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NSF GRADUATE STEM FELLOWS IN K-12 EDUCATION (GK-12)

Status: Archived

Archived funding opportunity

This document has been archived.

Important information about NSF’s implementation of the revised 2 CFR

NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website. These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Synopsis

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. This unique experience will add value to the training of U.S. graduate students and will energize and prepare the students for a broad range of STEM careers in a competitive globalized marketplace. Furthermore, the GK-12 program provides institutions of higher education with an opportunity to transform the conventional graduate education by infusing and sustaining GK-12 like activities in their graduate programs.

Expected outcomes include:

1)  For graduate fellows

Enhanced understanding of their own research subject area, and its societal and global contexts; improved communication skills of STEM subjects with technical and non-technical audiences, leadership, team building, and teaching capabilities.

2)  For K-12 education

Professional development opportunities for teachers in both STEM content and pedagogy; and enhanced learning and STEM career interest for students.

3) For institutions of higher education

Transformation of graduate programs; strengthened and sustained partnerships with local school districts, industry, non-profit sector, etc.; and enhanced institutional impact of graduate education to society.

Program contacts

Members of the NSF-wide GK-12 Committee represent their respective NSF organizations. They contribute funds as well as intellectual and labor capital to the program. In addition to the GK-12 staff, members of the GK-12 committee are:

o Renee D. Crain, Office of Polar Programs

o Fahmida N. Chowdhury, Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences

o Dean Evasius, Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences

o Daniel Mook, Office of International Science and Engineering

o Sally E. O'Connor, Directorate for Biological Sciences

o Celestine H. Pea, Directorate for Education and Human Resources

o Mary F. Poats, Directorate for Engineering

o Elizabeth L. Rom, Directorate for Geosciences

o Uma Venkateswaran, Office of Experimental Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research(EPSCoR)

o Maria Zemankova, Directorate for Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering

General inquiries regarding this program should be made to the GK-12 staff at gk-12@nsf.gov.

Sonia Ortega
Program Director
sortega@nsf.gov (703) 292-8697
Richard McCourt
rmccourt@nsf.gov (703) 292-5199

Awards made through this program

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