Curriculum Grants
Every two years the Indiana University Libraries offer one Curriculum Grant to an academic program that will integrate information literacy into its curriculum. Information literacy, often defined as the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively information, involves a complex interrelated range of abilities and dispositions which include but extend beyond using library resources. (A more detailed explanation of information literacy is available here.)
Curricular integration of information literacy involves incorporating information literacy learning outcomes, sequenced activities, and assessments into all stages of a program’s coursework in order to ensure that students can incrementally develop their abilities to use and create information within the given disciplinary or cross-disciplinary context. An academic program may be a degree-seeking track within a department or a curricular program that reaches students across disciplinary majors.
Curriculum Grants of up to $20,000[1] are awarded for a two-year period. (Funds will be distributed across the two year process, according to the applicants’ approved budget plan.) With the support of the Libraries Teaching & Learning Department and relevant subject librarians, grant recipients in year one identify target courses, learning outcomes, and exercises. In year two, again with the Libraries’ support, recipients implement the revised curriculum and assess its effectiveness.
Thanks to the commitment and support of the Jay Family, which funds these grants.
Deadline
The proposal deadline for the next grant cycle is March 1, 2019.
Purpose
The purpose of these grants is to support academic programs, course instructors, and librarians in applying their disciplinary expertise to enriching curricular programs and courses in ways that foster critical engagement in research and information use. As a result of these projects, students will have opportunities across the program to develop their abilities to engage with and use sources critically in order to accomplish specific purposes within or beyond a given discipline. The academic program’s instructors will define the more particular meanings and applications of information literacy to their program.
It is our assumption that academic programs will not focus exclusively on information literacy, but rather will incorporate it into the examination of discipline-specific or cross-disciplinary subject matter. Such curricula, whatever the subject matter, 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.
Eligibility
Applications should be submitted by a team of at least three full-time instructors from the given academic department. (Both teaching faculty and permanent lecturers are eligible.) Applicants should be able and willing to commit the project for the two-year duration. A letter of support from the department chair is also needed.
Participation
All grant recipients will participate in hands-on workshops on information literacy integration and course design offered specifically for the department and facilitated by the Libraries Teaching & Learning Department. Other members of the department are also encouraged to attend these workshops. Engaging in these workshops, participants will develop resources and documents that articulate the planning, implementation, and assessment of their project. At the end of each academic year grantees will be expected to share their project process and results, including selected curriculum materials, through an online repository and through a 3-4 page project summary.
The Libraries Teaching & Learning Department will facilitate workshops, provide resources to inform curricular design, and be available for group and individual consultations throughout the semester.
Selection Criteria
Successful proposals will demonstrate the specific relevance of information literacy to the program’s curriculum and how students will benefit from this curricular development. More specifically, proposals will be evaluated for
- Depth of integration: To what extent will information literacy be integrated throughout the curriculum and/or within target courses? To what degree will higher order aspects of research and information use be supported through integration?
- Sustainable impact: Will the integration have a long-term and meaningful impact on the curriculum? Does the department have the support for and ability to sustain integration beyond the two-year grant cycle?
- Level of engagement: Is there widespread support for involvement in curricular integration among instructors and administrators of the program? To what degrees will both the recipients and others within the program be engaged in the project?
- Pedagogy: Does the project employ pedagogically-sound practices or approaches? How will these approaches facilitate student learning?
- Feasibility: Is the project realistic in terms of what can be accomplished and sustained? Does the proposal communicate clearly the project’s central goals and approaches?
Submission Process
Note: The information provided in the application is considered a preliminary plan, not a final statement about how the program will ultimately be developed. Curriculum Grant recipients will participate in workshops and conversations that will help to inform curricular design.
A single PDF document developed by a team of at least three full-time instructors from the program should be submitted via email to libinstr@indiana.edu. The application should include the following information. (To facilitate review of applications please use the exact section headings listed below in the application.)
A. Cover page that includes:
- Applicants’ names, department, and email addresses
- Academic program
- Abstract (300 words or less): A summary of the project which includes: the importance of information literacy integration to the specific program, the general approach planned for integration, and the viability of this approach
B. Project statement (2000 words or less) which includes:
- Context for the curriculum, including: a general explanation of the program’s disciplinary focus, the academic degrees or graduation requirements that the program offers, the significance of information literacy to the specific academic program, and the current role of information literacy in the program curriculum
- Central purpose or goals of the project (i.e. its anticipated result/s)
- Significance and impact of the integration on student learning
(This may be in sole relation to the program’s curriculum, but may also include potential relevance to the broader department’s or school’s curriculum.)
- Possible information literacy learning outcomes to be integrated into the program and an explanation of how these outcomes connect to discipline-related content
- Possible target courses for integration
(If the curriculum is sequenced, with certain courses building upon one another, recipients are encouraged to consider how information literacy will be addressed sequentially across strategically chosen courses.)
- Example of an assignments, project, or activity that will foster learning in relation to the stated learning outcomes
(This might be, for example, an assignment for a specific target course or a capstone project culminating from the course of study.)
- The degree of departmental support for the project, the roles of various department members in the project, and if relevant the involvement and role/s of other partners – such as a subject librarian or members of other institutional units
- Plan for sharing or disseminating results of the curricular integration
- Proposed budgets for year 1 and year 2
(Expenses may include, for example, funds for professional travel or professional development, pay of associate instructor/s or temporary employee/s, costs for curricular tools or resources, events to expand involvement in or awareness of the project.)
C. Letter of support from a dean or department chair
D. Current CV for each applicant
[1]Grant applicants submit a proposed budget. The final grant amount will be determined in consultation with the Libraries Teaching & Learning Department.
Questions? Please email libinstr@indiana.edu.