University Writing Program Wins $1.5 Million Grant in AI Challenge with Support from the Office of Research Proposal Development Services
A collaborative project led by UC Davis, working with four California Community Colleges and three California State University campuses, has won a $1.5 million grant to help address equity gaps in writing support and AI literacy.
The awarded project, Peer and AI Review + Reflection (PAIRR), aims to build student competence and confidence by pairing human feedback with that of artificial intelligence (AI).
“PAIRR emphasizes reflection and self-assessment and encourages students to be active and critically engaged users of AI feedback, rather than passive recipients who merely follow directions,” said Lisa Sperber, a continuing lecturer in the University Writing Program (UWP) at UC Davis.
The grant is funded by the California Education Learning Lab’s AI Grand Challenge: Leveraging AI for Teaching and Learning, which helps foster innovation in the use of AI to improve curriculum and teaching in the state’s public higher education system. A total of five projects were selected to receive grants of up to $1.5 million each.
Facilitated by Support from the Office of Research Proposal Development Services
The Proposal Development Services (PDS) team within the Office of Research offers extensive services and resources to assist in the development and submission of extramural funding proposals.
The team played a pivotal role in helping to create a successful proposal for the PAIRR project by advising on sponsor expectations and requirements, providing developmental and detailed editing, and developing the proposal budget.
Cai Thorman, research development specialist, and Cristina Adamson, financial team manager, both of PDS, were praised by the project’s co-principal investigators for their support.
“Cai’s knowledge about developing grants and her feedback on drafts of the proposal were particularly helpful,” said Marit MacArthur, continuing lecturer at UWP who is co-leading the project. “Cristina’s work coordinating 7 different subawards and managing the budget for the proposal was essential. We really appreciate their contributions!”
Carl Whithaus, professor of writing and rhetoric in the College of Letters and Science and UWP director expanded, “Cai has an amazing ability to grasp and articulate what funding agencies want and need to hear, even when those points are buried in long RFPs, or couched in confusing terms. She provided crucial feedback to help me align the goals and activities of each project with the RFPs. I doubt either proposal would have been funded if I had not paid attention to a number of her observations in revising. When one is immersed in a research project, it’s too easy to take the larger stakes for granted, rather than spelling them out. Cai’s perspective as a very sharp, observant reader and writer who is outside the field is always insightful and grounding.”
“Christina’s creation of and many revisions of our budget for the AI Grand Challenge Learning Lab application were absolutely essential to our success,” Whithaus added. “Despite having talented administrative staff in our respective programs and departments who often help with budgets, we just could not have managed it without her. She understands the financial intricacies and regulations and is also very sensitive to competing needs and made excellent suggestions each time we needed to revise it.”
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