GK-12 Program National Science Foundation All Projects Meeting Washington, DC March 24-26, 2006 Sonia Ortega, Ph.D. GK-12 Program Director

8 th year of operation $50+M/year 167 projects, 114 institutions awards/year Fellows supported/year 5,134 Fellows funded Over 250,000 K-12 students GK12 – Numbers

GK12 – Map of Programs

Fellows will bring their scientific research experience to the schools, so that teachers and K-12 students are exposed to what science is all about, how science is done, how discoveries happen and what scientists do

For Graduate Students – Transformative experience Bring science to schools Acquire new skills Additional career options GK-12 Sensors! Fellow Isenberg at Work

For K-12 Teachers and Students – Improve science content Professional development Enriched learning Increased interest in STEM University of New Mexico, optics and photonics

For Institutions of Higher Education – Institutional Culture Change Transforming graduate education Partnerships with schools

The GK-12 program is an opportunity to bring the excitement and the results of science to schools and to create cultural changes both in K-12 schools and in institutions of higher education. It is also an opportunity for fellows to acquire skills that normally are not emphasized in a more traditional STEM graduate program so that they can have additional career options as professional scientists and engineers.

Solicitation Changes New 600K/5year awards. No track II but 600K/3year continuing projects International component Theme(s) No science ed students Fellows support 2 years max. Diversity and linkages with other programs External evaluator

Operational Changes Reporting guidelines QRC data gathering – Time window Stipend Supplements – Time window Website

GK-12 Intellectual merit How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within own field or across different fields? To what extent does the proposed activity suggests and explore creative and original concepts?

Science must be relevant to society Integration of R & E Broad participation Broad impact