National Institutes of Health, Office of Procurement Management, 6011 Executive Blvd., Rockville, Maryland 20892-7260

U -- PROVIDE SCIENCE CURRICULUM FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOLS SOL 263-98-P(BD)-0014 DUE 020998 POC Marcia Goldman, Contract Specialist, 301-496-2302 The Office of Science Education (OSE) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is conducting a market survey to determine the availability and potential technical capability of small businesses and 8(a) firmsto develop and provide science curriculum for the middle and high school arena. The intended procurement will be classified under SIC 8299 with a size standard of $ 5,000,000. The offeror will be required to: utilize the National Science Education Standards in designing and developing science curriculum units, including lab activities; interact with OSE and NIH scientific advisory groups at integral phases of the project; field test the supplements in schools that represent the intellectual and diversity spectrum found in secondary schools across the nation (test sites must include, but should not limited to, a middle school and a high school in Washington, D.C., and a middle school and a high school in the Montgomery County Public School System in Montgomery County, Maryland); develop a teacher's manual; to develop plans for teacher training and the dissemination and demonstration of the materials; and provide a minimum of 500 copies of each supplement for delivery to the NIH. NIH intends for the materials to be freely reproduced for classroom use and to reproduce copies of the materials for distribution to schools across the nation. NIH does not intend for the materials to be used by commercial organizations for sale or profit. This requirement will allow for the development of curriculum supplements dealing with the science of two health issues: 1) the neurobiology of addiction and 2) human health and the environment. These supplements will enrich existing curricular materials, assist teachers in attaining their educational goals, encourage students to develop critical thinking skills, and to utilize information technologies to conduct research, analyze data, and make discoveries. Students should be encouraged to be creative, come up with their own testable ideas, and develop novel solutions. The offeror should provide for the greatest degree of flexibility and so as to easily integrate the supplements into standard life science curriculum being used in the secondary schools. The curricula should be designed to be usable as stand-alone units or when broken up into modules, could fit in at many different points of a core curriculum. The units should be a 2-5 day set of materials with modules designed to fit into 45 minutes of classroom time. The curriculum design should be both eye-catching and interesting to make the materials appealing to the students and for easy recognition as NIH curriculum supplements. The offeror will be required to be a nationally recognized professional curriculum development organization with experience in producing nationally recognized, high quality life science curricula for the middle and/or high school grades that is currently being utilized in the school systems. The offeror must have the appropriate mix of intellectual and technical expertise specializing in lifescience curriculum development. Included in that mix should be: 1) curriculum developers and educators who are familiar with teaching diverse students who range from above-grade to below-grade, plus special populations; 2) technical writers who are knowledgeable about health issues; 3) specialists who know state-of-the-art educational technologies; and 4) scientists who are familiar with relevant science issues. The offerer will be expected to design the materials using a systematic, coherent approach to instruction, e.g. the"5E" model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate). The offerer should obtain guidance for the educational design philosophy of the curriculum supplements from the National Science Education Standards. The Standards apply to all students, regardless of age, gender, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and motivation in science. The supplements are expected to showcase both the cutting-edge science and the basic research done at the NIH which contributes to public health. The supplements should emphasize how basic research contributes to our knowledge of diseases and leads to advances in health care. They should also illustrate the multiplicity of approaches to solving problems. The students should be provided with opportunities to understand basic research. Techniques should be used to take the discovery process to the boundary and provide opportunities for students to really get excited about the suspense of discovery through involvement. The writing style should illustrate the excitement of science by describing how researchers go after the information or pursue answers to problems. The offeror will be expected to indicate how the materials will be introduced into the curriculum and how the materials will be tested and evaluated to assess the effectiveness in meeting the learning objectives. To ensure that curricular materials will contain up-to-date, accurate scientific information and will provide creative learning activities applicable to all students nationwide, the offeror and the OSE will have multiple meetings during concept development, first draft, preliminary field trial results, and the final draft. The offeror is expected to have mechanisms for ensuring accuracy of scientific content including a plan for the interaction with NIH scientists on content development. They are also expected to provide realistic time lines for development of the supplements and show thoughtful consideration for the needs of teachers with diverse students populations. The NIH intends to negotiate a multi-year contract for a period of three years, rather than a one year contract with four one year options. Firms responding to this market survey should keep in mind that only focused and pertinent information is requested. If an offeror proposes a collaboration, those collaborative efforts between the offeror and other organizations must have been established prior to this survey and proven effective in producing quality curriculum products that are currently being used in schools nation-wide. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, firms should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements to demonstrate that small prime contractors can maintain full-time labor, technical, and management control of the project. Responding firms should provide two (2) copies of a capability statement to the above noted address within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date this notice appears. Each firm must also provide samples of curriculum products, designed and developed by them, which are currently being used in the classroom. Firms should also include executive summaries of field tests or formal evaluations conducted for these materials. This market survey is being conducted through the CBD to reach the widest possible audience and to gather current market information. (0021)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0123 19980123\U-0006.SOL)