Category: Resources

Use Prerequisite Exams to Help Get Your Course off to a Good Start

Text drawn from R.M. Felder and R. Brent, Teaching and Learning STEM: A Practical Guide, pp. 60–61.

When you teach a course that builds heavily on previously-taught material, you have a dilemma. Should you assume that all of the enrolled students start out with a solid grasp of the prerequisites? You’d better not! Some students may have taken the prerequisite courses years ago and have long since forgotten what they learned, or some of the prerequisite content may be really hard or was rushed through so few students really understood it. On the other hand, you don’t want to spend the first three weeks of the course re-teaching material the students are supposed to know. The question is, how can you help your students quickly pick up whatever they’re missing without spending a lot of valuable class time on it?

Review Panel Information

by Dave Reed, ddreed@mtu.edu
The American Statistical Association has worked with NIH and NSF to encourage statisticians to participate in the panel review process.  The first link below is a Google Form for nominations to be on NIH panels.  The second link is to an NSF page where people can volunteer for panels, and the third is a link to a general document that describes the process, how to get involved, and things to consider when reviewing a proposal.  The first is specific to statisticians, but the second two are general and are suitable for all disciplines.

NIH Funding Review Panel Nominations

NSF – volunteer for panels

Serving effectively on funding review panels:  advice for statisticians new to the process

Incorporating STEM Education & Outreach into your Research & NSF Broader Impacts

Joan Chadde, jchadde@mtu.edu Director for Science & Environmental Outreach

Greetings, members of the ECM community! We hope your spring semester is off to a great start. As you continue to look for potential National Science Foundation or other state and federal agency funding, you will likely come across the need to incorporate K-12 education / outreach in your project proposal.

I’d like to introduce you to the work of the Center for Science & Environmental Outreach (CSEO), which has a wide range of experience developing and delivering K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs, along with many environmental education programs. These are for students and teachers in Houghton County, the western U.P., statewide in Michigan, the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region, and some programs are even disseminated nationally, such as the Family Engineering Program!

Established in 1991 and wholly grant-funded, the Center offers programs focused on enhancing the teaching and learning of STEM for K-12 students, teachers, and community members. The Center’s diverse programs include Outdoor Science Investigations Field Trips, Family Science & Engineering events, After School STEM Classes & Summer Camps, Water Festival, Girls & Engineering and other programs to increase under-represented students in STEM, K-12 teacher professional learning, and Western UP Science Fair & STEM Festival. Programs are created and delivered by the Center’s education staff and we also partner with Michigan Tech faculty who wish to conduct modules/short courses/etc. with our target audiences. The Center’s programs engage ~15,000 students, teachers, and community members annually so it is a great place to broadly disseminate your hands-on / interactive ideas!

And the good news is that you don’t need to figure out logistics!  The Center has a menu of education / outreach ideas with an estimated cost for each. These ideas should pique your creativity and then you can set up a meeting with CSEO staff to customize an offering to your research broader impacts.

The Center is located at the Great Lakes Research Center where it takes full advantage of the learning lab/classroom and other spaces to deliver a wide range of programs. There are 4 full-time staff with a range of experiences, from science, social studies, environmental education GIS, technology, geoheritage, citizen science, and organizing large and small events. The Center’s expertise way outpaces the links on this page: https://blogs.mtu.edu/cseo/

CSEO Overview and Outreach Menu

What’s Holding You Back (in your Research and Writing)?

This valuable post on Tomorrow’s ProfessorSM eNewsletter by Kerry Ann Rockquemore, PhD, president and CEO of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity begins with “At this point in the term, it’s an ideal time to stop and evaluate your progress… by gently asking yourself several important questions:
  • How is the term going so far?
  • How much writing have I completed? 
  • Have I developed a daily writing routine?
  • How am I progressing towards the goals on my strategic plan? and
  • How do I feel about my answers to the previous questions?”
The post goes on to provide practical advice to classify the areas that hold you back so you can intentionally make adjustments for the rest of the semester.  “Most academics’ productivity is blocked by some combination of what Julie Morgenstern describes as technical errors, psychological obstacles, and external realities.”  The technical errors are easiest to fix; those and external realities are usually cited to others for lack of progress.  In my own career, I’ve found my own psychological attitude to be the key challenge and also to undermine my ability to deal with external realities and technical errors.  This is a wonderful post to read and discuss in your ECM meetings this month.   Have a great, productive and rewarding semester! – Adrienne

Diverse Dialogues: “Thinking Outside the Box: Understanding Identity and Intersectionality”

by Amy L. Howard, Center for Diversity & Inclusion

What does diversity mean and why does it matter?

