Teaching Awards & Grants Resources

Approaches and Resources for Preparing a Teaching Award Nomination

Teaching awards recognize exceptional contributions to teaching and learning at the University of Toronto. As you craft a teaching award nomination, you’ll want to be mindful of the narrative or story you’re sharing about the nominee and the supporting evidence you choose to include in the nomination (e.g., student letters, letters from colleagues, student survey data). Throughout the process of preparing a nomination, the Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education (OVPIUE) and Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation (CTSI) can provide support and resources.

  • It’s important to understand the award criteria and nomination requirements. Visit the Teaching Awards & Grants Database to review the criteria and requirements for institutional and divisional teaching awards.
  • Review Teaching Awards: Steps to a Nomination. Created by the OVPIUE, this document outlines different considerations as you prepare a teaching awards nomination file. 
  • Your Division: If you intend to nominate a colleague for a teaching award, confirm with your division that they are supportive of moving the nomination forward and determine guidance that may be available to support your preparation of the teaching award nominations. These conversations are especially important if a letter of support from your division is required as part of the nomination.
  • CTSI: The Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation (CTSI) provides expert guidance and feedback on nomination packages for internal and external teaching awards. Schedule a consultation with CTSI.

If you have any questions about teaching awards, processes, or resources, please contact awards.provost@utoronto.ca.

Resources for Preparing a Teaching Grant Application

Teaching grants offer an opportunity to explore innovative teaching and learning initiatives at U of T. As you prepare a grant application, you’ll want to ensure you have the knowledge and information needed to create a compelling proposal. Throughout the process of preparing a grant application, the OVPIUE can provide support and resources.

Before you prepare a grant application, it’s important to understand the grant criteria and application requirements. Visit the Teaching Awards & Grants Database to review the criteria and requirements for institutional teaching grants.

As you begin to prepare the grant application, you may consider these consultations and conversations to acquire the background information needed to elicit a strong proposal.

  • Environmental Scan: Conduct an environmental scan to better understand the work that is already being done in your project area at U of T or other institutions. Are there existing models you might build on? Consider existing literature that will help inform project directions.
  • Colleagues: Discuss your project with colleagues. Has anyone in your academic unit done a similar project or had a successful application to the grant you are interested in? Is anyone else in your academic unit interested in similar questions (i.e., as potential collaborators)?
  • Teaching & Learning Community: Connect with your teaching and learning community. Attending workshops, conferences or a community of practice session will help create a well-informed context for your project.
  • Division: Connect with leadership in your division to understand support for the project, understand other local projects you might connect with as well as in-kind supports.
  • Local Offices: Understand local and shared service offices that might be able to provide support for your project and share their expertise. For example, offices that support educational technology, experiential learning, equity and inclusion, community partnerships and Indigenous knowledge and partnerships.
  • Institutional Support: Connect with the OVPIUE or other grant administration units who support teaching and learning grants. We are often able to share insight into questions, queries and concerns that the committee could raise in reviewing your proposal. Email us at vp.iue@utoronto.ca.

The OVPIUE has created guides to support applicants in the development of grant applications for the Learning Education & Advancement Fund (LEAF). There are currently guides for budget and assessment, with a project management guide coming soon! Although these resources have been created for LEAF, they may be applicable for other teaching and learning grants.

Throughout the year, the OVPIUE holds a number of workshops and webinars that may interest prospective grant applicants. Below find upcoming events and links to previously recorded events. The next grant workshops will take place in spring 2024. In the meantime, you can view previously recorded sessions by clicking the links below.