AAS-EPD Mini-Grant Program

Some examples of EPD activities funded through this effort. Links to AAS Education Blog posts about the activities are provided: 

2023 (overview of funded programs)

• “Supporting Your Introductory Astronomy Courses” — Presented by the AAS Education Committee, Astrobites, and WorldWide Telescope (PI: M. Foley)
• “A Course to Foster Genuine Relation in Astronomy Through Mentorship” — (PI: N. Cabrera-Salazar)
• “Engaging Students with New Data-Driven Astronomy Investigations” — Presented by Ed Prather, Ardis Herrold, and Rubin Observatory (PI: E. Prather)
• “Spectrum: Empowering Equitable Excellence” — Presented by Natasha Latouf, Jeffrey McKaig, Emma Schwartzman, and Jenna Cann (PI: F. Munshi)

2022

• LightSound: Learn to Build a Sonification Tool to Make Your Classes and Outreach Events More Inclusive (A. Bieryla, CfA)
• Helping AAS Members Help the World: Astronomers Addressing Climate Change (T. Rector, University of Alaska)
• Engaging the Public in Exoplanet Science through the Legacy of TESS (T. Daylan, MIT)
• Exploring the Impacts of Astrobites on Astronomy Education (B. Lewis, University of California, Los Angeles) - Related Blog Post

2021 (virtual)

• Online immersive technologies and virtual worlds for astronomy and astrophysics outreach (A. Kaurov, Institute for Advanced Study)
• Developing a Smartphone Simulation and Associated Faculty Training Materials (K. Lee, University of Nebraska Lincoln)
• SciAccess AAS (K. Meredith, GLAS Education Inc.)

2020

• LightSound: Learn to Build a Sonification Tool to Make Your Classes and Outreach Events More Inclusive (A. Bieryla, CfA)
• Improving your Teaching: Applications of Evidence Based Practices for Astronomy Education (S. Buxner, University of Arizona and Planetary Science Institute)
• Science Communication Through the Lens of Astrobites (C. Doughty, New Mexico State University) - Related Blog Post
• Teaching for Equity (J. Fielder, San Francisco State University)
• Infusing Undergraduate Astronomy Education with Computing and Big Data (B. Lundgren, University of North Carolina, Asheville)
• Helping AAS Members Help the World: Teaching Climate Change (T. Rector, University of Alaska, Anchorage)
• Building Community for Astronomers at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (J. Ribaudo, Providence College)
• AMPlifying Our Majors’ Courses (C. Wallace, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill)

2019

• Teaching for Equity (J. Fielder, San Francisco State University)
• Teaching Science Thought and Practices (S. Ford, CUNY)
• Know Your Power: Understanding the Distribution of Power throughout the Academic Ecosystem (L. Fulmer, University of Washington)
• Closing the Coding Gap: A Python Bootcamp for Mid-career Astronomers (R. Jorgenson, Maria Mitchell Association)
• Building on Astrobites' Current Presence in Higher Education Classrooms (G. Khullar, University of Chicago) - Related Blog Post
• Skywatchers: Bringing Together Cultural and Scientific Knowledge of the Stars (A. Lee, Saint Cloud State University)
• Helping AAS Members Help the World: A Workshop on Teaching Climate Change (T. Rector, University of Alaska, Anchorage)

2018

• Professional Development through Access to Diverse Viewpoints: Creating a More Inclusive Career Panel (D. Bouquin, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
• Echo Lake Milky Way Viewing Trip (H. Bryer, University of Denver)
• Teaching for Equity (K. Coble, San Francisco State University)
• A Data Science Foundation & Roadmap for Astronomy Instructors (D. Muna, Eureka Scientific)
• Training Workshop for New Curricular Materials: Bringing Zooniverse-Based Research Experiences into Astro 101 (L. Trouille, The Adler Planetarium)
• Leveraging Astrobites' Introduction to Current Research for Higher Education (B. Tsang, University of Texas, Austin) - Related Blog Post

The principal investigator (PI) of the proposed program must be a member of the AAS in good standing and work at an organization or institution in the United States. The EPD experience should be well publicized to, and open to, all AAS members.

There are a large number of potential professional-development opportunities that would be appropriate to bring to the AAS membership, and the Education Committee expects to support a diversity of proposals. We give examples of previously funded EPD programs above. Potential EPD programs, as well as relevant background information to this AO, can be found in Appendix I. These are only representative. The focus of this mini-grant program is professional development in the area of education and mentoring of AAS members (i.e., the intended audience of funded programs will be AAS members who wish to learn about education at any level — including education of professional astronomers).

Proposals that involve other AAS interest groups, such as committees, and that leverage the talents of AAS members in areas in addition to education, are welcome. Such proposals must include a one-page letter of support from each collaborating AAS group, indicating the amount and nature of the support. For funded proposals, the Education Committee will coordinate with all relevant groups to ensure quality and to avoid duplication of effort.

Examples of programs that can and cannot be funded:

• Can be funded:
  • Training AAS members in inclusive and equitable teaching practices
  • Training AAS members in inclusive and equitable mentoring practices
  • Professional development around research-validated methods and best practices for teaching astronomy
  • Professional development around best practices for AAS members engaged in public outreach
  • Career development for student members seeking education employment after graduation
• Cannot be funded:
  • Travel support for individual oral or poster presentations
  • Public outreach efforts, for example to the general public or K-12 audiences
  • Mentoring activities

For more examples see Previously Funded Activities and Appendix I.

