General Information & Frequently Asked...
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ANNOUNCEMENT 2016 10K SCIENCE COURSE GRANTS John Carroll University is pleased to invite pre-proposals from all US RC seminaries to develop science courses for their pre-theology and college programs. Authors of the most promising pre- proposals will be asked to prepare full proposals. Grants of $10,000 in 2 installments will be granted to 15 full proposals. The first grant of $5000 will be awarded on September 20, 2016. The second installment will be awarded when the science course is scheduled in the academic calendar and delivered in the Spring or Fall semester 2017, or Spring semester 2018. A limited number of $4000 grants will be awarded for courses that are taught again. Funding for this important initiative has been made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Check out our website at semscience.org for more information. CALENDAR: May 3, 2016 - Deadline for Pre-Proposals June 15, 2016 - Invitations for Full Proposals will be sent August 22, 2016 - Deadline for Full Proposals September 20, 2016 - $10K Awards will be announced A. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? Official Church documents, especially since the Second Vatican Council as found in Optatam Totius (1965), Gaudium et Spes (1965), the Ratio Fundamentalis Insitutionis Sacerdotalis (1985), Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992), and the Program of Priestly Formation, 5th ed. (2006) – to say nothing of the many statements of Pope John Paul II, and more recently of Pope Francis - strongly suggest that it is time to recover and reintegrate the tradition of teaching scientific literacy in the in the seminary intellectual formation program. This initiative responds to the vision provided by these documents and anticipates a clergy prepared to engage the bigger questions of science that are foundational for effective evangelization in a scientific and technological world. To put it simply, there was a time when literacy meant knowing how to read and write. Now, being literate means knowing basic science – something more than high school level, and less than what’s available on CSI, the popular forensic science television show. We think that is truer now than ever before. B. GOALS OF THIS INITIATIVE (We have 2). GOAL #1 – SCIENCE COURSES The first and primary goal of this effort is to effect seminary curriculum in a way that is reasonable, challenging, and sustainable by introducing courses in scientific literacy in pre-theology and college programs that will make a measurable difference for seminarians in their future theological studies as well as in their eventual pastoral ministries. This proposal provides a path that will result in a “systemic change” to current Catholic seminary formation by helping seminaries achieve a vision that has already been set for them by the magisterium. A scientifically literate priest, conversant with the scientific method, the philosophy of science, a general scientific
Transcript of General Information & Frequently Asked...
ANNOUNCEMENT 2016
10K SCIENCE COURSE GRANTS
JohnCarrollUniversityispleasedtoinvitepre-proposalsfromallUSRCseminariestodevelopsciencecoursesfortheirpre-theologyandcollegeprograms.Authorsofthemostpromisingpre-proposalswillbeaskedtopreparefullproposals.Grantsof$10,000in2installmentswillbegrantedto15fullproposals.Thefirstgrantof$5000willbeawardedonSeptember20,2016.ThesecondinstallmentwillbeawardedwhenthesciencecourseisscheduledintheacademiccalendaranddeliveredintheSpringorFallsemester2017,orSpringsemester2018.Alimitednumberof$4000grantswillbeawardedforcoursesthataretaughtagain.
FundingforthisimportantinitiativehasbeenmadepossiblebyagrantfromtheJohnTempletonFoundation.Checkoutourwebsiteatsemscience.orgformoreinformation.CALENDAR:May3,2016 -DeadlineforPre-ProposalsJune15,2016 -InvitationsforFullProposalswillbesentAugust22,2016 -DeadlineforFullProposalsSeptember20,2016 -$10KAwardswillbeannouncedA. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
OfficialChurchdocuments,especiallysincetheSecondVaticanCouncilasfoundinOptatamTotius(1965),GaudiumetSpes(1965),theRatioFundamentalisInsitutionisSacerdotalis(1985),PastoresDaboVobis(1992),andtheProgramofPriestlyFormation,5thed.(2006)–tosaynothingofthemanystatementsofPopeJohnPaulII,andmorerecentlyofPopeFrancis-stronglysuggestthatitistimetorecoverandreintegratethetraditionofteachingscientificliteracyintheintheseminaryintellectualformationprogram.Thisinitiativerespondstothevisionprovidedbythesedocumentsandanticipatesaclergypreparedtoengagethebiggerquestionsofsciencethatarefoundationalforeffectiveevangelizationinascientificandtechnologicalworld.
