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ASBMB Special Symposium:ASBMB Special Symposium:Student Centered Education in the Student Centered Education in the

Molecular and Life Sciences IIMolecular and Life Sciences IIUniversity of RichmondUniversity of Richmond

July 21, 2011July 21, 2011

Transforming Undergraduate Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM (TUES)Education in STEM (TUES)

An example of a program to improve An example of a program to improve undergraduate educationundergraduate education

Mary Lee Ledbetter Email: msledbet@nsf.gov

Division of Undergraduate EducationNational Science Foundation

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Outline of SessionOutline of Session

The TUES Program (formerly CCLI) What’s new What does a TUES type 1 proposal

look like? What Happens to Your Proposal? Common strengths and

weaknesses Questions

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Transforming Undergraduate Education in Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics (TUESMathematics (TUES)

DUE’s broadest, most flexible program

Purpose of the Program To improve the quality of STEM education for

all students by targeting activities affecting learning environments, course content, curricula, and educational practices

Supports projects at all levels of undergraduate education

Supports activities in the classroom, laboratory, and field settings

CCLI became TUES last year

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TUES: Three Scales of TUES: Three Scales of ProjectsProjects

Type 1 Projects (small grants)Up to $200,000 ($250,000 when 4-year & 2-year schools collaborate); 2 to 3 years (can occur at a single institution with primarily local impact)

Type 2 Projects (medium grants) Up to $600,000; 2 to 4 years; build on smaller-scale proven ideas. Diverse users at several institutions

Type 3 Projects (large grants) Up to $5,000,000; negotiable; 3 to 5 years; combine proven results and mature products. Involve several diverse institutions

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TUES: Additional TUES: Additional opportunityopportunity

Central Resource Projects: Leadership activities in TUES Research or evaluation on the TUES

program itself Meetings for TUES PIs or a large subset

to encourage cooperation among PIs Budget depends on scope and scale of

the project Need close consultation with the

program

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Implementing Educational Innovations

Creating New Learning Materials and

Teaching Strategies

Assessing Learning and

Evaluating Innovations

Developing Faculty

Expertise

Project Project ComponentComponent

ss

Research on Undergraduate

STEM Teaching and

Learning

TUES “Cycle of Innovation”TUES “Cycle of Innovation”

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TUES - Creating New Learning TUES - Creating New Learning Materials and Teaching Materials and Teaching

StrategiesStrategies Type 1 projects can focus on piloting new

educational materials and instructional methodologies; Type 2 projects on larger-scale development, broad testing, and assessment.

Type 1 projects can focus on outcomes at a single site, but must include assessment and community engagement.

Can be combined with other components, especially faculty development in Type 2.

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TUES - DTUES - Developing Faculty Expertiseeveloping Faculty Expertise

Methods that enable faculty to gain expertise May range from short-term workshops to

sustained activities Foster new communities of scientists in

undergraduate education Cost-effective professional development

Diverse group of faculty Leading to implementation

May be combined with other components, especially materials development and assessment

Excellent opportunities exist for you to participate in regional and national workshops

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TUES - Implementing Educational TUES - Implementing Educational InnovationsInnovations

Phase 1 projects generally Projects must result in improved STEM

education at local institution using exemplary materials, laboratory experiences, or educational practices developed and tested at other institutions.

TUES-Implementation projects must stand as models for broader adaptation in the community.

Proposals may request funds in any budget category supported by NSF, including instrumentation

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TUES - Assessing Learning and TUES - Assessing Learning and Evaluating InnovationsEvaluating Innovations

Design and test new assessment and evaluation tools and processes.

Apply new and existing tools to conduct broad-based assessments Must span multiple projects and be of

general interest

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TUES - Conducting Research on TUES - Conducting Research on STEM Teaching and LearningSTEM Teaching and Learning

Develop new research on teaching and learning

Synthesize previous results and theories

Practical focus Testable new ideas Impact on STEM educational practices.

May be combined with other components

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Lessons From Prior Rounds Lessons From Prior Rounds of the Program of the Program

Type 1 is an open competition – many new players;

Type 2 requires substantial demonstrated preliminary work;

Type 3 is for projects from an experienced team with a national scale.

