighborhoods. The investigations challenge students to make real world decisions based on scientific knowledge and models. The project uses the complexity of environmental science to engage and excite students about the diverse STEM careers that are necessary to study and address environmental issues. Using existing scientific data in an authentic, hydrologic modeling toolset, students learn to predict how environmental changes to the ecosystem affect the hydrologic cycle in their local watersheds. In addition to being able to modify the underlying environmental conditions and model algorithms, the students can modify their watershed by drawing new surfaces or structures on the landscape using tools such as Google SketchUp. A collaborative web-based communication platform is used to network teams of students and schools to pose questions or challenges and communicate their findings. The project will directly impact 25 teachers and 1000 students in the Philadelphia area with plans for national dissemination. ITEST DRL EHR Tomlin, Charles University of Pennsylvania PA Michael Haney Standard Grant 209303 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929760 September 1, 2009 ITEST Conference Event: Defining an Afterschool Research Agenda. The Education Development Center's (EDC) ITEST Learning Resource Center plans to implement a 12-month conference grant designed to engage practitioner and research groups working in afterschool programs. EDC, in partnership with the National Girls Collaborative Project and MPR Associates, Inc., proposes to convene a 3-day meeting comprised of NSF-funded ITEST grantees, researchers in STEM workforce development and informal learning, STEM industry leaders, and philanthropic organizations. A planning committee of STEM researchers, national experts on afterschool, and ITEST principal investigators will guide the planning, organization, and conference follow-up. The planning process includes a survey of the ITEST community to gather information on current practices and a literature review on the STEM workforce, informal science education, and afterschool practices. Additionally, a series of white papers on topics such as program design, professional development, partnerships, cultural implications, and sustainability are planned to engage the community in guided conversations. Project outcomes also include a cumulative project report which synthesizes the discussion topics, central research themes and questions, and recommended methodologies. The proposed research agenda is intended to direct subsequent studies in this important area of out-of-school programming and will be published on the EDC website. A web conference, as well as presentations at professional meetings and publications are planned to share findings broadly with the field. MPR Associates will conduct a mixed-methods evaluation to determine if the participant selection process resulted in an effective group of stakeholders who engaged in useful debate and active dialog. The evaluation will also determine the impact of the white papers, research agenda, and other products on the afterschool and STEM education fields. This project bridges research and practitioner communities while producing a set of white papers to serve as focal point for conference discussions and a comprehensive research agenda to guide future studies. ITEST DRL EHR Streit, Anthony Karen Peterson Siobhan Bredin Education Development Center MA Sylvia M. James Standard Grant 200000 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929763 September 1, 2009 Collaborative Research - Model My Watershed: Developing a Cyberlearning Application and Curricula to Enhance Interest in STEM Careers. Model My Watershed is a three year project to develop, test and disseminate a watershed-modeling tool set for secondary students. It is designed to build on GoogleEarth and provide a dynamic interface where students can import as well as add data, modify both environmental conditions and underlying algorithms, work in a collaborative online learning environment, and be exposed to STEM careers. The design is based on the belief that students should have an authentic, exciting, intuitive and interactive tool set that allows them to investigate their own neighborhoods. The investigations challenge students to make real world decisions based on scientific knowledge and models. The project uses the complexity of environmental science to engage and excite students about the diverse STEM careers that are necessary to study and address environmental issues. Using existing scientific data in an authentic, hydrologic modeling toolset, students learn to predict how environmental changes to the ecosystem affect the hydrologic cycle in their local watersheds. In addition to being able to modify the underlying environmental conditions and model algorithms, the students can modify their watershed by drawing new surfaces or structures on the landscape using tools such as Google SketchUp. A collaborative web-based communication platform is used to network teams of students and schools to pose questions or challenges and communicate their findings. The project will directly impact 25 teachers and 1000 students in the Philadelphia area with plans for national dissemination. ITEST DRL EHR Gill, Susan J. Denis Newbold Anthony Aufdenkampe Charles Dow Stroud Water Research Center PA Michael Haney Standard Grant 870112 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929769 October 1, 2009 Collaborative Research: Strategies: STEMware - Designing Immersive Biology Learning Simulations for Formal and Informal Settings. The STEMware project is employing teams of educators, students, and scientists to develop serious, immersive 3D gaming software for use by secondary students and teachers in biology. The gaming simulations, user manual, supplemental curriculum, and companion web site will address modern topics in biology, such as bioinformatics, genomics, and biotechnology. The products will be distributed to schools, homes, and afterschool programs across the nation. The goal of the project is to increase student interest in and understanding of modern issues in biology and careers in bioscience. The project is distributing at least 7,000 copies of STEMware nationwide, providing 36 formal and informal science educators and 36 students in California with 60 hours of professional or youth development via summer workshops and Saturday follow-up sessions during the school year, and offering half-day STEMware training conferences for an additional 800 educators across the nation who will impact thousands of students. Collaborating partners include science departments at the University of California (UC)-Davis and UC-Berkeley, the UC-Davis School of Education, the 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology program, the Biotechnology Teacher Support Network, the California Afterschool Network, and several regional STEM-focused companies. ITEST DRL EHR Gilchrist, David Douglas Cook David Rizzo University of California-Davis CA David A. Hanych Standard Grant 900432 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0929774 September 15, 2009 High Adventure Science. On its 125th Anniversary, science magazine published a list of unanswered science questions that scientists are actively exploring. The High Adventure Science project tests whether using three fascinating and accessible Earth science topics from contemporary research is a replicable and sustainable strategy for increasing student interest in science and science careers and results in students learning important science concepts. Students reflect on how science proceeds by being connected with aspects of unanswered questions using computer-based learning activities that rely on inquiry and connect them to frontier research for periods of about one week two or three times per year. The structure and assessments used in the activities are designed to measure students' ability to reason using standards-based concepts. Teachers are introduced to the materials using an online course that addresses the acquisition of pedagogical and content knowledge. The combination of technology and inquiry is able to reach diverse students in under-resourced classrooms. The evaluation uses a delayed implementation design to measure changes in student attitudes about science and science careers and their acquisition of science knowledge. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Pallant, Amy Concord Consortium MA Gerhard L. Salinger Continuing grant 364927 7645 SMET 9177 7774 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929788 September 1, 2009 Project Opening Doors: An AP mathematics and science strategy to prepare underrepresented studetns for college success and STEM careers. The Education Foundation of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA)is partnering with the Connecticut Science Center, Connecticut College of Technology, EASTCONN (a Regional Education Service Center), and CBIA member companies on an ITEST strategies project to encourage and prepare 9th and 10th grade minority and low-income, first-generation college students for enrollment in Advanced Placement courses in math, science and English in Project Opening Doors (POD) schools in Connecticut. POD, Connecticut's National Math and Science Initiative, is designed to increase enrollment of underserved and minority students in 11th and 12th grade AP classes and improve their educational performance, success in post-secondary education, and eventual employment in science and technology based companies. The ITEST project is a pre-AP initiative designed to excite and motivate students in the sciences and technology and prepare them for the rigor of AP coursework in POD project schools. Over the three-year grant period, 1,020 9th and 10th grade students and 30 teachers from eight to ten POD schools participate in exciting cyberlearning activities designed to stimulate student interest in AP STEM subjects. Activities include the year-long the "How Cool is This? Cyber-Challenge," with companies including Pfizer, United Technologies, General Electric, and Northeast Utilities, providing thought-provoking, relevant challenges to student industry teams. The teams, made up of 9th and 10th grade students from different schools, collaborate virtually to solve their challenge using 2.0 tools including online conferencing and chat tools (Bridgit, Skype, ooVoo) email, wikis, collaborative documents and other related emerging technologies. The Cyber-Challenge culminates with student industry teams presenting their solutions in a multi-media format to peers and industry representatives in the Connecticut Science Center's IMAX Theater. Finished projects are posted on the program's social networking website. During the year, teams take part in a variety of supplemental activities to underscore the relevance of STEM courses, including college programs such as Engineering Challenge, State Scholars presentations by industry representatives, and field trips to companies. Accompanying teacher professional development includes industry externships and training on 2.0 tools needed to oversee student progress and bolster their technology skills. An external evaluator will assess student interest in STEM subjects and perceptions of STEM careers using pre- and post-test surveys for each activity; program staff will track student enrollment in AP courses. The project advisory board includes industry representatives, educators, and education experts. ITEST DRL EHR Kaufman, Lauren Karen Wosczyna-Birch Camille Vautour CBIA Education Foundation CT Joseph Reed Continuing grant 371793 7227 SMET 9177 7774 0116000 Human Subjects 0929796 September 1, 2009 TREES - Technology, Research, and Ecology Exchange for Students. 0929796 Degnan This strategy project will engage 84 middle school teachers and 2,688 of their students from 6 New York City Title I middle schools in learning and using science, math and IT to research New York City urban ecosystems services of energy, water and biodiversity. Using inquiry, scientific method and project based learning students will acquire 21st century workforce readiness skills while being exposed to the urban jobs connected to the natural infrastructure on which the City depends. The project brings together several partners to achieve its goals and objectives: Columbia University; New York City?s Department of Education; Six Title 1 NYC middle schools; and representatives of the public and private sector. Teachers attend a 3 week TREES Summer Institute to train them in Community Ecology and ICT and a model of project based learning, Integrated Projects Week (IPW). Then teachers implement IPW during the academic year. Students will share their data, findings, and Showcase projects through social networks. Teachers will compile and assess practices and promulgate their professional development knowledge through a Learning Community Model. A focus on community ecology links to urban ecosystem goods and services: (1) Water; (2) Energy; and (3) Biodiversity ITEST DRL EHR Degnan, Anne Shahid Naeem Nancy Streim Robert Newton Columbia University NY Julia Clark Continuing grant 367131 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929816 September 1, 2009 C: Helping Teachers become Cultural Relevant Teachers: Developing New Tools for a New Generation. The twelve-month project of the Maryland Institute for Minority Achievement and Urban Education (MIMAUE) involves the holding of a national conference for at least 100 teachers and administrators who work in classrooms with large African American and Hispanic student populations. The conference theme is "Helping Teachers become Cultural Relevant Teachers: Developing New Tools for a New Generation." The conference brings together top national researchers and practitioners around a theme of importance in order to promote high achievement among urban and minority students. A specific outcome in relation to the workshop sessions involves having facilitators bring some of their work in their own classrooms to be used as a stimulus for the new work that teachers and administrators will analyze in some of the conference sessions. After the conference, a sample of the local teachers will be observed after three month, six months, and nine months in order to assess the extent to which the ideas from the workshop have influenced their teaching. Conference participants will also send a mail survey at the six-month point to determine the impact of the conference on classroom planning and teaching. REESE DRL EHR Johnson, Martin Stephanie Timmo Brown University of Maryland College Park MD Ferdinand D. Rivera Standard Grant 100655 7625 SMET 9177 0929846 October 1, 2009 The POD Project: Harnessing the Power of Data. DRL-0929846 Title: The PID Project: Harnessing the Power of Data PO: Robert Gibbs PI: James Sample Program: Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers This project increases (STEM) skills through problem-based learning modules in which 9-12 grade students solve problems through data collection and analysis utilizing geospatial technologies. Professional development is provided for 40 secondary teachers in Career and Technical Education (CTE), mathematics, and science. Participants and researchers then examine the effectiveness of the modules on the learning and science and technology efficacy of 800 secondary students. The project has five objectives. 1. Increase higher-level technology integration, database use and management, spatial thinking, and web interface skills of teacher participants. 2. Increase teacher participant pedagogical content knowledge in science, data analysis, and spatial thinking skills. 3. Provide an opportunity for teachers to develop and implement their own problem-based teaching modules in their classrooms. 4. Increase data analysis, critical thinking, and spatial thinking skills of students in grades 9-12. 5. Expose 9-12 grade students to STEM content and careers and encourage students to participate in STEM classes. The project will utilize the facilities of Northern Arizona University, especially the Geospatial Research and Information Laboratory (GRAIL). Deliverables include three modules created using the Legacy Cycle (Schwarz and Bransford) on analysis of temperature data. Each of the 40 teachers will create a curriculum module that can be shared. Research on the educational model will be disseminated through professional meetings and journals. Evaluation will be carried out by Carol L. Henderson-Dahms of Southwest Evaluation Research. The evaluation team will include NAU graduate students who represent a traditionally underserved population of Native Americans. Qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to evaluate the objectives of the project. The evaluation will attempt to establish the following. 