Grant Writing Workshop for Research on Adult Education

Elizabeth R. Albro

National Center for Education Research

Why Adult Education?

• 30 million American adults, or 14 percent of the adult population, have difficulty reading

• 22 percent of the adult population have limited quantitative skills

Adult Education Learners

• Adult Basic Education• Adult Secondary Education• Adult English Learners• Postsecondary Students in Remedial

Programs

Getting Started

Getting Started

Requests for Applications

IES Grants.gov Application Submission Guide

Application Package

Finding Requests for Applications

FY 2011 Requests for Applications (RFAs) and the IES Grants.gov Application Submission Guide are available on

http://ies.ed.gov/funding

For future RFAs, sign up for the IES Newsflash:http://ies.ed.gov/newsflash/

Finding Application Packages

• FY 2011 application packages for June are available on www.grants.gov

• The June application package will be available on April 29, 2010

Research Grant Programs

• Education Research Grant Program

• National Research and Development Centers

Identify Appropriate Grant Program and Topic

• Read the Request for Applications

• Check the announced topics

• Look at the abstracts of projects funded under a research topic– http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/projects/

Education Research Grant Program (84.305A)

Solution-Driven Research

Research intended to contribute to the solution of practical education problems

– Exploration– Development and Innovation– Efficacy and Replication– Scale-up Evaluation– Measurement

Adult Education Research Questions Can Be Considered Under Several NCER Topics

• Adult Education• Cognition and Student Learning• Postsecondary Education• Education Technology• Analysis of Longitudinal Data to Support

State and Local Education Reform

Adult Education Topic

• Must focus on basic reading, writing, or mathematics skills of adult learners

• Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and programs for adults who are learning English

• Programs designed to help underprepared students acquire the skills to succeed in college (e.g., developmental or bridge programs)

Adult Education Topic

• Under measurement goal

• Assessments must be reading, writing, or mathematics assessments appropriate for adult learners

Cognition and Student Learning Topic

• How can principles and knowledge emerging from research on cognitive science be used to better understand student learning and improve student outcomes?

Cognition and Student Learning Topic

• Research must focus on….. basic reading, writing, or mathematics skills or study skills for students in – vocational education – adult basic education– developmental (remedial)/bridge programs for

underprepared college students

Postsecondary Education Topic

• Access to, persistence in, or completion of postsecondary education

• Implemented at the high school or postsecondary level

Postsecondary Education Topic

• Measurement goal • Measures of learning at the postsecondary

level (e.g., college-level proficiencies in reading, writing, critical thinking, and mathematics) that could be used broadly across institutions of higher education to assess what students have learned in college

Education Technology

• Basic reading, writing, mathematics, or study skills classes to adults in college developmental programs, vocational education, or adult education

Analysis of Longitudinal Data to Support Local and State Education Reform Topic

• Students in kindergarten through postsecondary education (undergraduate only)

• Based upon a longitudinal database maintained by an SEA or LEA

Analysis of Longitudinal Data (cont.)

• Must address either basic academic outcomes in reading, writing, mathematics, or science, or general academic outcomes such as grade retention, course completion, high school graduation, access to postsecondary education, and completion of postsecondary education

Analysis of Longitudinal Data (cont.)

• Must include the involvement of at least one SEA or LEA and the key research personnel must include at least one state or district person

• Must include explicit permission from the holder of the longitudinal data for the applicant to use the data for the purpose described in the application

Funding Available

• Depends upon the research goal and scope of the project posed

• Check details in Part III Requirements of the Proposed Research of the RFA

National Research and Development Centers(84.305C)

TOPIC 1: Cognition and Adult Literacy

TOPIC 3: Postsecondary Education and Employment

Cognition and Adult Literacy R&D Center

• Explore underlying cognitive processes• Develop and evaluate interventions for adult

learners• Specify population (ABE, ASE, Adult ESL)• Include reading, writing, and/or numeracy as

focus of the research

Postsecondary Education and Employment R&D Center

• Support state/researcher partnerships to– Identify state education longitudinal databases that

include or can be linked to longitudinal student postsecondary data and employment/workforce data

– Link and carry out analyses using these datasets – Answer research questions examining relationships

between postsecondary education and employment outcomes

For All Centers

• Typical awards are $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 (total cost = direct + indirect) per year for 5 years

• Application due date is September 16, 2010

Challenge of Adult Education Applications

• Identifying and locating appropriate samples• Retention and attrition• Multiple types of learners served in a single

setting • Prior empirical knowledge of how to improve

adult education outcomes is limited

Preparing the Application

http://ies.ed.gov/resourcesforresearchers.asp

Research Narrative

• Significance• Methodological Requirements (Research

Plan)• Personnel• Resources• Management Plan (for R&D Center

applications)*

Reviewers’ Perspectives

• Write clearly and concisely• Address the points described in the RFA• Organize information in logical sequence• Label sections and number pages• Make it easy for reviewers to find and

understand the information

Submitting an Application

• All applications must be submitted electronically to http://www.grants.gov

• By 4:30 p.m. Washington, DC, time on the date listed in the RFA for the competition to which you are submitting

Final Application Submission

• Online forms are complete• PDF files of application contents have been

uploaded• Authorized representative has completed the

final step of the electronic process• You have received an e-mail acknowledging

receipt of your application

What Happens Next?

Peer Review

• The application is reviewed for compliance• Compliant applications are assigned to a

review panel• Two or three panel members will conduct a

primary review of each application• At the panel meeting, the most competitive

applications are reviewed by the full panel

Peer Review Process Information

http://ies.ed.gov/director/sro/peer_review/index.asp

Notification

• All applicants will receive an e-mail notification of the status of their application

• All applicants will receive copies of the reviewer comments

• If you are not granted an award the first time, plan on resubmitting and talk to your program officer

Final Reminders

Don’t Forget...

• Start early• Read the Request for Applications• Talk with the program officer• Start the online submission process early

ies.ed.gov

Elizabeth Albro

elizabeth.albro@ed.gov