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