NIFA USDA Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy

The following is a limited submission where only two applications per institution is allowed. If you are interested in this program please email Michelle Wonsey a single PDF by noon on June 10, 2020 with the following pre-proposal requirements:

1.      A two-page summary that must include your research/project:

a.      goals
b.      objectives
c.       methods, and
d.      a short statement of competitiveness (i.e., what you think will discriminate your proposal from the competition, including anything you have done to pre-position yourself/your team for this funding opportunity)

2.      A pro forma budget, including any cost-sharing and facilities requirements and how you plan to meet them; use template: https://www.umass.edu/research/form/pro-forma-budget-template

3.      A short-form CV for the PI and each senior staff person

4.      Current and Pending Support of PI’s

 

 

Program Area Priority:

  • Research, Education, Extension or Integrated Projects must promote faculty expertise and encourage widespread implementation of educational innovation at K-14 levels in the food and agricultural Sciences. This includes projects that contain elements of the human sciences (e.g., disciplines that address issues challenging individuals, youth, families, and communities).
  • Projects should provide immersive learning experiences for K-14 educational professionals (teachers, counselors, administrators, etc.) to create and replicate best practices to improve student success outcomes within the food and agricultural sciences.
  • Non-exhaustive examples of projects include:
    • Developing self-sustaining models for professional development that better prepare education professionals to provide outstanding teaching, guidance, institutional structures, etc., that enhance student outcomes in the food and agricultural sciences.
    • Changing instructional approaches to effectively identify skill gaps and address conceptual areas particularly challenging to students.
    • Integrating innovations in science and pedagogy into existing professional development programs (e.g., through hands-on research and extension experiences with partner institutions and laboratories).
    • Exploring self-sustaining web-based approaches for professional development for education professionals.
    • Develop improved curricula to train or retrain agricultural workforce for the future.
    • Other methods to fill the existing gap of professional development in advanced food and agricultural sciences for educational professionals at the K-14 education level.