The Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Center supports publicly-funded two and four-year colleges with programs in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R), controls, building automation, and energy/facilities management. Sponsored by Advanced Technological Education grants from the National Science Foundation, this national collaborative promotes state-of-the-art building technician education and dissemination of the latest research, technology, and industry collaborations in energy efficient buildings. This work involves creating a certification scheme and an assessment for a “technical level” of certification in High Performance Building Operations (HPBO), as well as providing a recommended passing score by performing a rigorous standard setting process. The assessment content will focus on the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to manage modern buildings that permit substantial cost savings and efficiencies (e.g., water/energy consumption, environmental quality, safety-health) when operated under the supervision of qualified professionals.
Grant Awards
Dean Lillard: Health and Well-Being Over the Life Course and Across Multiple Generations $108,822
Melissa Ross: HSAI Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Project $12,000
Lori Patton Davis: Mary Jane Legacy Project $250,000
Dean Lillard: Recovering Individual Memory Problems Histories from Own and Proxy Retrospective Reports: A Feasibility Study (Administrative Supplement) $250,887
Sarah Lang: FY21-22 Enhancement of the Virtual Lab School, A Comprehensive Professional Development System for Childcare Professionals $2,025,000
The Virtual Laboratory School (VLS; www.virtuallabschool.org) was designed to be a dynamic professional development system that is responsive to emerging needs in military settings and reflect the rapidly increasing body of research that should inform the care and education of young children. The objective of this project is to continue the work of the VLS in providing innovative and cost-effective virtual professional development (PD) for child development program staff; offering a PD system grounded upon the effectiveness of reflective practice, tailored coaching to support staff members’ use of optimal practices, and evidence-based strategies to support adult learners. We will accomplish this objective by updating current VLS content in response to new research, as well as expert and user feedback, revising website and backend database code in response to user feedback and changes in industry standards, and developing and piloting new content in response to needs identified by project stakeholders. Implementation of the VLS PD system will be supported by providing regional training sessions for military-affiliated training and curriculum specialists, program managers, other child and youth program leaders and inspectors. Technical systems and in-person activities will be used to collect and utilize user and stakeholder feedback throughout the project. Details
David Julian: Heading to Kindergarten Pilot Project $20,000
Heading to Kindergarten is part of a national initiative designed to build partnerships between
Head Start and public schools. Experience suggests that such partnerships are a precursor to
building support for successful transitions to kindergarten. The objectives of the Heading to
Kindergarten project are three-fold: 1) promoting best practices to enhance collaboration
between early care and education programs, community partners and public schools; 2)
providing resources, professional development and technical assistance to support effective
collaborations and successful transitions to kindergarten; and 3) disseminating findings from
the pilot project to the field through a conference format.
Jackie von Spiegel: The Experiences of First-Generation Graduate Students Deciding to Seek Help Through Academic Coaching $1,000
This project aims to explore the process of seeking help through academic coaching as a first-generation graduate student. Research indicates that first-generation students, whose parents do not have a four-year college degree, are less likely to seek academic help when they need it and are more likely to have poorer outcomes as undergraduates. However, little is known about the first-generation students who continue their education in graduate school. This study will explore the process of academic help-seeking in first-generation graduate students using a constructivist grounded theory methodology to preserve the participants’ voices and acknowledge the diverse realities of the students in the study. Through semi-structured interviews, the project aims to uncover the experiences surrounding the decision to seek help through academic coaching. The findings of this research project will provide new insights for learning center staff on ways to better support graduate students, as well as adding to the understanding of help-seeking attitudes and behaviors in this student population.
Sanja Ilic: Ensuring Food Safety Competency of Produce Growers and Processors in the NCR (North Central Region) Through Expanded Collaboration with Diversified Populations $16,432
During this project, Sanja Ilic will work with Iowa State University and other North Central Partners as the State Lead to assist in identification of diversified and underserved grower and processor populations that require education, training and technical assistance to ensure successful implementation and compliance with the FSMA Produce Safety rule and Preventive Control for Human Foods rule. The project will involve providing feedback on food safety curriculum for growers and processors, communicating compliance needs, disseminating information and materials about produce safety, and connecting food safety educators in Ohio to the project.
Drew Hanks: Data Integration in Food and Agriculture $12,549
The Data Integration in Food and Agriculture online tool will provide dataset-specific information pertinent to accessing, utilizing, and linking the various data sources used among agricultural and applied economists with other relevant datasets. By designing this tool, the project team will make great strides in improving the data infrastructure to enhance research in food and agriculture.