Why We Need a DARPA for Education

In a recent study sponsored by the Business Roundtable and the nonprofit group Change the Equation , 97 percent of the CEOs of major American companies identified a lack of science , technology , engineering and math ( STEM ) skills among the national workforce as a problem for their businesses .

Over the next five years these firms will need to hire approximately one million new employees with these skills and more than 600,000 with applied science backgrounds .

The nation has been in this situation before .

In 1944 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt commissioned Vannevar Bush , director of the wartime U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development , to create a plan for sustaining the momentum of scientific achievement that had occurred during World War II , in part by responding to a looming skills shortage-the result of the large number of potential students who had been drafted into the military .
in part by: 《be ～》〔主語｛しゅご｝の〕原因｛げんいん｝の一部｛いちぶ｝は～である
responding to: ～を受けて
looming skills: Null
draft into: 〈人を〉〔軍隊に〕徴兵[召集]する

One of the biggest impacts of Bush's report was to create the separation of basic and applied research , a model that predominates in federally funded science today .
looming: loomの現在分詞。織機、機(はた)
predominate in: 〔症状｛しょうじょう｝が〕主に男性｛だんせい｝の胴体部（分）｛どうたいぶ（ぶん）｝に現われる

Although this separation has been very effective in many fields , in education and the social sciences , basic research sometimes fails to translate successfully into applied settings .

As we study ways to confront this new crisis , we should consider an alternative approach to research-one that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been demonstrating since 1958.The DARPA process is reminiscent of the development cycles for radar and the atomic bomb during WWII :
confront: 直面する、大胆に立ち向かう、(…と)向かい合う、(…に)向かい合っている、持ち上がる、立ちはだかる、(…に)向かい合わせる、対決させる、突きつける、(…を)対比する
reminiscent: (…を)思い出させて、しのばせて、昔をしのぶ(ような)、追憶の、追憶にふける

diverse teams of the brightest minds iterate continuously on basic research challenges aimed at solving enormously complex problems .
brightest minds: Null
iterate: (…を)繰り返す
continuously: 連続的に、切れ目なく

Unlike traditional basic or applied research , the DARPA method resides in a category that the late science policy researcher Donald E. Stokes introduced in his 1997 book , Pasteur's Quadrant .
reside in: 定住、居留する、存する、属する、帰する、在住する

In Stokes's classification , basic research resides in Bohr's quadrant :

it is the quest for basic knowledge without regard for the final use of that knowledge .
regard for: 心遣い、心づかい、心使い、心づかい、心配、顧慮、尊敬、敬意

Applied research lies in Edison's quadrant , where producing a specific product is the top priority .
quadrant: 四分円、四分儀、象限儀

In Pasteur's quadrant , named after Louis Pasteur , basic research is applied to solve specific and immediate problems .
immediate: 直接の、じかの、即座の、即時の、早速の、すぐ隣の、隣接した、当面の、目下の、ごく近い

As an agency , DARPA lives in Pasteur's quadrant .

Every project is a moon shot .
moon shot: 月ロケットの打ち上げ

The final goal is clear , but the process for getting there remains flexible .

In the U.S. Department of Education's Office of STEM , we have been proposing the use of Pasteur's quadrant as a means for creating so-called moon shots for education , especially at the intersections of science and technology .
intersection: 交切、交差、横断、(道路の)交差点、交点、交線

The possibilities for research are plentiful .
plentiful: たくさんの、豊富な

Can customized digital tutors be created that adapt to the student over the course of his or her education , from preschool through college ?
tutor: (しばしば住み込みの)家庭教師、(大学で一定数の学生の学習などを個別的に世話する)指導教員、(大学の)助手、(未成年者などの)後見人

Can these same educational technologies be developed in ways that encourage and enhance lifelong learning ?
lifelong learning: 生涯学習

Can we find new approaches to assessment that measure mastery in real time rather than at the end of a course ?

If solutions such as these are possible , they will be achieved only by bringing together the most innovative teams of researchers , professional developers and educators to tackle the problems as a whole .
as a whole: 総括して、全体として

That is why President Barack Obama's 2016 budget proposes up to $50 million for an Advanced Research Projects Agency\u2013Education ( ARPA-ED ) to allow the Department of Education to support rapid-cycle , high-impact technology development aimed at preparing students for the 21st-century workforce .
workforce: 全従業員、(総)労働力、労働(力)人口

To determine where investment should be made , my colleagues and I are currently convening groups of innovators and educators to evolve a vision of STEM education in 2025. Once that vision is clear , we will deconstruct it and outline a plan for achieving it .
convene: 召集する、召喚する
deconstruct: (…を)分解する、解体する、脱構築の方法で分析する

Will that vision be the correct one ?

It is hard to say , but this initial vision does not have to be absolutely correct .

As long as the basic target of improving educational outcomes remains in sight , the goal and the vision can be adjusted as we work toward them .
in sight: (…の)見える所に、視界に、間近で

Just as DARPA researchers could not have predicted what the Internet would become when they laid its foundation in 1968, today's innovators will not know how technology can transform education until they roll up their sleeves and do it .
just as: 通りに、の通りに
roll up: (歓迎されない形で)やってくる、どやどややってくる、いらっしゃい、入ってらっしゃい
sleeve: (衣服の)そで、たもと、(レコードの)カバー、ジャケット、スリーブ管、軸さや