Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Awards

The Literacy Grants program was initiated to mobilize members and resources of Phi Kappa Phi and the higher education community to champion literacy initiatives. Grants of up to $2,500 are available to Phi Kappa Phi chapters and individual members to fund ongoing literacy projects or to create new initiatives. The Society's commitment to the cause of literacy grows out of and is consistent with its mission, which was expanded to include "…and to engage the community of scholars in service to others."

Amount: $2,500

Date due: April 1, 2012

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Math & Science Partnerships (NSF)

The 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 STEM performance of diverse student populations. MSP projects contribute to what is known in K-12 STEM education. All STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields supported by NSF may be involved in this work, with special encouragement to areas that are gaining increased traction at the K-12 level, such as computer science and engineering, in addition to mathematics and science. MSP projects also serve as models that have a sufficiently strong evidence/research base to improve STEM education outcomes for all students.

Through this solicitation, NSF seeks to support two levels of Targeted Partnership awards, Implementation and Prototype. Implementation awards are intended to develop and put into practice innovative approaches and strategies in education. Prototype awards explore potentially innovative approaches and strategies in education. Both types of Partnerships incorporate significant new innovations to STEM education, linked to a strong educational research agenda, in one of four focal areas: Community Enterprise for STEM Learning; Current Issues Related to STEM Content; Identifying and Cultivating Exceptional Talent; and K-12 STEM Teacher Preparation. In addition, there are three types of Research, Evaluation and Technical Assistance (RETA) project opportunities in this solicitation: research related to sustainability, or policies, or state plans for STEM education; technical assistance for evaluators of MSP projects; and the STEM Education Resource Collaboratory.

Amount: $500,000 - $1.5m (yearly for 3 - 5 years)

Date due: March 5, 2012

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Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership

The Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership (MTE-Partnership) is a partnership of institutions of higher education and K-12 schools, districts, and other organizations working collaboratively to redesign secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs. The partnership will provide a coordinated research and development effort for secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs in order to meet the challenges of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and to embody research and best practices in the field.

The partners will participate in a conference in early Spring 2012 designed to identify guiding principles underlying the effort, as well as priorities for action. Based on these recommendations, an application process will be used to select a subset of around 8 core partners who will organize the research and development process with continued involvement of the full partnership. The National Science Foundation is supporting the initial planning. Substantial long-term funding will be sought to sustain a continuing research and development effort.

Applications will be accepted until January 31, 2012, although screening of completed applications will begin in mid-January. Click here for more information.

Fund for Teachers

Fund for Teachers is the national donor supported organization that awards fellowships for self-designed professional growth to teachers who recognize the value of inquiry, the power of knowledge and their ability to make a difference. FFT provides fellowship grants directly to teachers, with more than three years of experience, to support their professional learning during the summer. Their experiences come in many forms, but share the purpose of better teaching. Ultimately, FFT believes that by experiencing the potential of their personal and professional learning, teachers in turn inspire potential in their students. This grant opportunity is only available for teachers at the following schools:

• Health and Science School, Beaverton
• Springville ES, Beaverton
• Rimrock Expeditionary Alternative Learning Middle School (REALMS), Bend
• City View Charter School, Hillsboro
• Arts and Technology High School, Wilsonville

Due date: January 27, 2012

For more information, click here.

NEA Leadership grants

NEA's Learning & Leadership grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes:

• Grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research; or
• Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.

All professional development must improve practice, curriculum, and student achievement. "One-shot" professional growth experiences, such as attending a national conference or engaging a professional speaker, are discouraged. Decisions regarding the content of the professional growth activities must be based upon an assessment of student work undertaken with colleagues, and must be integrated into the institutional planning process. Grant funds may be used for fees, travel expenses, books, or other materials that enable applicants to learn subject matter, instructional approaches, and skills. Recipients are required to exercise professional leadership by sharing their new learning with their colleagues.

Amount: $2,000 for individuals; $5,000 for groups

Date due: February 1, 2012

For more information, click here.

NEA Foundation grants

Applications for student-achievement grants from the NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education. Grants of $5,000 each will support individuals whose work engages students in critical thinking and problem solving that increase their knowledge of curricular subject matter. Proposals that focus on enrolling low-income or minority students in advanced coursework are especially encouraged. Eligible applicants include faculty from colleges and universities.

Amount: $5,000

Date due: February 1, 2011

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Discovery Research K-12 Program

The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students, teachers, administrators and parents. All DRK-12 projects should be framed around a research question or hypothesis that addresses an important need or topic in preK-12 STEM education. The emphasis in DRK-12 is on research projects that study the development, testing, deployment, effectiveness, and/or scale-up of innovative resources, models and tools. DRK-12 invites proposals that address immediate challenges that are facing preK-12 STEM education as well as those that anticipate a radically different structure and function of pre-K 12 teaching and learning.

DRK-12 especially encourages proposals that challenge existing assumptions about learning and teaching within or across STEM fields, envision the future needs of learners, and consider new and innovative ways to support student and teacher learning. DRK-12 is particularly interested in projects that hold promise for identifying and developing the next generation of STEM innovators (NSB, 2010). There are four strands described in detail in the solicitation: 1) Assessment; 2) Learning; 3) Teaching; 4) Scale-up.DRK-12 projects are based on theories of learning, prior research and development. Projects reflect the needs of an increasingly diverse population as well as national, state, or discipline priorities. Outcomes include usable and scalable resources, models, tools, and contributions to the knowledge about STEM teaching and learning. In addition, teachers and students who participate in DRK-12 studies are expected to enhance their understanding and use of STEM content, practices and skills.The DRK-12 program is primarily concerned with the goals and effectiveness of formal education, but recognizes that learning is not limited to formal school environments and times. The program encourages projects to draw from knowledge and practice of learning in out-of-school and informal settings.Most young people and STEM professionals today use powerful technologies in the activities of their everyday lives. New knowledge, new ways of thinking, and new ways of finding and processing information drive our society and economy. Many of the resources, models and tools researched and developed by DRK-12 will provide innovative ways to use current and emerging technologies to transform STEM education.DRK-12 recognizes that outstanding teaching is a critical and integral component of this improvement process. While

Strand 3 has a specific focus on resources, models and tools for teacher education and the impact of those models on student learning, projects submitted to the other strands may also include teacher support materials or professional development components in support of student learning. Projects submitted to the Learning strand might also include the development of assessments related to the specific goals of the project. Some DRK-12 projects focus on a specific STEM discipline or concept, while others have cross-disciplinary, cross-grade level content, but all projects must demonstrate that the content is important from both a disciplinary and learning perspective. Full Research and Development projects are expected to lead to successful dissemination and adoption of findings or products in the preK-12 enterprise at a scale beyond that directly supported by the grant.

Amount: $1 million

Date due: January 10, 2012

For more information, click here.