Dordt University Incorporated

DORDT UNIVERSITY'S HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND APPLICATION - PART 2.

DORDT UNIVERSITY'S HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND APPLICATION.

ANALYZING THE BEHAVIOR AND INTERPRETING THE RESULTS OF GENE BASED TESTS OF RARE V

NOYCE SCHOLARS: PREPARING STEM TEACHERS TO SERVE IN HIGH-NEED, RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS

EQUIPPING STEM EDUCATORS TO TEACH IN HIGH NEED RURAL SCHOOLS -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL NEED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED STEM TEACHERS IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON RURAL SCHOOLS. A UNIQUE CHALLENGE FOR STEM TEACHERS IN RURAL DISTRICTS IS THAT THEY MAY BE THE ONLY STEM EXPERT IN THE DISTRICT, A POSITION OFTEN CALLED A BACKBONE TEACHER. SUCH PERSONNEL ARE OFTEN EXPECTED TO TEACH A VERY WIDE-ARRAY OF HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE COURSES, WHILE ALSO LEADING STEM EDUCATION INITIATIVES FOR THE DISTRICT. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED, BACKBONE STEM TEACHERS SERVING IN HIGH NEED RURAL SCHOOLS. THIS PROJECT WILL RECRUIT AND TRAIN BACKBONE STEM TEACHERS WHO ARE READY TO LEAD BOTH IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL CLASSROOMS AND ACROSS THE RURAL DISTRICTS IN WHICH THEY SERVE. A KEY ASPECT OF THIS PREPARATION IS INNOVATED FIELD EXPERIENCES IN K-12 STEM CLASSROOMS. THIS PROJECT AT DORDT UNIVERSITY (DU) INCLUDES PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE WEST SIOUX AND LE MARS COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICTS. PROJECT GOALS INCLUDE THE RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, AND SUPPORT OF 27 HIGHLY QUALIFIED STEM TEACHERS ENTERING THE FIELD OVER THE FIVE YEARS OF THE PROJECT. THE USE OF AN INTEGRATED STEM LEARNING APPROACH THROUGH ROBOTICS AND MEDIATED FIELD EXPERIENCE WILL BE STUDIED AND ADD IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE TO THE FIELD OF STEM EDUCATION, ALONG WITH THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUTREACH AND TEACHER PREPARATION FOR RURAL, HIGH-NEEDS LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES. OUTREACH EFFORTS TO BE EMPLOYED TO AID IN RECRUITMENT OF FUTURE STEM TEACHERS INCLUDE: 1) K-12 STUDENT PROGRAMMING THAT PROVIDES STEM ENRICHMENT AND VOCATIONAL DISCERNMENT OPPORTUNITIES; 2) COLLEGIATE STUDENT OUTREACH REGARDING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE IN STEM EDUCATION; 3) TEACHER NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDING WORKSHOPS, TEACHER CIRCLES, AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES. COHORT EXPERIENCES DESIGNED TO INCREASE TEACHER PREPARATION, QUALITY, AND RETENTION WILL INCLUDE: 1) THE APPLICATION OF THE MEDIATED FIELD EXPERIENCE MODEL SHOWN TO IMPROVE TEACHING EFFICACY; 2) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDING STEM EDUCATION CONFERENCES; AND 3) PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT DURING AND AFTER COMPLETION OF A STEM-EDUCATION BACHELOR?S DEGREE THROUGH THE DU NOYCE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY. DETAILED EVALUATION OF DISCERNMENT, TEACHER TRAINING, AND NEW FACULTY INDUCTION AT HIGH-NEEDS SCHOOL SYSTEMS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED AND USED TO MAKE ON-GOING IMPROVEMENTS. THIS TRACK 1: SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED THROUGH THE ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (NOYCE). THE NOYCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS TALENTED STEM UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON THE PERSISTENCE, RETENTION, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

RETENTION OF UNDERGRADUATES IN STEM: REDUCING BARRIERS TO SUCCESS IN MATHEMATICS, ENGINEERING, AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

BROADENING THE IMPACT AND EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RANDOMIZATION-BASED CURRICULA FOR INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS

