This year, the UCR Library and the Exploration Center for Innovative Teaching and Engagement (XCITE) is offering the first-ever Teaching with R’Stuff (TRS) course transformation fellowship. TRS will provide funding, space, and staff support for transforming two existing UCR undergraduate courses into hands-on, laboratory-style courses, where students work deeply throughout the quarter with a UCR Library collection to create new knowledge. The transformed courses are intended to create opportunities for undergraduate students to create substantive scholarly or creative projects, think through information ethics, and gain technical skills.

What Is This Grant?

TRS will support two course instructors teaching undergraduate courses in fall 2020 or winter 2021 in transforming their course to deeply engage with UCR Library collections and to create opportunities for students to engage in substantive scholarly or creative projects. Successful applicants will receive:

• A $3500 grant
• Use of the UCR Library’s active learning space for course meetings
• Course access to a UCR collection (either circulating or non-circulating)
• Designated librarian and instructional designer support for the course redesign
• A mentor from the Academy of Distinguished Teachers

TRS will be awarded through a competitive process, requiring an application that addresses how the course will engage with a Library collection, have students create a non-traditional research product, and utilize an active learning space. Submissions will be scored against a rubric by a panel composed of members from the XCITE, the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, and the UCR Library. Finalists will be invited for a conversation with the review panel prior to final grant selection.

Recipients of the grant will agree to share a syllabus with the committee prior to the course, administer a grant-provided pre- and post-assessment in the redesigned course, and present on their course redesign at the 2021 UCR Celebration of Teaching.

What UCR Library Collections Can I Use in My Course?

You may utilize relevant UCR Library collections that makes sense in your course context, but will be required to specify what collection(s) you hope to work with in your application. Potential collections of interest may include:

• The Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy
• The Water Resources Collection and Archives
• The Dexter Thomas Jr. Collection of Japanese Hip-Hop (circulating collection)
• The W.H. McLeod Collection Sikh Studies (circulating collection)
• Circulating Chinese language collections
• Circulating map and atlas collections
• Local history collections
• University Archives
• Other distinctive collections

If you would like to discuss possibilities for relevant collections to your course, please contact Robin Katz to set up an appointment with a librarian prior to applying.

What Is a Non-Traditional Research Project?

We are hoping to receive applications for courses that progress toward a project other than a traditional research paper. We are especially interested in ideas that will require students to think through presenting information to different audiences, ethical and professional presentation of information on the Internet, and/or creative projects. The possibilities are open-ended, but here are a few ideas to spark your imagination:

• Development of a research symposium, digital exhibit, or website
• An artistic project
• A project that might fall into the broad category of “digital humanities” (e.g., geospatial projects, interactive web exhibits, etc.)
• Expansion of public knowledge sources, such as Wikipedia
• Translation

If you would like to discuss the possibilities for course assignments with an instructional designer or librarian, please email Robin Katz to set up an appointment.

Is My Course Eligible?

Eligibility requirements for the TRS grant:

• UCR faculty members or lecturers may apply
• Courses must be offered in fall 2020 or winter 2021
• Maximum of 30 students in the course
• Undergraduate courses only

Agree to:

• Share a syllabus with the committee prior to the course
• Check in with course librarian and instructional designer on a mutually-agreed timeline
• Administer a grant-provided pre- and post-assessment in the redesigned course
• Present on the course redesign at the 2021 UCR Celebration of Teaching

Timeline

Proposal Requirements

The application period is now closed.

For ease of preparation, we are sharing the required fields here.

• Name
• Department
• Email Address
• Course Number and Title
• Quarter of offer (Fall 2020 or Winter 2021)
• Maximum number of students in the course
• Please describe the goals of your course in 250 words or less.
• Which UCR Library collection are you interested in working with to transform your course? How will working with this collection benefit your student’s learning experience? (250-500 words)
• What non-traditional project will your students be working toward throughout the quarter? What are the learning goals of this project? (250-500 words)
• How do you plan to employ active learning strategies throughout the quarter? (250-500 words)

Rubric

Questions

Please send any questions about the grant to Robin Katz

Steering Committee

Richard Edwards, Director of XCITE

Ann Frenkel, Deputy University Librarian

Brianna Marshall, Director of Research Service, UCR Library

Tiffany Moxham, Associate University Librarian for Content & Discovery

Cherry Williams, Director of Distinctive Collections, UCR Library