NC State Education Awarded $2.5M in Research Funding August-October, 2019

Faculty and researchers at the NC State College of Education, including its Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, were awarded $2,467,124 to support 15 research projects from Aug. 1 to Oct. 21, 2019.

Purdue’s Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program (P-CAP)

This $1,180,936 grant from Purdue is part of a four-year, $12 million grant originally awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor focused on creating cybersecurity apprenticeships to fill a growing need for cybersecurity professionals across the country. The project aims to create 5,000 new highly-qualified personnel in cybersecurity through certifications as well as two- and four-year degree programs. The Friday Institute will direct the associated research and evaluation of the program, and Carla C. Johnson, Ph.D., executive director of the Friday Institute and associate dean, will serve as a co-principal investigator on the project.

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Yadkin County Schools Wolfpack Literacy Partnership

This $575,183, two-year project funded by the Mebane Foundation will help prepare Yadkin County Schools teachers with the advanced expertise needed to effectively implement evidence-based literacy instruction, assessment and intervention in elementary grades. Teachers who complete the program will receive a Master’s of Education degree and obtain knowledge needed to pursue advanced licensure as reading specialists. Dennis Davis, Ph.D., associate professor of literacy education, is the project’s principal investigator.

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A Longitudinal Examination of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) in North Carolina Public Schools

This $195,054 project funded by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will facilitate the continuation of a comprehensive, longitudinal evaluation of the implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support in schools across North Carolina over the past two decades to help inform future policy regarding PBIS in schools. Ed Sabornie, Ph.D., professor of special education, is the project’s principal investigator. Cathy Crossland, Ph.D., professor of special education, is the co-principal investigator.

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Programmed Robotics in the After-School Makerspace: A Four-County Initiative

This $154,480 project funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation will bring targeted makerspace activities to middle and high schools in the Piedmont Unifour region and provide training on four programmed robotics platforms to student leaders and teachers interested in starting or expanding makerspace clubs. Kevin Oliver, Ph.D., professor of learning design and technology, is the project’s principal investigator. Parks Newby, teaching assistant professor of STEM education, and Regina Barrier, Northwestern Satellite Office director for the NC State College of Science’s Science House, will serve as co-principal investigators.

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Broadband and Telehealth Feasibility Study of the ARC Region

This $91,000 project funded by the N.C. Department of Information Technology Services will enable the Friday Institute to provide technical assistance to Biotechnology Innovation Organization leadership and staff to establish state policies and programs around greater wireless connectivity for education and other applications. The goal is to gather high-quality data on North Carolina’s cellular and wireless connectivity with a focus on the homework gap. Phil Emer, senior director of Technology Programs at the Friday Institute, will be the project’s principal investigator.

Pathway to Practice NC: A North Carolina State University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Collaborative Addressing North Carolina’s Teaching Shortage Through a Competency-Based Approach with Alternative Licensure Teachers 

This $75,000 project funded by the State Employees Credit Union aims to expand the impact of NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill’s collaboration to prepare residency licensure teachers in high-need content areas and high-need communities in the state through their 100% online joint program Pathway to Practice NC. Alison Winzeler, coordinator of Pathway to Practice NC and director of the NC State College of Education’s alternative licensure programs, is the project’s principal investigator. Michael Maher, Ph.D., assistant dean for professional education and accreditation, is the co-principal investigator.

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Craven County Targeted Support Improvement, Social Emotional Learning Support

This $65,069 project funded by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will allow the Friday Institute to create a program that builds educator capacity to utilize technology and address social-emotional learning in order to better meet the needs of students, particularly those with special needs, at elementary and middle schools in Craven County. Mary Ann Wolf, Ph.D., director of digital learning programs at the Friday Institute, is the project’s principal investigator. Nancy Mangum, associate director of digital learning programs at the Friday Institute, will serve as co-principal investigator.

Pamlico County Schools Module Support

This $39,338 project funded by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will allow the Professional Learning and Leading Collaborative at the Friday Institute to work with Pamlico County Schools over a nine-month period to design and develop support for digitized professional development focused on trauma and social-emotional learning. Emmy Coleman, senior research scholar at the Friday Institute, is the project’s principal investigator.

Scaling Up Project-Based Inquiry Global

This $29,982 project funded by the Longview Foundation aims to scale up the impact of the ongoing Project-Based Inquiry Global research through the development of curricular materials related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of professional development for educators. The goal is the project is to support students to become local and global agents of change. Hiller Spires, Ph.D., Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor and senior research fellow at the Friday Institute, is the project’s principal investigator.

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STEM Support for Pamlico County Schools/Arapahoe Charter School

This $25,554 project funded by the Golden Leaf Foundation will offer targeted technology-rich professional development focused on the continued development, planning and implementation of STEM and project-based learning to educators in Pamlico County Schools and the Arapahoe Charter School over an 11-month period. Emmy Coleman, senior research scholar at the Friday Institute, is the project’s principal investigator.

Professional Learning Support

This $24,976 project funded by the Golden Lean Foundation will allow the Friday Institute to work with the Henderson Collegiate over a 10-month period to deliver targeted technology-rich professional learning that will assist with the continued development, planning and implementation of digital learning. Emmy Coleman, senior research scholar at the Friday Institute, is the project’s principal investigator.

NC State Improvement Project Institute of Higher Education Partnership 

This $10,000 project funded by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will enable NC State faculty to become certified Reading Research to Classroom Practice or Foundations of Math instructors to allow related coursework to be integrated into pre-service teacher preparation. The project will allow faculty to make State Improvement Project materials available to pre-service teachers and develop a plan to place student-teachers in classrooms of teachers who have completed Reading Research to Classroom Practice or Foundations of Math Courses. Jamie Pearson, Ph.D., assistant professor of special education, is the project’s principal investigator.

Building Capacity for Computational Thinking 

This $9,777 project funded by the Wake County Public School System will enable the Friday Institute to provide consulting services to the district to support the plan to establish the Bugg Magnet Elementary School Center for Design and Computer Sciences. Mary Ann Wolf, Ph.D., director of digital learning programs at the Friday Institute, is the project’s principal investigator.

Collaborative Research: Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation-Research Experience and Mentoring Catalyst Initiative 

This $8,176 project funded by the National Science Foundation is part of a multi-year, $137,493 project that aims to build an EFRI-REM mentoring community comprised of current and future science and engineering mentors to catalyze a programmatic change that positively impacts the mentors and student and teacher mentees. Christine Grant, Ph.D., associate dean of faculty advancement in the College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is the project’s principal investigator. Tuere Bowles, Ph.D., associate professor in the NC State College of Education’s Department of Leadership, Policy, Adult and Higher Education, is the co-principal investigator.

Teaching with Primary Resources Through Action Research 

This $8,153 project funded by the Library of Congress will focus on the processes social studies teachers follow to plan, implement and assess C3 (career, college and civic life) inquiries that utilize Library of Congress, resources and guide teachers through the action research cycle to teach with inquiry. Meghan Manfra, Ph.D., associate professor of social studies education, is the project’s principal investigator.

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