US ED Issues Guidance on Leveraging Federal Funding to Support STEM Education

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has released guidance on how federal formula grant programs such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act can support innovative Pre-K-12 STEM education strategies to improve instruction and student outcomes, especially for historically underserved students.

In a Dear Colleague letter to states, school districts, schools, and education partners, the ED outlined examples of allowable uses of federal funds that can support the expansion of STEM experiences to improve student achievement in the 2016-17 school year. The examples include recommendations for both supporting educators and improving access for students in STEM disciplines. Specifically, the examples fall into three categories:

  1. Increase students’ equitable access to STEM courses and experiences, including out-of-school programs, STEM-themed schools and career pathways.
  2. Support educators’ knowledge and expertise in STEM disciplines through recruitment, preparation, support, and retention strategies.
  3. Increase student access to materials and equipment needed to support inquiry-based pedagogy and active learning.

View the Dear Colleague letter on the ED website.

Excerpted from the April 13, 2016 ED press release U.S. Department of Education Issues Guidance for Schools on Leveraging Federal Funding to Support STEM Education

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NIH Finalizes Grant Application Changes

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is completing the final phase of policy and guidance changes effective on or after May 25, 2016. Any application due on or after May 25, 2016 must use the new FORMS-D application package.

Along with the new FORMS-D application is a completely revised application guide. For complete application instructions, see How to Apply–Application Guide, Forms Version D instructions for due dates on or after May 25, 2016.

Included in the changes are new requirements for the Biographical Sketch format.

For a complete summary of the changes, see Notice Number: NOT-OD-16-004.

For questions, please contact ufproposals@ufl.edu or your DSP Unit-Based Team.

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Reminder: IES Announces Reading, Writing, and Language Development Grant Writing Webinars Overview

Researchers interested in reading, writing, and language development are invited to participate in a one-session webinar, IES Reading, Writing, and Language Development Grant Writing Overview. The webinar will be held on May 12, 2016, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. (EDT) and is hosted by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) research centers — the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER).

This webinar provides a general overview of the Reading and Writing (NCER) and Reading, Writing, and Language Development (NCSER) grant topics and general strategies and suggestions for successful application writing. The grant topics are the Institute’s primary programs aimed at supporting research on improving literacy outcomes for students, including English learners and those with disabilities or who are at risk for disabilities or academic failure.

Registration for this webinar closed on May 5, 2016.

For more information on the Institute’s FY 2017 Requests for Applications, visit the IES website.

If you have any questions about the webinar, please contact Rebecca McGill-Wilkinson in NCER at (202) 245-7613, Kimberley Sprague in NCSER at (202) 245-8464, or Sarah Brasiel in NCSER at (202) 245-6734.

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Redesigned UFIT Training Website Is Live

The newly redesigned UFIT Training website provides a completely reorganized view of technology training at UF, with an extensive catalog of workshops and webinars as well as on-demand tutorials and resources for faculty and staff.

All of UFIT’s training materials and workshop information is now housed in one place, rather than on individual departmental websites. Everything is thoroughly cataloged and easily searchable. Faculty and staff can quickly access resources and browse the ever-expanding workshops and tutorials list.

The new UFIT Training website includes more than 100 UF-developed tutorials and workshops, an e-Learning FAQ section, interactive registration calendar and one-click login for free access to lynda.com with its 4,300+ training videos.

Registration and information for the free Microsoft IT Academy are also provided on the website.

For more information about any of the services listed, please email ufit-training@ufl.edu or call (352) 273-1594.

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Faculty Search Tutorial Has Been Updated

The Office of the Provost and Human Resource Services have launched an updated version of the Faculty Search Tutorial (PVO800) course. The purpose of this course is to provide guidelines and resources for committee members when participating in the search process for new faculty members.

This updated version focuses on practical information that is broken down by processes while providing just-in-time materials in the companion toolkit, including examples of job descriptions, evaluation matrices, and behavior-based interview questions. The resources found in the toolkit are useful for search committee members as well as support staff assisting during the search.

While faculty and staff are encouraged to take the updated version, those having recently completed the course need not retake it—this can be done when it is time to renew your certification.

Questions or concerns? Contact UF Recruitment and Staffing at (352) 392-2477 or employment@ufl.edu.

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UF Office of Research Announces Launch of Research Training Utility

Based on feedback received from researchers, the UF Office of Research has developed a tool enabling users to identify the mandatory training needed to conduct research at UF. The tool generates a list of mandatory trainings that need to be completed, in response to a brief series of questions designed to identify your research activities.

The tool is located at http://research.ufl.edu/rtu.html. Feedback is welcome at any time.

Please contact rtu@research.ufl.edu with questions or for additional information.

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UFIRST Has Been Updated with FY17 Proposed Fringe Rates

FY17 proposed fringe rates should be used in all proposal submissions, beginning Friday, April 22, 2016. UFIRST budgeting tools have been updated with the FY17 proposed fringe rates and will automatically calculate the fringe benefit amount needed for each individual included in the budget.

