WebinarNSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Program

Program Description: NSF 14-588

Note: This presentation is for the EHR Directorate version of the IUSE program. For information about other NSF IUSE opportunities, refer to ‘Dear Colleague Letters’ and other program descriptions.

WebinarNSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Program

Presentation led by: Jill Singer, SUNY-Buffalo StateAlso present to answer questions: Keith Sverdrup, NSF DUE Geosciences

Program Officer

With assistance fromThe Virtual Faculty Collaborative (a partnership among AAAS, Louisiana

State University, and Higher Education Services) in collaboration with NSFSpecial thanks to Roger Seals (the ‘web wizard’)

October 2, 2014

WebinarNSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) Program

This webinar is divided into two parts – each 1 hour in duration

Hour 1: General Overview of ProgramHour 2: More information especially relevant to

geosciences community

For more information about the IUSE (EHR) program, go to:

http://www.nsflsu.com/nsf-iuse-webinar-recordings-september-2014.html

Disclaimer• This Webinar represents the opinions of the presenters

(Jill Singer and Jeff Ryan) and it is not an official NSF document

• Presenters are former rotators and served as NSF DUE program officers

• In preparing the webinar materials, the presenters have had several discussions with Keith Sverdrup, DUE Geosciences program officer

Keith Sverdrup will answer questions in both Hour 1 and Hour 2 of this webinar.

? To submit a question, use the control panel that appears on your screen and type your question into the chat/message box at any time during the webinar.

Hour 1:• Introduction to IUSE - EHR Program• Program description• Review criteria• Proposal preparation advice• Q&A #1

Hour 2:• Why it is important to submit an IUSE - EHR proposal• Geoscience topics of special interest• Geoscience tips and other advice• Q&A#2

? To submit a question, use the control panel that appears on your screen and type your question into the chat/message box at any time.

Webinar Topics

IUSE - EHR Program

• Broadening participation by increasing the number and diversity of STEM majors

• Develop the professional STEM workforce

• Contribute to a STEM-literate society

• Foster widespread use of evidence-based resources and pedagogies

• Build new knowledge about evidence-based strategies and disseminating best practices

IUSE - EHR supports 2 NSF strategic goals:

Transform the frontiers of science and engineering

• Supporting fundamental, high-risk and potentially transformative research in science and engineering

• Education of the next generation of the STEM workforce to continue this transformation

IUSE - EHR supports 2 NSF strategic goals:

Stimulate innovation and address societal needs through research and education

• Supports research and development on STEM education

• Prepare a diverse, globally competent STEM

workforce and a STEM-literate citizenry

Collectively, IUSE - EHR projects will

• Increase student retention in STEM

• Prepare students to participate in science for tomorrow

• Improve students' STEM learning outcomes

• Generate knowledge on how students learn and on effective practice in undergraduate classrooms

• Broaden participation in STEM fields

• Advance the preparation of a globally-competitive workforce, including teachers

IUSE - EHR has two tracks with different levels of funding:

Exploration & Design/Development

Track 1: Engaged Student Learning (ESL)

Track 2: Institutional and Community Transformation (ICT)

Note – specific deadlines apply for the two tracks and for levels of funding Exploration tier is for ESL and ICT projects and can be up to

$250K for 2 years Design and Development tier supports larger scale efforts in

ESL and ICT tracks

IUSE - EHR Structure

Two Tracks:Engaged Student Learning (ESL)

Exploration: up to $250K, 2 years

Design and Development – 2 Levels:

Level I: up to $600 K, 3 years - Scale of multiple institutions

or multiple disciplines at an institution

Level II: $600,001 - $2M, 5 years - Large-scale efforts or

long-term research

Institutional and Community Transformation (ICT)Exploration: up to $250K, 2 years

Design and Development – only 1 Level:

Up to $3M, 5 years

 

Workshops, Conferences, and Special Projects encouraged:

up to $75K - contact Program Officer in advance of preparing submission

Characteristics of the two IUSE – EHR tracks:

Engaged Student Learning (ESL)

Institutional and Community Transformation (ICT)

Engaged Student Learning (ESL) Track

Focus on design, development, and research studies Involve the creation, exploration, or implementation of tools,

resources, and models that show promise for increasing engagement of undergraduate students in STEM learning and leading to measurable and lasting learning gains.

