Application & Award Process

2024 Theme: AI in the Classroom

The recent dramatic growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially generative AI, has radically transformed our world. In higher education, AI has, and will continue, to change how students learn, how faculty teach, the workforce our students will enter, and the world our students will engage in as they are tasked with solving society’s most pressing challenges and pursuing its most promising opportunities. In other words, new and coming advances in AI usher in a radical sea-change for higher education, beyond simply concerns about academic integrity. As these emerging technologies are beginning to impact us and as we think about the future of teaching and learning and anticipate the knowledge and skills that our students will need in a new world yet to emerge, this year’s MUS Teaching Scholars program will support faculty who are early leaders in exploring topics that include:

• use cases of AI in the classroom;
• how AI will change teaching and learning;
• how faculty and administrators must rethink pedagogy and curriculum;
• how AI may support or undermine equity and inclusion imperatives;
• opportunities to use AI to support universal design for learning; 
• mobilizing curriculum development to be responsive to rapid changes in skill and knowledge demands;
• preparing students for research in an AI-driven environment;
• Enhancing equitable learning and student outcomes through use of AI.

Program Goals & Expectations

The MUS Teaching Scholars program seeks to build communities of practice around strategies, practices, pedagogies, and scholarship that advance and elevate teaching and learning as it relates to the annual theme. As MUS Teaching Scholars, faculty commit to building and sustaining communities of practice by:

• Participating in MUS Teaching Scholars program events;
• Designing and facilitating a faculty learning community (FLC) of 6-10 faculty at your institution working to advance strategies, practices, or scholarship on teaching and learning related to this year’s theme;
• Submitting a critical reflection essay to the MUS Teaching and Learning Commons, a digital community of practice where teaching scholars and FLC participants can bring scholarship, lessons learned, pedagogical strategies and more to a wide community of faculty across the system.
• Participate in a system-wide teaching and learning symposium to share scholarship, strategies, and best practices on topics related to the annual theme and learnings from the Teaching Scholar’s faculty learning community.  

Award & Recognition

MUS Teaching Scholars will be awarded and recognized for innovative approaches to teaching, exemplary commitment to bettering outcomes for all students, and narrowing equity gaps through teaching excellence. Selected MUS Teaching Scholars will be announced in late October. In addition to recognition, scholars will also receive a $1,500 award and up to $500 to support activities of their faculty learning community.

Application Guidelines & Eligibility

MUS faculty and instructors of all ranks and at any stage of their career are invited to submit a proposal to be recognized as an MUS Teaching Scholar. Faculty may submit a joint proposal, with the award and FLC stipend to be split evenly among team members.

Applications include three parts: a brief online form, a letter of application that includes an FLC proposal, and a letter of recommendation from the applicant’s department chair, dean, or provost. Application letters may be up to two pages and should address how you are engaging in AI related to teaching and learning and a proposal for leading faculty learning community (to be conducted in Fall 2024). Strong proposals describe a particular challenge, opportunity, strategy, or research question related to the theme; the learning outcomes for the FLC; and how the work of the FLC advances our system’s understanding about the the intersection of AI and teaching and learning. 

To apply, submit an online application and PDF of the letter of application. Referees should submit letters of recommendation directly to Crystine Miller cmiller@montana.edu.  The deadline for complete applications is Thursday February 15, 2024.

Mandatory Requirements

• Must attend MUS Teaching Scholars orientation (date TBA)
• Must compile roster of 6-10 faculty for learning community by end of Spring 2024 term
• Must have plan for conducting learning community including outcomes 
• Must participate in Fall 2024 teaching and learning community
• Must contribute white paper that includes focus areas; tested strategies learnings or practices; and considerations for implementation. Faculty may produce white papers consistent with their fields genre standards. 
• Must complete all expense reporting and reimbursement by deadlines to receive stipend.

Selection Criteria

Selection for this year's Teaching Scholars will be based on:

• Demonstrated commitment to addressing impacts of AI on teaching and learning including the areas identified in but not limited to the annual theme description; 
• Clear proposal for a well-designed FLC including clear learning outcomes and description of how FLC will support participating faculty in developing, adopting, and assessing potential innovations;
• Demonstrated commitment to teaching practices that foster equitable learning and academic achievement for all students;
• Potential impact of FLC on participating faculty and their own teaching and/or scholarship of teaching and learning;
• Commitment to contributing learnings from FLC to larger MUS faculty community through participation in learning commons and teaching and learning symposium.

Timeline

Please send any questions about the MUS Teaching Scholars program to Crystine Miller, Director of Student Affairs & Student Engagement | cmiller@montana.edu.