The application period for the 2023-2024 academic year is now open. The deadlines are as follows:
- Fall/Spring Semester (for use in fall or spring 2023-24): Application deadline is 11:59 p.m. on September 31, 2023
- Spring/Summer Semester (for use by June 30 2023): Application deadline is 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2024
Details about the program can be found below, including: Purpose, Eligible Projects/Expenses, Eligibility Requirements, Grant Period, Grant Expectations, Selection Criteria, and Application Guidelines.
After reviewing these guidelines, please complete the application form and attach your proposal and budget.
Apply for the Teaching & Learning Fund
Purpose
The purpose of the Teaching & Learning Fund is to spur thoughtful and engaged experimentation with new pedagogical strategies, tools, or training.
Eligible Projects and Expenses
The Teaching & Learning Fund may be used to fund applicable professional development and/or to purchase equipment, materials, or fund group travel to enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement. Funds should not be used to support projects that would otherwise be fully funded by the faculty member’s home department. All funds must be spent in the current fiscal year.
Examples of possible expenses include, but are not limited to:
- Conference, workshop, or webinar attendance to support faculty development related to discipline-specific instructional innovations to be adopted in the current or upcoming academic year (event must be completed no later than June 30 of the current fiscal year).
- Inviting a pedagogical speaker to campus.
- Books and/or journal subscriptions related to pedagogical innovations (either within or across disciplines), such as books that would otherwise not be purchased by the recipient’s department.
- Hardware or software to support innovations aimed at making learning materials more accessible and inclusive (e.g., speech recognition / captioning software).
- Upgraded subscriptions to otherwise-free cloud-based tools and storage platforms, such as Google Drive, Wikispaces, WordPress, Blogger, etc. for classroom use.
- Materials and/or equipment that supports the development of cases, scenarios, and/or simulations for authentic learning and assessment.
- Audio-visual or other technology/production equipment to be used by MUW students as part of a course (e.g. portable media kits for student interviews or multi-media production).
- Tables that can be reconfigured and used to create more flexible classroom seating and to study the effects of classroom seating on student collaboration and learning.
- Anatomy simulation models to supplement training in nursing or biology classes.
- Audio-visual equipment and software used to support “flipped” classroom experiments (e.g., web cameras, microphones, other digital voice/video recording devices, writable tablets to capture worked problems on a screen, etc.). Again, these must not otherwise be available from the home department.
- Computer equipment to support service-learning experiences in which students engage with the community, such as digitizing archival materials and creating printed banners, websites, etc. for use by local community partner organizations.
- Travel expenses to take a group of students on a course-related trip or to support students presenting their course-based research at an academic conference.
Teaching & Learning funds may not be used for: stipends or other payments to students, faculty, or staff; faculty travel not directly related to a specific, student-focused teaching and learning goal; and/or expenses related to travel that will occur after June 30 of the fiscal year in which the grant was awarded. Funds are not available to support future maintenance costs associated with regular wear and tear for grant-purchased items.
Please Note: Any technology or equipment purchased with Teaching & Learning funds is owned by Mississippi University for Women. In the event that a faculty member leaves the University, any such items must be returned to the faculty member’s home department or the Kossen Center for Teaching & Learning.
Eligibility
Awards are available to all MUW faculty who hold appointments in any University department and who anticipate continuing in in their faculty positions through the following academic year. Adjuncts are encouraged to apply!
Although most applications will be submitted by individuals, inter- or intra-disciplinary projects that involve two or more faculty members are also encouraged. In such cases, supporting materials should include a statement specifying whether the applicants are requesting one grant split between them or multiple parallel grants. In either case, joint applications will be judged by the same criteria as individual ones. Multiple submissions of proposals by the same person(s) in a single year are also encouraged.
Fund Period
The grant award period is July 1 through June 30th of the next year, with the new tool or strategy being implemented in a class taught in the academic year (summers included). Fund expenses must be paid and any purchases received by the Kossen Center for Teaching & Learning no later than June 30th (the end of the fiscal year). Consultations with the Kossen Center staff related to the grant proposal may continue throughout the summer and into the following academic year as needed.
Expectations
Successful recipients will be expected to:
- Spend awarded funds as proposed through the APIL grant committee.
- Demonstrate the benefits of implementation or training. Kossen Center for Teaching & Learning staff are available to help determine effective, evidence-based strategies assessing their new tool or strategy.
- Submit a one-page report to the director of the Kossen Center after the fund period is complete. The report should explain the goal of their project, what was done, the assessment process and outcomes, and the likelihood of continuing with the new strategy or tool in the future. Reports on projects undertaken in the fall semester are due by February 28 during the following Spring semester and reports for spring or summer projects are due by September 30.
- Share what they learn with the wider community. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways, including but not limited to: submitting an article for publication, presenting at a disciplinary or pedagogical conference or at an MUW faculty development workshop, contributing to the Kossen Center’s web resources, etc.
Please Note: Faculty who wish to make student data public as part of this dissemination need to obtain IRB approval.
Selection Criteria
The most competitive applications will be those that:
- Articulate a single pedagogical innovation and clear rationale for trying it;
- Directly affect the student learning experience;
- Demonstrate a clear need for the proposed grant-funded activities / items (i.e., funded materials are not available through existing campus resources or through regular professional and/or course development funds in the home department); and
In the event that the KCTL is not able to fully fund all eligible proposals in a given year they may grant partial awards and/or prioritize proposals from faculty who have not received APIL grant funding in the previous two years.
Application Guidelines
Please include the following items in your proposal. Proposals should be no longer than two pages, excluding the budget.
- Project Summary: clear, detailed description of what new strategy/tool/etc. you will try and how it will affect student learning;
- Goals and Objectives: describe your project goals and how the new tool/innovation/etc. will help you to achieve those goals;
- Support: identify where you will obtain any additional training and/or support needed to accomplish your goals and objectives;
- Evaluation: explain how you will measure the effects of your project and how you will define a successful outcome;
- Budget: a detailed, line-item budget for the project’s expenses (purchases made with University funds are tax exempt);
- Budget Narrative: clearly explain and justify each cost.
Please complete the Teaching & Learning Fund application form and attach your proposal and budget by no later than the following deadlines for full consideration:
Apply for the Teaching & Learning Fund
- Fall Semester (for use in fall or spring 2023-24): Application deadline is 11:59 p.m. on September 31, 2023
- Spring Semester (for use by June 30 2024): Application deadline is 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2024
Applications will continue to be reviewed until funds are exhausted.