Communities Initiative

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching's Communities Initiative is funded by a grant from The Bush and William & Flora Hewlett foundations.

About The Initiative

All Xavier faculty are invited to submit proposals for projects that will begin in spring 2005 and last either two semesters or one semester and the summer.

The Communities Initiative supports two types of communities:

  1. Teaching communities. Discipline-based or interdisciplinary groups of faculty and students will investigate specific teaching and learning problems and opportunities. Projects could address, for example, curriculum changes, improving student skills in critical thinking, or writing in the discipline, or could target specific learning objectives and assessment strategies.
  2. Research communities. Again, discipline-based or interdisciplinary groups of faculty and students will pursue traditional scholarship or the scholarship of teaching.

Ideally, a community comprises at least two faculty members and students. If your community departs significantly from the "ideal community" described above, please contact Todd Stanislav at ext. 7692 or send an e-mail.

Each funded project will proceed through two phases:

Note that funding for Phase II is contingent upon successful completion of Phase I and may be subject to review by the Center's Faculty Advisory Group. Funded faculty will submit progress and final reports that may be posted on the Center's website.

Funded faculty are required to attend occasional meetings to share their progress and discuss emerging issues.

Support

Support for faculty includes two semesters of $600 stipends, or a summer stipend of $2,000 and a semester stipend of $600.

Support for students includes two semesters of $250 stipends, or a summer stipend of $1,000 and a semester stipend of $250.

Proposal Guidelines

We strongly recommend that the faculty and students who will participate in the project collaborate in writing the proposal.

Each proposal should include the following components. Because of the possible differences between a teaching and research communities, specific information requested below may have more relevance to one or the other community.

Abstract

  • This should not exceed one page. The abstract (or a portion of it) will be used to announce awardees and to describe their projects.
  • Who are the members of the community? Is it a teaching or research community?
  • Give an overview of the project, indicating, in brief, what you intend to do, and why.

Design And Development

  • What are the specific goals, as they relate to teaching and learning, or research? What teaching, student learning, or research outcomes are anticipated?
  • If a course is involved, how is the course presently taught and what changes does the community wish to make? How will these changes contribute to the overall teaching and learning objectives of the course?
  • Include a detailed timeline or schedule of specific activities for both development and student use of the project.

Project Evaluation

  • Describe the means or methods by which you will measure the impact of the project on teaching and/or student learning. What data will you collect?
  • Do you have any previous assessment data which could be used as a baseline? If so, please describe.
  • Specifically, how will you evaluate the overall success of the project?

Dissemination Plan

  • Provide a detailed plan for making the work of the community public. Include a narrative, schedule, and budget, if appropriate.

Support Requested

  • Indicate whether you wish Phase II to occur in summer or fall 2005.
  • Does your project require the purchase of software, hardware, or other supplies or resources? Limited funds are available. Please include a budget detailing the necessary expenses for the success of your project.

Please submit 3 copies of the project proposal to the Center (P.O. Box 78). Also, please send a digital version of the proposal to the Center at cat@xula.edu. Members of the Center's Faculty Advisory Group will review applications on a competitive basis. The review is not a blind review.

If you have any questions, contact Todd Stanislav at ext. 7692 or send an e-mail.

Deadline: October 4, 2004
Applicants will receive notification of the results in early November 2004.
A part of the August 2004 RFP Multipack.