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NSF > EHR > DGE > Programs > NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12)

Welcome to the NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) Program website.

NOTE: This website is a work in progress. New information and links are added daily. We anticipate that the site will be complete by mid-September. Please keep checking back for newly added items.

We are glad to note your interest in this program. This site contains a wealth of information about the program itself and the projects within it. It was compiled as a service to those contemplating application within the near future; to those already funded who want to discover what other sites are doing; and to the general public interested in learning about this experiment in enriching graduate education and encouraging productive university/K-12 school partnership. We strongly suggest that as a means of gaining an in depth understanding of the program, before submitting a proposal to this program, first time applicants consult not only the Program Solicitation but also information about and from current sites and advice to them. Although this site includes links to other websites, this does not imply an endorsement of those sites or the material they contain. Also please be aware that we check information and links once a year (usually in August) so that you may find some links to be inactive and some information not as timely as you might wish.

  • General information concerning the program: The GK-12 program supports fellowships and associated training that enable graduate students and advanced undergraduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to serve in partnership with mentor teachers in K-12 schools as resources knowledgeable about both the content and applications of these disciplines. Academic institutions apply for awards to support fellowship activities. Institutions are responsible for: 1) selecting Fellows; 2) partnering with school districts for placement of Fellows in schools; 3) providing appropriate training for Fellows, and 4) designing and implementing an effective mechanism for documenting the outcomes of the project. The Fellows serve as resources for teachers in science and mathematics instruction. Expected outcomes include (for the Fellows) improved communication and teaching skills transferable to a variety of occupations, and enhanced ability to function within and capitalize on working partnerships and teams; (for K-12 Teachers) professional development opportunities; (for K-12 students) enriched learning opportunities in the sciences and mathematics. (for universities and K-12 schools) enduring, mutually beneficial partnerships between institutions of higher education and local school districts. As an agency-wide activity the GK-12 program supports projects from the full spectrum of National Science Foundation (NSF) disciplines including the social, behavioral and economic sciences, mathematical and physical sciences, biological sciences, engineering, computer and information science, and the geosciences. Awards are for initial projects of up to three years (Track 1, Initial Track) with the potential to apply for a follow-on project of up to five years (Track 2, Follow-on Track).

    New Program Solicitations are issued annually, usually about January. If there are no substantial changes the new solicitation will bear the same number as that of the previous year, but with due dates updated. The Advice to New Sites and Guidelines for Annual and Final Reports were written in 2004 and reflect advice from current participants concerning what they have found useful and of NSF staff concerning the way in which they hope sites will package their reports.
 
  • Information describing awardees: Below are links to information concerning current GK-12 awards. Included in these links is a spreadsheet that contains information about each of the projects that has been awarded GK-12 funds (name of institution awarded funds, the year the award was made, the K-12 grades served, subject matter included, existence of a website and whether the website contains lesson plans and/or modules). The sites listed on the spreadsheet are listed alphabetically by the name of the institution. Clicking on the name of the institution that is of interest to you will take you to the abstract of that site. Clicking on the website entry next to that site will take you to their website. The site abstracts are arranged alphabetically within the year they were funded. They give a brief synopsis of what the site planned to do and include the current Principal Investigator's name and email address as well as a repeat of the url of their website (for those that have one) so you can contact them should you want more information about what they are doing. For those sites where the current Principal Investigator (PI) differs from the original, the email listed is that of the current PI. The site map gives a sense of the distribution of GK-12 projects.

  • Information concerning current practices and findings: Below are links to information concerning current GK-12 awards. Included in these links are statistics concerning the number and nature of the Fellows, teachers and schools participating and of their offerings in the schools; the reports of the evaluator charged with describing practices current in the program and evaluating the program's impact; reports from the sites of their year's activities with an emphasis on outcomes and achievements (nuggets); and a summary of information garnered by a review of annual and final reports from GK-12 projects.
    • Statistics concerning GK-12, collected and aggregated annually
    • Reports from the program's external evaluator (American Institutes for Research)
    • Reports from GK-12 Sites Indicating Notable Achievements (Nuggets)
      FY 2004
      FY 2003
      FY 2002
    • Summary of information gathered from GK-12 Annual/Final Project Reports

  • Proceedings from Meetings: Below are links to materials presented publicly concerning the GK-12 program. These include proceedings from the Annual National GK-12 Project Meetings, proceedings from regionally sponsored GK-12 Project Meetings; presentations concerning GK-12 at Professional Society National meetings and links to articles published in refereed journals. This information is beneficial to current and future project development as it provides a portfolio of information with discussions related to how GK-12 projects improve and strengthen their program as well as implementation strategies.

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