OMnI Request for Proposals, DUE 3/16/2012

Oberlin Modeling Initiative Curriculum Development Grants

Applications for the curriculum development grants and sign-up for the workshop are due by 5:00 PM on Friday, March 16th, 2012. If you apply for the grant, workshop sign-up in included (no need to fill them both out).

As part of the application you can request funding for a student to work with you in developing your module over the summer.

Overview

With funding provided by a three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) C-PATH II award, Oberlin College (through the Oberlin Modeling Initiative, OMnI) is able to offer curriculum development grants to faculty, particularly in the natural, social and mathematical sciences, looking to promote computational thinking in their introductory courses and beyond. All participants are expected to attend the OMnI/Shodor Workshop to be held on campus during the week of June 4, 2012.

This year there are 3 levels of participation:

• • Level I participants, those that are new to the program and will be developing something to use in their course. These participants must attend the whole workshop, Mon.-Fri.

  • Level II participants, those that have been through the workshop before and will be modifying a previous module or creating a new one. These participants must attend Weds.-Fri.

  • Observers: those that are interested in the idea of using the modeling approach in teaching but aren't ready to dedicate or take on a change in their course. These participants must attend Mon.-Weds.

Level I & II participants are to attend the workshop in June, develop course materials to be used the next time they teach, attend the late summer/early fall OMnI Retreat and provide a copy of their module with an explanation of how to use it and feed back on how it was received by the students.

Level I and Level II grants.

Grant awards of up to $2,000 (pre-tax; $2K - taxes will show up in your paycheck) will be awarded to approximately 10 applicants. Level I OMnI participants will attend the OMnI Workshop on the Oberlin campus June 4-8, 2012, for which they will receive a $600 stipend. Level II will receive $400 for attending June 6-8, 2012. In both cases participants should feel free to attend the whole week. To receive the remaining stipend, Level I & II participants must do:

• • one of the following:

    • 1) develop a new module at the introductory level;

    • 2) expand last year’s introductory module with a 2-3 week commitment including model analysis and hands-on student experience; or

    • 3) develop a new module for upper-level courses.

  • Modules developed through the CPATH grant are expected to become part of the regular curriculum, taught in courses offered at least three times in the next five years. Level I and II participants are also expected to attend OMnI Retreat in late summer/early fall.

  • NSF expects OMnI to distribute course materials via our Website, therefore all curricular materials developed through participation in this workshop must be submitted in a form that allows them to be shared. OMnI curricular materials must be submitted for distribution immediately following the semester in which they are first presented.

  • Also, NSF requires assessment activities as part of their CPATH projects. Level I and II participants are expected to cooperate with the assessment process as it pertains to their courses.

Observer grants.

Observer stipends of $600 (pre-tax; $600 - taxes will show up in your paycheck) are offered for faculty interested in developing a better understanding of this pedagogical approach by participating in the first part of the summer 2012 workshop (M-W). You are welcome to stay for the rest of the week or, if there is any funding available, to change your participation level.

Eligibility.

The $2000 curriculum development grants are intended for tenured- and tenure-track faculty. However, participation in the workshop and the observer stipend for attending the workshop is open to non-continuing faculty and A&PS staff with lecture status. Preference will be given to those who will be teaching at Oberlin in the upcoming year(s).

Individuals who received other internal grants in previous competitions are eligible to apply, provided reports on all previous projects have been submitted to Sponsored Programs.

NSF and College policy limits summer salary from all grants to a maximum of two summer months. Faculty who will have two months of summer salary from grants in summer 2012 are eligible for observer stipends of $600 for workshop participation but not Level I or Level II grants. Those on 12 month appointments can not receive stipends but are welcome to attend the workshop, provided there is space available. If you have questions about stipends, contact pamela.snyder@oberlin.edu.

OMnI Workshop, June 4-8, 2012.

OMnI will hold a workshop on using computation and modeling as a teaching tool. This workshop will be designed for newcomers as well as those with experience in the area of computation and modeling. It is designed to help discuss the appropriate methods for incorporating modeling in to your courses and to help OMnI participants create modules that can be used in specific courses.

OMnI Retreat, late summer/early fall, 2012.

In late summer or early fall OMnI will hold a retreat during which Level I and II participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences and materials. Date tba.

Application Procedure.

If you are interested in applying for curriculum development funds, please fill out and submit the form at http://tinyURL.com/omnigrant-2 . Applications

are due March 16th, 2012. For further information contact Albert Borroni at aborroni@oberlin.edu