National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program

1. National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Proposal Writing Webinar January 2014

2. Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program • Initiated by Act of Congress in 2002 • Reauthorized in 2007 (America COMPETES Act) and in 2010 under America COMPETES Reauthorization of Act of 2010 • To encourage talented mathematics, science, and engineering undergraduates to pursue teaching careers • To encourage STEM professionals to become teachers • To prepare Master Teachers

3. 2014 Noyce Scholarship Program (NSF 14-508) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Track • Scholarships for undergraduate STEM majors preparing to become K12 Teachers • Internships for freshmen and sophomores • Stipends for STEM professionals seeking to become K12 teachers NSF Teaching Fellowships & Master Teaching Fellowships (TF/MTF) Track • Fellowships for STEM professionals receiving teacher certification through a master’s degree program • Fellowships for science and math teachers preparing to become Master Teachers

4. 2014 Noyce Scholarship Program (NSF 14-508) Capacity Building Track • To establish the infrastructure and partnerships for implementing a future Noyce Teacher Scholarship or NSF Teaching Fellowship (TF/MTF) project: • Development of new teacher preparation programs for STEM majors and STEM professionals • Development of new programs for developing Master STEM Teachers • To synthesize and disseminate effective practices developed by the Noyce community

5. Noyce Scholarship Program Eligibility Proposals may only be submitted by: • U.S. Universities & 2- or 4-year colleges (including community colleges) • Nonprofit entities that have established consortia among such IHEs Principal Investigators: • The PI, or at least one Co-PI, must be a faculty member in a STEM department.

6. Noyce Scholarship Program: Scholarship Track To recruit undergraduate STEM majors and STEM career changers who might otherwise not have considered a career in K-12 teaching: • Summer internshipsfor freshmen and sophomores to interest students in STEM teaching • Undergraduate Scholarshipsof at least $10,000 per year for up to three years beginning in junior year • Undergraduate students graduate with a degree in a STEM discipline and teacher certification and/or licensing. • One-year stipends of at least $10,000 for STEM professionals(career-changers) and post-baccalaureate students to obtain teacher certification

7. Noyce Scholarship Program: Scholarship Track • Scholarship and stipend capped by cost of attendance • Recipients commit to teaching in a high need school district for 2 years for each year of scholarship/stipend support. • Recipients failing to meet service requirement must repay scholarship

8. Noyce Scholarship Program: Scholarship Track Phase I: New awardees or new project with different focus Phase II: For previously funded awardees - • Scholarships & Stipends: To expand and extend evaluation efforts begun under previous award and support additional cohorts of scholarship and stipend recipients • Monitoring and evaluation: To expand and extend evaluation efforts of previous project without support for additional cohorts.

9. Noyce Scholarship Program Projects include: • STEM faculty collaborating with Education faculty • Strong partnership with school district • Recruitment and selection strategies • Exemplary teacher preparation programs leading to certification and/or professional development programs for Master Teaching Fellows) • Support for new teachers • Mechanism for monitoring recipients • Institutional support • Evaluation

10. Noyce Scholarship Program:Scholarship Track Phase I: • Scholarships, Stipends, Internships • Award size up to $1,200,000 • Additional $250,000 for collaboration with two-year colleges • Duration up to 5 years • Administrative/programmatic costs may not exceed 25% of total direct costs • 75% of total direct costs must directly support participants • Must use fully negotiated rate for indirect costs • No cost sharing

11. Noyce Scholarship Program: Scholarship Track Phase II: • Scholarships and Stipendsplus longitudinal evaluation studies of previously supported cohorts of students • Award size up to $800,000; up to 5 yrs. • Up to 25% of direct costs for admin./programmatic costs) • 75% of direct costs for direct support to participants • No cost sharing • Monitoring and Evaluation • Award size up to $300,000; up to 3 yrs. • No cost sharing

12. NSF Teaching Fellowships & Master Teaching Fellowships Track (TF/MTF) NSF Teaching Fellows: STEM professionals enroll in a master’s degree program leading to teacher certification or licensing • Receive one-year stipend of at least $10,000 while enrolled in the Master’s degree program • Selection of Fellows based on professional achievement, academic merit, and demonstration of advanced content knowledge in STEM • Commit to teach for 4 years in a high need school district • Receive annual salary supplement of at least $10,000 while fulfilling four-year teaching commitment

