Indiana University

Mack Fellows Program

m
   
Mack Charter

The Mack Center at Indiana University for Inquiry on Teaching and Learning

VISION
The Mack Center exists to stimulate inquiry in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, to recognize, honor, and increase the influence of that scholarly inquiry, and to foster change with the underlying goal of promoting excellence in education at Indiana University, in the United States, and internationally.

MISSION
The Mack Center mission has four components:

Inquiry on College Teaching and Learning
The Mack Center will focus on supporting the scholarship of teaching and learning. The Center will promote and support Endowed Chairs and other faculty appointments, Mack Center Fellows, Visiting Scholars, faculty affiliates, and student interns. The Center will aid faculty and students in developing scholarship of teaching and learning projects that explore more effective ways of enhancing teaching and learning. The key objective is to foster the development of pedagogies that are evidence-based and theory-framed.

Faculty Development
 The Mack Center, in cooperation with FACET and other entities, will explore and apply the lessons, findings, and principles of Scholarship of teaching and learning in faculty development. Programs and activities will be aimed at students and faculty in all stages of career development.

Dissemination
 The Mack Center will sponsor and support publications, institutes, conferences, and workshops to promote and advance the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Community-Building
The Mack Center will nurture the growth of university, state, and global communities of teacher-scholars. These collaborations will establish links to other individuals and organizations sharing similar or related goals.

Collaboration
The Mack Center will work closely with FACET to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The Center will:
Establish and house an Institute for the Advanced Study of College and University Teaching and Learning;

Foster collaborations with other relevant programs including graduate student programs (e.g., the Preparing Future Faculty and Future Faculty Teaching Fellows programs), journal of scholarship of teaching and learning, and teaching and learning centers; and

Encourage multidisciplinary engagement and promote diversity in the practice of the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Organizational Structure
We envision an evolving organizational structure that will move the Mack Center from its initial focus of selecting and supporting Mack Fellows to one that is appropriate to the broad vision articulated above. The initial phase of supporting Fellows will be administered by FACET. However, over time we expect that the Mack Center will address this vision and engage synergistically with other entities. As these activities and synergies grow we expect that the governance structure of the Mack Center will evolve to include collaboration with entities in addition to FACET. Throughout this process of development, the Mack Center will maintain a multi-campus emphasis in its support of the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Director

Carol Hostetter, Social Work, IU Bloomington, 1127 E Atwater, 812 855-4427

Back to top

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS:
2010-11 MACK CENTER FELLOWS: CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The Mack Fellows’ work is at the very core of the mission of Indiana University’s Mack Center for Inquiry on Teaching and Learning. Each year a group of fellows is selected from the full-time faculty of IU campuses to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Each applicant must propose an ambitious yet attainable SoTL research project. Projects should be innovative, well grounded in the emerging body of knowledge about SoTL, and have a projected important effect on the home campus, IU, SoTL and/or on scholarly teaching across the academy. Dissemination through poster sessions, the publication of a working paper in the Mack Center Series, and eventual publication in an appropriate scholarly journal are expectations of the fellowship. Each of these issues of innovation, significance and dissemination must be discussed in the proposal. Further dissemination through other publications and through the successful implementation of new programs is encouraged.

Please note that Mack Fellows are asked to participate in our ongoing community of SoTL scholars. Opportunities for collaboration in research and publication go beyond the time table of commitments listed below.

Applications will be judged on the following criteria:

