[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2050 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2050

   To authorize the National Science Foundation to undertake certain 
             activities in support of research on learning.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2001

Mr. Smith of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                      to the Committee on Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the National Science Foundation to undertake certain 
             activities in support of research on learning.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) in virtually every sector of society--health, defense, 
        transportation, agriculture, etc.--research is used to guide 
        policy choices;
            (2) in education, however, research has not been 
        effectively utilized as a tool for informing policy and guiding 
        reform, with less than 0.03 percent of the $647,800,000,000 
        spent on elementary and secondary education invested in 
        research of what educational techniques actually work and on 
        ways to improve teaching;
            (3) the 1997 President's Committee of Advisors on Science 
        and Technology (PCAST) report entitled ``The Use of Technology 
        to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States'' recommended 
        that our education research investment be increased to 0.5 
        percent and that educational hypotheses be subjected to 
        appropriately rigorous evaluation;
            (4) a significant body of research and knowledge on the 
        science of learning currently exists; however, educational 
        materials and practices are rarely aligned to this knowledge, 
        and new education theories are often incorporated in classrooms 
        on the basis of only tenuously supported data;
            (5) a cultural divide between education researchers and 
        education practitioners--such as teachers--currently exists;
            (6) an expert panel convened by the National Research 
        Council recommended in 1999 that more education research be 
        focused on issues of importance to education practitioners and 
        be conducted by teams of both traditional researchers and 
        teachers and other education practitioners;
            (7) the education research effort to date is typified by a 
        largely scattershot approach, with little coordination of the 
        research effort or focus on particularly compelling questions; 
        and
            (8) a 1999 report from the National Research Council 
        entitled ``Improving Student Learning'' recommended the 
        adoption of a national, strategic education research program 
        that would focus efforts on a limited number of the most 
        critically important research questions.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH ON LEARNING.

    (a) In General.--For the purpose of integrating scientific 
disciplines in relation to research on learning, and gaining a better 
understanding of how such research and educational practice can be 
reconciled, the National Science Foundation shall continue to support 
research on learning, focusing on the following 4 areas:
            (1) Brain research as a foundation for research on human 
        learning.
            (2) Behavioral, cognitive, affective, and social aspects of 
        human learning.
            (3) Science, mathematics, engineering, and technological 
        learning in formal and informal educational settings.
            (4) Learning in complex educational systems.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Science Foundation for carrying out this 
section $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, $33,000,000 for fiscal year 
2003, and $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON LEARNING CENTERS.

    (a) Development of Research Priorities.--The Director of the 
National Science Foundation (in this Act referred to as the 
``Director''), in consultation with the National Academy of Sciences, 
shall review past research on learning, assess current research 
efforts, and not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act develop a set of specific education research priorities to 
provide the strategic focus of the Centers established under subsection 
(b). The Director shall ensure that the development of such priorities 
is informed by the most pressing needs of the education system.
    (b) Establishment of Centers.--The Director shall make grants for 
the establishment of not more than 5 Centers of Research on Learning. 
The purpose of these Centers shall be to integrate the work of 
multidisciplinary teams of researchers, education practitioners, and 
policymakers to support the research priorities developed under 
subsection (a), and to facilitate the incorporation of the results of 
that research into educational practice. Grant awards under this 
subsection shall be made through an open, peer-reviewed competition.
    (c) Strategic Focus of Centers.--Each Center shall focus on 
addressing one of the specific education research priorities developed 
by the Director under subsection (a).
    (d) Activities of Centers.--The Centers shall promote active 
collaborations among physical, biological, and social science 
researchers, education practitioners, and policymakers. The Centers 
shall be responsible for--
            (1) evaluating existing research and designing, conducting, 
        or coordinating research that addresses the Center's strategic 
        focus;
            (2) stimulating research in relevant areas within the 
        larger research community and synthesizing the findings from 
        among this community;
            (3) planning future research;
            (4) facilitating the dissemination of research results to 
        education practitioners and the incorporation of those research 
        results into the education system; and
            (5) assessing the impact of the incorporation of research 
        results described in paragraph (4) on student performance.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Science Foundation for carrying out this 
section $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, $6,000,000 for fiscal year 
2003, and $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY EDUCATION RESEARCH INITIATIVE.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the National Science 
Foundation for participation in the Interagency Education Research 
Initiative, $28,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, $31,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2003, and $33,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
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