If you had a magic wand to create an innovation that would address a persistent challenge in your learning space or learning community, what would you create?
That’s the simple, powerful question that the National Science Foundation is asking K-12 educators and caregivers. What tools would they like to help students learn about AI or get excited about STEM? What support do they need to encourage classroom creativity or promote project-based learning? The NSF FINDERS Foundry program will make some of these dreams a reality, funding teams of educators, caregivers, researchers, and technologists to plan and develop their own “magic wand” solutions.
FINDERS Foundry has two phases. The initial planning phase (Due May 27th) will award 50 teams $50,000 each to explore and expand their initial ideas. Teams will then have two months to write a $300K proposal to design, develop and evaluate a solution prototype. Only Phase 1 Planning grant recipients will be eligible to submit Phase 2 Development proposals.
Each project must be led by a team with four unique members:
- K-12 formal or informal educators who can speak to their learning community’s assets, challenges and aspirations,
- Technologists with the technical expertise to design and implement solutions,
- Researchers who can evaluate learning outcomes, and
- Caregivers (parents and guardians) to share their – and their childrens’ – perspectives, interests and needs.
NSF hosted an informational webinar on April 8th and plans to host another one in May. We encourage you to review these slides and recording. Here are some things we learned:
- College, universities, non-profit organizations, school districts and tribal nations are eligible to submit proposals. Staff at for-profit organizations (like Rockman et al Cooperative) can serve on the leadership team.
- A technologist can be a faculty member, technology professional or anyone else with the expertise to bring the proposed idea to fruition.
- All projects must specify goals and potential outcomes. Development proposals must also include an evaluation plan to get user feedback, measure success, and document the prototype development process.
- NSF has provided a dashboard of project ideas from educators and caregivers, along with a way to contact them, to help form teams. Proposers are not limited to working with these ideas or individuals. Their concept must, however, address at least one of the seven tracks on the dashboard (e.g., increase STEM achievement, enhance AI literacy, strengthen career pathways).
We’re very excited about this opportunity and the ways it centers community voices. If you’re submitting a Planning proposal and need a researcher, let’s talk! We can also help connect you with educators and technologists. You can schedule a complimentary 30 minute session through our website. Let’s make some magic together.