Request for Information; Extension of Public Comment Period
| Citation | 85 FR 67379 |
| Record Number | 2020-23443 |
| Published date | 22 October 2020 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | National Science Foundation |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 205 (Thursday, October 22, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 205 (Thursday, October 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67379-67382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23443]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Request for Information; Extension of Public Comment Period
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Extension of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: On September 4, 2020, the National Science Foundation, on
behalf of the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC)
Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM), and in coordination with the
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), requested
input related to the implementation of the Federal STEM Education
Strategic Plan, Charting a Course For Success: America's Strategy for
STEM Education. The original notice was open for a 45-day public
comment period; NSF is now seeking an extension of the comment period.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted no later than November 20,
2020, 11:59 p.m. EST.
ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice may be
submitted online to: [email protected]. Email submissions should be
machine-readable [PDF, Word] and not copy-protected. Submissions in the
subject line of the email message should include ``Individual/
Organization Name: STEM RFI Response'' (e.g., Johnson High School: STEM
RFI Response).
Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Each individual or
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organization is requested to submit only one response. Submission must
not exceed 6 pages in 12 point or larger font, with a page number
provided on each page. Responses should include the name of the
person(s) or organization(s) filing the comment. Comments containing
references, studies, research, and other empirical data that are not
widely published should include copies or electronic links of the
referenced materials.
Please indicate on the first page of the response which
question(s), identified by category and question number, you are
responding to. It is not necessary or required to respond to all
questions. Please only respond to the questions that are relevant to
you and/or your stakeholders and provide a brief description of the
perspective from which you are sharing (e.g., I am a teacher, parent,
or represent a non-profit STEM organization). If responding to more
than one question, please identify the category and question number(s)
(e.g., ``Federal STEM Education Online Resource, questions 1-2'',
``Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM, question 4'', ``Strategic
Partnerships, questions 9-11'', etc.) with specific response(s)
directly below it.
No proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally
identifiable information should be submitted in response to this RFI.
In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 15.201(e), ``RFIs
may be used when the Government does not presently intend to award a
contract, but wants to obtain price, delivery, other market
information, or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses to these
notices are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form
a binding contract.'' Additionally, those submitting responses are
solely responsible for all expenses associated with response
preparation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, please
direct your questions to [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This request is in alignment with 42 U.S.C.
6621(b)(5) of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, Public
Law 111-358, which calls for CoSTEM to develop, implement, and update
every 5 years a STEM Education Strategic Plan. This information request
also addresses current and future changes in education systems that
have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Information gathered from
this request may be used to guide future Federal STEM education
resource development.
Categories in this Request for Information focus on the following
elements of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan:
Future opportunities in STEM education;
Develop STEM education digital resources;
Increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM;
Engage students where disciplines converge;
Develop and enrich strategic partnerships;
Build computational literacy; and
Community use and implementation of the Federal STEM
Education Strategic Plan.
In December 2018, The White House released the Federal STEM
Education Strategic Plan, Charting a Course for Success: America's
Strategy for STEM Education to provide a vision for a future where all
Americans have access to high-quality STEM education. This strategy was
intended to serve as a ``North Star'' for the broader STEM community to
help achieve its goals, pathways, and objectives.
The GOALS of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan:
Build Strong Foundations for STEM Literacy;
Increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM; and
Prepare the STEM Workforce for the Future.
The Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan is built on four PATHWAYS
representing a cross-cutting set of approaches, each with a specific
set of objectives for achieving these goals:
Develop and Enrich Strategic Partnerships;
Engage Students where Disciplines Converge;
Build Computational Literacy; and
Operate with Transparency and Accountability.
These four pathways have the potential to catalyze and empower
students, educators, employers, and communities to benefit learners at
all levels and to harmonize the realization of a shared vision for
American leadership in STEM literacy, innovation, and employment.
Questions for Feedback
Provided below are categories from which the Government is seeking
your input. Please respond to those questions within your
(organization's) area of expertise or need. In your response, please
identify the category(s) and question number(s) to which you are
responding.
