KOLT Teaching Improvement Grant (TIG) program is now open for applications for the Fall semester of 2024 and Spring semester of 2025. Five different calls with different emphases are open for this year. Please find the details of these calls below:

1. Call for KOLT Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs)
2. Call for Virtual Exchange Projects
3. Call for Teach, Research and Publish
4. Call for Gender Inclusive Teaching
5. Call for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Applications in Courses

 

Eligibility: Koç University faculty members or instructors are eligible to apply for this grant program.

 

Budget & Funding: 25.000 TRY. The procedures for the incentives and purchases have changed this year. Please visit “Budget and Expenses” section for detailed information.

 

Deadline: Please submit your proposals until September 23rd, 2024, via e-mail at kolt@ku.edu.tr.

 

Application Form & Documents: All applications must be submitted with the application form and budget plan & expenses document provided at the annex. Please use only these templates for your applications. And do not forget to include your CV, proposed syllabus, and other relevant documents you think are necessary.

 

Applications should include the following information in their application form:

• Title
• Name(s) of the applicants
• Purpose
• Description
• Information about the course and interventions
• Timetable
• Expected Product(s) and Dissemination Plan

 

Please see the call for details and documents by clicking this link

 

TIG Info Session Video

Name of the Faculty Member(s)	School – Department	TIG Call Type	Title of the Project	Aim-Description
Deniz Ceylan-Tuba Mutluer-Görkem Ayas	SOM	Call 3: Teach, Research, and Publish	Enhancing Psychiatric Assessment Skills in 5th-Year Medical Students through Mental Status Examination Simulations	The objective of this project is to develop a tool that facilitates the learning of psychiatric symptoms and the enhancement of MSE skills. This tool will be integrated into the fifth-year medical psychiatry course, PSYT 513.We will create educational videos, accessible in both English and Turkish, featuring simulated patients (SPs) accurately mimicking MSE symptoms, focusing on parameters like mood, affect, thought process, thought content, judgment, and reality testing. For instance, when evaluating mood and affect, SPs will portray various mood states (e.g., depressive or euphoric) and affect types (such as blunted or congruent)”
Özlem Doğan-Sinem Ezgi Gülmez	SOM	Call 5: AI Applications in Courses	AI supported “Rational use of antibacterials” panel discussion proposal for School of Medicine Pre-clinical Year-2 Curriculum	This project aims to enrich the panel on the “Rational Use of Antibacterials” by integrating artificial intelligence (A.I.) tools, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the knowledge and vision of future healthcare professionals. Prof. Sinem Ezgi Gulmez from the medical pharmacology department and Asst. Prof. Özlem Doğan from medical microbiology are collaborating to emphasize the abuse and misuse of antibiotics in medicine, agriculture, and society. The panel, targeting third-year medical students, is part of the pre-clinical curriculum and addresses the global issue of antimicrobial resistance.
Suncem Koçer	CSSH	Call 5: AI Applications in Courses	Integrating AI Literacy into Media Education: A Model for Social Sciences and Humanities	This project aims to integrate AI literacy into media education within the social sciences and humanities, addressing the increasing impact of AI technologies on society. It involves redesigning specific course modules, setting a model for integrating AI literacy into other courses, and disseminating the experience and model to the teaching community at Koç University. The project seeks to empower students to critically engage with AI technologies and their broader implications, preparing them to navigate an AI-driven world and make informed contributions to society.
Kamuran Osmanoğlu	CSSH	Call 5: AI Applications in Courses	Innovative Legal Writing & Research with AI Integration	This course aims to prepare law students for the future of legal practice by equipping them with the knowledge and tools necessary to leverage AI in legal research, document analysis, and litigation strategies. Over 15 weeks, students will engage in a comprehensive curriculum that includes drafting AI-assisted legal documents, ethical considerations of AI use, and the application of AI tools in preparing for appellate arguments. Collaborative projects, guest lectures from industry professionals, and hands-on experience with AI tools are integral components of the course, ensuring students gain practical skills and insights. The course seeks to foster a deep understanding of the role of AI in legal practice, encouraging ethical usage, innovation, and problem-solving.

