Teaching & Learning Innovation Grant Partnership Program

Program Overview

The Penn State Berks Teaching & Learning Innovation (TLI) Grant Partnership Program promotes and supports initiatives of learner-centered teaching and inclusive pedagogy through innovative enhancement of courses in any instructional delivery format (face-to-face, hybrid, fully online asynchronously, and remote synchronously).

TLI Grant Partnership awardees will partner with CLT staff to design, develop, implement, and assess creative and effective instructional solutions within their identified area of focus.

Partnership and Support Opportunities

The Partnership Program assists faculty in exploring new pedagogical approaches in alignment with Penn State Berks strategic goals. The projects may or may not involve implementing new digital technology.

Additionally, the program assists faculty in identifying and implementing appropriate assessment methods to determine the effectiveness of their projects.

Hear from faculty who’ve worked with us. Watch videos »

Focus of Grant Partnerships

The focus of grant partnerships may encompass (but is not limited to) the following areas:

  • Design more engaging and equitable educational experiences with active learning strategies
  • Develop learning activities that increase social belongingness to create a more learner-centered course
  • Create accessible learning material and activities to increase participation and nurture inclusive relationships
  • Adopt inclusive pedagogy to create an equitable and responsive learning environment
  • Implement the Quality Matters (QM) standards to improve online learning design quality

Demonstrated Outcomes

Examples of demonstrated outcomes of the TLI Program include:

  • Increased student engagement with course content, peer students, and instructor
  • Increased student learning and retention
  • Increased equitable access and affordability
  • Improved course design quality
  • Increased student sense of belonging
  • Ability to replicate to other course sections
  • Alignment with the college’s current strategic plan

Available Resources

Upon approval, faculty members will be eligible to receive:

  • In-depth consultation and partnership with CLT team
  • Supporting computing accessories and software
  • Student intern support if available
  • A supplemental compensation of $500

The TLI Grant Partnership Program Process

Apply: Interested faculty should complete the two-step application process described below.

Analyze: CLT staff and grant recipients attend a Kick-off Meeting to explore the project details, identify possible approaches to meeting objectives, and to define the project’s scope. The grant recipient is asked to sign a Memorandum of Understanding at this meeting.

Design & Develop: A CLT team member will act as the primary point of contact for each project and will coordinate the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the awarded grant.

Review & Share: Grant recipients will share their experience with the campus community to promote and foster innovation in teaching and learning.

  • A 2-page report will be published on the CLT website as a resource for the campus community.
    Read reports from previous grant recipients »
  • Recipients will have opportunities to present completed projects at campus symposiums and special events.

Application Process

  1. Consult – As a first step, contact the Director of the Center for Learning & Teaching, Dr. Daonian Liu at DZL5300@psu.edu or (610) 396-6189 to schedule an exploratory meeting with one of our team members. During this consultation, you will be asked to share the details of your proposal and to elaborate upon responses to questions listed on our Grant Partnership Planning Sheet.
    Download Grant Planning Sheet (.docx)
  2. Apply – After your initial consultation, complete and submit your application to Dr. Liu’s office by March 17, 2023. E-mail the Application Form (see link below) to DZL5300@psu.edu with the subject: TLI Grant Partnership Proposal.

Evaluation

The TLI Grant Partnership Program proposals will be evaluated by the TLI Advisory Board Committee on the following ten criteria:

  • Follows all application steps
  • Demonstrates high degree of innovation
  • Impacts a large number of students or multiple areas of a program
  • Targets teaching and learning challenges
  • Exhibits potential to improve student learning and/or retention
  • Replicates to other courses
  • Feasibility within limits of college’s resources
  • Aligns with college’s strategic plan

Project Timelines

TLI project design and development will typically begin the semester after the proposal is approved, with implementation beginning the following semester.

Application Form

Save your completed form as “YourName_TLIgrant” and e-mail it to Dr. Daonian Liu (DZL5300@psu.edu) or print and deliver to Daonian’s office.

(To save, from your browser, click “File/Save As.” Save the completed form to your computer as YourName_TLIgrant. Attach the document to an e-mail message.)


For additional information about the TLI Grant Partnership Program, contact Dr. Daonian Liu (DZL5300@psu.edu), ext. 6189.

Back To Top
Skip to toolbar