Future Opportunities in STEM Education
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, education systems (including
preK-12, postsecondary, adult, and informal) were required to make a
sudden shift to remote or asynchronous teaching and learning, and this
may continue in the near term. Please provide insights to the questions
below based on current experiences. For each response below please
indicate the education system (preK-12, postsecondary, adult, and
informal) that covers your response and whether you are addressing
school systems, schools, teachers/faculty/instructors, learners, other,
or more than one category.
1. What COVID-19 related digital barriers (e.g., access to
broadband or computers, digital learning platforms, online educational
resources) have you found most prominent, impactful, or difficult to
overcome? Are these barriers resolved fully, or partially? If resolved,
how was that achieved? If not resolved, what barriers remain to
resolving the challenge?
2. What new or existing educational programs, opportunities, or
concepts would enhance remote (both synchronous and asynchronous)
education? Please indicate which education system you are addressing
and if the interventions are targeted toward schools, teachers/faculty/
instructors (e.g., virtual field experiences for preservice teachers,
flexibility in scheduling classes, virtual internships, micro
credentialing), learners (e.g., pre-recorded sessions focused on
enabling consistent instruction with individualized delivery options),
or other areas.
3. What positive experiences using remote learning technologies
have you had in recent months and how can they be enhanced or
institutionalized to present new opportunities in STEM education? How
has [or could] the Federal Government helped support these innovative
technologies?
4. What are the greatest challenges that have emerged related to
inequities in STEM with the shift to online education and training?
What solutions did you identify, and what gaps remain in your ability
to deliver/receive equitable STEM education services? How did you
measure your solution's success?
5. What areas of professional learning would be most beneficial to
educators providing remote instruction (e.g., utilizing formative
assessment, small group collaboration, facilitating meaningful
discourse or inquiry, creating rigorous alternative
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assessments for those without access to technology/broadband)?
6. What data/information is the most important to collect about
STEM education during the disruption of educational systems because of
COVID-19? What data are you collecting currently related to the shift
in education because of COVID-19?
7. What experience does your school system have with interoperable
learning records or precision learning systems? If used, please share
any barriers, solutions, or other information relevant to their
effectiveness particularly related to digital barriers and the impact
or effectiveness related to distance education. How were these concepts
used or modified in response to COVID?
8. What actions did your STEM Learning Ecosystem take to support
learning in response to COVID-19? Were these actions helpful? What
barriers prevented you from taking additional actions that may have
been useful?
Develop STEM Education Digital Resources
The Federal Government is seeking information on web-based STEM
educational resources and opportunities for preK-12 teachers, post-
secondary faculty, educational institutions, informal educators,
parents, and students.
9. What type of web-based resources and opportunities would you
hope to find on a STEM education website? Are there existing resource
websites that could serve as a model for a Federal website? If so,
please provide a link for reference. What aspects of this website
should be utilized in a Federal website if such a site were developed?
10. Please describe your primary audience (e.g., I primarily work
with 7th grade science students in a formal classroom setting) and how
the STEM education resources you identified above would help you serve
your audience.
11. How would you like to see resources categorized (e.g.,
subjects, topics, grade bands, Federal agency, other)? Do you have an
example of another website that is categorized in this way? If so,
please provide a link for reference.
Increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM
STEM education practices and policies at all levels should embody
the values of inclusion and equity. All Americans deserve access to
high-quality STEM education, regardless of geography, race, gender,
ethnicity, socioeconomic status, veteran status, parental education
attainment, disability status, learning challenges, and other social
identities. For each response below, please indicate the education
system or career experience for which you are responding.
12. What are the methods utilized by your organization to increase
the recruitment, retention, inclusion, achievement, or advancement of
individuals from groups that are underrepresented and underserved in
STEM? For context, please briefly provide information on what groups
your organization targets through these interventions? How are these
interventions evaluated for success?
Engage Students Where Disciplines Converge
Real world STEM problems require students to ask and answer
questions across traditional disciplinary boundaries. This type of
transdisciplinary learning, or convergence, is encouraged to produce
STEM-literate talent capable of integrating knowledge to produce
innovative solutions. Toward this objective, the Federal STEM Education
Strategic Plan aims to (1) enable STEM educators through upskilling,
resourcing, and providing a forum to share best practices; (2) support
the dissemination of transdisciplinary education best practices and
programs, and (3) expand support for STEM learners to study
transdisciplinary problems.
