STELAR Materials

The attached document provides an overview of the National Science Foundation's ITEST Program. The data for this report was derived from Management Information System (MIS) survey data from 2003-2017, a survey of newly-awarded projects in 2018, and from the NSF report of all ITEST project awards.

ITEST Data Brief Volume 5, Issue 1, August 2018. This data brief explores the partnerships that ITEST projects engage in for project planning and design, implementation, dissemination, and evaluation.

ITEST Data Brief Volume 3, Issue 4, January 2017. This data brief explores the strategies that ITEST projects use to communicate their findings, including the products they create, where they disseminate their work, and what audiences they reach.

ITEST Data Brief Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2016
This data brief provides information on the composition of ITEST project participants, what activities they engage in, in what settings, and what projects feel contributes to their project's success based on projects submissions to the 2014-2015 ITEST Management Information System (MIS) Annual Survey.

ITEST Data Brief Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2015

The fourth annual MIS report, a program-wide summary of ITEST projects, was released in January 2013. This report, prepared with data from the fourth annual ITEST Management Information System (MIS) administration in 2012, describes who ITEST projects served, how many participants they served, the structure of the project, their intended outcomes, and how those outcomes were measured.

ITEST Data Brief Volume 1, Issue 3, June 2012

The National Science Foundation ITEST Program explicitly states its commitment to focus on students from groups underserved and underrepresented in STEM and ICT-intensive careers. The ITEST Management Information System (MIS) asked projects to identify characteristics of their student participants, and this Data Brief explores that information to see whether and to what degree projects are working with underserved and underrepresented students.

ITEST LRC Data Brief Volume 1, Issue 2

ITEST LRC Data Brief Volume 1, Issue 1

This Data Brief provides a descriptive summary of project findings submitted to the Management Information System by ITEST projects active in 2011-2012.

The second annual MIS report, a program-wide summary of ITEST projects, was released in July 2011. This report, prepared with data from the second annual ITEST Management Information System (MIS) administration in 2010, describes who ITEST projects served, how many participants they served, the structure of the project, their intended outcomes, and how those outcomes were measured.

The first annual MIS report, a program-wide summary of ITEST projects, was released in June 2010. This report, prepared with data from the first annual ITEST Management Information System (MIS) administration in 2009, describes who ITEST projects served, how many participants they served, the structure of the project, their intended outcomes, and how those outcomes were measured.

August is typically known as national "Back to School" month in the US, but in the era of COVID-19 this phrase might need to be appended with "online."  Depending on your area, schools may be planning to hold in-person, hybrid, or remote learning this fall, and those plans could change in the coming weeks. Now may be a good time to review the rich resources available if you need to continue your planned activities online.

The Black Lives Matter movement has ignited renewed calls for equality and has caused individuals, institutions, and organizations to turn inward and reflect on their role in a system built on racism and oppression. As these conversations continue, they highlight how deeply racism runs through every facet of life; justice, poverty, health, and of course education. As education researchers, the ITEST community is well-situated to study these issues, to explore ways of making learning more equitable, and to make recommendations to the larger field.

Did you know that more than 50% of the world’s oxygen is produce by the ocean? It also stores 50 times more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere. The ocean plays a crucial role in our lives and there are many ways people can help protect it.

ITEST project proposals are required to include a communication strategy for disseminating their findings. The National Science Foundation places a particular emphasis on these communications reaching broader audiences including scholars, practitioners, policymakers and the public.

The ITEST program is committed to preparing our nation's youth, especially those underrepresented in STEM fields, to participate in the rapidly-changing STEM workforce of the future. ITEST projects explore innovative approaches in increasing students awareness of STEM-related fields and motivating them to pursue STEM courses of study, while also identifying the most promising models, tools, and strategies. This research advances our knowledge on how best to prepare the youth of today for the careers of tomorrow.

Since its inception, the ITEST program has funded projects developing strategies, tools, and models focused on increasing students' awareness of STEM and STEM careers and motivating students to pursue the appropriate education pathways for those fields.

One of the keys to having youth pursue STEM careers is developing their personal interest in science and technology. Often, hands-on activities in out-of-school contexts provide diverse youth with low-pressure, non-academic environments in which they can explore their interests more freely than they may be able to in a school setting.

ITEST projects are informed by career education theory and engage students in experiences that: (1) increase student awareness of STEM and related careers; (2) motivate students to pursue the education necessary to participate in those careers; and/or (3) provide students with technology-rich experiences that develop their knowledge of related content and skills (including critical thinking skills) needed for entering the STEM workforce. Below are selected resources to help you learn more about workforce development in STEM education.

