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Request for Proposals

Chemistry Large Lecture Transformation Award

 

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The POGIL Project’s Large Lecture Award is designed to provide support to instructors of large General Chemistry courses who wish to incorporate Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) into their classrooms. Large STEM courses have a long history of being taught through traditional lectures. The logistical challenges of implementing evidence-based active-learning and student-centered learning strategies in large lecture environments can seem overwhelming. This award from The POGIL Project is dedicated to providing structured support to instructors of large General Chemistry courses seeking to enrich their classrooms with guided-inquiry activities. The Project will consider applications from instructors at all levels of experience using POGIL in their classrooms. Each award includes (1) a dedicated mentor(s) who currently uses the POGIL pedagogy in their large-enrollment courses, (2) resources from the POGIL Project such as training and custom materials, and (3) additional resources or support as needed. The three components of the Transformation Award are described below.  

What is POGIL?

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning is an evidence-based pedagogy in which students work together in self-guided teams to engage with a guided inquiry activity based on the learning cycle. POGIL has been demonstrated to be effective at supporting student learning in large-enrollment college classes (Hunnicutt 2019).  

How POGIL can be implemented in a large-enrollment course

There is great flexibility in how this pedagogy can be utilized in your large lecture General Chemistry course. Both The POGIL Project and your assigned mentor(s) can help you decide what would work best with your course and the students you serve. Here are a few ways in which the POGIL pedagogy is currently employed in large courses:

  • Short (10-15 minute) active learning activities that occur at any point during a traditional lecture that may or may not be paired with an electronic reporting out platform (e.g., i>Clicker, Poll Everywhere, others?) or an LMS (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, etc.).

  • POGIL activities that can be adapted for use in recitation or discussion-based subsections of a course.

  • POGIL activities that can be adapted to replace lecture entirely (that may or may not be paired with an electronic reporting out platform or an LMS).

Here are a few ways in which POGIL activities are currently facilitated in large courses

  • One instructor facilitating students in a large lecture setting. 

  • One instructor and several graduate or undergraduate Learning Assistants facilitating students in a large lecture setting. 

  • One graduate or undergraduate Learning Assistant facilitating each recitation or discussion-based subsection of a large lecture course.dergraduate Learning Assistant facilitating each recitation or discussion-based subsection of a large lecture course.

All three of these facilitation strategies are currently done with and without the use of technology to either monitor group progress or aid in the large group discussion portion, where student groups report their reasoning and conclusions. 
To learn more about how POGIL is effectively used in large lecture courses, please see the references provided at the end of this document.  

Components of the General Chemistry Large Lecture Transformation Award

Starting on March 7, The POGIL Project will review each application to select the awardee(s). The POGIL Project will also assess what is needed to accomplish the proposed large lecture implementation and provide resources and support to realize the classroom transformation. 
 
Each awardee will receive:

  • A Dedicated Mentor(s) within The POGIL Project. To support each recipient of a General Chemistry Large Lecture Transformation Award, The POGIL Project will pair each awardee with at least one mentor who is currently implementing the POGIL pedagogy in a large lecture environment. This mentor can help articulate and refine the resources and support needed for a successful implementation.

  • Resources from the POGIL Project: The POGIL Project will also commit its own resources to each Large Lecture Transformation Award recipient to ensure successful implementation. The Project recognizes that the details will be particular to each institution and adopter. 

These resources may include (but are not limited to): 

  • Travel costs to visit a large enrollment classroom that currently implements the POGIL pedagogy.

  • Travel and registrations to an appropriate training or professional development event such as a 3-day POGIL workshop or NCAPP meeting in summer 2025.

  • Assistance in training and mentoring Learning Assistants/teaching Assistants in facilitation.

  • Classroom materials for report-out strategies (e.g., whiteboards).

  • Reduced student cost for POGIL activities published through Kendall Hunt.

  • Access to pre-publication versions of 10-15 minute activities optimized for large enrollment classrooms.

  • Software and training to monitor group progress during a POGIL activity that has been used successfully in a large General Chemistry lecture.

Additional Resources provided by The POGIL Project:
The POGIL Project recognizes that some resources required for a successful adoption will need to come from outside the Project itself.  These resources may include, for example, small whiteboards that student groups use for reporting out. The POGIL Project selection committee will also assess each application for these types of needs and provide support where it deems appropriate.  
 
Please note: Any resources provided in this Transformation Grant cannot support salary for faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, graduate or undergraduate students. Typically, the Grant does not support the full cost of purchase of POGIL activities for your classroom nor substantial technological purchases such as Smart Boards. This Transformation Grant can be paired with an internal innovation grant or other similar funding opportunity from within your institution that would be more appropriate to cover these costs. 
 

Requirements for the Application

  • Applicants must have at least 75 students enrolled in their lecture section, although there may be more students in the course in total. 

  • Applicants must be intending to prepare to implement and facilitate a POGIL activity on a frequent and regular basis throughout the semester (or term) in their large lecture course (e.g., at least once a week or every other week, once per unit, etc.). 

  • Applicants do NOT need to have completed a POGIL workshop or have previous POGIL training. 

  • Applicants should click here for details and information about how to prepare and submit a proposal. This proposal will describe how the applicant envisions implementing the POGIL pedagogy in their large General Chemistry

Applicants should submit a 2–3 page detailed proposal of how they envision implementing the POGIL pedagogy in their large General Chemistry course and what their long term goals are for their use of POGIL activities. The POGIL Project acknowledges that the proposed strategy could change significantly through conversations with their paired mentor and supports some flexibility in the overall implementation process. 

Applications and questions should be sent by email to Jen Perot (jen.perot@pogil.org). Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Submissions received by March 7, 2025 will be given priority consideration. 


Literature on POGIL in Large-enrollment Courses