NSF / Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)
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A realignment in the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) has merged the Division of Research, Evaluation, and Communication (REC) and the Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education (ESIE) into a new division, the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL). This revision reflects efforts to increase coordination and coherence across the DRL programs.
The revision of the Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) solicitation to the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) represents a restructuring of efforts to meet the demand for qualified STEM, including information technology workers; to diversify the workforce since women and minorities are underrepresented in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and other STEM fields; and to produce research addressing STEM workforce issues.
ITEST will support three types of projects as standard or continuing grants - Strategies, Scale-up, and Studies - that replace the four previous components: youth-based projects, comprehensive projects, traditional project renewals, and the ITEST resource center. The types of projects that will be supported are
- Workforce Development Strategies projects, to design, implement and test theory and practice-based models intended to interest and prepare students to participate in the STEM workforce, especially information technology, of the future;
- Workforce Development Scale-up projects, to implement and study models designed to prepare students for the STEM workforce, especially in information and communication technology fields, in a large-scale setting such as a state or at the national level, based on evidence of demonstrated success of the model in local settings; and
- Workforce Development Studies projects, to build a general knowledge base by conducting research on the educational challenges associated with STEM workforce capacity, quantity, and career trajectories, especially in information and communication technology fields.
A new track for Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) has been added. I3 projects enable institutions to think and act strategically about the creative integration of NSF-funded awards, with particular emphasis on awards managed through programs in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), but not limited to those awards. For Fiscal Year 2008, proposals are being solicited in six EHR programs that advance I3 goals: CREST, ITEST, MSP, Noyce, RDE, and TCUP. All proposals submitted to I3 through these programs have a common due date and will be reviewed in competition with one another. Awards in the area of I3 will be made to institutions of higher education (including two-and four-year colleges). Given the focus on institutional integration, an institution may submit only one proposal to the I3 competition in only one program.