Toputitsimply,therewasatimewhenliteracymeantknowinghowtoreadandwrite.Now,beingliteratemeansknowingbasicscience–somethingmorethanhighschoollevel,andlessthanwhat’savailableonCSI,thepopularforensicsciencetelevisionshow.Wethinkthatistruernowthaneverbefore.
B. GOALS OF THIS INITIATIVE (We have 2). GOAL #1 – SCIENCE COURSES
Thefirstandprimarygoalofthiseffortistoeffectseminarycurriculuminawaythatisreasonable,challenging,andsustainablebyintroducingcoursesinscientificliteracyinpre-theologyandcollegeprogramsthatwillmakeameasurabledifferenceforseminariansintheirfuturetheologicalstudiesaswellasintheireventualpastoralministries.Thisproposalprovidesapaththatwillresultina“systemicchange”tocurrentCatholicseminaryformationbyhelpingseminariesachieveavisionthathasalreadybeensetforthembythemagisterium.Ascientificallyliteratepriest,conversantwiththescientificmethod,thephilosophyofscience,ageneralscientific
vocabulary,andafamiliaritywiththebasiccontentofthephysicalsciences,wouldbeabletoreadscientificarticleswithunderstanding,evaluateinformationwithasufficientknowledgebase,andengageindialogueonsciencetopicswithincreasinglyinformedcongregations.Thegoalisnottomakeseminariansintoscientistsbutrathertoprovideachallenging,increasinglynecessary,rewardingandverydo-ableefforttowardsscientificliteracy.
GOAL #2 - FACULTY DEVELOPMENT IN SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Awarethatonecoursealone,orevenseveralcourses,arenotenoughtopermeateseminaryculture,oursecondgoalistoenergizescientificliteracythroughouttheseminarycommunity.Fundingisavailableforfacultydevelopmenteventstoengagethebigquestions–andsmallerones–inscience.ForthePlanningTeamofthisinitiative,whatisimportantisthatthisinitiativeisnotregardedastheprovinceoftheone,orfew,whomaybeteachingasciencecourse.Tobecredibleasprovidersofscientificliteracytostudents,seminaryfacultymustthemselvespossessaglimmerofthemajestyofGod’screationinthenaturalworld.Thatglimmerheartensthesoulandmindoftheonewhobeholds.Itisalsocontagiousandtouchesthoseintheorbitofthebeholder.
C. FOR THE GOALS TO SUCCEED
Wewelcomeyourcreativityindevelopingscientificallyrigorous,pastorallyapplicablecoursesthatengagemindandspirit,thatinformandinspire,thatwillgenerateenthusiasmforfacultyandstudentconversationsaboutsciencethatdominatecurrentdiscoursesothatascientificallyliterateclergyisabletoservetheNewEvangelizationmoreeffectivelyinaworldwheretechnologyandscienceare“linguafranca.”
D. SCHEDULE OF FUNDING
PHASE I:
Ofthe$5000initialgrant,$2500isdesignatedforFacultyDevelopmentattheseminaryand$2500isintendedfortheindividualfacultymemberinhisorherpreparationforthecourse.
ApplicationfortheScienceCourseDevelopment&Faculty
“Dialoguebetweenfaithandsciencealsobelongstotheworkofevangelizationattheserviceofpeace.”
PopeFrancis,EvangelliGaudium
Developmentmaybefoundatsemscience.org.
Budget suggestions for Individual Faculty Preparation:
Thefacultypersonresponsiblefordevelopingasciencecourseisfreetobudgethis/herfundingtocoverexpensessuchas:
• Tocovertuitionforonlinecoursesorcoursestaughtonsiteatcollegesanduniversities.
• Totraveltoscienceconferencesatinstitutionsengagedinquestionsrelatedtoscienceandtheology.
• Totraveltoscientificexhibitsthathavecorrelationwiththematerialtobecoveredinthesciencecourseinpreparation.
• Toinvitescientiststotheseminaryforlectureswithseparatetimereservedtodiscussplansforthesciencecourseinpreparation.
• Torequestafullorpartialcoursereductionorreleasetimefromotherresponsibilitiesattheseminary.
• Topurchaseresources.• Other
Budget suggestions for Faculty Development:
Howfacultydevelopmentmighthappenisuptoeachindividualseminarytodecide.Onesizedoesnotfitall.Bywayofexample,wesuggest:
• Invitationtoaspeakertoleadafacultydevelopmentworkshopfollowedbydinner.Twiceasemester?Monthly?
