BTO Grant
Guidelines for Preparation of Belmont Teaching Center Time Out
Grants.
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.
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.
What Can You Propose to Do?
Teaching Center Time Out proposals must fall into at least one of the two categories below:
1. 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, problem-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.
Examples:
Click here to see examples of successful projects.
2. Scholarship of Teaching/Learning projects. Quantitative or qualitative research on a topic in teaching/learning. A well-defined research project which 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
Example:
One example of a successful application that led to a productive project is described in Pete Giordano's and Elizabeth Hammer's 'Pedagogical and Practical Issues in Dual-Gender Team-Teaching Human Sexuality.'
Click here to read their presentation (also found in the October, 1998 edition of The Art of Teaching).
What Must a Proposal Include?
Proposals must not exceed 5 pages, single-spaced, in a font at least 10 pts. in size. Each proposal must include the following information in the following sequence. Only complete proposals will be considered.
1. Complete Cover Sheet (click here: Belmont Time Out Grant 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 specific course or courses that would be affected, the reasons you want to employ the changes or new strategy, how the project will benefit student learning, or, for scholarship of teaching projects, the importance of the topic being investigated.
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 in respect to departmental, school, and university goals.
6. A brief biographical statement of the person or persons submitting the proposal.
You must submit seven copies of the proposal to the Teaching Center by November 29, 2000. Late submissions will not be accepted.
How Will Proposals Be Reviewed?
All proposals will be reviewed and decisions made by the Advisory Board of the Teaching Center. The final selection of Belmont Time Outs will be announced by the Director of the Teaching Center by (approximately one week after deadline).
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
1. Appropriateness of the project within Time Out description above.
2. Potential of the project to enhance teaching and learning or to increase the understanding of teaching and learning.
3. Originality of project
4. Clarity of purpose and explanation of the project 5. Adequate resources for carrying out the proposed project.
6. All things being equal in regard to the above listed criteria, priority will be given to faculty members who have not received previous Belmont Time Outs.
7. All things being equal in regard to the above listed criteria, the attempt will be made to balance the distribution of grants among schools and between semesters and summer grants.
Click here to download a Belmont Time Out application (PDF).
Following are some PDF links to successful grants proposals.
