QUALITY EDUCATION FOR MINORITIES (QEM) NETWORK

Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program One-Day Workshop

E-Center • Jackson State University • 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson, MS 39204

Tel: 601/979-5000

Final Agenda, with presentations, from the March 24 workshop

QEM recently hosted a one-day workshop for minority-serving institutions and their K-12 partners on the new Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program guidelines (NSF 06-539) that were released by the National Science Foundation on February 16, 2006. The workshop took place on Friday, March 24, at the E-center on the campus of Jackson State University, 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson, MS. Prior to the workshop, 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 workshop to offer advice and feedback on participants' proposed project descriptions/summaries.

The new guidelines are available at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06539/nsf06539.htm. We encourage you to download and review them to decide whether your institution is interested in seeking support under this program. Optional, but strongly encouraged, letters of intent to submit a proposal are due Friday, April 14, while full proposals are due Wednesday, May 17, 2006.

In the new MSP Solicitation, NSF is seeking proposals for Institute Partnerships-Teacher Institutes for the 21st Century, especially for the science disciplines in the secondary grades and for elementary science specialists, although innovative proposals for all STEM domains are welcome. As stated on Page 4 of the Solicitation, the overall goal of MSP is to improve K-12 student achievement in mathematics and science through a sharp focus on three inter-related issues:

– ensuring that all students have access to, are prepared for, and are encouraged to participate

   and succeed in challenging and advanced mathematics and science courses;
– enhancing the quality, quantity, and diversity of K-12 mathematics and science teacher workforce; and
– developing evidence-based outcomes that contribute to our understanding of how students

   effectively learn mathematics and science.

The project summary, of not more than one page in length, should be prepared in accordance with the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) (http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?gpg) (see page 21). According to the GPG, the summary should be 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 must clearly and separately address both of NSF's two Merit Review Criteria: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. The Foundation will return proposals without review that do not separately address the two criteria in the project summary.

If you would like further information, please contact Shirley McBay, Project Director at  smmcbay1@qem.org, or via telephone at 202/659-1818.