Improving Student Learning Grants

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Applications are sought for the Semester 2, 2009 round of Improving Student Learning (ISL) Grants, for projects to be undertaken in Semester 1, 2010. The ISL Grants program provides small grants to encourage teachers to make practical and innovative changes to their units in order to improve current practice. There are no strict guidelines on what ‘changes’ might qualify, although the proposal must fall within the aims of the grants program and will ideally represent an inventive approach to teaching, with positive and identifiable impacts of student learning.

This program is distinct from other teaching and learning grants programs conducted by the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) in that these grants are intended to have immediate outcomes and are expected be implemented within a semester.

Funding will be awarded for four to five projects each semester to a maximum of $3000 each. A committee of staff from CATL will evaluate the applications and award the grants.

To encourage applicants to put forward their ideas, there is the option of submitting a brief Expression of Interest (EOI) paper. EOI’s will be reviewed by the selection committee and competitive applicants will be invited to submit a more detailed proposal and budget outline. Applicants who would prefer to bypass this intermediary stage and submit a full proposal directly are welcome to do so. The EOI is intended to allow applicants to venture new ideas and receive feedback on their proposed innovations before developing a detailed proposal outlining the mechanics of the project.

EOI’s are due on the 11th of September 2009
Full proposals are due on the 9th of October 2009

Aims of the Grants Program

The broad aim of the Improving Student Learning Grants Program is to improve the quality of the student learning experience at UWA. It is expected that the innovation will be planned to bring immediate and ongoing benefit to students, with potential longer-term benefits for the discipline and wider university teaching community.

In addition, the program encourages engagement by staff in the scholarship of teaching and learning by requiring successful applicants to present the project outcomes in a public forum.

Priority will be given to projects with clear outcomes for Student Learning.

Grants will not be awarded for activities that would ordinarily be part of the teaching process: updating unit material or placing material on WebCT, for instance. The grants will not generally support teaching relief.

ISL Grants will also not normally support applications where the primary aim is the purchase of equipment (i.e. video cameras or specialist items) and not curricular innovation.

The grants are intended to set up initiatives which are self-sustaining, and will not require substantial financial support to continue in subsequent years. However, the committee may, on occasion, consider pilot projects.

Previous successful projects include:

Professor Lyn Abbott, Earth & Geographical Sciences: Introducing 'deep learning' concepts to Level 1 students as a means of integrating teaching across discipline areas covered in ENVT 1102 Ecosystems Processes

Dr Brad Stappenbelt, Oil & Gas Engineering: Improving the communication skills of engineering students through the implementation of an English language communication stream within the professional development component of the degree

Dr Peter Arthur, Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences: Introducing contemporary laboratory practicals to engage students in research methodology currently emerging in the life sciences and emphasize the relevance of classroom concepts

Eligibility

The Program is open to all staff (individuals or small teams) involved in teaching, including full-time, part-time, sessional and affiliated staff (including postgraduate students). For non-ongoing staff, Heads of School must indicate that the applicant will be employed in teaching at UWA during the period of the grant.

Expression of Interest

For those applicants wishing to take advantage of the EOI stage, an outline of no more than one page will be submitted to the review committee. Potential applicants are encouraged to think creatively about their units, as well as the innovative programmes, processes and practices that might be established with the aid of an ISL Grant, and to put forward their ideas in an EOI. The EOI should outline:

• The nature of the project;
• How the project represents an innovative approach to student learning;
• The breadth of the project’s impact: which and how many students will be effected by the grant;
• The project’s sustainability.

The EOI should be forwarded to Stacey Fox (stacey.fox@uwa.edu.au ) at CATL by the 11th of September. There is a pro forma for an EOI on the CATL website.

Following a review process, and where appropriate, applicants will be invited to submit full proposals outlining the project in more detail, addressing the Project Criteria outlined below, and including a realistic budget and cost justification.

Acceptance of the EOI does not guarantee that a grant will be awarded, but CATL staff and faculty CATLysts will be available to work with successful applicants and help them put together a full grant proposal.

Full Proposals and Project Criteria

The full proposal involves a two-page application form, plus budget outline, which will be due by the 9th of October 2009. Application forms will be available at www.catl.uwa.edu.au/islgrants.

Proposals will be assessed on the extent to which the project addresses the following:

• A plan of action achievable in a short timeframe (usually one semester, but over a maximum of one academic year);
• The innovation or strategy can be reasonably expected to have a positive impact on student learning outcomes;
• The project is self-sustaining and will not require substantial financial support to continue in subsequent years;
• A method to monitor and evaluate the project outcomes; and
• A plan to disseminate the project outcomes (for instance, through participating in the annual Teaching and Learning Forum or publishing the results in a teaching and learning journal).

Applications must also have the support of the Head of School.

Successful proposals will take into consideration each of these criteria. Making reference to the Teaching and Learning Priorities in the Operational Priorities Plan may also enhance your application. Applicants may seek input from their faculty CATLyst who may provide assistance in developing the project and seeking ways of embedding the project outcomes within the faculty and across faculties.

Further Information

A short report must be submitted to CATL within two months of completion of the project (max. 500 words plus budget acquittal statement, with unused funds returned to CATL). The report must include how the outcomes of the project have been/will be disseminated.

To promote the scholarship of teaching and learning, grant recipients are also required to present their projects at a seminar during Teaching Month and are encouraged to make at presentation at the annual Teaching and Learning Forum (WA combined universities event) or other public forum/conference, and contribute a short article for a CATL publication.

* note: Any on-going cost implications beyond the duration of the project should be accommodated within the resources of the applicant’s School.