UF Invites Internal Nominations for ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards

UF seeks internal nominations for the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards, which supports research and career advancement for junior faculty at Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) member institutions by awarding $5,000 in seed money. Furthermore, award recipients at will receive an additional matching fund of at least $5,000 from their department or college. More information on eligibility and internal submission guidelines can be found here. The internal deadline to submit nominations is Sunday, October 23, 2022.

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Nominations for 2023 AERA Awards Now Open

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) invites nominations for the 2023 AERA awards, which honors excellence in education research. To learn more about this year’s awards, nomination criteria, or submit a nomination, please click here. The nomination portals for all AERA awards close Thursday, October 13, 2022.

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UF Research Promotion Initiative

UF’s Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing (SCM) is accepting submissions for its Research Promotion Initiative (RPI). The RPI supports researchers by sharing works that have been accepted but not yet published to be featured on UF news and social media platform, as well as pitched to external media organizations. Additionally, winners of the RPI will receive a funding award of $1,000 for research-related activities. Research from all areas is invited to apply, and research related to artificial intelligence is strongly encouraged to enter. Every two weeks, the RPI committee selects a winner to be highlighted on UF news and marketing channels. Entries that are not selected for the funding award may still be considered to be promoted by SCM and/or the applicant’s college or unit communications office.

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IES Announces New Research and Development Center Competition

The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) released a funding announcement for the 2023 fiscal year inviting applicants to submit research proposals to the new Research and Development Center (R&D) Center on Supporting Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education – the Postsecondary Center. The competition is working to establish the Postsecondary Center as a program of exploratory research and conducting national leadership and capacity-building activities, seeking to provide an evidence base and the research capacity capable of addressing the most pressing needs of postsecondary students with disabilities. More information regarding the IES programs, application process, and deadlines can be found here.

  • Applications are available Friday, September 30, 2022
  • Letters of intent are due Friday, October 21, 2022
  • The application deadline is Thursday, January 12, 2023
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LEARN NCADE Faculty Input Request

The Learning and Education Academic Research Network (LEARN) Coalition are currently engaging with House and Senate appropriators regarding the interest in expanding the Institute for Educational Sciences (IES) with the creation of the National Center for Advanced Development in Educational Research (NCADE). The LEARN Coalition NCADE response letter can be read in full here. If you would like to share any comments or input of your own, please contact Ana Puig at anapuig@coe.ufl.edu.

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Awarded Projects for August 2022

Congratulations to Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko for his subcontract award, from the National Science Foundation; Zandra de Araujo for her award from Marion County Public Schools; Frank Fernandez his award from the Spencer Foundation; Justin Ortagus for his award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Philip Poekert for his award from Orange County Public Schools; Paige Pullen for her award from the School Board of Sarasota County; Eunjin “Jinnie” Shin for her award from Atlus Assessments; and Wanli Xing for his award from the National Science Foundation.

Read more →

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Submitted Projects for August 2022

Best wishes to Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko for his subcontract National Science Foundation flow through proposal to the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Anthony Botelho for his subcontract IES flow through proposal to the University of Pennsylvania; Mary Bratsch-Hines for her proposal to the National Science Foundation; Ashley Pennypacker Hill for her proposal to the Florida Department of Education; Melinda Leko for her subcontract IES flow through proposal to the University of Wisconsin Madison; Kathrin Maki for her subcontract IES flow through proposal to the University of Houston; Philip Poekert and Zandra de Araujo for their subcontract U.S. Department of Education flow through proposal to The Kentucky Department of Education; Philip Poekert for his subcontract IES flow through proposal to the University of Missouri; Philip Poekert, Zandra de Araujo, and Paige Pullen for their proposal to the School District of Indian River County; Paige Pullen and Philip Poekert for their proposal to the Florida Department of Education; Paige Pullen for her proposal to the Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education; Darbianne Shannon for her subcontract Pennsylvania Department of Education flow through proposal to Tuscarora Intermediate Unit; Wani Xing and Maya Israel for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; and Anne Corinne Huggins-Manley for her subcontract IES flow through proposal to Western Carolina University. Read more →

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National Academy of Education (NAEd)/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships

The NAEd/Spencer Foundation is accepting applications for their non-residential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, which supports early career researchers working to address critical areas of educational research. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Program will fund 25 individual fellows, each receiving $70,000 for one academic year of research, or $35,000 for two contiguous years, working half-time. Professional development retreats will also be held, along with mentorship from current NAEd members or senior scholars in their fields. To be eligible, candidates must have earned their PhD, EdD, or equivalent research degree between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, and should have experience in educational research. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, November 16, 2022. 

Additionally, the NAEd/Spencer Foundation will be hosting an informational webinar for those interested in applying. Registration is now open.

