Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development: Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy

Overview

<div>The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development (EWD) focuses on developing the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals in the food and agricultural sciences. In FY 2020, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) requests applications for the AFRI’s Education and Workforce Development (EWD) Program areas to support:</div> <ul> <li>professional development opportunities for K-14 educational professionals;</li> <li>workforce training at community, junior, and technical colleges;</li> <li>training of undergraduate students in research and extension; and</li> <li>fellowships for predoctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars.</li> </ul> <div>The AFRI EWD RFA addresses projected shortfalls of qualified graduates in the agricultural, food, and renewable natural resources sectors of the U.S. economy. This RFA seeks applications for education and training grants that focus on further enhancing the distinct components of the pipeline for developing the workforce in the food and agricultural sciences. Thus, the AFRI EWD has four overarching goals:</div> <ol> <li><strong>Growing Agricultural Literacy and Workforce Development for the Future</strong> offers institutional grants to provide K-14 teachers and administrators with increased knowledge of food and agricultural sciences and help them develop improved curricula to train the agricultural workforce for the future. See Program Area Description in Part 1, C, 1 for “Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy” (Program Code A7501).</li> <li><strong>Training or Retraining of Agricultural Workers</strong> provides institutional training grants to develop a technology- and data-savvy workforce, ready for the field and industrial jobs. These include opportunities for the development of new workforce training programs, and the expansion, improvement, or renewal of existing workforce training programs and curriculum. See Program Area Description in Part 1, C, 1 for “Agricultural Workforce Training Grants” (Program Code A7601).</li> <li><strong>Developing Pathways</strong> offers undergraduates in food, agriculture, or allied disciplines, the technical and leadership skills required for employment in the food and agricultural sectors or in graduate programs. NIFA will award institutional grants that offer experiential learning opportunities, beyond traditional classroom experience or course work that include but are not limited to internships, externships, practicums, global leadership, and study abroad, in research and extension. These opportunities must be designed to help students develop the critical thinking, problem solving, digital competency, international experiences, and communication skills needed for future employment and/or higher education. See Program Area Description in Part 1, C, 2 for “Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates” (Program Code A7401).</li> <li><strong>Advancing Science</strong> supports graduate and post-graduate education in agriculture and related disciplines. NIFA Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowship program areas will continue to support predoctoral candidates and postdoctoral trainees respectively. These Fellowship awards can also enable interested predoctoral candidates and postdoctoral trainees to obtain training in industry and international research on issues relevant to U.S. agriculture. See Program Area Description in Part 1, C, 3 and Part 1, C, 4 for “Predoctoral Fellowships” (Program Code A7101) and “Postdoctoral Fellowships” (Program Code A7201), respectively.</li> </ol> <p><strong>Program Area Priority: Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy</strong></p> <ul> <li>Funds requested may include, but are not limited to, support participant stipends and travel; costs of continuing education units; provider personnel salaries; software; and curricula.</li> <li>Requested Project Types: Research, Education, Extension, or Integrated Projects</li> <li>Requested Grant Types: Standard Grants and FASE (Strengthening Standard) Grants only</li> <li>Program Area Priority:</li> <ul> <li>Research, Education, Extension or Integrated Projects must promote faculty expertise and encourage widespread implementation of educational innovation at K-14 levels in the food and agricultural Sciences. This includes projects that contain elements of the human sciences (e.g., disciplines that address issues challenging individuals, youth, families, and communities).</li> <li>Projects should provide immersive learning experiences for K-14 educational professionals (teachers, counselors, administrators, etc.) to create and replicate best practices to improve student success outcomes within the food and agricultural sciences.</li> <li>Non-exhaustive examples of projects include:</li> <ul> <li>Developing self-sustaining models for professional development that better prepare education professionals to provide outstanding teaching, guidance, institutional structures, etc., that enhance student outcomes in the food and agricultural sciences.</li> <li>Changing instructional approaches to effectively identify skill gaps and address conceptual areas particularly challenging to students.</li> <li>Integrating innovations in science and pedagogy into existing professional development programs (e.g., through hands-on research and extension experiences with partner institutions and laboratories).</li> <li>Exploring self-sustaining web-based approaches for professional development for education professionals.</li> <li>Develop improved curricula to train or retrain agricultural workforce for the future.</li> <li>Other methods to fill the existing gap of professional development in advanced food and agricultural sciences for educational professionals at the K-14 education level.</li> </ul> </ul> </ul> <p> </p><div></div> <p></p>