Center for Parallel and Distributed Computing Curriculum Development and Educational Resources PDC Curriculum Early Adopter Grant and Summer Training Program

The CDER Center is pleased to announce an NSF-sponsored summer program to help faculty incorporate Parallel and Distributed Computing (PDC) into courses for students in their first two years of undergraduate study. This year we expect to be able to support a cohort of up to 15 instructors. A few spaces remain open.

Highlights:

$3000 grant to each participant (see grant restrictions based on citizenship below)

Recipients attend a one-week, in-person training workshop (July 14 - 18, 2025) hosted by UMass, Amherst

Training includes PDC content, and educational evaluation methodology

Focus on Introductory Programming, Data Structures/Algorithms, and Systems/Computer Organization courses, including previews of exemplar first year courses that are under development in a separate effort.

• Application Deadline: March 31, 2025 April 12, 2025
• Notification: April 14, 2025

Program Overview

The $3000 grant is meant to be used in support of attending the workshop and curriculum development. $3000 will be awarded upon completion of the training workshop. There is no fee for the workshop itself, and any needed materials will be provided. Snacks will also be provided, but participants are responsible for other meals, lodging, travel, etc.

Training will be a combination of learning to use PDC tools, how to design and instrument an experimental course for meaningful evaluation in preparation for publication, and pedagogical approaches for engaging a diverse set of students in PDC studies.

The expectation is that grant recipients will develop experimental versions of course enhancements, or a new course or courses, to be offered following the training. Participants will be prepared to gather data on the effectiveness of their course modifications and write a paper that reports the results of their efforts, based on application of the evaluation methodologies covered in the training. Any courseware developed will be contributed to the CDER exemplars public repository so others may benefit from course development efforts.

Grant Restrictions

The training grant is limited to US citizens and permanent residents, who will receive the $3000 as a stipend, and will be sent a 1099 miscellaneous income form at the end of the year. We regret that we are not able, under NSF rules for disbursement of participant support costs, to route the grant through the participant’s institution. We also regret that we cannot support international participants. H1B visa holders can only be reimbursed for actual travel expenses related to attendance. Prior participants in CDER training programs, which covered the same topics, will be given a lower priority for acceptance than new participants.

Application Process

To apply, submit a brief proposal to the CDER Center, prepared using the Google Form linked below. The proposal form will request:

• Applicant’s name
• Academic position and tenure status
• Discipline of highest degree
• Institutional affiliation
• Address
• Email
• Phone number
• Courses typically taught
• What you hope to gain from the training
• Description of institution (Type, size (students), department size (students, faculty))
• Programming languages used in the introductory courses
• A brief description of your background in parallel and distributed computing.

For each course that will be created or enhanced with new PDC content:

• Course number and title
• Year(s) in which it is taken (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior)
• Required or elective
• Semester or quarter length (weeks)
• Number of credits
• Frequency of offering (number of terms offered per year)
• Single or multiple sections
• Taken by majors only, open to limited other majors, general service course
• Typical enrollment number
• Indication that changes are allowed (e.g., approved by curriculum committee)
• Describe changes you plan to make and list the topics from the PDC curriculum you hope to introduce as a result of the enhancement.

Google form for proposal submission: https://forms.gle/ZXedQKtX1C8icLvM9

Also see https://tcpp.cs.gsu.edu/curriculum/?q=NSF_Cybertraining for updates.