13. NSF Teaching Fellowships & Master Teaching Fellowships Track (TF/MTF) NSF Master Teaching Fellows: • Fellowships for math and science teachers preparing to become Master Teachers • Selection of Fellows based on professional achievement, academic merit, demonstration of advanced content knowledge in STEM, demonstrated success in improving student achievement • Must have Master’s degree • Commit to teach for 5 years in a high need school district • Receive annual salary supplement of at least $10,000 for 5 years plus professional development while fulfilling the teaching commitment

14. TF/MTF Proposals Must Include: • A department within an IHE that provides an advanced program of study in math and science, • A department or entity within an IHE that provides teacher preparation or a 2-year institution that offers a teacher preparation program or a dual enrollment or an articulation agreement with an IHE that credentials teachers, • At least one high need school district and public school(s) within this district, and • At least one nonprofit organization with the capacity and expertise to support the goals of the project.

15. NSF Teaching Fellowships & Master Teaching Fellowships Track (TF/MTF) Phase I: new awardees or new projects with different focus Phase II: For previously funded awardees: • Fellowships:To expand and extend evaluation efforts begun under previous award and support additional cohorts of Fellows • Monitoring and evaluation:To expand and extend evaluation efforts of previous project without support for additional cohorts.)

16. NSF Teaching Fellowships & Master Teaching Fellowships Track (TF/MTF) • Award size up to $3 million over 5-6 years • Additional $250,000 for collaboration with two-year colleges • Matching funds required: • 30% of total budget for request less than $1.5 million, excluding two-year college incentive • 50% of total budget if request is $1.5 million or more, excluding two-year college incentive • At least 50% of cost share must be cash • At least 75% of total direct costs must be for direct support to participants (stipends, salary supplements, professional development)

17. NSF Teaching Fellowships & Master Teaching Fellowships Track Phase II Fellowships: • Award size up to $1.8 million up to 5 years • At least 75% of total direct costs must be for direct support to participants (stipends, salary supplements, professional development) • Matching funds required: • 30% of total budget for request less than $1.5 million, excluding two-year college incentive • 50% of total budget if request is $1.5 million or more, excluding two-year college incentive • At least 50% of cost share must be cash Monitoring and Evaluation: • Award size up to $300,000 up to 3 years • No cost sharing

18. Noyce Scholarship Program: Capacity Building Track • Award size up to $300,000; up to 2 yrs. • May include an additional $50,000 over 2 years for collaborations between two-year and four-year institutions. • No restriction on budget allocation (within standard NSF policies) • No cost sharing

19. Preparing the Proposal

20. Preparing the Proposal • Consult the Program Solicitation (NSF 14-508) • Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 14-1)

21. Project Summary • Three text boxes: • Overview • Statement on Intellectual Merit • Statement on Broader Impacts • Proposals with special characters may upload Project Summary as a PDF document • Text boxes must be filled out or a project summary must be uploaded or FastLane will not accept the proposal.

22. Project Description: Phase I Scholarship Track • Results from relevant prior NSF support (address intellectual merit and broader impact) • Discuss the Broader Impacts of the proposed activities • Describe: • proposed scholarship or stipend program • teacher preparation program • recruitment and marketing activities • selection process • management & administrative structure for administering scholarship or stipend program • plans to monitor & enforce compliance with the required teaching commitment

23. Project Description: Phase I Scholarship Track • Provide evidence of: • infrastructure to support new teachers, • collaboration between STEM & education faculty, • a functioning partnership between the IHE(s) & school districts, • a commitment to making the program a central institutional focus • Include an objective evaluation plan

24. Project Description: Phase II S&S Similar to Phase I, with addition of: • Results from prior Noyce scholarship grant • Discussion of how new project builds on & expands activities established under prior support • Plans to sustain activities after end of Phase II funding • Provide evidence of • how the institution has made the program a central institutional focus • impact of Noyce scholarship program on STEM departments • Details of plan to expand & extend evaluation activities

25. NSF Review Criteria • NSF Merit Review Criteria: • Intellectual Merit: Encompasses the potential to advance knowledge • Broader Impacts: Encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes • Additional Noyce Program specific review criteria, dependent on proposal type

