Lessons-Learned from 2005-2009 "Extension Services" Grantees (NSF Research on Gender in Science and Engineering Program): A National View

The National Science Foundation program needed to know more about a relatively new investment. Grants of $2.5 million for five years went to nine projects between 2005 and 2009. Was it working? What was the experience in the field? What were successes and frustrations, and especially, lessons learned? The goal of the NSF program is to improve the capacity of our educational systems to attract and graduate more diverse students in science and engineering, especially females, in answer to a national talent crisis. The concept of Extension Services was to build capacity among educators to understand new research findings, adopt proven practices that fit their culture, and adopt a more data-driven approach to improving the diversity of students in science and engineering education. Based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant HRD 09-38413.