The Board on Science Education (BOSE) of the NRC is a standing committee of the National Academies. This proposal requests core support for BOSE so that it can continue to provide national leadership in science education. Specifically, BOSE (1) improves the knowledge base for science education; (2) identifies critical issues in science education policy and practice; (3) translates research and disseminates evidence-based information; and (4) builds an interdisciplinary community of scholars to bring knowledge to bear on important issues in science education.
To carry out its mandate, BOSE conducts studies, sponsors workshop and works with government representatives to surface emerging policy issues. The Board has identified the following priorities for the next few years: ? Intersection on research on learning and science education ? Cyber-enabled learning and teaching ? Analysis of the Education System to enable implementation and scale-up ? Reaching diverse populations ? Intersection of science and science education
The core support enables two two-day Board meetings each year, coordination with DBASSE and other units of the Academy, and regular meetings between NSF and the Academies.
The National Research Council’s (NRC) Board on Science Education (BOSE) was established in 2004 with five principal goals: Provide national leadership in science education pre-K through adulthood within informal and formal settings (K-16); Improve the knowledge base for science education by charting the frontiers for research on science education; Identify critical issues in science education policy and practice and provide evidence-based strategies for addressing them; Narrow the gap between science education research and practice by translating research into evidence-based guidelines for practice and disseminating them; and Develop the intersection of science and science education by building an interdisciplinary community of scholars whose expertise can be brought to bear on current issues in research, policy and practice. During its nearly 10 year history, BOSE has become a recognized national leader in science education, expanding from an initial portfolio focused mainly on grades K-12 to one that includes studies of undergraduate education and science learning in settings outside of school. Elected members of the National Academy of Sciences compose a third of the board’s membership. The remainder of the Board is composed of national experts in teaching and teacher education, state and national educational policy, pedagogy and assessment, science education research, the learning sciences, educational psychology, equity and access issues, and technology in education. BOSE has been fortunate in its ability to attract highly regarded experts and thought leaders to volunteer considerable time in service of "advising the nation" on issues of science education. The combination of well-respected researchers in the natural and physical sciences working side by side with experts in science education provides leadership in science education and science education research that is unparalleled. It is the thoughtful planning and critical analysis by the Board that accounts for the strong reputation that BOSE enjoys in the various science education communities, by ensuring that BOSE projects are well-designed and thoughtful in their scope and direction and relevant to key stakeholder communities. Since its inception, BOSE has received funding to complete 11 major research synthesis studies, hold numerous workshops and meetings, and actively communicate its findings to a broad audience. BOSE’s reputation for evidence-based, impartial guidance was instrumental in two recent projects that hold promise for transforming K-12 science education in the United States: A Framework for K-12 Science Education (the blueprint for the Next Generation Science Standards) and a two-report series on successful STEM education that lays out recommendations for improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and outlines a set of indicators that can be used to monitor progress toward these improvements: Successful K-12 STEM Education (2011), and Monitoring Successful K-12 STEM Education (2013) Over the course of the last five years, and with support from the National Science Foundation, BOSE has increased its efforts to work collaboratively with other units of the National Research Council and the National Academy of Engineering, such as the Board on Testing and Assessment, the Board on Higher Education and the Workforce, the Teacher Advisory Council, the Board on Environmental Change and Society, the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, or the Board on Life Sciences. These collaborations have expanded the portfolio of BOSE considerably, and provided new opportunities for the Board’s expertise and perspective to influence a broader set of studies related to science education and science learning. The board has also worked closely with key stakeholders, such as the National Science Teacher Association, the Council of State Science Supervisors, Achieve Inc., the National Association for Research on Science Teaching, or the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Understanding the challenges of conveying research-heavy reports to education practitioners or policy makers, the board has created products that present study findings in more accessible ways. These include short videos, books designed to guide practitioners, and report briefs that distill and summarize the main points of studies for policy makers and practitioners. BOSE staff, board and committee members have also been active in communicating BOSE work at professional meetings, through briefings to federal agencies and congressional staff, in published articles and on-line, and in numerous coordination meetings among various national organizations that work towards improving STEM education. This high level of productivity over the last five years was made possible to a large degree through NSF leadership support to BOSE under award number 0843846. The purpose for the leadership support, and hence the major goal for the project was to provide the Board on Science Education with the flexibility to conduct its core function as "advisor to the nation" on issues related to science or STEM education, and in doing so, leverage all other investments by the board in order to influence science education research and practice in the United States.