26. Review Criteria: Phase I Scholarship Proposals • Capacity and ability of institution to effectively conduct the program • Number and quality of students that will be served by the program • Justification for number of students and amount of stipend & scholarship support • Ability of the program to recruit STEM majors who would not otherwise pursue a teaching career • Quality and feasibility of recruitment & marketing strategies • Quality of the preservice educational program

27. Review Criteria: Phase I Scholarship Proposals • Extent to which STEM & education faculty are collaborating in developing & implementing the program • Quality of the preservice student support and new teacher support infrastructure • Extent to which the proposed strategies reflect effective practices based on research • Degree to which the proposed programming will enable scholarship or stipend recipients to become successful mathematics & science teachers • Feasibility & completeness of an evaluation plan that will measure the effectiveness of the proposed strategies • Institutional support for the program and the extent to which the institution is committed to making the program a central organizational focus • Dissemination plans

28. Review Criteria: Phase II S&S • Evidence that previously funded project was consistent with the Phase I criteria • Evidence of institution and school district support for continuing the project • Demonstrated success of the previously funded project in terms of recruitment of STEM majors and/or STEM professionals into K-12 teaching & preparation to become effective teachers • Evidence that the project has recruited STEM majors who would not otherwise pursue a career in teaching • Evidence that a high quality new teacher structure is in place

29. Review Criteria: Phase II S&S • Plans for advancing the work beyond the original project • Plans for conducting a longitudinal evaluation study of previous cohorts of Noyce Scholarship and/or stipend recipients as well as evaluation and monitoring of new cohorts to address teacher and student outcome • Evaluation plans that build on & strengthen the previous evaluation effort • Plans for disseminating results of the evaluation studies • Plans for sustainability

30. Review Criteria: Phase II M&E • Evidence that the previously funded project was consistent with the Phase I criteria • Plans for conducting a longitudinal evaluation study of previous cohorts of Noyce Scholarship and/or stipend recipients focusing on their effectiveness as teachers, their completion of the teaching requirement, and their retention in the teaching profession. • Evaluation plans that build on and strengthen the previous evaluation effort • Plans for disseminating results of the evaluation studies

31. Project Description: TF/MTF Proposals • Results from Prior NSF Support (intellectual merit and broader impacts) • Discussion of Broader Impacts of proposed activities • Description of proposed Fellowship program: • For NSF Teaching Fellows • Description of the Master’s degree program • Evidence of an infrastructure that is supportive of new teachers • For NSF Master Teaching Fellows • Description of the professional development program • Evidence of an infrastructure that will support and facilitate the Fellows’ work as Master Teachers

32. Project Description: TF/MTF Proposals • Describe: • Recruitment activities • Selection process • Management and administrative structure • Cost sharing, including source and amount; enter amount on Budget form Line M

33. Project Description: TF/MTF Proposals • Describe: • Plans to monitor and enforce compliance with the required teaching commitment • Plans for sustaining activities beyond NSF funding period • Evaluation plan • Provide evidence of: • Collaboration between STEM faculty and education faculty • Functioning partnerships between IHEs, school districts, and non-profit organizations • Commitment to make the program a central institutional focus

34. Review Criteria: TF/MTF Proposals • Capacity & ability of institution to effectively conduct the program • Number & quality of Fellows that will be served by the program • Justification for number of Fellows served & amount of stipend & salary supplements • Quality & feasibility of recruitment & marketing strategies

35. Review Criteria: TF/MTF Proposals • Extent to which the proposed strategies reflect effective practices based on research • Extent to which STEM & education faculty are collaborating in developing & implementing a program with curriculum based on the specialized pedagogy needed to enable teachers to effectively teach math & science & to assume leadership roles in their schools. • Degree to which the proposed programming will enable the participants to become successful mathematics and science teachers or Master Teachers

36. Review Criteria: TF/MTF Proposals • Feasibility & completeness of an objective evaluation plan that will measure the effectiveness of the proposed strategies • Institutional support for the program & the extent to which the institution is committed to making the program a central organizational focus • Evidence of cost sharing commitments • Plans for sustainability beyond the period of NSF funding

37. Review Criteria: TF/MTF Proposals NSF Teaching Fellows only: • Ability of the program to recruit individuals who would not otherwise pursue a career in teaching & to recruit underrepresented groups • Quality of the Master’s degree program leading to teacher certification • Quality of the preservice student support and new teacher support infrastructure NSF Master Teaching Fellows only: • Quality of the professional development that will be provided

38. Project Description: Capacity Building Projects • Results from Prior NSF Support: Address prior support relevant to the proposed project • A description of the activities planned, timeline, and outcomes expected to result from the proposal. • Plans for evaluating progress and outcomes of the project.

