An app-based toolbox to support teachers in developing authentic learning communities. Streamlined processes for employee onboarding and offboarding. Video stories about Dance alumni and their career paths.
These are among the eight innovative projects led by university and academic staff from across the School of Education that have been awarded Staff Innovation Grants in the first round of awards for 2023. The grants from the Dean’s Office in the School of Education seek to reward the ingenuity and dedication of School university and academic staff by funding projects that will have a positive impact on our School community.
“Congratulations to the teams who have been selected to win the Staff Innovation Grants,” says School of Education Dean Diana Hess. “The ideas that have been proposed are both interesting and innovative. I am particularly grateful to Associate Dean Stacey Lee for organizing the competition.”
The following projects were awarded grants of up to $10,000:
Jason Erdmann
Media, Education Resources, and Information Technology (MERIT)
SoE Onboarding and Offboarding Process Improvement
The project aims to streamline processes and create a central tracking system for employee onboarding and offboarding across the School of Education.
Annalee Good, Molly Garner Carroll, and Latoya Holiday
Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Teachers as Policy Agents — Research Partnership and Workshops
The project seeks to refine and extend the Teachers as Policy Agents policy workshops for teachers by sharing research and furthering collaborations with UW–Madison teacher education cohorts and teachers across Wisconsin.
Peter Kirschmann, Yorel Lashley, Sandra Taylor-Marshall, Stephanie Richards, and Lisa Barker
Professional Learning and Community Education (PLACE)
PLACE Education Advisory Council (PEAC)
The project will allow PLACE to create a community advisory council to deepen relationships with primary stakeholders; improve marketing; and gather feedback, ideas, and inspiration around new programs.
Cindy Kuhrasch
Department of Kinesiology
EnCourage-Empowering Educators to Create Authentic, Engaging, and Supportive Learning Communities
The project will develop an app-based toolbox of resources to support teacher education students, university staff, and in-service teachers in developing authentic, engaged, and supportive learning communities in their classroom environments.
Kelly Kwiatkowski
Dance Department
Dance Video Stories for Recruitment and Development
The project will create video stories that share the career paths of recent Dance Department alumni in New York City and document student experiences in the new summer study abroad program in Greece.
Mark Olson and Mariana Castro
Department of Curriculum and Instruction/Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Strategic Preservice Teacher and Teacher Educator Learning: Mixed-Reality Simulations for Eliciting Student Thinking
The project will advance use of a screen-based, mixed-reality simulation technology for pre-service teachers to practice engaging with students in complex instructional contexts and support their learning, while lessening the potential for harm.
Jenna Rogers
Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER)
Automation of Mentorship Evaluation System
The project will develop an automated CIMER Assessment Platform for implementers of research mentor training to assess their efforts and contribute to a national dataset advancing research on mentorship.
Kaycee Rogers and Lisa Velarde
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Collaborative Knowledge Communities: Incorporating Arts-based Storytelling for Fostering Sense of Belonging in Adolescent Newcomers
The project aims to improve the educational experience of adolescent newcomers who recently immigrated to the U.S. by forming a knowledge community for their teachers and exploring the potential of integrating storytelling through the arts to foster belonging.
Congratulations to all of the grant recipients!
Do you have an idea for a project? The Dean’s Office continues to seek proposals from School of Education university and academic staff members for Staff Innovation Grants. The next deadline to apply is Tuesday, Feb. 28. Both individuals and teams of staff members are eligible to submit a project proposal.
Learn more here.