LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS WILKINS/AAA
EDUCATION RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP 

The LWW/AAA Scholarship is intended to support an AAA member who is a graduate student in a mentored project, or a postdoctoral fellow or junior faculty member (rank no higher than assistant professor) who wishes to develop a project that shows promise as a model for improving the quality of teaching and learning in anatomical education. It is anticipated that the proposed project will help foster a learning environment for students that is characterized by creativity, originality, and rigor. The scholarship consists of $5,000 provided by LWW, plus travel support and registration fee to the next appropriate AAA Annual Meeting, provided by AAA.

Applicants must be AAA members for the year in which they apply and through the completion of their scholarship project and presentation at the AAA Annual Meeting.

TYPES OF PROJECTS
An annual LWW/AAA Scholarship will be awarded in curricular innovation in the anatomical disciplines.

PURPOSE
The LWW/AAA Scholarship competition is intended to support innovative projects that hold promise as models for the resolution of important issues and problems in anatomical education and represent new and creative approaches to teaching and learning.

• The scholarship may be in support of any anatomical discipline or program.
• The scholarship is intended to support practical initiatives and assist in evaluation of the results to determine effective outcomes.
• It is intended to encourage projects that show innovation and creativity in design. The LWW/AAA Scholarship will be awarded to individuals who submit proposals that offer new ideas, practices, and approaches. The project needs to be well justified, carefully designed, and responsibly managed.
• It is expected that the successful candidate will disseminate proven innovations developed during the tenure of the LWW/AAA Scholarship to others through publication in appropriate journals and/or national or international medical education presentations.

FUNDING FOCUS
Funding priority will be given to applications that demonstrate innovation in design and measurement of outcomes. While a well-planned evaluation component with measurable outcomes is acceptable, applicants are encouraged to include ongoing/formative assessments. Two funding priorities are listed below although proposals that focus on any area of anatomical education are encouraged:

• Use of electronic media to enhance human dissection experiences in the anatomy laboratory.
• Integration of histopathology and histology in a modular systems-based curriculum.

• Projects related to clinical-based exercises in the anatomical disciplines that encourage the development and measurement of clinical reasoning.
• Development and implementation of performance-based assessment that evaluates integration of anatomical knowledge, clinical skills, and communication skills.
• Evaluation of innovative approaches to the human anatomy laboratory experience.
• Development of high quality, reliable assessments of anatomical knowledge.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

Proposals may be up to six pages (single-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins) and must include a description of each of the following elements under its own heading:

   Abstract of the Project: (150-200 words)

   Statement of Significance (Hypothesis or Question): Why is this an important project? How will anatomical education be enhanced by it? Include relevant background and history, how proposed project meets the definition of scholarship provided in the section on “Purpose,” and specific references to the most relevant literature and scholarly publications. (½ to 1 page)

   Specific Aims: List the objectives of the project. (Up to ½ page)

   Feasibility of the project: Can this project be implemented with available resources? Are additional institutional resources available to help support the project? (Up to ½ page)

   Outcomes/Impact of Project: Include a statement of how a defined target population of students or program will benefit from the proposed project. What are the major objectives of the project? How will you know whether you have achieved them? (Up to ½ page)

   Methodology: Provide a brief description of the methods that will be employed to implement the project. Describe how the project will be conducted. Are the methods clearly stated and appropriate? Will the methods allow you to achieve the objectives of the project? Formative assessments guide project development by revealing how a project is succeeding or not. Describe formative assessments that will guide the development of your project. (Up to 2 pages).

   Evaluation/Measures of Success: Identify measures of success and provide a description of how desired outcomes will be evaluated and/or measured. Has an appropriate evaluation plan been developed? Does it address the major objectives of the project? (Up to 1 page)

   Integration: Describe what would be required to incorporate the new material or curriculum component generated through this proposal into the appropriate curriculum on a permanent basis. How likely is it that the innovations will be integrated into the regular curriculum if the outcome is positive? (Up to ½ page)

   Budget: Include a short (1-2 paragraphs not included in the 6 page limit) justification of the budget request. The scholarship can be used to purchase supplies and/or equipment of approved types, or to support students, technical/administrative personnel, or reasonable consultation expenses (when they are adequately justified in the grant proposal). Because this is a scholarship and not a grant award, no overhead is attached to this scholarship.

   Facilities/Institutional Support: Describe the facilities and/or institutional support that will be available for your project. (Up to ½ page)

   Principal Investigator: Provide a description of the role of the applicant in the project, her/his expertise in anatomical education, and an NIH style biosketch (2 page limit).

   Funding Focus: Describe how the project addresses the funding focus identified above (primary focus on student assessment and/or curriculum development). (Up to ½ page)

In addition, the proposal must include:

   A letter of support from the Chairperson or Division Chief signed by the Dean or appropriate fiscal officer.

   Evidence of an application to your institution’s IRB. Final award will be withheld until favorable IRB action is taken.

REVIEW OF PROPOSALS

Proposals will be peer-reviewed by a committee appointed by the Executive Committee of the American Association of Anatomists. Recommendations will be forwarded to the Executive Committee. Only complete proposals will be considered. Each complete proposal will be rated equally on each of the following criteria:

• Scholarship: degree to which proposal meets the scholarship criteria identified in the “Purpose” paragraph of this scholarship description.
• Addressing Funding Preferences
• Benefits/Impact of Project on anatomical education locally, regionally, and nationally.
• Methodology: clear, feasible methods consistent with goals/objectives
• Evaluation: plan to measure desired outcomes and project success

REPORTING OBLIGATIONS

By accepting the scholarship, the recipient agrees to submit to the American Association of Anatomists a final written report no later than three months after the completion of the project or 15 months following receipt of the scholarship, unless an extension is requested from and approved by the Executive Committee.

The final report should include the following, preferably in the format of an NIH final progress report:

   An abstract of the project

   Project goals and objectives

   Outcomes of the project

   Implications of the outcomes for medical/biomedical science education

   Method of integrating the material into the curriculum (if demonstrated to have a positive outcome)

In addition, the recipient is required to make a poster or oral presentation at the next appropriate Annual Meeting of the American Association of Anatomists (Experimental Biology). AAA will cover travel expenses and registration fee for this meeting.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

The application should be submitted electronically via the linked nomination form.

TIMELINE FOR FIRST AWARD
NOMINATION DEADLINE: October 15, 2007
COMMITTEE REPORT DUE: January 15, 2008
AWARD PRESENTATION: April 2008 for Fall 2008 semester

 For further information or clarification regarding the process or the forms, you may contact:

LWW/AAA Education Research Scholarship
301-634-7910 (phone)
301-634-7965 (fax)
exec@anatomy.org

NOMINATION FORM