Full Text PAR-96-039
 
NCRR MINORITY INITIATIVE: K-12 TEACHERS AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
 
NIH GUIDE, Volume 25, Number 12, April 19, 1996
 
PA NUMBER:  PAR-96-039
 
P.T. 34, FF

Keywords: 
  Biomedical Research Training 
  Biomedical Research, Multidiscipl 
  Behavioral/Social Studies/Service 

 
National Center for Research Resources
 
Application Receipt Dates:  June 17, 1996; thereafter, February 1 and
June 1 annually
 
PURPOSE
 
As part of its continuing commitment to strengthen the quality of
precollege health science education, the National Center for Research
Resources (NCRR) encourages the submission of applications for a
program aimed at increasing the pool of underrepresented minority
high school students who are interested in pursuing, and academically
prepared to pursue, careers in biomedical and/or behavioral research
and the health professions.  The program includes both K-12 inservice
and preservice teachers and underrepresented minority high school
students.  The "NCRR Minority Initiative: K-12 Teachers and High
School Students" replaces the S03 "Minority High School Student
Research Apprentice Program" (MHSSRAP), which made its last awards in
1995.
 
The main component of this program is the provision of structured
science research experiences for both teachers and underrepresented
minority high school students -- usually during the summer -- in the
laboratories, and under the direction, of active biomedical and/or
behavioral researchers.  Individualized research experiences and
other activities are intended to: (1) allow teachers to keep pace
with the explosive growth of scientific knowledge in health-related
areas, enable them to develop new discovery-oriented educational
strategies, and transfer this new knowledge to their students; and
(2) provide students with a personalized, hands-on exposure to
health-related research that stimulates their research interest and
encourages decisions towards careers in the health sciences.
 
A long-range goal of the program is to establish and/or strengthen
partnerships between biomedical research institutions and K-12
schools by developing mentoring ties among teachers, underrepresented
minority students, and biomedical and/or behavioral researchers, that
will result in creating more pathways for underrepresented minority
students to establish careers in the health sciences.
 
HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000
 
The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health
promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000,"
a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas.  This Program
Announcement (PA), "NCRR Minority Initiative: K-12 Teachers and High
School Students," is related to many of the areas discussed in this
publication.  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy
People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0 or Summary
Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325
(telephone 202-512-1800).
 
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
 
Applications may be submitted by domestic, for-profit and non-profit
organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges,
hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and
eligible agencies of the Federal government.  Foreign institutions,
and high schools, may not apply.  Racial/ethnic minority individuals,
women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply as
program directors.
 
For the purpose of this announcement, "underrepresented minorities"
are defined as individuals belonging to a particular ethnic or racial
group that has been determined by the grantee institution to be
underrepresented in biomedical and/or behavioral research.
Individuals who have been found to be underrepresented in biomedical
and/or behavioral research nationally include Black Americans,
Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders.
 
"Students" are defined as those who are enrolled in high school
during the current academic year, or who have just graduated from
high school.
 
"Inservice teachers" include elementary, middle, junior, and senior
high school science teachers.  In order to maximize the program's
impact on underrepresented minority students, teachers must be
members of an underrepresented minority group or teach a significant
number of underrepresented minority students.
 
"Preservice teachers" are those teachers in training and enrolled in
preservice education programs who have expressed an interest in
teaching life sciences at the K-12 level with a focus on
underrepresented minority students.
 
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
 
Awards under this Program Announcement will use the education project
(R25) grant mechanism.  Responsibility for the planning, direction,
and execution of the proposed project will be solely that of the
applicant. The total project period for applications submitted in
response to this Program Announcement may not exceed three years.
Because of the wide range in the size and type of institutions that
may apply, it is anticipated that the sizes of the awards may also
vary.
 
Applications must request support for both students and teachers,
with a minimum of eight students per year unless justification is
provided. Indirect costs, other than those awarded to State or local
government agencies, will be reimbursed at eight percent of total
allowable direct costs.  State and local government agencies will
receive reimbursement at their full indirect cost rate.
 