Support for this program is divided into two parts: logistical support, in which the AAS will subsidize portions of the overall expense of the proposed program, and direct support, in which funds will be provided to the PI to carry out the program. Logistical costs, though transparent to the proposer, are real costs to the AAS; for example, an additional reserved meeting room at an AAS meeting costs additional money and requires the expenditure of additional AAS staff time, for example, to aid in registration.

Examples of budgetary items that can and cannot be funded with this program:

• Can be funded:
  • Travel stipends to present EPD programs at AAS, Division, and other meetings
  • Hotel costs for the day(s) of the proposed activity
  • Materials needed for the proposed activity (handouts, books, active-learning materials)
  • Costs for online dissemination of the proposed activity materials or products
  • Funding for speakers, educators, trainers, or facilitators outside of the astronomical community (i.e., who would not fit within any AAS membership category). These people include (but are not limited to) experts in education, mentoring, and diversity from other scientific fields. This funding could include honoraria, travel expenses, and/or other support. 
  • Stipends for graduate and undergraduate students involved in workshop preparation and presentation. These stipends are for the additional work involved in planning and carrying out the workshop and should not be considered a supplement to the students’ normal income.
  • NOTE: Honoraria/stipends should be very modest and cannot exceed $500.
• Cannot be funded:
  • Large equipment or other hardware meant to have a permanent use
  • Salary/stipends for faculty members
  • Salary/stipends for postdoctoral fellows
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Indirect costs, or overhead, for proposers at colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, etc.

For more examples see Previously Funded Activities and Appendix I.

The Education Committee strongly recommends that proposers review the document Improving Accessibility of Astronomical Publications from the AAS Working Group on Accessibility and Disability (WGAD) before writing their proposals. See also the references in Appendix IV.

Online Proposal and Budget Forms:

The proposal must be submitted online using the online application form, including downloading and filling out the budget calculation form. The forms request the following information:

1. Proposal title.
2. Proposal abstract (up to 300 words).
3. Planned location for the EPD experience.
4. Approximate number of expected participants.
5. Amount of funding requested (Please download and fill out the Budget Calculation Form).
6. Principal investigator contact information.
7. Grant administrator contact information.
8. Proposal text and letters of support in a single PDF file.

Proposal Text (PDF file):

The proposal text must be submitted as a single PDF file in 8.5-by-11-inch portrait format and less than 10 MB in size. The PDF should include these elements:

1. Cover page (1 page maximum, required) — Proposal title, PI, co-investigators in alphabetical order by last name, proposal abstract, planned location, expected number of participants, and amount of funding requested.
2. Program justification (2 pages maximum, required) — Justify the need for the proposed EPD program and show that the program will satisfy that need and meet the proposal criteria discussed in Appendix III. Links to web pages or other online resources may be included for reference, but the review panel cannot guarantee that they will read/evaluate them, i.e., all proposals must be entirely self-contained.
3. References/Figures (1 page maximum, required).
4. Budget and justification (1 page maximum, required) — An itemized budget accompanied by a brief but clear explanation. Any additional needs, such as logistical support, should be listed here, too. A sample budget for a workshop held at a meeting of the AAS is provided in Appendix II.
5. Proposed evaluation/feedback/dissemination plan (1 page maximum, required)
6. Previous workshops or EPD activities presented by the proposal team, e.g., at earlier AAS meetings or at universities, observatories, science centers, etc.
7. Principal investigator’s curriculum vitae (2 pages maximum, required).
8. List of co-investigators and other collaborators (1 page maximum, required) — CVs are not required from co-investigators or other collaborators, but a list of all team members is required to avoid conflicts of interest.
9. Letters of support from AAS committees or other relevant groups (1 page each, required if PI’s team intends to collaborate closely with other AAS groups, not required otherwise) — Each letter should give the nature and amount of financial and/or other support that the collaborating AAS group will provide.

• There are two proposal cycles each year corresponding to the AAS meeting workshop proposal deadlines.
  • The cycle A deadline is in early August and can fund activities in October - December of the current year, or any time in the following year. Proposals supporting activities at the winter AAS meeting MUST be submitted to this deadline. Proposals supporting activities at the next summer AAS meeting CAN also be submitted, and it is recommended they be submitted to this deadline to ensure funds are available.
  • Subject to the availability of funds, the cycle B deadline is in early December and can fund activities from March onwards in the following year. This deadline is the last opportunity for proposals seeking support of activities at the summer AAS meeting.
  • If funds are still available after cycle B, special calls for proposals may be solicited.
• Complete proposals received by the deadline will be ranked using the rubric given in Appendix III and will be funded in priority order based on those criteria.
• Proposers will be notified of the funding status within approximately 1.5 months of the cycle deadline.
• Conflict-of-interest rules will be enforced following typical practices within the AAS and the astronomical community more generally (e.g., following the procedures of the HST Time Allocation Committee).
• When needed, an outside reviewer may be requested to ensure that a proposal is reviewed sensibly and fairly. Outside reviewers might include professionals from the astronomy-education, physics-education, and/or diversity-education communities or groups involved with professional development in similar fields. Outside reviews will be anonymous and used only to determine relative rankings.

• Once final decisions regarding funding have been made, each principal investigator will be informed by email in a timely fashion as to whether their proposal has been approved for funding.
• PIs of successful proposals will be asked to provide additional information for logistics and planning purposes.
• Abstracts of successful proposals will be published on the AAS website.
• For unfunded proposals, we will make a good-faith effort to provide feedback if the proposal oversubscription rate permits and we have reason to expect that additional funding will be available for future proposal cycles.