1. The elements of a high-quality STEM education professional development program; 2. How GIS-based learning affects spatial thinking; 3. The affect that GIS-based learning has on student uses and analysis of database information; and 4. The affect the GIS-based learning has on how students view the integration of science, math and technology and their interest in STEM careers. ITEST DRL EHR Sample, James Jacqueline Menasco Mark Manone Lori Rubino-Hare Jennifer Claesgens Northern Arizona University AZ Robert E. Gibbs Standard Grant 928004 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0929875 September 1, 2009 MATE ROV Competitions: Providing Pathways to the Ocean STEM Workforce. This project will use the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center's highly successful remotely operated vehicle (ROV) competition network to reach, engage, and support the participation of middle schools. They represent a critical point in the educational pathway where students, particularly from underrepresented groups, are most likely to lose interest in math and science. It will provide career information and guidance tools that enable students to make the transition from middle school through high school to college and into the workplace. It will underscore the importance of parental involvement in students' education by proactively reaching out to, communicating with, and engaging parents in project activities. It will also expand the MATE Center's cyberinfrastructure to create a learning community that promotes access to resources and encourages communication and collaboration across all grade levels. The project will also evaluate the impact of these activities and contribute those findings to the knowledge base about STEM education, particularly as it applies to traditionally underrepresented groups. The overarching project goal is to use the MATE ROV competition as an engaging platform to prepare middle and high school students for careers in the ocean STEM workforce. Specifically, the project goals are to 1) increase middle and high school students' interest in STEM and STEM careers; 2) provide teachers with resources that support the delivery of STEM career information and learning experiences; and 3) increase access to industry mentors and STEM instructional resources. This access will allow students and educators at all levels to build upon and advance their STEM knowledge and skills using ROVs as the vehicle, both figuratively and literally. Over the course of 3 years, the project will provide 240 middle school teachers who serve underrepresented groups with 28 hours of professional development, to include one 'take-home' ROV per teacher; provide 60 of those teachers with an additional 56 hours, for a total of 84 hours; provide 10 of those teachers with an additional 56 hours, for a total of 140 hours; provide 2,400 middle school students with a minimum of 20 hours of instruction and hands-on STEM learning experiences. In addition, the project will produce 4 middle school curriculum modules; implement a beginner level ('SCOUT') competition class at all 12 of MATE's existing regional contests within the U.S.; modify and improve MATE's existing career tools to produce an online careers course and complementary website for middle and high school audiences; disseminate the career information and guidance tools to the target middle school audience as well as to the other middle schools and high schools that participate in the competition. The project will also develop a cyberlearning center that uses web technologies and social media tools to engage and increase the number of users accessing and sharing information, resources, and ideas. ITEST DRL EHR Zande, Jill Deidre Sullivan Erica Moulton Monterey Peninsula College CA David B. Campbell Standard Grant 1199871 7227 SMET 9177 7227 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0934106 July 1, 2009 Cognitive Diagnosis Working Group at the 2009 SAMSI Summer Program on Psychometrics. The project is hosting a five-day Cognitive Diagnosis Models (CDM) working group in conjunction with the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Science Institute (SAMSI) Summer Program on Psychometrics. The CDM working group will bring together researchers from statistics, mathematical psychology, computer science, and educational psychology, who have worked on diagnostic and related models, to synthesize different models and approaches to diagnostic modeling and address major challenges in the field. Three methodological cornerstones will guide the workshop activities: (1) the design of diagnostic assessment; (2) the analysis of the resulting data; and (3) the reporting of the results. The workshop will emphasize issues related to the first and second methodological cornerstones. The presentations and discussions during the CDM working group will form the basis for a white paper outlining methodological challenges in CDM and will be submitted for publication in statistics and education journals. REESE DRL EHR de la Torre, Jimmy Rutgers University New Brunswick NJ Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 15390 7625 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0935816 September 1, 2008 Scale up of math and science K-12 education reform in a large urban district. The University of Illinois at Chicago exploratory proposal builds on major accomplishments of the Chicago Math and Science Initiative (CMSI), and on a previously NSF/Educational System Reform-funded project. Its overarching goal is to contribute to the capacity of urban school districts and educational researchers to work collaboratively in the effective planning, implementation, scale-up, adaptation, documentation, and evaluation of systemic reform in mathematics and science education. Specifically, the proposal aims at (1) producing new knowledge that (a) contributes to current understanding of the mechanisms involved in reforming mathematics and science education systematically in the context of a large urban district, (b) elaborates a model for effective communicating and collaboration among key stakeholders, and (c) bridges the practice/research divide in mathematics and science educational reform; (2) sharing and communication findings that have relevance and utility to those engaged with policy and practice, such as educational planners, administrators, educational researchers, and evaluators; and (3) leveraging future collaborations and communication among those engaged in practice, policy, and research on mathematics and science education. In order to accomplish these goals and objectives, the proposal will conduct a multidimensional study that draws on a body of high-quality, quantitative and qualitative longitudinal empirical data documenting systemic reform efforts over five years of the Chicago Public Schools' efforts to reform K-12 STEM education from the stages of design, planning, and initial implementation through scale-up and adaptation (e.g., from district policy level to implementation of curricular materials in classrooms). The proposed research is based on a four-dimensional model of issues critical to STEM systemic reform: (1) levels of reform and systems approach (district, school, teachers, and students), (2) scaling-up (depth, spread, and ownership), (3) maintenance across time (context, flexibility, and sustainability), and (4) cross-cutting issues related to challenges and supports for changing practices (accountability/controls, participation/motivation, learning/sense making, relations/trust, and allocation/equity). Longitudinal data inventories addressing these constructs are: (1) system and district level (staff and instructional leader interviews and focus groups), (2) school level (longitudinal in-depth case studies, studies of curricula implementation, principals' interviews), (3) teacher level (surveys and classroom observations), and (4) student level (classroom observations, logs of instructional practice, and district student achievement records). Data analysis will look at both impact of the reform and processes by which innovations are brought to scale. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Wenzel, Stacy Loyola University of Chicago IL Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao Standard Grant 197133 7645 SMET 9177 0935879 June 15, 2009 National Symposium on K-12 Engineering Education. The National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council request funding to hold a workshop to disseminate the findings of a privately-funded, two-year study of the status and nature of efforts to teach engineering to U.S. K-12 students. The symposium and other dissemination activities inform key stakeholders about the role and potential of engineering as an element of K-12 STEM education and also inform the programmatic activities of organizations and individuals concerned about engineering education. The report provides a brief history of engineering, reviews the evidence for the benefits of K-12 engineering education, discusses a large number of curriculum projects and associated teacher professional development efforts, summarizes the cognitive science literature related to how students learn engineering concepts and practices, and concludes with the committee's findings and recommendations. The report is of special interest to individuals and groups interested in improving the quality of K-12 STEM education in the U.S.: engineering educators, policy makers, employers, and those concerned with development of the technical workforce, as well as those working to boost technological literacy of the general public. For educational researchers and for cognitive scientists, the report exposes a rich set of questions related to how and under what conditions students come to understand engineering and design thinking. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Pearson, Greg National Academy of Sciences DC Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 93845 7645 SMET 9177 0936529 May 15, 2009 Planning Meeting to Organize K-12 Science Around Core Ideas. This RAPID project from the NRC's Board on Science Education (BOSE) proposes to convene a day and one-half long workshop of national experts to develop a conceptual framework for how to recast science standards around a limited set of core scientific ideas in order to establish content priority for science educators and policymakers. The workshop will integrate reserach on children's learning, drawn from several NRC synthesis studies, into the new conceptual framework. This body of research, along with commissioned workshop papers will form the background materials for the workshop. Participants will include scientists, learning scientists, science educators and those familiar with practice and policy. The workshop is tied to a recently initiated effort of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Science Anchors project. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Schweingruber, Heidi National Academy of Sciences DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 198325 7645 7625 SMET 9177 7914 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0936706 August 15, 2009 ABI and CSTA Collaboration to Reach K-12 Teachers from Under-represented Communities at the 2009 Grace Hopper Celebration. The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, working with the Computer Science Teachers Association, is establishing an ongoing working relationship between scientists and technicians and practicing teachers through a series of activities. One hundred K-12 teachers who work with under-represented populations of students will attend the 2009 Grace Hopper Celebration and participate in open forums and presentations. Other products include a white paper designed to instigate a discussion of equity and computer science curriculum; create knowledge sharing opportunities on concrete solutions grounded in teachers' articulated, specific needs; and disseminate these solutions to a broad audience of teachers, STEM practitioners, and interested stakeholders. In addition, the PIs have made provision for evaluation to determine the effectiveness of these solutions in classrooms that serve under-represented student populations. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Whitney, Telle Denise Westbrook Christine Stephenson Deanna Kosaraju Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology CA Michael Haney Standard Grant 79899 7645 SMET 9177 0937675 August 15, 2009 The Psychophysical Assessment of Number-Sense Acuity. All humans, irrespective of education, share a "number sense" that helps us understand mathematics. Even 5-month-old infants have this sense and can recognize the numeric difference between 6 and 12 dots on a screen. Yet there are many questions about the number sense for which we do not yet know the answers: 1) Do people vary in how accurate their number sense is across the lifespan? 2) Do these differences predict mathematics achievement? 3) Can interventions improve number sense and thereby strengthen performance in school mathematics? The aim of this project is to create a freely available assessment software that will return a standardized estimate of the accuracy of any person's number sense, filling a crucial hole in our current science. This software will be refined from existing methods that successfully demonstrate precise estimates of students' number sense and reveal correlations between number sense and performance in school mathematics. Guided by the input of an advisory board focused on both basic mathematics research and mathematics education in the classroom, the software will be used by researchers and educators who provide feedback for its enhancement. The new knowledge created by these users will be shared with the public. The final impact of this project will be to greatly enhance research on math abilities through the creation of a common measure of number sense accuracy that will ultimately be felt in the classroom. This software will be particularly useful in identifying children at risk for difficulties in mathematics due to a specific deficit in number sense accuracy. REESE DRL EHR Halberda, Justin Johns Hopkins University MD Karen A. Marrongelle Standard Grant 293400 7625 SMET 9177 7916 0116000 Human Subjects 0940140 August 15, 2009 The role of individual differences in executive function on the child?s acquisition of intuitive biology. In this EAGER proposal, the investigators seek to discover factors that affect developmental learning processes when children begin to acquire concepts of basic biology. The investigators hypothesize that individual differences in children's learning of intuitive biology are partly due to differences in their executive function (EF) abilities. EF includes the set of general cognitive processes, such as working memory, conflict monitoring, and inhibition. The research will include testing young children's and elder Americans' knowledge of natural selection as well as their executive functioning capabilities. The hypothesis will be tested by administering a battery of cognitive tests (to examine differences in EF) and through interviews with children ages 5-8 and elder adults about basic biological concepts such as the life cycle and properties of living things. If this hypothesis proves to be true, it would suggest a new or competing explanation for how misconceptions are formed and possibly be "corrected" throughout the life span. The project is potentially transformative in its position relative to the research literature and in terms of the implications it may have for instructional materials, teaching, and learning. REESE DRL EHR Zaitchik, Deborah Susan Carey Massachusetts General Hospital MA James S. Dietz Standard Grant 299999 7625 SMET 9177 7916 0116000 Human Subjects 0940773 October 1, 2009 Building a National Program to Improve STEM Education and Lifelong Learning. DRL-0940773 PI: Brent, Linda Abstract An Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) has been given to The ASTA Group, LLC to create a blueprint for an International Conference on Cyberlearning that would explore radically different approaches to both formal and informal learning at a national level. The EAGER will bring together essential individuals and organizations across a range of STEM disciplines committed to advancing Cyberlearning for the improvement of STEM education and how to use technology to connect underrepresented groups with resources and tools to which they have never before been exposed. ASTA and the national defense industrial community have encountered