Allowable costs
 
Funds for personnel costs may only be requested for eligible students
and teachers and must be paid as salaries and wages for work
performed; stipends are not allowable costs under this program.
Applicant organizations must establish the rate of salary and fringe
benefit compensation to be provided for students and teachers
employed on the grant activity; however a maximum of $2,000 per
student, $3,000 per preservice teacher and $5,000 per inservice
teacher may be requested for salary and fringe benefits for a summer
experience.  Part-time experiences during the academic year would be
reimbursed at the same hourly rate.  Students' salaries should be
based on the prevailing scale for comparable type work, but should
not be less than the Federal minimum hourly wage.  Funds to defray
other costs such as supplies can be requested as a lump sum of up to
$250 per participant per year.
 
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
 
Background
 
Relative to their representation in the general population, minority
Americans are severely underrepresented in scientific and health
fields at every level, from the professional workforce -- physicians,
dentists, research scientists -- through all levels of the
educational system.  Although there are a number of factors for this
underrepresentation, it is generally agreed that the long-term
resolution of this problem centers at improving science education of
underrepresented minority youths at the early stages of the
educational process.
 
With the rapid pace of technological innovations and the increasing
number of occupations that require a knowledge of scientific
principles, as well as the predicted increase in the minority
population, it is imperative that precollege education further
enhance the capacity and capability of underrepresented minority
youth to become more productive and competitive in tomorrow's work
force.  The primary objectives of this program are to improve the
quality of precollege science education and to increase the pool of
underrepresented minorities interested and academically prepared to
enter college and pursue a career in the biomedical/behavioral
sciences.
 
Program Characteristics
 
The Program Director will be responsible for the selection and
recruitment of students, teachers, and mentors, as well as for the
overall direction of the program.  The Program Director must be a
biomedical and/or behavioral scientist, or an experienced science
educator, employed by the applicant organization.
 
The program has two major activities.  The first is for
underrepresented minority high school students; the second is for
K-12 inservice and preservice teachers.  While the proposed program
should be best suited to an institution's own strengths and
characteristics, at a minimum, each program should include:
 
o  a description of the proposed overall program plan (specific
research projects should not be described);
 
o  the research environment (ongoing research activity, availability
of equipment, facilities, resources);
 
o  methods and criteria for student, teacher, and mentor recruitment
and selection;
 
o  methods to assign students and teachers to mentors;
 
o  the general characteristics and length of the research
experiences;
 
o  special enrichment activities available to students and teachers;
 
o  prior accomplishments of the institution in precollege education;
 
o  the impact of other precollege programs, if any, for the proposed
program; and
 
o  the level of institutional commitment to precollege programs and
partnerships.
 
Criteria for selection of mentors must include commitment to
improving the quality of precollege science education, and the
ability and time to work with high school students and teachers to
instill an understanding of research and the technical skills needed.
Mentors must have active biomedical and/or behavioral research
support and/or a recent publication history in biomedical and/or
behavioral research (research support can include NIH or other
Federal agency support or private or institutional grants).
 
An evaluation component must be included as part of the application.
Methods, formative in nature, should be devised to evaluate whether
or not the program is making progress in meeting its goals (e.g.,
information could be collected to learn if the program is helping
teachers integrate new concepts in health sciences into the
classrooms).  Student participants should be assessed to determine if
it has increased their awareness and/or interest in the health
sciences.  To the extent possible, the progress of students should be
tracked to determine if they attended and/or graduated from college
and, if so, their major academic area of concentration.
 
Specific characteristics regarding the student and teacher activities
are as follows:
 
Student Activities
 
The most important aspect of this program is the research laboratory
experience.  In this program, high school students, no more than two
students to one mentor, work in an active research laboratory,
usually for approximately six to eight weeks in the summer.
 
It is expected that the applicant will set forth a plan that will
provide:
 
o  an individualized, hands-on, mentored laboratory research
experience with attainable goals, that introduces the students to
some of the latest concepts in biomedical science;
 
o  mentoring and career guidance by biomedical and/or behavioral
scientists; and,
 
o  an opportunity for students to participate in various laboratory
activities and to acquaint them with the environment and resources of
the institution.
 
