Curriculum Development Grants

The CITL awards Curriculum Development Grants to support GW faculty for innovative projects in teaching and learning. These projects make a lasting impact on the quality of education here at GW.

For the 2008-2009 academic year, the focus will be on the development of new or the revision of existing middle-to-large enrollment undergraduate courses. Funding will be available in summer 2008 and will be given to Academic Departments that propose to implement an innovative instructional methodology to further engage students in enhancing their learning.

Call for Proposals (Application Deadline is February 29, 2008)

Academic Departments are encouraged to submit proposals that address the seven principles listed below.

For any successful undergraduate class, there are
seven principles for good practice to keep in mind:

encourage contact between students and faculty,
develop reciprocity and cooperation among students,
encourage active learning,
give prompt feedback,
emphasize time on task,
communicate high expectations, and
respect diverse talents and ways of learning.

How can you use these seven principles in teaching middle-to-large classes?

Consider:

These were proposed by Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson in their article, "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education," published in the American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, March 1987.

Part of the grant commitment will include monthly meetings throughout the year to evaluate and monitor the progress of the new or redesigned courses.

To support academic departments in this effort, the University through the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning will offer: 2 grants @ $10,000 each.

Application Procedure:

To be considered for a grant, the lead faculty member (full-time with minimum of 3 years teaching experience at GW) should submit the following information:

Name
Rank
Department
Number of years teaching at GW
New course planned or re-design of existing course planned
Signature of or email from department chair or program director indicating endorsement of the proposal.

A proposal of no more than 1,000 words should include the following information:

Project Overview (Goal and learning outcomes)
How you plan to incorporate the seven principles, described in the previous section, in the proposed new courses or re-design of existing courses
How you plan to assess the learning outcomes
How the course will be delivered (face-to-face, hybrid/blended, or fully online)
Any experience you have had with using Blackboard or other instructional technologies
Challenges you foresee
Training and resources you anticipate needing
Budget.

Faculty must agree to teach the courses during the 2008-2009 academic year.

Please submit your proposal electronically (MS-Word or Adobe Acrobat PDF) to: Yianna Vovides, Director of Instructional Design, the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning and may be reached at yvovides@gwu.edu or 202-994-5562.

Criteria for selection

Innovative and creative approaches to designing new or re-designing existing middle-to-large-enrollment courses
Successful blending of classroom and online teaching and learning
Evidence that the course(s) are likely to enhance existing methods of delivery
Indication of a long-term commitment to the proposed instructional methodology

A condition of funding will be active participation in monthly review meeting, course evaluation, assessment of learning outcomes, and presentation of efforts and results to the GW community.

Application Deadline: February 29, 2008

Departments will be notified about the outcome of their proposal by March 15, 2008.