The 2020 Remote/Blended Pedagogical Enhancement Program is intended to support departments and their faculty to coordinate, develop, and implement a plan for enhanced and innovative approaches to teaching in the remote and blended environments that also accommodates the possibility of adhering to social distancing protocols. The Academic Affairs Committee is committed to leveraging AY20/21 unused Cullen and Richardson funds toward providing faculty summer stipends in support of departments and programs striving to enhance the quality of remote/blended instruction to our students in general, and our freshman and sophomores in particular. Stipend amount will be determined by the number of departmental faculty associated with successful department/program proposals.
In response to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, the goal of the program is to improve the quality of undergraduate education through pedagogical innovation in the remote and blended learning environment in areas such as: student-centered learning, student engagement, and the incorporation of efficacious instructional technologies that improve student learning outcomes, success, and persistence.
Successful proposals will propose coordinated departmental/programmatic enhancement/modification of existing AY 20/21 first- and second- year courses and curricula in the remote and blended learning environment that are designed to:
- provide maximum flexibility and transferability in course delivery options
- increase or deepen student engagement and success in learning academic skills and course material
- identify and promote the effective use of educational technologies that support successful teaching/learning experiences for faculty and students and improve student learning outcomes, success, and persistence
- enhance faculty and student ability to use/apply course material through interactive digital tools and media
The following criteria will be used to determine the fundability of departmental/program proposals for the enhancement of remote/blended pedagogy:
- coherence, sustainability, and transferability of the department’s coordinated efforts
- incorporation of strategies to address the possibility of adhering to social distancing protocols
- potential to enhance student success and persistence, particularly for our first-year and second-year students
- incorporation of enhanced student engagement opportunities
- assessment plan
The deadline to submit proposals is Friday, May 22, 2020 at 5:00 P.M.
A complete report of the department’s/program’s workshop activities, as well as a proposed plan to assess the effectiveness of the enhancements/modifications, is due to the VPAA Office upon completion of the workshop period.