Teaching Scholarship Awards

Teaching Scholarship Awards will be available annually to students who have an ability to create and present excellent short courses.  Applications will be prioritized based on needs expressed by the VIMS/SMS graduate student body (as determined by polling, see below) and the quality of the proposal submitted.  Typically the funded courses will not be available within the regular curriculum.  

The awards are intended to (1) foster teaching excellence in topic areas needed by the VIMS/SMS graduate community, (2) visibly emphasize that VIMS/SMS recognizes and supports teaching excellence, and (3) enhance a student's teaching credentials.

It is anticipated that three to five awards will be made each year, with awards ranging from $250 to $1000.  

Awards may be used to cover reasonable costs of developing materials and executing a short course.  At the completion of the course, the recipient is expected to submit the final syllabus and supporting materials to the [[ad-as,Office of Academic Studies]] for archiving.  Evaluations of the course and instructor(s) by student participants will also be required using a survey instrument developed and distributed at the conclusion of the course by the Office of Academic Studies.

The following topics (in priority order) were suggested in student polling conducted during Spring 2012:

• Graphing/Figures
• R programming
• Basic map-making in GIS
• Working with large data sets/data mining
• Bibliographical tools
• Ordination & similar multivariate statistics
• Analytical chemistry (when to use which instrument)
  
• Advanced Excel
• Matlab programming
• Poster preparation 
• Advanced Acces
• Laboratory skills (microscope)

The preferred formats are: once a week (over several weeks, as necessary), over a weekend, daily during summer.

Proposals for courses to be offered in late May - June 2012 must be submitted by 23 April 2012.  The target date for award announcements is 4 May 2012.

Proposals for courses to be offered between 1 July and 15 December 2012 must be submitted by 21 May 2012.  The target date for award announcements is 1 June 2012.  Awards for these proposals will be contingent on the availability of funds for the upcoming fiscal year.  

Potential contributors are strongly encouraged to contact the Associate Dean with a short statement of intent before developing a proposal. Applications will be reviewed and prioritized by a student committee. Student committee members for 2012 are Jenna Luek, Kathryn Sobocinski and Lori Sutter.  Final funding decisions will be made by the Associate Dean.  While the intent is to follow the prioritization provided by the committee, review by the Associate Dean will include consideration of milestone status.  An applicant should be in good academic standing and up-to-date or very close on milestones.  

Application Guidelines:

Applications should be 3-5 pages (including cover page, but not including budget or CV), single spaced (12 pt. Times New Roman or similar), and must include the following:

1. Cover page with name(s) and affiliations of the proposed instructor(s), the submission date, and the name of a faculty member who is willing to act as a teaching mentor.  Both the student(s) and the faculty member must sign the cover sheet (1 page).  The original cover sheet, with signatures, should be submitted to Fonda Powell by the due date.
2. An introduction that explains the need for the course, the basic course structure, and the rationale for the structure (1 page maximum)
3. A narrative discussing the relevant expertise of the proposed instructor(s) (1 page maximum)
4. A syllabus (1-2 pages), which at a minimum should include learning objectives and a list of topics to be covered.
5. An itemized budget for the proposed course followed by a budget justification (1 page maximum) Note: It is the instructor's responsibility to ensure that all resources are made available for teaching the course and that costs do not exceed the award amount (additional guidelines will be provided)
6. Instructor CV(s) (2 page maximum)

Proposals should be sent in pdf format to [[ad-as,Office of Academic Studies]] by 5 pm on the due date.

Web resources:

What does your syllabus say about your course?

Five Key Principles of Active Learning

On the Cutting Edge: Designing Effective and Innovative Courses  [Note: webinar on this topic will be available 10 April 2012 - AH423, 1:30 - 2:30 pm]

On the Cutting Edge: Course Design Tutorial Synopsis