Academic Affairs

Due Date: November 15

General Information

The purpose of the fellowship is to encourage high-quality scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) that furthers the teaching mission of IU Southeast. To encourage high quality SoTL projects, full time summer support is provided through this fellowship. Half-fellowships may be awarded in special circumstances only. All IU Southeast resident faculty are eligible. This fellowship is intended to support both those who are new to SoTL as well as those who have more experience with SoTL. Support for those who are new to SoTL will assist in the establishment of a teaching portfolio. Support for those who are more experienced in SoTL will assist in reinvigorating their pedagogy as the faculty member moves into additional leadership roles on campus.

In general, there will be two Summer Faculty Fellowships for Teaching – one for those with more experience in SoTL and one for those with less experience with SoTL. The amount of the award varies, but will not exceed 20% of the individual's 10-month salary, distributed in two monthly checks at the end of June and the end of July. Awards will be capped at $8000.

Guidelines

The Improvement of Learning Committee will use the following guidelines in reviewing proposals:

1. Applications are evaluated by members of the Improvement of Learning Committee.
2. Funds are awarded for significant SoTL projects that bring innovation or new methodologies to the classroom, assess the effectiveness of these innovations or methodologies, and have the potential to enhance student learning, persistence, or success. Proposals that only involve course development or revision would not be appropriate for this fellowship.
3. All resident faculty members are eligible to apply. Partnerships with part-time and visiting faculty will be considered.
4. Publication or presentation of project results is expected. Recipients are to submit a progress report to the IOLC by October 1st of the summer following the award.
5. Fellowships will not be awarded for:
   • Work that is part of the natural evolution of a course
   • Development of courses
   • Courses that lack pedagogical innovations
   • Personal supplies
6. All deliberations are confidential. Feedback will not be given for those proposals that are denied.
7. Applicants will be notified of whether they have received the fellowship within six weeks of the application deadline. Notifications are to be made in writing by the IOLC chair.

Application

All proposals should include the following sections. Applicants may append any additional information they deem relevant.

1. An official cover sheet, which can be found on the Academic Affairs website.
2. Applicant's special competence for this project including background, preparation, training, relevant teaching experience, and presentations/publications/exhibitions. It is critical to note prior SoTL experience, including SoTL presentations and publications.
3. Previous internal and external funding received by the faculty member. Give dates and amounts for all funding. Attach progress reports for IU Southeast and IU funding and sabbatical leaves of absence. (Note: Reviewers will be interested in how well you have used previous funding, if any, and how previous projects relate to your current proposal. Mere presence or absence of previous funding is not a factor in reviewing this proposal.)
4. Two letters of support. Letters should be sent directly to the Chair of the IOLC. Letters should address the quality of the project and the qualifications of the applicant. One letter must be from the applicant's dean.

All proposals should use the following outline. Cite disciplinary or pedagogical literature where applicable.

1. Identify the student population being served, including number of students potentially reached by the results of this proposal in a given academic year.
2. Identify the teaching/learning problems the proposal addresses.
3. Identify the pedagogically relevant research hypothesis/question or creative problem to be investigated.
4. Identify the significance of the project in relation to more general problems in pedagogy or your discipline.
5. Describe the plan for assessing the eventual impact of this teaching project on student outcomes.
6. Describe your plans for dissemination of the results of the project.
7. Provide a time-line for the project from initial steps through final product and assessment, including plans for acquisition and use of technologies, and of any research instruments for assessment. This section should make the need for a summer fellowship apparent.

Criteria

The Improvement of Learning Committee will use the following criteria to assess the merit of proposals:

1. Is the significance of the problem clearly outlined?
2. Are objectives clearly stated and attainable?
3. Is the methodology appropriate?
4. Is there a clear procedure for data collection, analysis, and interpretation?
5. How will the project benefit students? The unit or school? The university?
6. Are the time requirements of the proposal suitable?
7. If the applicant has received other grant funding, is there evidence of successful completion and implementation?
8. Do the letters of support address the quality of the project and the qualifications of the applicant?
9. Does this project have potential for eventual publication within the field of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, or other potential broader dissemination for impact within the IU Southeast community?