Research and Creative Activities

The award committee will look for persuasive evidence that nominees have:

• Engaged in the systematic examination of issues about student learning and instructional conditions which promote the learning, building on previous scholarship.
• Documented the use of strategies for investigating and evaluating the impact of teaching practice on student learning, anchored in the research literature.
• Engaged in scholarship that is public, peer reviewed and critiqued.
• Produced scholarly work which contributes new questions and knowledge about teaching and learning.
• Developed a well-articulated teaching philosophy that drives research questions.
• Documented the dissemination of their scholarship results.
• Served in a formal or informal leadership role to promote and support SoTL on their campus or beyond.

Nomination portfolios are limited to 20 pages, including any appendices (1” margins, minimum 12-point font for each section below). Incorporating every kind of evidence will be impossible. Instead, each nominee will want to select only the strongest and most relevant evidence. Each portfolio must include the following information. NOTE: The TOC and the nomination letter do not count toward the maximum of 20 pages. This application must include the following documents:

1. A Table of Contents for the portfolio. NOTE: The TOC does not count toward the maximum of 20 pages.
2. Nomination letter from faculty member’s coordinator, department head, or dean that highlights research contributions on teaching and learning (1-2 pages)
3. A teaching philosophy narrative that outlines how research questions and the related goals, theories, and methods of their scholarship activities support their teaching philosophy. (1-2 pages)
4. Evidence or data about the impact of their teaching techniques/pedagogies on student learning and potential impact on teaching and learning in the discipline. (3-5 pages)
5. A condensed curriculum vitae that includes relevant SOTL presentations and/or publications. (2-3 pages)
6. One or two letters of support from colleagues qualified to comment on the value and quality of the nominee’s scholarship of teaching and learning activities, and its impact in improving undergraduate/graduate education. These letters should describe how the nominee’s activities have contributed knowledge in the field and how it has enhanced the learning of students.

Deadline for Nominations

The award nomination material must be submitted by April 5, 2021, at 12:00 p.m.

To submit an application for these awards, please use your UNG LOGIN to access the Office of Research and Engagement's Internal University Awards and External Grant Funding nominations site.

Each faculty member should upload the following three letters:

1. Applicant Letter – the mentor will provide an explanation of their cumulative mentoring activities involving undergraduates in research and/or creative activities (one page limit).
2. Colleague Letter – a recommendation letter from a colleague of the mentor who can speak first-hand about the applicant's mentoring of undergraduates in research and/or creative activities (two page limit).
3. Student Letter – a recommendation letter from an undergraduate who was mentored within a research or creative project by the applicant within the past two years (two page limit).

A faculty review panel will evaluate the completed applications and select this year's recipient. The winning mentor will receive a $500 award that will fund student or faculty travel to present their research or creative activities during the 2020-2021 academic year. Additionally, the review panel will award up to three certificates of merit for other outstanding faculty mentors. The selected mentors will also be considered for the position of CURCA Faculty Fellow for the 2020-2021 school year. Please direct any questions or comments to CURCA@ung.edu.

The faculty review panel looks forward to reading the application letters and learning about the great opportunities and experiences undergraduate students are having at the University of North Georgia.

Deadline for Nominations

The award nomination material must be submitted by April 5, 2021, at 12:00 p.m.

To submit an application for these awards, please use your UNG LOGIN to access the Office of Research and Engagement's Internal University Awards and External Grant Funding nominations site.

This application must include the following documents:

1. Nomination letter from faculty member’s colleague or supervisor that highlights research contributions on teaching and learning. (1-2 pages, 1” margins, minimum 12-point font)
2. A teaching philosophy statement that outlines how research questions and the related goals, theories, and methods of their scholarship activities support their teaching philosophy. References to their presented, published, or in-progress works are encouraged. (3-5 pages, 1” margins, minimum 12-point font)
3. Artifact of SoTL: Published or presented article, book chapter, poster, etc.
4. A condensed curriculum vitae that includes relevant SOTL presentations and/or publications. (2-3 pages, 1” margins, minimum 12-point font)
5. One or two letters of support from colleagues qualified to comment on the value and quality of the nominee’s scholarship of teaching and learning activities, and its impact in improving undergraduate/graduate education.

Deadline for Nominations

The award nomination material must be submitted by April 5, 2021, at 12:00 p.m.

To submit an application for these awards, please use your UNG LOGIN to access the Office of Research and Engagement's Internal University Awards and External Grant Funding nominations site.