Teaching Innovation Grant
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The Teaching Innovation Grant was first established in 2019 and support the development of new and innovative pedagogical methods at the classroom and program levels.
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Applicants should submit the following:
- Current curriculum vitae
- A 2-3 page proposal with projected expenses/budget justification
- Sample syllabi
- Letter of support from the applicant’s Department Chair
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Applications for the Teaching Innovation Grant must be submitted by Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 11:59 PM.
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2025
General Category:
- Morgan Bryant, PhD, Marketing, on a project titled, "Reimagining Marketing Analytics: Preparing Ethical, Data-Literate Business Leaders"
- Leah Comeau, PhD, Theology and Religious Studies, on a project titled, "Creative Journal Assignment Art Supplies"
Co-authored Category:
- Sylvester Carter, MHS, PhD, CEEAA, Physical Therapy, in collaboration with Lora Packel and the Physical Therapy Department, on a project titled, "Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Communication Skills in Physical Therapy Education"
2024
General Category:
- Martha Easton, Art & Art History (New Course - ARH 216 Curating an Exhibition),
- Madhu Mahalingam, Chemistry & Biochemistry (A Modified Team Based Learning Pedagogy in a Gateway Course)
Co-authored Category:
- Richard Warren (HIS), Christopher Close (HIS), Melissa Chakars (HIS), Jen Hasse (Library), Amy Snyder (Library) (Development of Information Literacy in New Core Curriculum)
2023
General Category:
- Jonathan Fingerut (GEP Nat Science),
- Kristen Burr (French for Healthcare),
- Nathaniel Bulthuis (Personhood in Islamic Phil),
- Kristi Grimes (Gender, Sexuality and Race in Italian Art & Language)
Co-authored Category: [NEW]:
- Shaun Varrecchia, Woei-Nan Bair; Eric Folkins et al. (Department of Physical Therapy, first semester integrated learning)
2022
General Category
- Kaitlin Moran
- Aubrey Wang
Team-taught Honors Courses Category
- Lisa Baglione and Melissa Chakars
- Andrew Payne and Jason Powell
- Julie Deluty and James O’Sullivan
- Emily Hage and Kersti Powell
2021
General Category
- Nancy Fox
- Chunrye Kim
- Joe Ragan
- Mollie Sheppard
- Rachael Sullivan
- Tim Swift
2020
General Category
- Kersti Powell
- Nate Bulthius
- Aaron Reich
- Nancy Fox
2019
General Category
- Elizabeth Becker
- Thomas Martin
Leahy Award
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This endowed award is a long time tradition from USciences and the poster session for the award energizes and encourages other faculty to innovate in their own classes.
This award was established in memory of Patricia Leahy, a Physical Therapy faculty member at University of the Sciences (Usciences), to acknowledge faculty's innovative efforts to increase their students' learning. For almost a decade, an anonymous donor annually supported the Patricia Leahy InnOvations with Learning (OWL) award at USciences. In 2004 the donor established an endowment to continue this award in perpetuity. After a terrible accident, Patricia Leahy was our donor's physical therapist. He felt that Patricia Leahy was especially helpful to get him to walk again. Soon after that Patricia Leahy was unable to conquer her own personal tragedy. To memorialize a truly innovative teacher, our donor, Dr. Charles Gibley, supported the InnOvations with Learning award and it became the Patricia Leahy OWL award. To more accurately reflect the purpose of the award, the name was changed to the Patricia Leahy Award for Learning Innovations.
Faculty members' use of new instructional strategies typically require much planning time, a willingness to take risks, reflection on what is happening, and an ability to make changes when necessary. As the title implies, this award's emphasis is on innovations that increase student learning.
One of the original purposes of the award was to recognize faculty who are experimenting with their teaching and to provide a dissemination vehicle for their innovative idea. A higher goal of the award is to recognize faculty who are implementing large scale innovations, or ones with a great impact on student learning.
The winner(s) will be recognized with a plaque and a cash award of $1000
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Applicants should submit the following:
- A description of the rationale or goals of the innovative educational activity
- A description of the innovation and its implementation
- A discussion of the impact of the innovation on student learning, including learning outcomes,
- A reflection on the reason/s for the observed impact. This should include an analysis of how the innovation was improved over time and how this innovation will be used in the future: either improved upon or implemented as is
- A description of student reaction to the innovation.
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Applications for the Leahy Award must be submitted by Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 11:59 PM.
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2025
"Transforming Business Analytics Education Through Gamified Learning"
Michael Marzano, MS, Food, Pharma, & Healthcare
Silviya D. Valeva, PhD, Decision & System Sciences
Ronald K. Klimberg, PhD Decision & System Sciences
2024
"Advancing Active Learning in Educational Leadership through Equity-Based Experiental Learning"
Aubrey Wang; Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Social Work
Brittany Bronson; Education Leadership, Counseling, and Social Work
Natalya Adelizzi; Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Social Work
Dan McDevitt; Student Success, Adjunct Professor at Haub School of Business
2023
"A Non-Lecture Neurobiology Course to Evaluate Science Communication"
- Jennifer Tudor; Department of Biology
Bright Idea Award
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The Bright Idea Award is a long time tradition from USciences and the poster session for the award energizes and encourages other faculty to innovate in their own classes.
