By Erin Moss, Co-Editor, DUE Point, Millersville University

In our DUE Point posts, we typically catch up with Principal Investigators at least a year or two into the process of administering their grant. This month, we are interviewing a PI earlier in the process to help readers understand the preparatory work of taking an idea and turning it into a successful grant proposal.

An NSF DUE-funded project at Sacred Heart University (SHU) aims to integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) methods in introductory undergraduate mathematics courses. UDL is an educational framework that integrates approaches that accommodate students’ learning diversity. The project at Sacred Heart provides support and professional development opportunities for faculty teaching introductory math courses to make gradual, sustained improvements to their teaching in line with UDL principles. These principles aim to provide multiple means of (1) engagement, (2) representation, and (3) action & expression. The research team will create a framework that aligns UDL checkpoints (see CAST’s UDL guidelines) to best practices identified in math education research and an assessment instrument that will be used to monitor the integration of UDL strategies in the classroom. Below, Principal Investigator Dr. Elliott Bertrand describes how this project got started.

How did you get the idea for your project?

Sacred Heart led a university-wide professional development workshop to introduce faculty to UDL. Next, a grant proposal team completed a literature review revealing the effectiveness of UDL in making mathematics teaching more accessible. After reviewing DFW data in our Algebra, Precalculus, and Calculus I courses, we realized these classes in particular could benefit from intervention. But the ideas of how to actually operationalize this project stemmed from successful synergy in the personnel’s experience. Dr. Lindsay Keazer is an expert  in studying and supporting teacher-led math professional development while Dr. Jillian Schreffler is experienced in supporting UDL integration in STEM courses. Along with my experience in teaching the affected courses, I bring an openness to pursuing new opportunities for myself and my colleagues to grow as educators using UDL.

What unique features of your grant application made it competitive during the review process, and how did you work together to create a successful proposal?

We first made sure that our project addressed a gap we identified in the existing research. Specifically, we aimed to investigate how UDL can be used to improve the learning of all students – not just those with disabilities – in postsecondary math courses.

Our project team members brought their aforementioned expertise to the proposal-writing process. For instance, Jillian contributed an essential “big picture” vision for how the project team and its resources should support faculty’s growing use of UDL. Lindsay identified valuable connections within the math education literature and organized our objectives and writing. I provided a detail-oriented perspective that helped to prepare a complete proposal and reasonable budget that responded to the needs of specific math courses.

How did you overcome challenges you faced when writing your grant application? What other university personnel were involved in this journey?

We first submitted a proposal in the summer of 2020, so an obvious challenge was navigating our first grant-writing experience in the midst of the pandemic. Fortunately, we had much more time to focus in the summer, and we learned to effectively set deadlines, collaborate asynchronously via “track changes,” and teleconference regularly to discuss progress. We weren’t successfully funded in our first application, but our responses to the feedback we received strengthened our second proposal.

Along with meeting regularly to discuss project objectives and preparing the proposal narrative, we worked closely with our (awesome) Office of Sponsored Programs to prepare NSF’s required supporting documents. As we prepared a budget, we needed to line up tentative commitments, so we reached out to both SHU math faculty (to gauge potential interest in participating in a potential project) and to outside consultants (who could help us create UDL resources and lead professional development in future years).

The official start date of your grant is June 2022, though you found out several months ago that your project would be funded. What kind of preparatory work did you have to do between being awarded the grant and the grant’s start date?

The period between being awarded the grant and the start date is a bit of a lull in the work when we don’t formally start any official business but still prepare to hit the ground running. After receiving the award notice, we confirmed commitments with our consultants, circulated some required internal forms with our business and sponsored programs offices, and connected with our NSF program officer. We also helped prepare an internal press release and respond to inquiries (like this one from DUE Point!) to spread the news about our upcoming work. We worked with our supervisors to ensure scheduling and course releases could be appropriately accommodated next year. Finally, we have used this time to revisit our project plan and budget needs to address any changes that might have occurred in the interim so that we can bring any items that need adjustment/clarification to our program officer.

Learn more about NSF DUE 2142315

Full Project Name: Integrating Methods for Universal Design for Learning in Introductory Undergraduate Mathematics Courses

Abstract: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2142315&HistoricalAwards=false

Project Contact: Dr. Elliott Bertrand, PI; bertrande@sacredheart.edu