Preparing workshop proposals (#1007)

Topics/tags: Academia, things I had to write in any case

One of the many great things about Grinnell is that we offer a wide variety of summer workshops for faculty and staff [1]. The mechanism for determining which summer workshops will be offered involves multiple stages. First, people who are interested in hosting workshops submit workshop proposals. Next, the workshops are advertised and folks sign up for the ones of interest. Those who are eligible for a stipend [2] can receive a stipend for up to two workshops. The workshops that garner an appropriate deal of interest are offered, provided there is enough funding. If there’s not, I’m not sure what happens.

It used to be that the Instructional Support Committee (ISC) selected from among the workshop proposals, but I think we moved on to more of a popularity model. I could be wrong [3]. Some workshops are funded through the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (CTLA) budget. Some are funded through external grants or other internal budgets. For example, there is often money in an Innovation Fund project to support workshops.

I have one individual Innovation Fund Planning Project, which nonetheless involves at least one other person, and one group Innovation Fund Planning Project. Both will involve summer workshops. I had hoped to offer two-day workshops, but it looks like the fewest number of days one can offer is three. That may be worth revisiting with the CTLA. Three-day workshops count toward the cap of two paid workshops per faculty member [5]. I was hoping that two-day workshops would not. Oh well, I’ll revisit that question with the director of the CTLA.

Let’s see. What information do we have to provide?

Workshop Leader and Email.

Co-leader Name and Email (if applicable).

Type of workshop (select one): (3-day, 4-day, or 4-day).

Proposed workshop title.

Brief description of workshop.

Target audience for the workshop (provide more detailed information in the text field): Faculty, Staff.

Departments or concentrations to which knowledge gained in the workshop will contribute.

Expected outcomes of the workshop.

Select a week that the workshop may be held (select up to 3). (If you have a top choice, please note this in the text field. Final scheduling will be determined in March.)

Your estimated budget for extra expenses if applicable (e.g. books, presenters, etc.). Don’t include catering costs or stipends which are assumed for 3-5 day workshops.

If you have special funding available to support the workshop, describe here.

Do you have any special scheduling or technical needs for this workshop? Do you want shared intranet space on GrinnellShare (e.g. document library)? Do you have a location request? If so, please describe here:

Wow. That doesn’t seem nearly as bad as I thought. Here goes.

Type of workshop (select one): (3-day, 4-day, or 4-day). 3-day.

Proposed workshop title. A more humanistic approach to assessing Grinnell students’ individual curricula

Brief description of workshop. We will explore alternative approaches to supporting and assessing the success of Grinnell’s Individually Advised Curriculum (IAC) in ways more closely tied to our goals for the IAC than those used for the last reaccreditation, which focused primarily on counting courses taken in each division. We will likely consider mechanisms that require students to explicitly articulate their understanding of the liberal arts in writing and to argue for the corresponding design of their four-year plans, perhaps with a form of public curriculum defense.

Target audience for the workshop (provide more detailed information in the text field): Faculty, Staff. This workshop is open to any faculty and staff with an interest in the IAC.

Departments or concentrations to which knowledge gained in the workshop will contribute. [Blank]

Expected outcomes of the workshop. The workshop will produce a proposal for a pilot project that asks students to more carefully articulate their understanding of the liberal arts and their rationale for their four-year plans, along with plans for using those materials in assessment of Grinnell’s overall program.

Select a week that the workshop may be held (select up to 3). (If you have a top choice, please note this in the text field. Final scheduling will be determined in March.) June 22, June 29, or July 6.

Your estimated budget for extra expenses if applicable (e.g. books, presenters, etc.). Don’t include catering costs or stipends which are assumed for 3-5 day workshops. Nothing additional is needed.

If you have special funding available to support the workshop, describe here. This workshop will be supported by an Innovation Fund Planning Grant.

Do you have any special scheduling or technical needs for this workshop? Do you want shared intranet space on GrinnellShare (e.g. document library)? Do you have a location request? If so, please describe here: We would like a shared intranet space on GrinnellShare.

It appears that I was much too anxious about this. Now that I have a draft, I should run it by my co-lead [6]. I’ve also sent my notes on the Convocation proposal to my co-leads for that. I know that one of them planned to edit them. I hope they submitted the form.

[1] One of the less good things about Grinnell is that while most faculty are compensated for participating in the workshops, staff and library faculty generally are not. I’d like to see that change.

[2] See prior endnote.

[3] It appears that I am wrong. The form says Summer workshops proposals will be reviewed by the CTLA and the ISC. [4]

[4] I thought the workshops proposals was my typo. For once, it appears to be someone else’s

[5] I assume some faculty who see that there are multiple workshops of interest will prioritize the five-day workshops. On the other hand, I know from my own experience that when I see more than two workshops in which I want to participate, I offer to go to the three-day workshops without compensation.

[6] They didn’t have many suggestions, mostly because they hadn’t realized I was making them co-lead. It appears that my communication skills are even more lacking than normal.

Version 1.0 of 2020-02-02.