All ITEST projects are expected to produce empirical findings and/or research tools that contribute to knowledge about which models and interventions with K-12 students and teachers are most likely to increase capacity in the STEM workforce of the future.

The Hour of Code is upon us! This national campaign is designed to encourage students around the world to try their hand at computer programming. Below are selected computer science-focused projects, resources and publications that provide a rich history of what the ITEST program has achieved in this area.

This month, we highlight resources that offer guidance in recruiting and retaining diverse participants in STEM programming. 

Three webinars -- Strategies for Increasing Diversity in STEM Learning Environments (2014), Research and Strategies for Engaging African American and Latino Families in Informal STEM Education (2012), and Engaging Diverse Learners in STEM Education (2008) -- highlight specific strategies, successes, and challenges related to engaging and retaining diverse learners and their families in STEM programming. 

A key component of the technical support offered by STELAR (and by the LRC from 2003-2012) has been in helping projects to develop rigorous and relevant project evaluations that can provide formative and summative feedback to project leaders to improve their project and determine impact.

This STELAR Monthly Highlight showcases existing resources on the STELAR website focused on professional development. ITEST projects work in both informal and formal education, and in both settings a critical component of that work is engaging adults, whether teachers or informal educators, in the content and pedagogy of each ITEST project. ITEST projects have worked with more than 8,000 teachers across the country and provided them with strategies, tools, and models to increase student knowledge of, and interest in, STEM and STEM careers.

In April and May of 2020, STELAR hosted National Science Foundation Program Officers for a series of informative webinars on the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Program’s Solicitation (NSF 19-583). View the presentation, slides, and additional resources provided during these events.

On Thursday, June 20, 3:00-4:30 pm STELAR hosted National Science Foundation Program Officers Alejandra Sorto and Amy Wilson-Lopez for an informative webinar on the 2019 Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Program Solicitation (NSF 19-583).

During the webinar Program Officers reviewed the goals of the ITEST program, detailed the revisions made to the 2019 solicitation, and provided guidance on developing a successful submission.

On May 30, 2019 STELAR hosted NSF Program Officer Robert Russell for a webinar that shared information about NSF Maker initiatives and NSF funded work in the Maker Education field.

This webinar featured expert guidance for ITEST PIs and evaluators on writing successful and useful NSF ITEST annual reports. During the webinar Drs. David Haury and Robert Russell shared key information and insights on what should be covered in reports, and addressed questions posed by attendees.

On April 2, 2014 the STEM Learning and Resource Center (STELAR) hosted an outreach event to introduce the goals of STELAR, celebrate the launch of our website, and to make new connections in conjunction with the NSTA conference in Boston.

This report outlines the discussions and outcomes of the Advancing Research on Youth Motivation in STEM Convening held at Boston College (Chestnut Hill, MA) in September 2011. The convening was hosted by the ITEST Learning Resource Center (LRC) at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC).

EDC, in partnership with the National Girls Collaborative Project and MPR Associates, Inc., convened a 3-day meeting comprised of NSF-funded ITEST grantees, researchers in STEM workforce development and informal learning, STEM industry leaders, and philanthropic organizations.

The STELAR ITEST PI & Evaluator Summit is an annual opportunity for ITEST Principal Investigators (PIs) and evaluators to come together and share successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the ITEST program. 

The STELAR ITEST PI & Evaluator Summit was held on Monday and Tuesday, May 2-3, 2016, at the Westin Arlington Gateway in Arlington, VA. The Summit was an opportunity for ITEST Principal Investigators (PIs) and evaluators to come together and share successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the ITEST program. More than 150 people attended the Summit, representing 80 ITEST projects.

STELAR hosted the NSF Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Principal Investigator & Evaluator Convening on Tuesday, August 19, and Wednesday, August 20, 2014, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. The convening was for active ITEST PIs and evaluators and was an opportunity to share successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the ITEST program. The event preceded the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Principal Investigator Meeting at the Marriott Wardman Park.

Recorded webinar sessions from the Ninth Annual NSF ITEST Summit are linked below.

In addition to an NSF cross-program panel and keynote addresses, this Summit featured numerous breakout sessions hosted by ITEST project PIs and evaluators in 4 strands: Shaping educational pathways to STEM careers, Embedding research and assessment into project work, Evaluation, and Topics of general interest.

Embedding Research and Assessment into Project Work

This Summit's focus was on Using Evaluation-Research Methodology to Inform Workforce Development Strategies and Project Scale-Up. Several of the summit presentations and panels were archived.

See link to Summit highlights.

