NC State Education Receives $7.5+ Million in Research Grants Between April-May 2018

NC State College of Education faculty were awarded $7,749,144 to support five research projects in April and May. In FY 2018, faculty have received $13,276,765 in awards so far.

The following is a list of newly awarded grants received by the NC State College of Education from April to May.

Title: The Next Generation of Data Science Education: Pioneering the Frontier
Summary:  This collaborative project with RTI will facilitate a move towards data literate citizens, college and career readiness in data science and statistics, and the use of data to design and implement an intelligent, online learning system that can support big data educational research. The overall goal is to design and pilot test an intelligent learning system for a professional development course for K-16 educators on integrating statistics and data science across disciplines. The project builds on existing work in online professional development for teaching statistics at the Friday Institute and will position the project team to move forward with future collaborations.
Principal Investigator: Hollylynne Lee, Ph.D., Professor, Mathematics and Statistics Education, University Faculty Scholar and Faculty Fellow, Friday Institute
Co-Principal Investigators: John Vavricka and Peter Baumgartner
Sponsor: RTI University Scholars Program
Total Award: $82,000

Title: Developing a Learner-Centered Leaders Network for Massachusetts
Summary:  The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation has designed a summit to provide school leaders a new type of professional learning that supports personalized and digital transformation for today’s schools. The Leading Schools Summit seeks to elevate and empower school leaders as they examine how to manage complex changes in today’s schools and will provide unique and practical opportunities to prepare and support principals as they lead efforts that further the use of student-centered, personalized learning in their schools. The initiative will include a range of ongoing and sustainable efforts to build a national network of innovative leaders and a body of work – including toolkits, practical strategies, and exemplars – that shares best practices and provides ongoing opportunities for collaboration.
Principal Investigator: Mary Ann Wolf, Ph.D., Teaching Assistant Professor, Digital Learning & Teaching
Co-Principal Investigators: Nancy Mangum and Theresa Gibson
Sponsor: Nellie Mae/MAPLE Foundation
Total Award: $54,417

Title: A Longitudinal Examination of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) in North Carolina Public Schools
Summary: The work builds on a previous PBIS grant funded by DPI.  The project focuses on improving a school’s learning climate through the implementation of school-wide systems of support that include proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments. Instead of depending on individual behavioral management plans, PBIS is a continuum of positive behavior support for all students within a school which is implemented across classroom and non-classroom settings. The purpose of the proposed project is to continue a comprehensive, longitudinal evaluation of the implementation of PBIS in the public schools of North Carolina, beginning with the first school year of implementation (2000-2001) through the present school year (2016-2017).
Principal Investigator: Ed Sabornie, Ph.D., Professor of Special Education
Co-Principal Investigators: Cathy Crossland, Ph.D.
Sponsor: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Total Award: $191,947

Title: A Learning Environment to Support Comprehension Monitoring with Informational Science Text
Summary: The goal of this project is to develop a game-based learning environment entitled MISSIONS WITH MONTY to improve 5th graders’ comprehension monitoring skills and science content knowledge using informational texts. The program will function within a self-regulated learning framework and include three key curricular units (ecosystems, Earth and human activity, from molecules to organisms) that align with Next Generation Science Standards. This project proposes to advance knowledge in how to assist students in monitoring their comprehension and subsequently improving their strategies for understanding STEM informational texts.
Principal Investigator: John Nietfeld, Ph.D.,Professor of Educational Psychology
Faculty Associate: James Minogue, Ph.D., (Elementary Ed) and Co-PI: Marc Russo (Design)
Sponsor: National Science Foundation/EHR Core
Total Award: $1,469,395

Title: Preparing K-3 Teachers to Use Evidence-Based Practices to Teach Foundational Reading Skills
Summary: To advance teachers’ use of evidence-based practices to teach foundational reading skills to K-3 students, this project will: (1) provide an online MOOC-Ed course for teachers and teacher educators; (2) develop competency-based assessments of teachers’ knowledge and practices; (3) work with NCDPI, school districts, and UNC-GA to integrate the project resources into comprehensive professional development programs; and (4) conduct an evaluation to inform ongoing improvements of the course.
Principal Investigator: Glenn Kleiman, Ph.D., Executive Director, The Friday Institute
Sponsor: Mebane Foundation
Total Award: $56,844

Title: Wolfpack WORKS (Ways to Optimize Reading/Writing for Kids Statewide)
Summary:  Wolfpack WORKS will provide literacy-specific, intensive induction support to first-year teachers in grades K-2 who work in about 15 high-need school districts in North Carolina. The program will incorporate blended professional development, literacy-specific coaching and resources that beginning K-2 teachers need to implement effective classroom literacy instruction, particularly in high-need elementary schools.
Principal Investigator: Jill Grifenhagen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Literacy Education
Co-Principal Investigators: Ann Harrington, Ph.D., and Paola Sztajn, Ph.D.
Sponsor: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Total Award: $5,894,541