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Funding Opportunities

Cross Chair Grants

Use of GenAI in Teaching and Learning at ISU SoTL Grant Program

Deadline to Apply: October 17, 2025, 5pm
Award Amount: $2000 per project
Project Period: Academic Year 2025–2026

Overview

The Office of the Cross Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and the Adaptive Edge Institute invite proposals from course instructors at Illinois State University to participate in a collaborative, multi-context SoTL initiative centered on the following question: "How is GenAI being used/not used, understood, and/or integrated in higher education settings, and what are its implications for teaching and learning at ISU?"

This hub-and-spoke SoTL project will bring together instructors from across Illinois State’s diverse teaching contexts to investigate how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot) are shaping student learning, instructor decision-making, course design, and academic engagement.

It is hoped that this focused, collaborative project will help Illinois State lead national conversations about the pedagogical and ethical dimensions of GenAI. Join us in shaping a thoughtful, research-informed approach to AI in higher education.

Project Structure

Selected instructors will serve as “spoke” investigators, each designing and implementing a small-scale SoTL study within their own course or academic support setting. Projects should explore students' and/or instructors’ experiences, practices, or outcomes related to GenAI.

All investigators will:

  • Align their inquiry with the central hub question
  • Participate in 2–3 cross-institutional collaborative meetings in both the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters
  • Share findings in a campus-wide showcase and through potential publication or conference submission

Example Project Topics

  • How first-year students use GenAI to revise writing assignments
  • Ethical dilemmas students face when integrating GenAI in communication projects
  • The role of GenAI in STEM lab report creation or code generation
  • Tutor strategies in supporting GenAI-assisted writing at the Writing Center
  • Professional judgment and GenAI in graduate-level clinical preparation
  • Pre-service teachers' understanding of AI's place in K–12 education

Funding and Support

Awardees will receive:

  • $2000 in funds that can be used for investigator stipends, materials, or other project needs
  • Ongoing consultation with SoTL faculty mentors
  • Optional IRB support and writing guidance

Proposal Guidelines

Each proposal (2 pages max) should include:

  1. Instructor and course information
  2. Proposed research question(s)
  3. Description of the teaching/learning context
  4. Methodology/approach
  5. Anticipated contributions to the central hub question
  6. Timeline for 2025–2026 implementation

How to Apply

Submit your proposal as a single PDF to Dr. Jennifer Friberg (jfribe@ilstu.edu) by Friday October 17, 2025, 5 pm. Questions about the grant program should also be emailed to Dr. Friberg.

CIPD Grants

External

2025-10-13T14:02:35.683236158-07:00 2025