NARST Committee Openings
Charlene M. Czerniak, President-Elect
As President-elect, one of my responsibilities is to recommend to the NARST Executive Board appointment of new members to the eight NARST standing committees. The way that I got involved in NARST was by serving first on a number of committees—Membership, Program, Awards, and Publications. I became chair of the JRST award committee, and was later elected to the Executive Board. I had an input on NARST decisions and became increasingly involved within the organization.
Each year we solicit members who are interested in joining one of the committees. Participation in committee assignments is the best way to get involved in NARST and to influence decisions and policies. If you would like to serve, indicate to me in an e-mail to Charlene.Czerniak@utoledo.edu on which committee you would like to serve, and what your qualifications and interests are to serve. There are a limited number of positions, so please state your case well. To serve on a NARST committee, you must be a member of NARST.
Please let me know of your interest by Friday, February 1, 2008. At that time, I will collate all the requests to serve and make my recommendation to the NARST Board of Directors on the membership for all standing committees. You will hear from me on our decision before annual meeting in Baltimore.
When you come to the annual meeting, your committee will meet at least one morning at 7 AM (with a free continental breakfast that you can take into your meeting room). Committee Meetings will be posted in the NARST International Program schedule. Some committees meet also (or only) for the second day, so check the schedule. You should plan to attend the committee meeting(s) and provide input during the meeting and contribute throughout the year in a timely fashion as your committee will have work to do. If you are on the committee, and you do not do your work in a timely way, you may be replaced. Therefore, this is a serious responsibility, but one in which you will learn about your committee's focus and its interaction within the organization and in our greater effort to improve science education worldwide. Camaraderie and networking opportunities formed with others on the committee are also enjoyable and rewarding.
Your appointment to the committee is for two or three years, depending on the committee. We have a rotating committee membership, so only part of the membership is new each year. You can get the details of how long the term is and how many members there are by going to see our Policies and Procedures manual (2005) at the NARST website.
We would like to encourage both US and international members to consider asking for a committee assignment. One goal is to have the composition of the committees reflect the membership. Since our 2007 international membership is approximately 30%, then we want our committees to reflect that percentage. NARST President Penny J. Gilmer started that effort last year to increase the international NARST members to serve on NARST committees, and we want to do that again this year. We all have so much to contribute and learn from each other, with the common goal of improving the teaching and learning of science worldwide.
The various committees are listed below with a brief description of each along with the number of openings and associated terms. If you are interested in being considered for one of the committees, please email me at:
Committee appointments will be finalized by March 1st. New committee members will be contacted prior to our annual meeting in Baltimore, March 30-April 2. Please check the final program for information on when the committee to which you are assigned meets.
I am enjoying this opportunity to serve NARST and our members. We welcome your voice, input and participation.
The standing committees, their number of new members elected each year and their terms of office include the following:
Research Committee - 3 year term (Openings = 2)
The Research Committee will develop, organize and/or implement various professional development activities for the NARST membership, including special research topic pre-sessions at the Annual Meeting and research reviews and research-oriented documents specifically designed for internal use and member benefit. Fill our allocated slots at the NSTA conventions by selecting and coordinating presentations made by NARST members at these meetings. Conceptualize, develop, and disseminate reviews of research and white papers on appropriate topics.
Publications Advisory Committee - 3 year term (Openings = 2)
The Publications Advisory Committee will recommend policy concerning the Association's publications, and develop and disseminate additional publications specifically designed for use by media, policy-makers, education officials, teachers, and other professional organizations. Monitor the process of development of publications initiated by the External Policy and Relations, and Research Committees. Monitor and oversee updates, and additions/deletions to the website.
External Policy & Relations Committee - 3 year term (Openings = 2)
The External Policy and Relations Committee will review existing and/or controversial educational policies at the state, national and international levels and produce position papers based on research. These position papers should be based on current and innovative findings and distributed through the Publications Advisory and Research Committees to the membership, policy-makers, and the community-at-large. Note that these position papers may not necessarily reflect a unified position for NARST, but they are meant instead to add information from various perspectives of science education research. These papers would assist policy-makers and the public-at-large to make more informed decisions. This committee would also foster the development of partnerships and collaborations with appropriate professional organizations and groups concerned with the quality of science teaching and learning.
Program Committee - 2 year term (Openings = 15)
The Program Committee assists the program chair in planning and conducting the annual meeting.
Membership & Election Committee - 3 year term (Openings = 4)
The Membership and Election Committee will seek new members from a variety of backgrounds and retain active members by soliciting interest in committee membership throughout the organization as well as for elected offices. In addition to developing a slate for annual elections, the committee would be concerned with recruitment, retention, and responsiveness of the organization to members' interests.
International Committee - 3 year term with 2/3 of the members needing to be international (Openings = 4)
The International Committee is to recommend policy to the NARST Board concerning matters of international science education research; represent the concerns, interests and unique perspectives of international members; and, stimulate collaborations and exchange of ideas between NARST and other international science education organizations. The Chair serves as NARST's liaison to various international science education organizations.
Equity & Ethics Committee - 3 year term (Openings = 4)
The Equity and Ethics Committee will provide leadership and guidance to the organization on issues of equity and ethics including, but not limited to, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disabling conditions, sexual orientations, language, national origin and religion.
Awards Committee - 2 year term, each chair an award below (Openings = 3)
The Awards Committee will oversee the work of the Award Selection Committees that solicit nominations and select winners for each of the NARST awards. Discuss issues related to equity and efficiency in the selection process, and the appropriateness of the award considering the NARST mission. If necessary, recommend changes in awards or procedures to the Board of Directors.
NARST Outstanding Paper Award (Openings = 6)
Outstanding Doctoral Research Award (Openings = 6)
Early Career Research Award (Openings = 3)
Distinguished Contributions Through Research Award (Openings = 2)
JRST Award (Openings = 7)
To select the strand coordinators, I ask both the current strand coordinators to recommend whom they think would be an excellent new upcoming strand coordinator.
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