Guidelines for Preparation of
Belmont Teaching Center Time Outs for
2010-2011
What is a Belmont Teaching Center Time Out?
A "Time Out" is a one-course reduction for one semester or a summer stipend of up to $2000 to enable a faculty member to develop some aspect of his or her teaching. This call for proposals is for projects that will take place during summer 2010, or fall or spring semesters, 2010-2011.
Who is Eligible to Apply?
Any full time faculty member at Belmont University may apply for a Time Out. Faculty may submit individual proposals or may collaborate with others on a group proposal. For a group proposal, please be clear about individual responsibilities within the proposal.
What Can You Propose to Do?
Teaching Center Time Out proposals must fall into at least one of the two categories below:
- Scholarship of Teaching/Learning projects. Ernest Boyer helped introduce the language associated with a scholarship of teaching in Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. See the Appendix in the Faculty Handbook for “A Brief on the Boyer Taxonomy of Scholarship”, including the scholarship of teaching. A well defined research project that will enhance the scholarship of teaching may investigate, among many possibilities, the following:
- Effectiveness of a teaching strategy
- Accuracy of a measure of student learning
- Attitudes and dispositions of teachers and/or students
If a project requires Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, the approval should be included as part of the application.
- New approaches to teaching courses at all levels (general education, upper-level undergraduate, graduate). These new approaches may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Course design using active learning, inquiry-based learning, service-learning, technology, or other innovation
- Course format, including team-teaching or other collaborative methods, technology, time and site changes that significantly impact the pedagogy and design of a course.
- Implementation of courses associated with the BELL Core Curriculum.
To see examples of successful projects, visit our web site at http://www.belmont.edu/tcenter. (This website is undergoing renovation and construction; if you’re not able to find what you need, please come by the Teaching Center.)
What Must a Proposal Include?
Proposals must not exceed 5 pages, single-spaced, in a 10-point font or larger. Each proposal must include the following information in the following sequence. Only complete proposals will be considered.
1. Complete Cover Sheet
2. A project title and a short (150 words or fewer) abstract suitable for distribution to the Belmont community or to be used in press releases, should the proposal be funded.
3. A statement of purpose describing the goals of the project, including the importance of the topic being investigated for scholarship of teaching projects, or the specific course or courses that would be affected, the reasons you want to employ the changes or new strategy, and how the project is likely to benefit student learning.
4. A description of the project, including a discussion of the methods or resources to be used, the means of evaluating the success of the project, and, if a collaborative project, a plan that indicates the ways in which the participating faculty will work together.
5. A statement regarding the significance of the project with respect to departmental, school, college and university goals.
6. If appropriate for a scholarship of teaching/learning project, an indication of IRB approval.
7. A brief (100 words maximum) biographical statement for each person submitting the proposal.
Time Out proposals must be received in the Teaching Center by Monday, September 21, at 4:00pm. Please send the application electronically to Nanci Alsup at nanci.alsup@belmont.edu or hand-deliver to the Teaching Center. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. Grant recipients will be notified of their grants by mid-October.
Please note: Decisions regarding the award of Time Out Grants are difficult and typically the Teaching Center receives more applications than we are able to fund. To aid the Advisory Board and within the page limit guidelines, please address the components of the proposal as clearly and thoroughly as possible. Someone not familiar with your discipline should be able to understand your proposal. You are strongly encouraged to contact your Teaching Center Advisory Board representative regarding your proposal prior to submitting the proposal.
How Will Proposals Be Reviewed?
All proposals will be reviewed and decisions made by the Teaching Center Advisory Board. Current Advisory Board members are: Joyce Blair Crowell (CAS), Steve Simpler (Religion), Gary Garrison (COBA), David Ribar (CVPA), Dan Wujick (CEMB) and Cathy Hinton (CHS). Amy Hodges Hamilton, as Assistant Director, is an Ex Officio member. The Teaching Center Director will announce the recipients of Time Out Grants within three weeks after the application deadline.
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
1. Appropriateness of the project within Time Out Guidelines above
2. Potential of the project to enhance teaching and learning or to increase the understanding of teaching and learning
3. Originality of the project
4. Clarity of purpose and explanation of the project
5. Adequate resources for carrying out the proposed project
6. All things being equal with regard to the above criteria, priority will be given to faculty members who:
a) have not received previous Belmont Time Outs.
b) do not already have substantial funding for the project
c) can demonstrate they will have time to work on the proposed project
7. All things being equal with regard to the above criteria, the attempt will be made to balance the distribution of grants among schools and colleges and between semesters and summer grants.
8. Please note that Time Out Grants are to allow faculty TIME to work on a proposed teaching project. They are not to be used to fund travel.
Follow-up: Each grant recipient will be expected to submit a brief (one to three pages) report of the Time Out Grant project/activities to the Teaching Center describing the key points of the experience for the participant(s). The report should be submitted within two months of completion of the Time Out Grant period. The recipient may be asked to share results with other Belmont faculty members through an article in the newsletter, in a luncheon discussion group or via some other format. To be eligible for future Teaching Center grants, reports are expected from previous grants.
