Back in 1992, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded grants to five curriculum development teams and charged them with the task of starting over. Five years later, each of the development teams had produced an innovative and "integrated" curriculum. All represented notable departures from the commonly encountered, calculus-driven high…

In recent years academic, engineering, business, and other fields, have launched major research and development efforts into the study and application of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. In spite of all these efforts and the investment of millions of dollars, the general public has had little access to research findings and…

The documents enclosed in this report provide a comprehensive and systematic review of the progress made in developing a network organization capable of supporting nanoscience education for the public on a national scale. There is a logic to the studies that were done and to the reports that are included in this notebook. The following are the…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. In 2009, Inverness Research conducted additional studies of the AMNH's new online course, The Solar System. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for The Solar System, along with profiles of…

In this report, the author shares her perspective on ten years of science-rich programming for high school youth at the American Museum of Natural History. This report includes: (1) A discussion of the theory of action and the rationale that underlies the AMNH youth programs; (2) A description of three of the programs that have been offered and…

The Appalachian Math Science Partnership (AMSP) is a project within NSF's (National Science Foundation's) Math Science Partnerships (MSP) initiative. Funded at $23 million over five years, the AMSP involved 51 school districts and nine higher education institutions in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The AMSP faced two significant challenges in…

The papers presented in this paper accompany a core report about the Appalachian Math Science Partnership (AMSP) entitled "The Appalachian Math Science Partnership: A Multi-State Umbrella Partnership Promoting Local Mathematics and Science Reform Report." Each of them focuses on an especially effective strategy or component of the AMSP umbrella…

In January 2005, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) was awarded a three-year ITEST grant (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) through the National Science Foundation (award #04-23417). This "AMNH-ITEST High School Science Research Program" aimed to target 120 urban high school youth, grades 10-12, from the five…

Inverness Research has served as the external evaluation group for the Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession (CSTP) since its inception in 2003. As evaluators, Inverness conceptualizes projects as investments in improvement, and it examines the returns on those investments. The direct services of projects and their immediate outcomes…

This paper defines the concept of "improvement infrastructure" and "educational capital" for education, and it uses the case of the National Writing Project to develop an extended, data-based illustration of the design and generativeness of an improvement infrastructure. Since 1983 there have been multiple "waves" of educational reform that have…

Over the course of three rounds of consecutive funding, the National Science Foundation (NSF) invested in the Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science (TEAMS) collaborative. Since 1996, the TEAMS collaborative museums have developed traveling exhibitions and related education materials to circulate through each other's museums, and then more…

Over the course of three rounds of consecutive funding, the National Science Foundation (NSF) invested in the Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science (TEAMS) collaborative. Since 1996, the TEAMS collaborative museums have developed traveling exhibitions and related education materials to circulate through each other's museums, and then more…

The National Writing Project (NWP) is the nation's premier professional development network dedicated to improving the teaching of writing. The NWP network comprises nearly 200 local sites in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. This report presents the results of a seven-year survey study of teachers participating in NWP summer…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for Sharks and Rays, along with profiles of three teachers who took the course. Fifteen course takers from nine states who responded to the annual…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for "The Ocean System", along with profiles of three teachers who took the course. Course takers report on the annual follow-up surveys that "The Ocean…