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.

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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” Antonenkoand 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.

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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.

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.

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.

Dear Colleague Letter: NSF CAREER Proposals

The National Science’s Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) invites proposals to the CAREER program from members of the STEM education research community. In a recent Dear Colleague Letter, EHR highlights the CAREER solicitation and how it aligns with their organizational goals. EHR supports STEM education, and the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is an opportunity for faculty in this area to build a foundation for their academic careers. Read the full letter for more information about the grant opportunity and the directorate’s role. If you have questions about the program, you can also contract ehrcareer@nsf.gov.

Comprehensive Transaction Detail Report

The UF Division of Finance & Accounting has announced the Comprehensive Transaction Detail report, which provides transaction detail for all funds in one report. The Comprehensive Transaction Detail report enables users to select prompts that include all ChartField and Project/Award values.  This report was built to encompass such a large variety of prompts/information and can be accessed in Enterprise Analytics > Team Content > Financial Information > Comprehensive Financial Reporting Suite. Please share this report with others who might find it useful and email any feedback to emoran@ufl.edu or controller-office@ad.ufl.edu.

DHHS Forecasted Grant: National Early Child Care and Education Workforce Center

The Department of Health and Human Services has forecasted a grant opportunity to be posted next month that would establish a national center for increasing recruitment and retainment of a diverse early childhood education workforce, providing technical assistance, and supporting rigorous research efforts. The funding will be through the Office of Child Care (OCC) and posted in this newsletter when the opportunity is live and ready for receiving applications. Please consider collaborating with your peers ahead of the proposal deadline (set to be October 13) and reach out to OER for any needed support.

Nominations for 2023 Alan T Waterman Award Now Open

The Alan T. Waterman Award is the highest honor awarded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). In 1975, Congress established the award in honor of the agency’s first director and to recognize outstanding young researchers in any field of science or engineering supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation. In addition to a medal, each awardee receives a grant of $1,000,000 over five years for scientific research or advanced study at the institution of the recipient’s choice. The nominations portal for the Alan T. Waterman award closes Friday, September 16, 2022.