Reflect disciplinary differences in needs and priorities

Projects are encouraged to form collaborations to leverage what is known about how people learn and to contribute to body of knowledge:• Collaborations could include: STEM education researchers, STEM

disciplinary researchers, and cognitive scientists

Undergraduate audience includes:• Students at all types of institutions and in all types of majors• Faculty members

Institutional and Community Transformation (ICT) Track

Supports projects that use innovative approaches to substantially increase the propagation of highly effective methods of STEM teaching and learning at the undergraduate level.

Projects may have variable scope and scale, e.g.,• high enrollment lower division courses or multiple courses• Courses within a single department or a college

Also seeks to learn whether theories of change from business or other sectors may be applicable to catalyze the institution-wide acceptance and use of proven effective teaching approaches.

IUSE - EHR Deadlines – FY2015

10/22/2014 10/24/2014 01/13/2015

Engaged Student Learning (ESL) Exploration Design and

Development I & II

Institutional and Community Transformation (ICT)

Exploration Design and Development

Workshops, Conferences, Special Projects

No Due Date No Due Date No Due Date

Strands that Run Through Entire Proposal

• Student learning• Budget to accomplish the project and carry out the identified activities

• What you want to know (evaluation) and what informs the project (for project improvement and determination of project impact)

• Dissemination and community engagement and adoption (if applicable to proposed project)

• Continuation of project beyond period of NSF (sustainability)

Review and Submission

• All proposals are reviewed using NSF’s merit criteria – Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts

• Additional program specific criteria may also apply• Refer to program solicitation for explanations for

merit criteria and program specific criteria• Prior support must be summarized (use headings IM

and BI and identify results, including dissemination)• Check spelling and grammar, margins, page limit,

font size, and use enough headings to help reviewers keep track of proposal sections

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program (IUSE)

Questions?

Type your question into the chat/message box

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program (IUSE) - EHR

END HOUR 1

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program (IUSE) - EHR

BEGIN HOUR 2

WebinarNSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM

Education (IUSE) Program

Program Description: NSF 14-588

Note: This presentation is for the EHR Directorate version of the IUSE program. For information about other NSF IUSE opportunities, refer to ‘Dear Colleague Letters’ and other program descriptions.

WebinarNSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM

Education (IUSE) Program

Presentation led by: Jill Singer, SUNY-Buffalo State Also present to answer questions: Keith Sverdrup, NSF DUE

Geosciences Program Officer

With assistance fromThe Virtual Faculty Collaborative (a partnership among AAAS, Louisiana State University, and Higher Education Services) in

collaboration with NSFSpecial thanks to Roger Seals (the ‘web wizard’)

October 2, 2014

WebinarNSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM

Education (IUSE) Program

This webinar is divided into two parts – each 1 hour in duration

Hour 1: General Overview of ProgramHour 2: More information especially relevant to

geosciences community

For more information about the IUSE (EHR) program, go to:

http://www.nsflsu.com/nsf-iuse-webinar-recordings-september-2014.html

Disclaimer• This Webinar represents the opinions of the presenters

(Jill Singer and Jeff Ryan) and it is not an official NSF document

• Presenters are former rotators and served as NSF DUE program officers

• In preparing the webinar materials, the presenters have had several discussions with Keith Sverdrup, DUE Geosciences program officer

Keith Sverdrup will answer questions in both Hour 1 and Hour 2 of this webinar.

? To submit a question, use the control panel that appears on your screen and type your question into the chat/message box at any time during the webinar.

