Teaching Innovation Grants: Applications

The Provost’s Office, through the Center for Teaching and Learning, is pleased to provide Teaching Innovation Grants for Brandeis faculty and staff. These grants are intended to promote excellence and innovation in teaching by means of evidence-based practice. These grants are intended to promote excellence in teaching through the development of innovative instructional methods, new ways to assess teaching and learning, or the redesign of courses and curricula, by means of evidence-based practices. While each call for proposals suggests a particular focus, all proposals that address innovation in teaching, learning and assessment are considered.
Eligibility
All members of the Brandeis teaching community may participate in Teaching Innovation Grant projects, while the following are eligible to apply as principal investigators:
- Tenured faculty
- Tenure-Track faculty
- Contract faculty on multi-year contracts
- Part-time faculty who are contracted to teach at Brandeis during the grant year.
- Staff who have worked at Brandeis for at least one year.
Guidelines
Eligible expenses include:
- Summer stipends for planning
- Costs associated with attendance at courses, seminars, conferences, trainings, faculty development institutes or workshops
- Teaching assistants or student workers
- Publications about teaching and learning
- Travel (when approved given COVID restrictions) and admissions fees (e.g., for museums, sites, archives)
- Supplies for reading groups
- Evaluators
The following are not eligible expenses for Teaching Innovation Grant funds:
- Food
- Academic year salary
- Equipment
Budget Guidelines
- Stipends are usually $1,000 - $2,500 per person, depending on the amount of work involved.
- Calculate student wages according to your department’s or program’s guidelines.
- Download and complete the budget spreadsheet to submit with the application. It includes information about the fringe costs that apply to the project.
Eligible expenses include:
- Summer stipends for planning
- Costs associated with attendance at courses, seminars, conferences, trainings, faculty development institutes or workshops
- Teaching assistants, research assistants or student workers
- Publications about teaching and learning
- Travel (when approved given COVID restrictions) and admissions fees (e.g., for museums, sites, archives)
- Supplies for reading groups
- Evaluators
The following are not eligible expenses for Teaching Innovation Grant funds:
- Food
- Academic year salary
- Equipment
Criteria for Selection
A selection committee consisting of the executive director, Center for Teaching and Learning, representatives from the Committee on Teaching, Learning and Assessment, former Teaching Innovation Grant recipients, representatives from each school and division, a graduate student and undergraduate student will review proposals and make their recommendation to the Provost. They will evaluate proposals according to these criteria.
- the significance of the project and scale of the need
- the viability of the timeline and budget
- how Brandeis students and educators will benefit from the project
- what artifacts and measures will fully capture and communicate the project’s impact
- how the project’s findings and materials can serve the Brandeis teaching/learning community and any communities beyond Brandeis
Project Support
The Center for Teaching and Learning staff, CTL Mentors and Partners offer a variety of instructional design and other services to help you plan, design and implement your innovation. Any questions should be directed to ctl@brandeis.edu.