**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE GOAL OF THEPROJECT IS TO TRAIN SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS THROUGH IN-SERVICE TRAININGAND BY PROVIDING TEACHING RESOURCES NEEDED TO INNOVATIVELY STIMULATE GENERATION Z STUDENT INTEREST IN THE SCIENCES AND ADDRESS POLLINATOR DECLINE UTILIZING HONEYBEES. TWELVE (12) TO SIXTEEN (16)TEACHERS FROM IOWA, MINNESOTA, NEBRASKA, AND SOUTH DAKOTA WILL BE SELECTED FOR TRAINING AND LONG-TERM SUPPORT. THEY WILL RECEIVE TRAINING IN BEEKEEPING AND IN EFFECTIVELY USING THE MULTIPLE FACETS OF BEEKEEPING IN THE CLASSROOM. CURRIULA WILL BE DEVELOPED TO INITIALLY SERVE THE CORE GROUP OF TEACHERS AND LATER OTHER TEACHERS IN THE REGION. THE USE OF APICULTURE REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT BASIS FOR INNOVATIVE CROSS-CUTTING INQUIRY WITH A HIGH POTENTIAL TO GALVANIZE INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION OF CURRENT GEN Z STUDENTS. THE TEACHERS WILL BE LED BY A SKILLED CURRICULUM CREATOR, REGIONAL INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES, MENTORS, RESEARCHERS, AND LEADERS TO DEVELOP VARIED AND ENGAGING CURRICULA INCLUDING AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS. THIS CONTENT WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE USING A FREE OPEN RESOURCE DEPOSITORY. TEACHERS WILL RECEIVE LONG-TERM SUPPORT THROUGH ENROLLMENT IN THE GREAT PLAINS MASTER BEEKEEPING PROGRAM. LOCAL MENTORS AND A TECHNICIAN WILL MAKE ONSITE VISITS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, OFFER DIRECTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT, AND ASSESS PROGRESS. THE TEACHERS WILL BE CHALLENGED AND SUPPORTED TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP AT THE STATE LEVEL ENABLING THEM TO SHARE WITH OTHER TEACHERS THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST FOR THEM TO UTILIZE APICULTURE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE SCHOOLS.

REU SITE: EFFECTS OF POLITICAL UPHEAVAL AND ETHNIC DISCORD ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF A POPULATION

CC* NETWORK DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION FOR SMALL INSTITUTIONS: RURAL CAMPUS CONNECTIVITY FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING ON THE PRAIRIE

DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH TO AN ALGEBRA-BASED SECOND COURSE IN STATISTICS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: INVESTIGATING MICROBIAL METABOLIC AND REGULATORY DIVERSITY BY MODELING GENE ACTIVITY STATES INFERRED FROM TRANSCRIPTOME DATA

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING CLUSTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND TEACHING

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: DEVELOPING INTEGRATED METABOLIC REGULATORY MODELS (IMRMS) FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF METABOLIC AND REGULATORY DIVERSITY OF

RCN-UBE: STATISTICAL THINKING IN UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY (STUB) NETWORK: A NETWORK FOR COORDINATING THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT OF STATISTICAL THINKING IN INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY

STRENGTHENING AND SHARING A HOLISTIC TECHNICIAN EDUCATION PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED AT A SMALL, RURAL, PRIVATE COLLEGE

