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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

Reading, Writing, and Language Development Grant Writing Overview

Rebecca McGill-Wilkinson, Ph.D.National Center for Education Research

Kristen Rhoads, Ph.D.National Center for Special Education Research

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Organizational Structure of IES

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National Board for Education

SciencesStandards &

Review Office

Office of the Director

National Center for Education Evaluation

National Center for Education Statistics

National Center for Education Research

National Center for

Special Education Research

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Missions of the Research Centers

• NCER– supports rigorous research that addresses the

nation’s most pressing education needs, from early childhood to adult education

• NCSER– sponsors a rigorous and comprehensive program

of special education research designed to expand the knowledge and understanding of infants, toddlers, and students with or at risk for disabilities from birth through high school

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IES Grant Programs: Research Objectives

• Develop or identify education interventions (practices, programs, policies, and approaches) – that enhance academic achievement– that can be widely deployed

• Identify what does not work and thereby encourage innovation and further research

• Understand the processes that underlie the effectiveness of education interventions and the variation in their effectiveness

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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

Quick Overview of Current Investments

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NCER Investments by Competition (2002-2013)Program Number of Awards Investment

(in millions)

Education Research 584 $965.4Research & Development Centers 20 $204.7Postdoctoral Research Training 39 $24.7Predoctoral Research Training 26 $121.8Researcher and Policymaker Training 1 $0.8Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships 6 $2.4Eval. of State & Local Programs & Policies 14 $55.1Statistical & Research Methodology 34 $24.8Reading for Understanding 6 $113.4Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research 12 $20.2Social & Character Development Research 7 $13.6Unsolicited 31 $44.9Small Business Innovation Research 73 $64.96

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NCSER Investments by Competition (2006-2013)Program Number of

AwardsInvestment (in millions)

Special Education Research 247 $451.0

Research & Development Centers 6 $62.0

Postdoctoral Research Training 12 $7.8

Early Career Development and Mentoring Training 3 $1.2

Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Research Initiative

1 $10.0

Small Business Innovation Research 16 $11.0

Unsolicited Awards 3 $1.47

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Education Research Topics (84.305A)

• Cognition and Student Learning• Early Learning Programs and Policies• Education Technology• Effective Teachers & Effective Teaching• English Learners• Improving Education Systems: Policies, Organization,

Management, and Leadership• Mathematics and Science Education• Postsecondary and Adult Education• Reading and Writing• Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning

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Special Education Research Topics (84.324A)

• Autism Spectrum Disorders• Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education• Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education• Families of Children with Disabilities• Mathematics and Science Education• Professional Development for Teachers and Related Service Providers• Reading, Writing, and Language Development• Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning• Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems• Technology for Special Education• Transition Outcomes for Secondary Students with Disabilities

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NCER and NCSER Investments in Reading-specific Topics

Program Number of Awards

Investment (in millions)

NCER – Reading and Writing 77 $129.0

NCSER – Reading, Writing, and Language Development

32 $58.0

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NCER and NCSER Investments in Reading-specific Topics

NCER NCSER0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Total InvestmentReading topic

13%

13%

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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

Choosing a Topic

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My Research Idea Overlaps Topics

• Read the Request for Applications• Review announced topics and methodological

requirements• Look at abstracts of projects funded under a research

topic or program– http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/projects – http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/projects

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My Research Idea Overlaps Topics

• All require student outcomes (even Effective Teachers, Professional Development, Systems, and Families)

• Grade range varies by topic– Most topics are for K-12 students only – Some allow for work to bridge age/grade ranges

• E.g., from birth/pre-K into K or from high school into postsecondary

– Some allow for birth/pre-K through grade 12• E.g., NCER Cognition and Student Learning and Education

Technology: pre-K through grade 12• E.g., NCSER Technology for Special Education: birth through grade

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Choosing among Overlapping Topics

• If your research is focused on teachers or other instruction personnel, you must submit to Effective Teachers and Effective Teaching or Professional Development for Teachers and Related Services Providers.

• If your focus is on a specific population of students, you may want to consider applying to that topic:– Is your focus on a specific type of student (e.g., students with

autism or English learners), or are you studying them as a subgroup of your sample?

• If your research is focused on birth/pre-K or postsec/adult, you should apply to that topic.

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Choosing among Overlapping Topics

• What literature are you citing?• To which topic is your area of expertise best aligned?• If you are still unsure, contact the Program Officer(s)

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My Research Idea Overlaps NCER and NCSER Reading Topics

I’ve chosen Reading as a topic area, but I’m not sure if my research is a better fit for NCER or NCSER.