Hour 1:• Introduction to IUSE EHR Program• Program description• Review criteria• Proposal preparation advice• Q&A #1

Hour 2:• Why it is important to submit an IUSE - EHR proposal• Geoscience topics of special interest• Geoscience tips and more advice• Q&A#2

? To submit a question, use the control panel that appears on your screen and type your question into the chat/message box at any time.

Webinar Topics

Where are the Geoscience Proposals?

Some reasons cited by geoscientists for not submitting proposals:• Fear of rejection• Unlikely to get funded without strong publication record• Doesn't "count" as research• High teaching load • Lack of time to develop ideas and write proposals• Lack of skills to prepare proposal• Unfamiliar with proposal process (from writing the proposal to submitting it)• Lack of prior experience• Increased workload if funded - commitment from institution uncertain. • The time it takes to form partnerships and collaborations• Knowledge of programs• Lead time for proposal writing and preparation• New faculty member• Small department• All my ideas seem like they already have been done• Feeling like my ideas for proposals are just "part of my job" and don't "deserve" external funding.• Finding an evaluator• Requirement for IRB• Budget preparation• Pressure to submit research proposals is greater

Where are the Geoscience Proposals?• Of the reasons given, lack of time is the most frequent response and will be

difficult to overcome• None of the reasons provided are unique to the geoscience community• As a community we must do what we can to increase the number of quality

proposals submitted to the IUSE program

Lack of proposals is a concern for the entire geosciences community Missed opportunities to compete for available resources IUSE Program money is in part based on relative number of proposals among

disciplines. Fewer geosciences proposals translates to less money to fund projects

Lack of visibility within the Division of Undergraduate Education. Only one geosciences program officer in the division while other disciplines have 2 or more program officers

We are an active community but hard to believe that based on the low number of submissions to IUSE and previous programs (e.g., CCLI, TUES among others)

Faculty doing good work that could be supported by NSF

IUSE - EHR Structure

Two Tracks:Engaged Student Learning (ESL)

Exploration: up to $250K, 2 years

Design and Development – 2 Levels:

Level I: up to $600 K, 3 years - Scale of multiple institutions or multiple disciplines at an institution

Level II: $600,001 - $2M, 5 years - Large-scale efforts or long-term research

Institutional and Community Transformation (ICT)Exploration: up to $250K, 2 years

Design and Development: up to $3M, 5 years

 

Workshops, Conferences, and Special Projectsup to $75K (discuss idea with program officer before preparing a proposal)

Engaged Student Learning (ESL) Track

Focus on design, development, and research studies Involve the creation, exploration, or implementation of tools,

resources, and models that show promise for increasing engagement of undergraduate students in STEM learning and leading to measurable and lasting learning gains.

Reflect disciplinary differences in needs and priorities

Projects are encouraged to form collaborations to leverage what is known about how people learn and to contribute to body of knowledge:• Collaborations could include: STEM education researchers, STEM

disciplinary researchers, and Cognitive scientists

Undergraduate audience includes:• Students at all types of institutions and in all types of majors• Faculty members

Engaged Student Learning (ESL) Track

Exploration Projects

• Small-scale efforts • Deadline of Oct 22, 2014• Budgets up to $250,000• Maximum duration of 2 years

• These projects may seek to• Pose and investigate new teaching materials or instructional strategies• Pose and investigate new methods of assessing student learning and

achievement• Adapt and implement strategies that have proven effective at other

institutions• Many others consistent with IUSE Program goals

• Expected to contribute to the body of knowledge about • STEM teaching and learning • Effective means to broader implementation

Institutional and Community Transformation (ICT) Track

Supports projects that use innovative approaches to substantially increase the propagation of highly effective methods of STEM teaching and learning at the undergraduate level.

Projects may have variable scope and scale, e.g.,• High enrollment lower division courses or multiple courses• Courses within a single department or a college

Also seeks to learn whether theories of change from business or other sectors may be applicable to catalyze the institution-wide acceptance and use of proven effective teaching approaches.

