Instructional Innovation Grants

Instructional Innovation Grants provide financial support for instructors interested in enhancing their teaching for inclusive teaching excellence.

Overview

This grant will provide funding for a variety of professional development and curricular activities. Proposals that demonstrate sustainable and interdisciplinary benefits to teaching and learning at Illinois State will have priority for funding.

Expenses eligible for reimbursement by this grant program include:

• course materials to support instructional innovations
• tools to integrate innovative technology into the curriculum
• registration for discipline-specific professional development opportunities that enhance teaching
• registration fee attending or presenting at a professional conference focused on teaching and learning
• up to $200 honorarium for a speaker (2 speakers maximum per semester) who contributes to ongoing discussions central to course content and student learning

Important note: If funding is being requested to purchase software or online services for teaching and learning, it needs to go through university procurement and data security processes. 

Request Timing

Grant applications are reviewed rolling basis until all the funding is dispersed in the academic year.

Eligibility

All with teaching responsibilities at Illinois State University are eligible to apply for these funds. Individuals are eligible to receive one Instructional Innovation Grant each semester, contingent on available funding for the fiscal year. An individual may apply multiple times if not funded for earlier applications. Recipients of prior Center for Integrated Professional Development grants who have failed to meet grant obligations are ineligible.

Conditions of the Grant

Acceptance indicates agreement to submit a report (detailed below). This process will help us share outcomes of Center grants to the ISU community. Reports will be posted on the Center's website. Completion of this condition is required to remain eligible for future grants.

Grant reports (200-300 words) should include:

• A brief description of the grant-related event, activity, or project.
• A summary of your grant project's outcomes could integrate findings from data collected using the assessment method(s) identified in your grant proposal.
• A brief reflection of how the grant activities have affected your teaching practices and student learning.

Application

Applications should be submitted online and include the following:

Project overview and outcomes
Describe the specific pedagogical need or innovation that your project will address. Additionally, describe the specific outcomes you expect from your project and how you measure the outcomes.

Assessment
Describe your plan to assess the outcomes of your project and its impact on student learning (e.g., what data might you collect and how would you use it). (200 word limit)

FITE Dimensions
Describe how your project aligns with one or more dimensions from the Framework for Inclusive Teaching Excellence.

Equity
Include your reflection on how this project affects students from diverse backgrounds and how you’d address inequities this project may produce.

Dissemination
Describe your plan to disseminate your findings from this project.

Sustainability
Discuss the impact on students beyond one class or a semester.

Additional Support
Describe whether the project described in this grant application requires support from the school, department, college, or university. If additional support from campus entities is required, please include the statement of support from the respective entities. For example, if technical support is required, please include the statement of support from the college IT departments.

Budget
Itemize the amounts for various expense categories (e.g., contractual, or commodities expenses, registration fees, etc.).

Please specify the dollar amount sought from each identified funding source. 

Note: Proposals should address these components using clear, jargon-free language that will allow the reviewers, who are likely not specialists in your discipline, to understand exactly what innovation you are considering, how it will impact your teaching and student learning, how you will assess that impact, and so on.

Evaluation Criteria

The reviewers at the Center (or designated external reviewers) will evaluate applications based on an evaluation rubric.

Questions?

Email ProDev@ilstu.edu for assistance.