Faculty Grant in Internationalizing Curriculum

Faculty Grant in Internationalizing Curriculum 

The Penn State Abington Faculty Grant in Internationalizing Curriculum supports Abington faculty in all disciplines.  The grant helps faculty 1) modify existing syllabi to best serve international students by incorporating culturally sensitive topics and activities, and 2) serve all students in our diverse population, by including global content and fostering global competency and global citizenship.  Proposals are due to the Abington Office of Global Programs by October 31, 2022.  

Grant Amount: 

Grants are available in the amount of $5,000 per recipient. Grant funds are awarded upon completion of all program requirements. 

Eligibility: 

Abington College faculty members – tenured, tenure track and full-time are eligible to apply. We welcome all full-time faculty from divisions of arts and humanities, science and engineering, and social sciences

The Objectives of this grant are broadly centered on:

• Understanding the diverse campus population that we serve and creating a more inclusive pedagogical environment, which involves acclimating, integrating, and teaching international students in your classroom using inclusionary pedagogy.   
• Exploring existing curriculum and adapting it to be culturally sensitive and work for different levels while meeting the same learning objectives; developing lesson materials and activities that reflect a global perspective in a variety of content areas.  
• Identifying an institution or faculty member at an institution outside the U.S. to collaborate with.  

What can the grant do for you or your department?
The current Penn State strategic plan includes enhancing students’ global competency to prepare them for the workforce, as well as promoting global citizenship for all members of the campus community. As an example, future engineers will work in multi-cultural teams. Engineering faculty will learn strategies to incorporate cultural sensitivity and effective communication methods into their courses, so that they may better prepare their students to be “global-ready” engineers.  

Grant Timeline:

What do past recipients have to say about the grant program?   
“This was a great opportunity to learn more about internationalization. Having the time to work with my colleagues, to listen to each other, share ideas, and learn from guest speakers is a privilege. I am leaving this program with a new syllabus and a renewed sense of energy for teaching. We talked about some tough issues, and this is both a challenging and opportune time for international initiatives and social justice education. We need to keep these discussions going, and I am more motivated than ever to do so.” 

“The resources (readings, discussions, workshops, the wisdom of the entire group) were extremely helpful. In future instruction, I have a much better sense of how to integrate global perspectives into any course, not just the one currently targeted. The program has also opened my mind up to new strategies as to how courses can be structured - the idea of re-imagining how to do things. I feel like I have been locked into a particular way of covering course material and this program helped me question that, and opened up many different possibilities.” 

Proposals might focus on (but are not limited to) the following:  

• Develop a new/revised course syllabus that reflects culturally responsive pedagogy.  
• Apply theory and research on internationalizing the curriculum.  
• Partner with an institution or faculty abroad to enhance students’ cultural competence. 
• Globalize the syllabus to include examples of writings, films, artworks, and performances from a variety of cultures.  
• Incorporate global perspectives by having students analyze communication styles, literary techniques, etc. from cultures different from their own.  
• Create a collaborative assignment or semester-long project with an international faculty member on campus or an equivalent course taught in another country.  

Apply by October 31, 2022 through our staff intranet page. The form is named "Faculty Grant in Internationalizing Curriculum"
For any questions, please email Melanie Boston at [email protected]