DEVELOPING AN INNOVATIVE RANDOMIZATION-BASED INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS CURRICULUM

CHEMOENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF GLYCOSYLATED AND SULFATED CCR5 N-TERMINAL PEPTIDE LIBRARY - CO-LOCALIZATION OF TYROSINE (TYR) SULFATION AND O-GLYCOSYLATION (CSOG) IS AN EMERGING GLOBAL PATTERN OF POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS (PTMS). CSOG IS THE MAJOR PTM PATTERN ON THE N- TERMINAL PEPTIDE OF CC CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR 5 (CCR5). CCR5 IS INVOLVED IN CRITICAL HUMAN DISEASES SUCH AS CANCERS AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, AND THE N-TERMINAL PEPTIDE OF CCR5 IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE BINDING BETWEEN CCR5 AND ITS LIGANDS. THE ACCESS TO SULFATED AND GLYCOSYLATED N-TERMINAL PEPTIDES OF CCR5 (CCR5-SGNTPS) AND ANY OTHER PEPTIDES WITH CSOG IS HINDERED BY DIVERSIFIED PATTERNS OF GLYCOSYLATION AND SULFATION, LABILITY OF SULFATION, AND COMPLEX SUGAR STRUCTURES. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO DEVELOP EFFICIENT CHEMOENZYMATIC METHODS FOR SYNTHESIZING GLYCOPEPTIDES CONTAINING O-GLYCANS AND TYR SULFATION. THEREFORE, WE ARE AIMING TO EFFICIENTLY SYNTHESIZE CCR5-SGNTPS TO BUILD UP THE ACCESS TO CCR5-SGNTPS AND FURTHER PROVIDE NEW CLUES FOR RELATED BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. LABILITY OF SULFATE GROUP DURING SYNTHESIS AND COMPLEXITY OF SUGAR STRUCTURES ARE THE MAJOR OBSTACLES TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE LIBRARY OF CCR5-SGNTPS. WE PROVIDE A NOVEL AND EFFICIENT CHEMOENZYMATIC APPROACH, MERGING TWO WELL- STUDIED SYNTHETIC METHODOLOGIES TO OVERCOME THE OBSTACLES. ONE OF THE TWO METHODOLOGIES IS SOLID-PHASE SITE-SELECTIVE SULFATION, AND THE OTHER ONE IS CHEMOENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF GLYCOPEPTIDES. SITE-SELECTIVE SULFATION WITH DIVERGENTLY PROTECTED TYRS CAN EFFICIENTLY BUILD DIVERSIFIED SULFATION PATTERNS, AND CHEMOENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF GLYCOPEPTIDES CAN SYNTHESIZE GLYCOPEPTIDES WITH COMPLEX SUGAR STRUCTURES IN HIGH REGIO- AND STEREO-SELECTIVITY WITH HIGH FIDELITY. NOTABLY, THE MILD CONDITIONS (SLIGHTLY BASIC) OF GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASES CATALYZED REACTIONS ARE IDEAL FOR KEEPING THE INTEGRITY OF THE LABILE SULFATE GROUP. GLYCOSYLATED-AMINO ACIDS (GAAS) WITH CORE SUGARS AND FMOC-TYRS WITH DIVERGENT PROTECTING GROUPS CAN BE SYNTHESIZED EFFICIENTLY WITH CURRENT SYNTHETIC METHODOLOGIES. THEN THE TWO CLASSES OF BUILDING BLOCKS WILL BE SELECTIVELY INCORPORATED INTO SOLID PHASE PEPTIDE SYNTHESIS (SPPS) TO OBTAIN PROTECTED SULFATED AND GLYCOSYLATED PEPTIDES. AFTER REMOVAL OF PROTECTING GROUPS, GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASES WILL BE USED TO EXTEND THE CORE SUGARS TO GENERATE LARGER AND MORE COMPLEX GLYCOPEPTIDES FOLLOWING BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAYS. AFTER BINDING STUDY OF THE SYNTHESIZED LIBRARY, DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE TWO PTMS CO-REGULATE BINDING PROCESSES WILL BE OBTAINED. MOREOVER, A PEPTIDE LIBRARY WITH STRUCTURE-DEFINED CCR5-SGNTPS WILL PROVIDE STANDARDS FOR PROTEOMICS AND GLYCOMICS RESEARCH OF CCR5-SGNTPS.

