Educational Support Services

Request for Proposals

Nerve cell

Overview

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine has launched a multi-year effort to implement a competency-based DVM curriculum. As part of this effort, a new competency framework was recently developed by college faculty to define the knowledge, skills, and attributes expected of new graduates from our program. This framework is intended to help faculty coordinate teaching efforts across the curriculum, motivate and inform discussions regarding curricular content, guide development of high-quality assessments to measure student mastery, and facilitate student learning by articulating standards for successful academic performance. The Veterinary Curriculum Enhancement Grant was developed to help support faculty in achieving these goals. The 2019 Request for Proposals will support projects aligned to the College’s new DVM Competency Framework.

Eligible Applicants

Faculty members who teach in the DVM program (core, distribution, and/or clinical rotations) at Cornell University are eligible to apply for this grant.

Grant Support

Successful applicants will receive access to instructional design and project development services provided by the Educational Support Services unit within the College of Veterinary Medicine. Examples of services that may be accessed through this internal grant program include in-class activity design using evidence-based teaching methods, medical animation and illustration, audio-video production, graphic design, computer programming, and e-learning module development. Curriculum enhancement can be achieved through a wide variety of educational formats. Please note that this grant is not restricted to technology-enhanced teaching.

2019 Award Categories

Small Teaching Category

Quickly make ideas a reality.  This category offers support for developing and deploying activities and resources that complement existing teaching. Priority will be given to projects that can be implemented rapidly within existing courses. If you are curious to try a new technique in a small and controlled pilot test, this grant category can help.

(up to 10 projects will be awarded in 2019)

Examples:

  • Poll Everywhere activities
  • In-Class Reflection or Assessments (e.g., One-minute papers)
  • Development of medical illustrations to support learning
  • Formative assessment using eTest and Canvas
  • Using peer review to provide student feedback
  • Developing/implementing competency-based rubrics

Learning Activity Category

Explore in-depth methods for improving the student learning experience. This category supports the use of evidence-based practices to develop a series of resources that can be used throughout a course or courses.

(up to 5 projects will be awarded in 2019)

Examples:

  • Replacing lectures with active learning exercises
  • Online teaching modules
  • Instructional videos
  • Case studies

Course/Section Redesign Category

Overhaul your course or section. This category provides support for faculty to reimagine the student learning experience. From idea to assessment, this category will involve a large investment of time and energy with the goal of creating high-impact change.

(up to 1 project will be awarded in 2019)

Includes complete redesign including the following elements:

  • Syllabus redesign
  • Development of learning outcomes
  • Development of active learning exercises
  • Assessment

Application Instructions

The application should consist of a concise (1000-word limit) summary of your proposed project, presented in the following sections:

  • Project title
  • Application Category: Select one of the following - Small Teaching, Learning Activity, Course/Section Redesign
  • Project leader and any collaborators (if applicable)
  • Audience: What course(s) will the project be used to support?
  • Competency: Which competency(ies) (from the DVM competency framework) will your project address?
  • Learning Outcomes: Please list your proposed learning outcomes.  
  • Need: Why is your learning resource/activity necessary and how will it benefit veterinary students?
  • Product description: Briefly describe what you envision being developed.
  • Implementation: How will the resource/activity be implemented to support education?
  • Outcomes/Impact: How will you assess the learning impact of your project?
  • Equipment and supplies: please describe any equipment or supplies that you anticipate needing to complete your project. Please note, there is no need to submit a budget for this grant.
  • Ongoing expenses: if relevant, describe any facilities, equipment or faculty resources that will be required to support this activity on an ongoing basis, and an explanation of how that may be supported.

Proposal Review Process

  • Proposals are scored by the College Curriculum Committee, with priority given to projects that will support implementation of the new DVM competency framework and significantly enhance student learning.
  • The Associate Dean for Education and Director of the Veterinary Curriculum select projects that will be developed in the next funding cycle.

Application Deadline

Grant submissions are due on October 15, 2019.

Please submit proposals to Andrea Beukema at alb428@cornell.edu.

Helpful Resources

Questions

Questions about the grant program and application process may be directed to Andrea Beukema in the Education Support Services Team.