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Has your college been an ATE grantee? Did you have a "New to NSF" grant? Keep the momentum going! Take advantage of what ATE funding can do for your college's technician education programs and students by "Moving Up" to an ATE Project. What will help make your proposal be more competitive? How do requirements and reviewer expectations change when you take the next step? Where can you get help to make your proposal more competitive? Learn the answers to these questions along with strategies, insider tips, and mistakes to avoid in seeking your next ATE grant.

PRESENTERS: 

Elaine Craft, PI, Mentor-Connect (DUE 1501183 and 1840856) and other NSF ATE Grants (SCATE Center Director, retired), Florence-Darlington Technical College, SC
Elaine.Craft@fdtc.edu

Elizabeth (Liz) Teles, Former NSF ATE Program Director, Co-PI on two ATE Mentor-UP awards (DUE 1931264 and 2032835), VA
ejteles@yahoo.com

Pamela Silvers, PI, Computer Technologies Instructor, Skilled Workers Get Jobs NSF Grant (DUE 1800920), Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech), NC
pamelajsilvers@abtech.edu

Register to attend here. The event is scheduled for Thursday, March 11, 2021 12:00pm -...

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EvaluATE webchats are an opportunity for small groups of ATE evaluation community members to come together to share and learn from each other in real time. Anyone interested in evaluation is welcome to attend. Participants are encouraged to turn on their webcams and join in the conversation, offering a great opportunity to network.

Upcoming webchats will cover a variety of subjects including:

• January 26: The ATE Annual Survey
• February 23: Data Collection
• March 23: ATE Proposals
• April 27: Evaluation Reporting
• May 25: Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

Those interested in attending can resgister at the links included above. A full schedule of the 2021 webchats is avilable on the EvaluATE website's Webchats page. All webchats are held virtually from 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET on the dates listed.

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The NSF Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) in collaboration with AAAS will offer an Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR) webinar focusing on opportunities for funding in the IUSE: EHR program, specifically associated with expectations of the IUSE solicitation, NSF 19-601. An audio archive and slides will be posted after the webinar at https://aaas-iuse.org.

The IUSE: EHR program “seeks to promote novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for all undergraduates.” The program supports proposals interested in improving undergraduate education, developing faculty expertise, preparing K-12 teachers, and providing all undergraduate students with STEM competencies and a basic understanding of STEM concepts and principles. All projects must contribute to the body of knowledge about what works in undergraduate STEM education and the conditions that lead to improved STEM teaching and learning. The Level 1 and Building Capacity tiers encourage submission from investigators and institutions that have not received prior IUSE: EHR funding.

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Education has been upended since the arrival of the pandemic in Spring 2020. In this webinar, Dr. Aaron Peterson and Jason Kaufman, PHD, Ed.D., will share the results of their investigation into how instructors at two-year colleges have dealt with the unique challenges of the transition to online learning. The presentation will focus on both the struggles and skills acquired by educators during this unique period with the end goal being to help attendees formulate three specific means of coping with the stresses of professional work during this difficult time.

The event will take place on January 14, 2021 2:00-3:00 pm ET. Those interested in participating should register to attend.

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Looking for a professional development opportunity that can make a differnece? On-call Scientists, a project of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program (SRHRL), facilitates mutually beneficial partnerships that allow individuals in STEM fields to use their unique skills to contribute to human rights organizations.

Participating scientists have contributed their skills to address a range of human rights issues, from forensic scientists analyzing the remains of genocide victims to geographers using their technology experistise to chart displacement, and worked with a variety of organizations, from Human Rights Watch to statewide Innocence Projects. Interested in joining the rank of On-call Scientists experts? Check out the Volunteer page for more details (note that contributions are entirely pro bono).

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Free print copies of the ATE Impacts book, to distribute on your campus, to your industry partners, or elsewhere can be obtained via the book request form. Interactive flipbook and electronic (PDF) versions of the ATE Impacts book are also available for viewing and download on the ATE Impacts website. 

Feel free to distribute copies of the virtual ATE Impacts book to campus colleagues, to your industry partners, or to other stakeholders.
 

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This year's American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Workforce Development Institute (WDI) will be held virtually from January 27-28, 2021 11:00 am - 5:00 pm ET. The event will center on the theme Adjusting Through Adversity. 

The program schedule is available online, and features plenary speakers such as Dr. Bryan D. Albrecht, President and CEO, Gateway Technical College, WI; Dr. Alex Johnson, President, Cuyahoga Community College, OH; Dr. DeRionne Pollard, President, Montgomery College, MD; and Dr. Federico Zaragoza, President, College of Southern Nevada, NV. Attendees can also benefit from sessions on topics ranging from The ROI of Work-Based Learning Programs to Military Transitions.

AACC Members and non-members can register to attend for $350.

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EvaluateUR-CURE, a method for evaluating course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), is currently in development and the next round of pilot testing is set for the 2021-2022 academic year. Pilot testing of E-CURE is open to all faculty. Faculty teaching courses with research experiences (CUREs) at community colleges are especially encouraged to apply. 

In common with EvaluateUR, EvaluateUR-CURE has about a dozen student outcome categories, each defined by several outcome components. In order to assess student progress, each component is scored both by the student researcher and his or her faculty mentor using a five-point scale and accompanying rubric.

Beginning on December 8, 2020, applications will be open. Selections will be made for the 2021-2022 academic year. Applications received after this date will be considered only if available sites are open. The organizers anticipate identifying up to 10 sites for the pilot.

A modest stipend is provided for participating in the pilot and providing feedback. This project is funded by NSF ATE #1836033.
 

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A new Mentor-Connect resource for prospective grantees is now available. These short tidbits of guidance and advice are called “Coffee Breaks.”

Mentor Connect Coffee Breaks provide quick answers to frequently asked questions that arise while working on and preparing to submit an NSF ATE proposal. Tips for project management are included, too, such as preparing reports for NSF. Each presentation is less than 10 minutes and addresses a specific topic or question you may have. Coffee Break advice is available in the Mentor-Connect Library, www.Mentor-Connect.org

Under Find A Resource, select Webinars, then type “Coffee Break” in the search function at the top of the page.

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The deadline to access this year's ATE PI Conference materials has been extended! All session materials, recordings, and ATE Connects submissions are available for on-demand viewing on demand on the conference platform until June 1, 2021. 

If materials for a session were provided, they are linked directly below the session abstract (as well as are available in the Materials box next to the chat window for the Concurrent, Spotlight, and Demonstration sessions). 

ATE Connects materials will also remain available on-demand. PDF handouts in this section are downloadable from the site. To download, click on the three dots in the top right of the Adobe frame for the handout, and then click download.