A program of special summer scientific enrichment activities must be
proposed.  Such activities may include, but are not limited to:
programs on research opportunities and careers within the health
sciences, bioethical issues in biomedical and/or behavioral research,
or implications of the human genome effort.  A final forum should be
held where students present their research results.
 
Students are expected to devote sufficient effort to research and
related activities during the period of support to gain insight into
the process of scientific discovery.
 
In order to maximize the long-term effects of the research
experience, follow-up activities such as seminars, workshops or
Saturday study groups may occur during the academic year if the
students are located within reasonable distance of the research
institution.  Mentors should also try to visit students' schools to
meet with teachers, recruit future candidates for the program, and
help build effective partnerships between the research institutions
and secondary schools.
 
Recruitment and selection criteria for students should include the
student's motivation, ability, scholastic aptitude, and
accomplishments.  In addition, consideration should be given to
science teachers' recommendations.
 
Teacher Activities
 
K-12 teachers are the key individuals in increasing the pool of
scientifically skilled underrepresented minority high school
students. However, many preservice teaching programs do not require a
hands-on laboratory experience; many elementary school teachers have
had no opportunity for training in science; and middle, junior, and
senior high school teachers can benefit from exposure to the latest
scientific concepts.
 
To address these deficiencies, the proposed program should provide
inservice and preservice teachers with an intensive hands-on mentored
laboratory research experience of four weeks or more that:
 
o  exposes them to contemporary concepts in the health sciences;
 
o  introduces them to modern laboratory techniques, including
computers;
 
o  enables them, in collaboration with their research mentor, to
prepare new discovery-based lesson plans; and,
 
Unless the teachers' schools are geographically remote, the teacher
programs must include follow-up components in which the participants
discuss their experiences in implementing new scientific activities
into the classroom.  An important aspect of the program is to develop
continuing partnership relationships between teachers and mentors to
improve the teaching of life sciences at the precollege level and to
stimulate students' interest in health science careers.
 
Recruitment and selection criteria for inservice teachers should
include experience and teaching responsibilities, level of interest
in participating in a research program, expected impact on their
teaching programs, ability to stimulate underrepresented minority
students to pursue scientific careers, and future plans for continued
interaction with the research institution.
 
Recruitment and selection criteria for preservice teachers should
include the commitment to participate in a research program, and the
expressed interest to teach life sciences at the K-12 level with a
focus on underrepresented minority students.
 
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
 
The research grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 5/95) is to be used
in applying for these grants.  These forms are available in most
institutional offices of sponsored research and may be requested from
the Office of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, Office
of Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge
Drive, Room 6207, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone
301-710-0267, fax 301-480-0525, Email: asknih@odrockm1.od.nih.gov.
 
Applications must follow the instructions provided in the Form PHS
398 except for the following:
 
Face Page-AA
 
Item 2. Check "Yes" and list the number and title of this Program
Announcement.
 
Item 4. Human Subjects - Check "No."
 
Item 5. Vertebrate Animals - Check "No."
 
Item 6. The project period start date should be no earlier than April
1 for applications submitted for the June 1 deadline, or December 1
for applications submitted for the February 1 deadline.  The length
of the project period may not exceed three years.
 
Form Page 4-DD - Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period
 
Personnel Category - Follow the instructions provided in the PHS 398
regarding the Principal Investigator/Program Director.
 
Students and teachers must be treated as employees (not trainees) at
the grantee organization during the period of their grant-supported
research experience.  Use successive lines in the Personnel category
to indicate the number of positions being requested for students,
preservice, and inservice teachers.  For each of these
classifications, provide the requested information for all columns in
the Personnel category.  If students and/or teachers will be working
during the academic year as well as the summer, use separate lines to
display the summer and academic year information, following the
instructions provided on page 11 of the PHS 398 kit.  Since the
student and teacher work experiences may be measured by the grantee
in weekly or monthly employment terms, applicants may reflect the
columnar information in such a manner.  Following the Personnel
category columns, an example might be:  Name: 8 students - summer;
Role on project:  lab worker; Type Appt: 8 wks; % Effort on proj.: 40
hrs/wk; Inst. base salary: $/hr.  Calculate and enter the salary,
fringe benefits, and total dollars requested information.  Continuing
the example, the next line might reflect:  2 students - academic
year, 1 wk, 20 hrs/wk, etc.
 