13. How do you or your organization use transdisciplinary learning,
integrated STEM, convergence, or engineering design (e.g., a community
or global design/innovation challenge) in your experience? What topical
areas in your curriculum do you teach to provide transdisciplinary
learning opportunities? What approaches do you use to teach
transdisciplinary learning? Why do you use this approach (e.g., more
engaging for students, school/administration promotes transdisciplinary
learning) and how does it benefit your students' learning?
14. How has your ability to teach transdisciplinary concepts to
your students changed in recent months because of the shift to remote
teaching and learning? What teaching modalities have you employed to
deliver transdisciplinary instruction virtually?
15. What training have you/your organization received in any of
these approaches for teaching STEM education: Transdisciplinary,
integrated, convergence, or engineering design, etc.? Please describe
the training, if any (including university coursework or professional
development), that helped you/your organization prepare to teach STEM
using an integrated or transdisciplinary approach. Why was that
specific training helpful, and if not, what could be done differently?
16. If you are an educator or school system and interested in using
a more integrated or transdisciplinary approach to teaching STEM, what
professional development would help you teach in this way? What
specific delivery mechanism work well for you (e.g., online course,
webinar, in-person workshop)? What technology tools would be helpful
for you when using a transdisciplinary approach?
17. If you are a student, what specific delivery mechanism works
well for you (e.g., online course, webinar, in-person workshop)? What
technology tools would be helpful for you to enhance your learning and
engagement to deliver transdisciplinary education to your students?
Develop and Enrich Strategic Partnerships
The Federal Government seeks perspectives to building STEM learning
ecosystems through cross-sector strategic partnerships that promote
work-based learning programs aimed at reskilling and upskilling. For
the following questions, a STEM education partnership is a group of
multi-sector partners united by a common vision of creating accessible,
inclusive STEM learning opportunities that increase STEM literacy,
expose learners to multiple STEM career pathways, and prepare Americans
for jobs of the future.
18. What factors drive successful work-based learning programs?
What elements encourage or discourage students, schools, or industries
from participating? How can Federal agencies expand partnerships with
the private and non-profit sectors and educational institutions to
train the workforce needed for jobs of the future through work-based
learning opportunities? If your organization provides work-based
learning opportunities, how has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your
program? How has your organization made adjustments in response?
19. If you are currently engaged in a STEM learning ecosystem, what
are the characteristics of success? What is the role of the private
sector in a successful STEM learning ecosystem? What is your STEM
ecosystem doing to support STEM education since the COVID-19 pandemic
began?
Build Computational Literacy
The Federal Government seeks information on building computational
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literacy in STEM education. In the Federal Strategy for STEM Education,
computational literacy includes digital literacy, cybersafety,
cyberethics, cybersecurity, data science, data security, intellectual
property (IP), computational thinking, artificial intelligence, quantum
information science, and digital platforms for teaching and learning.
Considering this definition, please answer the questions below:
20. What are the benefits when integrating computational literacy
within a STEM curriculum and/or with related standards, guidance, or
resources? Please describe any challenges when integrating aspects of
computational literacy into your instructional delivery.
21. What components, key concepts, or topics should be included to
integrate computational literacy into STEM education at all levels?
Please explain what they are and why they merit special attention.
22. What are existing programs, content, curriculum, or education
and training opportunities that inform successful examples of building
computational literacy in STEM education? Identify both Federal and
non-federally sponsored research and programs.
23. What technologies and resources do you currently use (e.g.,
apps, learning management systems, collaborative tools, STEM websites,
websites linked to curriculum)? Are there others you would like to use,
that you do not have access to both for in-person and remote teaching
and learning?
Community Use and Implementation of the Federal Stem Education
Strategic Plan
The Federal Government seeks information on community utilization
of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan.
24. Please describe how your organization has used the Federal STEM
Education Strategic Plan. How does your work align with the goals and
pathways identified in the Strategy (provided above)? What changes have
you made to your program or activity in response to the Federal
Strategy?
Thank you for taking the time to respond to this Request for
Information. We appreciate your input.
Dated: October 19, 2020.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2020-23443 Filed 10-21-20; 8:45 am]
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