Teaching Development Grants

The Course Design and Teaching Development grant programs are funded by Academic Affairs and administered through the Center for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT). These funds support the professional development of PFW faculty, helping to improve their teaching skills, knowledge, and effectiveness. The grants can be used for attending conferences, workshops, conducting research, or developing new teaching materials. For more information or to apply for next year's grants, please contact CELT.

• Post-Promotion Grant

  Post-Promotion Grant

  A 3-5 year program where Associate faculty can further develop skills to help with building a portfolio to demonstrate competence and/or excellence in teaching. Focus areas include: 

  • Year 1 - Course design quality and delivery 

  • Year 2 - SoTL knowledge and production 

  • Year 3 - PFW student needs and challenges 

  • Years 4 & 5 - Becoming a teaching mentor or expanding SoTL expertise and output  

  • Track 1: Learn a variety of teaching strategies, become a teaching mentor 

  • Track 2: Further build SoTL expertise and output (two separate tracks) 

  Faculty accepted into this program commit to the first three years with a preference to complete all five years. A $2,500 grant is awarded through year 1 of the program. For all faculty who commit to completing years 4 and 5, an additional $2,500 grant is awarded. A brief description of each focus area is below: 

  Year 1: Course Design Quality and Delivery 

  Course design (or redesign) is the foundation for pedagogically sound (and satisfying) teaching. This programming guides faculty through the backward course design model. Five 2-hour workshops and a minimum of four one-on-one consultations are required. Topics revolve around building a pedagogically sound course structure, including designing course learning goals, learning objectives, designing and aligning assessments, developing and aligning learning activities and interaction design, weekly structure and syllabus design, and studying effective communication with and support for students including identifying and supporting struggling students. 

  Year 2: SoTL Knowledge and Production 

  Towards the end of year 1 (above) and moving into year 2, similar to identifying a program of research, participants will choose a program of SoTL, which will guide their work for the next 2-4 years. This year’s cohort provides post-tenure faculty with structured support to design and implement a teaching-related research project. The year-long program consists of five required group workshops and a minimum of five individualized consultations. Topics include an overview of SoTL, refining topic/question, literature review, study design, data collection & instruments, IRB, planning for publication and presentation, data analysis, and data management. 

  Year 3: PFW Student Needs and Challenges 

  Participant’s SoTL program continues in Year 3, which will be a focused cohort giving specific attention to the student-instructor classroom exchange. It will blend the continued development of pedagogy and instruction with a deep understanding of PFW’s student body, their needs, strengths, and challenges. The program consists of eight required group workshops and a minimum of five individualized consultations. Topics and activities include research focused on student learning, connection, and development; developing mechanisms for understanding the needs of our students; work with a CELT Teaching Fellow including a SGID or Faculty observation; and an Online Course Design Review or syllabus and assignment review. This year will also provide a unique opportunity for participants to work with student consultants, who will observe and provide comprehensive feedback to faculty regarding teaching methodologies, student relationships, the use of Brightspace, and grading practices. 

  Year 4 & 5: Becoming a Teaching Mentor or Expanding SoTL expertise and Output 

  During years 4 and 5 faculty will need to choose a track to pursue. This can include: 

  • Track 1: Becoming a Teaching Mentor 

  High and Small Impact Practices (year 4) - Year 4 will be a focused cohort giving post-promotion faculty-specific instruction in the development and comprehensive implementation of a High Impact (teaching) Practice (HIP). This will span both Fall and Spring semesters and focus on three key areas: 

  1. Participants will choose a HIP and comprehensively integrate it into a course. The HIP will seek to address a student or course “problem” using the knowledge and application of a HIP. Faculty will develop an assessment plan for understanding the impact of the HIP. 

  1. Faculty will be consulted in the development phase by a student review panel, a faculty mentor who has substantial experience with their chosen HIP, peer review, and the CELT consultant leading the cohort. 

  1. Faculty will assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the HIP while teaching the course through a pre-test, mid-semester test, Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID), and a post-test. 

  Becoming a Teaching Mentor (year 5 of High and Small Impact Practices track) - We would like to use this program to train faculty to become Peer Reviewers in CELT and for the campus. This will help to better support our existing review Fellows program while growing the number of trained faculty who are prepared to conduct summative reviews. 

  • Track 2: Expanding SoTL expertise and Output 
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grant

  Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grant

  The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning cohort is a 2-year program that provides structured support for post-promotion faculty to complete a robust research project focused on teaching and learning. Participants will complete workshops, project development sessions, and independent activities that guide them through a research project, culminating in a conference proposal and manuscript. Program topics will include an overview of SoTL, refining research topics/questions, reviewing the SoTL literature, study design, data collection and instruments, IRB approval, planning for publication and presentation, data analysis, and data management.

• Course Design for New(er) Faculty

  Course Design for New(er) Faculty

  Course design (or redesign) is the foundation to pedagogically sound (and satisfying) teaching. This programming targets newer faculty to support them in an effective start to their teaching careers, through the backward course design model. Topics revolve around building a pedagogically sound course structure, including designing course learning goals, learning objectives, designing and aligning assessments, developing and aligning learning activities and interaction design, weekly structure and syllabus design, and studying effective communication with and support for students, including identifying and supporting struggling students. Applications for all teaching modalities (i.e. face to face, hybrid, online) are welcome.

• Advanced AI Cohort Grant

  Advanced AI Cohort Grant

  CELT leadership will guide 10 faculty (roughly 1-2 faculty per college or school) as they identify discipline-relevant AI tools while testing their capabilities, limitations, and proposing best practices for classroom integration. Collectively, the group will develop a campus-wide resource bank that outlines the AI tools they incorporated, the tools, their capabilities, costs, and more. 

• Summative Peer Review

  Summative Peer Review

  Summative Peer Reviews are a meaningful part of faculty development and evaluation, yet require a unique skillset for effective delivery. This cohort-style program is designed to help faculty hone their skills in conducting summative peer reviews of teaching. The year-long program includes synchronous and asynchronous professional development activities that focus on key topics, including the peer review process, defining criteria for teaching evaluation, crafting effective feedback, and writing peer review letters. Participants will also gain skills for specific peer review activities, like classroom observation, syllabus review, and analysis of student evaluation data.

• Students as Partners

  Students as Partners

  The primary goal of the Student as Partner programs is to create a collaborative teaching environment where students and faculty work together to enhance learning through shared insights, co-creation, and mutual reflection. This is done by fostering collaborative, semester-long partnerships between an instructor and a student who has successfully completed the course being considered. Embedded in the classroom, student partners co-create meaningful teaching and learning experiences, provide real-time feedback, and help implement high-impact pedagogical strategies. This approach emphasizes open communication, reduces power dynamics, and recognizes students as essential contributors to course design, engagement, and assessment—ultimately strengthening the student-instructor relationship.