This definition allows for the systematic study of teaching and learning in any discipline and the use of various methodologies and epistemologies. SoTL at WCU encompasses:

• course-based research
• program-based research or evaluation
• research on teaching and learning in out-of-class experiences, including service learning, internships, and co-curricular activities

SoTL can be quantitative or qualitative in nature. It must be peer-reviewed and made public via presentation, performance, juried show, and/or publication.

Awards

Four to six awards of between $500 and $2000 will be made. Funds may be used for printing, materials, travel, student assistance, and related expenses.

Desired Outcomes of the Donors

The following is excerpted from the Donors’ Statement of Intent and Gift Agreement:

In making this significant investment in Western, the Donors seek to strengthen the Coulter Faculty Center and the University by providing funding that will encourage faculty members and/or graduate students to engage in applied research regarding (the) SoTL.

Pedagogy (or androgogy) is to be the central focus of the gift’s use, applied to the study and enhancement of classroom, lab, and field teaching. Projects supported by the fund should test and/or apply innovative and enhancing strategies and practices of teaching where the focus is on the personal interaction of the professor and the learner. Studies may involve technology in a variety of forms, but the emphasis is to be on teachers/learners rather than technologies – the outcomes rather than the medium (emphasis added).

Studies should add to the body of knowledge for SoTL. In the Donors’ opinion, it is the professor who finds ways to motivate the learner to want to learn, and the professor who makes the indelible imprint on the learner.

Eligibility

All current full-time tenured and tenure-track members of the faculty, full-time members of the faculty with fixed-term appointments, part-time and adjunct faculty, EPA staff with teaching or teaching support responsibilities, and graduate teaching assistants are eligible.

Responsibilities of Grant Recipients

1. Participate in SoTL events and activities
2. Submit, electronically, to the SoTL Grants Committee a brief progress report (1-2 pages) on the status of the project to the SoTL Grants Committee by January 14, 2010
3. Submit, electronically, to the SoTL Grants Committee a summary report on the status and outcomes of the project to the SoTL Grants Committee by June 15, 2010

Selection Criteria

1. Project design clearly meets the criteria for a SoTL project as defined above
2. Project uses appropriate methodology for studying the teaching-learning issue or problem posed
3. Project proposal includes discussion of how outcomes can be utilized to improve teaching
4. Project is ethically appropriate in terms of use of participants

Application Materials and Procedure

Send the following materials as e-mail attachments to Laura Cruz (lcruz@email.wcu.edu),  Faculty Fellow for SoTL, by March 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM:

1. A cover page with name, department, and contact information of applicant(s) and project title
2. A narrative addressing the criteria (1 double-spaced pages)
3. A relevant literature review with reference list (1 double-spaced pages)
4. Specific, possible presentation, performance, or publication outlets
5. A proposed budget with reasons for expenditures
6. Brief, optional appendices (e.g., draft of questionnaire/focus questions or course portfolio outline)
7. A statement of support from department head or program supervisor

Timeline

• Proposals are due March 16, 2009 by 5:00 PM 
• Award winners will be announced at the Faculty Appreciation Banquet
• Funds will be available July 1, 2009
• Funds must be spent by June 15, 2010

For examples of SoTL projects at WCU, refer to “Case Studies of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Western Carolina University,” the most recent booklet in the Coulter Faculty Center’s Renaissance of Teaching & Learning booklet series.