INTRODUCTION
Innovations mean very different things depending on the course and the instructor and we hope to encourage you to pursue something that is new FOR YOU. These grants are to give instructors time over the summer to develop something new in a course to be taught either Fall 2024 or Spring 2025. The grantee will be awarded $3,000 to work on their innovation over the summer semester, and implement the innovation in the academic year 2024-25. Innovations that can be utilized by other instructors are especially welcomed.
FOCUS: PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING
The Center for Teaching and Learning’s mission is to drive innovation focusing on teaching for student success. To that end, we have curated a set of Eight Principles of Effective Teaching that can be used as a framework to innovate teaching methodologies. These principles were constructed through synthesizing recent research on best practices to increase student learning and support student success with input from various faculty committees. To enable instructors to have time to develop areas of their courses that they wish to innovate, the Center for Teaching and Learning is offering a summer stipend to instructors who choose one or more of the principles from the Eight Principles of Effective Teaching they wish to develop in one of their courses. Here are the eight principles with some examples of how they might be utilized to innovate your course.
- Deliberate and intentional planning: e.g. aligning course design, diversifying resources, identifying barriers and developing solutions
- Construction of knowledge: e.g. scaffolding learning, choosing resources that are more accessible or affordable
- Active engagement in learning: e.g. developing activities that help students understand more deeply
- Relevance to disciplinary experiences: e.g. experiences that help students think like a practitioner
- Use of assessment data and feedback: e.g. developing a variety of methods to assess student learning or give feedback
- Shared responsibility for learning: e.g. giving more responsibility to students for their own learning
- Learning from peers: e.g. developing projects where students learn together
- Establish and support a class climate that fosters belonging for all students: e.g. adapting materials and resources that students can identify with
PROPOSAL COMPONENTS
PROJECT DESCRIPTION (WHAT?) max 50 words
Describe the innovation to the course/program. Proposals should clearly state the principle(s) from the Eight Principles of Effective Teaching that has/have been chosen.
PROJECT DESIGN (HOW?) max 200 words
Describe the goals of the innovation and what you intend to achieve in the summer semester.
PROJECT IMPACT (WHY?) max 200 words
Explain the reason your course needs this innovation and the impact on student learning that, without this grant, would not happen. Describe how other instructors could use what you learn.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Proposals are evaluated by a review committee of past recipients that will score proposals on the following factors:
Does the proposal include an innovation that probably would not happen without the summer stipend?
Does the proposal explain how this proposal would enhance student learning?
Does the proposal explain the reason why student learning would benefit from this proposal?
Can this innovation be adapted by other faculty to use in their courses?
HOW TO APPLY
Any UT instructor, individually or in teams, may submit a proposal. Applications must be submitted for review by Monday, March 18, 2024.
FINANCIAL STIPULATIONS
$3000 will be awarded for work to be completed in the Summer semester 2024.
2023-2024 Grantees
Lara Dossett
Theater and Dance
Alignment Across Foundational First Year Classes
Michael McQuaid
School of Information
Welcome to the Command Line! Inclusive technical open educational resources
Santiago Muñoz Arbeláez
History
Engaged Reading of Primary and Secondary Sources -Colonial Latin America
Jonathan Partridge
Molecular Biosciences
Developing Communication and Cross-Community Outreach in CNS Students
Karla Peña
American Studies
Food Justice and Experiential Learning on Campus
Jahanett Ramirez
Social Work
Promoting Well-Being Beyond the Classroom for Pre-Health Professional Learners
Nina Telang
Electrical and Computer Engineering
A Different Approach to Teaching the Supervised Instruction Engineering Course
Ann Thijs
Biology Instruction Office
Ryan Woodall
Spanish and Portuguese
Developing an Innovative Spanish Activity Using ARIS Game Editor
Cara Young
School of Nursing
Simulation to Improve Gender-Affirming Health Care for LGBTQIA+ Individuals