Guidelines & Procedures
Committee on Teaching
Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate
University of California
Purpose of the Award
The Educational Initiatives Award is a $20,000 cash award presented annually to a department or unit on the Berkeley campus in recognition of distinctive contributions to undergraduate education. Designed to complement the campus’s Distinguished Teaching Award for individual faculty, the Educational Initiatives Award is presented to a department, unit, or group of faculty that has created an outstanding program or initiative that (a) has had a sustained impact upon undergraduate education and (b) can serve as a workable model for others on campus.
Criteria
The Educational Initiatives Award is an honor given in recognition of specific educational innovation. Nominations, therefore, should emphasize recent (within the last five years) concrete accomplishments, particularly those from which other departments or programs can benefit. The nomination should highlight proven results, the extent of faculty involvement, and support both from within and from outside the department.
Nomination Process
Departments or units desiring to apply for the 2008 Educational Initiatives Award should submit the following materials to the Committee on Teaching c/o the Office of Assistant Vice Provost, Undergraduate Education, 403 Sproul Hall, Campus, #5920:
- a nominating letter of no more than two single-spaced pages from the appropriate dean, department chair, or unit head;
- a brief 1–2 page description of the program or initiative;
- a fact sheet that specifies
- the date of the initiative's inception;
- the approximate number of students affected;
- a list of courses involved and the number of times those courses were offered;
- the names of the principal faculty members involved;
- copies of relevant program materials (e.g., syllabi), if appropriate;
- supporting documents (e.g., student evaluations) and/or letters of support (no more than three) from campus colleagues not involved directly with the program, off-campus colleagues, and students.
Deadline
The deadline for submission of all materials in support of a nomination for the 2008 Educational Initiatives Award is Friday, February 1, 2008.
Award Ceremony
Each year, near the end of the spring semester, the recipient of the Educational Initiatives Award, along with the recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Award, will be honored in a public ceremony. The 2008 ceremony will be held on Wednesday, April 23, at 5:00 p.m. in Zellerbach Playhouse.
Information and Assistance
If you have questions about the award or the selection process, please contact
Steve Tollefson
Office of Educational Development
403 Sproul Hall #5920
(510) 642-0875
Past Recipients
2007: Biology 1B Field Section, Department of Integrative Biology
2006: Public Health Undergraduate Program, School of Public Helath
2005: Two Awards Given
(1) Communicating Science, Lawrence Hall of Science
(2) The Library Prize for Undergraduate Research, The Library
2004: Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Teaching & Resource Center, Graduate Division
2003: The Environmental Sciences Major, College of Natural Resources and College of Letters & Science
2002: No Award Given
2001: Two Awards Given
(1) Digital Chem 1A, College of Chemistry
Digital Chem 1A has transformed the traditional delivery of Introductory Chemistry in ways that have brought to life a vision of chemistry education for the future. Each of the Chemistry 1A lectures in Pimentel Hall is webcast live over the internet, then archived for future "on-demand" review by the students enrolled (approximately 2000 each year). Enhancing the lectures are animated PowerPoint slides that both highlight and illustrate various chemical concepts and equations; these, too, are archived for future student review. Finally, an automated quizzing system which the instructor uses to quiz, and then re-quiz, students during lecture not only gives students an opportunity to review their initial answers, it also actually breaks down the isolation of the large lecture format by requiring students to review their answers by talking to other students sitting nearby.
Faculty Contacts: Mark Kubinec and Alexander Pines(2) MACTiA (Multimedia Authoring Center for Teaching in Anthropology), Department of Anthropology
The MACTiA Multimedia Authoring Initiative has sought to integrate a wide range of multimedia into the teaching of anthropology, especially archaeology. As part of a wider pedagogical philosophy that stresses small-group learning, MACTIA uses computer-based multimedia and a coaching model, rather than a performance or "banking" model of teaching, to emphasize the development of critical thinking. Lectures are combined with multimedia authoring in sections. Working in MACTiA's small multimedia teaching laboratory, students learn a variety of software programs that they then use to present projects content-rich with archaeological concepts, theories, discoveries, and cultural histories. Each section acts as a production team in the creation of a multimedia interpretation and presentation of the archaeological data. When it all works well, the way that students marshal evidence is closer to that of professional researchers, inspiring more critical appreciation on the students' part of the strengths and weaknesses of research publications.
Faculty Contacts: Ruth Tringham, Margaret Conkey, and Rosemary Joyce2000: ESPM 160AC and ESPM XB 160AC, "American Environmental and Cultural History", College of Natural Resources
The course "American Environmental and Cultural History" was reorganized to take advantage of computer-based technologies (presentation software, audio, and video) and to create both on-campus and on-line versions of the course.
Faculty Contact: Carolyn Merchant1999: Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Department of Physics
The Department of Physics restructured Physics 7A and 7B to make them more effective. The new versions are still based on a standardized curriculum, but emphasize group work and active learning throughout.
Faculty Contact: Roger Falcone1998: No award given
1997: Undergraduate Minor in Education, Graduate School of Education
The Undergraduate Minor in Education encourages serious intellectual inquiry into the nature of education. Students must complete five courses in Education, including the Core Course, Current Issues in Education, and a course in fieldwork in education.
Faculty Contact: Eugene Garcia1996: Center for the Teaching and Study of American Cultures
Through the Center more than 150 faculty members from 41 different departments or programs have developed over 200 new courses that present the diversity of American experience.
Faculty Contact: Mitch Breitwieser1995: Undergraduate Instrumentation and Image Processing Laboratory, Department of Astronomy
The Laboratory and its associated courses, Astronomy 80 and 180, enable undergraduate students, working in research groups, to design and assemble a radio observatory, then use it to make astronomical observations.
Faculty Contact: Carl Heiles1994: Institute of Governmental Studies
"The American Political System in Action" provides serious research opportunities for undergraduate students interested in the American political system.
Faculty Contact: Nelson Polsby1993: Department of Forestry and Resource Management, College of Natural Resources
Forestry and Resource Management (now a part of ESPM) developed a new program in cultural resources and ecology. Three new courses in the undergraduate Resource Management major also satisfy requirements within other majors in the College and campuswide.
Faculty Contact: Lynn Huntsinger