Funding-Limited Submission - NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 education (GK-12); March 23, 2010

 

 

This program provides funding for graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to bring their leading research practice and findings into K-12 learning settings. Through collaborations with other graduate fellows and faculty from STEM disciplines, teachers and students in K-12 environments, and community partners, graduate students can gain a deeper understanding of their own research and place it within a societal and global context. The GK-12 program provides an opportunity for graduate students to acquire value-added skills, such as communicating STEM subjects to technical and non-technical audiences, leadership, team building, and teaching while enriching STEM learning and instruction in K-12 settings.

 

NSF anticipates making 20-25 new awards, depending upon the quality of proposals and availability of funds, with new projects funded up to $600,000 per year for 5 years.

 

Eligibility criteria:

• The lead Principal Investigator (PI) must be a STEM discipline faculty member actively conducting STEM research at the lead institution. Faculty members whose primary research is on science education (e.g. physics education, technology education, mathematics education, engineering education, etc.) are not eligible to serve as the lead PI. 
• Institutions having an active or past GK-12 project are eligible to submit a new proposal, but they must coordinate evaluation efforts of any projects located on the same campus or working with the same school districts.  They must also specify the outcomes, lessons learned, best practices, and sustainability efforts of prior projects.

 

Program details can be found at:

http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503369

 

Because NSF limits the number of proposals to one per institution, the University of Kentucky has established an internal selection process.  Prospective applicants interested in responding to this program should send a pre-proposal with the following information to Ms. Kris Hobson (hobson@email.uky.edu), Office of the Provost, and a copy to their Dean by Tuesday, March 23, 2010:

1. Title of the Project
2. Names and departments of the PI and project team of STEM faculty advisors; a list of the participating K-12 schools and the NSF-supported STEM disciplines or themes. Include the number of Graduate STEM Fellows per year, number of K-12 Teachers, and number of K-12 classes to be served;
3. Describe the proposed project by providing:  a) a summary of the project goals and objectives; b) proposed activities to initiate and enhance Fellow-Teacher partnerships and activities for participating K-12 classes; and c) how Graduate STEM Fellows will be recruited, trained and mentored. (3 pages max.)

 

A committee will be convened to review the proposals and make a recommendation and the selected applicant will be notified. NSF requires a letter of intent by April 20, 2010 and a full proposal via Grants.gov or FastLane by June 3, 2010 (due by 5 p.m. proposer’s local time).