Other Expenses - Up to $250 per student and teacher participant may
be requested as a lump sum to defray costs such as supplies required
for their research experiences.
 
Form Page 5-EE - Budget for Entire Proposed Period of Support
 
Follow instructions provided on page 14 of the Form PHS 398.
 
Justification - Applicants must clearly describe and provide
sufficient detail regarding the support requested for students,
preservice, and inservice teachers to permit the reviewers to
evaluate the requested costs compared to the proposed length of the
research experience.  A suitable example would separately describe
the number and types of student and teacher positions being requested
for summer and, if applicable, academic year activity, and would
include for each the number of hours/week, total number of weeks of
the experience, and the rate of compensation.
 
Applicants should also explain any increases or decreases over the
initial budget period, e.g., if students and/or teachers are expected
to return for a portion of a succeeding period and will require
salary and other support during this period.  Again, provide
sufficient detail to permit the reviewers to evaluate the proposed
request.
 
Additional Form Pages
 
Biographical Sketch (Form Page 6-FF) - Provide a biographical sketch
for the Program Director and each proposed mentor, strictly adhering
to the 2 page limitation for each.
 
Other Support (Format Page 7-GG) - Provide the information requested
for the Program Director and each proposed mentor.
 
Resources (form Page 8-HH) - Follow the Form PHS 398 instructions.
 
Specific Instructions - Research Plan
 
Introduction (Revised applications only).  Revised applications must
follow the additional requirements set out on page 15 of the Form PHS
398 instructions.  This section of the application may not exceed 3
pages.
 
The following instructions should be used in lieu of the Form PHS 398
instructions for this section of the application.  The Research Plan
section of the application must strictly adhere to a limit of 15
pages, excluding a maximum of three letters of institutional support,
and item 2.e. below.  Include sufficient information to facilitate an
effective review; be specific, informative, and avoid redundancy.
The outline suggested below should be followed in describing the
program.
 
A.  Background
 
1.  If the applicant institution has had precollege programs in the
past, they should describe the history of the programs, the type and
size of the programs (number of students and teachers), and any
program accomplishments including tracking data for the students, if
available. Information may be provided in tabular form.
 
2.  A progress report is required for Competing Continuation
applications.  Provide:
 
a.  the beginning and ending dates for the period covered since the
project was last reviewed competitively;
 
b.  accomplishments since the project's last competitive review;
 
c.  a description of any differences between the program proposed in
the previous application and the program proposed below, and an
explanation of the reasons for any changes;
 
d.  a description of what has been done to evaluate whether or not
the project has made progress in meeting its goals, and/or how well
the program has functioned; and a discussion of changes that have
been made, or are being considered, as a result of evaluation
findings; and,
 
e.  a report on the gender, race, and ethnicity of student and
teacher participants, using a format similar to the Annual Report
Format on page 30 of the Form PHS 398 instructions.  Provide separate
reports for students, inservice teachers, and preservice teachers.
These reports do not count in the 15 page limit.
 
B.  Proposed Program
 
The description of the program must include, at a minimum, the
following information:
 
1.  a description of the proposed program;
 
2.  a description of the research environment and how it relates to
the proposed program (e.g., ongoing research activity, availability
of equipment, facilities, and resources);
 
3.  methods and criteria for student, teacher, and mentor recruitment
and selection;
 
4.  methods to assign students and teachers to mentors (specific
research projects should not be described, but a description of the
general scientific skills to be learned should be included);
 
5.  the general characteristics and length of the proposed student,
preservice, and inservice teacher research laboratory experiences,
and how they will differ;
 
6.  special enrichment activities available to the students and
teachers; and,
 
7.  plans for formative evaluation of the program.
 
C.  Institutional Supporting Data
 
Include a minimum of one and a maximum of three letters of
institutional support.  The letter(s) should be from a highly placed
institutional official, at the level of Dean or above (or similar
high level administrative official), who is in a position to commit
the institutional resources necessary to assure effective conduct of
the program.
 
