Module 8 - Putting It All Together
Overview | Project Description | Proposal Section | Project Summary | Proposal Steps | Resources
Project Summary
Your Project Summary will be one-page in length (approx. 4,500 characters) and consists of an overview, a statement on intellectual merit, and a statement on broader impacts.
You can think of your Project Summary as the executive summary for your proposed project. Per the ITEST Solicitation, the first sentence of your Project Summary must state your project type (Exploring Theory and Design Principles (ETD); Developing and Testing Innovations (DTI); Scaling, Expanding, and Iterating Innovations (SEI), and describe the STEM content emphases being explored through your proposed project. The PAPPG dictates that the Project Summary must also contain the following sections; overview, statement on intellectual merit, and a statement on broader impacts. We recommend you thoroughly read both the PAPPG and ITEST Program Solicitation sections on Project Summary (found here; PAPPG 2D2b, and here ITEST Solicitation "Project Summary"). You will find key excerpts from each document below.
The Project Summary consists of an overview, a statement on the intellectual merit of the proposed activity, and a statement on the broader impacts of the proposed activity.
- The overview includes a description of the activity that would result if the proposal were funded and a statement of objectives and methods to be employed.
- The statement on intellectual merit should describe the potential of the proposed activity to advance knowledge.
- The statement on broader impacts should describe the potential of the proposed activity to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.
The Project Summary should be informative to other persons working in the same or related fields, and, insofar as possible, understandable to a broad audience within the scientific domain. It should not be an abstract of the proposal. The first sentence of the overview must indicate the type of ITEST project being submitted. The overview must describe the STEM content emphases; the approach to be designed, implemented, and evaluated; and the participants to be targeted, including the age ranges or grade levels of student participants.
PAPPG II.C.2.b. (p. II-11)
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Write the opening sentence of your Project Summary
Your first sentence should state your project type (EDT,DTI, SEI), identify the STEM content being addressed, and provide a brief statement on what your project activities will entail.
Example of Project Summary opening sentence:
This Exploring Theory and Design Principles (ETD) (project type) project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase students' motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) (STEM content) by designing, developing, implementing, and studying a socio-technological system for group-centered STEM teaching and learning consistent with a nationally recognized pre-service program (project activity).
Using the template below, write the opening sentence of your Project Summary:
This [PROJECT TYPE] project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to [STEM CONTENT] by [PROJECT ACTIVITY].