Funding range: $7,000 - $20,000

Submission deadline: September 30, 2012

The LTO hosted an information session about the LTEF at a Faculty Conference Session with the Vice-Provost Academic on May 22, 2012. Download the slides [pdf].

Apply now!

The Learning and Teaching Office (LTO) offers grants to fund compelling new strategies which reflect Ryerson's commitment to classroom teaching of our diverse student body. The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Fund (LTEF) will be used to support and promote both better engagement in the classroom/lab/studio and scholarly research around higher education teaching.

The theme of this call for proposals is Engaging Your Students: Connect, Inspire, Motivate, and while we encourage proposals from a variety of areas in teaching and learning in higher education, we particularly encourage proposals that involve the adoption of innovative strategies and research methodologies that promote student engagement in higher education.

Learning and teaching excellence is a key priority for Ryerson, as detailed in the Academic Plan. The goals of the LTEF are to support learning and teaching excellence by increasing faculty ability to apply innovative learning strategies in the classroom, lab, studio and work placement, as well as to increase our knowledge of the scholarship of teaching. The LTEF is focused specifically on developing projects that are supported by research, have strong research methodologies and that will have long-term and high impact on the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. It is our expectation that these projects will increase Ryerson's role as a leader in education.

The funding range for this year's LTEF will be restricted to projects of $7,000-$20,000. The total funds available for this competition are $80,000.

Recognizing that the theme of student engagement can be broad and varied, we identified various approaches that fit well within the guidelines of this LTEF call for proposals. However, we stress that submissions are not restricted to these strategies; they are guidelines only:

1. Submissions that create or use teaching methodologies in an innovative way to enhance student experience;
2. Submissions that facilitate greater faculty expertise in engaging our diverse student body
3. Submissions that build on existing knowledge of the scholarship of teaching; or
4. Submissions that lead to transfer of knowledge (e.g. presentation to the wider community, publication, conference).

Eligibility

For this round of grants, the principal investigator must be a full-time faculty member (RFA) at Ryerson University, in a department, school or academic support unit reporting to the Provost. Limited-term RFA members may also apply provided that their contract has at least two years remaining at the time of application. The start and end dates of the contract should be indicated in the application.

Evaluation Criteria

When evaluating the various submissions, the committee will use the following criteria:

1. Proposals that expand students' awareness and understanding through the use of new strategies;
2. Proposals that strengthen undergraduate teaching and learning. The proposal should include references to related literature and descriptions of methods to be used to measure the project outcomes;
3. Proposals that demonstrate the potential for long-term impact on student learning, especially those which may be adapted for use by other programs/courses;
4. Proposals that demonstrate the prospect of sustainability beyond the grant, present a viable budget, and are complete at the time of submission, including the appropriate administrative approval;
5. The proposed budget is reasonable and in line with the project objectives and;
6. Proposals that are outcome-based so that success can be evaluated.

Reporting

All LTEF grant projects are monitored. Successful submissions must comply with the LTEF reporting requirements.  Specifically a mid-term report will be due on July 15th of the granting year and a final report will be due on February 28 one month after the end of the project timeline. The final report must demonstrate how the funds awarded were used to achieve the goals of the LTEF.

Download the mid-term and final report forms.

LTEF grant holders are expected to present their outcomes at the faculty conference in May 2014.

Submissions Process

Download the application forms, fill them out, and send a completed set by email to Maureen Reed, Director of the LTO at mreed@ryerson.ca.

Contact

Dalia Hanna, Manager, Teaching and Learning
Email: dhanna@ryerson.ca
Phone: 416-979-5000, Ext. 6598

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