The Office of the Provost has announced the second round of grant recipients for the Course Improvement Grant and Educational Advancement Fund that was established in March. Thirteen faculty members across six of Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges will receive support for their teaching.
“The diversity of the projects reflects creativity and passion for teaching and learning. All of the projects showed an eagerness to support students in innovative ways, and I am happy that the faculty have this opportunity,” said Julaine Fowlin, assistant director of the Center for Teaching. “Two of the Educational Advancement Fund projects are expansions of previously awarded Course Improvement Grants. This evolution is amazing and illustrates the impact of these internal grants. I am excited to co-lead the learning community, and can’t wait to see their impact.”
The Educational Advancement Fund provides faculty with additional funds to support excellence in the classroom through continued pedagogical advancement and long-term educational transformation. The key criterion is that proposals promise long-term educational effects not only for the applicant, but also for the larger Vanderbilt teaching community.
Course Improvement Grants aim to promote excellence in teaching within a single course (or course section). Funding is used to support activities such as acquiring or developing course-related materials and seminars and other programs to improve the quality of teaching, studies and experimental tests of new instructional methods and programs.
For more information about the teaching grants, including eligibility standards, proposal requirements and funding guidelines, visit the program website. For a list of the inaugural round of grant recipients and details about their projects, visit the CFT website. The next funding round will occur in spring 2022.
Grant awardees and funding application focus
Educational Advancement Fund
- Tucker Biddlecombe, associate professor of choral studies; “Choral library: Modernizing for equity”
- Lily Claiborne, principal senior lecturer in earth and environmental sciences; “Learning through community engagement in earth and environmental sciences”
- Raheleh Filsoofi, assistant professor of art; “Clay 3D printer: Bridging art and technology at Vanderbilt”
- Julie Johnson, professor of the practice of computer science; “Measuring the impact of peer review on learning gains”
- Neil Kelley, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences; “Revitalizing Vanderbilt EES teaching collections for the 21st century”
- Marci Zsamboky, assistant professor of nursing; “Utilizing a trauma-informed care approach to nurse practitioner education”
Course Improvement Grant
- Pengfei Li, senior lecturer in Asian studies; “Empowering students through digital games”
- Brenda McKenzie, associate professor of the practice of leadership, policy and organizations; “Applying developmental understanding to student initiatives for underserved populations”
- Ryan Middagh, assistant professor of jazz studies; “Jazz and global ensemble recording of new works”
- Patrick Murphy, senior lecturer in Spanish; “VR in world languages”
- Bethany Nickel, assistant professor of music; “Music classroom technology unit for MUED 3010”
- Savanna Starko, senior lecturer in physics and astronomy; “The physics of yoga: Connecting body to mind”
- Joshua White, assistant professor of finance; “Teaching assistant–case study”