ITEST Resources

Welcome to the ITEST Resource Library

The curricula, instruments, and publications included in this library were submitted by ITEST projects and are relevant to the work of the NSF ITEST Program. Use the filters to the right to find relevant materials. A PDF and/or URL to the original resource are included within the resource description whenever possible. In some cases, full text publications are located behind publishers’ paywalls and a fee or membership to the third party site may be required for access.

Please note: permission for the use of instruments must be requested through the publisher or author listed in each entry, and cannot be granted by STELAR.

Nature, Importance, and Assessment of Interests

Publications

Research has provided substantial information about the properties of interests, but has not provided an answer to the basic question: What are interests? Identifying the essence and origin of interests and developing precise definitions of interests have been elusive tasks. Extant theories of career development and vocational interests, that describe the function of interests, hint at but do not directly address the more fundamental question of what interests are.

Career Development and Counseling: A Social Cognitive Framework

Publications

People’s work possibilities and developmental trajectories are affected by many variables, including their personal attributes (e.g., interests, abilities, values), learning and socialization experiences, and the resources, opportunities, and barriers afforded by their environments. Occupational paths are forged not by any one of these forces, but rather by the complex interactions among them.

National Q-12 Education

Publications

Quantum education at the K-12 levels is just getting started. Currently, the Q-12 community is focused on developing both informal and formal learning opportunities for teachers, students, and families. That encompasses new lessons, events, free access to quantum technologies, and information about careers. This site will provide information on educational resources and careers in this exciting area of STEM.

Changing Expectations

Curricular Materials

We partner with Code.org®, a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities. Our vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science, just like biology, chemistry or algebra. Code.org organizes the annual Hour of Code campaign, which has engaged 10% of all students in the world, and provides the leading curriculum for K-12 computer science in the largest school districts in the United States.

Identifying and Supporting Productive STEM Programs in Out-of-School Settings

Publications

More and more young people are learning about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in a wide variety of afterschool, summer, and informal programs. At the same time, there has been increasing awareness of the value of such programs in sparking, sustaining, and extending interest in and understanding of STEM. To help policy makers, funders and education leaders in both school and out-of-school settings make informed decisions about how to best leverage the educational and learning resources in their community, this report identifies features of productive STEM programs in

Project Lead the Way

Curricular Materials

Bringing Real-World Learning to PreK-12 Classrooms A transformative learning experience for both students and teachers. Create lasting impacts in the classroom from preschool through graduation and beyond. Reinventing the Classroom Experience Project Lead The Way provides t ransformative learning experiences for PreK-12 students and teachers across the U.S. We create an engaging, hands-on classroom environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills they need to thrive. Our professional development for teachers provides training, resources, and support to engage students

From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals

Publications

https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/learning-leading-cultivating-next-generation-diverse-food-agriculture

The primary goal of the From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program (NEXTGEN) is to enable 1890 institutions, 1994 institutions, Alaska Native-serving institutions and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions and insular area institutions of higher education located in the U.S. territories to build and sustain the next generation of the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) workforce including the future USDA workforce primarily through providing student scholarship support

Good Jobs Challenge

Publications

Getting Americans Back to Work EDA’s American Rescue Plan $500 million Good Jobs Challenge is making once-in-a-generation investments in high-quality, locally led workforce systems to dramatically transform America’s communities. With a focus on equity, the program is expanding career opportunities for more Americans to reach their full potential and secure good-paying jobs while producing a skilled workforce to ensure the United States is prepared to innovate, compete, and succeed in a 21st Century global economy. The Good Jobs Challenge highlights workforce development as key to accelerating

Map a Career in Clean Energy

Publications

Start building our clean energy future with a career in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). EERE offers opportunities across its technology offices and on its operations team. EERE is fighting the climate crisis by advancing President Biden’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through cutting-edge research that will bring clean energy technologies to communities all across America. But we need your help. Below are various career maps to help you think about what your career can look like in clean energy, based on your education and experience.

Lines of Practice: A Practice-Centered Theory of Interest Relationships

Publications

Based on a three-year-long ethnography of the hobby of model rocketry, I present a practice-centered theory of interest relationships—that is, the pattern of long-term, self-motivated engagement in open-ended practices that has been theorized under the concept of individual interests. In contrast to extant theories of individual interests, in which persistent engagement is pegged to a topic-specific relationship (e.g., a model rocketeer has an interest in the topic of rocketry, broadly conceived), I propose that persistence in a practice of interest is best understood in terms of what I call

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