Applying for grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) requires a paradigm shift at many community and technical colleges, because the primary emphasis at two-year colleges is on teaching. This shift is necessary because of the NSF expectation that a STEM faculty member will lead the project as Principal Investigator. Preparing successful NSF grant proposals also requires knowledge, skills, and strategies that differ from other sources from which two-year colleges seek grant funding. Since 2012, the Mentor-Connect project has been working to build capacity among two-year colleges and leadership skills among their STEM faculty to help them prepare competitive grant proposals for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) program. NSF-ATE focuses on improving the education of technicians for advanced technology fields that drive the nation’s economy. As an NSF-ATE-funded initiative, Mentor-Connect has developed a three-pronged approach of mentoring, technical assistance, and digital resources to help potential grantees with the complexities of the proposal submission process. Grant funding makes it possible to provide this help at no cost to eligible, two-year college educators. Mentor-Connect support services for prospective grantees are available for those who are new to ATE (community or technical colleges that have not received an NSF ATE award in 7 or more years), those seeking a larger second grant from the ATE Program after completing a small, new-to-ATE project, and for those whose first or second grant proposal submission to the NSF ATE Program was declined (not funded). The Mentor-Connect project has succeeded in raising interest in the NSF-ATE program. Over a seven-year period more than 80% of the 143 participating colleges have submitted proposals. Overall, the funding rate among colleges that participated in the Mentor-Connect project is exceptionally high. Of the 97 New-to-ATE proposals submitted from Cohorts 1 through 6, 71 have been funded, for a funding rate of 73%. Mentor-Connect is also contributing to a more geographically and demographically diverse NSF-ATE program. To analyze longer-term impacts, the project’s evaluator is conducting campus site visits at the new-to-ATE grantee institutions as their initial ATE projects are being completed. A third-party researcher has contributed to the site-visit protocol being used by evaluators. The researcher is also analyzing the site-visit reports to harvest outcomes from this work. This paper shares findings from seven cohorts that have completed a grant cycle with funding results known, as well as qualitative data from site visits with the first two cohorts of grantees. Recommendations for further research are also included.
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The Impact of Combining Coaching and Mentoring Skills for Successful ATE Grant Proposal Development
This article describes how combining coaching techniques with mentoring skills can positively impact the quality of grant proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE). The research findings are based on (1) a foundational pilot study conducted through the National CyberWatch Center that ended in October 2020 and (2) an independent follow-on mentoring project named Fortifying Cybersecurity and Computing Education through ATE Grants (FORCCE-ATE) mentoring project. The FORCCE-ATE model is differentiated from other ATE mentoring initiatives in the method that college faculty mentors are trained with fundamental coaching skills reinforced through multiple practicum sessions (triads). An iterative approach was used to improve the mentor-coach training each year of the project continuously. The mentor-coaches applied their blended mentoring-coaching skills to develop competitive NSF ATE proposals when working with their community college teams. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed by an experienced, independent project evaluator. The evaluator’s results show that training mentors with the coaching skills of careful listening and probing questions improves communication and rapport among mentor-coach and mentee team members.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2055250
- PAR ID:
- 10557766
- Publisher / Repository:
- NSF Journal of Advanced Technological Education
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Advanced Technological Education
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2832-9627
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 29-41
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- coach, mentor, coaching, mentoring, coaching and mentoring, International Coaching Federation, grant development, faculty, college, National Science Foundation
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Applying for grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) requires a paradigm shift at many community and technical colleges, because the primary emphasis at two-year colleges is on teaching. This shift is necessary because of the NSF expectation that a STEM faculty member will lead the project as Principal Investigator. Preparing successful NSF grant proposals also requires knowledge, skills, and strategies that differ from other sources from which two-year colleges seek grant funding. Since 2012, the Mentor-Connect project has been working to build capacity among two-year colleges and leadership skills among their STEM faculty to help them prepare competitive grant proposals for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) program. NSF-ATE focuses on improving the education of technicians for advanced technology fields that drive the nation’s economy. As an NSF-ATE-funded initiative, Mentor-Connect has developed a three-pronged approach of mentoring, technical assistance, and digital resources to help potential grantees with the complexities of the proposal submission process. Grant funding makes it possible to provide this help at no cost to eligible, two-year college educators. Mentor-Connect support services for prospective grantees are available for those who are new to ATE (community or technical colleges that have not received an NSF ATE award in 7 or more years), those seeking a larger second grant from the ATE Program after completing a small, new-to-ATE project, and for those whose first or second grant proposal submission to the NSF ATE Program was declined (not funded). The Mentor-Connect project has succeeded in raising interest in the NSF-ATE program. Over a seven-year period more than 80% of the 143 participating colleges have submitted proposals. Overall, the funding rate among colleges that participated in the Mentor-Connect project is exceptionally high. Of the 97 New-to-ATE proposals submitted from Cohorts 1 through 6, 71 have been funded, for a funding rate of 73%. Mentor-Connect is also contributing to a more geographically and demographically diverse NSF-ATE program. To analyze longer-term impacts, the project’s evaluator is conducting campus site visits at the new-to-ATE grantee institutions as their initial ATE projects are being completed. A third-party researcher has contributed to the site-visit protocol being used by evaluators. The researcher is also analyzing the site-visit reports to harvest outcomes from this work. This paper shares findings from seven cohorts that have completed a grant cycle with funding results known, as well as qualitative data from site visits with the first two cohorts of grantees. Recommendations for further research are also included.more » « less
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