Name of the Faculty Member(s)	School – Department	TIG Call Type	Title of the Project	Aim-Description
Çağla Turgul	MAVA	Call 4: Gender Inclusive Teaching	Visual Communication Design Solutions for Raising Awareness on Gender Based Violence	This grant proposal seeks funding to establish a course titled “Visual Communication Design Solutions for Raising Awareness on Gender-Based Violence on Koç University Campus.” The course explores effective visual communication strategies to develop visual communication design campaigns and visual communication design products- that raise the issue of gender-based violence, specifically intimate partner violence and issues related to consent, within the context of Koç University campus. Through collaborations with CSSH Faculty and professionals from related fields, via discussions, talks and workshops, students will develop a critical understanding of gender-based violence and its underlying causes to create impactful visual campaigns that raise awareness to prevent incidents, support survivors and promote positive change within the campus community.
Melike Mermercioğlu	GSB	Call 4: Gender Inclusive Teaching	Promoting gender-equality and integrating gender-equal educational practices in the “SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS STRATEGIES FOR COMPETITIVENES” course	To further enhance inclusivity in my courses, my plans include updating the syllabus, incorporating more gender-related case studies and introducing interactive activities by including AI-generated content. The desired impact of these initiatives is to develop students’ awareness, skills, and knowledge about gender equality and women’s empowerment. My course’s focus on addressing sustainability challenges and participation in CEMS events will enhance the university’s reputation and strengthen its position within the CEMS network, encouraging collaborations with other academic institutions. Overall, the proposed activities strive to create a more gender-inclusive and diverse learning environment, benefiting our students, our university and our partner organizations.
Tuba Mutluer	SOM	Call 5: AI Applications in Courses	My Virtual Assistant Bee: Improving Psychiatry Clerkship of Medical School Program through an Integrated AI System	The main objective is to successfully implement an Artificial Intelligence (AI) application into an existing course (Psyt 513) with the aim of improving the teaching and learning experience for both students and lecturers. We hope to achieve this by integrating various aspects of the course design with AI. Our research has shown promising results when it comes to AI integration with student learning. We anticipate that these benefits will carry on in this course design and help uplift the course experience.
Nazan Canbulat – KAMER	SOM	Call 1: KOLT Faculty Learning Communities	Organization of an annual conference in healthcare education with the collaboration of School of Medicine and School of Nursing	The project involves the organization of an annual international symposium on healthcare education with participation of national and international experts. The symposium is planned for two consecutive days: one day for the discussion of ongoing research and one day for the discussion of a current and critical topic. The program will be finalized by the organization committee (OC) with the help and guidance of scientific advisory board (SAB) which has been selected among international experts in medical and nursing education. This will be the first international symposium organized jointly by medical and nursing professionals to create a truly integrated and transdisciplinary platform to improve healthcare education in our country and the region. The symposium will be organized each year around the same time within the KU facilities and aims to create a learning organization recognized nationally and internationally to promote healthcare education at higher levels.
Mahdi Hashemian	GSB	Call 5: AI Applications in Courses	AI-Enhanced Learning Companion for Case-Based Courses	I propose a platform where instructors can harness specially trained conversational AI, offering more effective and controlled access. Creating such a platform, can address the above-mentioned limitations, reducing the burden on instructors to be constantly responsive and decreasing response time. For students, it means more questions, faster answers, and learning through peer queries. In essence, this platform serves as a supervised forum, akin to a very active and knowledgeable Teaching Assistant. This AI-TA can create quizzes (while limiting responses students can extract from the platform), give feedback to students, answer questions, check the level of students’ activity, and engagement. Instructors can utilize these functionalities and reallocate scarce class-time to most important issues.
Can Aktaş-Gökhan Gönenli	SOM	Call 3: Teach, Research, and Publish	The voice of students and educators: Improving the Teaching Practice of Medical Educators with Feedback.	Instructors constantly receive feedback from students, but this feedback is not always constructive and curative. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect on education by getting feedback not only from the students but also from the trainer himself and an independent jury member. This study is a research study and we intend to publish the data we have obtained

