[Faculty] 2019 USDA-NIFA – Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development (EWD) w/Range of Awards: $0 - $500,000

Fri Apr 19 08:57:37 MST 2019

Dear Faculty,
Please see funding opportunity below.

Thank you
Sangita

Sangita Pawar, PhD, MBA
Assistant Vice President, Research
  Division of Ag, Life & Vet Sciences,
  and Coop. Extension
Ph: 520-626-3408

USDA-NIFA – Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development (EWD) focuses on developing the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals in the food and agricultural sciences; plant health and production and plant products; animal health and production and animal products; food safety, nutrition, and health; bioenergy, natural resources, and environment; agriculture systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities.

In FY 2019, EWD invites applications in the following: professional development opportunities for K-14 educational professionals; workforce training at community, junior, and technical colleges; training of undergraduate students in research and extension; and fellowships for predoctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars.

Range of Awards: $0 - $500,000

Apply for Grant: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=314956

Enhancing Agricultural Literacy and Workforce Training offers institutional grants for in-service training, in order to provide K-14 educators increased knowledge of food and agricultural science disciplines and career opportunities, and help them develop improved curricula to train agricultural workforce for the future.

Developing Pathways offers undergraduates in food, agriculture, or allied disciplines, the technical and leadership skills required for employment in the food and agricultural sectors or in graduate programs. USDA-NIFA will award institutional grants that offer experiential learning opportunities, beyond traditional classroom experience or course work that include but are not limited to internships, externships, practicums, global leadership, and study abroad, in research and extension. These opportunities must be designed to help students develop the critical thinking, problem solving, digital competency, international experiences, and communication skills needed for future employment and/or higher education.

Advancing Science supports graduate and post-graduate education in agriculture and related disciplines. USDA-NIFA Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship program areas will continue to support predoctoral candidates and postdoctoral trainees respectively. These Fellowship awards can also enable interested predoctoral candidates and postdoctoral trainees to obtain training in industry and international research on issues relevant to U.S. agriculture.

Who Is Eligible to Apply: 1862 Land-Grant Institutions, 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, 1994 Land-Grant Institutions, For-profit Organizations Other Than Small Businesses, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Individuals, Native American Tribal Orgs, not Federally recognized Tribal Governments, Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS status, other than Institutions of Higher Ed, Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS status, other than Institutions of Higher Ed, Other or Additional Information (See below), Private Institutions of Higher Ed, Small Business, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, State Controlled Institutions of Higher Ed…

Posted Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Closing Date: Thursday, August 22, 2019

Other Due Date(s):

| Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy: Wednesday, July 11, 2018

| Agricultural Workforce Training Grants: Thursday, August 22, 2019 (Letter of Intent is due on June 11, 2019)

| Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates: Thursday, June 28, 2018

| Predoctoral Fellowships & Postdoctoral Fellowships: Thursday, July 19, 2018

The Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy program area seeks to increase the number of K-14 educational professionals trained in the Food and Agricultural Sciences. Participants are expected to develop skills necessary for integrating food and agricultural science concepts in their classes; explore the opportunities available in food and agricultural science career paths; and/or forge mentorships with professional and business leaders, and faculty.

The Agricultural Workforce Training Grants program area seeks to develop an industry ready workforce within the food and agricultural sciences. Through curriculum development at community, junior, and technical colleges/institutes this program will expand job-based, experiential learning opportunities for students to enable a work-ready labor force for 21st century agricultural jobs.

The Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU) program area promotes research and extension learning experiences for undergraduates such that upon graduation they may enter the agricultural workforce with exceptional skills. This initiative allows colleges and universities to provide fellowship opportunities for undergraduate students, including those from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged groups, minority-serving institutions, community colleges, and universities. Projects must provide students opportunities to: 1) obtain hands-on experience in research and extension to develop skills necessary to join the agricultural workforce or pursue graduate studies in the food and agricultural sciences; 2) receive a strong mentoring experience required for success in the food and agricultural sciences; and 3) participate in research and extension projects or programs that deliver science based knowledge to individuals and communities to develop leadership skills, including communication, critical thinking, and problem solving skills, necessary to support decision making and planning. Program delivery may include students located at eligible institutions locally or nationally, and may use in-person, electronic, or a combination of both, as methods of communication. Extension Projects may also include related matters such as certification programs, in-service training, client recruitment and services, curriculum development, instructional materials and equipment, problem identification and program development and delivery, and innovative instructional methodologies appropriate to informal educational programs.

The Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships program areas help to develop new scientists and professionals to enter research, education, and/or extension fields within the food and agricultural sciences within the private sector, government, or academia. The aim of these fellowships is to cultivate future leaders who are able to solve emerging agricultural challenges of the 21st century.

For Example

ACCESSION NO: 1015274 SUBFILE: CRIS
PROJ NO: CALW-2017-06423 AGENCY: NIFA CALW
PROJ TYPE: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT PROJ STATUS: NEW
CONTRACT/GRANT/AGREEMENT NO: 2018-67032-27701 PROPOSAL NO: 2017-06423
START: 15 APR 2018 TERM: 14 APR 2022
GRANT AMT: $278,679 GRANT YR: 2018
AWARD TOTAL: $278,679
INITIAL AWARD YEAR: 2018

INVESTIGATOR: Vourlitis, G.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
California State University - San Marcos
333 So. Twin Oaks Valley Road
San Marcos, CALIFORNIA 92096

FROM FIELD TO LAB TO THE CLASSROOM - DEVELOPMENT OF A RESEARCH-BASED UNDERGRADUATE COURSE IN MOLECULAR METHODS FOR THE AGRICULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE SCIENCES

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Our overall goal is to develop a sustainable curriculum to institutionalize research-based instructional strategies (RBIS), which use authentic research as the focus of an active, student-centered, learning environment. RBIS are proven to be more effective than traditional instructional approaches for increasing student motivation and retention, illustrating the role of research in scientific discovery, and developing transferrable skills like team-work, critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. This project will redesign an existing lecture/lab course entitled "Molecular Methods in Ecology and Evolution" to use RBIS as a means to:(1)increase the number of students conducting research and receiving training in agricultural sciences,(2)increase student engagement with, and confidence in, their ability to conduct agricultural research,(3)improve student critical-thinking, communication, and teamwork skills, and(4)increase the number of students seeking graduate degrees and/or careers in agricultural sciences. Established projects that address global change impacts on soil microbial populations and the efficacy of predatory insects for biological pest control will form the basis of the RBIS. This curriculum will provide students the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the research, from field to lab to communicating science. This program exemplifies the goals of the California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM)strategic plan and the USDA-Education and Science Literacy program to increase student experiential learning by providing learner-centered, hands-on experiences that expand the capacity of students to solve problems and work effectively in groups. This project will impact > 100 undergraduate and graduate students, while providing student-based support to further CSUSM's research in the agricultural sciences.

OBJECTIVES: The overall goal of this integrated research-education project is to develop a research-based curriculum that can become a university-supported course and serve as a model for institutionalizing research based instructional strategies (RBIS), which are instructional approaches where authentic research is used as the focus of an active, student-centered, inquiry based pedagogy. Infusing research into laboratory instruction has the highest potential to address the following project objectives for a high number of biology undergraduate students:Objective 1: To increase the number of students conducting research and receiving training in agricultural sciences. Objective 2: To increase student confidence in their ability to conduct agricultural research. Objective 3: To improve student confidence and ability in "soft-skills" such as critical-thinking, communication, and teamwork. Objective 4: Increase the number of students seeking graduate degrees and/or careers in agricultural sciences.

