Overview
Teaching & Learning Innovation proudly announces the Cultivating Excellence in Teaching (CET) Grant, an initiative designed to support departments to enhance teaching excellence by focusing on one or more of UTK’s four Teaching Principles:
- Clarity in design and communication of course content, policies, and standards
- Approachability, empathy, and respect for all students
- Engaging and student-centered classroom teaching
- Reflective improvement of teaching practice and content knowledge
Through the CET Grant, we invite departments or colleges to propose innovative projects that reinforce these core tenets within their spheres. Grant recipients are expected to design and implement department-wide initiatives or strategies that change the culture around teaching.
Award Details
Each academic year, we will award three departments/colleges a grant of $5,000 each. This funding supports a year-long endeavor starting with planning in the fall semester followed by impactful implementation in the spring.
Recipients of CET grants aren’t just given funds; they’re provided with TLI support for success. A dedicated member from TLI will be assigned to each awarded department, offering expertise and guidance throughout the program’s duration.
Program Structure
Fall Semester
- Department crafts intervention strategies and establishes an assessment plan
- TLI provides ongoing support related to choosing appropriate strategies, planning implementation, and designing assessment
- TLI provides support for completing the IRB process to facilitate future presentations or publications based on assessment data
Spring Semester
- Department begins implementation and gathering assessment data
- Depending on the scale of the project, the spring may be used for a pilot
- TLI provides ongoing support related to roll out and assessment
Summer
- Department reviews assessment data and begins analysis
- TLI provides ongoing support related to data analysis and plans for continued success of the interventions
Eligibility
Any college or department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is eligible to apply. The application should be submitted by an appropriate member of the department administration with the ability to affect change across the department (e.g., Director of Undergraduate or Graduate Studies, Associate Dean for Faculty Development) and after discussion with and approval by the department head or dean.
Why Apply?
Participating in CET is about making a lasting impact on how a department delivers their curriculum and supports their faculty. Through CET, departments have the opportunity to lead their faculty in pioneering pedagogical enhancements and to leverage assessment data for scholarly dissemination.
- Clarity in design and communication of course content, policies, and standards
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- Creating a departmental curriculum map for all majors and minors and creating course maps to ensure alignment across each course and the program as a whole
- Approachability, empathy, and respect for all students
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- Collaborating on a set of department-wide inclusive teaching principles to be integrated into every course, training faculty on how to implement them, and revising all courses/syllabi accordingly
- Engaging and student-centered classroom teaching
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- Training faculty on problem-based learning (PBL) strategies and incorporating PBL into all graduate courses
- Reflective improvement of teaching practice and content knowledge
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- Establishing an on-going, department-wide faculty development program that provides faculty with specific time and directed opportunities to reflect on their teaching practices, receive feedback from others, and make plans for improvement
- All Teaching Principles
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- Revising faculty evaluation protocols and systems to reflect the Teaching Principles
Application Process
Applications for the 2024-2025 grants are now open and will close on September 18, 2024.
Are you ready to champion one of UT’s teaching principles within your department? Apply now and let’s work together toward advancing excellence in teaching through shared values and collective efforts!
Apply for CET