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December 5, 2008

TO: Office of Management and Budget

THROUGH: Reports Clearance Officer, HHS

Project Clearance Chief, NIH

FROM: Dave Vannier, Office of Science Education, NIH

SUBJECT: Reinstatement of “The Effectiveness of the NIH Curriculum Supplements Programs and Career Resources Study (OD/OSE)” OMB 0925-0551, expires 11/30/08

The Office of Science Education within the Office of Science Policy in the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health requests the Office of Management and Budget to reinstate approval for “The Effectiveness of the NIH Curriculum Supplements Programs and Career Resources Study.” A three-year generic clearance will facilitate the study of customer satisfaction with the NIH curriculum supplements, their supporting teacher workshops, and the Women Are Scientists career video series.

The Office of Science Education (OSE) plans, develops, and coordinates a comprehensive science education program to improve science literacy in the public and to encourage young people to consider medical and health science careers. Specifically, OSE

1. Develops, supports, and directs programs for the public with a special emphasis on K-12 science educators, students and their parents.

2. Advises NIH leadership on science education issues.

3. Examines and evaluates research and emerging trends in science education and literacy to guide policy-making.

4. Works closely with NIH entities on conducting and coordinating science education projects.

5. Works cooperatively with other public and private organizations to develop and coordinate science education activities.

OSE’s main initiative is the NIH Curriculum Supplements, which are teacher’s guides to science lessons for K-12 students. They are developed in collaboration with NIH entities and aim to engage students in the latest biomedical research. Each supplement contains two weeks’ of activities on the science behind a health topic, such as cancer, sleep, or obesity. Web-based simulations and animations enhance the “pencil and paper” activities. Over 80,000 educators nationwide have one or more of the supplements. The supplements are fully accessible at the OSE Web site, http://science.education.nih.gov.

To insure that the NIH Curriculum Supplements are effective, OSE coordinates and conducts workshops that help teachers successfully implement the lessons. Since FY 2002, over 6,000 teachers have attended such a workshop. Plans are underway to extend the workshops with Web-based resources for teachers using the supplements.

OSE also develops resources that highlight the diversity of health and medical science careers and professionals. One of these resources is Women Are Scientists, a video series that profiles women in specific fields (surgery, medical research, pathology, and dentistry) and disabled women in science. The videos are distributed freely nationwide upon request. Since 2004, over 7,500 people have requested the Women Are Scientists videos.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the NIH Curriculum Supplements programs is critical to determining whether OSE is successfully fulfilling its mission. Under an NIH-wide OMB clearance (OMB No. 1505-0186), OSE is using the American Customer Satisfaction Index to evaluate our Web site, which includes the online versions of the NIH curriculum supplements. This survey does not specifically target users of the supplements or career videos. In this proposal, OSE is seeking generic clearance to conduct the following surveys:

• A survey of a random sample of middle school supplement requestors

• A follow-up survey of a random sample of teacher workshop participants

• A longer follow-up survey of selected populations of teacher workshop participants

• A short survey of a random sample of requestors of the Women Are Scientists videos

OSE has the databases in place to identify the above populations. We seek permission to ask the following:

• How are you using the specific NIH product (e.g., supplement or video)?

• Are the products helping to meet your educational goals?

• How are the products used to support your existing curricula?

• What suggestions do you have to improve these resources?

• If you attended a workshop, did it prepare you to implement the lessons?

• What other ways could NIH support your educational goals?

Data will be collected via e-mail notifications and Web-based survey forms. Results from these surveys will help ensure that NIH funds are used in the most effective way to provide the best resources possible to meet the needs of the educators we service.

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