Departmental Teaching Development Grant

Guidelines for Nomination
 

Section 1: Background

Following the previous successful Teaching Development Grant (TDG) experience, the Center for Education Innovation (CEI) is launching a new category of TDG fund: Departmental Teaching Development Grant (DTDG).  This aims to provide an opportunity for the department to concurrently convert a bundle of three courses in their programs from conventional teaching pedagogy to some unconventional/innovative teaching pedagogies which may include but not limited to online, blended and experiential learning. These active learning approaches have the potential to help students learn more effectively.

Departments are encouraged to nominate three courses (including at least one required course) in their programs to apply for DTDG. The nominated courses have to adopt the SAME innovative pedagogical approach as suggested in Section 3 and the proposals will be judged on the basis of the significance of the anticipated outcomes for improving teaching and student learning.

Section 2: Eligibility of Instructors and Courses

Eligible Instructors: All full-time faculty/teaching staff of the University who teach undergraduate courses are eligible.

Eligible Courses: Any undergraduate course that is currently using conventional teaching pedagogy (e.g. traditional one-way lecturing) can be nominated. Courses co-taught by instructors from different departments are not eligible for this round of nomination.

Section 3: Selection and Priority

A variety of pedagogical approaches are available, but some strategies are more effective and appropriate than others in one’s teaching context. When considering which courses to be nominated, departments are encouraged to examine the effectiveness of the single selected pedagogy in the context of three courses’ subject matter, students’ needs, and the conditions in the classrooms.

The proposal will be assessed based on the extent of the proposal in adopting active learning pedagogies* such as: 

• Experiential learning ⁽¹⁾ ;
• E-learning (blended learning ⁽²⁾, pure online course ⁽³⁾ etc.) or
• Any other active learning pedagogies ⁽⁴⁾.

*To ensure your understanding of the active learning pedagogies is aligned with the CEI, please refer to Appendix 3 for the definitions of these pedagogies.

Priority will be given to proposals with clear indication of how the active learning components will be implemented in the courses. Please refer to Appendix 4 for detailed selection criteria.

Section 4: Funding Limits

The ceiling of funding is HK $600,000 for three courses. The actual award amount will depend on the number and the quality of the proposals received.

Section 5: Use of Funding

The nominated instructors have the discretion to decide whether they will use the funding collectively or separately. If they decide to use the funding separately, the funding amount will be equally divided among the course instructors unless requested otherwise. The funding can be used to recruit teaching support staff, project staff, part-time staff or student helper and cover other general expenses pertaining to the project. The following expenses however should NOT be covered by this funding:

(a) Expense relating to equipment and teaching material which could have been covered by the relevant school/department;
(b) Expense relating to refreshment for functions/events or provision of incentive to students for taking part in the focus group study; and
(c) Expense relating to conference attendance, publications in journals and traveling outside Hong Kong.

Section 6: Project Start Date and Deadline for Using Allocated Funds

All projects are expected to start within three months upon the funding is granted. All project expenditure should be claimed within two years from the project start date. Unspent balance after that date will be clawed back automatically. Approval from CEI is required for extension of deadline for the projects.

Section 7: Selection Panel and Process

All nominations will be considered by the Teaching and Learning Innovation Project (TLIP) sub-committee. The sub-committee will consider the nominations based on the criteria outlined in Appendix 4 and shortlist a number of proposals for interview.

Section 8: Reporting and Sharing

Project leaders are required to submit progress reports and completion reports according to the schedule set by CEI. Project leaders also have the obligation to disseminate and share the outcomes of their projects with HKUST colleagues or colleagues at other UGC-funded institutions.

Section 9: Important Dates

1. Deadline for Nomination (Appendix 1) and Preliminary Proposal (Appendix 2)
   Submission:28 June, 2019
   CEI staff will meet with the nominees to discuss their proposals.
2. Deadline for Final Proposal Submission: Late August, 2019
3. TLIP Sub-committee Review Meeting: Early September, 2019
4. Announcement of Results: Late September, 2019

All nominations must be submitted using the standard forms. Late submissions or incomplete proposals will not be accepted.

Section 10: Enquiry

For enquiry, please contact Miss Phoebe MOK (phoebe.mok@ust.hk / 2358 6297).