• Afacultybookclub,ortwodifferentbookclubs,dependingonselections,eachwithdinnerorrefreshmentsandsnacks,with/withoutaguesttoleadtheconversation.Forexample:AnythingbyPaulDavies,JohnHaught,orJohnPolkinghorne.Or:“FarFromtheTree”byAndrewSolomon,“God’sHotel:ADoctor,aHospital,andaPilgrimagetotheHeartofMedicine”byVictoriaSweet,“TheMeaningofExistence”byEdwardO.Wilson,“TheEmperorofAllMaladies”bySiddharthaMukherjee,“TheOmnivore’sDilemma”byMichaelPollan.
• Afaculty‘scienceatthemovies’series:“Gravity,”“TheTheoryofEverything,”“ABeautifulMind,”“Awakenings,”and“InherittheWind,”and/orzillionsofothers.Withdinner,orwithrefreshmentsandsnacks,with/withoutaguesttoleadconversation.
• DinnerandconversationonscientificliteracyandtheNewEvangelizationwithinputfromaninformedspeakerwhocould,butneednotbe,amemberoftheseminaryfaculty.
• Fundsforfacultytraveltoanearbyuniversityorinstitutionfeaturingascientificexhibitorlecturer,on-linecourseorseminar.
• Other
ThePlanningTeamisflexibleandopentoallcreativeideas.Fortheteam
“Turningtotherelationshipbetweenreligionandscience…wehavebeguntotalktooneanotherondeeperlevelsthanbefore,andwithgreateropennesstowardsoneanother’sperspectives.Wehavebeguntosearchtogetherforamorethoroughunderstandingofoneanother’sdisciplines,withtheircompetenciesandtheirlimitations,andespeciallyforareasofcommonground.Indoingsowehaveuncoveredimportantquestionswhichconcernbothofus,andwhicharevitaltothelargerhumancommunitywebothserve.Itiscrucialthatthiscommonsearchbasedoncriticalopennessandinterchangeshouldnotonlycontinuebutalsogrowanddeepeninitsqualityandscope.”
FromaletterofPopeJohnPaulIItoReveredGeorgeV.Coyne,S.J.,DirectoroftheVaticanObservatory-June1,1998
whatisimportantisengagingthevalueofscienceattheseminary.
PHASE 2:
Thesecond$5000installmentofthe$10,000grantwillbeawardedtothehostseminaryoncethesciencecourseisscheduledintheacademiccalendaranddeliveredintheSpring2017orFall2017orSpring2018.Fromthisgrant,$1000isforthecontinuedpreparationofthefacultypersonteachingthecourse.Theremaining$4000isforthehostinstitutiontoassistintheimplementationofthecourseanditssuccessfuldelivery.
Budget suggestions for Course Development:
GiventhelackofsciencecourseworkatUSRCseminaries,weanticipatethatfundsmaybenecessaryfor
• Suppliesandequipmentforsomebasiclaboratoryinquirywork• Honorariaforguests• Coursereductionforinstructorofnewsciencecourse• Purchaseofresources(books,subscriptions)fortheseminary
library(likelytobelackinginscienceresources).• Foroutreacheffortsthatarepartoftheproject.
-Outreachmayinvolveinvitinglocalcommunitiestotheseminaryforasciencelecture(e.g.,fortheverytantalizingtopic“AreWeAlone,orIsThereLifeonOtherPlanets?”).-Outreachmightinvolvesubsidizingseminariansand/orfacultywhovisitparishorganizations,highschools,orparticipationinalectureseriesoraspartofabookclub’sdiscussiononasciencetopicasitrelatestotheologicalconcerns(e.g.,cellmutationin“TheImmortalLegacyofHenriettaLacks”byRebeccaSkloot).
• Fundingtocoverthecostofrequiredtextsforthecourse–sciencebookstendtobeexpensive–toencourageenrollmentinthecourse.
Alimitednumberof$4000grantswillbeavailableforasecondroundofcourses.
E. ELIGIBILITY
MembersofthefacultyataccreditedUnitedStatesRomanCatholicseminariesareeligibletoapplyforcoursegrants.Facultymaybeclergy,canonicalreligiousorlay,fullorpart-time.
SeetheresponsetoFrequentlyAskedQuestion#5attheendofthesepagesforparticularconsiderations.
