1. All full-time and adjunct faculty members are eligible for the Innovation Scholar Grant, regardless of the course types (credit, non-credit).

2. No prior approval is required to apply.

3. Creativity is welcome.

4. Faculty from all disciplines are invited to participate.

5. Any proposal focused on developing or testing a curricula or teaching strategy to advance student success within the SPS educational context is acceptable. All projects should take an evidence-based approach to determine what works.

The Dean’s Office has launched the Innovation Scholar Grant to promote inventive curricular and teaching design initiates that challenge conventional educational practices and advance our understanding of teaching and learning in the SPS context. The Center for Academic Excellence and Support (CAES) operates the grant and provides consultations during each stage of the grant.

While the Dean’s Research Grant mainly focuses on scholarly and applied disciplinary research, the Dean’s Innovation Scholar Grant promotes teaching and learning innovations in the classrooms and empirical investigations on the impact of the innovations on student learning.

Grant recipients will receive $2500 to conduct an innovative teaching and learning project, and will be designated as NYU SPS’ Innovation Scholars upon the completion of the project.

Grant recipients will conduct their research ethically and legally and submit a final report by October 31, 2020. They will present their project at the SPS Teaching and Learning Symposium and Scholars’ Showcase, and appear in SPS communications, such as newsletters. We hope to see some of the projects lead to peer-reviewed publications and even external grants.

All faculty members are welcome to apply for the Innovation Scholar Grant, regardless of appointment type (full-time, adjunct) and course type (credit, non-credit).

The CAES Faculty Advisory Board will utilize an anonymous process to choose 20 grant recipients if more than 20 complete submissions are received prior to the deadline.

The proposals will be reviewed in terms of innovation, implementation, dissemination/showcase, and feasibility. Initial innovations are welcome along with more in-depth curricular strategies and instructional techniques. For more information, please read the Call for Proposals.

Example 1: This study explored how to integrate oral comment and peer review in an assignment using VoiceThread. The author conducted focus group interview, and collected students’ written work and surveys to evaluate the effect of this assignment on student learning. Click here to read more.

Example 2: To improve students’ metacognitive awareness, this study drew on Blooms’ taxonomy to guide the design of a well-balanced exam. The author compared the average performance of a class on the first and the final exam, and reported three individual students’ improvement. Guides and good practices for implementing this assessment practice are also shared. Click here to read more.

Example 3: This study examined the relationship between students’ active learning behaviors in an online learning environment and their course grades. Specifically, the authors defined students’ engagement in terms of  their interactions with an online discussion board (number of reads, posts, and in-depth posts). The interactions patterns were analyzed by gender and by grades. Click here to read more.

Example 4: In this study, the instructor used a relevant hands-on activity to gauge students’ learning and engagement with course materials. Students were asked to reflect on their experience with the activity. Themes in student responses were identified through content analysis and open coding. Click here to read more.

Example 5: This study is aimed to understand what influences students of color to enroll and remain in agriculture and related sciences degrees. The authors organized a one-hour focus group with. Students’ responses were analyzed and categorized within one of four relevant categories (passion, knowledge, advancement, connections). Click here to read more.

The deadline to submit a proposal is May 31, 2019.

Proposal submission deadline: May 31, 2019

Grant award notification date: June 28, 2019

Project implementation: September 1, 2019 – August 31, 2020

Summary report submission deadline: October 31, 2020

NYU SPS Teaching and Learning Symposium and Scholars’ Showcase: October, 2020

Proposals with research that involves human subjects must be approved by NYU’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure the safety and appropriate use of human subjects in research studies. For this type of studies, funds will be distributed after IRB approval. CAES will advise and support all grant recipients who request IRB support. .

To apply for IRB approval you will need to register for Cayuse, take CITI Training, and submit an application via Cayuse IRB. Further instructions can be found here. CAES is also here to support grant recipients in preparing their IRB application and will provide templates and reviews when requested.

CAES supports the projects upon request. Recipients are invited to voluntarily work with CAES members to: brainstorm ideas, prepare an IRB application, design methodology and instruments, collect and analyze data, and disseminate results to a wide audience. CAES’ support services for this grant are free of charge. CAES coordinates with other units to ensure the grant funds are fairly distributed and effectively used. Simply send a note the the CAES alias with your idea and a request to discuss or simply to discuss and brainstorm about an idea: caes.sps@nyu.edu and we will respond within 48 hours. Or feel free to reach out to Wenjuan Li directly at wl52@nyu.edu.