Provost's Initiative on Teaching Advancement (PITA)
Request for Proposals Due Friday, May 2, 2008
Since 1998, the Office of the Provost and the Teaching Advancement Board (TAB) have sponsored the Provost's Initiative on Teaching Advancement (PITA). The purpose of this communication is to request proposals for projects that will begin during the 2008-09 academic year.
The Initiative
PITA grants enable recipients to design, implement, and assess instructional innovation that has a high probability of enhancing education at Illinois. The projects most likely to be funded are those that clearly align with priorities established in the Campus Strategic Plan. Activities that may be supported by PITA grants include:
- Projects that strengthen excellence in instruction by way of teacher-to-teacher mentoring and evaluation. Proposals that involve one or more of the college Teaching Academies are especially encouraged.
- Projects that improve existing courses. Viable improvements include the incorporation of innovative educational technologies, or the development of community-engagement opportunities.
- Development of new courses and pilot classes that are intended to become part of the core curriculum of a department or program.
- Instructional research that examines the effectiveness of some aspect of instructional practice or that develops methods to measure instructional effectiveness. One form of instructional research is known as the scholarship of teaching and learning, or SoTL. The Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is a national resource for scholars at Illinois interested in SoTL, as is the campus SoTL Community that is sustained by the Center for Teaching Excellence. A list of SoTL journals is available on the CTE website.
PITA funding is not available to support the redesign of highly specialized courses, the development or adoption of course software, the purchase of laboratory equipment, or the acquisition of computers, displays, projection equipment, or printers. CITES EdTech (Educational Technologies) should be contacted for information related to classroom technologies. Proposals for teaching-related travel or workshops may be submitted to the TAB Teaching and Workshop Grants Program.
In partnership with the Center for Teaching Excellence, PITA also provides limited support to units that would benefit from CTE’s staff expertise once a proposal is funded.
Objectives
The objectives of PITA are:
(a) To support the ongoing improvement of instruction on campus, including that delivered by teaching assistants and non-tenure system faculty.
(b) To support the implementation of teaching enhancements (not including equipment).
(c) To encourage the development of multiple, discipline-appropriate assessment alternatives (e.g., teaching portfolios, peer evaluation, and mentoring programs), and the dissemination of successful models to other units for use in support of teaching improvement.
(d) To seek broad participation from the many disciplines across campus.
(e) To share results with the campus community.
Terms
Any college, school, department, instructional unit, or working group representing more than one academic unit may apply, as may any individual instructional staff member. Each proposal must be endorsed by the appropriate unit executive officer(s) and college dean(s) (see below). Multi-unit proposals should designate a lead administrative unit.
Grants are for a one-year period.
Budgeted items may include a mixture of resources needed to complete the project, including graduate assistant support, materials and supplies, travel, faculty release time, and discretionary funds. For ongoing projects, proposals should indicate sources of continuing support once PITA funding ends.
Staff support to grant recipients may be provided by the Center for Teaching Excellence, free of cost to the recipient, if requested and approved. Applicants are encouraged to consult with CTE in the course of preparing their proposals.
Grant recipients are to provide a written midterm progress report and a final report. Final reports:
(a) Summarize the activities and results as they relate to the proposed objectives
(b) Discuss strengths and weaknesses of the results
(c) Suggest ways that the results might be replicated or improved
In addition, grant recipients are expected to participate in the Annual Faculty Retreat and PITA Colloquium, as well as multi-unit PITA working groups, including campus-wide workshops on teaching advancement, to compare experiences and share successes.
Criteria
The TAB will evaluate proposals and present recommendations for awards to the Provost. Selection criteria, expressed as questions, include:
(a) To what extent do the proposal objectives align with the priorities established in the Campus Strategic Plan?
(b) To what extent would the successful completion of the project improve the quality of teaching and learning on this campus? To that end, does the proposal include specific mechanisms for measuring improvement in teaching and learning?
(c) To what extent would the successful completion of the project contribute to knowledge about how to assess teaching effectiveness and student learning? Does the proposal describe specific approaches to measuring the enhancement of teaching effectiveness? Are these approaches clearly grounded in a disciplinary tradition of inquiry, or in inquiry practices recognized in the SoTL community?
(d) What is the likelihood that the project can be completed within the proposed time frame?
(e) How well does the budget narrative justify proposed expenditures. In particular, how necessary are expenditures for graduate assistance and faculty released time? In proposals from well resourced units or groups of units, is an appropriate level of cost-sharing documented?
(f) For projects that require sustained funding for long-term implementation, what is the likelihood that the project will receive continued support from unit or college sources once PITA funding ends? If additional developmental funding is required in future years, what external agencies will be approached for support?
Proposals
Proposals should be no longer than three pages and must include the following information:
(a) Overview or abstract of the project (a brief paragraph is preferred).
(b) Clear identification of the project objectives and how they align with the priorities established in the Campus Strategic Plan (and with college and unit elaborations of the Plan).
(c) A description of the project and a statement of its significance.
(d) Budget and justification (use the budget categories mentioned above under "Terms").
(e) Timeline for implementation of the project.
(f) Description of the project’s expected outcomes and how they will be measured.
(g) Explanation of the practical impact the project’s anticipated outcomes will have on teaching and learning at Illinois.
(h) A statement informing the TAB whether a similar funding proposal has been submitted elsewhere.
(i) A letter of endorsement from each proposer’s unit executive officer (UEO), indicating agreement that the proposal aligns with the unit’s aims within the framework of the Campus Strategic Plan, and college-level elaborations thereof. Each UEO’s cover letter should make explicit reference to the proposal’s title and the name of the lead proposer. If applicable, letters should specifically address any unit cost-sharing mentioned in the proposal’s budget.
(j) Endorsement of the lead proposer’s college dean, indicating agreement that the proposal aligns with the college’s aims within the framework of the Campus Strategic Plan. The dean’s endorsement should make explicit reference to the proposal’s title and the name of the lead proposer. It should also specifically address any college cost-sharing mentioned in the proposal’s budget.
Past or current PITA grant holders are eligible to apply.
In recent years, grants of up to $20,000 have been awarded. However, awards of around $20,000 are typically reserved for multi-unit efforts, such as those proposed by Teaching Academies or other instructional groups. The TAB reserves the right to award less than the amount requested. It can be expected that 5-7 grant awards will be made for projects to be completed in 2008-09.
Applicants are invited to address questions to Associate Provost Fellow Peter Mortensen (333-7175), to TAB co-chairs Nan Goggin and Nicholas Petruzzi, or to any other member of the TAB. The Board reserves the right to work with applicants to refine the program of work.
Submission
To apply, one paper copy of the proposal should be sent to PITA, Teaching Advancement Board, 204 Swanlund Administration Building, MC-304, by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 2, 2008. Be sure that the proposal includes contact information for the lead proposer (e-mail address, telephone number, and fax number).
Timeline
PITA awards for 2008-09 will be announced the week of June 2, 2008. Project implementation can be effective as early as Summer 2008 and last up to one year.