Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Grant: Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES)
Agency: National Science Foundation
Deadline: January 14, 2013 for Type 2, Type 3 and TUES Central Resource Project proposals; May 28, 2012 for Type 1 proposals from submitting organizations in states or territories beginning with A through M; May 29, 2012 for Type 1 proposals from submitting organizations in states or territories beginning with N through W.
Description: The TUES program seeks to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education for all undergraduate students. The NSF is particularly interested in projects that have the potential to transform undergraduate STEM education by bringing about widespread adoption of classroom practices that embody understanding of how students learn most effectively. A specific breakdown of each project type can be found in the Program Description section of the program notice. Projects commonly include one or more of the components described below:
Creating Learning Materials and Strategies: Projects developing new learning materials and strategies for improving courses, curriculum and laboratories should be guided by research on teaching and learning and should incorporate and be inspired by advances within the disciplines.
Implementing New Instructional Strategies: To ensure their broad-based adoption, successful instructional strategies should be widely practiced.Therefore, TUES welcomes proposals to change undergraduate STEM courses, curricula, and laboratories by implementing strategies to reflect proven or promising pedagogical techniques in ways that encourage widespread adoption.
Developing Faculty Expertise: Using new learning materials and teaching strategies often requires faculty to acquire new knowledge and skills in order to revise their curricula and teaching practices. Projects focused on developing faculty expertise can range from short-term workshops to sustained activities.
Assessing and Evaluating Student Achievement: Proposals for designing processes and instruments to measure the effectiveness of new materials and instructional methods are responsive to this solicitation.
Conducting Research on Undergraduate STEM Education: Results from assessments of learning and teaching as well as from projects emphasizing other programmatic components provide a foundation for developing new and revised models of how undergraduate STEM students learn.
Projects of particular interest include those that explore cyberlearning, specifically using cyber infrastructure tools such as networked computing and communications technologies. The program supports projects at all scales and stages of development, ranging from small exploratory investigations to large comprehensive projects.
Fit for public broadcasting: Public broadcasters have a particular advantage in developing new learning materials and strategies for improving courses and curriculum. NSF is interested in projects that can be replicated across classrooms, therefore stations that have the ability to create web based cyberlearning programs might find a good fit here.
Eligibility: Institutions of higher education, state, and local governments and nonprofits are eligible to apply.
Anticipated funding: An estimated $35,800,000 will be distributed across 94 to 108 awards. Each project type anticipates a different level of funding. For details pertaining to each budget requirement, see the Program Description section of the program notice.
How to apply: In response to this program solicitation, proposers may opt to submit proposals via Grants.gov or via the NSF FastLane system. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system.
Resources:
Program notice
Program website
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