  1. Quality: A wide variety of projects is encouraged. Each proposal should show a good understanding of existing theory, data and practice that apply to the project, and describe how these will be advanced by the project. Thus, it should be grounded in existing work and yet show evidence of creativity and innovation that will advance our knowledge of SoTL and its implementation.
  2. Project Preparation: A Mack Fellow will join the community of Mack Center SoTL scholars. One of the benefits of becoming a Mack Fellow is the feedback that one receives on one’s research. Priority is given to projects that are at a stage that will benefit the most from this feedback. At minimum, the proposal should have a thorough literature review that helps inform the reader of the project’s potential contribution to existing SoTL knowledge. The proposed research design must also be discussed in detail. Full description of methods (e.g. observation, record analysis, interventions) must be provided and accompanied by adequate description of operationalization of concepts, hypotheses, qualitative coding rules, and analytic techniques, where relevant. Although pilot data collection efforts may have begun, preference is given to projects that have not already completed the data collection stage since the set of usable feedback is more limited at that point. Of course, projects that use existing data (e.g., institutional records) in a new way to address questions of significant to SoTL are also welcome.
  3. Potential: The fellowship applicant should provide strong evidence of past success in research or other project completion, dissemination and implementation. Applicants need not be members of FACET, but they should show a good appreciation of the scholarship of teaching and learning and its application in scholarly teaching and teaching innovation. Applications from junior faculty are also encouraged, but must provide evidence of an ability to conduct research and present findings. The proposal itself should show promise of successful completion. If additional funding is necessary, options and plans for obtaining such funding should be discussed with an evaluation of the probability of being awarded. While the issues addressed may continue to be studied for years to come, the project should have definable goal that can be completed and presented in no more than 18 months.
  4. Breadth: Proposals from a wide variety of campus settings, departments and disciplines are encouraged. A maximum of three proposals in any year will be selected from any one campus. Given proposals of equal quality and potential, the selection committee will seek to select fellows with diverse backgrounds and settings as a way to enrich their dialog with one another and the potential synergy for the Mack Center and IU as a whole. Joint proposals that include more than one campus, or more than one discipline within a single campus, are also encouraged. In such cases, applicants must specify the role of each applicant and whether the proposal is possible if not all project partners are selected as fellows. Typically in a joint application, only one person is designated a Mack Fellow for the project. However, applicants should make a case in the application justifying both applicants as Mack Fellows if that is their intention, and the selection committee will take it into consideration.
  5. Scope and Supporting Materials. Each applicant should submit to the FACET office one paper and one electronic copy of the proposal and his/her CV. Proposals should be no more than six pages long (12-point font, doubled-spaced). In addition to a description of the project, the applicant should explain how the proposed project fits into his or her life as a teacher scholar. Applicants with very long vitae are encouraged to submit brief versions that highlight their most important and relevant qualifications. Two or three letters of reference should be sent directly to the FACET office. These letters should address the significance of the proposed project, its applicability in departmental, campus or other contexts and should comment on the probability that the applicant will finish the project in a timely manner.

Remuneration: Mack Fellows will each receive $1500 in research funds. Each will receive an initial $1000 research fund upon acceptance of her or his application and receipt of a confirmation of her or his intent to participate as a Mack Fellow (see calendar). An additional $500 will be granted upon the completion and submission of an acceptable working paper to the Mack Center Working Paper Series published in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (JoSoTL). Fellows will also be guests of FACET at both their initial and concluding FACET retreats. FACET will also make arrangements for the critical February meetings.

IRB approval: By their nature, most SoTL projects will need IRB approval. If a project is subject to IRB approval, the candidate must submit the project to his/her campus review board. Please append IRB approval to the proposal submission. If IRB approval is still pending or planned at the time of submission, indicate the current status and IRB plans. No funds will be released until proof of IRB approval has been received.

back to top

CALENDAR [Note: Fellowships will start in March, 2010 and run through May, 2011]

February 1, 2010: Applications from prospective fellows are due in the FACET office via e-mail to FACET@iupui.edu or campus mail to Kimberly Olivares, FACET, UL 1180D, IUPUI. Prospective fellows are also encouraged to seek additional IU and external support as appropriate, such as teaching and research grants and inter-campus grants. Note that many of these also have fall application deadlines. It is also be appropriate to apply for other internal funding before January 2009.

March 2010: Successful applicants will be notified. Unsuccessful applicants will be given feedback and suggestions on revising their proposals for future years.

Spring 2010: Beginning of Fellowship: New fellows will meet together at a central location. They will discuss their proposals and meet with the previous cohort of fellows for feedback and sharing of ideas. Each fellow or project group will be planning for a poster session or seminar presentation that will introduce their projects at the FACET retreat.

Mid-May 2010: New fellows will meet at the FACET retreat to discuss refinements on their projects and plans for presentation during the FACET retreat. They will prepare a poster on their research project to exhibit at the retreat.