and solved many of the same implementation issues arising now in education and have actively sought ways that technology can improve education and training effectiveness, efficiency, and accessibility. The Defense and Defense-related industries operate at the scale necessary for successful transfer of small research projects to wide-scale application. Through ASTA's extensive R&D knowledge of advanced technologies, most specifically their work in multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs), modeling and simulation (M&S), and game-based learning as applied in the military's education, training, and workforce development programs, they will bring the highest level of expertise to the development of a blueprint for an international conference on Cyberlearning that will forge unprecedented partnerships across government, academia, and industry. ASTA and the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) as Principal Investigator, will submit a proposal for an international conference in 2010 based upon the blueprint developed by the EAGER grant. It is anticipated that technology will be used during the EAGER phase to plan the conference, disseminate conference-related information, and serve as an interface for activities. A website and/or Internet portal will be established and will be used to facilitate on-going partnerships, monitoring, and information sharing. It may have both public and participant levels of access. Details, as well as partners for development, maintenance, and funding will be determined through the EAGER planning period. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Brent, Linda Tim Buehner The ASTA Group, LLC FL Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 164758 7645 7625 7259 SMET 9177 7916 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0940831 January 1, 2010 CDI-Type II Proposal: VHub: Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure for Volcano Eruption and Hazards Modeling and Simulation. SUNY at Buffalo, in collaboration with the University of South Florida and Michigan Technological University, will develop VHub: Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure for Volcano Eruption and Hazards Modeling and Simulation, a virtual organization that will enable the integration of multidisciplinary computational thinking into volcanology research and applications. The VHub cyberinfrastructure will provide a mechanism for globally collaborative research and development of computational models of volcanic processes and their integration with complex geospatial, observational, and experimental data. VHub will promote seamless accessibility of appropriate models and data to organizations around the world charged with assessing and reducing risk, reaching across resource levels and cultural boundaries. The cyberinfrastructure challenges in this effort arise from solving difficult research problems involving multi-scale physics and complex datasets, and developing the structures needed to ensure accessibility to civil protection workers for real-world decision making. Vhub will enable the advancement of understanding of volcanic processes by accelerating the broad adaptation of computation within volcanology and driving our modeling capabilities toward fewer simplifications, and enabling important collaborations with other disciplines that focus on similar flow phenomena. VHub will provide a venue for developing benchmarking of complex models, and for model comparison and multi-model analysis. VHub will be structured to promote the integration of cutting-edge science with global hazard mitigation, including in developing countries where risk is large but economic and/or cultural barriers have prevented organizations from using cutting-edge capabilities. Educational materials designed and implemented through VHub will serve to recruit new students into the geosciences and computational sciences who will learn to conduct quantitative volcanological research within a framework that views fundamental research and societal applications as an integrated whole. CDI TYPE II DRL EHR Valentine, Greg Marcus Bursik Matthew Jones Eliza Calder Steven Gallo SUNY at Buffalo NY Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 1437331 7751 SMET 9177 7725 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0940833 August 1, 2009 Research Video News: Catalyst for Increasing Engagement of General Audiences. This project will produce 90-second science news stories for commercial local newscasts and science center exhibits, and determine how they change engagement with and interest in science by general audiences. Each video news story will reach approximately 2.1 million viewers that tune in to a local ABC or NBC affiliate newscast. The evaluation will study the cumulative impact of repeated exposure to these broadcast news segments. In addition ScienCentral will partner with the Maryland Science Center to investigate the use of the videos in exhibits using hand-held devices and showing them on large screens. The project deliverables include two hundred and twenty 90-second video news stories over 3 years aired by ABC and NBC affiliates; complimentary web stories with links to additional resources; evaluations of both the broadcast videos and their use in a science center. The project will also evaluate the partnership between ScienCentral and the Maryland Science Center to guide future expansion of video programming. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR O'Leary, James Maryland Science Center MD Sandra H. Welch Standard Grant 158492 7259 SMET 9177 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0940839 January 1, 2010 CDI-Type II Proposal: VHub: Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure for Volcano Eruption and Hazards Modeling and Simulation. SUNY at Buffalo, in collaboration with the University of South Florida and Michigan Technological University, will develop VHub: Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure for Volcano Eruption and Hazards Modeling and Simulation, a virtual organization that will enable the integration of multidisciplinary computational thinking into volcanology research and applications. The VHub cyberinfrastructure will provide a mechanism for globally collaborative research and development of computational models of volcanic processes and their integration with complex geospatial, observational, and experimental data. VHub will promote seamless accessibility of appropriate models and data to organizations around the world charged with assessing and reducing risk, reaching across resource levels and cultural boundaries. The cyberinfrastructure challenges in this effort arise from solving difficult research problems involving multi-scale physics and complex datasets, and developing the structures needed to ensure accessibility to civil protection workers for real-world decision making. Vhub will enable the advancement of understanding of volcanic processes by accelerating the broad adaptation of computation within volcanology and driving our modeling capabilities toward fewer simplifications, and enabling important collaborations with other disciplines that focus on similar flow phenomena. VHub will provide a venue for developing benchmarking of complex models, and for model comparison and multi-model analysis. VHub will be structured to promote the integration of cutting-edge science with global hazard mitigation, including in developing countries where risk is large but economic and/or cultural barriers have prevented organizations from using cutting-edge capabilities. Educational materials designed and implemented through VHub will serve to recruit new students into the geosciences and computational sciences who will learn to conduct quantitative volcanological research within a framework that views fundamental research and societal applications as an integrated whole. CDI TYPE II DRL EHR Connor, Charles University of South Florida FL Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 136217 7751 SMET 9177 7725 0116000 Human Subjects 0940883 January 1, 2010 CDI-Type II Proposal: VHub: Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure for Volcano Eruption and Hazards Modeling and Simulation. SUNY at Buffalo, in collaboration with the University of South Florida and Michigan Technological University, will develop VHub: Collaborative