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MULTIDISCIPLINARY LEARNING TEAM TEACHING INITIATIVE

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University of Michigan
Office of the provost
multidisciplinary learning and team teaching
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, 2008–2009
DEADLINE: december 12, 2008

FOCUS on Large and Small courses
for lower and upper level undergraduates

Seed Funding for Multidisciplinary Programs and Team-Taught Courses

The Office of the Provost in cooperation with the Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching Steering Committee solicits proposals for undergraduate, multidisciplinary team-taught courses involving instructors from two or more disciplinary areas in departments/schools/colleges, and for new degree programs that cross disciplines.  Recommendations on submitted proposals will be made to the Provost by the Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching Steering Committee, which is comprised of faculty representatives across the University. 

Introduction and Background

In order to prepare for a life of productive endeavor in the 21st century, undergraduates at the University of Michigan must learn problem solving across disciplines and launch inquiries in uncharted territories of knowledge and practice.  They must examine the assumptions that inhere in a disciplinary perspective and integrate material outside of patterns they are taught. They must locate issues within larger frameworks of thought, negotiate multiple perspectives, and develop habits of critical questioning and creative problem solving. In addition, they must learn how to find their way through disconnected bodies of information and perspectives and create their own path to a coherent education. We believe that the major problems of our time, from the environment to poverty, from human rights to terrorism, from religious movements to health issues, cannot be studied effectively within any single discipline; all involve integrative, cross-disciplinary thinking.

For the past four decades, national associations and task forces charged with improving the academy have issued many reports recommending that integrative learning be a key component of the undergraduate experience. As a result, multidisciplinary teaching has become a rapidly growing part of curricular reform at institutions all across the country. Many liberal arts colleges feature comprehensive multidisciplinary courses and programs that give them a competitive edge in student recruitment and training. At research universities, it is harder to find good examples of the kind of multidisciplinary teaching that is so prevalent at smaller schools, which creates a special opportunity for the rich disciplinary diversity at the University of Michigan.  The 2005 Report of the President’s Task Force on Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching (http://www.umich.edu/­pres/committees/team_final_report.pdf) describes the motivation, several key issues and opportunities of this initiative for the University of Michigan.

Until recently, there were no University-wide programs to support development of large-scale team-teaching efforts and multidisciplinary degree programs for undergraduates.  Such initiatives historically had been driven by and supported on an ad hoc basis from a variety of provostal, school/college and external sources.

In Fall 2005, President Mary Sue Coleman dedicated $2.5 million dollars in funding to support team-teaching and multidisciplinary courses and degree programs at the undergraduate level.  Over the next five years we aspire to support several initiatives that lead to new, high enrollment courses or course sequences, as well as new cross-unit degree programs. In order to promote sustainable courses and programs, substantial support will be dedicated to develop these courses and degree programs, followed by diminishing levels of support as these activities are absorbed by home units.

Funding Priorities for 2008-09

Funding in previous years focused on the development of new degree programs and courses that involve a large number of undergraduates.  For 2008/09, funding will be expanded to smaller-scale courses that involve student groups down to 20-25, and that have a well-developed plan for long-term sustainability of these offerings. These funds are open to all levels of courses, from introductory to capstone. A key requirement is that proposed courses and programs address sustainability of these activities, while aligning with the long-term priorities of the units involved. 

Eligibility

The Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching Steering Committee welcomes proposals from all instructional staff at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  Proposals must demonstrate how the course/program is multidisciplinary, detail the model of team teaching that will be used, and include a statement from the faculty members’ department chairs or program directors on long-term sustainability after funding ceases.  Letters from relevant Deans are required for program proposals.  Eligibility to apply for funding does not insure that funding will be granted.   

Overall Support

Total funding for the Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Taught Courses and Programs will be $2.5 million allotted over a 5-year period.  The Committee plans to award up to 10 proposals for up to 3 years of support.

Proposal Guidelines

Successful proposals must make a convincing case that the initiative will attract strong enrollments and can be sustained past the start-up funding from this program.  Proposals should include:

• One-page summary statement on the goals and organization of the course(s)/program.
• Full description of course(s)/program and how it relates to students’ and units’ interests.  Some examples of multidisciplinary areas are: 
  • Internationalization;
  • Global Health;
  • Sustainable Energy.
• Description of multidisciplinary elements of the course or program.  Multidisciplinary is minimally defined as cross-department for large units and cross-school/college for smaller programs.
• Target enrollments (note: small course offerings are included for 08/09).
• Model of team teaching that will be used for courses.  Courses must have a commitment from at least one tenured/tenure track faculty member to lead the course. (see http://www.provost.umich.edu/­programs/MLTT/index.html for examples on teaching models).
• Methods of evaluation of student learning outcomes, success of course and teaching collaborations, benefits of program as a whole in both short and long term.  Each supported course/program will partner with a staff member from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching to design an offering-specific assessment vehicle.  This activity is separately funded by the MLTT initiative and is made available at no cost to the new course/program.
• Plan for sustainability
  • Degree to which the activity fits within the unit context
  • Detail and design of activity
  • Plan for attracting and retaining student enrollment
  • Path to financial stability following a period of start-up support from MLTT initiative (at steady state, the schools and colleges involved in the initiative should be expected to contribute up to the normal level of support for courses in the particular subject area and at the particular level)
  • Description of how course will meet any existing requirements for curriculum
• Proposed budget that includes:
  • Cost for preparation of course/program
  • Cost for implementation of course/program
  • Cost for replacement faculty
  • Funding timeline

All course proposals must be explicitly endorsed by the Department Chairs or Program Directors of the Schools/Colleges/Division involved, and program proposals must be endorsed by the Department Chairs/Program Directors and Deans of the Schools/Colleges/Division involved.

Terms of Award

Recipients may be asked to attend an annual seminar in which faculty can confer with others who are involved in or plan for similar interdisciplinary activities, and in which they can help formulate proposals for new programs or courses.

A short yearly progress report on the course/program is required, in addition to a full report upon completion of the support period.  

Deadlines

Proposals are accepted until December 12, 2008, for activities starting the following Fall term. Incomplete or insufficient proposals will be treated as pre-proposals and, if possible, the committee will provide feedback on ways to strengthen the application. 

Point of Contact

One electronic copy of the proposal should be sent to:  
Stephanie Riegle at sbrugler@umich.edu

Questions regarding the details of proposal preparation should be sent to:
            Stephanie Riegle, Assistant Vice Provost
            email:  sbrugler@umich.edu;      phone:  615-6737

Questions regarding the evaluation and decision process should be sent to:
            Ben van der Pluijm, Chair of MLTT Steering Committee
            email: vdpluijm@umich.edu 

Review of Proposals and Decisions

Submitted proposals will be reviewed by the Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching Steering Committee.  Within two months of submission of a completed application the steering committee will communicate with proponents before making funding recommendations to the Provost.  The Provost will make the final funding decisions.

Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest

Proposals submitted to the Steering Committee will be treated as confidential documents.  Members of the Steering Committee will review all proposals, but they will not take part in the review process of their own proposals or other potential conflicts of interest.

Resources

The following services may be useful for proposal development:

Center for Research on Learning and Teaching: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/.

Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs:
http://www.provost.umich.edu/programs/MLTT/index.html.

Steering Committee Members

Current members of the Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching Steering Committee are:

                                                
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