ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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This is apparently Smithsonian's budget request to become the informal science mothership.  If you take out the grantspeak, you are left with "the" and "and."
My favorite line is:  "Teachers have historically rated Smithsonian content both online and at convenings."

I love the smithsonian, and wish them the best, and I think there is a germ of an idea here.  But if the budget is built on quicksand like this, then it won't go far.  And of course 25 million is chicken feed in the larger context.

Finally, I saw in an interview with the head of NSF that their allocations for EHR, including informal, are not "significantly reduced" in this budget.

Eric

Smithsonian FY 14 Request – STEM Education
 
STEM Engagement (+$25,000,000) — The Administration places a very
high priority on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) education and has set ambitious goals and a bold reorganization
of STEM education programs that uses existing resources more effectively
and in a more streamlined, consolidated way. The Smithsonian, along with
the Department of Education, will lead the STEM engagement effort to
provide improved curriculum and relevant products for schools, teachers,
and students, based on identified needs.

REVITALIZING EDUCATION
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement —
(+$25,000,000, 48 FTEs)
 
The Smithsonian is requesting $25 million to provide inspiring STEM experiences for teachers and students by drawing on the scientific and engineering assets of the federal Government — including scientists, labs, satellites, museums and research centers. The Smithsonian will serve as a conduit between federal 25 mission agencies, other non-profits — including the Smithsonian’s 170 Affiliate museums — and the Department of Education and school districts. The Institution will grow and support learning communities that include educators in schools and informal learning settings; assist with the identification of curriculum in a variety of modalities; and work with our partners to identify, develop and disseminate new STEM engagement materials and experiences and professional development opportunities that take into consideration the Next Generation Science Standards and align with state standards.
 
The Smithsonian will work collaboratively with federal agencies offering STEM programs so that we may: create content that takes advantage of each agency’s unique assets, create complementary materials and avoid duplication of effort, and share a centralized portal for the broad dissemination of our engagement offerings. The Smithsonian will also create a knowledge-transfer infrastructure that serves students and teachers as well as the scientists and educators who are creating these educational assets.
 
The Smithsonian will manage these endeavors by creating a centralized oversight group that will coordinate the efforts of STEM engagement providers, including Smithsonian units, mission agencies and other non-profit collaborators. We will also increase the capacity of Smithsonian units that offer programs, experiences and services in the creation, dissemination and evaluation of STEM education content. Additional information is included in the Outreach section.
 

EXPLANATION OF CHANGE — STEM (48 FTEs and $25,000,000)
To meet future workforce needs, and to leverage their expertise and unique assets in support of STEM education, federal agencies have developed a range of education programs. In the absence of a single guiding plan, these efforts have proliferated over many years to include over 220 programs across 13 different agencies at an annual federal investment of almost $3 billion. Many of these initiatives are not effectively aligned either to the needs of students or to national priorities, and this fragmented approach to investment has made it difficult to reform and improve Federal STEM education efforts. The Administration is proposing a comprehensive reorganization of STEM programs across the government to facilitate a cohesive national strategy of STEM education programs to increase the impact of Federal investments in four areas: K-12 instruction; undergraduate education; graduate fellowships; and education activities that typically take place outside the classroom.
 
The reorganization involves consolidating or restructuring 114 programs across 11 agencies and improving the delivery, impact, and visibility of STEM efforts. Nearly $180 million will be redirected from consolidated programs to the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Smithsonian Institution to implement initiatives in the four core reform areas. The Administration will ensure that all science mission agencies have input into the development and implementation of these initiatives so that they align with agency goals while improving STEM education at all levels in a streamlined way.
 
As part of this reorganization, the Smithsonian is requesting +$25 million and will serve as a conduit between federal mission agencies, Smithsonian units, other non-profit organizations (including the Smithsonian’s 170 Affiliate museums), the Department of Education, and school districts. We will work collaboratively to create informal STEM engagement resources and experiences that advance agencies’ unique assets, support the creation of complementary materials, avoid duplication of effort, share a centralized portal for the broad dissemination of engagement offerings and create opportunities for the cross-referencing of content on agency sites.
 
Informal STEM engagement resources include: curriculum development, professional development, as well as inspirational and out-of-classroom educational experiences that are aligned with State standards so that they are relevant to what students are learning in the classroom.
 
The Smithsonian will manage this collaborative initiative by creating a centralized group that will coordinate the efforts of STEM engagement providers and increase the capabilities of our technical team. We will also work with education specialists at each site and increase the capacity of all participants to create, disseminate and evaluate STEM education resources and experiences. The following chart details the requested STEM engagement increases:
 
Items                                                                                     $(000)                                     FTEs  
SERVICES
Co-Creating Content and Programs                            9,032                          21
Develop Infrastructure to Deliver Content                   8,924                           8
CREATING COMMUNITY
Teachers, Students, and Agency Partners                5,834                           14
EVALUATION
Learning and Evolving                                                 1,210                           5
TOTAL                                                                        $25,000                       48
 
 
Goal 1: Co-Creating Content and Programs (+$9,032,000, +21 FTEs) —
Collaborating with its partners to create a cohesive strategy for the creation and dissemination of informal STEM engagement resources
The Smithsonian will: identify materials from Smithsonian units and partnering federal agencies engaged in informal STEM education efforts that will be aligned with school curriculum. We will create new resources and experiences that have a measurable impact; engage in front-end evaluation to determine the appropriate uses for the content as well as the audiences; develop and implement strategies for content dissemination that might include distance learning, Web-based content, apps, games/simulations, webinars, and other scalable approaches; and establish feedback loops with educators and learners to facilitate course correction.
 
Goal 2: Developing and Maintaining an Infrastructure to Deliver Content
(+$8,924,000, +8 FTEs) — Creating a portal for the transfer of knowledge that supports the work of the collaborators
The Smithsonian is piloting MySI, an online Participant Access System that will enable centralization of education assets and interactive relationships with users. MySI will be used to tag, manage, and disseminate standards-aligned STEM content developed by partners working in the public and non-profit sectors. Staff will align all content with learning standards, create finder tools so that the content can be cross-referenced, and develop a surveying capacity, content management tools, and a portal for the collection and management of citizen-science data. This system will also generate daily access and usage metrics for all content creators and stakeholders.
 
Goal 3: Creating Community/Teachers and Students/Agency Partners
(+$5,834,000, +14 FTEs) — Creating learning communities that identify and share research and best practices
Teachers have historically rated Smithsonian content both online and at convenings.
Based on the requests of teachers, the Smithsonian has undertaken a long-term research and evaluation program to understand their needs. The Smithsonian is developing a toolset that allows teachers to aggregate learning resources from a variety of sources so that they may customize learning experiences and align content and activities with local standards. They can then share their resources with their students and peers. This tool is currently in the prototype stage. Concurrently, the Smithsonian also creates both online and on-site opportunities for content developers to share their research, vet their projects and collaborate on new ideas. These opportunities will be offered to all participants and managed with MySI tools.
 
Goal 4: Evaluation/Learning and Evolving (+$1,210,000, +5 FTEs) — Creating an
evidence-based approach to resource development that leads to pre-tested, effective and appropriately targeted assets
The Smithsonian embraces evaluation as a tool for STEM engagement in both formal and informal learning settings. Our approaches to evaluation include the use of logic models as tools for planning and assessment, front-end evaluation, rapid-prototyping, pre- and post-assessments, random control studies, the development of assessment tools and online surveys, and the collection of data on the use and effectiveness of content. We are committed to refining and upgrading resources and experiences based on new research and evaluations.
 
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