Research: Cyberinfrastructure for Volcano Eruption and Hazards Modeling and Simulation, a virtual organization that will enable the integration of multidisciplinary computational thinking into volcanology research and applications. The VHub cyberinfrastructure will provide a mechanism for globally collaborative research and development of computational models of volcanic processes and their integration with complex geospatial, observational, and experimental data. VHub will promote seamless accessibility of appropriate models and data to organizations around the world charged with assessing and reducing risk, reaching across resource levels and cultural boundaries. The cyberinfrastructure challenges in this effort arise from solving difficult research problems involving multi-scale physics and complex datasets, and developing the structures needed to ensure accessibility to civil protection workers for real-world decision making. Vhub will enable the advancement of understanding of volcanic processes by accelerating the broad adaptation of computation within volcanology and driving our modeling capabilities toward fewer simplifications, and enabling important collaborations with other disciplines that focus on similar flow phenomena. VHub will provide a venue for developing benchmarking of complex models, and for model comparison and multi-model analysis. VHub will be structured to promote the integration of cutting-edge science with global hazard mitigation, including in developing countries where risk is large but economic and/or cultural barriers have prevented organizations from using cutting-edge capabilities. Educational materials designed and implemented through VHub will serve to recruit new students into the geosciences and computational sciences who will learn to conduct quantitative volcanological research within a framework that views fundamental research and societal applications as an integrated whole. CDI TYPE II DRL EHR Carn, Simon William Rose Michigan Technological University MI Arlene M. de Strulle Standard Grant 333343 7751 SMET 9177 7725 0116000 Human Subjects 0942613 April 1, 2009 Community Science Workshops: Beginning a National Movement. "Community Science Workshops: Beginning a National Movement" is an extension of a successful, NSF-funded project that created a network of community science centers in California. The San Francisco State University will now take this successful venture to a national level by working with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) to establish a new Community Science Workshop (CSW) 8-10 in underserved communities over the next four years. Once sites are selected, CSW directors participate in an intensive two-week training program. This is followed by visits by site mentors, and ongoing support through the WWW and other media, which contributes to the establishment and eventual sustainability of the centers. Each site partners with larger, established museums and science centers locally to gain much needed assistance with exhibits and education programs. Community Science Workshops contain permanent exhibit space, a workshop area for student projects and classroom/storage space. They serve a variety of audiences through after school, family, school and summer science programs. Potential locations include Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia. INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Fonteyn, Paul Green Mountain College VT Sylvia M. James Continuing grant 342105 7259 SMET 9177 7582 0943076 August 1, 2009 DC Public Schools Evaluation: Conceptual Framework and Planning. The Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) proposes a RAPID project to create a conceptual framework for conducting a comprehensive evaluation the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). The need for such an evaluation is mandated by the Public Education Reform Amendment Act (PERAA) of 2007 and the evaluation must begin in the fall of 2009. Therefore, the framework must be developed within the next several months. This framework will guide the structure, data collection, analysis and timeline for conducting a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation of DCPS in terms of impacts on students, teachers and administrators, and the system, with particular attention to issues in STEM education. The framework will examine how the new accountability system has addressed chronic problems in DCPS; components aimed at school staff will look at credentials, retention and instructional practices;the student component will examine a range of outcomes such as achievement, course-taking, and dropout/attendance. The project will be led by a panel of national experts to be identified by the NRC. REESE DRL EHR Feuer, Michael National Academy of Sciences DC Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 199644 7625 SMET 9177 7914 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0943423 September 1, 2009 Early-Concept Grant for Exporatory Research (EAGER): Supporting STEM education by networking DRL resource networks: DRLNET. The Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) has funded five resource centers/networks to provide support to five DRL programs, to the PIs connected to those programs, and to STEM education communities. (They are Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education--ISE; Center for Advancing Research and Communication in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics--REESE; Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education--DR-K12; ITEST Learning Resource Center--ITEST; Learning and Youth Research and Evaluation Center--AYS.) While the activities of each vary, all conduct reviews of the portfolio, provide technical assistance to projects, and communicate results of project findings or resources to a broader field. This EAGER project supports exploratory cross-network collaboration around accumulating, synthesizing, and communicating evidence generated by the funded projects and the networks. Specifically, the project enables sharing of data across programs; creating an online presence across the networks; collaborating to provide assistance to projects; and sharing expertise to improve network evaluations. The project will enhance infrastructure to support STEM education, learning, and education research and will expand dissemination of evidence generated by DRL projects and programs. The resulting increased coherence and the identification of productive areas of collaboration should enrich the STEM education field. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION ITEST DRL EHR McDonald, Sarah-Kathryn Wendy Pollock Joyce Malyn-Smith Barbara Berns Bronwyn Bevan National Opinion Research Center IL Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 299931 7645 7625 7259 7227 SMET 9177 7916 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0946372 August 15, 2009 EAGER Proposal for Research in Measurement and Modeling: Dynamic STEM Assessment through Epistemic Network Analysis. The investigators propose to develop a new method of STEM assessment--epistemic network analysis (ENA)--that focuses not only on whether students master specific scientific facts, math skills, or engineering concepts, but also on whether and how students link the skills, knowledge, identity, values, and epistemology of a STEM practice into a coherent way of thinking about complex STEM problems. The approach links assessment data to modeling using tools similar to social network analysis. The investigators describe ENA as potentially transformational because it is in its early stages, and involves a radically different and interdisciplinary approach to the problems of STEM assessment. The researchers will use data collected from two epistemic games, Digital Zoo (engineering) and Urban Science (urban planning), both funded by a previous NSF award. For each game, the investigators have data from 12 players in Grades 8 and 9 from the Madison, Wisconsin area. These data will serve as proof of concept for the development of the assessment prototype and for the development of the statistical methods that are necessary to make a social networking component possible. Two outcomes of this research can be expected: (1) a proof of concept prototype method for assessing a network of knowledge that students bring to a given problem, and (2) the methods and measurement development that makes such assessment systems possible and potentially useful in other contexts. REESE DRL EHR Shaffer, David Andre Rupp University of Wisconsin-Madison WI James S. Dietz Standard Grant 300000 7625 SMET 9237 9177 7916 0116000 Human Subjects 0946582 September 1, 2009 RAPID: The Science of Atoms and Molecules Project. The Science of Atoms and Molecules (SAM) project creates 24 activities that span three years of a Physics First high school science curriculum. The activities cover four general themes: motion and energy, charge, structure, and light. