PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Director of the National Science Foundation, through the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, must keep giving competitive, peer-reviewed grants to support research and development in informal, out-of-school, and new STEM learning settings. Grants must fund work that improves STEM learning and engagement, grows knowledge about informal STEM education, builds a national partnership of informal STEM institutions, and brings art and design into STEM programs. Funded work can focus on one STEM subject, several, or mixed STEM efforts. It can study how people learn in informal places, design and test new learning models and their ability to scale, support partnerships with schools and museums and colleges, create and share activities and materials, and test programs that mix art and STEM to boost creativity. For PreK–12 students, the Director must award merit-reviewed grants to colleges and nonprofits for research on ways to engage students, including those from underrepresented groups and rural areas. The goals are to teach core STEM ideas well, get more youth interested in STEM careers, and widen participation. Grants must support R&D of before-school, after-school, summer, or out-of-school activities that build interest, engagement, and skills. Allowed activities include running programs for study, hands-on learning, role models and near-peer mentors, training program leaders, career information and academic help, prep for events or competitions (including buying needed supplies), family engagement, leadership-building strategies, working with STEM-rich partners, and buying materials or tech. Applicants must describe the target students, how they will be recruited, how activities will inform programming and boost achievement, and an evaluation plan with outcome measures. Recipients must report each year. The Director must evaluate the program using common benchmarks, share results and any recommendations within 180 days of finishing the evaluation, and coordinate with other federal agencies.

Title 42, §1862q

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Grants

The Director of the National Science Foundation, through the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, shall continue to award competitive, merit-reviewed grants to support—

(1)research and development of innovative out-of-school STEM learning and emerging STEM learning environments in order to improve STEM learning outcomes and engagement in STEM;

(2)research that advances the field of informal STEM education;

(3)a national partnership of institutions involved in informal STEM learning; and

(4)the integration of art and design in STEM educational programs.

(b)Uses of funds

Activities supported by grants under this section may encompass a single STEM discipline, multiple STEM disciplines, or integrative STEM initiatives and shall include—

(1)research and development that improves our understanding of learning and engagement in informal environments, including the role of informal environments in broadening participation in STEM;

(2)design and testing of innovative STEM learning models, programs, and other resources for informal learning environments to improve STEM learning outcomes and increase engagement for K–12 students, K–12 teachers, and the general public, including design and testing of the scalability of models, programs, and other resources;

(3)fostering on-going partnerships between institutions involved in informal STEM learning, institutions of higher education, and education research centers;

(4)developing, and making available informal STEM education activities and educational materials; and

(5)design and testing of programming that integrates art and design in STEM education to promote creativity and innovation.

(c)PreK–12 informal STEM

(1)In general

The Director of the National Science Foundation shall make awards, through existing programs where appropriate to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such intuitions or organizations) on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis for research on effective approaches to engaging students in PreK–12, including students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM and rural students.

(2)Purposes

The purposes of this subsection are to—

(A)provide effective, compelling, and engaging means for teaching and reinforcing fundamental STEM concepts to PreK–12 students;

(B)expand the STEM workforce pipeline by increasing the number of youth in the United States exposed to STEM from an early age and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM-related fields; and

(C)broaden participation of groups historically underrepresented in STEM and rural students, in the STEM workforce.

(3)Use of funds

(A)In general

Awards made under this subsection shall support research and development on innovative before-school, after-school, out-of-school, or summer activities that are designed to encourage interest, engagement, and skills development in STEM, including for students from groups historically underrepresented in STEM and rural students.

(B)Permitted activities

The research and development activities described in subparagraph (A) may include—

(i)the provision of programming described in such subparagraph for the purpose of research described in such subparagraph;

(ii)the use of a variety of engagement methods, including cooperative and hands-on learning;

(iii)exposure of students to role models in the fields of STEM and near-peer mentors;

(iv)training of informal learning educators, youth-serving professionals, and volunteers who lead informal STEM programs in using evidence-based methods consistent with the target student population being served;

(v)education of students on the relevance and significance of STEM careers, provision of academic advice and assistance, and activities designed to help students make real-world connections to STEM content;

(vi)the preparation of students to attend events, competitions, and academic programs that provide content expertise and encourage career exposure in STEM, which may include the purchase of parts and supplies needed to prepare for participation in such competitions;

(vii)activities designed to engage parents and families of students in PreK–12 in STEM;

(viii)innovative strategies to engage students, such as using leadership skills and outcome measures to impart youth with the confidence to pursue STEM coursework and academic study;

(ix)coordination with STEM-rich environments, including other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations, out-of- classroom settings, institutions of higher education, vocational facilities, corporations, museums, or science centers; and

(x)the acquisition of instructional materials or technology-based tools to conduct applicable award activity.

(4)Application

An applicant seeking funding under this subsection shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as may be required by the Director. Applications that include or partner with a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that has extensive experience and expertise in increasing the participation of students in PreK–12 in STEM are encouraged. At a minimum, the application shall include the following:

(A)A description of the target audience to be served by the research activity or activities for which such funding is sought.

(B)A description of the process for recruitment and selection of students to participate in such activities.

(C)A description of how such activity or activities may inform programming that engages students in PreK–12 in STEM.

(D)A description of how such activity or activities may inform programming that promotes student academic achievement in STEM.

(E)An evaluation plan that includes, at a minimum, the use of outcome-oriented measures to determine the impact and efficacy of programming being researched.

(5)Evaluations

Each recipient of an award under this subsection shall provide, at the conclusion of every year during which the award funds are received, a report in a form prescribed by the Director.

(6)Encourage applications

In making awards under this subsection, the Director shall encourage applications which, for the purpose of the activity or activities funded through the award, are from or include eligible nonprofit programs serving students that attend elementary schools or secondary schools (including high schools) that—

(A)are implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 6311(d) of title 20; or

(B)serve high percentages of students who are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) (which, in the case of a high school, may be calculated using comparable data from the schools that feed into the high school).

(7)Accountability and dissemination

(A)Evaluation required

The Director shall evaluate the activities established under this subsection. Such evaluation shall—

(i)use a common set of benchmarks and tools to assess the results of research conducted under such awards; and

(ii)to the extent practicable, integrate the findings of the research resulting from the activity or activities funded through the award with the current research on serving students with respect to the pursuit of degrees or careers in STEM, including underrepresented and rural students, in PreK–12.

(B)Report on evaluations

Not later than 180 days after the completion of the evaluation under subparagraph (A), the Director shall submit to Congress and make widely available to the public a report that includes—

(i)the results of the evaluation; and

(ii)any recommendations for administrative and legislative action that could optimize the effectiveness of the program under this subsection.

(8)Coordination

In carrying out this subsection, the Director shall, for purposes of enhancing program effectiveness and avoiding duplication of activities, consult, and coordinate with other relevant Federal agencies.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(6)(B), is act June 4, 1946, ch. 281, 60 Stat. 230, which is classified generally to chapter 13 (§ 1751 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1751 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was enacted as part of the STEM Education Act of 2015, and not as part of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10319(b)(1), added par. (4). Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10319(b)(2), added par. (5). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–167, § 10311(b), added subsec. (c). 2017—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 114–329, § 311(a), added par. (3). Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 114–329, § 311(b), added pars. (3) and (4).

§1862q Informal Stem Education