One
of the things that really sets the NSF's ATE program apart is the amazing
amount of support baked into the community through a variety of informal and
formal pathways. There are so many ways to get support, whether you're writing
your first proposal, looking to improve your project or center evaluation, or
considering better ways to sustain the valuable deliverables created with your
NSF funding. A number of ATE initiatives focus on supporting and amplifying the
work of those in the ATE community, which means you can almost always find help
on a wide variety of topics by perusing a website, picking up the phone, or
crafting an email.
First of all, let's
start with the ATE home page on the National
Science Foundation site – a great place to visit as it provides an overview of
the ATE program, contact information for the associated program officers (and
their contact info), and examples of recent awards. And of course, the ATE solicitation provides detailed
information about the program and outlines key concerns of the funding agency,
budgetary guidelines, and programmatic requirements.
Now
let's take a look at a variety of ATE projects, centers, and events designed to
support, showcase, and/or amplify the work of ATE grantees.
·
With
three key deliverables – the ATE Impacts book (order free
copies here), and the ATE Impacts blog as well as the
ATE Community booth - the ATE Collaborative Outreach and Engagement Project
helps showcase the impacts of the ATE program. The book and blog are great
sources of information about what others in the community are doing and a great
way to find collaborators and mentors. The Community Booth showcases ATE
materials at a number of national and regional conferences each year.
·
EvaluATE is the evaluation support center for ATE and provides
webinars, resource materials, newsletters, workshops, and opportunities for ATE
community members to engage around issues related to evaluation in the pursuit
of excellence in technical education.
·
The Mentor-Connect project,
spearheaded by South Carolina Advanced Technical Education (SC ATE), provides
support for leadership development and knowledge transfer by developing and
supporting potential, current, and former ATE grantees. The Mentor-Connect
website provides an extensive library of materials related to ATE proposal
preparation and grants management.
·
Another
great mentoring program is MentorLinks, from the American Association
of Community Colleges (AACC), which sponsors national grant competitions that
pair community colleges seeking guidance in developing or strengthening
technician education programs with experienced mentors in the field. Through
professional development opportunities and technical assistance, MentorLinks
impacts numerous fields, from biotechnology to renewable energy.
·
Another excellent resource is TeachingTechnicians that provides
"state-of-the-art, faculty development in advanced & emerging
technologies, teaching methods, science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM)." The site provides links to online and onsite events,
and boasts an impressive archive of previous events with files, links, and
contact information.
·
And
of course, there is also ATE Central, which acts an information
hub and archive for the ATE Community. Visit the portal to explore grantee
resources, learn about ATE events (and push your own activities out to the
community) and dive into critical topics like sustainability. The map on the
ATE Central home page can help you find other projects and centers doing work
in your field of study or that are close by geographically – it's a great tool
to use in considering potential collaborators or mentors.
·
Finally,
the Annual ATE PI Conference held each
October in DC (the 2019 program isn't up yet so we've linked to the 2018
information here) is a wonderful source to learn more about any number of
innovative ATE-related topics, meet up with collaborators and connect with
your NSF program officer. The HI-TEC conference is another
great opportunity to connect with ATE community members – held in July each
year in a different city (this year the conference is in St. Louis).
Who do you turn to
for help and support or conversely how are you supporting others in the ATE
community? We'd love to hear your stories and share your resources through ATE
Central's Connection newsletter or the ATE Impacts blog – please drop us
a line!