Name of the Faculty Member(s)	School – Department	TIG Call Type	Title of the Project	Aim-Description
Seda Güney	SON	3. Call for Teach, Research and Publish	The Effect of Aged Simulation Suit on Nursing Students’ Empathy, Attitudes and Willingness to Care for Older Adults	By using age simulation suits as part of the face-to-face courses, we aim to increase empathetic positive attitudes towards older adults and the willingness of nursing students to work with older people. We will measure the impact of this teaching intervention to conduct a research study as a second objective.
Gülşah Şenkol	CSSH	2. Call for Virtual Exchange Projects	Network Analysis, Literature, and Digital Humanities	A 2023 KOLT Teaching Improvement Grant will give me the opportunity to organize two joint sessions with Stanford University and the University of Basel. Each session would introduce KU students to new methodologies such as computational modeling and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Mapping, and to innovative approaches to studying literary texts such as macroscopic literary inquiry. The students enrolled in ASIU 117 at Koc will then have the opportunity to learn and exchange information with both the undergraduate students enrolled in the “Literary Lab” course offered in the Comparative Literature Department at Stanford University, and the “Empirical Studies of Art and Literature Reception” course offered at the University of Basel during this upcoming Spring 2023 semester.
Mehmet Zeki Giritli	CSSH	4. Call for Gender Inclusive Teaching	Gender in Modern/Contemporary Theatre & Film	My aim is to integrate this extended version of the course into our General Elective course list at Koç University, as well. At the end of the course, students will be asked to prepare a collaborative on-stage project in which they will be able to share their work with Koç University society. This could be designed as a gender forum led by the students or a short stage performance based on the student interpretation of one of the plays on the syllabus (or a play of students’ choice). During the process, the instructor will act like the supervisor for the groups. The aim is to raise awareness on gender issues through theatre/cinema. The course could also be offered to Koç University Staff who is interested in theatre/cinema (not as a course obviously, but as a voluntary personal development activity). Depending on the feedback from KOLT, the syllabus may be adapted to include non-binary representations, as well or the course title may be changed as “Women in Modern/Contemporary Theatre&Film”.
Tuba Şengül	SON	3. Call for Teach, Research and Publish	From Traditional Education to Game-Based Student-Centered Learnıng Usıng The Escape Room Game+Kahoot	This study aims to explore the effect of game-based learning on increasing the knowledge level of the course and their experiences with games by using Escape Room Gaming and Kahoot in nursing undergraduate students.

Name of the Faculty Member(s)	School – Department	TIG Call Type	Title of the Project	Aim-Description
Seda Karakaya	SON	3. Call for Teach, Research and Publish	Applying Educational Psychodrama in Therapeutic Communication	The purpose of this proposal is to enhance the students’ therapeutic communication skills by using educational psychodrama techniques. The specific action techniques of constructing and enacting case scenarios using warm-ups, role-creation, doubling and role reversal are used in psychodrama. These techniques are used to reveal and address the “hidden” emotions, attitudes, and values that were central to the communication dilemma. Thus, the using of psychodrama enhances learning and students stay focused in class.
Remziye Semerci	SON	3. Call for Teach, Research and Publish	The effect of the planned therapeutic communication course activities for the Child Health course on the therapeutic communication skills of nursing students.	The aim of this project is to evaluate the effect of the planned therapeutic communication course activities for the Child Health course on the therapeutic communication skills of nursing students.

Spring 2022 Call for Proposals KOLT Teaching Improvement Grants

Click the heading to open the document.

 

Recipients

 

1) Realizing a hybrid design studio for teaching basic design

 

Assist. Prof. Aykut Çoşkun, Media and Visual Arts

Design studio classes are driven by three major teaching techniques: learning by doing, design critique and reflection in/on action. Physical involvement with the design task and face-to-face interaction with peers and instructors are required to support students’ learning and success in design studios. It is challenging to meet this requirement in a hybrid design studio, since i) students attending to the class online would lack the chance to see what others are doing in real time and to receive direct and situated feedback from the instructor, and ii) when online and in-class students are teamed up in a group exercise, the teams’ effectives might be low due to the different mediums they use. The purpose of this proposal is to realize the idea of hybrid design studio by designing activities to address these challenges in the scope of MAVA 104 Basic Design, as well as to disseminate how these activities are applied in the course so that the same goal could be achieved for other practical courses at Koç University. The first goal will be achieved through interactive lectures, sessions for individual and group exercises, synchronous and asynchronous feedback sessions, and reflection sessions. Zoom, Miro, EpocCam, and Slack will be used to enable student’s participation to these hybrid sessions. The second goal will be achieved by running a workshop with faculty members, who teach practical studio courses.