This award is for bright, innovative ideas about how to teach better, both in traditional classes, online environments, and in experiential settings. Unlike the Leahy Award, this award can be for a small innovation such as a different type of peer evaluation or a new assignment. This award does not require that the effectiveness of the innovation be thoroughly assessed.
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Applicants should submit the following:
- An original idea or an adaptation of an idea tried elsewhere that seems to work with our students.
- A clear description of the innovation both in writing in the abstract and on the poster.
- Assessment data is not necessary for submission.
- Anyone whose abstract is accepted is expected to present a poster at the Teaching and Learning Forum on 5/19/25.
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Applications for the Bright Idea Award must be submitted by Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 11:59 PM.
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2025
"AI Customizes Exams: Beyond One Size Fits All in Introductory Courses"
Liyuan Liu, PhD, Decision & System Sciences
2024
"An Interprofessional Approach to Research: Pharmacy and Occupational Therapy Students Solving a Problem"
Lynda Lemisch, Occupational Therapy
Geraldine Healy Marini, Occupational Therapy
Sheetal Parikh, Occupational Therapy
Judith Parker Kent, Occupational Therapy
Andrew Peterson, Pharmacy
2023
"Student Feedback Unscripted: Utilizing an External Collaborative Partnership to Advance Medical and Pharmacy Student Communication through a Virtual Interprofessional Education (PE) Workshop"
Rebecca Munger, Department of Pharmacy Practice
Brandon Garcia, Department of Pharmacy Practice
Cathy Poon, Department of Pharmacy Practice
Diane Quinn, Department of Pharmacy Practice
Adjunct Faculty Award for Teaching Innovation
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The Adjunct Faculty Award for Teaching Innovation was created in 2023 to recognize the outstanding contributions of our adjunct faculty to teaching and learning at our integrated university. This award aims to honor adjuncts who have demonstrated innovative teaching practices such as inclusive teaching pedagogies or online teaching approaches, and a commitment to student success. The award comes with a $250 prize.
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Department chairs should do the following:
- Nominate one or more adjuncts from within their department
- To nominate an adjunct, department chairs should submit a letter of nomination to their respective Dean
- The deans will then select one nominee from each college to receive the award.
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Deans should submit the name of their selected awardee to the Office of Teaching and Learning by May 2, 2025. Awardees will be notified by our office and invited to attend the Teaching and Learning Forum on May 19, 2025, where they will be presented with the award.
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2025
- Kavitha Penugonda, PhD, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Josh Blustein, PhD, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Psychology
- Elizabeth Bongiovanni, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Clinical Education in Nursing
2024
- Catherine Gibbons, EdD, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Teacher Education, School of Education and Human Development
- Mark Tarzwell, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Food, Pharma, and Healthcare, Haub School of Business
- Michele T. Matteo, BS Pharm, RPh, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Health Professions
2023
- Jarrett C. Hurms, MS, Adjunct Faculty, Decision and System Sciences, Haub School of Business
- Jamie Rassin, EdD, BCBA, Adjunct Faculty, Special Education Department, School of Education and Human Development
Ethical Implications of AI Grant
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2025
"Ethical Implications of AI Grant Boosting Scientific Literacy and AI Ethics: A Quasi-Experimental Study on AI Integration in Undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology Education"
- Philomena Behmer, EdD, Biology
- Amy Troyer, MS, MAT, Biology
- Selena Mallios, MS, Biology
- Amy Snyder, MS, Liaison Librarian, Lancaster
- Brandi Morgante Handzlik, EdD, Mathematics
"Artificial Intelligence: The Classroom Today and the World Tomorrow"
- Joseph Corabi, PhD, Philosophy
"Expanding the Team: AI as Collaborative Coach in Writing Centers"
- Jenny Spinner, PhD, English, Writing & Journalism
"AI and the Medieval Classroom"
- Paul Patterson, PhD, English, Writing & Journalism
"Promoting Effective and Ethical Use of AI in Teaching Courses in Mathematical Sciences"
- Rommel Regis, PhD, Mathematics
"How the Rise of AI-Collaborative Work Will Affect Human Learning, Thinking, and the Skills We Value"
- Patrick Garrigan, PhD, Psychology
- Abolfazi Saghafi, PhD, Mathematics
"Advancing Personalized Education: Designing an AI-Driven Application for Customized Exams Leveraging Historical Student Data"
- Liyuan Liu, PhD, Decision & System Sciences
"The Use and Ethical Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Physics Education with Focus on Advanced Physics Courses"
- Piotr Habdas, PhD, Physics
"Integration of Generative AI in Scientific Writing and Communication"
- Jennifer Tudor, PhD, Biology