British Ecological Society - Pedagogical research and development grants

Overview

Improving the education of future generations of ecologists by providing up to £5k towards evidence-based learning

Objectives

• The grant will facilitate research informing teaching and learning practices which improve learners’ experience while promoting excellence in teaching.
• They aim to support their members involved in education to ensure that ecological education continues to be inspiring, innovative and relevant to learners.
• By funding research on education methods within ecology, they would like to develop evidence to inform teaching and learning practices that improve the student experience. Recognising and supporting educational research will also promote excellence in teaching and encourage those not currently involved in educational research to engage.
• The projects awarded should aim to do one or more of the following:
  • Provide evidence-based examples of innovative and effective practice in learning and teaching.
  • Systematically review existing practices to produce evidence-informed recommendations.
  • Explore emerging areas of education research to identify future needs/practices.
  • Disseminate best practices in teaching and learning to other practitioners
• This grant does not support outreach and engagement to the general public. Please refer to their Outreach and Engagement grants if that is your intended project.
• Their Pedagogical grants are used to develop teaching ideas. They are not about engaging with the public but are designed to explore better teaching methods, learning and assessments.

Eligibility and conditions

• Must have BES membership.
• Projects should be a maximum of 12 months
• These grants have no geographical restrictions and are open to anyone involved in teaching ecology at any level (i.e. from early years to life-long learning within formal or informal educational settings.
• Applications can also be from those in an industry that would like to explore the impact of new teaching ideas.
• These grants are awarded to individuals, not organisations.
• Funding is unavailable for work that will form part of a degree/masters/PhD/fellowship.
• Applicants are responsible for obtaining all relevant permits and permissions required to undertake the proposed work.
• They will not award more than one grant to any applicant in any year and no more than two grants in any five years.
• Failure to submit a satisfactory report at the end of a grant will mean the grantee is ineligible to apply for further grants.

Value

Projects can be awarded up to £5,000. Examples of what the funding can cover include:

• Casual and short-term assistance (e.g., student interns, researchers).
• Small pieces of equipment specific to the research.
• Costs associated with data collection (e.g., transcription, incentives for participants).
• Travel and subsistence for visits to educational locations.

It is a condition of all grants that our contribution is acknowledged in any publication or publicity that may arise from this study. Please notify us of any publications supported by this funding.