The University of South Florida is pleased to announce the Innovative Teaching Grants Program. Approximately $80,000 is available to fund faculty proposals in (1) creative classroom pedagogies and (2) technology-enhanced teaching. These awards are designed to encourage instructional innovation and efforts to enhance student learning through new approaches to classroom instruction. Resources requested may include faculty preparation time, training activities, and technical support assistance. Examples of appropriate areas are course enrichment, course-related travel, curriculum development and evaluation, undergraduate research, service learning, use of active learning strategies, incorporation of multicultural perspectives, and development of new teaching expertise.
Please read carefully both the application information below and the Frequently Asked Questions found later in this announcement.
PROGRAM GOALS : This initiative addresses three interrelated goals:
PROPOSER ELIGIBILITY : Tenured or tenure-earning faculty, librarians, and full-time instructors on continuing instructional appointments are eligible to submit one grant application per year. Applications from teams of collaborating proposers are also invited; however, an individual cannot be named on two grant applications. To maximize program resources, faculty are not eligible for grant funding in two consecutive years.
PROPOSAL GUIDELINES : First and foremost, grant proposals should describe projects that clearly go beyond the normal level of course preparation expected of all faculty and should describe the specific ways in which the project will enhance student learning.
The maximum grant award will be $4,000 for single-course projects or $10,000 for collaboration at the department or program level. Proposals for over $4,000 must include a letter of support from the department chair explaining how the project will benefit the department or unit as a whole. Proposals requiring less than the award limit are encouraged while those requiring greater levels of support should specify the source of additional funding that will be used to complete the project.
Proposals for activities, assistance, or equipment normally supported at the department or college level are not eligible for funding. Funding can be requested for:
With regard to the purchase or upgrading of computer equipment, computers are recognized as a necessary tool for all faculty and should be requested from the department or college. Funds can only be requested to purchase computer resources that will be devoted specifically to instructional purposes in innovative projects designed to improve student learning. Funds similarly cannot be requested for routine purchases of computer projection devices; funds to purchase such devices or to access existing devices on campus are available from other sources. A grant proposal that requests funds for a computer purchase for instructional uses should also describe the plan for obtaining access to computer projection resources for the classroom.
SELECTION CRITERIA : The Project Selection Committee will carefully review all Project Applications and select proposals based on the following five criteria:
Proposers should remember that the clarity and completeness of the proposal will have a significant impact on the reviewers' ability to assess project potential. A faculty committee will review the proposals.
PROCEDURE : submit five copies of the application. Project applications should contain three items as described below – (I) an Application Cover Sheet, (II) a brief narrative description, and (III) a letter of support from your department chairperson (five copies).
I. APPLICATION COVER SHEET
Include your name, department, academic rank, mail point, phone, fax, email address, project title, and a project abstract (a clear 100-150 word description).
II. NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION
Include a brief narrative description of the project (maximum length is five single-spaced pages) addressing each of the following eight questions:III. A LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM YOUR DEPARTMENT CHAIR
While all proposals are required to have a letter of support from the department chair, letters of support for proposals over $4,000 should explain how the proposal will benefit the department or unit.
DEADLINES : The date for submitting applications to your College or Campus Dean is Thursday, January 19, 2006. Deans are asked to review the proposals and, if desired, suggest a ranking of the proposals. Each Dean's office should submit the proposal received to the Center for 21 st Century Teaching Excellence by Thursday, January 26, 2006.
Awards will be announced no later than Wednesday, March 8, 2006.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS about the Innovative Teaching Grants:
To help faculty prepare the highest quality and most competitive proposals possible, the following Frequently Asked Questions have been developed based upon lessons learned in previous years:
These grants can be sought for all ideas to enhance student learning through innovative teaching. Projects may or may not involve technology.
These funds cannot be requested to support activities that are considered part of a faculty member's annual teaching or research assignment or which are normally funded by a department or college. Therefore, explain why the creation of a new course or revision of an existing course is not part of your normally assigned duties.
In addition to strict adherence to the guidelines, the committee expects well conceived and carefully written proposals. With respect to the budget, items should be detailed and explicitly connected to project goals. Proposers should pay careful attention to the selection criteria described on page two to ensure that proposals persuasively address each of the five selection criteria, especially the plan to evaluate the project's impact.
The budget should provide sufficient details for the selection committee to determine the reasonableness and efficacy of the request. For example:
If requesting a $2500 summer stipend for faculty, indicate the amount of time per week that will be devoted to completing the project.
If requesting funds to hire an assistant, describe the tasks she/he will perform, the numbers of hours worked weekly, and the anticipated hourly wage.
If requesting travel funds, a description of why this travel could not be supported through usual funding channels should be provided along with an itemized estimate of project related travel expenses.
If requesting funds to purchase materials or equipment, an itemized description of all materials to be purchased should be provided (e.g. not simply indicating, “$1,000 to purchase films, books, and software”).
Requests for items that primarily benefit the effectiveness or efficiency of one's department (e.g., a photocopy machine, a computer server, standard laboratory equipment), rather than a thoughtfully described and detailed plan to enhance student learning in the context of one or more courses, are discouraged.
Funding for graduate assistants can be requested for innovative tasks that enrich the graduate experience in ways not supported through other means. Funding cannot be requested for graduate assistants to perform duties traditionally supported at the department level, whether or not your department has had graduate assistants in the past. Proposals should also include a rationale for the level of student assistance requested (e.g., Graduate student or undergraduate student).
Requests for funds for both domestic and international travel will be considered if the proposal clearly demonstrates that the travel is directly related to the enrichment of the teaching and learning in a specific course and also that funds are not routinely available from other sources (e.g., Faculty International Travel Grant Program).
Producing high quality videos or DVDs for instructional purposes is typically both time consuming and expensive. Proposals for such productions should describe how a quality project can be completed within the funding and time limits of this grant program. The proposed budget should contain thoughtfully detailed and itemized proposed expenditures (e.g., not simply “$250 for professional film editing and duplication”).
Funding requests are limited to $4,000 for single-course projects or $10,000 for collaborations at the department or program level. If your proposed project requires greater funding, you must describe where the additional funding will come from and provide with your proposal definite confirmation that these additional funds are available.
Proposals to simply create PowerPoint slides or a Web site for a course are discouraged as are projects that can be completed simply by participating in workshops on technology-enhanced teaching offered to faculty. Funds for specific courses, however, can be requested to support in-depth, innovative applications of technology that go well above and beyond what can be accomplished in available workshops. The Project Selection Committee will want to see a clear and specific plan that demonstrates the innovative nature and potential instructional impact of the proposed project.
PROJECT COMPLETION AND RESULTS:
Funded projects should be completed by June 1, 2007. A final project report, describing in detail project activities and accomplishments, should be completed and submitted to the Center for 21 st Century Teaching Excellence by this date.
Participants will also be asked to share their projects with colleagues during the spring of 2007 (e.g., by presenting a “session/demonstration” in some USF forum or, if appropriate, at the Symposium on 21 st Century Teaching Technologies which takes place annually during the spring semester).
Diane R. Williams
or Shauna Schullo
Center for 21st Century Teaching Excellence, SVC1072
Phone: (813) 974-2576
Fax: (813) 974-5620
dwilliams@cte.usf.edu
schullo@cte.usf.edu