The Funding Bridge NLII June 28, 2004 Barbara M. Olds, Division Director

1. The Funding Bridge NLII June 28, 2004 Barbara M. Olds, Division Director Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication Education and Human Resources Directorate bolds@nsf.gov

2. Outline NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources: • Who we are • What we fund • What we are thinking and doing about research <=> practice • Your suggestions bolds@nsf.gov

3. Organization of NSF bolds@nsf.gov

4. Directorate for Education and Human Resources • Prepare the next generation of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals and attract more Americans to STEM careers. • Increase the technological and scientific literacy of all Americans so that they can exercise responsible citizenship and acquire STEM knowledge that is appropriate for life-long career opportunities. • Broaden participation (diversity) and close the achievement gap in STEM. • Attend to critical workforce needs requiring significant math and science skills and knowledge. bolds@nsf.gov

5. Divisions in EHR • Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication (REC) • Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education (ESIE) • Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) • Division of Graduate Education (DGE) • Division of Human Resource Development (HRD) bolds@nsf.gov

6. Research on Learning and Education (ROLE) program STEM learning in educational settings Changing education systems to improve STEM learning The Biological Basis of Learning Behavioral, cognitive, affective and social aspects of human learning I II III IV (general) time horizon to use; micro/macro scales bolds@nsf.gov

7. Research on Graduate Education The Division of Graduate Education and REC have issued a Dear Colleague Letter to jointly encourage proposals for well-designed, timely research projects focused on graduate programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The objective of this initiative is to help establish a solid research base that can act as a guide for future changes in STEM graduate education. bolds@nsf.gov

8. Evaluative Research and Evaluation Capacity (EREC) program • Evaluative Research Studies The STEM Instructional Workforce Continuum Technology in Support of Learning and Education • Evaluation Capacity Building Advancing the State-of-the-Art in Evaluation Enhancing Capability and Infrastructure bolds@nsf.gov

9. Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) • Joint initiative of U.S. Department of Education (IES), NIH (NICHD), and NSF • Separate competitions in 2004-2005 • Funding for two types of scaling of math or science interventions with emphasis on middle and high school • Contextual studies (up to $2,000,000 for up to 5 years) • Scaling studies (up to $6,000,000 for up to 5 years) • Must have partnerships, employ technology, build on solid evidence bolds@nsf.gov

10. CAREER • The Faculty Early Career Development Program • Foundation-wide activity for new faculty members. • CAREER awardees selected on the basis of creative career-development plans that effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their institution. • Plans should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education. bolds@nsf.gov

11. Re-examining Education Research across EHR • Context: • New division directors • “Research mindset” and cycle of innovation from J. Ramaley • Increased interest across the Directorate, the Foundation, and from the field • Responses: • REC workshop series • Math portfolio review • “Scientific Research” Lectures, Seminars, Internal Resource Group • Feedback from PI meetings, workshops, etc. bolds@nsf.gov

12. Cycle of Discovery, Innovation and Application[1] Design, implement, and document interventions Design and develop tools, materials and methods Synthesize and interpret results and identify new insights and questions Develop and test theory and knowledge about teaching and learning Research on problems of learning, teaching, implementation, and policy [1] Adapted from RAND Mathematics Study Panel (Mathematical Proficiency for All Students: Toward a Strategic Research and Development Program in Mathematics Education (p. 6) OERI, US Department of Education), 2003. bolds@nsf.gov

13. Scientific Research in Education* • Pose significant questions that can be investigated empirically • Link research to relevant theory • Use methods that permit direct investigation of the question • Provide a coherent and explicit chain of reasoning • Replicate and generalize across studies • Disclose research to encourage professional scrutiny and critique * (NRC 2002, Shavelson et al) bolds@nsf.gov

14. REC Workshops* • What are the recent trends or directions (whether these be domain or topic specific or methodological in nature) in the STEM education field (as you define or understand it) and where do you think the field is headed in the next ~5 years? • In what areas (domains, topics, methods) is the most creative STEM education research/evaluation/ communication being done in your opinion, and where do you see opportunities for creativity that are being missed? *Facilitated by Eamonn Kelly, GMU bolds@nsf.gov

15. REC Workshops • What are three or four questions of national importance in educational research/evaluation/ communication where there has been little progress and three or four questions where we seem to have a reasonable accumulation of knowledge? How do we, as a field, effectively capitalize on both strengths and weaknesses? • What are the major obstacles or threats to progress and the accumulation of knowledge in the field? Why do you think these are impediments and what, if anything, do you think can be done about them? bolds@nsf.gov

16. Common Issues (7 C’s) • Capacity building (people and tools) • “Cumulativity” • Collaboration • Context • Conditional (beta) studies • Communication (“Big C”) • Cyberinifrastructure bolds@nsf.gov

17. Mathematics Portfolio Review • What is EHR’s investment in mathematics education? • What has been the impact of EHR’s investment in mathematics education? bolds@nsf.gov

18. Highlights Related to Research • Several current programs have a research emphasis: REC, CLT, Large-scale Reform, Instructional Materials, Teacher Professional Continuum, and MSP RETA • No current clusters have a focus on synthesizing and interpreting results as a means of identifying new questions and/or developing new insights bolds@nsf.gov

19. Highlights Related to Research, continued • Proposers generally build on their own previous research, and/or their own practice and experience, but projects generally do not build well on relevant research knowledge bases beyond those of the PIs • Outside of REC, panelists identified weakness of research design as a problem; within REC, key issues were insufficient connections with the content and low expectation that the research should influence practice bolds@nsf.gov

20. Highlights Related to Research, continued • Tools and experiences built within individual projects do not accumulate, and the portfolio isn’t designed in a way that facilitates that accumulation • Multidisciplinary expertise is needed within individual projects to address the complex problems of educational improvement bolds@nsf.gov

21. Professional Development in EHR • Goal = developing a “research mindset” • The emphasis on research differs from program to program in EHR: some focus on producing new knowledge, some on building on it. • Overall, EHR should have a coherent research portfolio that covers the “cycle” • In order to achieve coherence, we need common understanding, shared vocabulary across the Directorate bolds@nsf.gov

22. The Lecture Series on Scientific Research in Education • Should questions or methods drive the enterprise? (Shavelson) • How can we identify 'what's happening' in a given intervention?(Eisenhart) • How can we identify if there's a "systematic effect" in a given intervention? (Reichardt) • What are the causal mechanisms that can be identified in a given intervention and how do they work? (Raudenbusch) • Research, Program Evaluation, Assessment, and Accountability(Shepard)

23. The Seminar Series* Four sessions • Overview and issues • The “research mindset” through projects • The “research mindset” through solicitations • Next steps *Facilitated by Alan Schoenfeld, UC-Berkeley bolds@nsf.gov

24. The Internal Resource Group (IRG) • Composed of people from every division in EHR • The “think tank” for the process • Developers of products and proposers of next steps bolds@nsf.gov

25. Next Steps Education Research will: • Inform the design of EHR programs • Inform the development and implementation of projects funded through the programs • Help create a coherent and comprehensive portfolio bolds@nsf.gov

26. Your thoughts?Advice to NSF? bolds@nsf.gov