2021-2022 Grantees
Michal Calo & Phillip Barrish
Department: English
Enhancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Design of English 316L and English 316M
Paul Bonin-Rodriguez
Department: Theatre and Dance
Trans Experience and/as Performance
Elizabeth Bradbury
Department: Biology Instruction Office
Improving Scientific Literacy and Climate Change Understanding Via Interdisciplinary Skills-Based Active Learning
Tonia Guida
Department: Diversity and Student Programs within the College of Natural Sciences
Student-Centered Course Design: Students as Partners infusing Digital Storytelling into the classroom
Michele Cooper
Department: Nutritional Sciences
Nutrition Students in the Community: Internships in elementary school gardens
J.E. Johnson
Department: Theatre and Dance
Cultivating student choice and peer to peer learning in a degree requirement lab course
Julie Minich
Department: Mexican American & Latina/o Studies
Implementing Ungrading in an Upper-Division Ethnic/Gender Studies Course
Gautami Shah
Department: Asian Studies
Actively engaging students through intentional planning of course modules to create a more inclusive classroom experience
Deborah Walker
Department: Chemistry
Building Self-Regulation via Mindset & Feedback in Exam Wrappers
ORIGINAL CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The Faculty Innovation Center invites proposals from UT Austin instructors to develop or scale innovations in undergraduate teaching. These grants are to encourage instructors at all levels to try something new in a course to be taught either Fall 2021 or Spring 2022. The grantee will be awarded a stipend of $3,000 and may apply for more funding for expenses linked to the innovation.
FOCUS: PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING
The Faculty Innovation Center’s mission is to drive innovation focusing on teaching for student success. To that end, we have curated a set of Eight Effective Teaching Principles 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 and constructed with the help of the Faculty Holistic Assessment Committee. To enable instructors to have time to develop areas of their courses that they wish to innovate, the Faculty Innovation Center is offering a summer stipend to faculty who choose at least one principle from the FIC’s 8 Principles of Effective Teaching they wish to develop in an innovative way in one of their courses. Here are the eight principles with some examples of how they might be utilized to innovate your course. Innovations that can be used in other classes or by other instructors are especially welcomed.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Proposals are evaluated by a review committee that will score proposals on the following factors.
1. QUALITY OF DESIGN – GOALS, PLAN, ASSESSMENT
Proposals should state the Principle from the FIC’s Eight Principles of Effective Teaching that has been chosen, clearly explain the innovation and how student learning is enhanced by the innovation. The proposal should identify goals, describe a plan of how the goals will be met, and include measurements of success.
2. IMPACT
These grants are intended to have a positive impact on student learning and success. High-scoring proposals will include the quality of the innovation and documentation of the process that students experience throughout the course including successes and obstacles. (For example, through journals, blog posts, photographs, video, student products etc.) Include the impact of the innovation to your course that, without this grant, would otherwise not occur.
3. PLANS FOR DISSEMINATION
It will be an expectation that grantees document their student learning and submit a brief final report on their reflections and assessment of results. This can be in written or video format. After the course has been taught, awardees will develop a short presentation of the process and student experience to share with other faculty. In this section describe how your innovation will be shared/disseminated with other instructors.
HOW TO APPLY
Any UT Austin instructor, individually or in teams, may submit a proposal. Proposals must be submitted via this form and include a signature from the applicant’s Chair or Director. Questions about grants and the application process may be directed to Anne Braseby
FINANCIAL STIPULATIONS
Funds will be transferred to grantees’ departments and $3,000 is allocated for summer salary. Small amounts of other necessary funding to successfully develop the innovation will be considered, such as research assistants, materials or supplies or other necessary costs including publications, meeting costs, or conference participation consistent with relevant departmental, college, or University policy, Regents’ rules, and Texas state law.
