Dear Colleague Letter Support For Engaging Students And The Public In Polar Research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a Dear Colleague letter to encourage proposals that integrate the use of data from polar regions into undergraduate education and informal STEM education. From NSF:

The Geosciences and Education and Human Resources Directorates are partnering to advance and develop understanding of learning environments that build upon the rich interdisciplinary resources emerging from polar investments. To that end, the Division of Polar Programs (PLR), the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) and the Division of Research on Learning (DRL) encourage proposals that will leverage the extensive National Science Foundation (NSF) investment in polar sciences and infrastructure, and STEM education research and development, to promote an informed citizenry and the next generation of polar scientists. In order to advance polar science educational opportunities, PLR, DUE and DRL will accept and review proposals for research and development projects that facilitate the use of data from polar regions in (1) undergraduate education or (2) informal science education. Proposals in response to this Dear Colleague Letter must be submitted to either the Improving Undergraduate Science Education: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR) deadline of November 3, 2015, or the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) deadline of November 4, 2015.

Proposals submitted to the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program in response to this letter must be identified by starting the proposal title with the term "Polar (NSF 15-114): (Insert Project Title Here)." To read the complete Dear Colleague letter, please visit the NSF website at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15114/nsf15114.pdf. To learn more about the AISL solicitation, see http://informalscience.org/perspectives/news/nsf-advancing-informal-stem-learning-aisl-solicitation.