Teaching Enhancement Grants
Call for Proposals
Deadline: February 14, 2022
The Center for Faculty Excellence will award up to six Teaching Enhancement grants of $1000 each for proposals aimed at increasing diversity and anti-racism awareness in course content and/or decolonizing[1] the syllabus, and/or addressing implicit or explicit biases in classroom climate and practices to improve classroom/learning experience. Proposals should address the above issues in existing multi-section courses in the Wright State Core or in common courses required by individual Colleges for a majority of their students. Successful proposals will be for projects that affect significant numbers of students and which have the support of the department chair(s) or, in the case of a College requirement, Dean, and a majority of the faculty who teach the multi-section course.
Proposal Requirements
Proposals must be made by a team consisting of faculty responsible for teaching the multi-section course(s), or curriculum or program committees with oversight of course content/design. Among otherwise equal proposals, priority will be given to those made jointly by faculty or committees from both Dayton and Lake campuses for joint implementation in shared multi-section courses. Proposals may not be simply for the creation of an online version of an existing course; however, proposals should address revision across all modes of delivery for multi-section courses that currently have multiple modes of delivery. Student engagement activities are essential components of the proposal.
Proposals should be no more than three pages in length, include a brief description of the project and its outcomes, an estimate of the number of students the plan might reach per academic year, a statement about planned assessment activities, a proposed budget, and the names of all faculty engaged in the proposed project. Attached to the proposal should be a statement by the relevant chair or dean that the revised/redesigned version of the multi-section course will be offered/assessed for a minimum of three academic years, beginning AY 2022/23.
Applicants are encouraged to review the Fall 2020 Academic Unit Anti-Racism Survey Results (PDF) prepared by the Outreach/Pedagogy Subcommittee of the University’s Racial Equity Task Force.
Budget
Funds may be spent on relevant books and training materials for use by faculty teaching multi-section courses, training of faculty and GTAs, travel to view model curricula, attendance at relevant workshops, travel between Lake and Dayton campuses for project purposes, invited speakers or specialists, or the equivalent. Funds may not be used to provide stipends to grant recipients or other Wright State employees or for refreshments or equipment for personal use by an individual faculty member.
Supplemental Budget
In the event that fewer than six grants are awarded, grant recipients may be invited to submit supplemental budget proposals.
Deliverables
A Revised multi-section course must be ready to be offered by Fall 2022, consistent with Department/College scheduling
A Midterm Progress Report is due by Wednesday, May 4, 2022 Reports should include the following information:
- A draft course plan and activities; course scheduling information for Fall 2022
- A draft assessment plan
- A midterm budget report
A Final Report is due on Friday, December 16, 2022. Reports should include the following information:
- A brief review of the perceived successes, challenges, need for improvement in the fall 2022 offerings
- List of sections offered and staffing for Fall 2022 and planned for spring 2023; sections and projected for 23-24 and 24-25, together with actual or estimated Day 14 enrollment
- Initial assessment, final assessment plan including rubrics and plan for response to assessment outcomes
- A brief statement of how newly hired faculty/GTAs will be trained for teaching this course (if applicable)
- A final budget report
Assessment
All Teaching Enhancement Grant projects must have an assessment plan to collect data demonstrating efficacy in the teaching strategies employed. Plan should be consistent with current WSU assessment guidelines and goals, but should also separately address the course’s success in increasing diversity and anti-racism awareness/decolonizing the syllabus and should include steps for responding proactively and productively to assessment data.
Sharing Outcomes with the University Community
After the first year of implementation, Teaching Enhancement Grant recipients will be invited to present on their project, implementation and outcomes at a CFE Symposium on Teaching.
[1] decolonization is the identification, interrogation, and dismantling of power structures that carry legacies of racism, imperialism, and colonialism in the production of knowledge, for example the implicit assumption that white, western intellectual traditions or forms of understanding are inherently superior or universal.
