The toughest questions in a course may not be the ones students see on a test. Instructors looking at their syllabus might ask themselves: Do my students have the prerequisite knowledge I assume they have? Are my instructions for assignments clear? Are my exams measuring what I want them to measure?
Thirty-nine faculty across the University of Maryland are getting the chance to investigate such questions by using data and data analysis tools as recipients of 2026-27 Teaching Innovation Grants. The $6,500 awards from UMD’s Teaching and Learning Transformation Center (TLTC), including two awarded to projects in the College of Education, can be used to help them identify and implement solutions to challenges students face in their courses.
“By engaging with data, recipients focus on improving the student experience, through such changes as introducing new instructional practices or modifying the pacing of the course,” said Lawrence Clark, TLTC executive director and associate professor of mathematics education in the College of Education.
Born out of the university’s strategic plan commitment to reimagine learning, the Teaching Innovation Grants have since 2022 invested $4.5 million in 187 projects across every UMD school and college. Each round of funding has a different theme; previous ones have been experiential learning, educational technology and inclusive teaching.
The theme for the 2026-27 academic year is data-driven inquiry for student success. Common themes emerged from many of the 103 applications: improving student engagement, building fundamental coding, writing and critical thinking skills alongside widespread student use of generative AI, and creating more effective assignments and assessments, among others.
“We were looking for a clear question that could be solved through data collection and analysis,” said Clark. “Proposals had to articulate that there would be some modification made in the course to see if the data or student performance could be impacted.”
The chosen proposals run the gamut of academic fields, from courses in English and journalism to public policy and computer science.
Two projects in the College of Education received Teaching Innovation Grants:
Are Students Prepared for GenAI Use in Collaborative Learning?
Olga L. Walker, lecturer and internship coordinator; Jennie Lee-Kim, assistant clinical professor; and Emily Neer, lecturer
This project examines students’ preparedness to use generative AI (GenAI) for learning and collaborative work in the course “Human Development Through the Life Span.” The researchers developed instructional materials that structure team discussions about AI use and will encourage students to communicate about their AI practices at each stage of a group project, positioning GenAI as a tool that supports, rather than supplants, students’ own thinking and collaboration. In addition, the researchers will evaluate how these materials influence students’ GenAI knowledge, skills, self-efficacy and attitudes, with the broader aim of fostering practices that transfer to future academic and professional contexts.
Supporting Student Success in Elementary Math Methods Through Alignment with Mathematics Coursework
Sara Kirschner, assistant clinical professor
This project explores how an elementary mathematics methods course can support student learning of essential mathematics content for teaching by revisiting topics and addressing content challenges students experienced in a math course sequence. This project uses data from the students’ math content courses and instructor feedback to adjust the focus and pacing of the methods course to be more responsive to students' learning needs.
This article is adapted from a story that first appeared in Maryland Today.
Illustration by iStock