Fall Semester 2010: Fellows will work on their projects and remain in electronic contact with one another on project progress.

Spring 2011: Fellows will meet at a central location to discuss their on-going work and to further plan its dissemination. They will also meet with the in-coming cohort of new fellows to report on their work and to provide feedback and suggestions on the new projects.

Spring Semester 2011: Fellows will work to complete their projects, to prepare a final presentation at the FACET retreat, and to write their article for the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. At this point, fellows should also be planning additional avenues for publication and dissemination. All fellows should be presenting their work on campus, such as seminars or workshops organized by their teaching and learning center or their FACET liaison.

Mid-May 2011: End of Fellowship: Fellows again meet at the FACET retreat to discuss final analysis and presentation of their projects. Concluding fellows will present their work to FACET during the weekend.

Back to top

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION contact any of the Charter Mack Fellows:


Or one of the 2004-2005 Mack Fellows:


Or one of the 2005-2006 Mack Fellows:


Or one of the 2006-2007 Mack Fellows:

Or the 2007-2008 Mack Fellow:

Or one of the 2008-2009 Mack Fellows:

Or one of the 2009-2010 Mack Fellows:

The Marian v.L. and P.A. Mack, Jr. Endowment is committed to the promotion of teaching excellence at IU.;The Center is to become an integral part of future FACET initiatives and planning to spread the value and strong mission of teaching and learning across national and international boundaries. Individuals spearheading the Center's structural planning and fundraising efforts include P.A. Mack., the IU Foundation, and FACET.

Back to top

Clues to a Successful MACK CENTER Proposal

Before Your Write: Have a good idea; know that it has not been done (or is in need of replication) and can be done, understand its place in SOTL(i.e., is it important and why)

1. Take Seriously and Look Carefully at the Call
Unlike most requests for grants, this call was written by the people who will be the reviewers. So, it would make a lot of sense to make sure that the things that are asked for are in the proposal.

2. Use and Make the Committee aware of your Knowledge of the SOTL literature

  • General SOTL literature on the topic (e.g., retention, learning communities, assessment)
  • Relevant literature in your discipline (e.g., the teaching journal in your discipline, and, if relevant, the concepts, methods, theories from your discipline..socialization, organizational culture)
  • SOTL literature on your topic but NOT in your discipline (e.g., problem-based learning was pioneered in medical schools, so if that is your topic, you should explore that tradition)

3. Clearly lay out the question
Make it stand out, make it so anyone from any discipline can understand it. Describe the relevant contributions to your campus, IU, your discipline, the SOTL agenda, etc. (No one project is expected to do EVERYTHING but understand what contributions its can make). Be very clear about what the "deliverables" are (papers, publications, presentations, reports, pilot data fro a larger project/grant proposal). Make sure you can deliver what you promise. Talk about the dissemination plans..where , when, what venues (Be specific and do your homework).

4. Provide Adequate Detail on Methods and Analysis
This is what helps the reviewers know that the project is "do-able" and that you are the one to do it. Traditionally, the lack of detail here is where most proposals fall down.bgm,

5. Include a discussion of Human Subjects Issues and Protections
You needn't be approved by your IRB but plans to do that and to discuss the major issues should be outlined in the proposal. Take, pass and include certification of taking your IU campuses Human Subjects test (or take IUPUI's tutorial and web-based test).

6. Help your letter writers
The letters should say a few things:

  1. This person can do it
  2. Where does this fit in the individual's career agenda, department or campus agenda, etc.
  3. This is an important SOTL project and why

Consider having different letter writer's focus on different points, depending on the qualifications of each letter writer (e.g., Department chair, another SOTL scholar, etc.)

What the letters should not do is be very generic "X is very smart , a great scholar of X" disicipline"..we really want to know about this project and you regarding this project.

7. Understand that the project can stand-alone or be part of a larger project or a take-off on another project.
At the moment, inter-disciplinary collaborations are favored in a number of venues. We are not opposed to such collaborations. However, the MACK Fellowship is small and there can be only one person on the team named as THE Mack Fellow. So consider the project in light of the resources made available.