Appendix - No appendix material will be allowed.
 
The signed, typewritten original of the application, including the
Checklist, and three exact photocopies of the signed application, in
one package, must be submitted to:
 
DIVISION OF RESEARCH GRANTS
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040 - MSC 7710
BETHESDA, MD 20892-7710
BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service)
 
At the time of submission, two additional copies of the application
must be sent to:
 
Office of Review
National Center for Research Resources
6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 6018, MSC 7965
Bethesda, MD  28092-7965
Bethesda, MD  20817 (for express/courier service)
 
Timetable
 
1996 Only:
 
Application Receipt Date:   June 17, 1996 (New projects only)
Council Review:             February 1997
Earliest Award Start Date:  April 1, 1997
 
Annually beginning in 1997:
 
New, Competing Continuation, and Revised applications will be
considered on the schedule noted below.  No Competing Supplemental
applications will be considered.
 
Application Receipt:  February 1 (New projects); March 1 (Competing
Continuations and Revised projects)
Initial Review:       June-July
Council:              September
Earliest award:       December 1
 
Application Receipt:  June 1 (New projects); July 1 (Competing
Continuations and Revised projects)
Initial Review:       October-November
Council:              February
Earliest award:       April 1
 
REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS
 
Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed for completeness by DRG
and responsiveness by the NCRR.  Late, incomplete or nonresponsive
applications will be returned to the applicant without further
consideration.
 
Applications that are complete and responsive to this Program
Announcement will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by
an appropriate peer review group convened by the NCRR in accordance
with NIH peer review procedures, using the review criteria stated
below.  As part of the initial merit review, all applications will
receive a written critique and undergo a process in which only those
applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally
the top half of applications under review, will be discussed,
assigned a priority score, and receive a second level review by the
National Advisory Research Resources Council.
 
REVIEW CRITERIA
 
o  quality of the overall scientific and educational content of the
proposed program including research laboratory and special enrichment
activities;
 
o  appropriateness of the plans considering the size, strengths, and
characteristics of the institution;
 
o  the qualifications of the Program Director and the proposed
mentors;
 
o  the quality of the method of recruitment, selection and assignment
of students, teachers, and mentors;
 
o  the quality of the institution's plans for a formative evaluation
of the program;
 
o  the extent of the institutional commitment to providing a quality
research experience and to precollege education partnerships;
 
o  the extent of prior accomplishments in precollege education;
 
o  and, for competing continuations, the quality of accomplishments
since the project's last competitive review.
 
The second level of review will be provided by the National Advisory
Research Resources Council.
 
AWARD CRITERIA
 
The following will be considered when making funding decisions:  the
quality of the proposed application as determined by peer review,
availability of funds, program balance among the types of
institutions, and geographic distribution of the awards.
 
INQUIRIES
 
Written and telephone inquiries are encouraged.  The opportunity to
clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants is welcome.
 
Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:
 
Mr. Martin B. Blumsack
Research Infrastructure Area
National Center for Research Resources
One Rockledge Centre, Suite 6030
6705 Rockledge Drive - MSC 7965
Bethesda, MD  20892-7965
Telephone:  (301) 435-1303
Email:  ncrr_k12@nih.gov
 
Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:
 
Ms. Mary V. Niemiec
Office of Grants and Contracts Management
National Center for Research Resources
One Rockledge Centre, Suite 6086
6705 Rockledge Drive - MSC 7965
Bethesda, MD  20892-7965
Telephone:  (301) 435-0844
Email:  maryn@ep.ncrr.nih.gov
 
AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS
 
This program is described in the Catalogue of Federal Domestic
Assistance No.93.922.  Awards will be made under authorization of the
Public Health Service Act, Title III, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as
amended, 42 USC 241) and administered under PHS grants policies and
Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.  This
program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements
of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.
 
The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to
provide a smoke free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco
products.  In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of
1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any
portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education,
library, day care, health care or early childhood development
services are provided to children.  This is consistent with the PHS
mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the
American people.
 
.

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