Institutional and Community Transformation (ICT) Track

Exploration Projects

• Small-scale efforts • Deadline of Oct 24, 2014• Budgets up to $250K• Maximum durations of 2 years

• These projects may seek to• Develop strategies for the adoption, adaptation, and implementation of

effective practices by a growing number of faculty instructors• Explore challenges to their adoption, with the goal of informing policy,

practice, and future development in education enterprise

• Expected to contribute to the body of knowledge about • STEM teaching and learning • Effective means to broader implementation

What is HOT in Geosciences?

• Understanding how students learn geoscience concepts  (e.g., cognitive, affective)

• Bringing new research findings into the classroom • Integration of large data sets into the classroom• Visualization software and improving our students' ability to

visualize data • Use of cyberlearning tools and platforms (e.g., Google Earth) • Innovative ways to integrate research equipment into

undergraduate curricula • Topics of special interest: climate change, sustainability, and

energy • Interdisciplinary projects that combine geosciences with other

STEM disciplines

Pitfalls and Tips• Avoid writing in a vacuum unaware of best practices, body of literature about

effective pedagogy, other efforts that inform the proposed project• Remedy: Plan to spend several days reviewing SERC and using the pointers to

other sites, citations in the solicitation, and abstracts of funded projects

• Citing the literature but not connecting to it; not making it clear how the proposed project builds upon the knowledge base• Remedy: Be specific about how your project is informed by best practices and prior work and

identify ways your proposed project will contribute to advancing the discipline and improving our understanding of what works and what doesn’t

• Budget that is inflated or too small to get the job done• Remedy: Ask for what is needed to carry out the proposed work plan and explain everything

you request in the proposal (e.g., salary based on effort, instruments, students, travel, dissemination, and project evaluation) and include explanation in the budget justification. The budget should align with your proposal

• Avoid passive dissemination plans & consider sustainability after NSF funding• Remedy: Consider ways of engaging community in all stages of proposed project. Take

advantage of regional and national geoscience conferences to share findings. The more you connect your project to department/institutional priorities the higher the likelihood of sustaining the project after funding ends.

Proposal Preparation

• Identify and describe your target audience, including students’ backgrounds

• Describe how project engages students inside and outside the classroom• Identify your collaborators and what each partner will contribute to the

project• Provide sufficient detail about the project, what educational problem or

challenge you are addressing, significance of the problem, and how you will implement the project

• Explain how the project builds upon and takes advantage of existing resources and what the literature tells us about how students learn

• If equipment is requested, clearly demonstrate its educational benefits and how students will use the equipment

• Include a plan for engaging the community• Explain how the project will be evaluated and identify the evaluator• Provide a timeline and measureable outcomes for each activity• Identify all budget needs

Planning to submit a proposal?

And want some feedback on a few pages,

evaluation plan, or budget?

Take advantage of ‘Just-in-Time’ IUSE advice during the GSA meeting in Vancouver

• Stop by the NSF booth and leave a message (and include your contact information) for Jeff Ryan and Jill Singer

• One of us will get back in touch with you and schedule a time to meet

• Due to limited time, we are not able to read the entire proposal, but can look over up to 5 pages and provide feedback during the meeting

Not quite ready to submit a proposal?

And want to learn more about the process and what makes a competitive high quality proposal?

Serve as a reviewer for the IUSE program

• Review panels include experienced & new reviewers• Reviewers are typically assigned 12-14 proposals to read

and prepare individual reviews• Reviewers participate in discussions with other panel

members

If you are interested in serving as a reviewer, email a 2-page biographical sketch (NSF format or equivalent) to:

Keith Sverdrup, DUE Geosciences Program Officer

KSVERDRU@nsf.gov

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program (IUSE)

Questions?

Type your question into the chat/message box