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My Research Idea Overlaps NCER and NCSER Reading Topics

Think about:• Purpose of the topic and alignment with your

research• Outcomes• Sample

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Purpose of the NCER Reading and Writing Topic

• NCER – The Reading and Writing (Read/Write) topic

supports research on the improvement of reading and writing skills of students from kindergarten through high school. Through this topic, the Institute is interested in improving learning, higher-order thinking, and achievement in reading and writing.

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Purpose of the NCSER Reading, Writing, and Language Development Topic

• NCSER – The Reading, Writing, and Language Development

(Reading/Language) topic supports research that improves reading, writing, and language skills of students with or at risk for disabilities.

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Outcomes of InterestNCER Read/Write NCSER

Read/Write/LanguagePre-reading X

Reading X X

Pre-writing X

Writing X X

Language X

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Sample

• NCER– Any skill level

• NCSER– Students with or at risk for disabilities

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What Does at risk for Disability Mean?

• You must:– present research-based evidence of an association between

risk factors in your proposed sample and the potential identification of specific disabilities

– make explicit your method for determining if a child is at risk for developing a specific disability

– identify the disability that children are at risk of developing• You should not:

– use general population characteristics (e.g., labeling children as “at risk for disabilities” because they are from low income families or are English learners) to define risk for disability

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Common Question

• I am developing a Tier 2 (secondary) intervention as part of an RTI model. Students in Tier 2 could be at risk for specific learning disabilities/special education placement or at risk for academic failure. Should I apply to NCER or NCSER?

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Common Question

• I am developing curriculum based measures (CBMs). My sample will include typically developing students, student with disabilities, and students at risk for disabilities or academic failure. The measure will be used for screening or monitoring progress in a Response to Intervention model. Should I apply to NCER or NCSER?

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Choosing between NCER and NCSER

• What literature are you citing?• To which topic is your area of expertise best aligned?• What is the purpose of your project:– Improve reading outcomes for kids with or at risk for

disabilities– Prevent reading disabilities– Reduce inappropriate referral to special education

• If you are still unsure, contact Becky or Kristen

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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

Choosing a Goal

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Choosing a Goal

• Think about your research question(s)• Think about the product you hope to have at the end of

the grant• If not sure

– Check RFA– Discuss with program officer– If your idea straddles several goals, consider breaking it into

smaller pieces– Choose goal with best fit, not the one that offers greatest

funding

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FY2015 Research Goals

• Exploration • Development & Innovation• Efficacy & Replication• Effectiveness• Measurement

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Exploration Goal

• Explore associations between education outcomes and malleable factors

• Identify factors and conditions that may mediate or moderate relations between malleable factors and student outcomes

• Possible methodological approaches include:– Analyze secondary data– Collect primary data– Complete a meta-analysis– Combination of above

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Development & Innovation Goal

• Develop an innovative intervention (e.g., curriculum, instructional approach, program, or policy)

• OR improve existing education interventions

• AND collect data on its feasibility, usability, and fidelity of implementation in actual education settings

• AND collect pilot data on student outcomes.

Development process must be

iterative!

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Efficacy & Replication Goal

• Evaluate whether or not a fully developed intervention is efficacious under limited or ideal conditions

OR

• Replicate an efficacious intervention varying the original conditions

OR

• Gather follow-up data examining the longer term effects of an intervention with demonstrated efficacy

OR

• Analyze retrospective (historical) secondary data to test an intervention implemented in the past

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Effectiveness Goal

• Evaluate whether a fully developed intervention that has evidence of efficacy is effective when implemented under typical conditions through an independent evaluation

• Prior to submitting an effectiveness proposal, at least two efficacy studies of the intervention with beneficial and practical impacts on student outcomes must have been completed

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Measurement Goal

• Development of new assessments or refinement of existing assessments, and the validation of these assessments

OR

• Validation of existing assessments for specific purposes, contexts and populations

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For All Goals

• Dissemination plan• Check RFA for materials for each Appendix

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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

Special Reading, Writing, and Language Development

Considerations

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Writing

• Majority of work has been on reading• Field has less systematic knowledge about

how individuals become proficient writers

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College- and Career-Ready Standards

• High relevance for practitioners and policymakers

• Field could benefit from research such as:– Exploratory work examining learning progressions– Research on the impact of increased text

complexity on student outcomes– Research on reading and writing in the content

areas

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Content Area Reading and Writing

• By middle school, most students do not have dedicated reading class

• Reading and writing are taught in content-area classrooms

• Field could benefit from research such as:– Identifying the best instructional techniques and

materials for teaching reading and writing in content-area classrooms

– Whether there are different reading and writing skills needed for literacy in different content areas

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Low-Incidence Disabilities

• Many students with low-incidence disabilities typically demonstrate minimal literacy skills.

