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Math and Science Partnership Program
Together We Can Make It Work
QEM Mathematics,
Science,
and Engineering (MSE) Network
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The National Science Foundation (NSF) Math and
Science Partnership (MSP) program is a major research and development effort
that supports innovative partnerships to improve K-12 student achievement in
mathematics and science. MSP projects are expected to raise the achievement
levels of all students and significantly reduce achievement gaps in the mathematics
and science performance of diverse student populations. NSF's MSP program coordinates
its effort with the Mathematics and Science Partnerships program of the U.S.
Department of Education in the expectation that effective innovations in mathematics
and science education will be disseminated into wider practice. The two programs
are significant components of the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (Public Law
110-69).
With NSF support, the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network conducted a Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program Proposal Development Workshop on May 20-21, 2010, at the BWI Airport, in Baltimore, MD. The Workshop provided assistance to institutions interested in submitting MSP Institute Partnerships and MSP–Start Partnership proposals (described below under "Types of Awards"). See the 2010 NSF MSP solicitation.
The NSF QEM/MSP grant provided support for the participation of three-person institutional teams from minority-serving institutions with accredited teacher education programs. Teams included a mathematics, science, or engineering faculty member from the institution; an official representative of a school district in proximity to the institution; and a member of the institution’s teacher education faculty. Prior to the Workshop, participating teams interested in Institute Partnerships – Teacher Institutes for the 21st Century grants were required to submit a brief concept paper (no more than two pages), based upon the new MSP Solicitation (NSF 10-556), while teams interested in MSP–Start Partnerships were required to submit a one-page project summary, to QEM. The concept papers and project summaries were used during the Workshop to provide feedback to the teams in small group discussions led by NSF/MSP Program Officers, QEM senior staff, and consultants.
BACKGROUND: Research shows that a majority of students from minority groups underrepresented in science and engineering who enroll in college are under-prepared for success in mathematics and science. As a result, most minority-serving institutions must offer remedial/developmental instruction to entering freshmen, particularly in mathematics. The need to enroll in such courses serves as a strong deterrent to the selection of mathematics or a science discipline as an undergraduate major. Among the possible causes of this under-preparation of students are (1) teachers who have not been/are not prepared to offer high-quality mathematics and science instruction and (2) middle and high schools that do not offer challenging courses in mathematics and science. Minority-serving institutions with serious interest in addressing these or other root causes of this continuing disservice to minority high school graduates were strongly urged to participate in the QEM/MSP proposal development workshop.
TYPES OF MSP AWARDS: In the FY 2010 MSP solicitation (NSF
10-556) released April 8, 2010, NSF seeks to support
five types of awards:
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Targeted Partnerships: focus
on studying and solving teaching and learning issues within a specific
grade range or at a critical juncture in education, and/or within a specific
disciplinary focus in mathematics or the sciences;
-
Institute Partnerships – Teacher
Institutes for the 21st Century: focus on meeting national
needs for teacher leaders/master teachers who have deep knowledge of
disciplinary content for teaching and are fully prepared to be school-
or district-based intellectual leaders in mathematics or the sciences;
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MSP-Start Partnerships: for awardees new to the MSP program, especially from minority-serving institutions,
community colleges and primarily undergraduate institutions, to support
the necessary data analysis, project design, evaluation and team building
activities needed to develop a full MSP Targeted or Institute Partnership;
-
Phase II Partnerships: for prior NSF MSP Partnership awardees to continue implementation on specific innovative areas of their work where evidence of the potential for significant positive impact is clearly documented. The intent is that there will be focused efforts to carry out the necessary research to advance knowledge and understanding in the specific area(s); and
-
Research, Evaluation
and Technical Assistance (RETA) projects: (a) study the relationships among MSP activities and student learning using theoretically informed, methodologically rigorous methods; (b) develop and validate instruments of teacher or student knowledge that MSPs and others can use to assess the impact of their work, or (c) provide technical assistance to MSP projects to help them rigorously evaluate their work.
The Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) track is not included in this solicitation as the due date for I3 proposals has passed for this year.
FULL
PROPOSAL DEADLINE DATES (due by
5 p.m. proposer's local time):
– July 8, 2010: Institute Partnerships,
MSP-Start and Phase II Partnerships, RETA
Projects
– October 14 ,
2010: Targeted
Partnerships
See NSF
MSP Program for more information
PREVIOUS QEM/MSP WORKSHOPS
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), QEM conducted a workshop at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at BWI Airport on Thursday-Friday, June 11-12, 2009, in Baltimore, MD focused on Targeted Partnership Proposals that Minority-serving institutions and their school district partners might submit to the NSF’s Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program by the August 20, 2009 deadline. See the 2009 MSP solicitation. Targeted Partnerships seek to improve student achievement in a specific grade range and/or with a specific disciplinary focus in mathematics or the sciences.
. . . . .  Baltimore BWI Airport • June 11-12, 2009 ....... FINAL Agenda
On February 14-15, 2008 in Washington, DC,
QEM hosted an NSF-supported proposal workshop, for minority-serving institutions
and their K-12 partners, focused on the FY 2008 Math and Science Partnership
(MSP) Program guidelines (NSF
08-525). QEM supported the
participation of three-person teams that included a mathematics, science,
or engineering faculty member from a minority-serving institution that offers
an accredited teacher education program; an official representative of a
school district in proximity to the institution; and a member of the institution’s
teacher education faculty. Participating teams
submitted a brief concept paper (no more than two pages), based upon the
Program guidelines, that was used during the workshop to provide feedback
to the teams in small group discussions led by NSF/MSP Program Officers,
QEM senior staff, and consultants.
. . . . MSP Technical Assistance Workshop, Washington, DC • February 14-15, 2008 AGENDA . .
In March 2006, QEM hosted two one-day
workshops for minority-serving institutions and their K-12 partners on the
Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program guidelines (NSF
06-539) that were released by the National Science Foundation
on February 16, 2006. Prior
to the workshops, participants were asked to prepare and submit a self-contained
description of the activity that would result if a proposal were funded.
In addition to including a statement of objectives and methods to be
used, the one-page summary was required to clearly and separately address
both of NSF's two Merit Review Criteria: Intellectual Merit and
Broader Impacts. NSF Program Officers and QEM consultants
were available during
the workshops to offer advice and feedback on participants' proposed
project descriptions/summaries.
The first workshop, for Tribal Colleges and Universities and their
K-12 partners, took place on Sunday, March 12, 2006 atthe
Millennium Harvest House, 1345 28th Street, in Boulder,
CO. (SEE
AGENDA)
The second workshop took place on Friday, March 24, 2006 at the E-center
on the campus of Jackson State University, 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson,
MS.
(SEE
AGENDA)
 See
AGENDA from the March 24, 2006
QEM MSP workshop in Jackson, MS
See
AGENDA from the March 12, 2006 QEM MSP workshop in Boulder,
CO If you would like further information, please contact Shirley McBay, Project Director by e-mail at smmcbay1@qem.org or by telephone at 202/659-1818. |