Join us at noon Monday, February 12, 2018 in MUB Ballroom B1 for our first Diverse Dialogues to engage in meaningful campus dialogue around topics of diversity and inclusion. Bring your own lunch, light refreshments and beverages will be provided.

This guided conversation will allow individuals to discuss the meaning of diversity and explore the multiple diversities that exist. Individuals will work to identify the relevance of their own cultural and social identities and leave with an enhanced understanding of how to embrace diversity in order to work more effectively across difference at Tech and within their respective communities.

The Diverse Dialogues series aims to provide opportunities for students, faculty and staff to have conversations about relevant issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, social justice and much more. They are designed to be an informal, yet guided gathering to allow participants to educate and learn from one another. While each dialogue in the series has a centralized theme, we want to encourage participants to determine where the conversations go. This series is meant to start the discussion on difficult topics and implore individuals to push their awareness, knowledge and action related to themes of diversity and inclusion.

 

Industrial Sponsorship of Research: Making and Cultivating Contacts

 Industrial Sponsorship of Research: Making and Cultivating Contacts

Greetings, members of the ECM community! We hope your spring semester is off to a great start. As you continue to build your research portfolio, we wanted to take a moment to provide an introduction to how funding from industry can be one potential tool in your funding “toolbox.”

As you consider pursuing funding from industry, it is important to recognize that industrial funding differs from other types of project funding in a variety of ways. In particular, understanding the following types of issues will help immensely as you pursue industry-funded projects:

  • Publishing restrictions: Many industry sponsors request pre-publication review and/or a publication delay.
  • “Hands on” project sponsors: Industry sponsors tend to work very closely with researchers – visiting labs, talking regularly, asking for more frequent deliverables and reports.
  • Logistics: Industry funding often comes in smaller amounts, for shorter-duration projects, often with quick turn arounds needed from idea, to proposal, to funding.
  • Confidentiality: In many cases, projects are subject to non-disclosure agreements. Some projects may restrict what types of personnel can participate.

Faculty from many disciplines across campus regularly work through these issues successfully with industry sponsors. However, it is important to seek clarity on any potential areas of concern prior to project implementation and to propose realistic projects where your team can meet deliverables. Industry funding can often lead to long-term partnerships between a sponsor and a faculty researcher; however, one “failed” project is likely to burn bridges with more than just one industry sponsor.

What is the best way to proceed with industry funding? Industry funding is usually driven by personal relationships. Some practical tips to build these relationships include:

  • Seek out collaborators on campus who receive funding from a relevant industry. Perhaps start as co-PI on a collaborative project to enable you to develop a reputation for success and to develop personal contacts in the industry.
  • If applicable, attend conferences that include industry representatives. Proactively seek out people to develop personal connections.
  • Consider a sabbatical in industry if your interests align.
  • Use every opportunity you have (e.g., Michigan Tech’s Career Fair, departmental or college/school advisory boards, alumni events) to develop relationships with Michigan Tech alumni and friends who can either work with you directly or make introductions to their industry colleagues.
  • Train graduate students to conduct work relevant in industry; keep in contact with graduates from your group and leverage their growing networks.

Getting your first industry contract can be intimidating, and it can take some time. However, faculty across campus find these connections rewarding and – in many cases – a significant contribution to their funding portfolio.

If you are interested in learning more or pursuing industry funding for your projects, some additional resources can be found in the Michigan Tech Research Development toolkit. The “agencies” link (top right) has an “industry” tab with additional information and resources. Note that because these resources are limited to the Michigan Tech community you must be logged into your Michigan Tech Google account to access the site.

