Lord Fairfax Community College | About the College | The Mission of the College | Lord Fairfax Community College Quality Enhancement Plan | LFCC QEP Mini-Grant Information | Seeking the Ox Mini-Grant Information

Taming the Ox Awards

Pilot Program: Spring 2009

Background:

Critical Thinking mini-grants at LFCC were established as a part of the College's QEP, approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in 2007 and 2008. The purpose of LFCC's QEP is to create a culture of critical thinking that permeates every aspect of the College Community. The intended outcome of LFCC's QEP is enhanced critical thinking skills and dispositions in LFCC students.

There are six student learning outcomes for LFCC's QEP. These outcomes are taken from the VCCS Core Competencies, and they state that upon completion of studies, LFCC students will demonstrate the ability to do the following:

1. discriminate among degrees of credibility, accuracy, and reliability of inferences drawn from given data.
2. recognize parallels, assumptions, or presuppositions in any given source of information.
3. evaluate the strengths and relevance of arguments on a particular question or issue
4. weigh evidence and decide if generalizations or conclusions based on the given data are warranted.
5. determine whether  certain conclusions or consequences are supported by the information provided
6. use problem solving skills

Eligibility and Requirements:

1. Grants may be awarded to any LFCC employee.
2. Grants must address student learning in relation to one of the six student learning outcomes listed above.
3. Grants are awarded for projects in the following categories:
   1. New instructional materials, programs, or courses to promote critical thinking (development, implementation, and assessment)
   2. New student support mechanisms to promote critical thinking (development, implementation, and assessment)
   3. New assessments of critical thinking (development and implementation)
4. Faculty, staff, and administrators are encouraged to collaborate on proposals.
5. Projects may be either one or two semesters in length.
6. All grant recipients will provide a summary report within eight weeks of project completion.
7. Grant recipients will make a brief report on projects during one of the Collegewide QEP updates.
8. Grants will be awarded for projects which
   1. Are not eligible for other funding sources
   2. Have not been completed (i.e., LFCC will not fund work which has already been done)

 Sample Projects Eligible for Mini-Grant Program:

1. Course development or re-design
2. Development of Web component/Blackboard component for a course
3. Innovative teaching structures (paired courses, learning communities, team teaching)
4. Support projects (tutor training, peer mentoring, student learning partnerships throughout the College, library instruction)
5. Development of materials (texts, assessments, etc.)