§1862n–2 Establishment of Centers for Research on Mathematics and Science Learning and Education Improvement

Summary

The Director must give competitive, peer-reviewed grants to colleges, universities, or eligible nonprofit groups (alone or working together) to create Centers for Research on Learning and Education Improvement. Each Center will bring together people from cognitive science, education, and related fields to study how students learn and to find ways to use those findings in K–12 math and science classrooms. Each Center will tackle a different teaching problem. The Director will work with the National Academy of Sciences and the Secretary of Education when picking topics and will tell applicants what each Center’s focus will be. At least one Center must center on taking research findings and applying, copying, and scaling them up in low-performing elementary and secondary schools. When it makes sense, Centers should measure and improve how information technology is used in teaching math and science. Groups that ask for money must submit an application describing their first research projects and how they will choose new ones, how they will work with other researchers and schools, how they will join physical, biological, and social scientists, how they will involve K–12 teachers and school leaders, and how they will put research into practice and check whether it works. The Director will pick winners based on things like ability to do the work and translate it to classrooms, experience in learning-and-teaching research, ability to recruit diverse teachers, and support for graduate students doing related research. The Director must try to make sure the Centers’ work helps a wide range of students, including those named in sections 1885a or 1885b. The Director will hold a yearly meeting for the Centers and will work with the Secretary of Education to share results with teachers and give training and guidance so teachers understand and can use the research in their classrooms.