“Letthosewhoteachin
seminaries...collaborate
withthosewellversedinother
sciences.”GaudiumetSpes,#62
F. POSSIBLE TOPICS – (Suggested; your imagination is valued)
• TimeinScience,MathandTheology• Genetics• WhatMakesUsHuman?• SpiritualityandHealth• GameChangers:ScientistsWhoBelieve• PositivePsychologyandSpiritualFormation• MultipleUniverses• LifeonOtherPlanetsorAreWeAlone• ThePhilosophyofScience• Other
Topicsaboveareillustrativenotdefinitive.ThePlanningCommitteeencouragesfreedomtocreateasciencecoursethatbestmeetstheneedsofyourseminarians.NB:Somecourseideasareexpandedinthedocument,“StarterKit:CourseIdeas”onourwebsite.
TheJohnTempletonFoundationfundsawiderangeofscienceengagementbutdoesnotsupportcoursesinbioethicsorthoseengagingissuessuchassustainability,environmentalethicsorcreationcare.
G. SELECTION CRITERIA
ApplicationswillbejudgedbyaReviewCommitteeofscientistsandtheologianswithreviewbymembersofthegrantcommittee.
CRITERIAFORASSESSMENTOFPRE-PROPOSALS:
• Clarityofcoursedescription,syllabus,andclearsciencefocus• Measurablelearninggoalsandobjectives• Pastoralimplicationsofthecourse• Statementofinterestinthesubjectmatterofthecoursebythe
instructorandhis/herintendedplanforcoursepreparation• Statementofinterestinthiscourseatthistimeforthis
seminary’sconstituency• Potentialforlong-termengagement
APPLICATIONFORPRE-PROPOSALSatsemscience.org
CRITERIAFORASSESSMENTFORSEMINARIESINVITEDTOPREPAREFULLPROPOSALS:
• Anamplifiednarrativewithfullerdescriptionofeachitemlisted forthepre-proposal.
“Beforeseminarianstakeupthosesacredstudieswhichare
properlyecclesiastical,theyshouldbeequippedwiththehumanisticandscientifictrainingwhichintheirowncountriesenablesyoungpeopletoundertakehigher
studies.”
OptatamTotius,#13
• Integrityofbibliographyanditsengagementwithcurrentresearch.• Plannedoutreachtosharelearningfromthecoursewiththelargercommunity.• Planforassessment.• Planforsustainabilityofthecourseafterthegrantisclosed.• Responsetoquestionsraisedand/orsuggestions,ifany,offeredbytheReviewTeam.• AplanandbudgetforFacultyDevelopment.• Abudgetfortheindividualfacultymemberwhowillteachthesciencecourse.
AmemberoftheAssessmentTeamwillvisitsomeseminaries,butanInternalEvaluationisexpectedforeachsciencecoursetaught,accordingtothefollowing:
H. INTERNAL/EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF NEW SCIENCE COURSE
v CatalognumberandTitleofCoursev CourseDescriptionv Semester/Year/Time/Dayscoursewasofferedv Howwasthecourseadvertised?v Numberofstudentsenrolled;specifyingcredit,non-credit,auditors;seminarians,non-seminariansv Syllabusv LearningObjectivesv Promptsforquizzes,examsv Samplesofquizzes,exams,papersv Gradingchartv Studentevaluationsv Peerevaluationsv Class/studentoutreachintothecommunityw/learningsfromclassv Facultyoutreachintothecommunityw/learningsfromclass
Anecdotalinformationaboutthefollowingisnotobligatorybutwouldbeappreciated:
Whatpreconceptions,ifany,didstudentsbringtothecourse? Whatpreconceptions,ifany,emergedduringtheclass? Wherewasthelevelofinteresthighest? Wherewasthelevelofinterestlowest? Didstudentsindicateanincreaseintheirpastoralsensitivitytoissuesofscience? How?Whendidthathappen? Didsomestudentsconnectsciencewithpastoralissues? Whatresourcesweremosthelpfultoyouinpreparationofthecourse? Ifteam-taught,whatwerethebenefitstothatarrangement? Ifyouareteachingthiscourseagain,whatchangeswouldyoumake? Whatelementsofthecoursewouldyoudefinitelykeep? Hasthiscoursecreateda“buzz”intheseminary?Saymore. Assumingyouvaluescientificliteracy,howwouldyouproposetointegratescienceintothecurriculum?
I. APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE - COURSE GRANTS
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2016 March15 SECONDSCIENCECOURSECOMPETITIONANNOUNCEMENT:Invitationforpre-proposalsfor $10,000sciencecoursedevelopmentgrantsaresenttoallUSRCseminaries.May3 Pre-proposalsaredue.June15 Invitationsforfullproposalsaresenttoupto15seminariesonbasisofpre-proposals.August22 Fullproposalsaredue.September20 Awardsannouncedto15seminaries.15grantsof$5000eacharesenttoseminariesforwinning courseproposals,withanother$5000pendingdeliveryofthecourseinS’2017,F’2017,or S’2018. 2017SpringSemesterSciencecoursesmaybeoffered.2017 FallSemester2017 Sciencecoursesmaybeoffered.OnsiteAssessmentscontinue Assessmentteammembervisitsseminaries&sendreportstoProjectDirector. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2018Spring2018 Sciencecoursesmaybeoffered.On-siteassessmentscontinue.March31,2018 TempletonGrantcloses.
I.FREQUENTLYASKEDQUESTIONS1.Whoiseligibletoapply?Anycurrentfacultymemberattheseminarymayapplytodevelopasciencecourseforthepre-theologyprogram.Forspeciallydesignedsciencecoursesforcollegeseminarians,facultyattheseminaryorattheaffiliatedcollegeoruniversitymayapply.Seminariansshouldrepresentasubstantialnumberofthoseenrolledinthecourse.2.Cantheseminaryapplyformorethanonesciencecoursegrant?Preferencewillbegiventoadistributionofgrantsto15differentseminaries,butdependingonthepoolofapplications,itispossiblethattheremaynotbe15seminariesthatmeritawardsinwhichcasemorethanoneawardmaybemadeavailabletoqualityproposalsfromasingleseminary.
3.Couldthesciencecoursebeteam-taught?Yes.Insuchacase,thefundsdirectedtotheindividualfacultymember-$2500and$1000,atotalof$3500–wouldbeshared,notnecessarilyequally,dependingontheresponsibilitiesoftheco-instructor.4.Wouldfundsbeavailableforalecturertovisittheclasswhilethecourseisbeingtaught?Ifso,wouldtherebefundingforthisavailable?Yes,fundingforvisitinglecturersshouldbeincludedinthebudgetforthesecondinstallmentof$5000.Ofthatamount,$4000isdesignatedtothehostinstitutionfortheneedsconnectedwiththesuccessfuldeliveryofthecourse.SeePHASE2:“BudgetforCourseDevelopment”aboveinthisdocument.5.Towhomwouldthegrantbeassignedifafacultypersonatacollegeoruniversitywithwhichtheseminaryisaffiliatedproposed(andwasawarded)asciencecourse?Thegrantwouldbeassignedtotheseminary,notthecollegeoruniversity.Theseminaryandthecollegeoruniversityfacultymemberwoulddetermineanappropriatehonorariumtodevelopacoursesinceitislikelythattheuniversitywouldalreadyhaveequipment,books,andlibraryfacilitiesinsciencethattheseminarymaynothave.Weassumegoodfaithonthepartoftheseminaryandtheuniversityindeterminingfaircompensation.6.Whathappensifnostudentssignupforthecourse?PartoftheresponsibilityassociatedwiththedevelopmentofthesciencecoursegrantistomakeknownthevalueofthisinitiativetothewholeseminarycommunityandtoemphasizetheimportancethatVaticandirectiveshaveattachedtoscientificliteracy.Effort,therefore,isexpectedtoinformseminariansaboutthesciencecourseasitisinpreparationandbeforeitisdelivered,tomaximizeinterestandenrollment.Weconsiderasciencecoursecancellationtobearareexception.Shouldthateventualityoccur,however,itisexpectedthatthecoursewillbeattemptedasecondtimeafterconsultationwiththeplanningteam.7.Whathappensifplansforasubmittedbudgetchange?Forexample,ifaguestsciencelecturerdoesnotarriveandcannotre-schedule?Changesinthebudgetthatyousubmitforfacultydevelopmentorcoursedevelopmentneedtobere-negotiatedwiththePlanningTeamandcannotberepositionedwithoutapproval.8.Isitpossibletoopenthepre-theologycoursetothegraduateseminarians?Yes.And,ifyourseminaryhasnopre-theologyseminarians,youmayproposeacourseforthemajorseminary.
Foranyotherquestions,pleasebeincontactwithProf.DorisDonnelly,ProjectDirector,[email protected]:[email protected],ReverendW.ShawnMcKnightatsmcknight@usccb.org.Prof.NicholasSantilliatsantilli@jcu.eduAllofusareavailabletoassistyou.