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which exposure to SAM activities in one year influences performance on SAM activities in a subsequent year and the extent to which students can recall concepts from SAM activities from prior years and apply them to new activities in a different discipline. The study also examines the adequacy of present teacher professional development of teachers in the use of SAM activities. The data from over 300 students who have engaged in SAM units in prior years and are now studying biology are collected electronically and through interviews with a random selection of 20 students and some teachers. The data are analyzed accounting for student and teacher prior experience with SAM activities and students' prior assessments. Positive results would provide evidence for the how to use computer modeling to teach important science concepts that can be built on in subsequent courses. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Reichsman, Frieda Concord Consortium MA Gerhard L. Salinger Standard Grant 197682 7645 SMET 9177 7914 0116000 Human Subjects 0946875 August 15, 2009 Using Research to Target Title I Needs in Mathematics. The RAPID project Using Research to Target Title I Needs in Mathematics, led by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, is producing research syntheses that summarize and make available to practitioners results from research on effective mathematics curricular interventions, teaching practices, and teacher professional development that have been designed to improve achievement by students in Title 1 programs. The proposal addresses the second challenge under the DR K-12 solicitation: How can all students be assured the opportunity to learn significant STEM content? The target audience for the project includes state- and district-level leaders who must make important decisions about uses of Title 1 funding in low-income, often high-minority schools. The overall goal for the project is to bring together the best resources in both mathematics education and Title I so that programs are better able to serve the mathematical learning and instructional needs of Title I schools. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Yang, Kichoon Richard Long National Council of Teachers of Mathematics VA James T. Fey Standard Grant 74819 7645 7625 SMET 7914 9177 0947226 August 15, 2009 The Advanced Placement Course Redesign Effort: A Time-Critical Analysis of Assessment Development Processes and Outcomes. This RAPID proposal builds on prior work to re-design the frameworks for AP science courses and proposes to capitalize on new sources of data that will be available from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) September 2009-August 2010. ETS is now piloting new assessments based on the re-design process. This project tests the quality of the assessment development processes that have been set in motion for creating new AP science exams. The new assessments follow a new evidence centered design approach (ECD) that is characterized by the alignment of the test items and tasks with the content domain models. The domain models for each course include: (1) a cognitive model of science practices, (2) a content outline, (3) achievement level descriptions, and (4) claims and evidence statements. The research will test how faithfully an ECD process can be executed with respect to the final phases of task and item development. The PI will conduct a review of the item specifications, review the draft biology and chemistry items, examine empirical data from the pilot tests, conduct interviews with the ETS and College Board staff members, and conduct cognitive laboratory protocols on the test items with students. REESE DRL EHR Pellegrino, James University of Illinois at Chicago IL Janice M. Earle Standard Grant 198442 7625 SMET 9177 7914 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0116000 Human Subjects 0948165 September 15, 2009 Southeast Regional Technical Assistance and Information Workshop for Minority-Serving Institutions To Broadening Participation in the National Science Foundation?s Division of Rese. 0948165 Thompson This is a request from Spelman College to conduct a 1.5 day regional technical assistance and information conference/workshop for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to broaden their participation in the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and informal Settings (DRL) programs. Spelman College will invite accredited minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to participate in the workshop/conference who have not submitted proposals and/or have been unsuccessful in DRL proposal competition. The workshop will consist of approximately fifty 2-person faculty institutional teams consisting of a faculty member from an education specialty relevant to DRL programmatic activities, and a faculty member in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field supported by the National Science Foundation in order to develop their research or program ideas and to become more skillful in the preparation and development of competitive proposals. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Thompson, Albert Tasha Inniss Spelman College GA Julia Clark Standard Grant 100000 7645 SMET 9177 0949241 July 1, 2009 Assessing Instructional Quality in Mathematics: A Comparative Study of High and Low Value-Added Teachers' Videotaped Lessons. Using value-added data from the Los Angeles Unified School Districts, the researchers determine individual teacher effect estimates and investigate their stability across models. This study also investigates the instructional practices of a sub-sample of 30 highly effective and 30 less effective sixth-grade mathematics teachers. Five classroom lessons are videotaped per teacher. The videotapes are coded and analyzed by researchers who are blind to the value-added effectiveness of the teachers. The reliability of measured teaching practice will be investigated by applying hierarchical linear models. Practices of highly effective and less effective teachers will be compared through analyses of variance and regression models. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Kersting, Nicole University of Arizona AZ James T. Fey Continuing grant 414428 7645 SMET 9177 0953499 August 15, 2009 Video Analysis of Science Teaching: Developing a Shared ?Words-to-images? Analytical Tool. Research on science teaching is limited by the lack of shared images of excellent science teaching looks like. Despite wide consensus that science education research should help teachers teach in ways consistent with reform documents, researchers vary widely in their interpretation of what counts as inquiry in the classroom. This lack of a shared "words-to-images" language makes findings difficult to interpret because similar words are used but they are not anchored to similar images. In addition, because each research project develops its own analysis protocols and coding schemes, cross-project comparisons are difficult. Finally, the lack of a shared language makes it difficult to communicate research results to practitioners, policymakers, and the general public. This study proposes a unique approach to addressing a critical problem in research on science teaching to break down the "silo" approach to science education research and demonstrate the feasibility of developing consensus analytical tools and language that can be used in a wide variety of investigations. Use of these common tools across studies will improve the quality and impact of science education research and improve the communication of research to practice. Video technology, including online accessibility, provides the opportunity to improve science education research quality