  • Wednesday, September 21st, 2022
    2:00 pm ET
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Federal Grant Proposals Temporarily Restricted During Grants.gov System Downtime

Grants.gov, the federal-wide portal for accepting federal grant submissions, will be offline from September 22-30, 2022. Federal grant proposals cannot be submitted during this time. Additionally, NIH deadlines during this time will move to Monday, October 3. Further information can be found here and here. UF’s internal deadline for all proposals will be Friday, September 30. UFIRST will not be able to gather opportunity announcements from September 22-30. Due to the scheduled outage, the adjusted proposal deadline also moves closer to NIH’s October 5 deadline. Thus, it is recommended to initiate potential proposals before September 22. Please plan accordingly.

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IES Math & Science Learning Acceleration Challenges Applications Now Open

The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) invites proposal submissions for the Learning Acceleration Challenges, which seeks school-based interventions to significantly improve student outcomes in math and science. There are two challenges available under the IES Learning Acceleration Challenges. The Math Prize seeks digital interventions to support third through fifth-grade students with or at risk of a disability that affects math performance. The Science Prize aims to address and improve science achievement for middle school students through non-digital, digital, or hybrid interventions. Several cash prizes are available, starting at $25,000, with a grand prize of $500,000 for the Math and Science Prizes. The application deadline for both challenges is Friday, September 30, 2022.

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Awarded Projects for July 2022

Congratulations to Catherine Cavanaugh for her two subcontract awards, both from Florida’s Office of Early Learning; Alice Kaye Emery for her award from the Florida Department of Education; Philip Poekert and Zandra de Araujo for their subcontract US Department of Education flow through award from Alabama State Department of Education; Paige Pullen for her subcontract Admin for Children and Families flow through award from Lutheran Services Florida; Seyedahmad Rahimi for his subcontract IES flow through award from Florida State University; Idalis Villanueva Alarcon and Linda Searby for their award from the National Science Foundation; Ross van Boven for his award from the Florida Department of Education; and Wanli Xing for his award from the National Science Foundation.

Read more →

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Submitted Projects for July 2022

Best wishes to Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko and Kara Dawson for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; May Mansy, Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko, and Mary Jo Koroly for their proposal to the National Institutes of Health; Amor Menezes, Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko, and Karla Shelnutt for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; Kent Crippen for his subcontract NIH flow through proposal to the Institute for Future Intelligence; Wei Li for his proposal to the National Science Foundation; Hongcheng Liu and David Miller for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; Mostafa Reisi Gahrooei and David Miller for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; Anne Corinne Manley for her subcontract IES flow through proposal to Boston University; Robert Moore for his proposal to the National Science Foundation; Nigel Newbutt for his proposal to the National Science Foundation; Paige Pullen and Philip Poekert for their subcontract Florida Department of Education flow through proposal to the School District of Hillsborough County; Paige Pullen for her two proposals, one to the Jefferson Parish Public School System and one to the Early Learning Coalition of Broward County; Matthew Schmidt and Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; Kejun Huang and Wanli Xing for their proposal to the National Science Foundation; and Pengfei Zhao for her proposal to the William T. Grant Foundation.

Read more →

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IES Director’s Remarks on Using Large Dataset Libraries

The Director of the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES), Mark Schneider, remarks on the endeavor of identifying, creating, and supporting large datasets to facilitate research at scale. Public respondents both called for an increase in the number of available datasets as well as better coordination around data governance and data use agreements. More information on these responses can be accessed here. IES is leading the way in modernizing the State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) and compiling a data library of student essays for the use of AI-based research and development efforts to improve student writing. In the upcoming years, the ability to create a SLDS 2.0 with Congressional funds may be feasible. Modernization of the SLDS may include using cloud-based architecture, emphasizing interoperability, aligning coding schema and data definitions across states, making data more widely available within the confines of existing and future state and federal privacy laws, and integrating data from early childhood through labor market outcomes and for other services states identify.

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IES Director’s Remarks on Advancing Special Education Research

The Condition of Education is an annual report mandated by congress to monitor educational progress across the nation. It indicates a slew of challenges special education is facing, including: 15% of PK-12 public school students in 2020-2021 receiving specialized instruction through IEPs, a struggle in hiring teachers, in particular for special education classrooms, lower academic achievement for students with disabilities when compared to achievement of their peers without disabilities, and large high school proficiency gaps as illustrated in NAEP science, reading, and math assessment scores. The concerns surrounding special education students extends to postsecondary education, where the percentage of students is even higher than public PK-12. Mark Schneider, the director of IES, has recently shared the critical need to improve special education through research efforts and speaks to the research endeavors of IES to investigate strategies that work for students with disabilities and in what conditions.

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Trends in STEM Related IES Funded Projects

The Department of Education has announced their SBIR awards for the year. The IES has noticed several trends in the projects they funded, a full list of which is available here. Some of the notable trends include more experiential learning, such as game-based learning.

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