New FDC Teaching Innovations Awards (and conversations)
Up to five awards of up to $200 each for teaching materials/training/support, along with recognition and a certificate, will be given to faculty members for new (to them) teaching innovations tried out during the 2024-25 academic year.
Teaching Innovations Award Call For Proposals
What: Many of us are working with classroom innovations on a regular basis. These can be small changes to a single session or whole new types of courses. To encourage, value, and promote this kind of work, the Faculty Development Center is offering this CFP for current or upcoming teaching innovations. Small and large changes both count. You may work alone or with others in your program or across departments. The key is to try an experiment to improve some aspect of student learning and then share the results of that effort with others.
- Maybe you and a colleague are piloting a new approach to a unit in a common course
- Maybe you are trying a new course to meet a growing need
- Maybe you want to integrate the Dorsky Art Museum or another campus location/resource into a course
- Maybe you are working to make your syllabus and practices more equitable, inclusive, or accessible
- Maybe you are experimenting with a different technology in class
- Maybe you are developing case studies or problem-based learning modules for a course
- Maybe you are turning to Open Education Resources (OER) for next semester
Any significant innovation that you have already started this fall or plan to implement later this academic year (24-25) is eligible. This innovation can be new to you; it doesn’t have to be something no one has ever done before.
Who: Individual faculty members (full- or part-time), small groups of faculty members, or faculty members in collaboration with other campus community members are eligible to apply.
Timeline: Proposals through the official form must be submitted by October 30, 2024, at 11:59 pm. To be eligible, the teaching innovation must be something done at any point from the start of Fall 2024 and the end of Summer 2025 inclusive of those terms. Awards based on the proposals will be determined by November 30, 2024. Award winners will present their work and brief results by the end of Fall 2025.
Review: Proposals will be reviewed by a generous and friendly panel of faculty members.
Awards: The target is five award winners at $200 each towards teaching, classroom, or course development materials (awards may vary based on the number of applicants). This money is a reimbursement for materials, not cash for the applicant. Software, hardware, texts, physical supplies, access to a training, AI computing power, and other options that support teaching innovation in some way are all possible uses for awards. Certificates of recognition or official letters (for RTP/DSI files if desired) will also be given.
Expectations: All award winners will be expected to (and hopefully delighted to) 1. briefly present their teaching innovation through a Faculty Development Center session at a time to be determined (no later than the end of Fall 2025), and 2. Provide a single paragraph or bulleted lists of the main results of and next suggestions for the teaching innovation project. All applicants are welcome and encouraged to present their teaching innovations and written results.
To do: Think of ideas; talk to colleagues; then go to the application form, complete it, and submit it. All applicants will get a response whether receiving an award or not.
Questions: The FDC will host a virtual information and question session on Wednesday, October 9, from 2:00-3:00 pm on Webex. Feel free to drop in or simply email Matt Newcomb with questions.
