Overview of Funding Announcements from FY07

NOAA’s Office of Education (OEd) solicited proposals for environmental literacy projects lasting 1 to 5-years.Funding was made available to support Free-Choice learning and K-12 Formal education projects aimed at building environmental literacy among the public. Two funding opportunities were available for FY07.  Funded proposals either (1) further the use and incorporation of the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts in formal and informal education and/or measure ocean literacy among the public; or (2) strengthen the capacity to develop a workforce knowledgeable about weather and climate. All funded projects employ the strategies articulated in the NOAA Education Plan and involve NOAA entities as partners. (Funding Opportunity Numbers: SEC-OED-2007-2000859 and SEC-OED-2007-2000863)

Press Release for ELG 07 Grant Recipients [Word]

FY07 Federal Register Notice - Free-Choice Learning [PDF]

FY07 Federal Register Notice - Formal K-12 Education [PDF]

FY07 Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity, Free-Choice Learning [PDF]

FY07 Announcement of Federal Funding Opportunity, Formal K-12 Education [PDF]

2007 ELG for Formal K-12 Education

Formal K-12 projects will promote changes in the K-12 education system to expand the amount of Earth System Science taught in the classroom and improve student learning of that subject.  Successful projects will catalyze change in K-12 education through development of new programs and/or materials, and/or revision of existing programs and/or materials by supporting transformative methods that expand the use of Earth System Science in K-12 classrooms. For more information regarding these specific awards, please contact Sarah Schoedinger. 

• Eastern Michigan University (PI: Sandra Rutherford, Co-PI: Laura Eidietis)
  $461,534 grant for “Sailing Elementary Teachers Towards Ocean Literacy Using Familiar Water Resources.”  This 5-year project will infuse ocean and Great Lakes content into core courses for pre-service elementary teachers.  The project will also update and incorporate these concepts into well-regarded instructional materials (i.e., GLOBE storybooks), train teachers on how to use them, and will measure the environmental, ocean and Great Lakes literacy of the elementary teachers and their students before and after this instruction is provided. EMU Abstract (PDF)
  
  
• Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (PI: Francis Eberle, Co-PI: Page Keeley)
  $566,467 grant for “Earth as a System is Essential – Seasons and the Seas.”   This 3-year project will focus on in-depth professional development of in-service middle school teachers within state of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. This professional development will prepare them to serve as teacher resource agents.  Building on students’ prior knowledge of seasons in New England, the instructional materials will incorporate ocean-related material into the curriculum by comparing seasons on land to seasons in the ocean. MMSA Abstract (PDF)
  
  
• University of California, Berkeley/Lawrence Hall of Science (PI: Craig Strang, Co-PIs: Jacqueline Barber, Catherine Halversen)
  $709,992 grant for “Ocean Sciences Curriculum Sequence for Grades 3-5.”  This 3-year project will update and augment instructional materials that are part of the MARE and GEMS programs to create a coherent, standards-based curriculum for grades 3-5 that addresses the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles. UC/LHS Abstract (PDF)

2007 ELG for Free-choice Learning

Free-Choice Learning projects will create new, or capitalize on existing, networks of institutions, agencies and /or organizations to provide common messages about key concepts in Earth System Science. For more information regarding these specific awards, please contact Sarah Schoedinger. 

• Dubuque County Historical Society – the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium (PI: Jerry Enzler, Co-PI: Ted Beattie)
  $379,955 grant for “Ocean Interpretive Stations: a Proposal for Pilot Program for Coastal America Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers.”  This 3-year project will support the installation of interactive kiosks at 4 sites - Aquarium of the Pacific, National Aquarium in Baltimore, the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium and John G. Shedd Aquarium. These “ocean interpretative stations” will employ content from the SI Ocean Hall’s “ocean in the news” kiosks but will augment them with regionally relevant stories. The project is intended to enhance ocean literacy among 3 million visitors. NMRMA Abstract (PDF)
  
  
• The Ocean Foundation – The Ocean Project (PI: Paul Boyle, Co-PI: Bill Mott)
  $375,100 grant for “Building Environmental Literacy: How the Ocean Community Can Connect More Effectively with the American Public.”  This 3-year project will follow up on the 1999 study of public attitudes and knowledge about the ocean.  The project will conduct qualitative and quantitative research on public ocean literacy with the goal of informing educators at free-choice learning institutions on how best to improve the ocean literacy of their visitors. OP Abstract (Word)

For information regarding ELG FY06 Award recipients and projects, click here