 

 

2) Using Music in Teaching Political History Around the World

 

Assoc. Prof. Boğaç Erozan, International Relations

The project is about building a world-wide database of political music, that can be used by several courses and can remain at the library for interested students and faculty. Political music of a country includes songs about their distant or contemporary political history. Some important politico-historical events, struggles, characters usually find their reflection in music. Our job is to find them. Then we’ll find or do an English translation ourselves, compiling lyrics with music or, if available, a music video. A group of students specially commissioned for the project will bring together music and lyrics on political history of very diverse countries such as Viet Nam, Chile, Kenya, Guatemala. If available a music video –if not just the music – will be provided together with lyrics in English. The starting point will be Asia, Africa, Central and Latin America. The short term goal is to build an archive of 30 countries.

 

 

3) Whiteboard Animation Videos for Flipped Classroom

 

Dr. E. Çetin Gürer, Academic Writing Center

The flipped classroom is a pedagogical technique that reverses the traditional classroom order of lecture and homework by assigning lecture content in video format. Students are expected to watch these videos before class, which makes more room for their questions, hands-on exercises, class discussions, and group works. Such reversal aims at transforming the class time into an active learning environment while still ensuring the delivery of lecture content. However, assigning video lectures as homework has its downsides. Lengthy and often monotonous educational videos have low engagement rates and students tend to lose focus easily. That bears the risk of failing to convey the lecture contents or requiring the instructor to go over them in class at length taking time from active learning exercises. This project aims at searching for a remedy to that problem by applying a recently digitalized method in video-making called whiteboard animation. This video style conveys educational content with dynamic visuals that appears to be drawn with an animated hand on a whiteboard. While it normally is an arduous and time-consuming process that involves stop-motion techniques and actual hand-drawn graphics, with the development of user-friendly animation software, it is more accessible to instructors for classroom use. After consultations with the KOLT digital technologies team, I have decided to use Powtoon as the said software to animate my lecture videos. Its Coursera training included in the Koç University institutional subscription was also a factor in this decision. I am excited to go through this creative pedagogical experiment in collaboration with KOLT and its excellent team.

 

 

4) Integration of Prescribing Skill Development To The 3rd-Year Pharmacology Education at Koç University School Of Medicine

 

Prof. Dr. Sinem Ezgi Gülmez, School of Medicine & Prof. Dr. Hakan Sedat Orer, Koç University Research Center For Translational Medicine

Pharmacology and pharmacotherapy teaching in many medical schools is often limited to the simple transfer of knowledge on drugs, lacking the acquisition of essential patient management skills such as choosing a drug, prescribing, and managing the treatment. Our current pharmacology education curriculum at KUSOM includes theoretical pharmacology lectures (3^rd-year), RPHM 406 Rational Pharmacotherapy Clerkship (4^th-year), clinical pharmacology lectures (5^th-year) and rational use of medicines discussion hours with interns (6^th-year). The Rational Pharmacotherapy Clerkship program is designed after Groningen University’s rational pharmacotherapy program, aiming to develop analytical prescribing skills through a series of problem-based learning (PBL) sessions facilitated by pharmacology faculty. Since 2021-2022, we have integrated the British Pharmacology Society (BPS) “Prescription Safety Assessment (PSA)” into the clerkship program to support the students in developing their prescribing skills and allowing benchmarking in an international setting. For each clerkship group, one of the six specific indications or conditions is chosen to keep the coverage fresh, which is a must to keep the tutors’ and the students’ highly engaged and motivated: Essential hypertension, pain management, asthma, peptic ulcer/GERD, respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections. The integration of prescribing skill development to the 3^rd-year pharmacology education is designed as an activity where the students will be asked to prepare flashcards for the drugs in coherence with the core of the 4^th-year rational pharmacotherapy clerkship, incorporating the theoretical knowledge of the 3^rd-year pharmacology lectures: Mechanism of action, Indications, Usual doses with ranges, Adverse drug reactions, Cautions, Contraindications, Important drug-drug, drug-food, drug-disease interactions, Notes for specific populations, Cost. Our goal is to have a “continuous pharmacology and rational pharmacotherapy training”, an essential professional skill for a physician, starting from the 3^rd-year of medical school until graduation. Once fully accomplished, such a progressive and integrated approach will be the first in Turkish medical education history.

 

 

KOLT organizes showcase events to celebrate teaching innovations at Koç University.