AD271: Education Research Grant Writing Workshop

The two-session grant writing workshop is an interactive platform that brings together faculty who are developing their educational research grant proposals. This peer-to-peer faculty workshop aims to create a space that fosters honest feedback and constructive assessment, focusing on refining the logical arguments in the introduction and methodology sections of proposals. The workshop will be facilitated by a TLC faculty experienced in writing and reviewing education research grant proposals.

AD272: Teaching Grant Writing Workshop

The three-session teaching grant writing workshop is an interactive platform designed to support faculty in developing their teaching grant proposals. Through a peer-to-peer approach, it provides a collaborative space for honest feedback and constructive assessment. Participants will focus on conceptualizing a study for a teaching grant, developing a strong methodology, and enhancing the overall quality of their proposals. The workshop will also cover key considerations for crafting a compelling submission. Facilitated by a TLC faculty member experienced in writing and reviewing grant proposals, this workshop equips faculty with the insights and skills needed for a successful application.

AD273: Conceptualising an Education Research Proposal

This workshop is intended for novice researchers who plan to submit an extended project proposal for approval by their institution or a funding organization. It will cover the multiple purposes of a proposal, how to identify and articulate a suitable research problem, the major structural elements of a proposal, and how to ensure that these elements are unified by a cohesive argument. Particular emphasis is placed on introducing strategies to help beginning researchers conceptualise the overarching argument they wish to make, as well as to plan the vital initial section of the proposal—namely, the Problem/Purpose/Question statement. These learning points will be reinforced through hands-on practice, where workshop attendees will analyse how novice researchers present their proposals.

Researching Our Scholarship and Our Teaching by Emeritus Professor Janice Orrell

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) has become entrenched in the discourse of improvement in higher education. SoTL represents a powerful, symbiotic relationship between teaching, learning, and scholarly inquiry. It is at its best when it involves deep inquiry into what is already known (scholarship), delving deeply and critically into the questions that have been answered, and uncovering important questions that have yet to be addressed. Successful SoTL then pursues these unanswered questions using creative research designs that delve deeply into the processes of learning and teaching—going beyond mere surveys and interviews. This workshop will provide examples and stories of different practice-based inquiries and research that have led to sustained, constructive change. It will also explore the core principles and processes that have been found to foster effective and lasting innovation and change in education.

Making Feedback Work for Learning: Implications for Students and Ourselves by Professor David Boud

Feedback is probably the most important single contributor to learning at all levels and in all contexts. Over the past decade, scholars have a more sophisticated view of what is involved in feedback. It is seen no longer as the comments that teachers make on students’ work, but the whole process in which learners use information from a variety of sources to improve their work. Some previously taken-for-granted feedback activities are proving to be not fit for purpose. Considerable time is commonly wasted by teachers on providing comments to students which are unwelcome and can’t be acted upon because of the ways in which courses are structured. The session will examine the nature of the transformation in feedback thinking and the practical implications this has for both the way courses and assessments are designed and conducted and what teachers need to do to equip themselves for the new challenges. It will also touch on the increasing role of generative AI in feedback processes.

Integrating Qualitative with Quantitative Methods for Effective Mixed Method Research by Emeritus Associate Professor Rita Silver

This workshop will focus primarily on how qualitative methods are used in mixed method research. Qualitative and quantitative methods can be effectively integrated in various ways for research designs that effectively answer theoretical and applied questions. It will overview fundamental principles of qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research – How are they similar? Different? What types of questions can each address? We will then discuss different types of mixed method research and how researchers make decisions about the proportion and type of qual/quant in mixed method research.

Designing Intervention Studies by Emeritus Associate Professor Rita Silver

In this workshop, you will learn about intervention research – research that includes one or more treatments, actions, or applications that attempt to bring about change and evaluate that change in a rigorous manner. While we will discuss the ‘clinical research model’ and classic experimental research, we will also consider other types of intervention studies that can be used especially in educational research, with populations of different sizes.

What is a “conceptual framework” and why does my research proposal need it? by Emeritus Associate Professor Rita Silver

This workshop will emphasize a) understanding what a conceptual framework is, b) why it is important to articulate a conceptual framework for your research project and c) how to develop the necessary conceptual framework. We will consider this in light of writing research proposals (including grant proposals). We will also consider how developing a conceptual framework supports deeper thinking and better preparation for carrying out a research project. We will look at the role of a conceptual framework in a research proposal, how it helps link the purpose and methodology, conceptualize the relationship of the different variables, and justify the significance of your research as well as the approach you take in the study. During the workshops, we will analyze a few “real life” examples, we will then “game” some alternatives using different theories of learning, concluding with discussion of why some conceptual frameworks are a better “fit” for some research purposes and methods.