EXPLORATION OF A LABS TO CLASSROOMS TEACHING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR CAREER-CHANGING STEM PROFESSIONALS -THIS PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE THE NATIONAL NEED FOR BUILDING CAPACITY TO PREPARE WORKING PROFESSIONALS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH TO TRANSITION TO AND SUCCEED IN TEACHING POSITIONS. THESE CAREER CHANGERS, OFTEN EMPLOYED IN LABS OR OTHER MANUFACTURING POSITIONS, WILL BECOME FULLY QUALIFIED AND ADEQUATELY SUPPORTED STEM TEACHERS IN THE NATION?S SCHOOLS. THE PROJECT WILL EXPLORE THE DESIGN OF AN ACCELERATED FULLY ONLINE MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING (MAT) PROGRAM TO PROVIDE INITIAL TEACHING LICENSES AND SUPPORT FOR INDUCTION INTO THE TEACHING PROFESSION FOR THESE CAREER CHANGERS. AS PART OF THIS CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT, AVENUES OF ACCESS WILL BE DESIGNED TO ALLOW WORKING PROFESSIONALS THE QUALITY, FLEXIBILITY, AND COLLABORATION NEEDED FOR SUCCESS IN THE REDESIGNED ONLINE MASTER?S DEGREE. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE ONGOING NEEDS OF BUSY WORKING ADULTS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THIS CAPACITY BUILDING EXPLORATION WILL IDENTIFY ENROLLMENT TARGETS, UNIQUE MARKETING STRATEGIES, AND SUPPORT STRUCTURES NEEDED TO ENSURE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUCCESSFUL MODEL PROGRAM. THIS PROJECT AT DORDT UNIVERSITY (DU) EXPLORES THE PARTNERSHIPS NEEDED WITH THE UNIVERSITY?S CONSTITUENCIES AROUND THE COUNTRY. ITS FOCUS WILL BE ON SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS IN THE IMMEDIATE REGION AND IN AREAS THAT ARE PART OF DU?S NETWORK OF 80 HISTORICALLY CONNECTED POCKETS OF DU CONSTITUENTS AROUND THE U.S. CURRENTLY SEEKING STEM TEACHERS. PROJECT GOALS INCLUDE SOLICITING INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS, ASSESSING NEEDS FOR STEM TEACHERS IN CONSTITUENT AREAS, AND ASSESSING INTEREST AMONG STEM GRADUATES. ANOTHER GOAL IS TO EVALUATE EXISTING GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULA REGARDING AN ADULT-FRIENDLY PATH TO INITIAL LICENSURE. ONCE THIS EXPLORATION DEMONSTRATES AN MAT PROGRAM TO BE PROMISING, THE OUTCOME WILL BE THE DESIGN OF A UNIQUE ONLINE MASTER?S PROGRAM FOR WORKING STEM PROFESSIONALS. THE DESIGN WILL INCLUDE MARKETING, HIRING, AND ADVISING PLANS FOR QUICKLY IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM. THE PROJECT WILL IDENTIFY SPECIFIC TARGETS FOR ENROLLMENT, LICENSING, AND FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS RATES. THE FORMAT WILL ALLEVIATE COMMON BARRIERS TO CAREER CHANGING SUCH AS A LONG TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM, THE NEED TO ATTEND CLASSES ON CAMPUS DURING WORK HOURS, EMERGENCY OR TEMPORARY LICENSES, AND THE LACK OF RELEVANT OR CONVENIENT FIELD EXPERIENCES. THE ENVISIONED ONLINE PROGRAM WILL INCLUDE BEST PRACTICES SUCH AS EARLY PRACTICUM EXPERIENCES, A STANDARD LICENSING PATH, ADULT LEARNING THEORY, INDUCTION MENTORSHIPS, AND A MULTI-FACETED ASSESSMENT SYSTEM. THE BROADER IMPACT OF THIS PROJECT RESTS ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO GO INTO TEACHING AND THAT HIGH-NEED AND RURAL SCHOOLS DESERVE AND CAN HAVE HIGH QUALITY STEM TEACHERS. THIS, IN TURN, CAN LEAD TO MORE STEM INTEREST AMONG STUDENTS IN THOSE SCHOOLS. THIS EXPLORATION PHASE WILL BE EVALUATED ON THE AMOUNT OF CONCRETE DATA AND DIRECTION PROVIDED FOR PLANNING THE ENVISIONED PROGRAM. THIS CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM (NOYCE). THE NOYCE PROGRAM SUPPORTS TALENTED STEM UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS AND PROFESSIONALS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE K-12 STEM TEACHERS AND EXPERIENCED, EXEMPLARY K-12 TEACHERS TO BECOME STEM MASTER TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. IT ALSO SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS AND RETENTION OF K-12 STEM TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: CHARACTERIZING CLOUDY EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES

PLANNING FOR THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF THE DORDT COLLEGE AGRICULTURE STEWARDSHIP CENTER ON BASIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION RELATED TO ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE RURAL MIDWEST