Environmental Literacy Grants for Building Capacity of Informal and Formal Educators
Grant: Environmental Literacy Grants for Building Capacity of Informal and Formal Educators
Agency: Department of Commerce
Division: Office of the Undersecretary (USEC); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Deadline: The deadline was March 12, 2013.
Description: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Environmental Literacy Grants program provides support to improve environmental literacy among citizens and to promote a diverse workforce in ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather and climate sciences, with the goal of encouraging stewardship and increasing informed decision making. The program supports Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education through a focus on Earth Systems Science and Environmental Education.
The goal of this new funding opportunity is to build capacity of formal and/or informal educators to use NOAA data and data access tools to help K-12 students and/or the public understand and respond to global change. NOAA resources present an excellent opportunity for educators to integrate cutting-edge scientific data, data visualizations, and data access tools into informal and formal education activities and programs.
Successful projects should include the development of new programs and/or revision of existing programs to increase the environmental literacy of K-12 teachers and their students. The target audiences for this funding opportunity are K-12 students, teachers and providers of pre-service teacher education and in-service teacher professional development. There is a special interest in projects that reach groups traditionally underserved and/or underrepresented in Earth System science, particularly those that address the STEM needs of teenage students. A list of groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields can be found in the 2012 National Science Foundation Science and Engineering Indicators Report.
All projects must focus on building the capacity of informal and/or formal educators. Activities may include
- Professional development focused on the understanding, use or interpretation of data.
- Training in approaches for incorporating data into relevant stories related to global change.
- Training in the use of new technologies or data access tools.
- Fostering professional learning communities to enhance educators’ scientific knowledge pedagogy, interpretive or communications skills.
Applicants primarily seeking to develop new instructional materials or curricula are not eligible under this grant program. Rather, projects may include the development of instructional materials/curricula as part of a broader capacity-building project. Please review the program notice for additional information on eligible activities under this program.
Fit for Public Broadcasting: Public broadcasting stations are eligible to apply for this grant as a collaborative team under the first eligibility priority. With expertise in teacher training and professional development programs, public broadcasting stations are well suited to apply for this opportunity. There is a special interest here on projects that reach those traditionally underserved and/or underrepresented in Earth System science, particularly those at the teenage level. Stations participating in the American Graduate initiative or high school level education activities are encouraged to seek out collaborations.
Eligibility: This program identifies two priority categories of eligible applicants. The first are collaborative teams of two or more U.S. Institutions. The second are collaborative teams of two or more non-profit U.S. aquariums, of which at least one must be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Public Broadcasting stations are only eligible to participate under the first priority of eligible applicants.
Anticipated Funding: Approximately $3,000,000 will be available in FY2013. NOAA anticipates making 3-5 awards to eligible collaborative projects, each comprising two or more individual awards in the form of cooperative agreements. Grants will range from $500,000 to $1,000,000 for all years of the project, for a project period of two to five years.
How to Apply: Applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov. Online submission requires registration, a process that usually takes three to five business days but can take as long as four weeks. Be sure to visit Grants.gov and begin registering well in advance of the grant deadline.
Resources:
Program notice
NOAA Office of Education Website