This Summit's focus was on New Learning and the New Learner: Harnessing IT to Reinvent the Education Landscape. Key Summit activities addressed these important issues facing our nation's workforce:

The 2005 Summit Symposium event brought together ITEST project staff and invited external thought leaders. This publication summarizes key points of the panelists for the session on "The Importance of IT & STEM Learning: Behind the ITEST Agenda," and documents dimensions of the ITEST projects' work and impact on learning & careers. 

The proliferation of new technologies has changed the way we live, learn, and work. Although the future of work is unclear, thought leaders, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), assert that artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics, and machine learning will be ubiquitous in tomorrow’s workplaces.

In today's world of high accountability, strong evidence on intended outcomes is key to building credibility and replicability of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs.  This primer, for program directors/managers, educators and others responsible for developing and implementing STEM programs:

The report includes examples drawn from projects in the national ITEST program which seeks to ensure the breadth and depth of the U.S. STEM workforce.

The ITEST Small Working Group on Computational Thinking (CT) has completed its White Paper titled: Computational Thinking for Youth.  The paper aims to describe what computational thinking looks like when practiced by youth in ITEST and other NSF funded programs and how educators can support growth in computational thinking.  It shares examples of CT as observed in middle school projects.  It also shares observations in the form of a model that describes three stages that youth

Preparing Tomorrow's STEM Workforce through Exploration, Equity, and Engagement is a product of the previous ITEST Learning Resource Center (LRC) and includes a series of six articles (plus a preface) highlighting key themes and lessons learned in the first five years of the ITEST program.

This 2010 ITEST Information Brief shares examples and data about how the ITEST program strives to connect workforce development needs and K-12 learning in and out of school.

The first issue of the Insights and Innovations in STEM Learning series synthesizes learnings from a thematic analysis of ITEST projects’ reported outcomes, challenges, and innovations. 

The ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC developed an online database of instruments developed by ITEST project evaluators and researchers from 2003 to 2007. This 2007 article details the purpose and development of that database and highlights three instruments from it that represent the kind of evaluation tools archived there. While the database is no longer available, the three instruments described in the article provide useful examples of project-developed evaluation tools.

The focus of this literature review is out-of-school time activities in informal environments, a “vastly understudied” set of experiences (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development 1992), and the role these experiences can have in shaping the direction of youth to pursue STEM careers.

This report on a webcast hosted by the ITEST Learning Resource Center identifies resources and key success strategies for engaging girls in STEM, offered by an expert panel of speakers from the ITEST community, private sector and research and policy fields.

In this Idea Brief, Principal Investigators from three youth-based ITEST projects discuss how community partnerships strengthen their efforts to recruit and retain diverse participants.

ITEST LRC Idea Brief Volume 1, June 2005

This Idea Brief shares tips and tricks from four different ITEST projects around planning and implementing summer programs. 

This Idea Brief from the ITEST LRC provides a concise, information-rich reference that reveals what inclusive programs can look like and offers some practical tips for getting there.

The 2005 Summit Symposium event brought together ITEST project staff and invited external thought leaders. This publication summarizes key points of the panelists for the session on "The Importance of IT & STEM Learning: Behind the ITEST Agenda," and documents dimensions of the ITEST projects' work and impact on learning & careers. 

ITEST LRC Info Brief Volume 1, July 2004

ITEST project staff contributed to thoughtful discussion around how specific technologies can be harnessed to enhance academic learning and creative expression.

ITEST LRC Info Brief Volume 2, September 2004

This publication addresses the concept that equity in education refers not only to equal access or equal treatment, but to education that addresses the differing needs of different populations and that produces equitable outcomes, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, and class.

On July 11, 2011 Joyce Malyn-Smith and Siobhan Bredin presented “Seven Lessons Learned in Eight Years of Hosting the ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC,” as part of a panel session for a cross-division audience of National Science Foundation program officers who are interested in including resource centers in their upcoming program solicitations.

Presented by Joyce Malyn-Smith and Siobhan Bredin at the National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, July 2011.

The STELAR Brochure is a two-page document that contains detailed information about STELAR's goals and the services STELAR provides to the ITEST community.

Check out these upcoming presentations at NSTA, AERA, ASEE and ISTE. Click on the PDFs for more details about each in the handouts.

AERA

Technology-Enhanced Agency for Community Engagement ● Presenter: Bob Coulter (Missouri Botanical Garden)

Elements of design-based science teaching that affect middle school students’ motivation ● Presenter: Brett D. Jones (Virginia Tech)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected EDC to continue its role as the resource center for the ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) program.