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INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers

Grant: Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)
Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Division: Education and Human Resources
Deadline: Letter of Intent due September 20, 2012; Full Proposal due November 13, 2012.

Description: The ITEST Program responds to current concerns and projections about the growing demand for professionals and information technology workers in the U.S. and seeks solutions to help ensure the breadth and depth of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) workforce. ITEST supports research studies to address questions about how to find solutions. It also supports the development, implementation, testing, and scale-up of implementation models. The target audience is kindergarten through highschool age and projects may focus on any NSF supported content area related to the STEM and ICT workforce.
 
ITEST has four types of projects for consideration:

  • Research projects enrich the understanding of issues related to enlarging the STEM and ICT workforce.
  • Strategies projects design, implement, and evaluate interventions that support K-12 students' engagement in authentic, relevant experiences that reflect the skills, knowledge and practices represented in the STEM and ICT workforce and motivate students to pursue STEM and ICT careers.
  • Scale-up projects implement and test models to prepare students for information technology or the STEM workforce of the future in a large-scale setting such as at state or national level.  
  • One Resource Center will be funded to provide technical support for all ITEST projects and have responsibility for national dissemination of program models, materials and best practices.

Fit for Public Broadcasting: This program draws on public broadcasting's strength in science education. While the grant program is research-oriented, one recent grant went directly to a station as the principle investigator:

As of 2010, WGBH had received over $2 million through this program for the third season of Design Squad. They describe their project as follows: "Design Squad is a PBS reality competition series-with an accompanying outreach campaign and Web site -designed to inspire a new generation of engineers. Through the show, teenagers learn to think smart, build fast, and contend with a wild array of engineering challenges-all for real-life clients. Targeted to 9- to 12-year-olds, and fun for people of all ages, this fast-paced TV series is the fuel behind a national, multimedia initiative designed to attract kids to engineering."

The plan is to continue to build on the excitement and momentum created during Seasons I and II, while also creating many innovations in project deliverables. More specifically, the four overarching goals are to:

  • Expand the project's reach into the middle school classroom with materials that will enable teachers to integrate engineering into their curriculum.
  • Broaden participation with the television show by casting contestants nationwide and producing three challenges at locations around the country (the Nevada desert, New Orleans, and Alaska).
  • Create the first online community where kids can share their real-world engineering projects and provide a richer video viewing experience with embedded "pop-up" commentary.
  • Support existing partnerships especially with engineering professional societies, while forming new ones.

Eligibility: Let your higher education partner take the lead on this research-intensive program. A winning proposal will require a strong collaboration between institutions of higher education, LEAs and additional interested parties such as public broadcasting.

How to apply: Submission of a letter of intent is required. Full applications may be submitted via NSF FastLane or Grants.gov.

Anticipated funding:  15 to 20 grants totaling $20,000,000 for new ITEST projects will be available in FY 2013.

  • Research projects will range from three to five years in duration, with award sizes up to $1.2 million.
  • Strategies projects will be for up to three years in duration, with award sizes up to $1.2 million. 
  • Scale-up projects will range from three to five years in duration, with award sizes up to $2 million. 
  • The Resource Center will be supported for a three year duration with a total award size of up to $2 million.

Resources
Program notice
Program website