• Field could benefit from:– Interventions that teach all critical components of

reading– Interventions across age/grade ranges and skill

levels– Interventions for students with intellectual

disabilities or sensory impairments

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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

The Research Narrative

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The Application Research Narrative

• Key part of your application• 4 Sections:– Significance– Research Plan– Personnel– Resources

• Requirements vary by topic and goal• 25 pages, single-spaced

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Significance

• Describes the overall project– Your research question(s) to be answered, and– Intervention to be developed or evaluated, or– Measure to be developed and/or validated

• Provides a compelling rationale for the project– Theoretical justification

• Logic Models, Change Models– Empirical justification– Practical justification

• Justifies the overall importance of the work43

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Research Plan

• Describe the work you intend to do– How you will answer your research question, and– Develop your intervention, or– Evaluate the intervention, or– Develop and/or validate your assessment

• Make certain Research Plan is aligned to Significance section– All analyses should have justification in Significance (i.e.,

answer the research questions)

• Step-by-step process– Timeline to show when everything will be done

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BUILD A GOOD TEAM

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Personnel

• Convince reviewers that your team has the skills and experience to implement the proposed work

• If all the expertise required for your project is not available on your campus, consider partnering with another institution

• Demonstrate your productivity• Make sure the team includes a senior researcher with

a strong grant record– This is especially important for new and early-stage

investigators

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Personnel

• Link each person and their expertise to their role in the project:– Qualifications– Roles– Responsibilities– Percent of time devoted to the project

• Show every aspect of project has person with expertise and time to do it.

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Personnel Strategies for PI

• Senior Researcher as PI– Show adequate time to be PI

– Make credentials clear; not all reviewers may know

• Junior Researcher as PI– Show you have adequate expertise not only to do work but to

manage project• Continuation of graduate research

• Management skills as graduate student

– Reviewers more comfortable if you have senior person(s) on project to turn to for advice• Co-PI, Co-I, contractors, advisory board

• Have them on for enough time to be taken seriously48

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Resources

• Show access to or plan to acquire resources needed to successfully complete the project– Primary and subaward institutions– Don’t use university boilerplate

• If your institution lacks a strong research or grant management record– Consider partnering with an experienced institution for initial research

grant submissions

• Show that all organizations involved understand and agree to their roles– Describe the responsibilities of each institution, including schools, for

the project– Show strong commitment of schools and districts--have alternatives in

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Resources

• Data issues– Document permission to use and access confidential data– Show familiarity with data and show that it can be used to

do the proposed work– If merging datasets, show that it can be done

• Proof of access to data and schools is required

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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

Now that you’ve decided to apply, what’s next?

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Then, Contact a Program Officer• Program Officers can offer guidance and technical assistance

• Program Officers are associated with competitions and/or topics

• Contact information is included at the end of each RFA

• Contact information is also available on each of the program pages on the IES website

Contact Relevant Program Officers

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Documents for Submission

• RFA– No separate submission guide

• FY 2015 Application Packages will be available on June 5, 2014 at www.grants.gov

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Application Deadline

Letter of Intent Due

Date

Application Package Posted

Start Dates

August 7, 2014

4:30:00 PM DC Time

June 5, 2014 June 5, 2014 July 1, 2015to

Sept 1, 2015

Important Dates and Deadlines

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Submit a Letter of Intent

• Letters of Intent are strongly encouraged– Program Officer will contact you to offer assistance– Used to identify expertise needed for peer-review panels and to

secure a sufficient number of reviewers– Non-binding and not used in review

• LOIs are submitted electronically– https://iesreview.ed.gov

• If you miss the deadline, please contact the relevant Program Officer to let him/her know of your intent to submit

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Application Due Dates

• Applications are accepted once a year• For FY 2015, applications are due August 7, 2014 at

4:30:00 PM Washington DC time (Eastern)• We do NOT accept late applications • The authorized representative at your institution (not

the PI) actually submits the grant to IES

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Help Us Help You

• Read the Request for Applications carefully

• Call or e-mail IES Program Officers early in the process

• As time permits, IES program staff can review draft proposals and provide feedback

Don’t be afraid to contact us!

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For More Information

http://ies.ed.gov/funding

Rebecca McGill-WilkinsonRebecca.McGill@ed.gov

Kristen RhoadsKristen.Rhoads@ed.gov

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