Course Grants

These grants support course instructors and librarians as they apply their disciplinary expertise to create and reenergize courses that foster students' critical engagement with research and information use. Proposed courses can be affiliated with any discipline, and need not focus exclusively on information literacy, but instead incorporate it into discipline-specific subject matter.  Whatever their subject matter, proposed courses will teach students to select, evaluate, acknowledge, and challenge sources; to identify and articulate those sources’ arguments; to determine effective ways to use those sources for their own purposes; and to build upon and respond to the research of others. The larger purpose of these projects is to support students in strengthening their research and critical thinking skills.

Full-time teaching faculty, permanent lecturers, associate instructors, instructors of record, and librarians are eligible to apply. Proposals are submitted prior to the semester during which the course would be taught. Instructors who have previously received Information Literacy Grants for a course and who wish to extend the integration of information literacy further into the course are also encouraged to apply.  Criteria for selection includes depth of information literacy integration into the course, potential for partnership building, use of innovative pedagogy, and feasibility. 

A single PDF document developed by the course instructor and the librarian who intend to work together should be submitted via email to libinstr@indiana.edu. The application should include the following information.

We are particularly interested in proposals that support approaches to open pedagogy, using assignments that engage students in their own learning, such as asking students to create and share some kind of digital object or exhibit publicly.  (Digital objects include, but are not limited to videos, blogs, textbooks, and digital exhibits.)  Proposals that emphasize a shift away from the "disposable assignment" and center students' works as worth sharing are especially welcome.

• Applicants’ names, departments, and email addresses
• Course (name and number) into which you intend to integrate information literacy
• Number of anticipated enrolled students 
• Duration of course (8-, 13-, or 16- week course)
• A summary of the project (250 words or less)
• Any additional grants you currently have or have applied for, for your course
• Project statement (500-2000 words) describing:
  • the central purpose or goals of the project
  • the context for the course, including: whether the proposal is for the creation of a new course or the redesign of an existing course, the approximate number of students enrolled, and the importance of the course to the department's or school’s course offerings or curriculum
  • the possible information literacy learning outcomes to be integrated into course, as well as an explanation of how these outcomes connect to course/discipline-related content. (Note: in developing assignments and outcomes, applicants should use and adapt elements from the ACRL Information Literacy Framework.)
  • the significance and impact of the project on student learning, whether in relation to the department’s or school’s curriculum
  • possible assignments, projects, or activities that will foster learning in relation to the stated learning outcomes
  • the librarian’s role as a collaborator in the project; the partnership should extend beyond the librarian acting as a guest lecturer
  • a plan for sharing or disseminating results of the course (re)design
• Course syllabus (attach as a PDF to application)
• Letter of support from a dean or department chair (attach as a PDF to application)

Questions? Please email  libinstr@indiana.edu.

Print-friendly version of Course Grants Description

Note: The information provided in the application is considered a preliminary plan, not a final statement about how the course will ultimately be designed. Course grant recipients will participate in a workshop series that may also inform the course’s development. 

Sample grant proposal:  EDUC 340 -- Education and American Culture

Sample grant proposal:  HIST 695 -- Histories of Humanitarianism

Sample grant proposal:  EDUC L700 -- Seminar in Literacy, Culture and Language Education

Learn about past Grant Recipients.