NC State College of Education Awarded $6.4 Million in Grant Funding From July Through September, 2022

Faculty and researchers at the NC State College of Education, including the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, were awarded $6,398,167 to support 12 projects from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2022.

As of September 30, the college has spent $4,298,917 on research expenditures this fiscal year.

Project AIM-NEXT: All Included in Mathematics New Extensions

This $3,284,532 project, funded by the National Science Foundation, will build on the prior work of Project AIM by strengthening the existing professional development model to help teachers engage their students in mathematics discourse. This will be accomplished by designing support for coaches and principals while measuring the impact the professional development has on student outcomes. Dean Paola Sztajn is the project’s principal investigator. 

Enhancing Data Science and Statistics Teacher Education through E-Modules II [ESTEEM II]-Transforming and Building Community

This $2,118,679 project, funded by the National Science Foundation, will expand the work of the ESTEEM project by investigating the current systems in undergraduate teacher preparation for teaching data science and statistics, with a focus on identifying problems of practices related to data science and statistics education in teacher education programs. Distinguished Professor Hollylynne Lee is the project’s principal investigator. Senior Research Scholar Gemma Mojica is the co-principal investigator.

Making Computer Science (CS) STICK: Systemic Change for Teachers

This $349,286 project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, will create and develop a sustainable community of elementary school teachers to support the ongoing integration of computer science into core content areas in the Wake County Public School System through a scalable professional development program and the creation of locally relevant curricular materials. Melissa Rasberry, director of the Friday Institute’s Professional Learning and Leading Collaborative, is the project’s principal investigator.  

Broadband Infrastructure Programs, Technical Support-Work Order #13

This project, funded by $243,794 from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, will enable the Friday Institute to provide technical support to the Broadband Infrastructure Office and the Division of Broadband and Digital Equity to support the rollout of various infrastructure grant programs in the 2020-23 fiscal year. Ray Zeisz, senior director of the Friday Institute’s Technology Infrastructure Lab, is the project’s principal investigator.

Sargassum and Hurricane Waste Biomass for Aviation Fuel and Graphite (SWAG)

This project, funded by the Department of Energy/Waste Feedstocks, will convert two waste streams that are increasingly problematic in the southeastern United States and Caribbean states into sustainable aviation fuel and graphite for lithium ion batteries. The College of Education will receive $99,801 of $2,250,000 in funding for the project. Professor Meg Blanchard is one of the project’s co-principal investigators.

North Carolina Digital-Age Learning Initiative IHE Supports 2022-23

This $43,743 project, funded by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, will enable the Program Evaluation and Education Research (PEER) group at the Friday Institute to conduct a third assessment and analysis of current digital learning practices within North Carolina educator preparation programs using the streamlined Digital Learning Progress Rubric and the School Technology Needs Assessment for faculty. Research Scholar Jamie Gustava Gillespie is the project’s principal investigator. Research Associate Erin Huggins is the co-principal investigator. 

Conference on Rural English Learner Education and Research (CREER)

This $43,498 project, funded by the Spencer Foundation, will bring together a group of scholars, educators and community agencies who work with multilingual learners from across the United States to share knowledge, expertise and practices with the goal of developing high-quality educators who can improve the academic learning and well-being of rural multilingual learners and families. Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Educational Equity Maria Coady is the project’s principal investigator. 

Modulation of the Effector-Triggered Immunity response by ERAD-Mediated Degradation of Activated NLRs (EMDAN)

This project, funded by the National Science Foundation, will use a range of molecular, genomics and cell biology techniques to characterize the role of CER9, endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation and related pathways involved in ubiquitin and proteasome associated processes in controlling effector-triggered immunity in maize. The College of Education will receive $34,465 of $500,000 in total funding for the project. Braska Williams, director of the North Carolina MSEN Pre-College Program, serves as senior personnel on the project. 

Exploring Educator Retention in North Carolina A+ Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This $31,186 project, funded by the North Carolina Arts Foundation, will explore the extent to which the A+ reform model supported educators toward retention during the COVID-19 pandemic and extend the ongoing A+ efforts to document and understand trends in student achievement data. Research Scholar Sarah Bausell is the project’s principal investigator. Marie Himes, director of the Friday Institute’s New Literacies Collaborative, is the co-principal investigator. 

ECMC Foundation Fellows 2022 Leadership Collaborative Convening

This $23,467 project, funded by the ECMC Foundation, will support the ECMC Foundation fellows to attend the Career and Technical Education Leadership Collaborative in Nashville, Tennessee, and provide them with an opportunity to collaborate on the development of research projects. Associate Professor James Bartlett is the project’s principal investigator. Associate Teaching Professor Michelle Bartlett is the co-principal investigator. 

The Equity-Centered Pipeline Initiative (ECPI)

This $10,000 project, funded by The Wallace Foundation, will support eight school districts and their partners as they develop principal pipelines for equity-centered leadership. Associate Professor Tim Drake is the project’s principal investigator. 

Learning Differences Leadership Capacity Building
This $9,488 project, funded by the Oak Foundation, will allow the Learning Difference project team at the Friday Institute to enroll in the Center for Creative Leadership’s “Lead 4 Success” training program. Callie Edwards, acting director of the Friday Institute’s Program Evaluation and Education Research (PEER) group, is the project’s principal investigator.