Funding Opportunities at the Institute of Education Sciences

1. Funding Opportunities at the Institute of Education Sciences Elizabeth R. Albro, Ph.D. Teaching and Learning Division National Center for Education Research

2. Legislative Mission • Describe the condition and progress of education in the United States • Identify education practices that improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities • Evaluate the effectiveness of Federal and other education programs

3. Organizational Structure Office of the Director National Board for Education Sciences National Center for Education Research National Center for Education Statistics National Center for Education Evaluation National Center for Special Ed Research

4. Getting Started

5. http://ies.ed.gov

7. Required Materials • Request for Applications • IES Grants.gov Application Submission Guide • ApplicationPackage

8. Finding Required Materials Fiscal year (FY) 2011 Requests for Applications and the IES Grants.gov Application Submission Guide are available on: http://ies.ed.gov/funding Application Package can be downloaded from http://grants.gov.

9. FY 2011 Research and Research Training Grant Programs Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards published in Federal Register February 4, 2010

12. Research and Research Training Grant Programs • Education and Special Education Research Grant Programs • Postdoctoral Research Training Grant Programs • National Research and Development Centers • Statistical and Research Methodology in Education • Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies

13. Identify Appropriate Grant Program • Read the Request for Applications • Check the announced topics • Look at the abstracts of projects funded under a research topic • http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/projects/ • http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/projects/

14. Education Research Grant Program (84.305A)Special Education Research Grant Program (84.324A)

15. NCER Research Topics • Reading and Writing • Mathematics and Science Education • Cognition and Student Learning • Teacher Quality – Reading and Writing • Teacher Quality – Mathematics and Science • Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning • Education Leadership • Education Policy, Finance, and Systems

16. NCER Research Topics(cont.) • Organization and Management of Schools & Districts • Analysis of Longitudinal Data to Support State & Local Education Reform • Early Learning Programs and Policies • English Learners • Postsecondary Education • Adult Education • Education Technology

17. NCSER Research Topics • Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education • Reading, Writing, and Language Development • Mathematics and Science Education • Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning • Transition Outcomes for Special Education Secondary Students

18. NCSER Research Topics(cont.) • Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education • Professional Development for Teachers and Related Service Providers • Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems • Autism Spectrum Disorders

19. Which Goal Is Right for You?

20. FY2011 Research Goals • Exploration • Development & Innovation • Efficacy and Replication • Scale-Up Evaluation • Measurement

21. Exploration Explore education programs, practices, and malleable factors that are associated with better student learning and achievement outcomes Possible methodological approaches include: • Secondary analyses of longitudinal datasets • Small descriptive studies • Meta-analyses

22. Exploration • $100,000 to $400,000 per year total cost (direct + indirect) • 2 to 4 years

23. Development and Innovation • Develop new interventions (e.g., instructional practices, curricula, teacher professional development) • Demonstrate the feasibility of the intervention for implementation in an authentic education delivery setting • Collect pilot data on promise of intervention to achieve intended outcomes

24. Development and Innovation • $150,000 to $500,000 per year (total cost) • 1 to 3 years

25. Efficacy and Replication • Test whether or not fully developed interventions are effective under specified conditions and with specific types of students. • Studies using random assignment to intervention and comparison conditions are preferred where feasible. • New this year: Efficacy follow-up studies

26. Efficacy and Replication • $250,000 to $750,000 per year (total cost) • Up to 4 years • For Efficacy Follow-Up studies: • $150,000 to $400,000 per year (total cost) • Up to 3 years

27. Scale-up Evaluation • Test whether interventions are effective when implemented under typical conditions. • As implemented by practitioners and with sufficiently diverse samples to support generalizability. • Studies using randomized assignment to treatment and comparison conditions are preferred whenever they are feasible. • New this year: Scale-up follow-up studies

28. Scale-up Evaluation • $500,000 to $1,200,000 per year (total cost) • Up to 5 years • For Scale-Up follow-up studies: • $250,000 to $600,000 per year (total cost) • Up to 3 years

