Workshop Overview

This invitation-only workshop will bring together NSF DTS and CAREER awardees as well as leaders in science, math, and technology education to consider how we can understand and guide the creation of science, math, and technology learning resources for the future. In particular, workshop participants will take steps to:
  • understand the current alignment or mis-alignment of textbooks, electronic resources, and inquiry-based Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education,
  • look into the future and imagine what the most effective mix of learning resources might look like, and
  • disseminate this knowledge and vision to the rest of the community to catalyze change.

There will be several fundamental outcomes of the workshop including:

  • this website which will serve as a portal for the information we gather and ideas we generate,
  • a white paper with recommendations for future research and funding, and
  • an action plan to disseminate workshop findings to the broader science, math, and technology community.

The program will include a limited number of short, provocative talks by experts in a wide variety of fields whose goal will be to stimulate discussion among attendees. There will be large amounts of time for discussion in small and large groups. Attendees are encouraged to prepare posters detailing their research or creative endeavors as it relates to the conference. These posters will be available for viewing during the conference and should be uploaded as resources to this website.

Workshop participants

All DTS awardees are encouraged to register for the workshop. Each DTS awardee who plans to attend the workshop is very strongly encouraged to invite a CAREER awardee to attend with a personal letter and by directing the CAREER awardee to this web site. The CAREER awardee could be from the DTS awardee's institution, a personal acquaintance of the DTS awardee, or someone within the awardee's discipline. To help you find a CAREER awardee to invite, we have used the NSF data base to compile an EXCEL file that can be downloaded below. To download the EXCEL file of CAREER awardees, click here (Excel 2.1MB Feb18 06) .

Workshop Venue

The National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington DC, has graciously allowed us to use their facilities for this workshop. The workshop hotel is the State Plaza, 2117 E Street, N.W., Washington DC, located only two blocks from the meeting rooms at the academy. Click on the map below to see or print a larger version.

map

Financial Support

Through the generosity of the National Science Foundation, we are able to offer an $800 stipend to each faculty from outside the DC area who attends all three days of the workshop. The stipend should cover the cost of airfare and hotel lodging for two nights as well as local transport and incidentals including meals while on travel. All costs associated with meals served during the workshop will be paid by the organizers.

Each person will be responsible for his or her room, tax, and incidental charges. A credit card is required at check-in to the workshop hotel (the State Plaza).

Dates

The workshop will begin on Wednesday afternoon, May 24, 2006 at 5:00 PM and will end at 12:00 PM on Friday, May 26. Participants are strongly encouraged to attend all sessions.

Expectations

Participants are expected to:

  • contribute to the understanding of textbook and learning resource use by taking a short survey prior to the conference and by fully completing questions that are part of the conference registration form,
  • contribute to the resource collection housed on this website prior to and following the workshop,
  • prepare in advance for workshop discussions via several short readings,
  • participate fully in the entire workshop, and
  • assist as your time and interest allow in follow-on activities leading to broad dissemination of workshop findings.

For More Information

Please contact Paul Bierman, University of Vermont, Professor, Geology Department and School of Natural Resources, pbierman@uvm.edu, 802 656-4411.