APPROACH: This program will use authentic research to develop RBIS for upper-division undergraduate instruction, and one novel approach for expanding student access to research opportunities is to integrate authentic research into instruction. Courses that are based on authentic research allow students to experience how scientific inquiry is conducted and provide opportunities for students to acquire and practice transferable skills that they can apply towards future research and/or employment. Curriculum development for the 3-unit, upper-division lab-lecture course entitled "Molecular Methods in Ecology and Evolution" will take place immediately after the project start date. One section (24 students/section) will be taught each spring semester over the 4-year project period (a total of 96 students). The course will be team-taught by the PIs, and instruction will consist of brief lectures, to introduce theory and/or research methods, lab and field activities, based on the research projects described below, seminar presentations of the appropriate literature, and student presentations. Students will collectively and individually design field sampling strategies, collect field samples, analyze samples using accepted laboratory protocols, and analyze data using appropriate statistical models. Students will be required to disseminate their research results in the form of mini-papers, which will summarize the methods, results, and interpretations from a smaller sub-project. Students will use faculty and peer-feedback from the mini-papers to make needed revisions, similar to the feedback that is obtained through the peer-review process, and compile individual mini-papers into a capstone project. Students will also disseminate their work as presentations to their classmates and faculty to develop and hone their oral communication skills. Two local research projects will serve as the basis of our RBIS. One ongoing project assesses how atmospheric nitrogen (N) inputs affect local chaparral ecosystems and another focuses on quantifying the genomic diversity of both native and introduced predatory arthropods, specifically Coccinellid lady beetles, and their effectiveness in biological control. Thus, as part of the Molecular Methods in Ecology and Evolution course, students will conduct field sampling, laboratory analyses of samples, DNA sequencing, and the bioinformatics data analysis using open-source pipeline software. Both projects serve to illustrate cutting-edge field and laboratory research techniques in molecular ecology to undergraduate students. However, both projects are involved and it is not logistically feasible to use both projects as the centerpiece of our instruction each year. Thus, we will alternate between each project annually. We will also support four undergraduate students each year to continue research initiated during the molecular methods course. Students will be selected from the pool of students enrolled in the molecular methods course and will conduct independent research projects during the summer. Evaluation of the measurable outcomes will be accomplished using a variety of tools, including knowledge and attitude surveys, Implicit Associations Tests, course and student evaluations, and statistical analyses of measurable objectives using longitudinal study of historical data from CSUSM. Surveys will be administered to each cohort at 3 times over the course of their participation, with a knowledge assessment, an attitude survey, and an IAT at the beginning of the molecular methods course, at the end of the molecular methods course, and one year later to gauge the impact of the program on student development. Attitude surveys will be designed to quantify how student academic and career confidence and interest in Env/Ag sciences subjectively change as a result of program participation, while a knowledge survey will be developed to gauge how student confidence and understanding of environmental science theory and methodology change as a result of their training. The IAT will measure the objective strength with which an individual associates various cognitive elements, such as self-identification as a scientist. These surveys will help gauge changes in student attitudes and knowledge due to their participation in the molecular methods course. Student course evaluations will be conducted using an evaluation administered by CSUSM-Institutional Planning and Analysis (IPA). These formative surveys will provide the PIs with student feedback on the quality of instruction, and if needed, suggestions on how to improve instruction for later cohorts. For measurable outcome 1, data on the number of biology students conducting research will be obtained and regression analysis will be used to assess baseline trends for the 5 years prior to the initiation of the program. Regression models will be used to project these trends to the last year of the project to estimate the population of biology students conducting research. The number of students participating in the instructional research proposed here will then be compared to baseline values to determine if there has been a significant increase in the number of biology students participating in research in response to this project. For measurable outcome 2, the evaluator will survey participating students the level of confidence and engagement in conducting Env/Ag science using a two-part mixed methods approach with open-ended survey questions. These data will be complemented with an IAT battery to assess personal identification with science. These same measures will be repeated at the same time with a selection of science majors at CSUSM who are not participating in this project. For measurable outcome 3, grades on oral and/or written assignments by project participants and non-participants will be compiled for each upper-division lecture-lab class during each semester to quantify any differences between participants and non-participant peer groups. For measurable outcome 4, the files of all participants who graduate each year will be reviewed to assess the number of graduate applications sent, schools applied to, and acceptances. Exit surveys, and a longitudinal tracking program initiated by IPA for the sciences, will enable the comparison between the number of participants and non-participants who apply to, and are accepted into, graduate programs in the environmental sciences. We will also conduct a similar regression analysis on these data as for measurable outcome 1 to determine whether increases are due to the project intervention.

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.cals.arizona.edu/pipermail/faculty/attachments/20190419/85dbfc80/attachment.htm>