Core and Core
Area Grant Application Instructions
Core and Core Area Grants
The purpose of Core and Core Area Grants is to support
groups of faculty to plan strategies to improve students’ higher-order thinking
skills in core and core-area courses.
(Core and Core Area courses are listed in the Undergraduate Catalog 2004-06 on pages 25-30). Core and Core Area Grants are appropriate
for groups of faculty, e.g. departments or groups of faculty who teach a core
or core area course and wish to revise that course or a module of it, in a
coordinated way, or if they want to examine their curriculum in the light of
inquiry-based teaching.
Core and Core Area grants will fund groups of faculty to
attend conferences or hold meetings or retreats to learn about and plan
inquiry-based pedagogies. Such
conferences and meetings might be held in any U.S. or Canadian city, here on
campus, or at the Gainey Center. These
grants support travel, meeting costs and supporting materials, e.g. books or a
speaker. They can also be used for
stipends.
Expectations:
Products that are expected from these grants will include
concrete plans of how to revise a course or curriculum with the kinds of
pedagogies supported by this grant.
There should also be a plan to measure the effects on student
learning. Assessment tools for this
purpose are available at www.stthomas.edu/bushgrant. Additional
assessment tools will be posted on that website as they become available.
The maximum amount for Core and Core Area Grants is $6,150
per team (calculated at Gainey rates of $205/day x 30). Available funds for both sorts of activities
in 2006-07 are $20,000.
See the document
called “General Information for All Bush Proposals” posted at www.stthomas.edu/bushgrant for
descriptions of all Bush re-grants, as well as application deadlines and
reviewers’ criteria. Submit seven
copies of your proposal. Send them
to the address on the last page.
Guidelines for Core and Core Area Grant Narrative
The proposal
narrative is expected to describe or explain the items listed below. Remember that the review committee is an
interdisciplinary group of faculty. Do not assume knowledge of the jargon or
techniques of your discipline. The
length of the narrative should not exceed four pages with a 12-point font.
1. Brief
Abstract (~200 words)
2. Rationale / Need
for the project: Describe the
teaching methodology currently used in the course(s) affected by your
project. Why are you proposing to
change? What evidence is there for the
need for the project? What aspects of
students' learning will be affected? How?
3. Goals and
Objectives: This section will state
broad project goals, but must also include specific, measurable
objectives. Your goals and objectives
must support those of the Bush grant, stated in the document on the website
called “General Information for All Bush Proposals”, at (www.stthomas.edu/bushgrant).
4. Project activities: What do you propose to do? Describe how you plan to achieve your
project's goals and objectives.
Indicate what specific products (syllabi, curricular structure, etc.)
may result from your work. Is the
project sustainable, or will it end at the end of the grant period?
5. Preparation for the project: What previous work has been done that
relates to the project? For example, team members might have attended a
conference on a particular pedagogical technique, read books or articles about
this approach, analyzed student outcomes, observed classes that employ the
methodology you wish to implement, etc.
Please be specific.
6. Evaluation: How will you assess whether you have met
your objectives? How will
you know that students’ thinking skills are improved (i.e. is there a good
evaluation plan)? (Additional assessment tools will be posted on the website
as they become available).
7. Dissemination: How will you share the results of this work
with others (1) at St. Thomas? (2) more broadly? Be specific. Some ideas:
an article for Synergia, a poster or paper presented at a disciplinary
meeting, journal articles, presentation at conferences of The Collaboration for
the Advancement of College Teaching & Learning, etc.
Core & Core Area Cover Sheet
Name:_____________________________
Dept./Program: _____________________
Mail
# ______________Phone # _________ E-mail:___________________________
UST
ID number (not SSN) (for each of the grant application authors):
________________
The
date of my initial employment at UST was: _______________________ and the
status of my present employment (tenured, tenure-track, limited term, adjunct)
at UST is: _________________________.
1. Title of proposed project:
2. Description
of project suitable for use in publicity and reporting to a general audience
(not to exceed 50 words; avoid use of jargon):
3.
Intended start date:
_______________
Project
duration (in months): ________
4. Total amount requested: ___________
5. Have you previously received Bush Grant
funds? ___ Yes ___ No
If
yes, please describe:
6. Estimate
the number of undergraduate students who will be affected by this project, e.g.
__ number of students in __ sections of a course offered __ each year = ___
2) Budget
Format page for Core and Core Area
Grants (maximum amount is $6,150 per team).
· Applicants are expected to provide
reasonably detailed estimates of all expenses.
· Capital equipment (>$500) may not be
purchased with these funds.
· The Proposal Narrative should give reviewers
adequate justification for general categories of expenses. Detailed expenses and other calculations
must be provided in a Budget Explanation.
· Other sources of funding should be detailed
in a Budget Explanation, as applicable:
· Indicate whether or not you have applied for
internal or external funding of this project in addition to UST’s Bush
Foundation grant. As appropriate, list
names of funding programs, both internal and external, and specify which expenses
those programs are expected to cover.
This should also be reflected on the Budget form and in supporting
documentation (such as a letter of commitment).
· If currently funded by any UST Bush
Foundation grants, list the grant type, year of award, and project title of
each grant received.
BUDGET ITEM Grant
Request Other Funding Total
1. Personnel / Director Stipend __________ ___________ ___________
2. Travel expenses ___________ ___________ ___________
a.
Lodging ___________
b.
Transportation ___________
c.
Meals ___________
d.
Conference Fee ___________
e.
Other (give detail) ___________
3. Supplies, e.g. books
and
refreshments ___________ ___________ ___________
4. Duplicating,
postage, telephone __________
5. Other (provide
detail) ___________ ___________ ___________
TOTAL REQUESTED: ___________ ___________ ___________
3) Grant
Application Checklist
Submit the
application to: Dr. Vanca Schrunk, Mail # JRC 432.
Check that your
application package contains seven complete, collated copies of the following:
___ A.
Cover Sheet
___ B.
Proposal Narrative
___ C. Budget Format page and Budget Explanation (not required for Seed Grants)
___ D. Copies of supporting documentation, if
applicable
___ E. Two-page vitae (not required for Core
and Core Area Grants)
___ F. Grant Application Checklist (this sheet,
signed and dated)
Other items to
acknowledge:
___ G.
Final reports
I do not have any
final reports due for previous UST Bush grants.
___ H.
Protection of Human Subjects of Research
I understand that if
my research will involve human subjects, I must seek approval from UST's
Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research
(IRB) before beginning the project. See the IRB website for information:
http://www.stthomas.edu/irb
___ I.
Final Report
Within three months
of my project’s completion date, I
agree to submit to Program Coordinator Vanca Shrunk (c/o Bush Grant Mail # JRC
432, idschrunk@stthomas.edu, 2-5740) the following: 1) a project evaluation
report, 2) an accounting of funds spent, and 3) assessment results. I
understand that submission of this final report is a prerequisite for any
future funding from UST’s Bush grant for Collaborative Inquiry.
Applicant
Signature:___________________________________________ Date:____________