SoTL Grants

Do you want to test a possible solution to a problem that you have experienced in your teaching, try out a new teaching practice, or better understand how your students learn within your teaching context? Taking a systematic, research-informed approach to these questions, according to the principles of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), will improve your (knowledge of your) teaching practice and the learning of your students.

Background and aim

The Utrecht University Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grant aims to stimulate and support teachers that want to conduct such a systematic and meaningful inquiry of their own teaching practice. Teachers are invited to examine their own classroom practice, improve the learning of their students, record their successes and failures, and importantly also share their experiences so that others may reflect on their findings. The SOTL Grants are intended for all teachers, starting and more experienced, and you can apply for small (e.g. one lecture or seminar) and somewhat larger (e.g. a whole course or significant part of a course) projects that you are involved in. 

The main requirements are that the application is related to your own classroom practice, and it concerns a systematic, research informed (SoTL) approach of your teaching.

Guidelines

The application form and criteria are in line with the first four steps of the Utrecht Roadmap for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (see figure above).  For more information about the specifics of the roadmap, or possibilities for consultancy and/or guidance when writing the SoTL Grant, please contact the Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning (cat@uu.nl). Examples of previously granted SoTL projects can be found here.

Set-up

Grant proposals have a maximum budget of €5.000,-. All academic staff with an appointment at Utrecht University of at least one year after the deadline of submission, can apply for the grants. Deadlines will be three times a year (30 September, 31 January and 31 May) – outcomes will be communicated within the month following a deadline. The duration of a project is between one and two years. Applicants may be awarded maximally one project at the same time. The proposals are reviewed by the SoTL Grant committee: prof. dr. Toine Pieters, dr. Frans Prins, dr. Irma Meijerman.

Filled out application forms can be sent to cat@uu.nl, regarding Rik Vangangelt.

Funding may be used for:

• Project support, such as consultancy fees for educational expertise (e.g. by Educational Consultancy and Professional Development) or (student) assistance (e.g. for support with data-collection and analysis, focus-groups).
  NB No funding is possible for covering (teaching) hours of the applicant; that should be covered by the department and/or educational programme (additional funding may be sought in EMP or (facultary) USO).
• Material costs that are project related, such as incidental expenses (e.g. photocopying, telephone, postage), computer hardware or software needed to conduct the scholarly project, data transcription, translation, or catering to arrange external meetings or focus groups.
  NB Only additional costs may be funded. That is, costs that are not part of the costs to deliver the education (costs for delivery should be covered by the educational programme or department).
• Other substantiated requests for cost coverage are negotiable.

By admitting a project, admitting teachers accept to share the results at the end of the project by:

• Writing a brief report that will be published on the CAT-website, using abstract and/or poster format)
• Submitting (an abstract of) this report for the Utrecht SoTL conference
• (Optional) Submitting an abstract, paper or workshop to other conferences
• (Optional) Submitting a paper to professional or peer-reviewed journals