The Merck Institute for Science Education is guided by an Advisory Board of leading experts in science education and education reform.

The Advisory Board is charged with the responsibility to advise and assist the Executive Director on broad program and policy issues, to review an annual program for the Institute, and to inform the Executive Director of new research, professional development, education and program opportunities for the Institute.

MISE strives to achieve its goals through a variety of programs and activities, including:

The Academy for Leadership in Science Instruction, a three-year professional development program for teachers, principals and district administrators who are able to work in school- and district-based teams, and deepen their understanding of the fundamentals of leadership and strong classroom science instruction. The program was launched in August 2008, with 220 participants currently attending.

Peer Teacher Workshops, a week-long professional development program focused on building teachers' capacity to engage in inquiry-based science instruction. During the past 15 years, MISE has offered over 350 workshops attended by more than 5,000 educators.

MISE Resource Centers, in Rahway, New Jersey, and West Point, Pennsylvania, which house and make available collections of high-quality educational materials for local teachers and Merck employees. The centers offer hundreds of books, periodicals, videotapes and curriculum modules based on national science education standards.

Merck Employee Volunteers, an electronic mentoring program through which volunteers support teachers in the classroom and students, offering a view of real-world applications of science and mathematics. During the past 12 years, approximately 10,000 Merck employees have shared their time with students and teachers in their communities.

Since 1993, MISE has provided opportunities for professional growth to more than 6,000 educators. Teachers and administrators in MISE professional development programs engage in doing science, reflecting on their teaching, and examining how students learn science.

International Presence

In 2006, MISE launched an international program in the tsunami-ravaged areas of Thailand, in conjunction with MSD Thailand, the Kenan Institute Asia and the Thai Ministry of Education. Known as the Inquiry-based Science and Technology Education Program (IN-STEP) and launched in Phang-nga with a $500,000 commitment from Merck, the initiative seeks to improve student performance in science through inquiry-based learning, and to develop a proven model for the Ministry of Education to replicate nationwide.

Since the program began, a team of MISE staff and educators from U.S. partner school districts and organizations has worked with local experts in Thailand to translate and adapt instructional materials from the United States that are consistent with Thailand's educational reform program. To date, the initiative has trained more than 125 Thai educators on these instructional materials. Thirty-six of the Thai teachers who received the training have used their new knowledge to teach workshops codesigned with IN-STEP staff.

In addition to the formal workshops, MSD Thailand has organized employee volunteers to assist teachers in the classroom; to date, more than 100 employees have participated.

The pilot program has transformed science teaching in lower secondary schools and has had a significant impact on Thailand's overall science education policies and practices.