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Examples of Phase (Type) 1 Examples of Phase (Type) 1 CCLI Projects CCLI Projects

David Jackson, Dickinson College “Integrating Photon Quantum Mechanics in the Undergraduate Curriculum,” NSF award 0737230

David Roundy et al, Oregon State U, Michael Rogers, Ithaca College, John Thompson, U Maine “Collaborative Research: Paradigms in Physics: Creating and Testing Materials to Facilitate Dissemination of the Energy and Entropy Module” NSF awards 0837278, 0837301, 0837214

Mark Reeves, George Washington U “A Bio-Focused Introductory Physics Course”, NSF award 0837278

Michael Schatz, Georgia Tech “Transforming Homework into Cyberlearning in an Introductory STEM Course”, NSF award 0942076.

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What was new for 2010 What was new for 2010

TYPES have replaced PHASES Raised limit on budget size ($200K, $600K,

$5M, $3M) Explicit encouragement of projects with the

potential to be transformative New Central Resource Project opportunity Increased emphasis on building on knowledge

of how student learn (explore the literature on teaching and learning), building on prior work, and encouraging widespread adoption of excellent teaching methods.

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What is new for 2011 What is new for 2011

Increased emphasis on projects that have the potential to transform undergraduate education Special interest in widespread adoption of

exemplary materials Larger projects should promote adaptation

elsewhere Increased emphasis on institutionalization of

project and sustainability beyond the grant period While some added emphases, no significant

change in direction Remains DUE’s core program that funds the best

ideas in the disciplines (and interdisciplinary projects)

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Human Subjects and the IRBHuman Subjects and the IRB(Institutional Review Board)(Institutional Review Board)

Projects collecting data from or on students or faculty members are considered to involve human subjects and require IRB review

Proposal should indicate IRB status on cover Exempt, Approved, Pending Grants will require official statement from IRB

declaring the research exempt or approved before they can be funded

See “Human Subjects” section in GPG NOTE: For TUES, IRB approval usually is

obtained during award negotiations, not with proposal.

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Funding and DeadlinesFunding and Deadlines

Expect to fund, in all disciplines 130 Type 1 projects (~950 proposals) 45 Type 2 projects 4-6 Type 3 projects 1-3 Central Resource projects

Proposal Deadlines Type 1: May 28-29, 2012 Type 2 and 3, and CRP : January 13, 2012 [Focused CRP workshops by agreement.]

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Resources for Models Resources for Models and Examplesand Examples

Disciplinary Education Journals (BAMBEd; CBE: Life Sciences Education, etc.)

CUR Quarterly Faculty Development Workshops NSF Award Search

http://nsf.gov/awardsearch/ Search by program, key word(s) Program web page on the NSF-DUE-TUES

site includes link to recent awards (abstracts)

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Writing a Proposal: Getting Writing a Proposal: Getting StartedStarted

Grant #0837640 to Allegheny College

PI: Shaun Murphree

Introduction of a Guided-inquiry Curriculum in Organic Chemistry by means of Microwave-assisted Synthesis

$149,704 for 36 months

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Parts of the proposal

Proposal number Cover page Table of contents Project description (15 page limit) References Biographical sketch (2 pages; desired content) Proposal budget (year by year and cumulative) with budget justification Current and pending support Facilities, equipment, and other resources

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Mock review: Think, share, reportFocus on the project description:

Intellectual merit Broader impactOther important features of TUES projects:Intellectual merit:

Produce exemplary material, processes, models Important findings related to student learning Builds on existing knowledge about STEM education Explicit outcomes expected and measurable Useful evaluation plan Appropriate plans for institutionalization

Broader impact:Effort to facilitate adaptation at other kinds of institutions with other kinds of studentsContribute to STEM education communityBroaden access of underrepresented groups

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Formatting, Fastlane, and Formatting, Fastlane, and Grants.govGrants.gov

NSF proposal format requirementsNSF proposal format requirements 15 single-spaced pages15 single-spaced pages Check fonts permittedCheck fonts permitted Intellectual Merit & Broader Impact explicit in Project Intellectual Merit & Broader Impact explicit in Project