29. Measurement • Develop and validate assessments or other measurement tools • $150,000 to $400,000 per year (total cost) • Up to 4 years

30. What If My Program Is “Between” Goals? PICK ONE! • Read the Request for Applications • Don’t just go for the largest amount of money • Break the project down into smaller pieces • Aim for a well-crafted project that will deliver what it promises

31. Additional Research Grant Programs

32. National Research and Development Centers(84.305C) TOPIC 1: Cognition and Adult Literacy TOPIC 2: State and Local Education Policy TOPIC 3: Postsecondary Education and Employment

33. Cognition and Adult Literacy R&D Center • Explore underlying cognitive processes • Develop and evaluate interventions for adult learners • Specify population (ABE, ASE, Adult ESL) • Can include, as focus of research, one or all of the following: reading, writing, and numeracy

34. State and Local Policy R&D Center • Examine specific state or district education policies relevant to improving education outcomes for students in any grades prekindergarten-Grade 12 • Expect collaboration between researchers and state or district leaders

35. Postsecondary Education and Employment R&D Center • Support state and researcher partnerships to • identify state education longitudinal databases that include or can be linked to longitudinal student postsecondary data and employment or workforce data. • link and carry out analyses using these datasets. • answer research questions examining relationships between postsecondary education and employment outcomes.

36. National R&D Centers in Special Education TOPIC 1: School-Based Interventions for Secondary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders TOPIC 2: Assessment and Accountability TOPIC 3: Reading Instruction for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students TOPIC 4: Working Memory Interventions for Students with Disabilities

37. School-Based Interventions for Secondary Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders • Develop, or modify an existing, school-based intervention to address multiple student outcomes for students with ASD in middle or high school • Conduct an efficacy study of the impact of the intervention on student outcomes.

38. Assessment and Accountability • Conduct research on the natural developmental progress in achievement by students with disabilities • Develop and test various approaches for measuring growth for students with disabilities intended for use by school systems for accountability purposes.

39. Reading Instruction for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students • Explore underlying factors that impede reading and language skills of young students (kindergarten through Grade 2) who are deaf or hard of hearing for the purpose of identifying possible targets for intervention • Develop and test innovative instructional approaches or other interventions for students who are deaf or hard of hearing that utilize research on these underlying factors

40. Working Memory Interventions for Students with Disabilities • Develop and test interventions for students with or at risk for disabilities who have working memory deficits • Interventions focused on improving learning of academic content directly (e.g., reducing length and complexity of instructions or information) or to enhance cognitive functioning in ways that will improve learning of academic content

41. For all Centers • Typical awards are $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 (total cost = direct + indirect) per year for 5 years • Application due date is September 16, 2010

42. Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies (84.305E) • Support for rigorous evaluations of education programs or policies that are implemented by state or local education agencies • Typical awards for projects will be $500,000 to $1,200,000 (total cost = direct + indirect costs) per year for a maximum of 5 years

43. Before Beginning to Write • Revisit your research question(s) • Consider who needs to be on your team • Consider what resources you need to have in order to complete the proposed study

44. Before Beginning to Write • Revisit your research question(s) • Consider who needs to be on your team • Consider what resources you need to have in order to complete the proposed study

45. Personnel Considerations • Think about the type of expertise that is needed to carry out the project

46. Build a Good Team • Consider goal and RFA requirements • Consider training and experience • Consider time needed to competently implement the proposed research • Things to consider for junior researchers or those without a track record of large projects and grants

47. Things to Consider • Challenge—convince reviewers that you (and your team) have the skills and experience to implement well what you have proposed • Develop a team • Demonstrate productivity

48. Next Steps • Read appropriate Request for Applications closely one more time and confirm that your idea fits the requirements for a specific Topic (e.g., Math and Science) and Goal • Contact the appropriate program officer and discuss your project with him or her

49. Recap • Select RFA • Select Topic within RFA • Select Goal within Topic • Begin to identify Key Personnel • Contact NCER or NCSER program officer(s)

50. Preparing the Application (Complete all components)