George G. Mallinson Distinguished Service Award

SSMA recognizes notable and extensive service to the SSMA organization with the George G. Mallinson Distinguished Service Award. Potential awardees are those who have been a member of SSMA for at least ten (10) years and who have shown substantial participation and leadership in SSMA activities such as paper presentations at meetings, committee work, membership work, and reviews for the journal. Nominations for this award must come from current members of SSMA. This award may be given every three years. Next awards will be given 2026 & 2029.

Materials needed for nomination:

• A letter of nomination describing the nominee's contribution to the organization.
• Two letters of support from current or former SSMA Presidents and/or Board Members.

Awardee: One-year SSMA membership, conference fee waiver to the annual convention where the award will be presented, and invitation to address the membership at the annual convention.

Member Recruitment and Mentoring Award

This award highlights member recruitment and retention efforts by long-term SSMA members. This award is given to a long-term SSMA member (10 years or more) who has intentionally and consistently recruited, involved, and helped retain new SSMA members. Nominations for this award must come from two current members of SSMA. This award may be given every four years, beginning 2022.

Materials needed for nomination:

• Two letters of nomination describing the nominee's contribution to the organization describing the methods and details surrounding the member's recruitment of others.
• A list of recruited/influenced SSMA members.

Awardee: Plaque and registration fee waivers for the next four annual SSMA conventions.

Award for Excellence in Integrating Science and Mathematics

SSMA recognizes notable and extensive efforts in higher education and beyond related to the integration of Science and Mathematics with the SSMA Award for Excellence in Integrating Science and Mathematics. The award is given to a person or group who/which has fostered, promoted, and extended the integration of mathematics/science at the elementary, secondary, or university level. The nominee should be a person or group who is active in science/mathematics education and in the development of curricula for the preparation of teachers, educational research, or other activities of significant educational value thereby showing an impact on science/mathematics education. The competition is open to non-SSMA members but all applicants must be nominated by an SSMA member. This award may be given annually. 

Materials needed:

• Letter of nomination describing the nominee's contribution to the integration of science and mathematics.
• Nominee personal statement outlining the highlights of their work.
• Two support letters from others in the field of science/mathematics education describing the nominee's impact on the field. 

Awardee: One-year SSMA membership, convention fee waiver to the annual convention where the award will be presented, and invited presentation at the annual convention where the award will be presented.

Connections Award

Recognizes exemplary K–12 teaching and learning projects focus on connections between science and mathematics. The nominee should be a person working in K-12 who has been a leader of an exemplary teaching and learning project that is school-based and focused on connections between science and mathematics. The awardee does not have to be a member of SSMA. This award may be given annually. 

Materials needed: 

• A letter of nomination describing the nominee's contribution to K-12 science and mathematics teaching and learning.
• A description of the project.

Awardee: $500 award, convention fee waiver where the award will be presented, and presentation invitation at the annual convention where the award will be presented. Additional funds may be available to support awardee(s) travel to the annual convention.

Outstanding Early Career Scholar Award

SSMA recognizes outstanding early career contributions to the scholarship of science and/or mathematics education with the Outstanding Early Career Scholar Award. The nominee should be a person, within seven years of receiving a doctoral degree, with an exemplary and productive program of research related to science and/or mathematics education. The nominee must have been an SSMA member in good standing for at least one year prior to the submission of the application. This award may be given annually.

Materials needed: 

• Current Vita
• Three exemplary scholarly works (Works need to relate to common mathematics/science education themes such as Integration; Technology; Constructivism/Inquiry; Professional development and so forth)
• A two-page maximum summary addressing: Research interests; A description of how the submitted scholarly works have impacted the research area.
• Two support letters set separately (One support letter must be from a non-dissertation committee member)

Awardee: $500 award, one year SSMA membership, and convention fee waiver to the annual convention where the award will be presented, and presentation invitation at the annual convention. Additional funds may be available to support awardee(s) travel to the annual convention.

SSMA Dissertation Award

SSMA recognizes outstanding doctoral degree research with the SSMA Dissertation Award. The Award is given for dissertations related to science education, mathematics education, or integrated science and mathematics education. The competition is open to non-members, but all applicants must be nominated by an SSMA member. The nominee’s dissertation must have been completed within three years of the submission. This award may be given annually.

Materials needed: 

• A letter of nomination attesting to the quality of the dissertation, which may include the fit to science/mathematics education; how the dissertation represents the highest level of scholarship; the researcher's contribution to science/mathematics education, the research questions, and the manner in which the findings relate to the advancement /enhancement of science/mathematics education.
• A 2,000-2,500 word summary of the dissertation with no more than 1 page of references. There should be no reference to the author in the summary or references.
• A letter of intent from the author stating that he/she is willing to be nominated for the award and including the author's mailing address, email, and phone number.

Awardee: $500 award, one-year SSMA membership, a convention fee waiver to the annual SSMA Convention where the award will be presented, and the recipient will be invited to present a session at the Annual Convention about their dissertation. Additional funds may be available to support awardee(s) travel to the annual convention.

John Park Student Convention Award

To qualify for this Award, a graduate or undergraduate student must attend and present at the SSMA Annual Convention and must have incurred personal expenses to attend. To apply, the student must complete the Expenses Report form includes a listing of the expenses incurred to attend the Convention and details of financial support to attend the Convention from outside sources, for example, the student’s college/department or travel grants offered by the student’s university. The completed form must be submitted to [email protected] prior to the first day of the Convention. Each year at the Convention, one or more students who submit their Expense Report form and meet criteria for the Award will be randomly select from all students who submitted the Expense Report form and meet the criteria to receive the award. 

Maximum Award: Maximum of $400. Lesser amounts will be awarded to those selected wither personal expense less than $400.