Attachment_1_Curriculum_Statement_of_Work_rev_1.docx

PERFORMANCE-BASED WORK STATEMENT

Introduction The United States Geological Survey (USGS), National Minerals Information Center is requesting bids to create a secondary education curriculum package focusing on critical minerals.

Background The goal of the curriculum is to raise awareness in middle and high school students (and their teachers and parents) about the importance of critical minerals in their lives, and to provide them with an understanding of the science, technology, career opportunities, and global impact of the human need for critical minerals. This was recently the subject of a lengthy discussion at a seminar at the National Academies of Sciences

Definitions/Applicable documents The science of rocks and minerals is included in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) at both the middle and high school levels (https://www.nextgenscience.org/, accessed 03/20/2024). The topics are also assessed in the Advanced Placement Environmental Science test (https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-environmental-science-course-and-exam-description.pdf accessed 03/20/24) These are important drivers in what science subject matter is taught in schools. Although states each have their own science standards, their standards are typically aligned with national standards and assessments. Most states teach the Earth sciences in grades six and nine, which is why the focus of this proposal is at the secondary level.

Resources for curriculum development include USGS publications A World of Minerals in Your Mobile (General Information Product 167) and The The Rare-Earth Elements-Vital to Modern Technologies and Lifestyles (Fact Sheet 2014 – 3078).

Scope One strategy for engaging students quickly in STEM topics is to start with familiar objects. For a critical minerals curriculum, for example, one might start with the materials that go into a smart phone. Initial questions could be: What are these materials? How is it that these materials were selected? What properties do the materials have? Why do they have these properties? Where did the materials come from and how did they form? How did people find out that these materials were there? Why are some materials found in abundance in certain places in the world and not in others?

Essentially, the instructional strategy of putting the study of critical minerals in a real world context (cell phone) provides the teacher with the platform for the study of minerals in general: What minerals are; how they and their properties are identified; how they form; where they are found and how; how they are extracted and processed; what they are worth; what jobs, skills, and knowledge are involved in all of this; what the roles of federal, state and local governments are in critical minerals; what the risks are of not having enough; and are there any substitutes? The study of the critical minerals that make up a cell phone can act as a template for studying other objects and the critical minerals used in them (computers, solar panels, electric vehicles, etc.)

The teacher can lead the investigation into the cell phone minerals, but, after the template for investigation is established, students can then divide into specialist teams to explore other objects and the critical minerals that make them up. An alternative strategy could be to have student teams focus on one critical mineral and develop a presentation for their classmates (PowerPoint, video, play, poster, web page, etc.) They would also be asked to develop a fact sheet or web page for their peers (or for their parents or younger students) including their sources and links to those sources. Student teams would be asked to find information from reliable sources on their mineral: Its chemistry, properties, source, extraction, processing, uses, rarity, careers involved, etc. Materials kits could also be a part of the curriculum, so that students can study the properties of minerals and learn how to identify them.

The curriculum modules developed for the formal educational audience can then be adapted for an informal audience.

Work Requirements Deliverables The USGS requires the Contractor to submit all results electronically in addition to prepared slides. These deliverables include:

· Drop-in hands-on activity/content/assessment modules on critical minerals that can be enhancements to schools’ existing science/technology/engineering/mathematics (STEM) curricula.

· Links to critical minerals videos from the USGS and other reliable sources.

· Science fair project guide on critical minerals.

· Webinars to prepare teachers to implement the modules.

· Set of activities on critical minerals suitable for an informal science audience (rocks and minerals clubs, scouts, boys and girls clubs, 4-H)

· National competition (along the lines of the National Science Bowl) for projects focusing on critical minerals.

Curriculum Development Process All effective curricula start with identifying outcomes such as what students should know and be able to do by the time they complete the curriculum.

These outcomes can include (among others):

· increased science knowledge

· facility in applying science processes (observing, recording, predicting, formulating hypotheses, designing experiments, collecting, and analyzing data, arriving at evidence-based conclusions, etc.)

· development of laboratory skills

Project Timeline

Supporting Information Place of Performance – Location of Contractor’s facility.

Government Furnished Property (GFP) – N/A Special Considerations. – N/A