Request for Preliminary Proposals
for Innovative Curricular Projects

The Office of Faculty Support seeks preliminary proposals for faculty-led projects to enhance the educational experience of MIT undergraduates. Projects that strengthen faculty-student direct interactions, that cross disciplinary boundaries, that explore new pedagogies including online components in residential education, and that aspire to provide dynamic, effective teaching are all appropriate.

Projects can be focused at any level of our undergraduate education. Special attention will be accorded to enhancements of subjects offered in the first year and as General Institute Requirements (GIRs). The d’Arbeloff Fund Review Committee is interested in proposals aimed at fostering faculty participation in the educational experiences of undergraduates, especially freshmen, in and beyond the classroom. Collaborative projects with the potential to affect large numbers of students over time, transcend specific departmental curricula, or span multiple subjects are particularly valuable.

This year the Dean for Undergraduate Education, Dennis Freeman, and the Director of Digital Learning, Sanjay Sarma, are encouraging and offering additional support for projects aimed at introducing online components to MIT classes, including modules to be used within a subject or across subjects. As distinct from efforts to develop classes for edX, these projects must be focused on regular undergraduate MIT subjects and be designed to enhance faculty-student interactions.

Examples of other possible proposal areas include: establishing and enhancing HASS Exploration (HEX) subjects; providing opportunities aligned with the faculty resolution that envisions every MIT freshman having a faculty mentor; and increasing freshman participation in appropriately focused group UROPs, project teams, or other forms of supervised research with faculty.

For all projects, the d’Arbeloff Fund Review Committee encourages assessment of the value of our educational innovations and the dissemination of good practices and results. For the projects involving online elements, the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education and the Office of Digital Learning will also be sponsoring workshops and other opportunities for faculty to share experiences, discuss challenges, and consult with each other about pedagogical approaches.

For guidelines and more information, visit web.mit.edu/darbeloff/ or contact the Office of Faculty Support at x3-6776 or darbeloff-fund@mit.edu.

Preliminary proposals, with an estimated budget, are due by Wednesday, October 1.

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