39. Review Criteria: Capacity Building Proposals • Clarity of proposed plans and activities that will lead to a well-designed program consistent with the requirements of the Noyce Scholarship Program • Clear statement of objectives to be completed and expected outcomes of the project. • Evaluation plans that will measure stated objectives and outcomes.

40. The Process • Proposals may be submitted to FastLane or grants.gov (Use FastLane for TF/MTF proposals) • All proposals are peer-reviewed according to standard NSF merit review criteria • Notification of results within six months of receipt • Reviewers’ comments may be accessed through FastLane after final decision is made

41. All Proposals Must Include: • One page Project Summary consisting of 3 sections (text boxes): Overview, Intellectual Merit and Broader Impact • Project description (15 pages) • Must contain a separate section with a discussion of the broader impacts of the proposed activities • Results from Prior Support (if any) must address intellectual merit and broader impacts

42. All Proposals Must Include: • Budget forms and narrative for each year • No cost sharing unless required (eg TF/MTF track) • Budget should only list personnel (PI, Co-PIs, others) who will receive funding through the grant; other internal or external resources (not funded through the grant) that will support the project should be included in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources document • Institutions must use the applicable indirect cost rate (F&A) that has been negotiated with the cognizant federal agency (except if cost sharing required in solicitation • Biosketches for PI, Co-PIs • Current & Pending Support Forms • References

43. All Proposals Must Include: Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources document: • Provides an aggregated description of the internal and external resources (both physical and personnel) that the organization and its collaborators will provide to the project. • No reference to cost, date of acquisition, and whether the resources are currently available or would be provided upon receipt of award • If there are no resources to describe, a statement to that effect should be included in this section of the proposal and uploaded into FastLane.

44. All Proposals Must Include: • In Supplementary documents section: • Mentoring Plan for Postdoctoral Researchers (if in budget) • Data Management Plan (consult NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 14-1) • Indicate Human Subjects status on cover sheet (pending, approved, or exempt)

45. Common Guidelines for Educational Research • The Guidelines were developed to “establish cross-agency guidelines for improving the quality, coherence, and pace of knowledge development in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education” (NSF 13-126) • The Common Guidelines (NSF 13-126): http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf13126 • Related FAQs (NSF 13-127): http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13127/nsf13127.jsp

46. NSF Proposal Writing Tips

47. What Makes a Proposal Competitive? • Original ideas • Succinct, focused project plan • Realistic amount of work • Sufficient detail provided • Cost effective • High impact • Knowledge and experience of PIs • Contribution to the field • Rationale and evidence of potential effectiveness • Likelihood the project will be sustained • Solid evaluation plan

48. Common Weaknesses: Scholarship Track • Proposal does not follow guidelines for Noyce Program • Failure to indicate students will complete STEM major (not change to Science Education or Math Education major • Little information about teacher preparation program • Unrealistic projections • Recruitment and selection strategies not well described • Lack of support for new teachers • Lack of involvement of STEM faculty (or education faculty) • Lacks plans for monitoring compliance with teaching requirement • Weak evaluation or lacks objective evaluator • Does not address Prior Results or Lessons Learned • Lacks details

49. Common Weaknesses of TF/MTF Proposals • Insufficient details for preservice and induction program for Teaching Fellows and professional development program for Master Teaching Fellows • Vague recruitment plans • Selection plans do not follow guidelines • Master Teacher roles and responsibilities not discussed • Matching funds not identified • Role of non-profit organization not clear • School district partnership not strong • Evaluation weak

50. Tips for Success • Consult the Noyce program solicitation and the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) • Test drive FastLane • Alert the Sponsored Research Office • Follow page and font size limits • Be aware of other projects and advances in the field • Cite the literature • Provide details • Discuss prior results • Include evaluation plan with timelines and benchmarks