{"id":179336,"date":"2025-01-07T11:27:27","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T16:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colab.plymouthcreate.net\/design-forward\/?page_id=179336"},"modified":"2026-03-23T12:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:03:52","slug":"df-grant","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/colab.plymouthcreate.net\/design-forward\/df-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing Forward: Reimagining Instructional Design for Cluster Learning\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Three-Year Grant Made Possible by The Davis Foundation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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We are delighted to announce Designing Forward<\/em>, a three-year grant at Plymouth State University funded by the Davis Foundation to investigate the intersection of instructional design and cluster learning. <\/p>\n

The first year of grant activity (“Season One”) kicked off at the Spring Pedagogy Institute (SPIN) in spring 2025. <\/p>\n

Applications for the second year (“Season Two”) are open! <\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Season Two Participation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The second year will repeat the faculty development opportunities available in Season One, as well as offering new ways of engaging with the work of the grant. There are three roles available in Season Two:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Participants<\/h3>\n

Participants will undertake a year of faculty development work, centered on Design Forward (DF), the CoLab’s holistic faculty development program that supports a community-based exploration of the intentional design of teaching and learning. Over the summer of 2026, Participants will complete DF modules that encourage them to develop their thinking and capacity around both innovative pedagogical approaches (in particular Cluster Learning<\/a>) and design practices that align with these pedagogies and the values that underpin them. In particular, Participants will grapple with how to design for learning that is emergent, flexible, interdisciplinary, and open — qualities that often make teaching and learning harder to plan (and thus design) for.<\/p>\n

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Over the course of the academic year, Participants will set their own personal development goals, building upon their summer learning. Each Participant will design their own “mini-course” for themself and spend the year pursuing further learning and development to achieve their chosen goals. The CoLab will offer complementary programming that intersects with Participants’ goals.<\/p>\n

AWARD<\/strong>: Each Participant will receive a $1500 award for their faculty development work; $1000 will be paid after completion of the summer curriculum, and $500 will be paid upon completion of their individual development plan (either in December 2026 or May 2027).\u00a0<\/p>\n

ELIGIBILITY<\/strong>: All PSU faculty (full- and part-time) may apply to be a Participant. Staff who work in “academic adjacent” areas of the University are also invited to apply.\u00a0Season One Participants may repeat in this role with the expectation that they will focus on different summer modules and different individual development goals.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Designers<\/h3>\n

Participants in Season One are invited to apply to become Designers, focusing on a specific instructional design project they wish to tackle that builds upon their learning as Participants. These projects could involve redesigning part or all of an existing class, developing a new class, or redesigning a set of classes as part of a larger curriculum. In particular, we are interested in projects that explore how to design for emergent and flexible learning. If desired, Designers can request funding to hire a Student Collaborator to assist with their project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AWARD<\/strong>: Each Designer will receive a $1500 award, which will be paid out through payroll over an agreed-upon period of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ELIGIBILITY<\/strong>: PSU Faculty or staff who completed Year One of the grant may apply to be Designers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fellows<\/h3>\n

Participants in Season One are invited to apply to become Fellows, providing support and leadership for other grant activities. Fellows may serve as “teaching assistants” for the summer curriculum, collaborate with the CoLab to assess the work of the grant, and\/or work on revising, improving, and expanding the DF curriculum. Applicants will be asked to describe their interests in these various roles when applying — or to suggest another support\/leadership role they could take on in support of the grant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AWARD<\/strong>: Fellows will receive a $1500 award, which will be paid out through payroll over an agreed-upon period of time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

ELIGIBILITY<\/strong>: PSU Faculty or staff who completed Year One of the grant may apply to be Fellows.<\/p>\n

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Season One Call for Applications (Archive) <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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The activity of year one will incorporate the Design Forward (DF) curriculum, the CoLab’s holistic faculty development program that supports a community-based exploration of the intentional design of teaching and learning. Over the summer, faculty will complete DF modules that encourage them to develop their thinking and capacity around both innovative pedagogical approaches (in particular Cluster Learning) and design practices that align with these pedagogies and the values that underpin them. In particular, participants will grapple with how to design for learning that is emergent, flexible, interdisciplinary, and open — qualities that often make teaching and learning harder to plan (and thus design) for.<\/p>\n

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Over the course of the year, participants will also meet several times to continue conversations started in the summer and further consider how to incorporate what they’ve learned into their own teaching. Participants who wish will have an opportunity to continue engaging with the grant in Season Two by proposing specific design projects; applications for these projects will be available in Spring 2026. At that time, there will also be another round of applications for faculty who want to complete the DF curriculum for those who prefer to wait.<\/p>\n

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Participation in Season One of Designing Forward will involve the following:<\/p>\n

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