If we can be of assistance to you as you continue your career at Michigan Tech, please contact either of us.

Jim Desrochers, jtdesroc@mtu.edu Associate Director of Industry Relations

Peter Larsen, palarsen@mtu.edu Director of Research Development

Canvas Introductory Workshop series offered

Tom Freeman from The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) will offer the three-part Canvas Introductory Workshop series for instructors and instructional staff looking to get started using the Canvas Learning Management System. The series begins January 9, 2018 The three workshops in the series are:

  • Canvas 101: Introduction to Canvas
  • Pages & Modules in Canvas
  • Assignments & Grades in Canvas

The series gives instructors and others who will be building and administering Canvas courses the basic information necessary to create a basic Canvas course. Each workshop is conducted in a 50-minute block between five minutes after and five minutes before the hour, and offers attendees an opportunity to work hands-on in Canvas during the workshop. Participants are encouraged to take Canvas 101 first, and then take the next two workshops as they fit your schedule after.
Those interested in attending can find out more and register on the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning. For more general information or help with Canvas at Michigan Tech, be sure to visit Canvas One Stop.

Call for Proposals: REF, PHF Mid-Career and Faculty Fellow

Submitted by: Natasha Chopp

The VPR office has released a request for proposals for the Research Excellence Fund, Portage Health Foundation Mid-Career, and Faculty Fellow Program. Please share this information those interested in pursuing any of these opportunities.

Research Excellence Fund Proposals

Proposals are being solicited for the Research Excellence Fund (REF) program, an internal award of the Office of the Vice President for Research.
Budgets are due no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, March 1 and proposals are due no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, March 8. Both must be submitted electronically per the guidelines.
For additional information, see Research Excellence Fund.
If you are interested in serving on an REF proposal review committee, email Natasha Chopp.
Portage Health Foundation Mid-Career
Proposals are being solicited for the Portage Health Foundation Mid-Career (PHF-MC) program, which is designed to support tenured faculty with an active NIH grant and/or consistent history of external funding with NIH or a related agency.
Budgets are due no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, March 1 and proposals are due no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, March 8. Both must be submitted electronically per the guidelines.
For additional Information, see Portage Health Foundation Research Awards.
Faculty Fellow
Applications are being solicited for the Faculty Fellow Program. The Faculty Fellow Program is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.
The Program expands familiarity with sponsored program administration and strategic planning among the faculty, develops leadership capacity among the faculty and improves sponsored programs administration and strategic planning through faculty input.
Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15 and must be submitted electronically per the guidelines.
For additional information, see Faculty Fellow Program.

Researcher’s success earning grants

Dear ECM Enthusiasts,
Rejection of proposals is hard, but…. you have at your disposal Michigan Tech’s Research Development team that can help to reduce rejections.  The article Granting Researches Success states:Many grant proposals are submitted without any kind of internal review. A new study suggests a major return on investment for institutions that help their researchers write better grants.  Read the full article here.
new study from Columbia University’s School of Nursing suggests that institutions benefit from helping researchers write better grants. Specifically, it found that pilot grant applications, that underwent an internal review, were twice as likely as non-reviewed applications to receive funding.

It’s “all about faculty engaging with their peers, being willing to obtain peer feedback and utilizing the services provided by an institution,”  said Nathan L. Vanderford, an assistant professor of toxicology and cancer biology at the University of Kentucky and assistant director for research at the campus’s Markey Cancer Center.

Adrienne R. Minerick, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research & Innovation, College of Engineering
Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Development
Professor, Chemical Engineering

Faculty Evaluations: 
Accounting for the “Unmeasurables”

Dear ECMers,

This is an interesting read that will likely spark conversation in your ECM meeting this month.
Also, I recommend subscribing to Tomorrow’s Professorthought-provoking articles like this come through periodically.
Adrienne R. Minerick, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research & Innovation, College of Engineering
Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Development
Professor, Chemical Engineering