Math and Science Partnership Program Overview
With the MSP program, the National Science Foundation implemented an important facet of the President's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) vision for K-12 education. A major research and development effort, the MSP program responds to concern over the performance of the nation's children in mathematics and science. Institutions of higher education - their disciplinary faculty in departments of mathematics, the sciences and/or engineering, education faculty and administrators - partner with K-12 districts and others to effect deep, lasting improvement in K-12 mathematics and science education through the following Five Key Features of this program:
In launching its Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program in 2002, the National Science Foundation (NSF) assumed important responsibilities for building the capacity to implement a key facet of the President's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) vision for K-12 education.
Now in its fourth year, the MSP program at NSF is recognized as a research and development effort for building capacity and integrating the work of higher education - especially its disciplinary faculty in mathematics, the sciences and engineering - with that of K-12 to strengthen and reform science and mathematics education. The MSP seeks to improve student outcomes in mathematics and science for all students, at all K-12 levels. As overall student achievement rises, MSP projects are expected to significantly reduce achievement gaps in the mathematics and science performance of diverse student-populations. The MSP program therefore supports the development, implementation and ultimate sustainability of promising partnerships among institutions of higher education, K-12 schools and school systems and other important stakeholders to:
- Ensure that all K-12 students have access to, are prepared for and are encouraged to participate and succeed in challenging and advanced mathematics and science courses;
- Enhance the quality, quantity and diversity of the K-12 mathematics and science teacher workforce; and
- Develop evidence-based outcomes that contribute to our understanding of how students effectively learn mathematics and science.
To achieve these goals, the MSP program emphasizes (a) partnerships between institutions of higher education -- especially their disciplinary faculty in mathematics, science and/or engineering -- and local school districts; (b) institutional/organizational change in all core partners that ensures the sustainability of promising policies and practices derived from evidence collected in project work; and (c) scholarly engagement that builds on and extends the existing educational research base. These domains are the distinguishing characteristics of the MSP program at NSF and constitute its key features: partnerships that effectively engage science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplinary faculty; teacher quality, quantity and diversity; challenging courses and curricula; evidence-based design and outcomes; and institutional change and sustainability.
The MSP program is comprised of three distinct components: Comprehensive and Targeted (C&T) Partnerships, Institute Partnerships: Teacher Institutes for the 21st Century and Research, Evaluation and Technical Assistance (RETA) awards. Comprehensive Partnerships implement change across the K-12 continuum in mathematics, science or both. Targeted Partnerships focus on improved student achievement in a narrower grade range or disciplinary focus in mathematics and/or science. Institute Partnerships, the newest component of the MSP portfolio, build on the acknowledged strengths of the original NSF Teacher Institutes, while giving attention to the changing needs of teachers in our time. The Institutes develop school-based teacher intellectual leaders with deep content expertise in mathematics, science and related technologies who are excited about newer developments in these fields and who have the disciplinary depth and stature to engage their colleague teachers and motivate students towards continued study of mathematics and science in advanced courses. The MSP-RETA component of the portfolio assists Partnership awardees in the implementation and evaluation of their work through (a) the conduct of focused research and studies designed to guide improvements in educational practice and learning, (b) the development of tools and resources to assess progress and make educational work more strategic and (c) increased capacity-building to engage in educational evaluation and research.
Through a series of competitions held during the 2002 through 2004 period and following extensive external merit review, 80 awards have been made to projects across the nation. Collectively, the funded Partnerships bring together about 150 institutions of higher education with some 450 K-12 school districts and a host of other stakeholders. Corporate and business partners include Pfizer, Inc.; Ford Motor Company; Texas Instruments, Inc.; Xerox Corporation; GlaxoSmithKline; Progress Energy; International Business Machines Corporation; Merck & Company, Inc.; Synopsys, Inc.; Agilent Technologies and Intel Corporation.
The degree and the means of engagement of disciplinary faculty in MSP projects are notable. Not only do disciplinary faculty provide inservice professional development in mathematics and the sciences for teachers, they also engage in the redesign of undergraduate courses to better prepare the next generation of teachers, work directly with K-12 students in summer camps and other venues, bring to their university classes a willingness to be more reflective about their own teaching practice and engage in numerous and varied experiences that challenge and precipitate a rethinking of their traditional beliefs about K-12 education.
The array of partnerships and MSP-RETA projects constitute the MSP Learning Network, a network of NSF-funded researchers and practitioners who study and evaluate promising strategies to improve student achievement in mathematics and science. MSP Learning Network activities are expected to contribute to a stronger knowledge base for educational reform; to support the development of a culture of evidence throughout the MSP program; to strengthen the integration of educational research and practice and to contribute to the nation's capacity to engage in, support and understand large-scale education innovation.
The MSP program is a collaboration between two federal agencies, the NSF and the U.S. Department of Education (ED), who have defined the program linkages necessary to manage this joint investment in mathematics and science education for the greatest effectiveness.
NSF will make no new awards for Partnerships in 2005.
For more information, please visit the NSF Math Science Program Website.