SummarySummary Data Management PlanData Management Plan Post-doctoral Mentoring PlanPost-doctoral Mentoring Plan (RUI Impact Statement)(RUI Impact Statement)

Fastlane submissionFastlane submission Web-based software – access from any browserWeb-based software – access from any browser Mature, well-supported system for NSFMature, well-supported system for NSF Accepts many file types, converts them to .pdfAccepts many file types, converts them to .pdf

Grants.govGrants.gov Government-wide system no longer available for NSF Government-wide system no longer available for NSF

proposal submission.proposal submission. Solicitation: NSF 10-544Solicitation: NSF 10-544

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What Happens to your What Happens to your Proposal?Proposal?

Submission of proposal via FastLane Proposals are reviewed by mail and/or panels of faculty

within the discipline(s) [Note: DUE primarily uses panels]

A minimum of three persons outside NSF review each proposal

For proposals reviewed by a panel, individual reviews and a panel summary are prepared for each proposal

NSF program staff member attends the panel discussion The Program Officer assigned to manage the proposal’s

review considers the advice of reviewers and formulates a recommendation

Negotiations may be necessary to address reviewers’ comments, budget issues, and other concerns

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What Happens to Your ProposalWhat Happens to Your Proposal (cont.)(cont.)

NSF strives to inform applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months.

Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, is provided to the PI.

Proposals recommended for funding are forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements for review.

Only Grants and Agreements Officers may make awards.

Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a DGA Officer.

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How to Really Learn about How to Really Learn about Programs and ProcessPrograms and Process

Become a reviewer for the proposals submitted to the program Give me a business card noting your interest and your area

of expertise on the back Send e-mail to the lead or disciplinary program officer

expressing interest. A CV is helpful.

Your name will be added to the database of potential reviewers

We want to use many new reviewers each year, especially for Type 1

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Important Features of Important Features of Successful TUES ProjectsSuccessful TUES Projects

Quality, Relevance, and Impact: Transform

Student Focus Use of and Contribution to the STEM

Education Knowledge Base STEM Education Community-Building Expected Measurable Outcomes Project Evaluation

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Quality, Relevance and Quality, Relevance and ImpactImpact Innovative

State-of-the-art products, processes, and ideas

Latest technology in laboratories and classrooms

Have broad implication for STEM education Even projects that involve a local

implementation

Advance knowledge and understanding Within the discipline Within STEM education in general

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Student FocusStudent Focus

Focus on student learning Project activities linked to STEM learning

Consistent with the nature of today’s students

Reflect the students’ perspective Student input in design of the project

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STEM Education STEM Education Knowledge BaseKnowledge Base

Reflect high quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

Rationale and methods derived from the existing STEM education knowledge base

Effective approach for adding the results to knowledge base

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Community-BuildingCommunity-Building Include interactions with

Investigators working on similar or related approaches in PI’s discipline and others

Experts in evaluation, educational psychology or other similar fields

Benefit from the knowledge and experience of others

Engage experts in the development and evaluation of the educational innovation

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Expected Measurable Expected Measurable OutcomesOutcomes

Goals and objectives translated into expected measurable outcomes Specific to the project

Some expected measurable outcomes on Student learning Contributions to the knowledge base Community building

Use to monitor progress, guide the project, and evaluate its ultimate impact

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Project EvaluationProject Evaluation Include strategies for

Monitoring the project as it evolves Evaluating the project’s effectiveness when

completed Based on the project-specific expected

measurable outcomes Appropriate for scope of the project Evaluator not one of the project team

itselfNote: Plan to include the evaluator in the project

design

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Other programs in DUE Scholarship programs:

Noyce (for preparing STEM majors for secondary school teaching) S-STEM (to assist financially needy students to complete STEM majors) Scholarship for Service (to encourage computer science students interested in cybersecurity

Programs to increase success of STEM majors: STEM Talent Expansion Program STEM Talent Expansion Program Centers Advanced Technology Education

Programs managed with other NSF directorates: Research Cooperative Networks in Undergraduate Biology Education