Please note for all proposals that must be submitted via Grants.gov,
the Office of University Research Services must have the final
complete proposal, with all required attachments, no later
than 48 hours prior to the agency deadline. Because of the
higher possibility of technical difficulties with this new
submission engine, the OURS cannot guarantee that proposals
received later than 48 hours prior to the deadline will be
submitted on time. Please direct any questions to the Office
of University Research Services, 4-2236 or ours@towson.edu.
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Agency: National Science Foundation
Deadline: May 21, 2009 (Type 1 proposals)
January 13, 2010 (Type 2 and 3 proposals)
The Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program seeks to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for all undergraduate students. It especially welcomes proposals that have the potential to transform undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for all students. The program supports efforts to create, adapt, and disseminate new learning materials and teaching strategies to reflect advances both in STEM disciplines and in what is known about teaching and learning. It funds projects that develop faculty expertise, implement educational innovations, assess learning and evaluate innovations, prepare K-12 teachers, or conduct research on STEM teaching and learning. It also supports projects that further the work of the program itself, for example, synthesis and dissemination of findings across the program. The program supports projects representing different stages of development, ranging from small, exploratory investigations to large, comprehensive projects.
Typically, projects include one or more of the components described below and they build on prior knowledge, both in the STEM fields and in undergraduate education. In addition, CCLI welcomes proposals describing untested, forward-looking, and unconventional activities that could have a high impact and contribute to transforming undergraduate STEM education. Prospective principal investigators for this kind of project should discuss their ideas with a CCLI Program Officer in advance of proposal submission to help gauge the appropriate scope and scale of the proposal.
- Creating Learning Materials and Strategies: Projects developing new learning materials and strategies for improving courses, curriculum, and laboratories should be guided by research on teaching and learning and should incorporate and be inspired by advances within the disciplines. Instrumentation and equipment requests are appropriate but must be based on their impact on student learning.
- Implementing New Instructional Strategies: P roposals are welcomed that change undergraduate STEM courses, curricula, and laboratories by implementing strategies to reflect proven or promising pedagogical techniques in ways that encourage widespread adoption. These strategies may come from previous CCLI projects or from other sources in the STEM community. Instrumentation and equipment requests are appropriate in implementation projects, based on their impact on student learning, and provided a convincing case is made that the planned acquisition contributes to understanding how to achieve widespread adoption of the approach they support. Implementation projects should contribute to the community’s understanding of how new strategies are transferred to diverse settings and how they impact student learning. Evaluation plans for implementation projects should explore the challenges and opportunities for adapting new strategies in diverse educational settings. Projects that specifically address the challenges to achieving widespread adoption of proven practice are especially welcome.
- Developing Faculty Expertise: Projects focused on developing faculty expertise can range from short-term workshops to sustained activities. They should include evaluation efforts to describe the impact on the faculty participants, and in large, later stage projects, on student learning in classes taught by these faculty. Projects should provide professional development for a diverse group of faculty so that new materials and teaching strategies can be widely implemented.
- Assessing and Evaluating Student Achievement: Proposals for designing processes and instruments to measure the effectiveness of new materials and instructional methods are responsive to this solicitation. Some projects may develop and disseminate valid and reliable tests of STEM knowledge; other projects may collect, synthesize, and interpret information about student understanding, reasoning, practical skills, interests, attitudes, or other valued outcomes. Projects that apply new and existing processes and instruments to conduct broad-based evaluations of educational programs or practices are appropriate if they span multiple institutions and are of general interest. In discussing these aspects of curricular change, projects should carefully document institutional demographics and characteristics. Projects using established instruments and strategies and likely to have only a local impact are discouraged.
- Conducting Research on Undergraduate STEM Education: Results from assessments of learning and teaching as well as from projects emphasizing other programmatic components provide a foundation for developing new and revised models of how undergraduate STEM students learn. Research to explore how effective teaching strategies and curricula enhance learning and attitudes, how widespread practices have diffused through the community, and how faculty and programs implement changes in their curriculum are appropriate. Research results should provide a foundation for creating learning materials, teaching strategies, faculty development approaches, and evaluation methodologies that have the potential for a direct impact on STEM educational practices.
The CCLI program is accepting proposals under this solicitation for awards at three levels of support, designated Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3, as well as for awards for projects that support the work of the program itself. The types reflect a combination of the scale, scope, and stage of the proposed work. The scale of the work refers to the number of institutions, faculty, and students with whom the work engages. Scope refers to the range of project components involved. Stage refers to the place of the work along a continuum from early conceptual development through deployment of mature, well-tested approaches. Type 2 and 3 projects will typically reflect greater dependence on previous work, supported by the CCLI program or by other sources, and may be at a more mature stage of development than Type 1 projects. However, the Types are independent, and the choice should be made based on the resources required to achieve the desired outcomes. In every case there should be the potential for lasting improvement in the quality of instruction.