The employee salary groups and corresponding FY17 proposed benefit rates can be found on the UF Office of Research Costing Information website.

The FY17 proposed fringe rates are subject to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services approval.  Once approved FY17 fringe rates will be effective July 1, 2016.

If you have any questions, you may contact DSP at ufproposals@ufl.edu.

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Awarded Projects for April 2016

College of Education
Awarded Projects
April 2016
Principal Investigator: Dennis Kramer (SHDOSE)
Co-PI: Justin Ortagus (SHDOSE)
Funding Agency: Association for Institutional Research
Project Title: Loan Reduction and Graduate School Enrollment: The Impact of Pell and No-Loan Programs on Post-Baccalaureate Enrollment Choices of Low-Income Students
Project Period: 3/1/2016 – 2/28/2017
Award Amount: $46,693

 

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Submitted Projects for April 2016

College of Education
Submitted Projects
April 2016
Principal Investigator: Joseph Gagnon (SSESPECS)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: William T. Grant Foundation
Proposal Title: Linking Education/Special Education and Juvenile Justice Research and Policy: Supporting Youth At-Risk and Involved with Juvenile Corrections
Requested Amount: $175,302
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Duval County
Proposal Title: Duval County Certified Coaching
Requested Amount: $158,176
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2016 Faculty Survey Results Are In

The Office of Educational Research (OER) has compiled the results of the 2016 Faculty Survey. We are pleased to accept several ideas on how to improve our services.

The following articles in this April issue of the Research Bulletin are in response to the survey.

Thank you to those of you who took the time to respond and offer helpful suggestions.

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Seeking Topics for Professional Development Opportunities

In the 2016 Faculty Survey, the faculty expressed an interest in receiving more professional development opportunities offered through the OER. We are currently seeking ideas about the types of programs to feature.

Please send an email to the OER at research@coe.ufl.edu with a list of topics and/or suggestions for us to consider.

We will do our best to provide a variety of dates and times so that the maximum number of faculty can attend.

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New Faculty Spotlight Series

In an effort to improve communication about the types of research and activities performed by each faculty member, the OER will launch a new Faculty Spotlight feature section in the Research Bulletin newsletter.

The Faculty Spotlight will highlight the research and accomplishments of two faculty members each month beginning with junior faculty.

Watch for the Faculty Spotlight coming next month in the May Research Bulletin.

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Building Collaborative Teams and Strategic Partnerships

OER actively works to build cross-departmental and cross-university interdisciplinary research teams and strategic partnerships that promote the scholarly interests of COE faculty.

If you are interested in developing collaborative efforts with other colleagues, please contact Thomasenia Adams at tla@coe.ufl.edu, 273-4116, or Ana Puig at anapuig@coe.ufl.edu, 273-4121.

Some examples of past collaborations sponsored by the OER include the Brown Bag Research Series, guest lectures, and collaborative meetings such as the following:

  • UF Levin College of Law Collaborative Meeting
    • Participants from COE and College of Law
  • UF IFAS Collaborative Meeting
    • Participants from COE and Family, Youth and Community Sciences
  • UF College of Design, Construction and Planning Collaborative Meeting
    • Participants from COE, PK Yonge, and the College of Design, Construction and Planning
  • UF College of Engineering Luncheon
    • Participants from COE Educational Technology and Computer & Information Science & Engineering
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Building Collaborative Teams and Strategic Partnerships

OER actively works to build cross-departmental and cross-university interdisciplinary research teams and strategic partnerships that promote the scholarly interests of COE faculty.

If you are interested in developing collaborative efforts with other colleagues, please contact Thomasenia Adams at tla@coe.ufl.edu, 273-4116, or Ana Puig at anapuig@coe.ufl.edu, 273-4121.

Some examples of past collaborations sponsored by the OER include the Brown Bag Research Series, guest lectures, and collaborative meetings such as the following:

  • UF Levin College of Law Collaborative Meeting
    • Participants from COE and College of Law
  • UF IFAS Collaborative Meeting
    • Participants from COE and Family, Youth and Community Sciences
  • UF College of Design, Construction and Planning Collaborative Meeting
    • Participants from COE, PK Yonge, and the College of Design, Construction and Planning
  • UF College of Engineering Luncheon
    • Participants from COE Educational Technology and Computer & Information Science & Engineering
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Research Services and Consultation

Some faculty have conveyed the need for services and consultation in the area of research methodology such as qualitative and quantitative analyses.

If you are in need of these services and/or consultation, please contact Thomasenia Adams at tla@coe.ufl.edu, 273-4116, or Ana Puig at anapuig@coe.ufl.edu, 273-4121.

We are considering ways to offer research methodology services and consultation such as providing high-level doctoral students to perform qualitative and quantitative analyses.

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