Apply to the Teaching and Learning Grants Program

The Teaching and Learning Grants program is intended to support effective teaching and learning initiatives proposed by individuals or groups who contribute to the learning experiences of University of Calgary students. Recognizing that everyone at the university makes these contributions, we invite applications that involve academic staff and librarians, archivists, curators, teaching assistants, post-doctoral scholars, student service professionals and administrative staff. In addition, fundable projects may involve a range of contexts and activities, not just those that occur in the classroom.  

However, there are specific guidelines about who can serve as Principal Grant Holders (PGH). See below for details. 

While collaboration with colleagues from other institutions is valued, grant funds may only be used for expenses incurred by University of Calgary collaborators on a project. 

Principal grant-holders (PGH) must be continuously employed by the University of Calgary for the duration of the proposed grant. Sessionals, graduate students and others with appointments that don’t continuously span the full duration of the grant may be co-applicants but not PGHs. In addition, Research Services stipulates that only the following may serve as PGHs: 

• Academic Appointee - any employee of the University holding an academic appointment (continuing, limited term, contingent term or sessional) or a non-employee of the University holding a clinical or adjunct appointment.  
• Manager, level M2 or above.  
• For Qatar any employee is eligible, provided sponsor guidelines allow for this provision.
• Any individual may be the PGH on only one Teaching Scholars project at a time
• A PGH on a Teaching Scholars project may participate as a collaborator on one or more concurrent Teaching and Learning Grants project, but not as a PGH
• An individual may receive Teaching Scholars funding only one time during their academic career

Any individual may be the PGH on only one Teaching and Learning Grant per grant cycle. Current grant holders in good standing—successful human ethics certification (if required by Research Services), required reports submitted by the deadlines—may apply for new Teaching and Learning Grants. A PGH on one grant may participate as a collaborator on one or more concurrent Teaching and Learning Grants.  

If a PGH terminates employment with the university, a new one may be proposed to the Teaching and Learning Grants program administration, or the grant may revert back to the fund. 

Recipients of Teaching and Learning Grants will: 

• Follow the processes required for starting their projects, as described materials provided with the Notice of Award 
• As soon as possible upon receiving a Notice of Award, apply for ethics certification (required for release of funds) and follow an ethics protocol for research involving human subjects
• Follow University of Calgary procedures to have their project reviewed by Research Services and set up in the Research Accounting system 
• Implement the proposal as approved (adhering to budget, evaluating impact on learning, following the timeline, disseminating, etc.), unless changes requested in writing are approved by the grants administrators 
• Attend, as possible, gatherings of grant recipients at the TI 
• Submit a progress report halfway through the project (required for release of second-year funding for multi-year projects), as well as a mandatory final report 
• Share the results of the completed project with relevant audiences as outlined in the proposal, and through a TI online showcase 
• Participate in adjudication of Teaching and Learning Grants applications in subsequent years 
• In addition, Teaching Scholars will participate in an interdisciplinary community of practice hosted through the TI

Most Teaching and Learning Grants projects will need ethics certification. In particular, grant applicants whose research plans involve studying students and/or students’ work are strongly encouraged to consult the TI’s Ethics in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Guide. Grant applicants are also advised to initiate the ethics certification process early (which involves creating an account with IRISS and completing the CORE tutorial, before an ethics application can be submitted). Projects that require ethics certification will not have funds released until the CFREB or CHREB has approved the project. From application to submission, this process can take 4 to 6 weeks or longer, so applicants are advised to initiate this process early on.

We invite applications on any issues relevant to teaching and learning, but we are especially interested in topics that are supported by an institutional strategy, plan, or framework. The University of Calgary has a variety of strategic initiatives, and the TI has several areas of focus. The areas of focus for this year are indicated on the Teaching and Learning Grants program webpage. We encourage potential applicants to read about the important campus initiatives below. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate how their project aligns with elements of the relevant campus strategies. Some resources include: 

• The 2018-2023 Academic Plan 

• The Indigenous Strategy: ii' taa'poh'to'p 

• The Campus Mental Health Strategy 

• The Institutional Sustainability Strategy 

• The University of Calgary International Strategy 

• The Strategic Framework for Learning Technologies 

The TI and the University of Calgary recognize that diversity benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We therefore require applicants to explain how they have considered principles of equity, diversity and inclusion in the design of their research and in the composition of their research teams. An excellent discussion of these principles in research can be found here. While this information was designed for applicants to federally funded Tri-Council programs, it applies equally to TI initiatives. 

Including students as co-investigators in the scholarship of teaching and learning has been shown to have tremendous potential to increase the impact of our work. We strongly encourage applicants to consider how to engage students directly in the research process in order to bring their perspectives to bear on the work, and we ask applicants to explain their approach to student engagement in their application. Resources to assist in thinking about student involvement in the scholarship of teaching and learning can be found on the Teaching and Learning Grants webpage.

A key goal of the Teaching and Learning Grants program is to support initiatives that will contribute to enhanced teaching and learning over the long term. Applicants will be asked to describe how the design of their project and their dissemination activities will allow the impact and outcomes of their project to be felt for learners beyond the funding period of the project.