The Education Division of CUR is offering two $500 grants to faculty members interested in integrating undergraduate research within one of their courses. Faculty can choose to design a new research-infused course or redesign an existing course to include a substantial undergraduate research component that provides students with an opportunity to learn about educational research/scholarship and conduct course-based research. This grant will provide faculty with
$500 as well as mentoring and resources from a CUR councilor in the Education Division. Special consideration will be given to proposals promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Nomination Process
Faculty must address the following questions within their application:
- CURE Research Goals – What are your research goals for this course-based experience?
- Student Goals – What are your student goals for this course-based experience? What do you want students to learn as a result of this experience? These student goals could include various knowledge and skills as well as professional experience in the field or the development of soft skills and persistence when faced with challenges.
- CURE Objectives & Design – What are the objectives of the CURE? How will the CURE be designed?
- Equity and Inclusion Considerations – How will you best support your students engaging in CURE? How will you develop your CURE to take into account the variability of students?
- Assessments – How might you assess and evaluate your students’ CUREs? What assessments will you design that are aligned with the CURE and objectives? How might you assess students’ contributions to projects, lab notebook/field note entries, culminating papers or presentations?
- Resources to Support CURE – What resources are necessary for this CURE to be most successful? Resources might include colleagues, graduate students, peer mentors, and librarians who would be willing to collaborate on the CURE.
- What material and/or financial resources might you need? What additional funding resources are available? How might this CURE impact students’ future UR experiences? Where else might these skills be reinforced?
- Budget – What is your budget for the $500 grant? For example, recipients may use this grant money to fund a student to help with the course (re)design, to purchase resources, to provide a faculty stipend, or to participate in professional development.
Review Process
Using the rubric below, Councilors of the Education Division will review applications and select two grant recipients after March 15.
All applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by April 1. Grant recipients will submit a revised course syllabus to the committee prior to February 1 the following year.
Only application submissions that are submitted on time and with all sections complete will be reviewed.
| 3 points | 2 points | 1 point | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research and Student Goals | Research and student goals of the CURE experience are provided and clear. | Research and student goals of the CURE experience are provided but lack clarity. | Research and student goals of the CURE experience are not provided or vague and difficult to interpret.. |
| Objectives for the CURE | Course objectives are identified, clearly stated, and aligned to incorporating UR within the course. | Course objectives are identified, but lack clarity and alignment to incorporating UR within the course. | Course objectives are not identified, or those identified are vague and fail to align to incorporating UR within the course. |
| CURE: Course Design/Redesign | A detailed and specific description of how the course will be designed or redesigned to incorporate a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). Clearly includes opportunities for students to learn about educational research/scholarship and conduct course-based research. | General detailed description of how the course will be designed or redesigned to incorporate a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). Includes opportunity for students to learn about educational research/scholarship and conduct course-based research. | The description lacks details of how the course will be designed or redesigned to incorporate a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). Includes limited opportunities for students to learn about educational research/scholarship or conduct course-based research. |
| Resources and Expertise to Support CURE | Clear and detailed description of specific types of resources and expertise needed to accomplish this course design/redesign. | Clear and general description of the types of resources and expertise needed to accomplish this course design/redesign. | Vague and minimal description of the types of resources or expertise needed to accomplish this course design/redesign. |
Contact Jenn Manak with any questions.