The Triangle Coalition (TC) will support fifteen outstanding K-12 science and mathematics teachers in FY10 for 11-month fellowships at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The fellowships are being provided via the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program through a Congressional mandate to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The Triangle Coalition manages the Einstein program on behalf of DOE. NSF is one of the participating federal agencies cited in the mandate and has supported fellowships since 1994.
The objectives of the program are to: (1) provide outstanding STEM teachers the opportunity to bring to Congress, and appropriate branches of the Federal government the insights, extensive knowledge, and practical experience of classroom teachers; (2) increase the understanding, communication, and cooperation between Congress and Federal agencies; (3) increase the understanding, communication and cooperation between the Federal government and the science, technology and mathematics education community; and (4) gain insights and an understanding of national educational issues which can then be transferred back to the classroom.
Each year the Fellows engage in a wealth of STEM and discipline-based activities within their respective directorates/offices. Internally, these activities will include regular meetings and discussions about research, discoveries, and practices; NSB and directorate-wide advisory meetings (as appropriate); seminars; briefings; "brown bags"; and distinguished lectures of national and international prominence. Externally, the Fellows will engage in a broad spectrum of activities, which may include interactions with their respective members of Congress and their staffs; visits to the Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Institutes of Health, the Library of Congress, and the National Academy of Sciences.
In addition to the vast number of activities offered through internal and external sources, teachers will serve out their tenure in twelve different directorates/offices at NSF, which include the Directorates of Biological Sciences, Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Education and Human Resources, Engineering, Geosciences, and the Offices of Cyberinfrastructure, Polar Programs, and International Science and Engineering. These teachers represent twelve states that include California, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Washington, DC. Other agencies participating in the program include NASA, NOAA, and DOE with Fellows on Capitol Hill; in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists. Through structured and non-structured opportunities for networking, these combined activities will significantly broaden the teachers' understanding of STEM education and policy regarding national educational issues in STEM that can be transferred to their local districts, schools, and classrooms.