Type 1 projects are expected to be significant enough to contribute to understanding undergraduate STEM education. The total budget is up to $200,000 ($250,000 when four-year colleges and universities collaborate with two-year colleges) for 2 to 3 years. NSF expects to make 90 to 100 awards.
Type 2 projects will typically address more than one program component, or, if they focus on a single component, will address it at a scale that goes well beyond a single institution. The total budget is up to $600,000 for 2 to 4 years. NSF expects to make 25 to 35 awards.
Type 3 projects are intended to support large scale efforts. Projects that continue from previous work should include an explicit discussion of the results and impact produced by that work. Proposals for projects that are designed to break new ground at a large scale should discuss evidence that supports the validity of the approach, and must reflect current understanding of how students learn. The budget is negotiable, but not to exceed $5,000,000 over 5 years.
URL: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09529/nsf09529.html?govDel=USNSF_25
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Agency: Maryland Higher Education Commission
Deadline: March 18, 2009
The purpose of the Maryland College Access Challenge Grant Program (MCACGP) is to increase the number of underrepresented students in Maryland who enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Recognizing the key to impacting the future success of students is to reach them early, the MCACGP is focusing on college awareness and career planning activities targeted to middle school students and their families. Projects must provide one or more of the following types of activities:
- College Awareness Activities for Underrepresented Students and Their Families
- Services to Increase the Number of Underrepresented Students taking Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) or Maryland Scholars Courses in High School
- Career Preparation Services to Underrepresented Students
Based on U.S. Census and school achievement data, the areas identified as having the greatest need were Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.Baltimore City and Prince George’s County school systems have identified 24 middle schools eligible to receive services under this grant program. Please refer to the funding announcement for a list of participating middle schools. Prospective applicants must contact the middle school(s) for which activities/services are proposed before planning an application. All applications are required to include a letter of support from the principal or designee of each school. Failure to include a letter(s) of support may render an application ineligible.
The MCACGP will award up to $60,000 to a single nonprofit organization working with one or more of the designated middle schools and up to $150,000 to a partnership of organizations working with at least five of the designated middle schools. Award recipients will be notified between April 9-10, 2009 and projects are expected to begin April 27, 2009. Funding is provided for one year.
Two technical assistance meetings will be held to assist interested applicants: January 29 and February 05, 2009 (9:30 am – 12:00 pm). Both are scheduled to be held at the Charles I. Ecker Business Training Center, Gateway Building, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, Maryland 21046. At these meetings, MHEC will present an overview of the MCACGP, review the RFA, and answer any questions. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Linda Liberatore at liberat@mhec.state.md.us. In your response, clearly indicate which technical assistance meeting you plan to attend.
URL: http://www.mhec.state.md.us/Grants/MdCollAccessChallGrant/MdCollAccessChallGrant.asp
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Agency: American Psychological Foundation
Deadline: March 15, 2009
The American Psychological Foundation (APF) is a nonprofit, philanthropic organization that provides financial support for innovative research and programs that enhance the power of psychology to elevate the human condition and advance human potential both now and in generations to come.
APF Visionary and Weiss grants seek to seed innovation through supporting research, education, and intervention projects and programs that use psychology to solve social problems in the following priority areas:
- Understanding and fostering the connection between mental and physical health to ensure well ‐ being;
- Reducing stigma and prejudice to promote unity and harmony;
- Understanding and preventing violence to create a safer, more humane world; and
- Supporting programs that address the long ‐ term psychological needs of individuals and communities in the aftermath of disaster.
One ‐ year grants are available in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. Multi ‐ year grants are no longer available. Additionally, a $10,000 Raymond A. and Rosalee G. Weiss Innovative Research and Programs Grant is also available for any program that falls within APF’s priority areas.
Applicants must be affiliated with 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations therefore, proposals must be submitted through the TU Foundation. APF will NOT consider the following requests for grants to support: political or lobbying purposes
- entertainment or fundraising expenses
- anyone the Internal Revenue Service would regard as a disqualified group or individual
- localized direct service
- conference/workshop expenses
APF encourages proposals from individuals who represent diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, and sexual orientation.
Proposals will be judged on the following primary criteria:
- The criticality of the need addressed in the proposal.
- The goals and objectives of the project/program as they relate to APF’s priorities.
- Technical quality and level of innovation of proposed work.
- Competence required for execution (e.g. cultural competence, appropriate samples, etc.).
- Adequate work plan for goal attainment.
- Demonstrate impact on the stated problem.
- An appropriate budget for the proposed scope of work.
URL: www.apa.org/apf/grantguide.html
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