by developing a shared words-to-images language and analytical tool. Videotapes of science teaching enable researchers to conduct more rigorous, detailed, and revealing analyses of science teaching, and collaborative viewing of lesson video challenges researchers to sharpen definitions and descriptions. In addition, several large-scale studies of science teaching, including the TIMSS video study, provide a strong foundation for the proposed consensus-building. This project will engage diverse science educators in developing a consensus image-based language for describing 5-10 key aspects of science teaching. This language,accompanied by video images, will be described in a Guide for Video Analysis of Science Teaching. The effectiveness of the guide in helping diverse science educators to code video examples reliably will be tested in pilot and field test studies. A literature review of current methods and tools will start the collaborative process. Across a 2-year period, the research team will work with an Expert Panel of 10 leading science educators representing the full range of perspectives in the science education community to: a) select key features of science teaching, b) develop a consensus language for describing the selected lesson features in lesson videos, and c) develop and revise a coding manual to guide analysis of the selected features in lesson videos. The video analysis manual and video examples will go through two rounds of testing and revision using an online, password-protected website: 1) a pilot test involving a diverse group of 25 leading science educators, and 2) a national field test involving 50 participants who reflect the diversity of the science education community. These tests will assess the effectiveness of the manual and video examples in helping diverse members of the science education community develop a shared words-to-images language. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Roth, Kathleen Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO Elizabeth VanderPutten Standard Grant 158455 7645 7625 SMET 9177 0954114 October 1, 2009 CBMS Forum on the Content and Assessment of School Mathematics. The Conference Board for the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) is organizing and hosting a National Forum on the Content and Assessment of School Mathematics. The conference continues, and expands in a new direction, work begun at a CBMS Forum held in October 2008 on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel Report. The current forum focuses on mathematics content and assessment and is closely related to the initiative by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to develop a set of Common Core State Standards for school mathematics. The conference is intended to provide an opportunity for policy makers and the broad mathematics education community to provide input into the standards development process. CBMS will produce a white paper on the key issues. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Rosier, Ronald Conference Board Math Sciences DC John S. Bradley Standard Grant 50000 7645 SMET 9177 0956855 January 1, 2009 Brain correlates of early math and number skills: tracing changes related to age and instruction in a natural experiment. How do individual differences in children's brain mechanism for number abilities relate to gains during first grade mathematics, and how might first grade instruction drive changes in such brain mechanisms? These questions are addressed using a battery of brain imaging measures including brain structure (MRI,DTI), bloodflow changes (fMRI), and electrical responses (ERP). Pre-post brain measures track changes over the course of a school year within two groups segregated by a "school's cutoff date" into young first graders and old kindergarteners. This group contrast allows the impact of first grade instruction to be differentiated from maturation and school attendance. REESE DRL EHR McCandliss, Bruce Vanderbilt University TN Karen A. Marrongelle Continuing grant 665830 7625 SMET 9177 0957931 September 1, 2009 CCE: Conference on Promoting Climate Literacy in Informal Science Learning Settings. To enhance and build on NSF-funded efforts already underway in the informal science education community, this proposal requests funding to: (1) bring together educators working in informal science environments for a two-day professional development conference that will focus exclusively on climate literacy in all of its dimensions, and (2) provide opportunities for informal science educators to interact on the topic of climate change with scientists and science media who will be participating in the AAAS annual meeting that immediately follows. This Climate Literacy professional development conference will take place on February 17-18, 2010 in San Diego. AAAS will organize the conference in partnership with the Birch Aquarium, the public exploration center for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In addition to presentations on all aspects of climate literacy and what it entails for educators and for the public, this professional development conference will also provide a variety of hands-on opportunities for participants to apply their new knowledge and skills to their own programs and projects. An expert advisory group will guide the development of the conference program and the selection of speakers and participants, focusing especially on including and serving the needs of informal science educators from institutions of varying sizes and types and serving diverse public audiences. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION DRL EHR Roseman, Jo Ellen Mary Koppal American Association For Advancement Science DC Alphonse T. DeSena Standard Grant 334909 6891 1733 SMET 9178 9177 7259 0000099 Other Applications NEC 0957996 August 1, 2009 Videocases for Science Teaching Analysis (ViSTA). This five-year project will develop six video-case modules for use in K-8 pre-service teacher preparation programs. Modules will be directed toward specific grade bands (K-3, 4-5, or 6-8) and address standards-based content domains. Each module is intended to help future teachers deepen their content knowledge, pedagogic skills and ability to analyze student thinking. The video cases will illustrate both reform classroom practices and more traditional instruction, include interviews with teachers and students and incorporate a set of analytic tasks that promote users' critical observations of the cases. The Principal Investigators bring to the project an expertise acquired through their analyses of the TIMSS videos and extensive prior research experience in science teacher education. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 DRL EHR Roth, Kathleen Biological Sciences Curriculum Study CO Michael Haney Continuing grant 477890 7645 SMET 9177 0116000 Human Subjects 0958058 September 15, 2009 Considering the Future of K-12 STEM Curricula and Instructional Materials: Stimulating and Supporting New Developments. DRL: DR K-12/REESE PI: Barbara Reys ABSTRACT This project, Considering the Future of STEM Curricula and Instructional Materials, led by the Center for Study of Mathematics Curriculum is organizing and operating a series of working groups to examine challenges and opportunities for future innovations in STEM curricula, instruction, and instructional materials. The project is addressing three key questions that have been suggested by prospects for fundamental technology-driven change in the character of STEM education: How could STEM education look very different in the near and long-term future? What development and study of instructional materials, models, and technologies would be required to make those future visions possible? What design, development, and diffusion processes are most likely to produce new approaches to STEM education that are actually implemented in schools? The goals of the working group activity are an innovation research and development agenda for STEM educators, activation of community interest in work on the tasks of that agenda, and guidance for funding agencies and professional organizations that provide support for the work. DISCOVERY RESEARCH K-12 REESE DRL EHR Reys, Barbara Robert Reys University of Missouri-Columbia MO James T. Fey Standard Grant 297731 7645 7625 SMET 9177 7916 0000099 Other Applications NEC